Cedarwood Forest sink to the bottom of the sea

Just a note, this takes place just north of the word "Cedarwood" on the map... <3 Taima isn't particularly familiar with the northern part of Cedarwood Forest and is not particularly prone to discovering CRR's borders... yet.

rabbit lyall

March 27th; Early afternoon; Clear; -17° F/-27° C

Taima was reluctant to leave Mirren; there was not doubt about that, but in the recent days since meeting him, she had become so curious about the part of Relic Lore he had led her to and just how close she had come to her old home. The place where she had been born.... Grizzly Hollow. Just thinking about it made all four of her feet itch and her recovering spirit spread its wings when she thought it had been broken. In taking her own advice, she left the young Tainn in the middle of the night, vowing to return to him if he ever called her back to him.

As quickly as her gangly limbs would allow she made her way through the banks of snow, traveling over it only when she was able to, given her half-starved light-weight frame. By the time the cedars towered over her, she stopped along the line of trees, closing her eyes to take in its scent and allow their shadows to overtake her in the form of rediscovered security. These century-old sentinels were her trees, and nothing would ever change that. Though, when she opened her eyes again, she realized that a sense of dread was slowly settling in her stomach... the realization that something had changed in her absence That something was wrong.

Though she could have ventured further into the forest that sheltered the old, abandoned bear den that was her true home, she kept still, frozen in place while she wondered if it was worth it to leave Mirren behind. She had left Renier and Ryvet and Calla and Trisden all behind once upon a time, she had even left Datura (if he had ever thought of returning home to the Pass one day), Mapplethorpe could have been at her back and she would have never regretted leaving him back at square one with Aponi and Nova to raise and groom. Now, she had left Mirren, and she was on the verge of bidding the Secret Woodlands goodbye, if only for a little while... just until she remembered who she truly was: Jaysyek and Borden's daughter, an heiress of Grizzly Hollow... but most importantly, by name, Taima Lyall.

She drew in a cool breath of air and held it in her lungs, staring at the lands in front of her before taking a leap of faith and bounding forward. To such a naive yearling, it would have seemed that nothing had changed... that her mother, father, and all her siblings, laid in the heart of these woods, just waiting for her to return to them. As fast as she could manage without making herself susceptible to stopping and gasping for air on an empty stomach, she ambled towards where she believed her home was, unknowingly heading in the direction of Cut Rock River, Maksim Baranski's territory.

(This post was last modified: Mar 28, 2014, 07:44 PM by Taima.)

"Taima!" he cried out, rushing towards her and coming up behind her. Weeks ago she had been nothing but a dream, and days ago she had been nothing but a scent. Oh, oh she had grown.

- - -

He had gotten up that morning with the bad taste of remorse in his mouth, and no amount of river water could wash it away. Taima. He had left her up on the mountain all alone with that creepy dude who was a little too intent on his mother and he hadn't even said goodbye. He had his reasons, but there was no way to explain them to her... or to anyone. The things he had done had nearly driven mad, but now all he felt was a dull ache that never left his bones. And he could tell no one. Keeping such a secret made him feel like a deviant, but really that was what he was, and feeling this way was much better than the judgment he would receive if it ever got out. So all he could do was continue to guard his regrets and try and to make amends for the damages that could still be repaired.

Taima.

- - -

He spent weeks pacing the foothills, unable to get back up into the pass to find her. His feet were bloody where the rough rocks and ice had worn his pads thin. As soon as the snow seemed to be melting, the golden boy was in the cliffs, determined to make it back to his family in the in the mountains. But when at last he reached the gorge he found it deserted. There was no trace of his family or his betrothed. He leaned against the frozen rock and wept, sleeping there for several days and feeling very sorry for himself while he tortured his brain looking for clues in his memory.

By the third evening all he had to go on was a memory, something the rabbity girl had told him long long ago that been the catalyst to his future. The recollection still evoked the same feelings of awe and significance. He tried to extract it from his memory word for word, but in the end all he could recall was that she had declared herself the heiress —she had put a lot of emphasis on that word— of a pack that resided in the Cedarwood. His heart thudded against his rib cage as he lost himself in reflecting on his childhood.

- - -

He wanted to say something else, but he couldn't think of anything good enough and ended up just panting breathlessly at her side.

* Rachel said it was okay to have Datura on this side of the mountain cause she was going to open the pass up tomorrow

(This post was last modified: Mar 28, 2014, 10:07 PM by Datura.)

rabbit lyall

Rabbit had only just started to somewhat remember where she was when someone called out to her by name... her real name. "Taima!" he had shouted and the young Lyall skid to a halt to assess her surroundings and pinpoint who it was and where he was coming from. Her head tilted to one side briefly as she rattled her memories for his voice. She replayed it back in his head like an old, broken record player might "Taima! Taima! ...Taima!" It made her wince and angrily stamp her paw into the snow after not being able to fully recall whose vocal chords pronounced her name in such a way and on that particular octave.

Willing to foolishly take a risk, she hollered back to him, "I'm he-ere!" Her lower jaw quivered, but as soon as she closed her mouth, she saw him. A splotch of dull bronze against the cedar-brown and pine-green. There was only one other wolf she knew who boasted a pelt of gold and copper: her prince and heir, Datura Aquila. Her brows knit together and as he came sauntering over to her, she shook her head in disbelief. It couldn't be... She sniffled twice as she took a step back when he had come just within meters of her.

"You," she merely whimpered, eyeing him with tearful eyes. The more she stared, the more the frost and winter air bit at her face, making a tear fall from her black-lined tear ducts. Datura came to stand beside her and she apprehensively turned to fully look at him, to measure him up and take in a deep breath as if taking in his smell would partially prove that he was indeed real. "You left me," she accused with a soft yelp, swallowing the inklings of anger that was inching up into her throat.

She could feel her imaginary pack staring at her, their gazes boring into the back of her head. "YOU IDIOT!" she cried, sobbing, fuming, and sniffling all at once as her fur anxiously bristled. Then, unable to contain herself, she leapt towards him, burying her face into his thick auburn fur and finding that he was indeed there. "The next time you go somewhere, you take me with you!" she sniveled, nuzzling her face into his neck and taking in the potpourri that told of his travels. "I-I waited," she murmured. "I waited so long for you and you never came back for me..."

Behind her, her tail was wagging, if only out of foolishness and the well-needed assurance of a familiar face. "Where did you go?" she stared into his face, the heartache painted all over her face as she tried to make sense of what and why he had shown up in the very first place he had met her... when she had been sprayed in the face by an agitated skunk. As much as she wanted to believe that he had possibly trailed her or simply remembered where she had lived, she couldn't help but ask out of worry and concern, "How did you find me?"

"You..."

Her face turned to him, distress brimming in her eyes. Normally Datura wouldn't have tolerated the kind of weakness that crying was, but for some reason these tears didn't seem to be borne from frailty. It seemed natural for her to cry in this moment. A nervous smile creased his face: he was a warrior returned from war, waiting to be greeted with open arms by his patient fiance. He began to wrap his wounded ego up in this vision, shoving all his former thoughts of contrition aside. All this water was just her womanly nature getting her worked up —what girl didn't get worked up because of him? He laughed nervously, hoping she would complete her thought soon.

A better man might have been hurt by her accusation, a better man would have felt guilty. But Datura was not a better man, he was a young man and a foolish man who would spin the most elaborate delusion as long as it meant he would sleep better at night. She was shouting at him now, but the words bounced off him carelessly as he shook his head and smiled. Her passion no longer surprised or provoked him. Nonchalant, the copper coated male step forward and, unable to come up with anything to soothe her, tried to tell her to hush when suddenly her body collided with his and her pale head was submerged in his creamy chest. Though he much rather would have pulled away from this impromptu contact, he figured he owed her at least this much. Hoping her feminine temper would soon subside, he rested his chin on her head and listened as she continued to berate him.

He found himself getting distracted by the strangeness of her scent. It seemed very different. It smelled like other men. Datura took a step away from her, frowning. "I'm here now," he declared, sounding wounded. He couldn't take his mind away from the thought of other men rubbing up against his woman, touching her, regardless of how long he had been gone. With some difficulty, he forced himself to answer her other questions. His ears would not sit still and his tail rose above his back. "I ... I looked for you and Mom in the mountains... but you had gone. And I would.. would have given up if I hadn't remembered you had once claimed you were the 'heriess of the Cedarwood.'" There was no fondness his speech, though, no hint of laughter as he paraphrased her declaration form long ago.

He waited for her to ask him what was wrong.

rabbit lyall

Long gone was the commonplace image of her golden prince and the man who stood before her now was much too still... too distressed, too mature? A small whimper left her nose as he explained to her that he had gone to Nomads Pass at first, then made his way to the Cedarwood by memory alone. Now that she was really listening to him, watching him, and paying attention to him, she noticed just what was off. In addition to the absent luster in his coat, the look on Datura Aquila's face seemed distant, as though he were thinking of something even before she had thrown her questions at him.

He should have quipped back at her in all his usual, princely ways. He should have even looked at her and shrugged at just how unladylike she was behaving. For his sake, she did her best to rein herself back in, to mentally take a step back and assess him. What she did manage to notice was just how he was looking at her; the scowl over his muzzle and eyes darkening his handsome face and forcing his ears forward and every other way.

"Wh-what?" she stammered, summoning every ounce of nerve she had left to keep herself from folding before him. You're here you said, and I can't believe you're here... What else could possibly be wrong? While Mapplethorpe had done well to educate her and even prepare her for the duties of parenthood alongside Datura, she had not been mentally receptive to such a duty. All she had wanted then, and most recently now since she had finally found her way back to familiar territory, was to rule; never had it even occurred to her that there was more than just 'growing into one's large ears and paws' and learning what it took to dominate inferior pack members.

Her ears lowered and her nose twitched, "Why... why're you looking at me like that?"

It didn't take her long to notice, but it seemed like she didn't get it. How could she be so ignorant? Datura readjusted himself, rolling his shoulders and avoiding her plaintive eyes. She asked why he was looking at her so strangely and he just huffed in exasperation —although secretly he liked this power over her. He could just not tell her, leave her to beg him for an answer. The idea brought him a small amount of pleasure. To Datura, this aloof and agitated behavior didn't seem hypocritical in the slightest. Though the young boy had left her first, he felt entitled to his own pain at being abandoned and given up on. He new nothing of compromise.

Several moments passed.

Instead of answering her directly, he tossed a question at her. "Whose this other guy you reek of, what's his name" His muzzle began to crease as he leaned in dangerously close to her. He shoved his nose against hers. "Tell me where he is!" he roared suddenly before ripping his face away and stomping away from her. His capacity for anger had always been great, but he usually had someone around to stop him from getting too worked up. But there was no one to stop him now as he began to pace back and forth, trying to shove the monster back into the cage.

Abruptly, he twisted back towards her to look her in the eye directly. He wasn't afraid of challenging her now. "Did you give up on me, Taima?"

rabbit lyall

It seemed like ages when they stood there in silence with nothing but the winter air stirring around them. Then, all too soon, before she could even have the chance to draw close in attempt to console him, he was in her face, his nose roughly pressed up against his, "Whose this other guy you reek of, what's his name?!" She gasped, the fur at the back of her neck prickling while her tail lashed at the air behind her. "He's--" she started. "Tell me where he is!"

He turned about to survey the area, marching away and striding from one tree to another. When he came back again to face her, he full out tested her. "Did you give up on me, Taima?" As "Rabbit," she might have shrunk away and flattened herself into the snow, but now that she was back on what she considered as her own turf, she, Taima rose back up in the face of her gold-shrouded prince. Her own snout wrinkled and her tail came up in kind. "NO!" she spat, the fire in her chest at last rising up in the shadow of its former glory. "But so what if I had or hadn't? You're here."

The corners of her mouth twitched and, in all that was customary and expected of her, she stubbornly frowned back at him. "They're back where I left them," she clarified. "Besides, it was just my brother and--" she hastily threw this part in to hopefully ensure that he understood that she still held him in high regard, "some other guy. He's nice, but he doesn't even compare to you." All her offenses fell away as she fully considered what she had said. Yes, Mirren had been her knight in shining armor when she had needed him, but truth be told, Taima Enap Lyall, in all her girlish daydreams and imaginative play, was not meant to settle for anyone less than a prince.

"You stole my heart, Datura," she stated simply, her voice strained beneath her longing for him and the unexplainable, almost gravitational, pull that was drawing her closer to him. Her voice lowered but her ears came up out of mere curiosity in regards to his reaction, "I haven't been able to give it to anyone else. No matter how hard I've tried."

He bared his teeth reflexively, a naked gesture of aggression as she defied him. The golden tail arched ever higher. She thought it didn't matter what had happened in the past? Datura tore his gaze away from her angrily at her insistence that it could all be forgotten now. He had always struggled to get over any injury to his self. Fuming and struggling to master his breathing, his molten gaze burned through the canopy. He studied the details, trying to find something substantial to hold onto.

The rattle of the branches sounded like bickering.

When she tried to explain it was her brother that she had been with, he snorted derisively. "Yeah sure your brother," the boy interjected as he rolled his eyes dramatically. Then she said it: some other guy. She had been with some other guy. His gaze leaped back to her, his stare so intent and his body rigid as he listened. He was nice. Just nice? Datura wondered if she could be believed, but then again, she did have a point. Quite frankly, no one compared to him. He begrudged her a small smile. With his eyes Datura willed her to continue, to say more about how wonderful he was or how sorry she was that she tried to live without him.

His patience was rewarded as the rabbit-girl stoked the flames of his ego. She moved towards him slowly, but his golden head turned away. He was unable to give up his anger so easily. "Will you prove it?" he whispered, turning back to her. His breath was hot. "Prove your mine."

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

my sun and stars

silver & gold

the moon of my life

Had she not been so aware of what she was now saying, she might have reprimanded him for his ridicule and disbelief but as Datura dared her to prove to him that she had always been his, Taima stared into the side of his face... and, there he was. "Prove you're mine." Heartened at last by his customary snubbing (the upturning of his nose), something she had learned by heart to tolerate and counter with her own brand of spirit, she took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. Not only did she want to further assure herself that he wasn't a figment of her imagination, but she wanted to bear his scent in her fur, to cover the Mirren and Renier's musk with his. Absentmindedly, she walked in a circle around him, touching the tip of her tail against the side of his muzzle before coming back around to his side. She had seen Mapplethorpe do it a couple of times, make a path around Naira in some sort of possessive manner, but she utilized her tail in some sort of flirtatious gesture to recapture his attention. She knew just how much he detested her touch so long ago.

With her ears submissively back against her neck, she let out a warbled note then touched her nose to his throat before stepping away and coming face to face with him again. Her heartbeat hammered away in her chest and, as if she had only just remembered a long lost memory, she brought a small smile along her ivory maw. The feeling that stemmed from the longing in her chest warmed her limbs and made the newfound pang of desire pool in the pit of her stomach. If he wanted her to prove it all, then she was going to make the ultimate proposal. "I love you," she murmured. Then, being short of the right set of words, she told him, her voice accented heavily with oblivious desire, "I want you... and only you."

Her heart skipped a beat, something it hadn't done in ages. She let out sigh the seemed to tremble from her airways and into the winter-chilled air. The tension between them had changed and the stakes now were higher than ever. This could have been the very last chance she had with her golden prince. Instinct, alone, told her to please him, to give him something that only he could have that was hers to give. She might not have known what that was exactly, but her primal drive for survival had at last provided her with a few clues as to what it might be.

Taima's tail lowered and with unspoken want apparent in the half-bark, half-whine she offered him, she laid before him in the snow, her stomach pressed to the ground and her head held low. 'I'm yours, I'm yours,' she cried to him from the depths of her skull. 'Yours to do whatever you please...'