Hollowheart Keep See, I'm Trying to Find My Place

@Karpos @Sagacity - I hope you're fine with this ^^
And about that last IC comment - I just had to xD

Backdated to 2/5 2014 (for timeline accuracy)
- Feel it in My Bones, Post Prompt

And it might not be here Where I feel safe The sun was shining, but without warmth. It's pale rays fought only weakly against the clear snows, their power still drained by winters wrath. In the depths of Hollowheart Keep it didn't matter much though, even without their leafs, the large trees blocked out most of the light from above, their heavy trunks branching of into smaller and smaller twigs, which tangled overhead. Below them however, snow had still managed to find the ground, covering the undergrowth and obscuring the land, making bush and rock impossible to tell apart. These circumstances didn't affect the duties of a pack-wolf however, there were still borders to protect and food to be gathered - though any sightings of prey were few and far between - and The Keep had rich need of its every asset. So amongst the dark, frost-tingling trees moved a shadow, smaller and more nimble than the towering giants, and a bit lighter in color. The thin wolfess was searching the territory for any signs of strange activity, be it by pray or foe, slowly making her way from the den site, at the center of the land, towards the borders. Her movements were smooth, but slow, carful. She didn't want to waist her energy by travelling quickly, in case she needed it for a hunt opportunity - and energy was already something she did not have an abundance of. Truth be told, Evann was tired. Her body was still dangerously thin, starved from her long journey through the icy storms of early winter, and though her muscles were well kept, the lag of food had drained their strength as well. Even since she'd been accepted into Hollowheart Keep, she hadn't had more than scraps, and she still felt lightheaded from time to time; It's how it works... She would never get to regain her strength on what little she could wrest, stuck at the bottom of the hierarchy as she was. It was the way of the pack, nothing unusual about that; she was the last to join, and so the lowest in the flock. Her rational, dutiful mind had no problem accepting this. Still, she was starving, in desperate need of food to rebuild her lost body mass, and as the nether of the many hungry wolves, she would never get enough; not as long as there was lack. The lowest would always be the last to eat, the last to get; And the first to die... In a small part of the woman's brain, a voice chastised her for thinking so selfishly, she should not be so egotistical - there were pups to think about, and others much more deserving than she! But her hunger drove the morals away, beating down the principles she'd been raised to believe in; So what if I'm selfish?! I already acted selfishly, abandoning my family, why should I stop now?! They where childish thoughts, and she knew it, but she had no strength to fight them off. The bistre girl had gotten so wrapped up in her head, empty brown eyes gliding unconsciously over the forest around her, that she didn't even notice the slope before it was too late. Her leg stretched forwards, expecting to find snow, but instead her paw caught nothing but air. A yelp escaped the lass when she tumbled forwards, claws grappling helplessly at the icy hillside, and her whole body went over, air being forced out of her lunges when her flank struck the ice. It didn't stop there though, the snow and ice was dangerously slippery, and the force of her fall sent the poor she-wolf raising down the slope at high speed; along with a flurry of snow, she schussed down the hill, back first, unable to break her fall. Luckily the slope wasn't long, and she soon came to a stop, body scraping into the snow. She lay still for a moment, regaining her breath, then a low-pitched oath rolled over her lips; " Damn this! " With a groan, the, now mostly snow covered, dame rolled over, slowly scrambling to her feed, head spinning from the tumble; Fuck my life! Word count: 687 "Speech." Thought

(This post was last modified: Feb 08, 2014, 12:53 AM by Evann.)

PLOT WITH ME!

Unlike the sun, which at least had its radiant glow, Sagacity skulked through the packlands feeling very cold and very dark. Though the days were definitely getting longer and the snow, bless it, had momentarily seemed to stop, it was still far too cold for Sagacity's liking. And the prey had still not returned: only carcasses, half-eaten or barely enough to live on to begin with, seemed to be available. The herds left no sign of returning or where they had gone, and smaller prey like rabbits had all but vanished. The thickness of the snow made it too hard to dig through to find smaller creatures, burrowed underneath the snow and earth to hibernate. This, to Sagacity, meant that when the spring thaw came, there would be lots of them- a surplus of creatures which would've hibernated and avoided being dug up. But that didn't help her now, and it was now that concerned her.

Her day was made considerably brighter, though, to see someone else having a more miserable time that her. She'd learned from Mercy that the woman's name was Evann, but as she hadn't yet proved herself to the pack aside from the day she'd joined, Sage thought very little of her. She, like the other pack wolves, had been getting thinner and thinner, but she looked more hungry than most of them. She just saw a blur of dark fur at first, before she lifted her head to see said blur tumble arse-over-tea kettle and slide down the hillside. As there was nothing for her to do- nor would Sagacity have been moved into action for someone she didn't particularly care for, she stood and watched. If she broke her neck, perchance, they'd have something to eat, so she watched with keen interest for any sort of movement once she came to a stop.

There was nothing for a moment and Sagacity held her breath; her stomach gave an audible growl. But when the female moved, rolling out from under the layer of snow she'd accumulated, she could tell that she was more perturbed than injured. Sagacity's cannibalistic hunger would have to wait, and she didn't mind. Part of her was still very reluctant to eat a wolf; and she knew it wouldn't be her place to take the first bite, anyway. Naira and Mapplethorpe would have to be called, and if they decided not to eat her, out of respect, then she'd be without a meal anyway.

A lone wolf would make a much better meal. No one would miss a lone wolf.

So she sauntered forward, and was unable to keep a wry smirk from her features. Though she meant well, sarcasm laced her voice. "If we had a rank for a jester, you'd make a good fit."

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Life was simple in winter. You would do what you had to in order to survive and that was all you needed to do. Guarding the borders, hunting what little food was available and staying warm. He had been doing all of this and more that he could do. He tried to learn from the adults whenever they are near him and talking to him. He heard a voice in the distance about being a jester. Karp was curious and so he followed the voice to find Mercy's 'mother' and another wolf whom he didn't know. she was probably new to the pack because Karp had met almost everyone at least once. "What is a jester?" He asked as he stepped out of the trees to make himself known.

His tail automatically dropped to show his submission to both of the females who stood there. He was not very caught up on a lot of things. His former pack had taught him freedom and common sense, but that was it. Karp had learned that being free was one of the most important things but loyalty to ones pack was more rewarding than freedom. Every pack granted freedom to those who worked hard. Karp was no prisoner and proving his worth would allow him to travel over the mountains one day to see his sister. The two wolves had been having a conversation it appeared and Karp felt like he interrupted him. He was not scared but he was not calm either.

@Sagacity
I'm really sorry for taking so long, I have lots of apologies, but no good ones :(
I promise to be faster next time.

Would someone care to classify? Our broken hearts and twisted minds She was still fighting of the dizziness from her fall, when the voice reached her ears; it's taunting tone making them flick backwards. She looked up to see a familiar grey form, and her eyes narrowed into a scowl; Of all possible encounters..! Shaking her body lightly, to get rid of any excess snow still clinging to her short fur, the brown female looked at her pack mate, irritation lazing her features, in an attempt to mask her humiliation. Her legs quivered slightly under her as she took her time to get orientated, her shoulder was throbbing. One side of her mouth twitched as she shifted her weight; As if life wasn't complicated enough already... Sighing audibly, she shook her shoulders once more - ignoring the pain - and finally sought to meet the gray wolfess yellow gaze directly. Had her mood been less sour, she might have considered a little longer before speaking, now she grumbled: "I... I'm happy m-my hardship am... amuses you." She glared fiercely at The Silver Arrow - As Mapplethorpe had introduced her on the night Evan joined The Keep; Sagacity... She'd met her son, Mercy, that same morning - so different he was from his cynical mother - it was him that had given her the dame's actual name; And probably her mine... With anger brought on much more by the situation than Sagacity's words, the smaller fae continued in a hard voice: "I c-could have died y... you know!" Then she sighed, voice already more tired than angry; "But you d-don't really ca... care, do you..?" Tail still oscillating irately around her hocks, Evann stared down her opposer, the fury in her eyes quickly fading, yet stubbornness keeping her in a posture that was a little to confrontational for her own good; should Sagacity choose to prove her superiority in more than words, she could easily snap the smaller girl's starved body in two; She would probably even enjoy it! And then a sudden smile broke out on her black lips, ears lifting from their pressed back position to a more neutral state. She parted her jowls to speak again but then a young voice registered in her, now front-facing, ears. Brown eyes quickly searched the area and landed on a black shape peering out through the trees; A pup? Yearling was probably a better description, the boy was almost as tall as her, and much better fed despite the winter. His eyes, a mirror of her brown orbs, were intelligent and sincere, and his question asked in genuine curiosity. It made Evann's grin stiffen a little, but she blinked ad shook her head lightly, and returned the lad's respectful gaze with warm eyes - pups, she knew how to deal with. "A je... jester," She began, sending Sagacity a quick glance before looking back at the youngster; "Is s... someone who m-makes others laugh." Straightening up, she looked back at the grey dame with inscrutable eyes, mile shrinking; "Ap-p-parently Sagacity h... here thinks th-thats all I'm g... good for." She shrugged her shoulders, as if to make light of the comment, and her posture had lost all sign of challenge, head, shoulders and tail all held low; but her eyes remained unreadable, and fixed on the grey scout. Word count:546 "Speech." Thought

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

The female looked even more miserable, than she had moments ago, when she realized that someone had seen her fall. One ear was flicked toward Karpos when he arrived and asked her what she'd meant by calling Evann a potential jester for the pack, but she didn't answer. For as Evann brought herself to a more stable position, she also did something very dangerous. While her first comment provoked little reaction from Sagacity- who'd meant the comment more in jest than to provoke any spite- the female's body language was unacceptable. She turned and faced Sagacity straight on, and looked her in the eyes. A glance would have been acceptable, but this wasn't a glance. This was a challenge. Sagacity had been ready to simply brush off the woman's self-pitying statement but not when the stare was issued. Sagacity's ears pricked and her hackles raised. She unsheathed her teeth and growled, a harsh and sudden sound, but it seemed that Evann's flighty response was quelled at the sight of the pup.

She answered Karpos, and confusingly, her facial features softened and her ears gentled. It was all good and fine to calm down in the presence of a pup, but Sagacity was still on edge about the female's glare. And when Evann's eyes returned to her, she made her decision. She ignored Karpos completely, and raised her tail as a sign for him to not interfere. This girl needed to be disciplined- she should not look a superior directly in the eye. She was about to be schooled like a pup.

She didn't bother to charge at the female- there was no need to lunge. Instead, it was with an eerie sort of calm that Sagacity approached Evann. It was the same way she'd approach Mercy if she needed to sort him out. Charging at them made them sprint away, and she felt no need to charge. The woman had just gone tumbling down a hill, and Sagacity knew she could overtake her. She was in the position of power and felt in control. It was only when she'd closed in that Sagacity suddenly quickened her steps, transitioning into powerful bounds to close the gap. With a savage snarl, Sagacity opened her jaws and aimed to scruff the woman and teach her a lesson or two about obedience.

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karpos was so confused about what was happening that he kind of just stared off into space and thought. Mercy's mom seemed kinda mean but she couldn't be could she? Mercy had made Karpos feel like she was a kind and compassionate wolf. Perhaps she had a reason to be mean to the new wolf and he just kinda plopped his butt down to observe. He noted the grave mistake Evann had made right before she was attacked by the long standing member. She had started Sagacity in the eyes and he couldn't help but giggle. Perhaps that was why Saga didn't like her so much. Karpos knew better than to look a superior in the eyes and not submit to them whenever they were around or demanded it.

As a pup he submitted to everyone, but soon he would not. He would go and challenge his way up so he was always equal yet not equal with Aponi. They would be equal rank but he knew that the princess would always be superior to him because of her status and beauty. At least, that was how it played out in Karp's mind. He observe the little scuffle carefully, analyzing stances and posture. He tended to do that a lot after his lesson he had gone through with Sir Mapplethorpe. The lesson had taught him a few things. One of which was posture being everything. Well, it wasn't everything, but it was pretty damned important in a fight. A posture helped create or hide weak points.

And if I bleed, I'll bleed, Knowing you don't care! She knew instantly that she'd gone too far, Sagacity's eyes shimmered and a low rumble loosened from her lips. The brown girl stood frozen, brown eyes evenly trailing the larger wolf in her advance, their stare changing from defiant to fearful, she knew that approach , she'd seen that approach so many times before; Shit! When the silver wolfess finally charged, Evann made no move to dodge or defend herself in any other way. Instead she simply let it happen. A yelp of pain escaped her when she felt the strength of the other wolf closing around her scruff, and slowly sunk to the ground, clenching her teeth to hold back any other outbursts. She lay still as a rock, tail tucked in submission, ears pressed flat back against her skull; it was usually over quicker when you didn't fight back. Painful memories washed over he as she waited for Sagacity to let go, strong bodies holding her down, teeth seeking to scratch and tear, golden and orange eyes glowing with satisfaction and enjoyment; Why are you doing this? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! Forcing her eyes open, she struggled to focus on the situation at hand; This was your own fault, THIS you deserve! It was hard to separate the two, the memories and the present, but she eventually succeeded, eyes narrowing on the black shape, watching silently. She cringed, but glanced up at his face and felt her body relax as she met his eyes and found no malice there, no savage enjoyment of her suffering. A small smile creased her lips, despite the situation. Her shoulder ached under Sagacity's weight, and she shuffled lightly under her grip. Taking a shaky breath, she forced her voice to be even and offered lowly: "I'm... I'm s-sorry, I was o... out of line. Forgive me." There was no pleading in her tone, only sincerity and subjugation, she could have told herself that Sagacity would not take kindly to defiance - in any measure; Maybe I wanted this... Word count: 337 "Speech." Thought

Satisfaction. That moment when she collided full-on with the girl who had the sense to stay still and simply accept her punishment, after having noticed too late that she'd brought this storm of anger down upon herself. Though she'd once been a wolf who cared little for pack affairs and hierarchy, now that she found herself in a comfortable position within the pack she intended to keep it. She would reinforce the fact that she was the second-in-command when any of her inferiors challenged her, and until she became too old and feeble to defend her position, she would continue to do so. Part of her ire faded when she realized, a moment before contact was made, that Evann had already seen her mistake- but Sagacity wasn't about to bluff charge. No, she needed to make sure this girl learned her place, especially in front of one of the pack's pups. This was what it meant to be in a pack- there were rules and customs, and there were punishments for those who did not obey them.

She held on to Evann's scruff, clenching her teeth down and she purposefully stepped over the female's back, straddling her between her silvery legs as the woman shrank to her belly on the ground. Her tail curled over her back and she continued to snarl for a moment or two, waiting to see if Evann made any move to get out from underneath her. At first, she stayed still- frozen by tension and fear beneath the stronger wolf's clutch. She then moved, just a tiny bit, and Sagacity jerked her jaws to the side, pulling on the woman's scruff as a warning- but she was simply trying to take in some air so she could speak. It might have seemed for a moment that her apology fell upon deaf ears, as Sagacity did not immediately relinquish her hold on the vanquished subordinate. A moment later, one of her feet came up to rest squarely between Evann's shoulderblades, to keep her pinned to the ground as she released the woman's scruff. Still straddling her, she lowered her muzzle to one of Evann's ears. "Know your place," She growled in a low voice, little more than a hiss, but enough of a warning to let Evann know that she was serious. If she tried again, Sagacity would not be so kind as to let her away with only tooth marks in her scruff.

Her hackles were still raised when she stepped away from Evann on stiff legs. Her ears were perked and her gaze sharp when she looked at Evann again. She would liked to have had the woman plead for her life a bit more, and wasn't quite convinced that she wouldn't step out of line again. So she glared at the woman and would insist that she stay where she was- belly to the ground- until Sagacity had had enough of her. "This pack is for the strong." She said, and then cast a look to Karpos, her gaze unchanging. If the youth dared look her in the eye, she'd teach him a lesson too. If he hadn't learned from observing the brief but effective disciplinary action she'd taken, he'd learn by experiencing it. She returned her attention to Evann, not willing to let her relax just yet. "What have you done to contribute?" She questioned, and though she finally settled her haunches to the ground, her shoulders were still tense and haze unwavering.

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

He watched it as it all happen, he still held his smirk at Evann. What a brave soul to try something so foolish. He got nervous however when Sagacity looked at him. He averted his eyes and the smirk was gone from his muzzle as soon as he had seen the fae turn his direction. No way he was going to let that happen to him too. After he felt Sagacity's glance leave him and focus on the 'jester' he watched the girl again. The realization that this woman was technically above the pup like Saga was made him know better than to look her in the eye as well. Part of him could sympathize with the girl. He would be pretty down if wolves treated him like that.

However it was her mistake to look the second in command in the eyes. At first he thought the question was for him and he was about to answer about his contributions. However with her looking at Evann he knew better than to answer unless her gaze went to him. The pup gave a small and almost inaudible sigh. Why was this scene so confusing for him? It should be pretty obvious. Sagacity had more dominance than both of them. They should have both submit but Evann didn't. Evann looked Sagacity in the eye and so Sagacity put her in her place. Sagacity then turned to Karpos to see if he would care to be like that too and Karpos looked away. It was all simple, but Karp was pretty confused. Perhaps it was because he was curious as to why she was called a jester.