Secret Woodlands calling

The spring warmth was welcome upon his pelt, despite that his ebony paws still trudged through snow. His pelt was slick with the wet of the melting winter, and the tantalizing air that drifted past his nose teased him to a nostalgic uncertainty – it seemed no matter how little time he had truly spent in his lifetime of the area, Relic Lore was more familiar to him than the home he had been raised at in the end. While Secret Woodlands was not Copper Rock Creek.. it held a handful of very important wolves to him that would be home like almost no other – @Mirren and @Nina.

The sun just crept along the tree line, and he noticed the silhouette it played upon the thawing grounds. The leaves had yet to settle upon the branches, but in time, they would adorn the land in beautiful array.. and it warmed him to know that this time he would be here to see them bloom.

His thoughts trailed to the winter – his disgruntlement at Mirren settling a home without his input or any consideration to what he would think, and while he had missed his brother, he also had not regretted his decision for departure, if only for a little while. Of course, he could still scent the sweet maple scent of the female that he had spent snuggled against the past few months, and while he missed her.. he knew it had not meant to be.

So now he stood – a Tainn in the realm of his true lands. Nina’s scent was still predominant along the borders, and without announcing his presence, the ebony male swept to sit upon his haunches, awaiting for one of the members to stumble across him and begin the inevitable dance of acceptance.

(This post was last modified: May 26, 2014, 06:25 PM by Nios.)

'cause its home, but it's gone

Everything was changing. For what felt like the first time in months, Mirren could feel the sun. It beamed down upon the thicket with a promise of spring bright in its pale rays, dancing across his back as he slipped through the territory and across an old, dried creek bed. The thinning layer of ice that lined its bottom creaked beneath his paws and weight, splintering and cracking as he bounded to the bank of the other side. After a season of hunger, loss, and disappointment, he was finally getting back. Back into a healthy routine, back to being happy and hopeful, back to embracing his ambitions. But he hadn't accomplished this alone; with every step he took in and away from Secret Woodlands, he carried Kite's pristine optimism with him, written across his heart and scars. In what could have been his darkest hours, he'd found her there, aimlessly wandering through the blackberry field with not but a crow to keep her company. He needed the way she looked to him and spoke to him, like he mattered to her─like his dreams and feelings and perspectives actually meant something to someone other than himself. She understood his skeletons and wanted to─no, had shown him─that she could be a part of his life. In her he had found the part of himself he'd lost in the winter. With the onslaught of snow and winter weather on the way out, the thicket was beginning to look like he remembered it did. In some areas where the sunlight fell, the dirt and foliage that had for months been hidden appeared like a sight for sore eyes. He'd spent a number of hours scouring the borders and taking note of any and anything that was out of place─a old fallen branch, torn from its tree under the weight of the snow, slides of land washed away by the melt, the tracks of deer patterned in the snow and mud. Upon closer examination they proved to be rather fresh, which, to him, meant that soon enough he and his pack would be filling their bellies with fresh meat. Satisfied at the thought, he trolled on. It wasn't until he crossed the outskirts of the thicket that the strangest sensation overcame him. Call it intuition, but something about the chill in the wind and flutter of the naked, leafless branches in the canopy overhead sent a tingle down his spine. He stopped dead in his tracks. The scent was not as he remembered; it was sweeter, and the earthy redolence that had not been so different from his own was muted. Was it his mind playing a trick on him? Through the twisting trees and gentle hills of the forest he couldn't see the dark figure who he felt there in his bones. Was the grief that he'd spent every ounce of his energy forcing down into the depths of himself deceiving his senses? A growl so low that it resonated in his gut slowly trembled up from his chest before it caught in his throat. He forced it down as the fur along his nape slowly bristled. "Nios?"

He allowed the barest hint of warmth to illuminate across his fur -- he had wrangled himself a temporary home during the winter months, but it was not his safety that had concerned him, but Mirren's. He was hopeful the tawny male had remained in Relic Lore and the home he had chosen for himself, rather than stray after his brother, and only when his amber eyes fell upon the imposing figure of gold and strength did his concern give way to relief.

Mirren's voice rumbled in to the silence, and the swarthy Yearling noted the bristling of his littermate's pelt. It was not a gesture appreciated, and the Tainn could feel his own figure stiffening slightly, though he refrained from a challenge -- Mirren was a loyalist to these lands, and the true reason Nios had returned. Despite his disgruntlement at having a home chosen for him with no input by his traveling companion, he still desired nothing more than to stay by his brother side. Mirren held more ambition than Nios himself, and in such ways, was much like their father. Yet he was also more emotional.. more engaging to conversation, whereas Nios remained more reclusive. In that sense, it was he who was like the imposing Ruiko.

Mirren, he greeted with a deep rumble, his ivory tipped muzzle pointing lower now as he showed the respect a wolf who called any territory past a border as theirs. You seem well -- I'm glad you stayed.There was a small pause by the ebony male as he regarded his companion, noting how robust and healthy Mirren did seem. Secret Woodlands had maintained its strength throughout the winter, it seemed.

'cause its home, but it's gone

I'm so sorry for making you wait <3

For the slightest moment a sensation of numbness wrapped itself around the yearling's body. It was almost as if he'd been waiting for this to happen─waiting for his missing brother to surface on a whim at a time when his return would be most unexpected─but that didn't temper the swell of emotion that was crashing over him. Doubt. Uncertainty. Regret. Elation. Anger. Love. Fear. Hope. It was not until his honey hued eyes finally found the familiar figure of his sable counterpart that each one of them came crashing down upon his tawny head. A quiet breath slowly seeped from between his teeth as he simply blinked. "Mirren," Nios' words were like fire and ice all the same. He wasn't sure how he felt about the bittersweet quality of this conversation, but the shock that came with the realization that Nios had come back had hardly begun to really even set in yet, much less wear off. The words that followed were heard as an afterthought as Mirren soaked up the sound of his littermate's voice, its characteristic tones rolling over his body like smoke over water, blocking out everything else. It was so good to hear, better than sunlight after a storm; better than a fresh meal after a winter of starvation; better than anything he could possibly think to compare this reunion to. Nios was alive, and after months of not knowing, he was right here. "I'm better now, brother," not the first thing that came to mind and yet it slipped so easily from him. Part of him wanted to smother his brother in a show of affection, part of him wanted to rip Nios' face clean off for running out on him without a word (something Mirren had, in fact, done himself, and first), and a part of him strangely felt like it wasn't safe to feel any degree of relief. Not yet. Unaware of the bone Nios had to pick with him for settling in Secret Woodlands without any consensus, the elder sibling masterfully suppressed the slew of questions that whirled in his mind and the resentment that had grown after months of despair for the loss he'd perceived. Though he had some to go around, anger was not warranted here, not now, and at the end of the day and for the end of time Mirren's love for Nios would always persevere above all else. He cut straight to the point. "I thought I'd never see you again."

(This post was last modified: May 24, 2014, 02:42 AM by Mirren.)

Nios knew Mirren well enough to know when something flickered under the surface -- his brother was more talkative than him.. more smooth with his words, and social with others. Mirren, in ways, was much like their mother in that regard.. while Nios, reclusive, dark and with a temper, could very well be much like his father in his own regard. Ruiko had once told him of his uncle Indru once, had spoken that the two boys reminded him very much of he and his brother at their age.. and the swarthy male had taken the story to heart.. until the truth had revealed that Indru and Ruiko had finally separated because of their differences.

And that Indru had completely abandoned hiss family one night, taking with him a close to a newborn son. A dark clarity had settled over him then -- would he and Mirren be destined to be like their father and uncle?

Yet the storm did not surpass his brother's features just yet, and Nios inclined his muzzle slightly. "Ridiculous assumption," he countered, not necessarily keeping up the 'niceties' that was currently splayed between them. He loved his brother more than anything.. but that did not mean he would not hold back his own feelings on the events that had unwinded. "I chose to continue traveling since you decided to settle somewhere without any word or thought toward me," he spoke then, his amber eyes grazing over his brothers features to gauge his reaction to the words. The two had been inclined to travel together.. and without word, Mirren had simply joined a pack. Nios was finally here for his answers.

'cause its home, but it's gone

"As ridiculous as the way you chose to disappear on the cusp of winter to spite me for it." Mirren didn't have to think twice about what he would say in the moment then. Of course he'd thought of his brother when he'd joined up with Nina and hers─finding a safe home for his brother during the cruelest season of the year had actually topped his list of priorities at the time. In all honesty, it hadn't been his intention to stay that first night he'd encountered Nina on the borders, but she'd offered and there was something appealing and inarguably convenient in the fact that she'd been one of both he and Nios' caretakers during their childhood. Before he'd even had a chance to consult with his brother and partner, Nios was gone, as though he'd disappeared into thin air. To hear that his brother had left him to grieve and worry and think that he'd possibly lost the most important person in his life to starvation or cold because he'd been bitter that he hadn't been consulted...that cut like a knife. But the months that had passed without Nios in his life had hardened many parts of the swarthy Tainn that had before been softer. Now, knives could only cut so deep. "I settled down because it meant food in your belly, somewhere safe and warm for you to sleep at night, as well as for myself. I made what I thought was the best decision for the both of us─I certainly didn't expect it to upset you enough to run off without a word, to let your own brother believe for months that there was even the slightest chance that you were dead, frozen over in the snow." His face was expressionless, save for the fiery light of life that burned in his amber eyes as they searched the depths of Nios'. His dark sibling was grown now, no longer the 'little brother' he'd always been, but that didn't change the fact that Mirren would always feel responsible for his well-being and would always and instinctually strive to care for him, physically and emotionally. "You left before I could say or do anything, Nios. Don't you think I would've gone with you if you hadn't wanted to stay?...It wasn't about calling the shots or being the one to make the decision, which seems to be what you're saying is the reason you disappeared...I did what I did because I was trying to take care of you, because what kind of brother would I be if I hadn't." A brief pause. "Hell, if I'd known you were gonna run off, I would've never set foot in these damn woods in the first place, but I did, and here we are." And Mirren couldn't have been happier that they were here or anywhere together again. Period.

A rumbling growl seeped past the ebony wolf’s jaws, his eyes flaring as they swept over Mirren. His jaws opened to offer his response – the simple statement that had it been from spite, he wouldn’t have come back for him now. He had simply stuck to the plan. Yet his tawny littermate continued – the words forming causing Nios’ eyes to narrow slightly and his own figure to lift to show his true height – if only to remind Mirren that he was no pup. Don’t mistake the fact that being a few minute’s older doesn’t give you guardianship over me, Mirren. I am no pup nor are you my savior. There was a pause, his lips pulling back in disgust at the implication his brother’s words had given – Mirren felt the need to take care of him as if he was an invalid. We are partners, he emphasized, though the true words threatened to slip past his muzzle now. Best friends.

Scorned perhaps, Nios was quieter than his brother, and perhaps more brash. He raged like a wildfire – much like their father, while Mirren held more sensibility, much like their mother. We were both wrong. I wish to remedy that. While the swarthy wolf could argue all day about how wronged he felt – before, and even now, as Mirren talked to him as if he could not even hunt for himself. But the day grew on, and in the end, there would be no winners from a potential bitterness. But I can’t stay here in the Woodlands.

'cause its home, but it's gone