Hollowheart Keep Homecoming

@Naira @Mapplethorpe @Nova @Chulyin @Evann @Karpos @Aponi @Quicksilver @Equinox
Happy homecoming finally! :D

The progress was slow, but as soon as Mercy saw the ghoulish, gnarled forms of the trees that signalled the border of his homeland he finally felt sure that they would make it. Karpos and Evann had carried Aponi's weight while he'd managed to make the journey on his own feet even though he required several breaks. By the time they reached the borders he felt darkness beginning to swim before his eyes and he refused, finally, to walk any further. The skies above them were orange and yellow, the colours of a beautiful, dusky evening, and to those skies he lifted his head and called out, his parched and broken voice clipped and scratchy, but loud enough nonetheless to announce their return. He pumped as much energy into his voice as he could, before he staggered sideways and fell onto his side at the borders. The piece of meat he'd carried back for Aponi lay untouched in the snow.

His eyes were open, but only barely. His sides heaved as he sought to regain his breath, and he gently, slowly closed his eyes. He was still conscious, as was obvious by the frequent licking of his lips to try and moisten them, but the boy had no energy to do anything anymore. He was home- all he wanted to do was sleep, but he held on, still, knowing that he could not close his eyes and drift off just yet, not until he had seen his mother again. He knew death was still close, like a dog begging at the door, and if it claimed him while he slept then he would hold on to consciousness for just a bit longer- as long as it took for them to truly return to their homeland and be welcomed once more into the pack.

At first, she thought it was the sound of an elk as it died. The high, piercing, and screeching tone lifted into the sky and stopped Sagacity in her tracks; for a moment, she was content to hear the sound- it meant that somewhere, a pack of wolves had taken down an elk, and it was a sign that prey was returning to Relic Lore...But after a few moments, the tone changed; for a fleeting moment it became the skree of a bald eagle, or the sound of tree branches being scraped together. But once the pitch lowered slightly, it became the howl of a wolf- a pitiful, horrid howl- but a howl nonetheless and just before the sound stopped completely, it became recognizable. It was weak and ill, but she knew that voice- that voice belonged to her son.

The silver dagger fled through the forest, dodging the sticks and brambles of dried bushes and branches, breath catching in her throat as she leapt over a fallen log. It had to have been her son- there was no denying it. He sounded sick and feeble, but it was him. The closer she got to the borders, the more sure she was- she could smell Evann and Karpos, but with them she knew she could smell her son- and Aponi. They'd come back.

She called out- a loud, albeit short and nearly breathless shout to alert the others in the area. If they'd mistaken her son's call for that of a dying elk, there was no way they would doubt now. She burst through a thicket that was too high for her to jump and shook the dead leaves and twigs from the fur surrounding her face as she finally caught sight of them- Karpos and Evann, both looking exhausted, and the limp, bedragged and painfully thin bodies of Mercy and Aponi. For a moment, she thought she was looking at nothing but corpses and in her pent up grief and frustration she snarled and snapped at both Karpos and Evann to warn them away from the bodies of her son and the girl she considered to be no less than a daughter. She was still growling- more than in anxiety than anything- as she stepped over the two starving youths, and exhaled deeply when she saw that both were still breathing. It pained Sagacity to see them as nothing more than skin, fur and bones, when they should have been blossoming into yearlings. "Find food, now," She said to Evann, though she noted the bit of meat next to Mercy. Neither pup was terribly responsive, but just when she was about to assume they were both unconscious, she saw her son's tongue flick out over his lips.

"Mercy, my Crowchild," She said, as she settled down onto the ground beside him, directly between him and Aponi so that both could share in her warmth. "Aponi, my princess," She said, and smoothed her tongue over Aponi's ears. She wanted nothing more than to hold them both close and to have them nurse from her like they were both pups again. "Karpos; find Naira and Mapplethorpe." She said. She would stay with the starving youths until they were brought food and their parents. For @Couth she called out with a long, loud howl, knowing he was the pack's medic, and he might have some way to revive the pups, to give them a bit of energy or vitamins. It might require the efforts of the entire pack in order to restore life to both pups, but she demanded it. She called out to the entire pack, beckoning them to come with food, anything to help save their princess and their crowchild.

The steps that brought them home were short and heavy, stretching every muscle painfully, bones creaking under the added weight; despite its slight size. Evann kept her eyes shifting between the horizon and the grey boy walking in front of them. Mercy was doing well, walking on despite his weakness; the brown femme wanted to offer a shoulder for support, but it was already occupied by the limb body of Aponi; Hold on, HOLD ON! She thought, forcing her legs to move faster; she could feel the girls beating against her back, but it was faint. Glancing once at Karpos, walking by her side, carrying his own part of the princess' weight, the older lass once more admired the strength of the Hollowheart Keep pups, these were wolves that would go far in life! If they LIVE! The thought was cold and distant, as if offered by another wolf nearby, but the reality in it made Evann shiver; They HAVE to!


When they finally made it to the borders, Mercy's starved, young body finally gave in, and he collapsed; calling out hoarsely with the last of his strength. Heaving slightly, Evann stopped as well, looking from the grey body in the snow and to Karpos beside her, then back. She wanted to rush to Mercy's side, but at the same time, she didn't want to lay Aponi down on the cold ground. This left her standing, frozen, for valuable moments, ears desperately pricked for the sound of an answer to Mercy's call. Finally she gentle lowered the unconscious princess to the ground, sending Karpos a quick look; "K... Keep her w-warm!" She demanded and stepped away, intent on calling again, her own voice more powerful than the weak youth's, and then setting off into The Keep to find help.


She never made it this far though, as a silver form emerged from the thick underbrush just as Evann was about to lift her head. She immediately recognized the small second, eyes widening and legs trembling slightly in relief as she did. But The Silver Dagger reacted in a completely different manner than the sable girl had expected - Though I should know to expect aggression by now - But while the snapping jaws made her step back, she held her ground, standing in front of Aponi and Karpos, protectively; the action was instinctive, she felt deeply protective of the youngster's, and whatever had made Sagacity so angry, she wouldn't let her take it out on the kids.


When the dominant woman gave orders, Evann found herself torn once more, and she stayed put until the aggression faded in favor of concern, only stepping aside when Sagacity turned to her son, speaking soothingly. Then she allowed the mother to snug down between the young wolves, taking a few steps away and watching for a few more moments, assuring that they were safe; then she started into the depths of The Keep, to find whatever food they had stashed, and direct any other pack-members to the borders to help.


Word count: 507

”Speech” Thoughts

Permission given by Grey to PP Thorpe being brought to the scene.

He was exhausted but he put up with his tiredness because he was on his mission, his goal as a guardian and his duty to make every wolf of his pack safe. He had found the missing pups with the aid of Evann {more like following her and they both found them} and he had to perform his role to keep them safe. When they arrived at the borders and Mercy collapsed, he had gently laid Aponi on the ground with Evann, which until that point he had carried a good portion of the girl's weight. Evann gave an order and he obeyed, staying close to keep her warm with high hopes that she might stir and become conscious. It was not long before the worried mother arrived when she had heard her son's coarse, high-pitched howl.

A warning snarl as soon as she arrived made Karpos jump back in obedience. She was the Silver Dagger and more importantly she was his superior. He obeyed every order as soon as it was given, no questions asked and no hesitation. Her orders for Evann to find food were given and Evann did not move until she was sure Aponi and Mercy were surely safe in her mind. It was silly really, what mother would harm their child? Other than his mother who had emotionally damaged him by leaving, returning to instill false hope, and then leaving again to permanently crush him. He ran off as soon as Sagacity had given the order for him to find Sir Mapplethorpe and Lady Naira has he had started to come to call her.

He knew exactly where to find Aponi's father because the man was constantly watching as any faithful husband might do. He found Sir @Mapplethorpe by the den where Lady Naira slept and Karpos was urgent with his business. Sir Mapplethorpe, Evann and I have located Aponi and Mercy and brought them home. Ma'am Sagacity is with them now and your prescence is requested by the southern border. He informed quickly as he led the father towards the scene of a weak and unconscious Mercy and an even weaker and unconscious Aponi.

(This post was last modified: Apr 24, 2014, 08:26 PM by Karpos.)

Blackness was all that Aponi knew, mostly blackness anyways. Every so often her blue eyes would flutter open and look glassily around their surroundings before closing again, not even registering where they were. The princess would never really remember this rescue mission, it would all be a confusing blur of voices as she sank in and out of consciousness. In these brief moments she noted the odd feeling of the ground beneath her, it was warm and rather soft and uncomfortably un level. She had no idea that this was not in fact ground but rather two wolves carrying back towards her home, the idea would seem strange when she was thinking clearly and now she obviously wasn't. Once more she was jostled awake as she was laid upon the ground, her ears twitched as a mixture of howling and voices surrounded her. Silver brows furrowed as she tried to place faces to voices but didn't open her eyes knowing they would just be a blur anyways. Warmth was pressed against her side and Aponi felt a small sigh leave her maw, it had been so long since she felt properly warm. When the warmth was stolen away the blue eyes opened in protest, searching the blurry world for one wolf and one wolf only; Mercy. When she found the silver boy she yipped to call out for him, he wasn't moving was he......was he dead? Using up precious energy the princess tried to drag herself closer but only accomplished a couple of inches before exhaustion won out. A whine was the last thing that left her body before once more the blackness consumed her and she fell into the slumber once more.

The boy hardly heard the growl that his mother used to clear Evann and Karpos away from the pups. He didn't register the sound as one belonging to his mother- and that he was therefore safe- or that it might have belonged to someone who wished to do them harm- and that he was therefore in danger. His only remaining energy was focused on keeping his breath going, and his heart, and keeping himself awake enough to know that they'd reached their home. The only sound that did pull him out of his daze was the sound of Aponi's soft whine, as though the pitch of her voice could summon him from any sort of slumber. Weakly he lifted his head, eyes cracking open not just enough to see that he couldn't see Aponi- there was a small, silver form in the way. And for a moment, before he recognized this as his mother, he struggled- until he heard her voice, finally, and felt her muzzle press against his brow.

Over her shoulder he saw Aponi, resting against Sagacity's other side. He held his head up long enough to see the rise and fall of her sides as she slipped back into slumber, and he turned his gaze to catch the amber eyes of his mother for a moment before he leaned against her, closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. He was home, and his mother was still here. Aponi was safe as well, and they would no longer have to wander the darkness of the wilderness by themselves. He slipped into a restful sleep alongside his mother, safe in her embrace.

Evann's hesitance sent a spike of electricity through Sagacity's spine and she moved forward brusquely to take the female's place. Had she hesitated a moment longer, or had Mercy and Aponi been in better condition, she would have lashed out at the woman for not heeding her word immediately. There was no way the girl could think that Sagacity would ever, possibly harm the two young ones- one was her own son and the other may as well have been her daughter. She glared and continued to snarl at Evann, whom she intended to punish later for keeping her from her son a moment longer. She'd been disobedient before, and had made some ground in the meantime, but this was unacceptable. Evann had made her way back onto Sagacity's blacklist, and she would not ever dare to do such a thing, so long as Sagacity could help it.

She settled down between the two near-yearlings, and was pleased to see them both react to the warmth of her body. She'd been running and with the fast pace of her heart, her body temperature was warm enough to offer them both a bit of a respite from the cold. Aponi showed signs of being conscious for a moment, but she seemed to relax back into a slumber- willingly so, though, when she realized she was safe. Mercy too struggled for a moment and seemed not to see her- not, at least, until after he had laid his eyes on Aponi for long enough to make sure she was there and that she was alive. His eyes, bleary and tired, held hers for a moment before he laid his head back down again and released the same, relieved sigh that Aponi had, not only moments ago. She wrapped her tail around Aponi and smoothed the hair atop her coarsened head, pulling both young, starving pups closer to her, promising herself that she would never let them wander off again.

OOC here!

At first her ears perked at the sound of something dying, perhaps something edible, and never one to pass up a free meal she had set out in its direction at a steady ground-eating trot. The more demanding call of her second however gave her steps more haste. Faltering just a moment to nose about in a nearby cache, she managed a mouthful of some scrap or other and continued on her way, nostrils flaring in an attempt to discern any scent over that of the food that was clenched between her jaws, but it was almost hopeless. She would have to depend on her much less reliable eyes and ears.

Hunkered down between the two dark waifs, she almost would have passed them straight by were it not for the unusual furriness of the boulder ahead. The movement of Sagacity’s head as she checked on one yearling and then the next only further fueled the tawny wolf as she slowed in her approach. They were so thin, so ragged. Although it could have been so much worse.

Dropping her prize in front of Mercy (his grasp on consciousness clearly less precarious than that of Aponi’s) and moved to press her nose to the scouts temple in clear gratitude. Unaware that Evann had already gone in search of another meal she hastily moved away to fetch more scraps from wherever she could find them, hoping beyond all hope that it wasn’t too late for the wayward princess.

This natural selection picked me out to be

Karpos Slayer

A dark horse running in a fantasy

Naira soon arrived without Karpos going to find her and then took off once more. Karpos rushed off to find food and then to secure the borders once more. Mercy and Aponi were home and that was all that mattered at that point. His heart took a leap of pride that he had found her and helped carry her back. They had found her as he never would have found her if Evann hadn't wandered off to find them as well. He was incredibly proud of himself and the female who had carried Aponi back. But he couldn't be proud for too long. Karpos pushed off to find food, something that he could dig up or anything really. He took a deep breathe as he searched.

-Really super short and crappy exit-

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the snow. Hunt Opportunity