Sacred Grove Whispers in the Air

A small female wolf limped through the forest- not because of any injury, no, but simply exhaustion. Using the last of her strength to come to the edge of what she did not know as Swift River territory, the yearling collapsed against a tree. An audible breath was released from her jaws and her eyes closed as she relaxed against the rough bark. Eva's green and blue eyes then opened, after a moment, to view the land that was before her. It was much more open and the foliage was not as dense as the forest she had come from. Up ahead she saw those dreaded mountains and could almost feel the sharp rocks against her pads. As she thought about it she realized something: she was finally in Relic Lore! It had not occurred to her while she had been worrying about traversing her way through that dark, dreadful, and depressing forest, but now she had enough time to take a deep breath and think- something she had not been able to do in a long while.

Gaze dropping, the tawny girl saw a river close by in front of her. She knew she was quite parched and had no luxury of a drink in a long time. Groaning in effort, the small wolf lurched forward onto her feet approached the water's edge. The liquid was freezing cold but she did not recoil in shock and instead drank her fill. Reclining back from the water she looked into its depths. Her reflection was there peering back at her. Eva looked at herself in disgust. She was weak, absurdly thin, and her eyes no longer contained their previous liveliness. Plus she was only a year old! Why did she have to be so revolting? Before the girl could stop herself her paw reached out in front of her to scratch against the water's surface, causing ripples and a distortion in her reflection. I even look better that way. The thought came to her mind almost immediately and she looked away from the now still surface in anger and sadness.

A breath outwards caused a fog-like substance to appear from her nose. Eva giggled slightly and let out a stronger breath to watch it float and disappear into the crisp air above. Her one good eye watched it go and she felt a strange sadness at its departure. Sighing, she stood and walked back to her old tree spot. Maybe she could stay here, at least for a nap. Then she could start looking for her siblings and complete her mission. Her legs seemed to give out from underneath her as she laid before the tree, her fur touching its trunk. Placing her head on the paws in front of her, she took one last look at the river before closing her eyes and attempting to fall into her dreamworld.

(This post was last modified: Jan 06, 2013, 03:10 AM by Eva.)

Cali had gone hunting earlier, craving fresh meat, rather that what filled the caches. Shed' been lucky and managed to scrounge up a couple of rabbits. Prey was certainly starting to get harder to find these days, but she wasn't concerned in the least. The wolves of Swift River would make it through. They always had and they always would. As she was nearing the river, just opposite of her favorite outlook rock, she paused, one pristine paw suspended in the air. There was an unfamiliar scent nearby. Instantly, she was out of her 'leisurely stroll' mode and into that of second an guardian. Whoever it was was just outside the borders and would need to be dealt with immediately.

Using her keen nose to track the scent, she was led to the water's edge about twenty yards away. From there she followed it away from the water and away from the border, which caused her to relax the tiniest bit. They hadn't tried to cross into Swift River, they'd merely gotten a drink from it's ever moving border of freezing water. It didn't take long to follow the stronger scent trail to a pile of fur beneath a large tree. The wolf was a young female loner, by the look and smell of her. Cali's heart went out to they tiny thing. She was so exhausted, apparently, that she had not heard the white wolfs quiet approach. Hating to wake her, but knowing that she needed to be sure of the girl's purpose, Cali called out softly, "Young lady, wake up. I must speak with you a moment."

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

Despite the cold, Eva was just about to drift away. Then she could feel a sudden presence besides her. Closing her eyes even more tightly and curling up instinctively, she hoped that whatever it was would just pass her by and leave in peace. Opening her eyes was the last thing she wanted to do right now. But the figure did not move and stood there. "Young lady wake up, I must speak with you for a moment." Fear suddenly filled the small girl. Cursing herself, she knew she should have picked a better hiding place as to not be disturbed, but being too exhausted from moving any further prevented her from doing so.

Finally she lifted her head and opened her eyes at the white wolf in front of her. Eva's ears laid down on her head and a slight whine emerged from her jaws. Her good eye looked away, not wanting to meet the eyes of this stranger. The yearling did not know how to respond to the wolf's call and instead remained silent. What if this wolf chased her away or injured her because she said something stupid? What if she saw how small and useless Eva was and decided to just end her life right there?

Then another thought occurred to the child. What if this wolf was from around here? She seemed very comfortable in her skin and confident in her walk. Maybe she heard of Nina or Ash and could lead her in the right direction? Eva wanted to ask but was too nervous and decided to instead hold her tongue. She looked down at the ground in front of her paws as she waited in silence to see what the wolf would say, as if expecting to be reprimanded.

(This post was last modified: Jan 06, 2013, 04:38 PM by Eva.)

At first, she wasn't sure that the girl had heard her words, then she saw the small bundle of fur tighten on itself for a moment, before the girl finally lifted her head and looked in her general direction, but not directly at her. The flattened ears and averted gaze were enough to let Cali know that the poor girl was terrified. She hadn't wanted to scare her, merely make sure that she didn't overstep the boundaries of Swift River. Of course, given that their borders were not only marked by strong scent, but by the very river itself, one could not accidentally cross the borders.

Keeping the confident stance, which now came naturally to her, she relaxed enough to let her fluffy tail wave to and fro a few times to reassure the girl that she wouldn't harm her. She tried unsuccessfully to meet her averted gaze, before she decided to speak again anyways, trying to relieve the young fae's fears. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, dear. You are just very close to my pack's borders, so I had to investigate." While her words and tone were meant to comfort, her stance never wavered. She was second and no one, loner or pack mate would question that.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

Eva glanced upwards as the silence between the two continued. She did not know if the white wolf was expecting her to reply and defend herself, which the young wolf was not planning to do in any case. For a moment the yearling met the eyes of the female. She was surprised to see there was no disgust there in her expression, and rather a kind and firm one. This look reminded her of her own mother way back in her homeland, and her muscles tightened instinctively at the thought of the person she believed did not want her. Eva heard the wolf's words and a slight sigh was released from her jaws in order to allow the tension to leave her body. From the white lady's body language and words, she seemed to have integrity and confidence while also being completely honest about her intentions in approaching the sleeping yearling. There were no questions about why she was there or what she had been doing, only frank words warning her about getting too close.

Eva wished she could have this female's confidence- why couldn't she be like her? The wolf looked strong and was able to defend her pack well while also remaining kind. The yearling knew she could never be like that- and it pained her slightly- but the result was respect towards this older wolf. The young wolf immediately placed her trust in the guardian of the river. She gave her a shy nod so it was known that she heard and understood the words spoken. If she only had the confidence to ask, the questions about her brother and sister would already be the topic of conversation. Her blue and green-eyed gaze looked down at the ground as finally her first words emerged from her jaws, slightly muffled. "Where is this?" she asked.

Cali felt for the girl. She seemed so lost and uncertain. She let her white plume wave gently a couple of times to further reassure her. The young fae was looking at her strangely and Cali was curious as to what she was thinking. She would share her thoughts if she wanted to, if not then she was certainly entitled to her privacy. After a few moments she mumbled a question. "Where is this?"

She would get to that, but first she felt that at least basic introductions were in order. In a sure voice she offered, "I'm Cali Swiftpaw. You are outside the borders of my pack, the Swift River Pack, right now. Do you... have a home, dear?" The girl was nervous and she hoped that a bit of conversation might ease her mind a bit. Trying to give her an additional prompt, she asked "What is your name?"

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

The female stranger did not respond to her question directly at first. She introduced herself as Cali Swiftpaw, and her pack as Swift River. As her good eye looked around she could see why. The yearling supposed that the pack made camp on the other side of the body of water. Was Ash there? Or Nina? Did they already have mates and pups? All of these questions raced through her mind like the current of the river before her. Eva remained silent for a few moments after Cali had told her of her location. She trusted this white wolf even though she had only just met her.

At the same time she wondered why the wolf was even bothering with these pleasantries and did not just chase her off the moment she had seen her. Eva realized she was probably more trouble than she was worth, and killing her off might just be for the best. Clearing her throat and shaking her head from side to side slightly to rid herself of these thoughts, the female wolf replied in a soft, uncertain voice, "I am Eva Hervok." This was the only question that she had a direct, clear answer to. The one before that- regarding her home- could not be responded to so quickly. Did she even have a home? Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore. "I don't know," she responded truthfully. "I am looking for my brother and sister, Ash and Nina. Have you heard of them?" Finally the question she needed to ask was out there in the open. The small female held her breath as she waited for a response.

The girl still seemed unsure and maybe even a little confused, but she appeared to relax a little. Perhaps it was sinking in that Cal did not intend to attack her. If she challenged her or acted aggressively their situation would be turning out entirely differently. As it was, Eva, as she introduced herself, was merely a frightened and lost young woman in search of her siblings. Cali could certainly sympathize with that. She hadn't been searching for her sister, Jessie had in fact been searching for her, but she had missed her terribly and knew that she'd never be parted from her beloved sister again.

She searched through her memory banks for the names that the girl spoke, but could recall no wolf of either name that she had met or even heard of. Of course, that meant little. It could be that she'd seen one or both of them and had simply not met them. With this thought, she answered, "No, I don't recall any wolf by those names. What do they look like? Perhaps I have seen them without meeting them." It was a slim possibility, but it was possible. She really wanted to help this young woman. Something about her struck a cord in the white woman. Perhaps her latent motherly instinct rearing it's head. Whatever the case, she wished to help her if she could.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

As Cali responded that she did not know of anyone named Ash and Nina, Eva would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't disappointed. This Swift River member seemed to be her only hope for the moment, and the Hervok needed to put all of her trust in this motherly wolf's paws. The yearling wondered how this conversation would go differently if she had met an instinctively more aggressive wolf. She would probably already been dead in a pool of her own blood by now.

Cali then asked for what they looked like. Eva hesitated, not wanting to answer the question. How would the wolf react if she said she honestly had no idea? The female was brought up away from the pack and her father. All she had heard of them were their names, but nothing else, really. "I don't know.." she trailed off, "I've never met them before." How could this wolf help her when she knew absolutely nothing about her siblings? Eva would understand if this wolf turned her away now, from her standpoint there really was no way to help her if there was no other information. "Are there other packs around here?" she asked uncertainly. Maybe her search could take her elsewhere and she could investigate other packs in an attempt to find them. Perhaps her search wasn't at a dead end after all?

Cali looked at the young girl sympathetically as her disappointment shown on her face. She truly wished that she could help her more, but she stayed fairly close to the borders of her own family most of the time. When she inquired about her sibling's appearance, Eva seemed to hesitate, looking quite uncertain. The white fae wondered what was going through her thoughts, but soon got her answer. "I don't know... I've never met them before." Now she knew the reason for the girl's hesitation. How had one so young and fresh to the world come to be on her own searching for siblings that she'd never even laid eyes on?

With a sympathetic sigh, Cali thought about her next question. Other packs in the lore. Again, she wouldn't be much help for she only knew of a few for sure, though she knew there were more she did not know of there locations. With an apologetic look she admitted, "I don't often leave my borders, but I do know of a few. The one to the north, I've heard rumor has disbanded, but many of it's members still remain. To the west a pack resides in the Cedarwood Forest. I don't know the name though. South of us is the pack, Willow Ridge, led by Elettra. She is a friend of mine. Perhaps her or one of her members knows of your siblings." She ended with a hopeful note. The dark leadess had been in the Lore far longer than herself and surely could give Eva better information.

About to admit that that was all that she could recall, a memory came to mind of another pack. One that had been bitter enemies of Swift River, but now there appeared to be a truce of sorts, since there had not been any border skirmishes in quite a while with them. With doubtful eyes, she met those of the younger fae, "There is another. Poison Path. They reside in the mountains, but I could not tell you where. The Mountains of Dire and their foothills can be treacherous though. Take great care there," she warned. Going over all of the information in her head once more, she advised, "I would recommend starting in Drooping Willows, with the Ridge pack. Elettra has great knowledge and has lived in the Lore for quite a while." She almost wanted to offer to accompany her the the Willows. It would be the perfect excuse to see her regal friend once more and it might smooth things over for young Eva. She was torn though, for her duty called to her and her duty was here.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...