Willow Ridge Come to Dust

Usually she slept well into the afternoon, but a horrible ache at her back and shivering that wracked her frame had awoken her before the first light of dawn. It was no secret that she had been ill even with her best efforts to hide it, apparent in her swollen limbs, wobbling gait, and the acrid scent she carried. For all the experience the advisor had, she knew little of what it would be like to die. Would it be in her sleep? Or would some mishap or fight take her? Would it be gruesome and painful or swift and painless. She had no idea, but something that morning was off. Even as a social pack animal, she instinctually craved solitude to suffer in peace. The pack had been kind to her, and none had challenged her to a fight for her rank that she would surely lose. They were her friends and family, and more, but she knew that she had to go.

As quietly as she could, she slipped past her sleeping packmates and out of the den. The pre-dawn darkness mattered little to her now, her vision already poor enough that most everything was already dark and indistinct. She had memorized by scent and touch how to move through the territory, but even then it was slow going. She could hardly walk, her arthritis and peculiarly wobbly hind limbs slowing her considerably. She was exhausted and insatiably thirsty, the mouthfuls of half melted snow almost not worth the trouble.

The long walk gave her much time to contemplate. She wondered how the pack would do come spring, whether the caches would take long to refill, if the den would flood again with the spring rains, whether Angier would make himself scarce like so many other males had. Of all the things she mulled over, she was avoiding the one thing that hung heavily over her head like an axe waiting to fall. She was going to die. She was leaving to die. She was stubborn, a fighter and not one to let her life be taken from her so easily. She had tried to hang on as long as she could and into the spring time, to see the snows melt, green life return to the forest, Elettra's new cubs. Skana had fought against her failing body so that she might see one last spring, but it was a fight she couldn't win.

She hadn't made it particularly far, having not even reached the borders, when her legs gave out and she fell, landing with a shocked yelp. She didn't even make an effort to rise, knowing it would be too much right now. She just barely managed to scoot herself closer to the base of the nearest tree, an old willow with a trunk thick with knobbled burls. She set her head down against the snow and pulled her long limbs in towards her, now so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She was afraid of what was to come, whether there would be something after, or simply nothing at all.

She heard a voice, familiar and faint as if from a great distance call for her. Skana could never forget Kawak's voice, and her tail flopped against the ground in a feeble wag. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for one last time.

/brbcrying. :c

Sköll had been nestled comfortably in the warmth of the pack den when he felt a gust of winter chill brush against his nose. His whiskers twitched but he did not open his eyes until he received a black tail whip to the face. Torn from his sleep, he held back the instinct to whine and whimper about being so abruptly woken as he blinked several times over in order to bring his vision into focus. It was early... much too early for anyone to be up, yet as he scanned the common area of the underground burrow, it occurred to him that someone was missing. He half-grimaced as he peered through the dimly lit den, lifting his chin from @Morganna's rump. His brother and sister seemed to be there and the two large heaps of black and tawny fur on one end of the den could have only been Angier and his mother. As carefully as he could, without tripping over @Asriel's and whoever else's stretched out legs (whether the woman nearby was Senka or one of the new women in the pack, he couldn't be positively sure without filtering her scent through his frost-bitten nostrils), Sköll crept towards the entrance, peering out into the still snow-covered world.

He scanned about for Guiness' sleeping form but was soon distracted when he took notice that there was a fresh scent trail in the snow. A yawn freed itself from his chest, parting his jowls in the most unflattering manner as he lifted his head up to the sky and momentarily closed his eyes. The chill filled his lungs and he shivered until he was able to bound forward after Skana. It wasn't at all like the Advisor to be up and about at this hour of the morning and it only made sense to Sköll that he ought to follow her. After all, she had done the same when he was a small cub... It was only fair that the young prince also practiced the art of "minding his pack mates."

The time it had taken Skana to travel some way from the den had not been particularly long ago but Sköll managed to make the trek last about twice as long, wanting to keep his distance and keep the spirit of curiosity alive. Somewhere along the way, he thought he could have heard someone yelp out, as if in pain, but he brushed the idea away, thinking that he might have misheard a strange songbird instead. Only when he saw Skana there, laying down in the snow, did he perk up at last. His tail whipped about in the air behind him and he practically pranced over to the Advisor with the widest of smiles..

"Skana!" he trilled, the sing-song voice he brandished reserved only for her alone. "What're you doin'?" He simpered with all the charm he could muster, wanting to specifically brighten her day before either of his siblings could manage to follow suit. Today, he wanted to be the first to make the pack elder smile, and be the first to spend time with her this morning. He continued to smile as he hopped about, gamboling around her to look down into her face. It seemed that she had fallen asleep and the boy grinned.

"Skaw-naaaaaaaaa," he childishly prompted in a louder voice, touching his nose to hers. "Skana, get up!" When she didn't react, his tail fell, twitching twice before he nudged her shoulder with a paw. He might not have been the small cub that she used to pup-sit every Spring and Summer afternoon, but he still pranced about in front of her in hopes of getting a response. Her ears didn't even twitch, and upon closer inspection, he noticed that she wasn't moving at all.

The corners of his mouth fell and his ears lowered. "Skana?" he tried again, thinking that stating her name a fourth time would make her come to her senses. Without even thinking, he whimpered as he playfully clasped his maw over her ear to give it a playful tug. "Nonna," he tried next, not even caring if his siblings heard him uttering his special name for the Advisor. "Wake up..."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

With a slow, pleasant stretch, the eldest Archer boy groaned and pulled his muscles tight, squinting his eyes shut as he enjoyed the feeling of readying his body for the day. He licked his chops loudly and yawned as he lifted his head before he blinked blearily around to see who else was still sleeping and who had already left the den. The first missing wolf, of course, was Skoll. And once Asriel realized that his brother had already beat him to the chase of getting to a good start that day he grumbled quietly to himself and stood up. He shook out his dense winter coat of black and flame, before he stepped delicately over his snoozing sister and out into the crisp air.

A spatter of water fell onto his nose, causing him to snort in surprise. He looked up, only to see that the drop had come from a tree branch where the snow had begun to melt. He ran his tongue over his muzzle and sniffed appreciatively. So the winter would end after all, he thought with a satisfied smirk. He'd won.

His victory over death, however, still prodded him savagely, like the edge of an envelope knife digging into his ribs. Still the image of Malia, struggling against the icy waters haunted his mind. He heard the gurgles and splashes, watched the few last bubbles of air disrupt the surface, and could still feel the cold on his toes that had nearly sank into the water as well. Somewhere in a lake she slept, likely still frozen and suspended by the cold tendrils of ice which would have formed around her body after she'd fallen through. The mere thought of the dark water made him shudder and his lip tremble. He still had yet to rectify this situation- but he needed to tend to himself first. He needed to make sure he could do it.

It would need to happen soon, he told himself, but he would have to be perfect at it. He would have to be surprised when he 'found out' that Malia wasn't in the pack anymore. For some reason, though he knew that Malia was too deep down in the lake's waters for any to find her, he still had some sort of sneaking suspicion that someday, she would be found. Someday he'd be found out...But until then, he had to give himself an alibi. He had to be innocent. The truth couldn't be found out. So the boy had become quite silent and distracted as he focused primarily on himself and his plan.

But this silence was broken when he heard his brother's voice; he was distressed. All he heard was Skana, get up! It was urgent and bossy- and Asriel curled his lip. Hunching his shoulders, he decided to go and set his brother back in his place- if Skana wanted to rest, she could have her rest, and Skoll had no place to tell her what to do. She was their elder, and had to be treated with utmost respect. Their mother loved her, so Skoll should love her too. His eyes were narrowed as he made his way toward them; following Skoll's scent. But when he saw the two of them, he stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. He looked at Skoll, whose dejected features would have told him the truth even if he hadn't taken a moment to look at Skana. He knew that look. That look that was beyond the peaceful serenity of sleep. No movement stirred her shoulders in breath, and her ears were soft, deaf to anything they might ever say to her. Asriel moved toward his brother again, pulling in a silent breath of air.

"She's gone, Skoll." He said, in as soft and tender a voice he had ever managed to speak.

Shit, Skana and Skoll's very last paragraph almost made me cry!
Exit depressed Elettra. Enter pregnant bitch Elettra.

She knew something was wrong the moment she opened her eyes. The moment her head lifted from the Willow Ridge pack den, seeking out her pack mates and knowing instantly Skana was not there. There was no reason for Skana not to be there. For a year now Skana's health was at a decline and no kind nor number of herbs in the world that Elettra would shove down her throat would keep her from dying - but oh, how Elettra had tried! If only to help her with her aching limbs, if only to keep her standing strong, if only to keep her living just a little bit longer... Perhaps it was selfish now, but even in this moment as Skana had wondered off to die, the Archer Matriarch lifted from the pack den and padded after her Second and Advisor with every intention to drag her back home.

...She was gone - GONE. The scent of death was new in the air and so sickeningly familiar to her after loosing both Semananti and Narcissa this winter. Suddenly she felt as though her world had completely shifted, that everything she had within this land had fluttered away from her. This Spring certainly made for a new chapter to Willow Ridge and she knew now that she would find herself clinging to the comforting side of @Angier and @Guiness even more so now then before. In these few moments she would think back to the times where Willow Ridge had been strong, powerful, glorious. She found her heart sinking, found that she missed Narissa, Tempest and Kanosak so much more. She craved to see @Narimé and @Koda once more, so know if they were still okay even though they no longer were at her side...

Her breath catches, inhaling deep and holding there as she comes into view of Skana, nestled so very still near one of the various willow trees within her land and there with her, her two sons. Even now her stomach swirled with new life to come, a new start, something new to love and protect. But these children, her first, Archers, would always hold a special place in her heart. But in moments, something else stirs within her, the realization of Skana's death taking full toll. Her tail lifts high, the hairs along her spine standing on end and she growls out she rushes at the boys which were now not far from her own size, showing true their might as Archer men. She holds no fear against retaliation of her own kin and asserts her dominance against them both. "LEAVE HER." Her shoulder aims to smack into the side of Skoll's own shoulder to push him away from the body as her head swings round, jaws with warning snapping towards Asriel's muzzle. Her depression for her former loss turned into anger and her son's would know of it now as they experienced this death - Skoll who was only just new to it and Asriel who had seen it now again and again. Without another word, she turns away from them, wide eyes of silver hue stared blankly at the fallen form of Skana. "God DAMN IT, Skana!" She then screams, but not towards the corpse - to the skies!

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2014, 01:34 AM by Elettra.)

OHSNAP(!).

"She's gone, Sköll." He hadn't even realized that his brother had found him until Asriel's words reached his ears. The idea of losing someone was completely new to the middle-born royal. After all, since the day he had been born, he had been given everything and he hadn't the slightest clue about how it felt to actually miss someone or something. If he had misplaced someone, all he had to do was call for them and they would be there; if he had misplaced something valuable, he always found something else to replace it... It was as if the air felt like it was too still and a bit colder than usual. Sköll slowly turned to look at his brother, sitting sadly before Skana's lifeless body.

He might have caused her a bit of trouble when he was younger - creeping up beside her while pushing his dead albino mouse up against her face as she slept, climbing all over her in attempt to master his motor skills, sticking his tongue out playfully while he pretended he wasn't listening to her drills in manners and etiquette - but in all actuality Sköll did these type of things out of affection... It was very rare that the boy spent time with anyone (even his own siblings) and for Skana to have been one of the few to indulge him in his little pranks meant a lot. She even laughed and played along once upon a time; and, now, the more Sköll looked at her, the more he felt... hollow inside. She had been one of his very first playmates, and she was the one who seemed to always have the time for him when he felt left out.

Before he could even glance back to his brother, Elettra was on the scene. Her sudden arrival brought him to his feet and she quickly shoved him aside. He watched in utmost fear as she aimed to snap near Asriel's face and, out of instinct alone, he shuffled backwards when she growled at her sons to leave her alone with her Advisor. While the feelings of shock and panic were not particularly new, Sköll soon realized that he should have known she would act this way. He wasn't the only one who had loved her...

For once his tail curled up between his legs and his already downward-angled ears quivered as he stepped back as his mother howled out in grief. Learning of Semananti and Narcissa's deaths had been plain facts to the boy - no different from when someone, like Kasai or that Calla girl, left the pack. Comprehending Skana's passing, of course, was a wake up call. Unsure of what to do and too stubborn to just leave his mother there alone, he looked to Asriel in hopes of some sort of cue.

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2014, 05:24 AM by Skoll.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Loves a bit of mom-rage ;)

He waited for some kind of reaction from his brother- a question, a statement- even something sarcastic and biting. He was not aware whether or not his brother had seen a dead wolf before- presently, Asriel had seen three. It did not mean that he understood death completely, it simply meant he'd seen it before and that it caused a great deal of conflict within him. He did not like being reminded that he, Prince Asriel Archer, was mortal. He did not like knowing that death took even those that he, the prince, loved. He'd felt so invincible until he'd seen and learned what death could do...And the point had been hit home when he'd seen a Princess fall to her demise in the frozen lake. Death could and would claim all for its own.

His ears flicked back as soon as his mother snapped at them, and he sidestepped to avoid being blundered into by Skoll, who'd been shouldered aside by their angry mother. He'd seen her quiet in grief before, and sad- especially sad when Narcissa had passed away. But now he saw anger and frustration, which she took out on her sons. He squinted and turned his face aside when she snapped at his cheek and he winced when he heard her jaws snap shut in the air.

Asriel could only somewhat understand his mother's anger. Where was the sadness he'd seen her experience before? To the young man, it seemed that she felt anger because he could remember the last conversation they'd had, when another of their packmates had fallen. She'd asked Skana not to die on her too. And she had. But Asriel did not feel disappointment; he felt fear and sadness. Skana was their advisor; much like a grandmother to them, who had watched over them when they had been young and silly, who'd stopped them from playing too hard, who'd cuddled them and held them close during the cold nights. The sweet-natured woman could not have promised Elettra that she would not die. It wasn't a promise anyone could make, and it made Asriel feel empty. Why did anything they do matter if they were going to die, anyway?

He felt Skoll's gaze and looked to see him, sad and even a bit confused. And he caught a glimpse of meaning in life; to care for and love those you lived with. Skoll mattered, and Elettra mattered- they both mattered dearly to him. Skana had mattered, and still did- so her life had not been worth nothing. Life was a blessing, but a responsibility as well. As the eldest son, he had a duty to fulfill before he died. When faced with death, life grew and became more complex. Skoll did not know what to do for Elettra, and truthfully, neither did Asriel. But like a silent guardian he stood alongside his brother, a stony black and tan angel who wanted nothing more than to console and care for his mother. She would need a moment- perhaps even longer. Asriel waited and watched for any cue of softness, waiting for the moment when he could sweep in and support her. Until that moment came, he touched his nose to Skoll's; they shared a grief for the fallen woman who had been a beacon of light in the pack, a symbol of hope. She slept peacefully, but it did little to console Asriel who did his best to keep himself from showing weakness, and felt himself slipping. He clenched his jaw as tightly as he could, not willing to allow softness to show in his form, though it claimed the fire in his eyes and extinguished it, so they swam with grief rather than burning with life. His softened though they still remained flat against his head and his posture dropped as his spine relaxed. He sat beside his brother, close enough so that their shoulders touched, seeking strength from his kin when he wanted nothing more than to approach his enraged mother. He said nothing when she shouted out and had to hold his breath to hold back a whimper.

She was blinded by her rage, seeing only red and corpses. For the time being as her sons backed away from her, submissive in her presence and silent as they should be, Elettra's attention thus kept off of them. While they waited patiently for a moment where she might take notice to them, she did not, her focus for a time lost somewhere as she stared at the corpse, her body rigid and tensed. She breaths in deeply then, her eyes closing, head lifting once more to the skies. She calls out - calls in a mournful howl the same as she had with Semananti. The same as she had with Narcissa. It was a howl out in recognition to the death of yet another fallen Willow Ridge member for all in the pack to know and understand what had been lost.

Elettra Archer finishes only to swoon, taking a few weary and shaken steps back from Skana as her head falls. Her stomach wretches, mixed with both anger, fear, pregnancy and horrid hunger. She hacks into the ground a few moments before licking away her foaming lips. Any step closer towards her from her sons would have resulted in a deep growl of obvious warning to keep away from her whilst she was not in the mood to be coddled - not that she ever was in such a mood. Once more regaining herself, her muzzle brushes Skana's own hardened flesh. She turns then quick, rushing off towards the boundaries beyond her homeland with every intention to mourn further on her own. Willow Ridge would no longer be the same.

no one cares about

the man in the box

the man who disappears

By the time Elettra's howl had come to his ears, fully realized and thoroughly deciphered, Angier Lyall was on his way from the borders of Willow Ridge. It might have been because he had been so very attentive in the days following his and Elettra's intimate encounter, or it might have been because he had had a very good night's rest. Either way, the Leader of Willow Ridge had been glad to have caught on to her cry; for the scene he came upon was something he had not truly expected. All that was left of his mate's presence in the area were the footsteps that seemed to scramble away from the area and it was apparent on her sons' faces that they, as well as she, had quite a shock.

Slowly, as not to startle the pair of swarthy brothers, he approached them, lending a low bark as to announce his arrival. His right russet-furred ear jerked, picking up the very last pitter-patter sounds of Elettra's footfalls before he could not longer hear her walking away through the willows. "Let 'er be," the Lyall rumbled. "She'll come aroun' soon enough." Looking down to where Skana had laid down in the snow to take her final breaths, Angier sighed. He had only learned of Semananti and Narcissa's passing just recently and he would not even dare to imagine just how much pain Elettra was going through now, in this very moment. "Here," he stated, hoping to ensnare both of his step-sons' attentions. "Let us put 'er to rest so that the Old Gods may bless 'er soul when her body returns to the earth." Now, while Angier wasn't too much of an expert on these Gods that Elettra mentioned or prayed to every so often, he hoped Asriel and Sköll would understand the concept of death in a new light... one that their mother had been raised to believe and uphold.

He walked around Skana to stand at her side before brushing his nose to her cheek, the next best thing he could do as a token of thanks for offering Elettra the love, care, and support when he had not yet been there for her. Then, once withdrawn from her, he moved over to the nearest tree and began to push away the snow so that he could begin to dig a proper burial site for Willow Ridge's beloved Advisor.

ANGIER LYALL

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For the briefest of moments Sköll held his brother's gaze but when Asriel broke eye contact and merely stood beside him. The second-born Archer could do nothing but let loose just one more whimper, even as Asriel gently touched his nose to his in consolation. Nonna... Sköll had finally decided to sit down beside his sibling when Elettra had left and Angier had turned up. He pressed the side of his face into Asriel's shoulder, his ghost gray eyes lifting just enough to look at the tawny Leader's chin as he addressed them.

Mother's gone, he wanted to hiss, finding himself held back by the proximity of his brother's touch. Go away, Skana couldn't possibly mean anything to you. You haven't even been here long enough to know her... As soon as the scowl had formed on his face, Sköll realized how childish and foolish it had been to even think such a thing. His whiskered brows relaxed and came back up and the words that came from Angier, while both unexpected and eye-opening, touched him in ways he had never expected. Let us put 'er to rest,"Angier had said, "so that the Old Gods may bless 'er soul when her body returns to the earth."

In an instant a mouthful of questions came to mind but the Lyall had already moved away. Sköll, while he had initially stared as the Leader bid the Advisor one last goodbye, immediately averted his eyes as Angier began to dig. Angier might not have known Skana as long as Sköll had, but the boy was quick to realize that he just might have known just how much Skana meant to Elettra... to him and Asriel and Morganna... to the whole of Willow Ridge...

Sköll stole one more glimpse at Asriel's face before slowly standing up and making his way underneath the willow tree where Angier was already at work unearthing to dark, saturated soil beneath the thick blanket of snow. Eager to help, Sköll extended a large paw and began to dig opposite of him, determined to help ensure that wherever Skana was, she would find a new life - with these "Old Gods" his mother believed in or otherwise - now that her mortal body had been left behind for them to take care of.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Asriel remained perfectly silent while his mother called out, a mournful obituary rising over the hills to alert others to the passing of their packmate. He caught the glint of Skoll's eyes but didn't turn to face his brother, as his gaze was still fixated on the peaceful but devoid face of their deceased packmate. When their mother vomited, he still did not move, though his eyes did flicker to her, and he lifted his head slightly when she turned and vanished without another word, leaving the body laying as it was. Asriel looked at it again, and he shuddered. Somewhere beneath the icy waters of the lake, Malia would have had the same expression...

He was so entranced by this thought, both horrified and mystified, that he didn't notice Angier's approach. The boy was startled to hear the man's voice and bristled slightly out of surprise. At last he tore his stare away from Skana's gentle face to regard Angier's features...But he couldn't help the morbid thought that one day, Angier too would pass away and take on that same peaceful look of slumber. It made his throat clench and froze him to the spot for a moment, even after he was urged to help bury the body. Skoll moved forward before he did, and only then did he realize that his brother had even touched his shoulder. He felt cold replace Skoll's body and was finally released from his trance.

He avoided eye contact with both Skoll and Angier, knowing that if he looked at them, he'd picture their faces blank and calm, eyes dusky and empty. He moved alongside Angier and focused his gaze on the ground as he helped pull away snow and dirt. He didn't move to help pull Skana toward it, nor did he look at her once she was placed in her grave and they began to cover her body with dirt. He didn't like the idea of a body having no spirit; what Angier said soothed him, slightly, so he focused instead on that- but found it an empty distraction. Once Skana was respectfully buried he paused for a moment, staring at the disturbed ground at the base of the tree, and thought he could feel the cold pressure of the earth surrounding himself- or maybe it was freezing water, he couldn't tell. Incapable of expressing himself or relieving himself of this feeling, he left the burial site in silence with restless thoughts and a sick feeling in his gut.

Death would come for them all; and it was an incredibly frightening thing; the prince would have to mend and accept it, but it would not be something that would come easily.