Blackberry Fields New and Familiar Sights

She had been determined to stick to the forest, safe in its dense shadows, and with the familiar cold of the mountains seeping down, calming her nerves. Yet a familiar, almost intoxicating, scent had drawn her out into the open. Blackberries! Though uncommon, even at this latitude, Aideen was quite familiar with the fruits, and the bushes that bore them. The den where she was born had been dug under a small thicket of these same scrubs; a family tradition of sorts, and her mother had sought long and stubbornly for them, so far to the north. Such drawn by this smell of home, the rust-brown lass was now slowly trekking out into the open, ears and eyes wide in search of any possible threat. Above, the sky wars dark with heavy clouds, carrying the promise of both rain and thunder. It would be wise to seek shelter soon, she thought to herself, while her legs kept dragging her forwards, hasty as always. Soon. Soon she would turn round and hurry back into the dry security of the forest, but first... As she came upon the first bush her heart swelled, a small sting of longing penetrating her skin, like the thorns. But the pain faded quickly as she inspected the bush, and then, lifting her head, the area around it. Autumn had long claimed most of the berries, but a few, stubborn, black orbs still clung to the branches. In her state of nostalgia, the fruits reminded Aideen of her mother: old and rugged and stubborn, determined to keep fighting, no matter what. Allowing herself this one moment of weakness, the girl sighed and breathed in deeply, relishing in the rich scent of the berries. Word count: 286 <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”

(This post was last modified: Sep 27, 2013, 03:53 PM by Aideen.)

PLOT WITH ME!

Rayne pushed his fear of storms to the side after his fight with Anouke and bounded off towards the mountain that the wolf spoke of. Even if he wasn't speaking the truth, it was impossible for Rayne not at least attempt to verify each and every clue he found that concerned his sister. Yet as he headed to the mountain, his attention was drawn to a new scent, of a new female wolf. Skidding to a stop, Rayne couldn't help but wonder if she knew of the storm that was above them. This was before he remembered he was the only one truly afraid of storms and he was on the search for his sister. Yet...

His eyes wandered to the bush that held the females' scent and as he did, he saw a head peer out from the bush as if to inspect the area for danger before turning her attention to the few berries still clinging to it.

She was smaller then him, that was certain and would hardly prove a threat to Rayne. However, he knew that females had their owns ways of being strong and he dared not barge passed this woman to get to his destination, despite his heart pounding in his chest telling him to do so. The rational side told him that perhaps this fae could help him. Besides, who knew what kind of temper she held? What if she took offense to him rushing by and mistook it for a failed attack of some kind? Rayne certainly didn't want to hurt her. Deciding to speak in order to be noticed, Rayne as calmly as he could, greeted the fae. "Hello there, don't you think it's wise to seek shelter in this kind of weather?" Tilting his head towards the thundering clouds, it seemed the rain that had struck him earlier would strike again.

(This post was last modified: Sep 27, 2013, 03:45 PM by Rayne.)

A jolt went through the flame-shaded lass, when a voice broke through her daze. Deep as she'd been in her memories, she hadn't heard the other wolves approach and was startled by the sudden question. Ears laid back after the scare, the girl lifted her head to look at the stranger, meeting his eyes over the blackberry branches. It was a male, his eyes a vibrant, orange shade, glowing slightly in the dark of the building storm; and he was huge! Aideen had been borne into a family of rather small, scrawny looking wolves. Of course she'd seen big brutes like this guy before, but still a shiver went down her spine. A shiver of excitement; this is EXACTLY why I left home! Something new. Something exciting! <b style="color:#c7470f">"Mhm... Probably. Though it's not raining yet." She spoke in reply to his question, shrugging her shoulders and casting a quick glance at the charcoal sky. Her ears had flipped forwards now, a bright look of interest on her face. Making sure to release any tension still in her body after the initial fright, the she offered the boy a small smile. That's when she noticed his state; <b style="color:#c7470f">"Are you alright?" She asked, more wary now, eyes sliding along his roughed up body. Word count: 210 <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”

OOC: Since none of us know how the fight is gonna turn out yet (?) I just kept it vague ^^

(This post was last modified: Sep 27, 2013, 05:24 PM by Aideen.)

PLOT WITH ME!

Rayne smiled slightly, wagging his tail in a friendly way behind him as the girl appeared to be startled and looked over the berry bush at him. It wasn’t his intention to startle her in anyway and as he felt slight nervousness snake its way into his heart, an apology dropped from his mouth. “I’m terribly sorry for startling you. I…I would have thought you’d heard me coming.” The nervousness caught up with him, causing him to fumble over his words a little. The rumbles continued to threaten every so often over head yet she was calm as her eyes were cast up towards the sky. His eyes followed her gaze and he had to admit, despite his fear of the dark clouds and what came with them, they held a certain beauty to them. His attention was brought away from the clouds when the other obviously spotted his ruffled fur and the small amount of blood that was scattered on his fur. The question asked if he was alright as he turned back to her, the smile he had on his face from before returning. “I’m fine. I…just got into a small scuffle with another wolf. Over nothing really but it did feel like he was just trying to pick a fight with me...” Rayne wondered if he should warn the smaller female about the lone wolf he had just encountered. If he could coax Rayne into a fight, who was normally quite calm and not prone to fighting, it was possible he could pick a fight with anyone and cause injury them should he get lucky enough.


(OOC: Well, all the rolls have been done and the fight's more a scuffle as Rayne managed to get an attack on Anouke, nearly taking out all of his hp and Anouke missed in his attack. ^^ Just waiting for Anokue's reaction really, though they did take a tumble down the hill they were on top of so at this stage, his fur at least may seem a bit ruffled and a little bloody.....)

Ooc: Okie dokie ^^

She couldn't help but chuckle slightly at how clearly flustered the boy seemed to be, as he apologized for scaring her and brushed of her concern. Words tumbled from his maw in rapid order, almost melting together as he briefly described his encounter with the other wolf. Clearly he's fine. Slowly, she moved out from behind the bush to face this stranger probably, sitting herself down on the damp grass across from him; confident that he posed no threat, despite his size. The girlish laughter still ringing in her voice, Aideen aimed to continue the conversation: <b style="color:#c7470f">"Well, I'm happy that you didn't get badly injured." In the following silence she contemplated this wolf her opposer had mentioned, wondering why he would have intentionally provoked the rufous furred boy, who seemed so sweet and calm. Maybe they know each other... She thought, reminding herself that this, quite likable male, was still a stranger. Aiming to change that, she continued: <b style="color:#c7470f">"I hope it's the same with this other wolf... Are you pack mates?" A sneaky question, her mother would say. Hopefully his answer would reveal more about both his personality, his background and how vicious he was as a fighter. The flame-tinted lass snuck another glance at the foreign mans frame, noticing this time the details of his appearance. Other than being large and muscular, and rather ruffled from the aforementioned scuffle, the boy was quite hansom. His features were fine, his body defined and the fur coloration rather appealing; above all the eyes stood out, gleaming with their orange intensity. It was then, when the two's eyes met once more, that she remembered her rudeness; mother would have skinned me if she knew! The rush of embarrassment adding to her regularly hasty speech, she quickly offered: <b style="color:#c7470f">"I'm Aideen by the way." Word count: 300 I'm not stupid <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”

PLOT WITH ME!

His ears pricking at her light chuckle, Rayne felt himself heat up in a blush and was thankful for his thick fur covering it as the girl moved out from the bush. At first glance, she was much smaller and scrawnier than him. Though most wolves were smaller than him, what with him being on the bigger end of the scale. Yet as they meet eyes as she spoke her name, Aideen his bright orange eyes meeting with her warm copper, he knew she wasn't a wolf to tangle with. Intelligence and strength radiated from them and there was a feeling she’d give him a run for his money if they got into a fight. Which he hoped didn’t happen. Though his previous encounter with a lone wolf had ended in an unwanted fight, this woman was kind and appeared amused by his flustering. Other females he knew either found it utterly endearing or were annoyed by it. As of yet, she hadn’t done anything to make him consider her to be distrustful in anyway and though he wanted to continue on his way to the mountain to confirm or deny whether his sister had been there, the lady before him captured his interest.
"A pleasure to meet you Aideen. I'm glad that I’m not hurt as well, I’m not much of a fighter. I’m a Guardian and though I know they need to be able to fight if something occurs, I prefer to try and settle things peacefully." He replied to the rusty female, shuffling his paws as he shifted and set his larger frame onto the ground. At her next question, whether he knew the wolf who provoked him and if he was a packmate, he shook his head. “I have no idea who he is. I was seeking shelter from the storm and at first, I thought he must have been thinking the same thing. I mentioned I was afraid of storm and well, at first he teased me for being scared of them.” Rayne lowered his ears and chuckled nervously. “Yet as we talked, his words became less teasing and more serious. Eventually, after I told him I was looking for my sister, by using her against me, he managed to get under my skin and get me to attack him.” As he finished, he realised he had yet to give his name and chastised himself for being so slow in doing it. “My name is Rayne.” Aideen might find it amusing that his name was connected in some way to the weather that was currently happening in the sky.

Watching him closely, she allowed the boy his time to finish, all the while registering every word and mentally noting the important details. It seemed that his hurry to get the words out were not only a question of embarrassment, but rooted in something deeper. He's afraid of storms. The dame's warm smile grew a tad at this revelation, but her eyes were warm, she wouldn't ridicule him like this stranger had done. More explanation came of the unknown wolf, who must have been quite manipulative to get this kind man to attack him, and then the mention of a sister, who was apparently lost. So you're alone, like me... There was no sadness in the thought. Like any other wolf, Aideen was a social character, but the decision to leave home had been her own. She wanted adventure, and that required wandering about and not committing to a pack; at least for a while. After Rayne's introduction, a stretch of silence ensued, as the reddish fae wanted to make sure he was finished with his tale and had no more to add before her reply. She did note the humor in the similarity of the boy's name and his fear, but suppressed her natural impulse to comment on the subject, figuring that he had been teased enough for one day. Instead, she chose to focus on the sister, and let the previous, unfortunate encounter ebb to the past; <b style="color:#c7470f">"Nice to meet you too Rayne, you seem to have a good attitude." This was in reference to his mention of handling conflict peacefully, an approach that Aideen tended to prefer as well; when her temper didn't blur her sense. <b style="color:#c7470f">"You say your sister is lost..? How, if I may ask, and is there any way I can help?" She felt for Rayne, thinking of her own siblings and how she missed them, and at the same time she envisaged adventure, like she so craved. Word count: 324 I'm not stupid <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”

PLOT WITH ME!

"W-well, thank you I suppose." As Rayne dipped his head at the compliment, the question on how his sister was lost and the offer to help made his face twist into a strange mix of sadness and gratefulness. "Well, don’t you have your own plans for coming here though? and it’s a bit of a long story really..." As the words trailed off, there were a few moments of silence as he wondered if he should speak about his sister as he curled his tail around his body. On the other paw, he had just meet this wolf and as likeable and trustworthy Aideen seemed to be, he had no idea whether or not how truly helpful she could be. Not to mention he didn’t want to inconvenience her. On one paw, Aideen had offered to help him find her and two wolves could gather more information and more land than one wolf could do on his own. Plus, to have someone to travel with would be nice. It had been a long time he had enjoyed spending time with anyone. "But to cut it short, I left my pack with our other littermate, Luna, after our father died. After several months, we got into a disagreement and we split ways. I made my way back to my pack while Luna continued on her way to find her own pack. When I arrived back, my mother told me my other sister, the one I’m looking for-Her name is Senka by the way-had been kicked out of the pack and I grew concerned for her. We were nearly inseparable as pups and after a few weeks, I had to find her to make sure she was alright.”

She listened respectfully as the russet wolf told his story, tri-colored head cocked slightly to the side in a show of attention. The smile had vanished from her face, her affable expression replaced by one of warm sympathy, and her tail had curled around her side; the tip twitching lightly. Meanwhile, her heart was speeding up, as the mystery unfolded before her, every word sparking more thoughts in her head. When Rayne' s tale finished, the fox-like lady shifted slightly on the spot before answering, taking care to use proper tone and not let herself overwhelm with the growing excitement in her body, this was a serious matter after all. <b style="color:#c7470f">"I don't have a specific plan." She began, replying to his initial question, <b style="color:#c7470f">"Though I was thinking of heading east, those mountains intrigue me." Lifting her head, she pointed her cream tainted snout at the horizon where the mountaintops were just visible above the trees. The she returned her gaze to the red-brown lad, shrugging her shoulders to show that the idea was not vital to her. Then there was another pause, red and orange wolves studying each other, probably both wondering what the other was thinking right then. Finally Aideen spoke again, deciding to cut to the chase; <b style="color:#c7470f">"If you do want my help, I will be more than happy to give it. If nothing more, at least I can keep an eye out for Senka on my own travels, and tell her that you are looking for her..?" She paused to breath, searching the opposing man's eyes for any reaction to what she'd just said. And then she couldn't keep a fresh smile from sneaking onto her face, adding in a voice that was live with her adventurous nature; <b style="color:#c7470f">"After all, two wolves can always achieve more than one!" Word count: 301 I'm not stupid <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”

PLOT WITH ME!

When it was mentioned she was thinking of heading east to the mountain, Rayne’s ears perked. “I’m heading that way myself. There were no real mountains near our pack and if I know my sister, if she saw them she’d want to climb them.” There was no mention of the wolf he fought speaking of seeing his sister being there and despite the fact it was highly likely the wolf had told him lies, something told him to check the mountains out anyway. He just wanted to make sure. “I have to agree, two wolves are able to do more than one on his own.” Rayne conceded at her exclamation and he couldn’t stop the chuckle that emerged from hearing the energy in Aideen’s voice. He still felt somewhat guilty in burdening her with the search of his sister but he couldn’t deny the logic behind her words nor could he fault her for wanting to help. He would do the same thing, if given the opportunity. “Though if you do find her before me, she might not trust you out right and ask you how you know me.” Rayne tilted his head to the side as he thought before a grin worked its way onto his face. “I know! If by chance you two meet without me, remember to tell her that I love ferns. She’ll understand what that means.” t was a secret code for the two, as a mouse by the name of Fern had gathered the herbs that saved him as a child. ”Just keep in mind there’s a fair chance she’s not around here, though I hope she is. All I know of where she was heading was south of where we lived in the pack.