Whisper Caverns Whisper Caverns Pack Thread

Inali couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her maw as Malia chased after the rabbit and tripped. "Get back up love," she encouraged genuinely. She wanted to see how far the pups could go before they decided to give up. If they gave up, that is. She had a strong feeling that they wouldnt.

Warm blue eyes strayed from the playful duo and landed upon the pup that was currently headed her way. A smile immediately appeared on her features as Yuka reached her and butted his muzzle against her leg in a sign of greeting. He was growing bigger every day, and that pleased her immensely. He was still a quiet boy from what she had witnessed in the previous months, but he would talk when he felt the time was right. He was intelligent.

As Yuka laid down, she bent her head to his level. Her eyes were trained on him, but her ears were cocked toward Malia and Titan, alert for any sign of danger. Offering her own silent greeting, Inali nuzzled her muzzle against Yuka's soft fur in an affection gesture. Turning her head back to the scene of Titan and Malia, Inali laid her head on her paws in content.

OOC: @Yuka , @Malia (I want Nari to have a talk with her pups don't worry about post length here. More so them talking things through)
12/21/2013

IC: She was resting within her packs main den. They had a small amount of food left within the caches but the small amount of it scared the woman. She had only seen a packs caches this low back when she was with Willow Ridge during the tag end of winter. However her pack was just going into winter with such a low food supply. Nari was well rested now after a few days to herself and her pups. She really wanted to focus on finding Sloane. However the fact that so many bad things had happened to the pack while she was gone kept the silver hunter from leaving herself to look for him. Her pups needed her here... and not traipsing about across Lore.

But I still need to look for him somehow... Send Inali out as a scout to look for him maybe.. I don't know.. the thought crossed her mind that she might not be able to simply tell Inali to leave and try to find her mate. Inali would probably gladly go, but the full decision to send out the scout would fall on Minka.

That was the other problem. Narime had been so used to following others. Even as she led Whisper Caverns she was simply following what Sloane was doing. The gray female had never realized if she really wanted dominance like many others wolves craved. Did she want to be the one telling others what to do? Or did she want to stay following those above her?

This was something Narime was struggling to comprehend. So far she couldn't disagree with anything Minka had done while ruling in her absence. She was a natural leader unlike Narime. The only problem was that it was only alpha's who had and took most of the care of pups. Nari's pups had been taken care of by Minka while she was gone. Now Nari wanted to be mother to them again and lead them through this very possibly sad time.

"Malia, Yuka, Titan!? Come to me my little one's!" Nari called letting her voice bellow out from the den into their territory. She needed them to be near her. She needed their comfort right now. She needed them to tell her she was doing the right thing.

(This post was last modified: Dec 22, 2013, 03:04 AM by Narimé.)

The young boy had come to accept that Minka and the new male led them. Sloane had left them, leaving Yuka’s mind in an even darker place than before. The new male was dark colored, but he seemed stronger, though not as big as his father had been. None the less, from what he had glimpsed at, the guy knew what he had been doing, as if he had ruled before, but the Thorben knew that it wasn’t over Whisper Cavern’s lands. One day he wanted to approach the strong man, perhaps he would be kinder and much more loyal than his own father, who had left without word. Even though he had accepted his mother’s return, he could not bring himself to go near her. He had adjusted to the way things were around the territory and respected Minka and the other man’s rule. Truthfully, Yuka would not mind learning some new things from their new alpha. Maybe Yuka would actually get some attention from him, instead of his sibling always hogging up all of his parents’ attention. With a shy, he banished the thoughts and stared at the caves in front of him, once again fascinated by their beauty. When the familiar voice of his mother called out to him and his siblings, he scowled at the empty air in front of him. What did Narimé want? Turning on his heel he walked in the direction that his mother had called him and found her, lying down. Approaching her, with his head held high and tail waving behind him, he cleared his throat and spoke clearly, <b style="color:#2cb79f">”What is it, Miss Narimé?” The young prince had to remind himself that his mother was no longer the queen of this land, and though his comment might have been a bite in the behind, he didn’t mind. His mother had gone for far too long and it was about time that he knew why, so narrowing his amber eyes with teal flecks near the pupil, he spoke again before his siblings would arrive, <b style="color:#2cb79f">”Why were you gone for so long?”

Thank you TABs

When Yuka appeared Nari was surprised. He did not approach her. Instead asked why he was summoned. It almost brought a tear to her eye. Blinking hard Narime wondered..Why can't he just be happy to see me? Couldn't the child see how close she was on the verge of collapse? Instead she hardened her heart and listened to his question. It was a good one, yes Yuka always had the best questions.

"I know I shouldn't need to ask for forgiveness from you. Instead just hear me out and listen... You were always the best at listening little one..." Oh god... she wanted so badly to simply tug the boy close and cuddle with him. To be near her family once more.

That wasn't how wolves worked though. In a pack the alpha took care of the pups while the others cared for the territory and some hunting duties. Minka was technically their new mother now, and this fact brought out a deep longing in Nari; though she wasn't sure what she was longing for.

"Shade Slayer was a good friend of mine from when I used to live in Willow Ridge pack. Both he and I had left to create our own packs in the Spring. During the summer one of his scouts had come to our borders asking for a meeting between himself and I so that we could ally our packs together." She started answering unsure if Yuka would understand everything she was saying.

"I scheduled a meeting with him but Shade never showed up. That was some time ago now." She paused for a moment. "Allying with other packs could save you and your siblings if anything bad ever happened to our pack. If we need certain healing herbs that don't grow near us, if another pack starts a fight with us, or if someone is missing; we can ask our allies for help." She explained the good things for allying a pack. "Anyway. So I decided to go to Shade's pack to find out what had happened." She looked across the den to the cave's entrance not knowing that the hurt was plainly showing on her face. "It was only supposed to take a week at most, but all the storms that hit during my journey. I got lost more than once in them too." She growled annoyed at herself for having made her young worry so much for her. "I found his pack in shambles... The pack we were supposed to ally with to help both our families... Their few members were able to tell me that Shade had been killed, and before I left the pack seemed as if it were breaking a part already. I couldn't help them or Shade's pups. He.. he was like a brother to me.. I never had any siblings but him...." She wondered if Karpos was alive right now. Shade's death hurt both him and the silver she wolf. She had really loved that man as if he were her older brother. Even if they argued sometimes she had always looked up to him. She also felt angry for Karpos as he was so young to have gone through all the hardships the dark boy had faced.

Tears rolled down her face. Nari never wanted to see her own pups looking like that. "On the way back the snow storms began to hit. I barely made it over the mountain pass to you." She finally finished letting the tears roll down her muzzle. She sniffed once but kept herself from whining or crying out loud. All she wanted now was her family again.

"Please.. I won't be stupid again... I'm young too and I still make mistakes, but I won't leave you ever without saying anything about it. You have to understand that. I may have to leave for pack work but I WILL ALWAYS come back. I never meant to be gone for that long. Please Yuka forgive me..." She didn't want him to hate her. Not when she had only been doing this for them, for the pack so that they could have a better chance at surviving.

Titan was traveling back through the territory surveying the borders quietly. Today however he just didn't feel like crawling over the border and looking around anywhere. He was more interested in food now. Hungry as always the growing child couldn't find anything to snack on throughout their own territory. No deer carcasses or slow rabbits to chase. For once he was angry and couldn't understand why.

Perhaps he was angry at himself, or at the way two new wolf scents had distributed their scents around the territory without him knowing who they even were. Then there was the fact that Titan could not find his father anywhere. The male had disappeared just like his mother, although she warned the pack of her reason for leaving.

All in all the dark Thorben was angry with no way to vent, and to top it off he was hungry with nobody bringing him food to eat.

His thoughts turned blank when the howl reached his shadowed crown. His mother was calling.

"Mom... Mom's back?" He had evaded his caretaker Tokino that day the silver wolf had returned. So Titan did not even realize that she was back. The anger that he had before now turned into something sour. He wasn't sure what the feeling was. A feeling of hopelessness perhaps?

Quickly Titan turned and ran as fast as he could back to the cavern. When he got there Yuka had already made his appearance, on time as usual which quite annoyed Titan. Why did Yuka always have to act so perfect most of the time? Like he was too good to join in when he and Malia played. Then he would speak down on Titan's actions whenever the dark child did anything that was slightly wrong.

However his smoldering gaze passed to Narime as the pup padded to the edge of the caves mouth. She looked tired still and different somehow. As if she had lost all that pride and grace he had remembered her having. He had not arrived early enough to hear his brothers question to mother. Instead only hearing the tag end of her reply.

"I found his pack in shambles... The pack we were supposed to ally with to help both our families... Their few members were able to tell me that Shade had been killed, and before I left the pack seemed as if it were breaking a part already. I couldn't help them or Shade's pups. He.. he was like a brother to me.. I never had any siblings but him...."

Titan stood at the edge of the cave his head tilted inward as he hid and listened.

"On the way back the snow storms began to hit. I barely made it over the mountain pass to you."

The dark Thorben's eyes glittered in the shadows. She had a reason to leave... Why is she explaining herself to Yuka? He wondered quietly. Another thought crossed his mind. It was him imagining a large mountain pass and wondering how much snow had fallen there.

"Please.. I won't be stupid again... I'm young too and I still make mistakes, but I won't leave you ever without saying anything about it. You have to understand that. I may have to leave for pack work but I WILL ALWAYS come back. I never meant to be gone for that long. Please Yuka forgive me..." That was when Titan blew his fuse. Righting himself the gray misted boy trotted stiff legged into the main room where Narime his mother and Yuka sat. He looked over his mother confused for a moment at how small she looked. Then he realized that he must have grown taller while she was gone.

Still fizzling from the earlier anger Titan waved his tail stiffly looking at his mother.

"Don't apologize for anything. Just get up and do your job, and you know what... " Titan glared at her with a low held head and annoyed tail flicking low beside his back legs. Then his gaze switched to Yuka. "If there's anyone we should be angry with it's father. It's not like he ever TOLD anybody he was leaving..." He shook his fur annoyed with the way everyone was acting. How Yuka sat there all impudent and such and how his mother looked so frail, disheartened, and down. He hated seeing his family like this. Knowing there wasn't much he could do about it made Titan even more angry with himself. He cast a glare at Yuka daring his brother to mess with him. "You know where uncle Kino went?" he asked Yuka impatiently hoping the older male wasn't nearby. He didn't feel like being dragged off by the older male and sat on for leaving before his other punishment was over.

WHISPER Caverns

Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Accept no defeat, surrender retreat...

Malia woke from her nap when she heard her mother's call and bounded towards the voice. When she had reached there it was certainly a scene to behold. The Thorben girl heard only the tail end of the story, but that was not what was worrying her. She did not care where her mother went, only that she was back. The look on her younger brother's face caused anger to roll inside of her, threatening to burst forth in a flurry of claws and teeth. The look he was giving Narime... It was not a soft one. The face that looked so much like her brother's was arrogant and cold, so unlike the gentle, boring brother Malia had once known. She liked him better the other way.

Minka had stolen Narime's rightful place as Queen of Whisper Caverns. The girl avoided her new leader like the plague any chance she got. Frequently her thoughts ventured to what if's and could have's. What if Sloane was still here? Everything could have still been normal. But reality caved in on everything, pushing the realization that nothing would ever be the same. Narime would not fight for her spot; this revelation came to her now. Her mother was too gentle and kind to fight against a packmate, a loyal one at that, in order to lead without her mate by her side. Selfish musings came to her- was she the princess of Whispr Caverns now if her parents had disappeared or backed down? How could she face the others like this? A growl emerged from the back of her throat as she thought of Asriel and the pups of other packs who thought of themselves so highly.

This was for another time, another day. Walking from the side, perpendicular to where Yuka was standing, the girl sent a fiery glare straight towards him before making a beeline for her mother. The Thorben girl pushed her head into her mother's side again, reveling in the warmth and familiarity in such an uncertain time. "Speech"

(This post was last modified: Dec 23, 2013, 08:01 PM by Malia.)

Technically, you can have two different things happening in two different places right now...sort of.

He watched his mother almost flinch away from him, as if he had actually bit her. The young male noted quietly in his mind that he had deeply hurt Narimé as per her teary eyes. None the less, the youngest – yet smartest – son did not back down, his amber eyes with flecks of teal near the center blazing with a strong fire. She would explain herself, and she did. The boy listening attentively, his ears pricked forward at the sound of his mother’s voice. He had to remind himself that she was always the one that had stuck by him and that this was why her leaving had affected him so deeply. But then he had to remember that he was much more independent now and though he still depended on his pack to help him through development, he didn’t need just one specific wolf to do so, even if that wolf just so happened to be his biological mother. Through her tail, he kept an open mind, nodding every once and awhile and snapping his gaze towards his brother when he heard movement behind him. Just as he was about to speak though, Titan interrupted with his usual rudeness. The youngest Thorben’s heart filling with angry for his brother’s own arrogance. All he cared about was not getting caught by his babysitter for being lost. Restraining himself from shaking his head at his older brother, he turned his gaze back towards Narimé, not missing the glare that Titan sent is way. He was going to make a few things clear to his mother and then he was going to take his leave. Letting his gaze soften towards his mother, he dipped his head in signing with her for forgiveness…but his voice, well, was clear and precise…and probably…not so kind. <b style="color:#2cb79f">”I’m glad you realized that you made a mistake…but keep in mind that when Sloane returns, he will not be welcomed with open paws…unlike you have,” even though he wasn’t being completely nice to his father, he didn’t particularly care. He had just up and left without and word and that was not alright, at all. He noticed briefly that Malia had come in, no doubt hearing his words as he caught the glare that she sent his way. This was why he didn’t want their company; he realized, all they ever did was think at the standard level and do stupid things. He knew that Malia and Titan had gotten lost more than once and needed help, but him? As of yet Yuka had kept the perfect record. If he left the territory, he usually came back within the same day and with efficient timing. It was really a shame that he couldn’t have siblings like Sköll or Asriel. Never would Yuka vocalize this to his siblings though, in fear that they would be upset, something he did not handle well. Muttering to himself about how foolish his siblings were being, he flicked his tail high above his back and setting back towards he had come, probably going to seek the guidance of @Inali , of whom he had grown close to since he had opened his eyes.

Yuka's exit from them.

Thank you TABs

Narime had always been on a quest. For most of her life she had wanted only to please others and to prove to them what her worth was. However now as her pups surrounded her Nari wanted nothing more than to please them.

To prove to them that she was strong.

In all her life she had never felt that craving to prove herself so strong as she did now. Her gaze fell on Yuka, strong smart Yuka who dipped his head then answered her plea for forgiveness.

”I’m glad you realized that you made a mistake…but keep in mind that when Sloane returns, he will not be welcomed with open paws…unlike you have,”

Her heart wanted to snarl out that he was wrong, that Sloane was always welcomed back. She was his mate and that loyalty was what kept her anchored silently to the earthen floor. But he's right too.. Narime realized that logically most of the rest of her pack would object to his return if Sloane was not injured or scarred badly from something that might have happened to make him disappear. I'm older yet Yuka's the one teaching me... How pathetic... a sad feeling gripped her while the she wolf bent her head down slightly to lick Malia's ear. A small part of her heart was settled by Malia and Titan's continued presence. However as Yuka turned to leave she wanted nothing more than to have her youngest nestled beside her.

That craving came back again.

She wanted to prove herself, but how was she to do that now? Yuka was already gone so she couldn't ask him what he wanted her to do.

Turning to look at the two left before her Nari posed them a question while sniffing and wiping the tears from her face with a silver paw.

"How do I make you proud of me? What should I do to prove myself to you three?" she asked glancing between Malia and Titan hoping that they would answer her and not simply walk away.

Shock passed over the girl's features as her brother spoke of their father. How could he say such things? Surely their father- the great leader of Whisper Caverns- would be accepted with open arms? Maybe the other packmates wouldn't like it at first, but the siblings would make them see... But Yuka was speaking as if he believed it. Confusion passed over the girl's features as she watched him walk away, disappearing quickly as if retreating from a battle zone. What has he turned into? the amber-eyed girl wondered to herself, before turning her gaze to her mother. Was Yuka abandoning them in his own way? Malia teased him, and was probably meaner than a bigger sister might need to be, but she thought all along that Yuka understood that it was not coming from a truly mean spirit. Maybe he was more sensitive than she had ever thought beforehand- but she could never apologize for wrongs she hadn't committed.

Nevertheless, one does not turn back on family. And that was exactly what Yuka was doing, and Malia did not know if he could ever forgive that unless he returned to his old self. Looking into her mother's tear-filled eyes made everything clear to the girl. She would need to talk to Yuka sometime and make him see what he was doing, tearing their poor mother's heart to pieces and leaving them in the dust. She was a gentle spirit, a kind soul... how could he ever do something like this?

Stepping forwards, Malia embraced her mother, an action she found she was doing frequently these days after her return. "I am always proud of you, momma." the small girl replied with a smile. "But Yuka doesn't get it.. that you had to go. I don't think anyone does.... Maybe if you became leader again he would see." If Narime regained leadership of the pack from Minka, everything could go back to normal. They would be the heirs to the Whisper Caverns throne and Yuka would realize his mistakes. "Speech"

(This post was last modified: Jan 02, 2014, 01:19 AM by Malia.)

”I’m glad you realized that you made a mistake…but keep in mind that when Sloane returns, he will not be welcomed with open paws…unlike you have,”

This statement Titan actually agreed with. His muzzle smoothed out releasing the snarl that the dark boy had held only moments ago. Then Titan watched his brother leave with solemn eyes. Why'd everything have to go to crap? He wondered quietly watching the brother he had adored for so long. In a lot of ways Titan had thought that he was closer to his brother than Malia, but after this meeting Titan wasn't sure who his brother was anymore. At least he didn't understand where Yuka's mind was progressing to.

Turning his head at the words of his mother Titan looked to see her almost crumbled to the floor. She was asking him a question that Titan wasn't sure on how to answer.

"I am always proud of you, momma." Titan's blue gaze watched his sister reply with a smile. "But Yuka doesn't get it.. that you had to go. I don't think anyone does.... Maybe if you became leader again he would see." He chuffed at that comment. Titan was sure that whatever Yuka had thought up with the silvered brother would stand behind stubbornly. Even his mother becoming leader again wouldn't change the dark Thorben's male littermate.

"Well if you do try to be leader again at least he won't be allowed to protest if you do let father back in." as much as Titan wasn't sure bringing their father back would help anything. Especially if the male had left without a good reason. However as he turned to look at his sister Titan could see just how much she missed their father. She had been Sloane's little princess. The shadowy boy wondered how depressed Malia may get if their father never returned.

"...but like Malia said we're all proud of you. Though if you acted a little more like Tokino with his stupid dominance stance and eyes and crap the rest of the pack might be a little more proud of you. I mean it worked for him since he's not lowest anymore right?" He scoffed at his uncle's name. The male was just like the tom turkey Titan had gone up against while he had been lost. Looking good, being bossy, and cutting him down till fear showed in his blue eyes. I won't be beat down for so long Uncle Turkey. One day I'll be the one making fear show in your eyes. Titan had promised himself that.

The thought reminded him of his platinum uncle. There was no doubt that the gray male would come into the den soon to rest after doing chores, and Titan didn't want to be here when Kino came back. He wondered if his mother felt like taking a walk or something.

"Hey mom wanna show us some hunting moves or something?" He asked prancing around the mouth of their den hoping she would want to leave the cave for just a little while. If she didn't want to leave then he would go out himself and stalk around the territory alone for a while. Maybe it would help him vent his frustrations.

(Exit Titan)

WHISPER Caverns

(This post was last modified: Jan 03, 2014, 11:00 PM by Titan.)

Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Accept no defeat, surrender retreat...