illusion

@Aeylen and @Vaeta please.

Stoically, the tawny wolf stood, his regal form stiff in response to what met his bright yellow eyes. The silence was almost deafening, and as Ruiko Tainn circled slightly, his brows furrowing as he took in the quiet that was once Swift River, he felt a lump form in his throat.

Briefly, he glanced up to his companions, confusion written only in his gaze as the hardened lines of his features kept firm. Aeylen – ever so beautiful, even after the loss of their recent litter, and Vaeta.. so very like her mother in appearance. He had been relieved when his only daughter had not left with her brothers – not because he favored her over them, or would worry over her.. but because the large man knew nothing else other than family, and as the year crept by and revealed that the Tainn’s had abandoned theirs in turn, he was content to know she would participate in the reunion that was to come.

Or what he had thought was to come. No traces of Corinna were found.. the pack lands were long abandoned, and in turn, Swift River was but a burning memory. A low growl seeped past his lips. The loss of Kinis still clenched at him tightly, and now, losing the lands his youngest brother had known as home.. it seemed unbearable.

“They’re gone,” he muttered quietly, feeling his muscles flex as he paces once more, his nose burying down to the den that had previously harbored the cubs of Swift River. Despite his time away from Relic Lore, every nook breathed familiarity to him.

Everything except the quiet that he had stumbled upon.

(This post was last modified: Sep 04, 2013, 02:00 AM by Phineas.)

Despite the vivid shades of green that painted the forest and the way the canopy's leaves seemed to glow beneath the filtering light, this place was heartbreakingly hollow. The sound of the dirt shifting beneath her paws as she slipped to her mate's side and the slow thrum of his beating heart were very nearly the only sounds to break the eerie silence that hung thickly in the summer air. In her lifetime, she had only seen a glimpse of this place, a view from the other side of a mighty river as she looked past to lay her eyes upon Kinis and Volkan for the first time. Even then, when she was but a nervous girl with a heart that bled for Ruiko, the realm of the river wolves was enchanting; but now, it was as though none of them had ever been here at all.

Her golden eyes looked upon the disappointment forged across Ruiko's dark face.

Though they had all suffered their own losses, she knew that this was one of many that he would bear upon his shoulders. There was a strength in him that was more tenacious than she'd ever seen in any other, yet behind the glimmer of his stoic yellow eyes she saw the years of pain that kept the tears he would never cry at bay. Solemnly, she reached to nudge him along the hard curve of his cheek. "I'm sorry..." Her soft voice, a whisper seeping with a battered hope, echoed against the mossy trunks of the forest's ancient trees.

(This post was last modified: Sep 08, 2013, 07:49 PM by Aeylen.)

He felt her touch, allowing himself to lean toward it slightly as his eyes surveyed the empty lands before him. Barren. Cold. Disbelief coursed through him as he moved forward now, feeling the cold of the ground as if it were sacred; a burial ground. He circled slightly, maneuvering his large figure over to the abandoned den entrance. Swinging his nose inside, the ruffian blinked, allowing his bright golden eyes to adjust to the dark light before taking note of what was left behind.

Nothing.

Moving closer for inspection, the tawny wolf could decipher tufts of silver fur – he could only assume Corinna’s, though her scent had since faded. There was no trace of the den having been sued for birthing, so unless they had done so elsewhere on the territory, they had left before spring.

Backing out in to the light, a grunt escaped the male, his tail giving an idle swing as he thought. Looking back to Aeylen, he felt his features soften. He had promised her their travels were almost over.. but it appeared they were only just beginning. “We need to find them,” he spoke, determination laced in his tone as his eyes looked to his mate pleadingly – it was not his decision alone to make, not anymore, and yet the thought that his family was not alright would not lift its cold grasp from his heart. Nothing was right about this, and once more he looked across the lands of Swift River, his eyes pausing on a rock that jutted out close to the river.. The very same rock that during a friendly spar, Indru had pinned Ruiko momentarily, and upon twisting, his brother had accidently smashed Ruiko’s nose in to that rock.

Indru had long since been gone.. but Ruiko had at least hoped to return to the part of his brother that remained.

As her mate quietly pulled away to further inspect the empty den, her eyes roved over the untouched ground, now layered with scatterings of fallen crimson and orange leaves.

It wasn't hard for Aeylen to believe that Ruiko had once lived here and even shared the land with his brother and the others they were looking for. In her mind she envisioned the life that must have once permeated the dense grove, imagining his swarthy dark figure emerging from among the trees or bathed in moonlight as he kept a night's watch over the den he was currently searching. Lowering her nose to the ground, the tawny regal found little in the way of clues as to what could have motivated them to leave, or which direction they took. Breathing in a shallow breath at Ruiko's words, a quiet sigh left her throat as she turned to face him.

"Where could they have gone?" By now, Corinna and hers could be anywhere. Relic Lore this side of the mountain alone was a vast place, and she wasn't aware that there were settlements over the mountain. Worry twisted in her guy as she held her mate's determined stare; it was hard enough to watch him as he searched for them, harder still when she felt as though she didn't have the knowledge to help or at least guide him in the right direction. Still, she would follow him to the ends of the world if he went, and even after coming all this way to find an abandoned kingdom with little hope in sight, she wasn't yet deterred.

(This post was last modified: Sep 25, 2013, 01:07 AM by Aeylen.)

Aeylen as gracious as ever roamed the den area with him, seeking out any potential hints to their disappearance – or even more, where their new whereabouts could be. His ears gave a gentle flicker in her direction to her words, his eyes blank yet thoughtful. The tawny beast had never considered the possibility of relocation – pending how long ago it was, there seemed to be no trails of misdeed to cause them to leave.. no acts of violence. Not like the brush and blood he had found with Kinis’ scent upon it..

Inhaling sharply, the tawny regal closed the distance between he and his mate, his eyes regarding her quietly now. She was his everything and he would give her the world if he could – but first, they would need to make sure his family was alright. And from there, they would decide what their next step was. Neither of them spoke it, but the resurrection of Copper Rock Creek was not far from his mind.. yet after the winter and losing their last litter, the golden wolf would not push his mate in a direction she did not desire to go.

“I don’t know,” he rumbled with uncertainty, his muscles tensing. Was Corinna alright? What of his nephews and nieces? Triell? Without the knowledge of their whereabouts or wellbeing, the male suddenly became restless, drifting away from the paler side of his mate and pacing now. “Swift River was home.” The words came out darkly, unsure of what abandonment the river deserved. He had left to forge a path of his own in the creation of Copper Rock Creek – but only because Indru would not have done the same, nor would his brother have lived peaceably beneath him.

(This post was last modified: Sep 27, 2013, 12:52 PM by Ruiko.)