Swift River learning how to dance the rain

She waited on, only letting her eyes wander when a different voice answered her sister's question. It took a moment for the words to register in her mind, and almost immediately her body tensed, not happy with the words that she was graced with. The mental image of Rissa's bloodied body flashed though her mind quickly causing her to flinch. Of all places that they would move, it would be to that horrid place. It was as if she did not have any control over her own body as she spoke. "Why?" Quickly, she realized that she had not specified why she was asking such a question. It could have been towards anything that had been said. "Why out of all places, the other side of the mountains?"

She was not testing her alphas' authority, her question was general curiosity. She was bound by loyalty but she wanted to know or she needed to know why it had to be in the location that they were picking. Kisla's voice greeted her ears and though Jessie agreed with her words she could not shake her own personal memories. The gray wolf's doubts about Marsh and Triell were soon washed away when Ice continued to speak. At least the two men had not deserted them, as that was what the woman had feared when their scent had vanished from their lands. If it was time for them to move on, then Jessie would gladly follow.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the ICE breaks. Finally they were shaken out of their compliant silent. Inside, Ice felt like trembling, knowing that their minds would be spoken, that truth, whether he wanted to hear it or not, would come tumbling from their lips. He felt like holding his breath, to make sure he wouldn't miss a thing, and took comfort in the gray shoulder pressed against his, and Fenru sitting so close by. If they had some issues.. some problems.. surely they could solve them? Surely they could talk, balance dominance and submission with the need for peace and comfort? Jessie's voice was the first, a word, so painful, followed by a sentence, and memories of Rissa... Dead ferns dusted thickly with snow, moonlight shining from a clear sky, a dead fox in the shadows and her body laid on display for all to see, broken and torn.. the cold, cold gleam of silver light against her bared skull and dried blood... Ice's eyes closed for a moment, hearing Kisla's agreement of moving, a new start for a new generation; a graveyard for the previous one... Memories, too, of a mass of wolves ripping into bodies black and white, spilling heathen blood on a foggy night with only the moon and each other for witnesses. He could understand the question.. he had seen Rissa, too, and knew her pain.. her doubts, after a fashion. "The reason is mostly practical," he began in a hoarse voice, silver eyes opening, but he couldn't block out the pain. It swirled within his irises, in the set of his 'brows, flowed in the nuances of his voice. "This side of the pass is full of packs - there is nowhere to go." And they needed to go - he believed it, fiercely, for Corinna's sake, for his own, for Cali and Jessie, for Kisla and Fenru, for Aiyana.. for Tali, too. She didn't deserve to be haunted by a past she had no part in. "But don't worry," he continued, ears slicking back for a moment as his muzzle dipped lower. "We will not live in that forest.. nor on the mosses where we killed the bastards." Ice refused to; even when Rissa's corpse had decomposed to become one with the nature again, sure to happen now that the snow was thawing and winter ending, he would not set foot in that forest without remembering her torn face and sightless, bloodied eyes. "We will find some other place in the east to carve out our future.. to heal and grow." .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

Tali looked to her white leader, posing the question, asking something she also wondered. What did her pack mates think of this move? She herself thought of it as a good thing. It would be a new start for everyone, but she had a feeling not all would see it that way. Many of these wolves had lived here their whole lives, and knew nothing else. Whereas, she was already so used to change, that it no longer bothered her. There was a bigger question sticking out in her mind though. When the pack did move, would everyone go? Would some stay behind in an attempt to pick up and resume the pack here? Tali knew she would go, but she wasn't sure about all of the others.

The first to speak was Kisla. The tawny female's words explained it all for Tali, and so she nodded in agreement. Next came the words of the black and white female who had been concerned about her intentions in joining the pack. Tali knew nothing about that side of the mountains. The horrors that had happened there were lost on her. Ices statement, We will not live in that forest.. nor on the mosses where we killed the bastards., sent a shiver up her spine. It was a look into the pack's darker past. Part of the reason they were trying to get away, and still she knew nothing about it. The blood in her veins felt icy, only thawing slightly with his last sentence.

there's so many things we're not

but with what we have

i promise you that we're marchin' on

A hint of emotion - was that jealousy or bitterness he saw there just then? flashed across his sister's face but he made nothing of it. As Kisla's eyes went to Corinna's sides, his went to Jessie's face then back up into what he could see of Ice's throat and muzzle without completely turning up his nose to gawk and stare as the newly-christened River patriarch both explained and enlightened them all about why and where they were headed to. The yearling inhaled and exhaled uneasily. This business - of growing up, shouldering responsibility, moving on from the fall out of war and the loss of half his siblings - was going to be tougher to handle than he had thought.

Kisla readily made her voice heard, but once her decision was out, he found that, ultimately, there was no other choice but to mirror her affirmation. "We'll go then," he said slowly, loud enough for every pair of ears to hear. He hastily rid his throat of the lump that was threatening to form there again and shakily lifted his head. "To the other side of the mountain."

His orange eyes went to his youngest sister then, hoping that she, too, would agree. If he and Kisla concurred, wouldn't... or shouldn't she also? They were the only three Tainn children (who had descended from Lani and Rihael's eldest child and first-born son) left. To Fenru, if Aiyana's two older siblings were going somewhere, it was only right that she came along also... With his hopes soaring upward as high as the clouds, he waited for Aiyana to fall in line. He had already nearly broken Corinna's heart, he would not see their mother lament any more than she already had.

FENRU TAINN

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It seemed that silence was not to be enough for the pack. Aiyana held the lack of words close to her heart, part personality and part something she learned from Marsh, but others sought them out to meddle in things which were not physical - emotions, and other things. One black ear twitched as the ragged Cali asked a question, and listened to Ice's smooth answer. The other side. Barely was it out that Cali's sister Jessie questioned it, but the dark child let her bright eyes rove away. She listened, but did not particularly care. Anywhere was better than here, didn't they see that? Didn't they feel it in their hearts and bones? The child let her eyes settle on Tali, the only one who remained firmly silent as Kisla and then Fenru spoke their approval, Ice trying to smooth the ruffled Jessie.

As if feeling the weight of eyes upon her, Aiyana slowly let her gaze go from Tali to her brother. He was very dear to her, and some part of her heart ached at the thought of what was going through her head. He was so confident, staring at her as if urging her to say the same thing, but somewhere beneath she already knew that their future was not hers anymore. She was starting to understand that something was wrong - that she was dying just as much as she lived, dancing with shadows at night and speaking to ghosts and memories. It didn't show on her charcoal frame, nor in her guarded eyes, but she felt it within, a weight in her bones.

"Rissa would like it, I think," she said gently, her voice lilting and soft. Of course her sister would love for her family to be near again, to not have such a long way to travel from her nest in the stars to visit her baby siblings, her mother, and the man who could've been her father - Aiyana had never adopted Ice as Fenru had, but for all the good Indru had done them she sometimes wished the pale one had always been where he was now, helping to guide them.

Gone Tomorrow

Corinna would have hoped for a more...audible response from those gathered around her. She had known when she had first opened her mouth that she would be dropping a giant bomb of news upon them. Perhaps her pregnancy could have been expected, if not suspected, but the decision to shed the Swift River name and uproot their pack to seek their fortunes elsewhere, that would have come as a giant shock to those around her. She had mentioned it to Fenru, but beyond that, she and Ice had made the decision to keep it a secret between the two of them until they had been certain.

Cali was the first to speak up. It was not an enthusiastic response, but it was a legitimate question. The leader had not said where they were relocating the pack, because the truth was, she did not know - not yet. Ice filled in what little details that they did have, and it was only after the words left his mouth did the pack shift noticeably. The creme she-wolf barely had time to smile at Kisla's response before Jessie spoke up, the question inherently challenging the decision. And in a moment, Corinna's mood shifted as well. Her brow furrowed, and her lips pulled back, though only slightly, her teeth barred at the subordinate for only a moment. Rissa's death had been the entire pack's loss, and Jessie had been among the party to go looking and discover her youngest daughter's body, but her defensiveness struck Corinna in an odd way. Who was Jessie to feel so affronted by Rissa's loss? That was hardly Corinna's call to make, but she was saved from acting on it by Ice, who answered Jessie in a hoarse voice. The point was to escape these haunted lands, not to venture into new ones, and while certainly over the Pass held dark memories too, it also offered a fresh start. And they were going to take it.

Jessie's question had startled her, there was no doubt, but Corinna was thrown for an even bigger loop when a not-so-often heard voice spoke up. Rissa would like it, I think. Aiyana had grown so quiet, that hearing her speak was a rarity. So when she did, her mother fixated her attention on her. She didn't verbally respond, but she nodded her head once, in agreement. Hearing it from her both of her daughters, and Fenru as well, only cemented Corinna's decision that this was the correct course of action. There would be struggles, but they would overcome them and would enjoy the victories that they would earn. "So it is settled," she spoke up, her voice level and her tone final. "We will go. I expect within the week, so we can meet up with Marsh and Triell, and stake out our new home." The process would bring them together, she hoped, and hopefully put to rest any worries that they had now in this moment. But only time would tell, and that time was rapidly approaching.

Okay everyone! Thanks for getting through this. You have until May 25th to get up closing responses if you so choose. I'll archive this on the 25th. The claiming post is being posted as we speak, so get excited!

-gets very excited-

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the ICE breaks. He wasn't smart enough to wonder what Tali, the one relative stranger in their midst, thought about it all - these bits and pieces of a past that wasn't hers, a time before she had come to their borders looking for acceptance. She was silent, and all he read from that was that she had no objections; Fenru agreed with moving, and Ice felt a stirring of pride and affection again. Gently he leaned over to touch his nose to Fenru's ears, and then Aiyana's gentle voice drifted to them.. speaking Rissa's name. A shiver coursed through Ice at the mention, his gaze snapping to Jessie; if Rissa's own sister said it was fine to be on that side... she'd think so, too, wouldn't she? Aiyana's confirmation seemed to have been what Corinna waited for, and her voice settled the matter swiftly. A nod from Ice to show his approval, his gaze lingering on his family for a moment longer.. a second or so on each wolf, a weight behind the silver, a love in his veins; they were going somewhere new now, where the future wouldn't be so haunted. With the meeting concluded, the others were free to go or stay as they wished; again, he leaned into Corinna, and something struck him.. and he couldn't keep himself from grinning, lowering his head to burrow his forehead into the scruff of her neck, inhaling the scent of her. It was not love between them, as far as his emotions could tell, but a strong bond all the same, made even stronger by the new life on the way. As long as they were strong, together, their pack would thrive. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

And so, their future was decided — but Aiyana did not feel a stir of excitement, only a kind of lingering, creeping guilt. She had purposefully not said Rissa would like to have us near, for she couldn't bear to speak something that was almost a lie, neither could she refuse Fenru's need for some sort of.. acknowledgment, affirmation. Aiyana's gaze lowered solemnly, studying the familiar soil by her own paws. This was a future for them, but her heart whispered brokenly that it was not for her. Perhaps they would heal, but she? She found herself doubting it, and as Corinna let them know they were moving within a week, she was torn between despair and a sense of sorrow so much more tangible than the one she'd been plagued with for months. Swiftly the slim girl rose, her dark form prowling over to her mother and siblings, a dutiful kiss planted to each of their chins. She loved them dearly, but it was tearing her apart — and she was frantic, for some kind of plan. Some kind of resolution to the discomfort in her soul, the chafe at the prospect of moving. She didn't want to stay, but some part of her knew that she wasn't going to go, either. Most of all, she needed time, to be alone and think. And so, once she had said a silent goodbye to them, she turned with a flick of her tail and drifted away again, into the shadows of the Grove. She needed to get out again, see something new, and think for a bit.

The moment the words escaped her mouth, she knew they had come out different than she had intended them to. The sort period that Corinna looked towards her and gave a bare of her fangs easily showed this to Jessie. Shrinking away and looking away from her alpha in submission, she stared at the earthy ground beneath her. The Swiftpaw sibling had not meant to test either of her leaders’ word, just simply ask a curious question of her own, the images she had obtained from her journey with Fenru and Ice building up within her memories. When Ice spoke though, Jessie would glance towards him, relieved to hear his reassuring words. They would not go where she had feared that the pack would be traveling and this set her nerves to the side, for the time being. Lowering her head again, she listened as other said what they thought, but her green eyes landed on the growing form of Aiyana, pricking her ears forward to hear what the silent child thought.

Hearing her words, Jessie let out a small sigh, looking back towards Corinna as she finalized their decision. Dipping her head in respect to the two alphas, she watched as Aiyana made her way away from them all. Blinking her eyes then, she made her way towards her sister, licking her gently across the cheek and sat down next to her, ready to go whenever Corinna and Ice mentioned for them to finally take their leave from the area that they all had called their home. No doubt there were many painful memories for the remaining Tainns and Ice. A new beginning was in store for them all.

Cali listened silently as more words were spoken, some from her own sister, Jessie. Her head lifted slightly then for Jess' words almost seemed to question their decision. Knowing what Jessie had been through on the other side of the mountains, what she and the others had found, Cali understood the question, but the tone was a bit defensive it seemed. A slight show of fangs from Corinna righted the matter and Ice assured her and the rest of them that they would live nowhere near the place of Rissa's demise, nor the area of the battle. For that, Cali was grateful for her nightmares were bad enough here. She couldn't even begin to imagine how her heart would shatter with a constant reminder of that dreadful day and all that had led to it.

She looked around their home, loving it and hating the idea of leaving... but her place was with her leaders, with her sister and with the next generations of pups that would bring hope to their family. So much betrayal and so much hurt had befallen the River wolves. Perhaps this truly was the only way to start over. With Ice standing alongside Corinna they had managed the first step, a solid and dependable lead pair. Cori had always been there, but it seemed as kind as he had seemed, Indru simply couldn't be counted on and his final betrayal had cut deeply into the heart of the pack.

When Jessie approached her and licked her cheek affectionately, Cali almost felt like crying. She had missed her sister so and she'd been so distant of late that the white fae had begun to fear that she'd somehow lost her too. Perhaps they could renew their bond in this journey as well. Nothing would make her happier. With a low whine of happiness and a few thumps of her tail, she nuzzled Jessie's cheek in return, breathing in her baby sister's scent almost as if for the first time.

Glancing at Corinna and Ice, a flicker of her old life showing in her dull green eyes, she moved back out of the shadows and nodded her head in the affirmative. "My place is with you. Wherever we go, our family will be stronger and the new generation will thrive!" Her voice was hoarse with heartfelt emotion and the strength of her normally soft voice in the end made it a promise. She would let nothing happen the the coming litter or the rest of her family. She would die first.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...