make this path mine

All welcome, but a join request.

Nios had slipped in and out of the lands of Relic Lore – each time he had left, he would swear to explore a bit further, to see what else the world could offer him. Yet each time, he would long to return to the lands he truly called home, and would find himself upon the outskirts, always looking in, longing.

Mirren had settled in a pack without consulting him – it stung, that his brother had decided he needed no input from his littermate, and while the ebony yearling missed him desperately, he also held no regrets of his decision to remain. When he chose a home, he wanted some say on where it would be and with what pack.

Of course, winter had made this process require a swifter decision. His thinning frame was making him weaker each day, and he realized with fear that he was seeing less and less of any potential hunting opportunities. He might have wanted to wait for an epiphany of how he wanted to live his life, but he soon realized time was not on his side, and he needed a home now.

Finding himself on Willow Ridge borders, the young Tainn realized this was his opportunity to do such – and hopefully, find a home that had a well stored cache. Keeping himself a respectful distance away, he awaited, feeling the light snow fall upon his pelt in chilled silence. Uncertain if he should call, somehow, Nios felt it rude to demand the attention of the inhabitants. So he sat. And he waited, as the sun began to descend against the horizon and the sky shifted from pale grey to a stormy blue. Still it snowed… winter was upon them.

'cause its home, but it's gone

I was gonna wait for Elettra or someone else to post, but Sema has no posts and nothing to respond to :/

Her sleek and multicolored pelt had blended into the trees and surroundings during autumn, but with winter fast approaching and snow sticking to the ground she felt out of place. She had been going along the borders, finding it in her nature to stick a bit closer to home during the cold fronts. She had always looked to hide in the shadows, just as the way she was raised as well. So she had confused herself, how could she find herself out of place with winter. Winter had more darkness, the darkness becoming the essence of shadows, the nights were longer. Perhaps she was over thinking it, lets face it, she was over thinking it. Her thoughts were like decant liquids, fluidly pouring from one area to another, a thought to a thought at a time.

Her mind snapped back into focus of what was ahead of her. Her mind had been rather disheveled lately, but she had slowly started to reorganize it. Fact from fiction. The borders around her, fact. She was doing a patrol, as she knew that though she was a scout, she had to help out whenever she could on the home front. Guiness, whom she saw as the lead guardian, was loyal at that. Though others did border runs, she saw him as the one who did all the work and he needed a break sometimes. She had been gone for a long while, she had to make it up to her pack.

She had been doing her borders when she could have sworn to Artemis that there was a scent in the area, one that she was unfamiliar with. <b style="color:#2897ed;">"Who goes there?" She called out with a stiff, yet nonviolent voice before she could even see the man, or boy. She came into the line of sight with the boy. A yearling, ebony fur, she gave a frown. He was scrawny and definitely a loner. She figured that there would not be many loners to deal with, especially with the snow tempting a moderate winter at least. <b style="color:#2897ed;">"Your near the borders of Willow Ridge, I suppose there is a purpose for your presence?" She demanded answers.

Table by PuppyThief
STOCK: ALP-stock @ DA & Dawnthieves.de

Look Out!

Water is beginning to freeze and some fish are trapped. Hunt Opportunity

For the past several weeks all Guiness had been doing was looking after Tempest, her injuries finally seemingly getting better. Winter was fast approaching though and the large tank worried about his sister’s health more than anything. Even though he was loyal, the wolf was not one that liked to sit around for very long with nothing to do. So while his sister seemed to be resting, Guiness slipped out from his post and made his way towards the borders. Even if he did leave his dear Tempest for a moment it wouldn’t affect her too much, he was sure that Skana was in the pack den somewhere and if Tempest did need immediate attention she would be the better bet than him. Sometimes he even thought his dear twin would fake sleep so that he could sneak away for a little while for his own alone time.

Nothing had alerted him that anything was wrong with the borders but his old routine was hard to shake and he loyally followed his old path along their borders, his large body moving effortlessly through the familiar area. Snorting lowly, he raised his head slightly when he caught sight of Semananti. Neither of them had the time to talk to one another, as their duties usually conflicted but the woman was one of the few friends he had gained since he had been in the Lore, which had been quite a long time since the first day he had arrived. Ever since he had joined Willow Ridge he had been home bound and only went out of his way to leave the territory every so often. There was however, another there that he did not recognize and the Vigilante narrowed his eyes at the younger wolf. It was obvious that Guiness towered over him with his tank-like size. He had not met many that even challenged his size and strength, but looking down at the young man, he could still tell that he had some developing to do….now onto why he was on their borders?

Pillar of Strength

She could not prevent the growling irritation which bubbled within the back of her throat, seeping out into the patchy forestry as her maw parted for an extended breath of cold, bitter air. Her plans to venture over the mountains with two of her companions had been foiled long ago, leaving her yet still in a bitter mood to the weather which stopped her. She had intention to go out but a week after the meeting. See to it that Angier would take care of their leadership while she was gone. See to it that Tempest was fairing well enough with a hope that she may survive. And, of course, to see to it that her children (mostly Asriel, who had mentioned a longing to go with her) stayed within the lands of Willow Ridge whilst she was gone. Now, they were all stuck. Surely @Narcissa was perturbed about not being able to travel and @Calla equally as sad that she would have to wait finding out of her sister until spring. @Asriel, no doubt, would feel as though this was lucky. That perhaps now that they would have to wait until spring anyhow, he would then be able to join them.
Now with her will for the journey made to be set aside, her consideration went out to her members and their survival. It had not been this cold last year. The snows had not swelled this high last year. Food, had not been this scarce last year.... The herds, as far as she knew, had not been seen nor heard of since their last pack hunt. Now, though the Willow wolves had done well to prepare themselves for the winter and @Angier insured her there was 'nothing to worry over', Elettra took into consideration all manners of prey, even that which she normally would not place her interest and effort into: mice, bugs, snakes, and even other predators. Even now as she passes the freezing creeks of trickling water, does she take curtain interest to the small fish frozen and trapped there. She would steal one away for herself, eating it quick and efficiently as well as taking reminder that they were here and to collect more at a later time. It was not like they were going anywhere.... Because for now, Elettra's interest pulled to the scene at her borders. As she draws near, a pair of her subordinates had already done well to access the situation and she pridefully makes her own arrival. "Elettra Archer, Leader of the Ridge. And you are, pup?" She speaks, pale eyes locked upon him in wait for answer.

Lightning.. Guiness actually doesn't tower over Nios? It shows he's actually shorter than him. Which means your large wolf dimensions are off for height.

A voice called out to him – it hadn’t taken too long for his presence to be noted, and this pleased him. The she-wolf came to view then – a harsh looking thing with a face that proudly boasted battle upon it. His eyes regarded her quickly, soon to flicker to her paws before he lowered himself now. As an intruder so close to their lands, it seemed the natural thing to do. He had witnessed his father push many obnoxious lone wolves to submission upon his land in the past, he was not so foolish to believe another would not do the same to him should he not give them the respect they deserved.

It was like they melted from the shadows at that point. Another joined them, his pelt a fiery hue just as the she-wolf’s. Nios might have been taller than him, but not by much.. and that was where the comparison ended. Thick muscle could be seen rippling beneath the male’s pelt, while he was much longer than the yearling. He was a behemoth, but not nearly as large as his father.

His eyes then shifted to another oncomer, this one entirely regal in appearance. It was her scent that stood primarily from the others, and the young Tainn knew this was the wolf he had to impress. He cringed inwardly at the reference to pup, his teeth finding their way to his tongue to keep it in check. He would not be disrespecting the lady of the lands. “Nios Tainn, a rogue. I seek to offer my services to this pack and call it home, if you'll have me.” His voice rumbled out against the winter silence, his eyes darting between the three sets of paws that stood before him. His judgement was here now.

(This post was last modified: Dec 23, 2013, 12:08 PM by Nios.)

'cause its home, but it's gone

Guiness arrived, then Elettra, and suddenly it was a party. As soon as Guiness had arrived, she let her tail tuck lower than his, then as Elettra arrived, Sema dropped her tail lower. She gave Elettra a respectful lick on the chin and she knew the situation was now for Elettra to handle. Another rouge looking for a home for the winter season, or a little longer. Whichever it was, he was a boy, a yearling. However, yearlings were strong sometimes too despite the bad vibe she associated it with. She associated yearling with naive, a trait that she herself found a disgust for. There were few who had proven her wrong, one of the huntresses of Artemis she had traveled with had been a mighty yearling.

She was the only one to prove Sema wrong. But Sema saw a bit of promise in the boy. Strong muscles and a good frame for fighting and hunting. Sema heard the boy request his home, he was respectful enough to be a pack mate. But whether Elettra saw these things, that was yet to be determined. She stayed silent, though it was evident she was lost in examining this wolf. Every joiner that she had been there for, when they joined, she examined them. a small smile pursed her muzzle as she waited for Elettra to decide. He was decent as far as she could tell. But she knew nothing about him, she would decide what she thought of him if she got to know him more. That was, if Elettra accepted him.

Table by PuppyThief
STOCK: ALP-stock @ DA & Dawnthieves.de

Oops! My apologizes. I looked at some conversions I made and accidentally made a mistake! Thanks for letting me know. Also...Vami, since I haven't gotten to this post yet, but I'm definitely going to put it IN the post. Nina will tell El that the Tainn siblings are back in the Lore...so technically El should already know about it! <3

The Guard surveyed the stranger, confusion crossing through him when he was sure that he somewhat recognized the boy, yet Guiness was sure that he had never crossed paths with this yearling before. It was something about his eyes and his coloring, but after a few moments of studying the largely built boy, who could probably end up matching him in height, he realized what had caught him off guard. The boy looked slightly like Kasai Kage, who had all but disappeared from the pack many months ago. It had caused the Vigilante to assume that something had happened to the male, because he had not seemed to be one to disappear or disappoint…as well as the fact that winter had approached far more quickly than normal. If this had been so it would have been foolish to leave Willow Ridge behind, and Guiness knew full well that Kasai wasn’t a fool.

When he sensed a strong presence behind him, he did not need to glance back to immediately know who it was. Elettra had always carried a strong air around her and it was one of the many things that he had needed to compel him here. Lowering his posture slightly in a sign of respect for his dearest Lady, he watched her stroll forward and she spoke. Guiness was pretty sure it didn’t take the other boy very long to figure out who the real leader of the pack was and the brute had no problem in letting Elettra take care of this encounter. None the less, Guiness listened attentively, his suspicions that this boy, Nios he called himself, was related to Kasai diminished greatly. However, had the man had the knowledge of Kasai’s real name then there wouldn’t have been any misconception that they were indeed related. Turning to his lady, he watched her reaction and listened to her verdict.

Pillar of Strength

Her tail swayed to the lick of her lesser, her eyes darting firstly to Semananti and then to Guiness, two very faithful members of her pack, a scout and a guardian. They had both arrived here before her and this Elettra could take to consideration, meaning they were doing their jobs and correctly. The youth's words were well enough spoken and Elettra's silver attention catches her subordinates once more for reaction: Guiness still manner, Sema's slight smile. Once more then the attention fell fully upon Nios.
"A Tainn? How come it is that you are at my doorstep and do not seek the River wolves?" After all, the Swift River wolves had been lead by a Tainn and his mate, Corinna. She figured a family member might seek them out though perhaps he had intent to avoid them? She did not know Ruiko's plans in these lands, though had only thought that perhaps his children would follow in his footsteps when it came to finding a home. Already Elettra knew one of the brother's branched out to her pack and now this son had come to her own. Elettra had all but forgotten Ruiko, where Phineas had left a far harsher wound and Angier now stood atop. "And what are these services you are capable of?" She speaks, moving a few steps move into the male's direction as she accessed him. "I expect Ruiko has taught you well?" She did not expect anything less from the man, who was stubborn, strong and held a bit of a more harsh air. Her words for the most part were to allow the male to know that she did indeed, know his father.

He could see from the peripheral of his eyes as the dark lady glanced to her comrades – whether they exchanged a private message or she was merely affirming their own reactions, Nios could not be sure lest he dare to glance upon her fully – if anything, his father had taught him the proper submission of a wolf, even just by taking in Ruiko’s expectations of strangers upon their doorstep.

So he remained dutifully still, listening to the silence stretch for only a brief moment before she spoke again. His surname was known by her, and unlike his stoical father, the boy could not help but blink in mild surprise. Even more surprising was that the she-wolf knew exactly who his father was, despite his countless aunts and uncles.

“The River wolves are strangers to me as much as you are,” he rumbled, hoping the simple statement explained enough. They were family, but that did not mean he knew them.. nor that he was welcome by them. “My father and mother taught me a great deal of things,” he offered, his shoulders lifting in a small shrug. “My father particularly enjoyed sparring, and it is a skill I would like to continue to work on.” He was young, and by no means perfect. “I have a good eye for hunting tactics and for scouting.” There was a small pause, his eyes shifting to study her paws. Somehow, within the presence if the three strangers, he felt inadequate. “And while I set off from my home to seek a place in this world, I do not give my loyalty lightly. I am a Tainn, and I will do everything for my pack.”

'cause its home, but it's gone