did you hear something?

For @Karpos, whenever you have time!
RE: A rumble can be heard coming from Mountain of Dire.

Quick had found the easiest way to ease the pain of her cold, cold toes was to walk and walk until she could no longer feel them. It was better for them to be numb than to pinch with every step she took on the frozen ground. Luckily the border patrol kept her on said paws and it was an effective way to pull her weight and ease her strain in one activity. If there was any silver lining to this relentless winter it was that Quick had run the border on her own several many times by now, making sure the smell was strong to ward off the possibility of trouble-makers. Even though there was never a stranger's smell when she went on patrol (the lone wolves were probably dead by now) she stayed faithful to the act, at least for the sake of warding off frost-bite longer.

It was mid-day and her run was nearly finished. She had gone as far as their southernmost border, rubbing her shoulder along the gnarled branches in the name of Hollowheart Keep. This was as far as she would go today, hoping to scavenge through the Ghastly Woods for some frozen scrap to bring home to the Queen's children. That was when she heard the sound, deep and ominous. It shook the ground beneath her feet and sent tremors up her spine. But just as her heart rate began to quicken, nervous system sending her into an appropriate response against such a threat, it disappeared as though it had never been.

Her silver eyes searched her surroundings rapidly to see if anyone else had witnessed the phenomenon, but like always she was alone in her pursuit. Feeling cold as fear drained from her blood she pursed her lips and struggled with a decision. She ought to turn back, look for food, as was her plan. But that horrible noise had been too real. She couldn't have imagined it. She had to check it out, just in case... With an frustrated huff escaping into the air from her parted jaws, the lithe female turned toward the source of the sound and started toward it.

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

He knew that scent... it was that loner he had met on the borders, the one that Chuylin had brought home. Karp figured that she must have talked Mrs. Naira and Sir Mapplethorpe into letting her stay despite what seemed to be a bad wrap for her. At least, as far as he could tell by the time he left it was bad. But what did some silly old pup know anyways? "Hi! Quick is it? So you made it in alrighty?" He called out eagerly to the white pelted woman whom he had met a while before. He had scented her around but with his strange sleep patterns he never really saw her. "I never got to properly introduce myself." He said with a small laugh.

He knew the winter had taken its toll on every wolf but Karp tried to remain upbeat at the very least. "I'm Karpos Slayer." The different last names from Naira and Mapplethorpe would be confusing to any wolf who had no idea of the back stories on how he was taken in, like Mercy, because he had no home. It was different for each case though. Sagacity had brought Mercy, who was a bastard child, into the pack when he was just a little pup. Karp had showed up almost three months ago at the borders as an orphan because he had met Aponi and slowly fell in love with her. When Pitch Pine Trail had split up he decided his place was with the only wolf who still cared what he had to say, Aponi. But there was time for all that drama later.

Quick was off on the scent, but not for too long. Hi! The word cut through the haze of her one-track mind, stopping her path and directing her attention toward the full-grown pup that had come across her. Had he heard the sound? He sure didn't seem like it. For a moment she furrowed her brow, discontent to think she might have imagined it, but she quickly returned the scene to the front of her mind. As it was a pack mate was making an introduction, and Quick was being rather rude to be stuck in her own head while he (Karpos) was talking.

Slayer? That wasn't the name of the breeding couple, even she knew that. Quick didn't feel comfortable asking a child invasive questions about his parents, so she ignored the fact as it was convenient to her. Instead she turned a half-smile toward her jovial companion and remarked, "Yes, it's Quick. And yes, I did make it in just fine." Her tail wagged of its own accord. Truthfully she was happy to be here. The gritty quiet suited her more than she expected.

That didn't mean that she wouldn't appreciate the brown-eyed boy's company. Of all the Hollowhearted wolves he seemed the most optimistic. Dark as the world was (and it was, she knew) it still needed little suns to cast off the shadows for some time. One such sun was apparent in Karpos. He seemed a smart boy, and eager too. Perhaps he'd be of some help to her. "Did you hear anything weird, just a little while ago? Sounded like it might have come from the mountain?"

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karpos listened calmly to Quick as she asked about strange noises on the mountain, also she mentioned making it in just fine. That much was actually obvious since she was on pack lands and carried the scent. "I've learned to block out noises around here. The forest likes to whisper to wolves and the mountains seem to always make a racket." He replied honestly to the woman who definitely had a lot to learn by living here. Karpos felt like he owed the wolf an explanation. Most around here knew why he was here and did not carry the last name of the alphas. "I feel like I owe you an explanation like I did the other loners who joined. I wasn't actually born here."

The words were simple in themselves and there was nothing more to say about it. He was not born into Hollowheart Keep, he chose his pack. His father gone, his mother too. His sister was off in some other pack hopefully, if not than she was with Uncle Ace. His Auntie Pella, Uncle Aeo and Uncle Lachesis were all homed in an enemy pack. Everything he knew had fallen into some dark abyss but he had to look for something light. He was thriving, learning so much, in Hollowheart Keep. He had even fallen for Aponi Aquila, the alphas daughter. He could almost never get the gray, white and black girl out of his mind. Anyways, he waited for Quick to react to what he said.

(This post was last modified: Mar 15, 2014, 04:34 PM by Karpos.)