Cold Water Creek In This Lonely World

@Borlla and @Phineas

I don't judge people; it blurs out the center

Adsila Slayer

of my attention, my focus, myself

Adsila kept silent as Ace spoke, keeping her face buried in his shaggy coat, and resting against him to take some of the weight off of her own paws. She felt exhausted, and just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep, but she knew the consequences to that, and so she kept herself awake, half-listening to the conversation around her. As the scent of rabbit along with the pronghorn caught her attention, the Young Slayer hesitantly lifted her head from Ace’s side to look at the two wolves before them, who had her fate in their paws. Their decision would decide if she lived, or if she died.

Her breath hitched in her throat when the white and cream woman addressed Ace, hinting that he could attempt to catch the rabbit nearby, and possibly be seen as more than just a loner on their border seeking for a home during the winter. She wanted him to go and test his skills, to show off what he could do, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be left alone without him. The Young Slayer was afraid of what the two wolves would do, and she watched silently as Ace padded away, and surprised as the male followed him.

Now that she and the woman were alone together, Adsila lowered herself accordingly, spreading out her legs so she wouldn’t fall over from the exhaustion that attempted to take over her. When the white and cream woman asked what she liked to do – her voice more kind and soft than before – the Young Slayer swallowed nervously, her eyes drifting to where Ace and the male had disappeared, before returning back to the ground which the woman stood upon. “H-hunt,” she stammered out, not quite hiding the nervousness she felt, even though the woman was attempting to be nicer. She didn’t know if it was a test, to see if she was good enough to be a member, but she hoped that her meager hunting skills could do it, even if rabbits and other small animals were all she could catch.

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The scent of rabbit as well as pronghorn was noticed by the Silver Male, and he raised his muzzle infinitesimally in the direction it came from, seeing the small figure in the distance, raising its head every now and then. His gaze shifted back to the white and cream woman when she spoke his name, and hinting that he could attempt to catch the rabbit nearby, possibly making himself seem more than just a wolf seeking a home for the winter. Although he wasn’t the best at hunting, lately he had been scavenging for small prey to catch so they wouldn’t starve, and most times he had been successful.

Nodding to the female leader, Ace slowly stood up and turned to follow the scent of the rabbit, and was surprised when the ivory male followed him, leaving Adsila alone with the woman. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the white and cream female harming Adsila, but that he didn’t want to have her out of sight. It had become natural for him to constantly check on her, and he felt uneasy as he padded away. But she wouldn’t be harmed, there was no reason for her to be.

Ace’s silver gaze shifted to the ivory male when he was queried why Pitch pine Trail disbanded, and what happened to Shade Slayer. His breath hitched in his throat at the mention of his friend’s name, and he stayed silent for a few minutes, contemplating his words and attempting to regain his emotions. “Yes, in the beginning of winter. Food was scarce, and everything in the end just faded away, until there was no one left…” Trailing off for a moment, the Silver Male gazed solemnly at the snow around them, it looked so peaceful, but the cold season killed, and it didn’t care who, or what it did. “He went across the mountain to meet with a wolf by the name of Elettra. There was a fight, and he came away with life-threatening wounds that eventually killed him.” The rabbit all but forgotten, Ace stared off into the distance, remembering Shade before he died, leaving his children with no mother and father, whom were barely old enough to understand why.

370 Words

If I could have you in my heart, I
would protect you forever

The pallid woman was pleased enough when Phineas broke off to trail the male. They could probably get two rabbits that way, she thought, before returning her attentions to the girl. She was a small thing, and obviously shy. Borlla couldn't remember ever encountering a child with such a disposition, even her littermate, @Kinis, had not seemed as shy as this child. But the thought of her brother, whom she had not seen for nearly three years, struck a heartstring. Perhaps this girl simply needed an outlet. And, perhaps, Magnolia Glen could be the outlet. She eyed the girl's posture, clearly exhausted as she sat there, fearful, even more so without her diligent guardian. If this girl was nearly the age of a yearling, then she'd certainly need to grow out of that. It would only be a matter of time before she was expected to function on her own, and though she claimed to favor hunting as a hobby, Borlla thought that it must've been hard if she always made herself a shadow of Ace.

"Alright." Borlla nodded thoughtfully, golden eyes turning away from the girl momentarily. "But I'm sure you can't hunt well if you follow that man around all the time?" With a little chuckle, she asked the girl, hoping to gain some insight. "He cannot protect you from the winter, Adsila." Borlla reminded the girl, somewhat grimly. They were all the same, fur and bone and muscle. Age didn't matter to the season. After a thoughtful moment, Borlla smiled again, "What is it that you like to hunt?"

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Phineas' nose tilted down, inhaling sharply as he attempted to scout out the whereabouts of the nest. The scent grew stronger, and yet it eluded him visually. A chuff escaped him then as he lifted his muzzle, his eyes flickering to regard his mate and the cub he had left in her presence. It was then that the silver wolf's words drew his attention once more, and as his figure shifted, about to once more resume his search, Ace's statement captured his true attention.

Shade Slayer was dead, and Elettra had killed him. He paused a moment, the mask upon his features almost giving way to allow a snort of amusement to slip past, though it would not. Phineas held no love for the dark wolf, and while he had not wished his demise, the loss was of no importance to him. Interesting enough, however, was that @Elettra had done the deed. He had not thought of the woman in some time -- not out of spite, simply out of the fact his time had been consumed by surviving the winter, and ensuring his family would rise higher. It would seem the Archer woman had brought justice of the Slayer's abandonment to heart.. did she think so lowly of the ivory Argyris as well?

"And is she," he motioned his muzzle in the directing of the cub, his voice emotionless for the moment, "his?" It would seem a simple fact then -- Had Shade managed to breed before his untimely demise, or had Elettra taken his chance of lineage with him? He allowed a small pause to pass between the two before he cleared his throat, his muzzle swinging down once more as he sought out the rabbit's nest. "Shade and I had been pack mates, I suppose you could say," he finally offered, to reiterate his curiosity.

So sorry for the wait! Been stressed with life and muse just vanished :x
@Borlla @Phineas

I don't judge people; it blurs out the center

Adsila Slayer

of my attention, my focus, myself

At the Young Slayer’s soft, stammering answer, her silvery green eyes hesitantly lifted up to look into the white and cream woman’s face – not directly into her eyes though – and saw her nod thoughtfully. Her heart lifted slightly at the small movement; maybe her talent would be enough to gain entry into the pack. But just as quickly as Adsila looked up, her eyes lowered again, not willing to disrespect the woman.

Ears twitching at the woman’s question, she glanced in the direction Ace and the other male had gone, but seeing no shape of either male her gaze quickly returned to in front of her. “I don’t…follow him around everywhere,” the Young Slayer hesitantly whispered, being careful of how she worded her sentences and what she said. She was not very social, and so the tendency of speaking in tones of which she shouldn’t sometimes slipped out, and right now, she felt angry at the woman’s question, which could just as easily be an accusation.

Keeping her eyes averted so any traces of the anger she felt was at least partially hidden, Adsila took a few breaths to calm herself and revert back to her usual quiet, neutral state. But at the white and cream woman’s statement, her brows furrowed slightly. Of course Ace couldn’t fully protect her from the winter, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try, and it wasn’t like she let him do everything. Though, the woman didn’t know, so Adsila could see how she would think of it that way.

When the woman asked the Young Slayer what she liked to hunt, her eyes raised slightly again, a shy smile on her face. She had really only hunted small prey, so her choice was fairly limited. “Rabbits and hares.” Even though they were quick, they were the easiest – at least for her - to catch, but during winter there wasn’t often much prey around, so she hadn’t been able to fully work on her technique, but her skills were good enough that she could possibly catch one.

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Breaking out of his trance, the Silver Male shook his head slightly – being careful to not allowed the prey to know they were there – and continued on with the search. The scent of the rabbits was very strong, yet the nest was hidden fairly well from sight, and so he lowered his nose to the ground in an attempt to follow a trail that lead directly to the mouth of the nest.

But his search was paused again, as the ivory male brought up a quick query which raised his eyebrows slightly. Had Shade been a pack mate, or even a friend with the male before him? He did not know though, as no mention of a wolf of his description had ever been said. “Yes,” his short answer was accompanied with a slight nod of his muzzle, which swiftly lowered to the ground again to seek out the nest.

As they continued the search, Ace swiveled his ear in the ivory male’s direction at his statement, but didn’t turn his head. So Shade had met the male before, lived with him in the same pack too. He was curious now about the relationship between them, but didn’t dare pry too far for fear of being met with a sharp reaction. Though he did have just one question. “In Willow Ridge?”

Before he heard his answer however, the Silver Male froze, his eyes on the small figure only feet ahead of him. The rabbit was slowly hopping around, its ears and eyes constantly looking around, forever searching for danger. Glancing at the ivory male, he made a slight motion of his muzzle, asking permission to attempt at catching the rabbit.

280 Words

If I could have you in my heart, I
would protect you forever

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Borlla could not help but crack something of a smile at the child's answer. Perhaps she had a spark of a flame in there somewhere. But this winter had hit them all in various ways, and perhaps had deprived this little flame of its oxygen. "Of course," She replied, nodding ever so slightly as though implying that she had believed this the whole time. It certainly had not been a test that the woman had administered, though she was pleased with the surprise results. A shy child was...fine, she supposed, but with the knowledge that Adsila may not be so shy as she seemed left Borlla relieved.

Nodding again, Borlla let her eyes wander in the direction the men had gone. "I guess I should have sent you then," The pale queen joked and her gaze shifted back towards the girl. "Stinks that you couldn't get much practice in." In an admittedly crucial time for all children, the winter might have put a damper on many hunting lessons. Even a bug on a breeze was in short supply. "Ace isn't your father, is he?" She asked rather suddenly, though there was very little question in her mind that the man shared little, if no, blood with the girl. It still didn't matter much to Borlla who belonged to whom, but she was now interested in what this spark of a girl might have to say about it. It would likely prove to be a sore subject and for that, Borlla was mostly apologetic.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

The silver male questioned him, and in turn, all Phineas offered was a nod. He held no fondness for the Slayer male, yet he also would not spit upon his name. Instead, the male requested silent permission as a rabbit came to view, and with a nod, the Argyris male allowed the stranger to prove himself to his mate.. and hopefully provide some food as well.

Slinking back, he was about to see how the questioning of the young girl was going, and yet the scent of something much more intriguing caught his senses. Shifting his figure, the ivory Leader drifted away from the small group, his eyes training upon the remains of a carcass not far off. Stunned they had not scented it before, a low growl escaped him as his jaws closed over the precious bounty, salivating at the taste if the neat.. even if not fresh.

Dragging it backward, his eyes would attempt to meet his mate’s before he would slip away with the prize – his intentions likely clear to her as well. He was taking this meal back to Hypatia, would need the nourishment more than the rest. Should Borlla choose to take in the other near-yearling, than perhaps Ace would prove to be useful and have a rabbit in which to offer her.

Speaking no more, the Argyris slipped back to through the winter trees of his home, his eyes soon drifting away from his mate and to the direction of the pack den. It was likely where he would find his daughter, who had not strayed from home very often these months.

The fate of the border visitors was left in Borlla’s graces.

@Borlla

I don't judge people; it blurs out the center

Adsila Slayer

of my attention, my focus, myself

The Young Slayer’s ears twitched back slightly at the pale woman’s short reply and nod, seeming as if she had believed it the entire time. The way she acted made Adsila feel even more like a child, especially as they always thought they were right, when sometimes they weren’t. But the time was not for arguments, and so she kept her mouth tightly closed and head bowed slightly, while also making sure to keep her emotions under control.

But when the pale woman joked about sending her to hunt with Ace and the other male, a shy smile forced its way onto her face. Even though she might have not really meant the words, it was still pleasing to know that she was at least partially thinking about it. Maybe when she was old enough, the hunter role could be hers if the woman thought she had the talent.

Silver green eyes drifted away from dark, icy paws to the white surroundings, taking in the flakes of snow shifting as the wind blew over it, and the thin branches of trees swaying gently in the wind. It would have been wonderful to watch, if not for the fact that she was dead on her feet and starving, as well as dehydrated and freezing. Winter was two different things in one; it was an amazing to see the snow and white paradise, but the effects of it could be harmful, and even fatal.

Adsila glanced back towards the woman again as she spoke, and in a reply nodded her head. She would have liked to hunt more things and build up her skills, but with an early and deadly winter, as well as the disbanding of Pitch pine Trail, she had been too busy for it, which was a little sad to say the least.

When the woman suddenly asked if she and Ace were related, her breath caught in her throat, and she turned her head slightly to the side as great feelings of sadness and grief attempted to engulf her whole. It was the question that tempted the reaction, it was the memories of her blood family. After a few seconds, when the Young Slayer was sure she had her emotions under control, she looked back at the woman. “No… he is a close family friend,” she said very softly, her voice quavering slightly. “He is like an uncle to me,” she added. Though with the recent events, it would be easier to say he was her father, for her whole life he had been there for her, and almost half of it he had looked after her, and she was grateful for it.

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