Willow Ridge Keys? I don't know of any keys.

/FACEPALM.

If Tannis Andreas could have whistled while he walked, he might have... well, maybe if it weren't for the knot in his stomach and the feeling that he probably shouldn't have been in this part of the woods. The Willows that had sprung up around him had, to put it simply, surprised him; for the next thing he knew he was surrounded by a myriad of the umbrella-like trees. Creeping about low to the ground with his ears slicked back and his tail kept close against his belly, the lone rogue skulked about, his wide and pale yellow eyes kept peeled for the slightest of movements. His fur stood up on end as he eventually began to crawl about on his elbows, unattractively wriggling and somewhat slithering across the forest floor. There might have been lots of places to hide here but with the scent of a wolf pack continually filling his nostrils, he was, to the hilt, scared beyond the wits he still had.

Keep-a goin', don't you go slowin', keep low, keep low, keep your ducks in a row... Keep-a goin', don't you-- What was that?!

The rogue's head came up and immediately he threw his gaze over each of his shoulders before ducking down again, he would be damned if he was found out now. It was nothing, he hastily attempted to soothe himself without avail. Nothing, nothing, nothing, something, somethi-- gotta go. Gotta keep going... Snuffling about and searching for something that told him that he had put himself back on the "right side" of the "invisible fence" that divided free land from pack territory, he crawled, hoping beyond all hope that he would not be found out.

Surely though, just like those two in the Sacred Grove and just like everything else in relation to the bumbling turkey called "Tannis," he would be found out and would be prompted to reveal who he was and what he was doing there, in a realm that whose history was not his own to serve and maintain...

The tension in the air was palpable as her mother’s due date drew nearer and nearer but the Archer princess could hardly see what all the fuss was about. Surely people hadn’t been this tense before she was born were they? She often found herself giddy at the prospect of little sisters to raise and mould in her own image, but for now, she found her time was better spent away from the heart of their home, out where the air was clear and there was nobody’s feet for the young woman to find herself under.

She was yet to come to grips with her impending change of station. She simply assumed the pack would continue to dote on her as her mother’s eldest daughter. The thought of earning her place or asserting her dominance had hardly crossed her mind. Had she known she was about to be booted to the bottom of the totem pole she might have found herself a little more resentful of the lives that grew within her mother’s womb and a little less enthused.

Little did she realise she was about to be displaced.

So absorbed in her own thoughts was the near yearling that she almost missed the strangers scent that dared to cross her mother’s well marked borders. Curiosity more than rage filled the girl as she followed the scent a little further, lines creasing her brow and pulling her ears forward intensely as her tail took it’s seemingly natural position high over her back. Finally a rustling caught her attention and her eyes fell on... What was that? It slunk about more like a thieving coyote than any wolf she had ever seen and yet she supposed at it’s full height it would stand even taller than she. With a less than lady-like bark she called after the stranger “Oi!” An ear flicked for a moment to wait for a known adult to turn around and berate her for using such a noise, but when no such call out came she advanced. “Jus- what do you think yer doin?”

The blundering bloke might have stood a chance in escaping unseen if his steps hadn't been so heavy and his tail hadn't been waving about like some sort of banner that waved about screaming, Look at me! Look at me! Here I am! He crept past a tree that reeked of urine and disturbed mud and had thought he could have made a run for it - if only he could straighten out his limbs and actually start running - when he heard a voice.

“Oi!” her call made him stub his nose into a stone that had been embedded in the earth and, in order to look around or towards where he thought he heard the young lady at his back, he rolled over before standing up. His ears flattened against his skull and inside his head he was running in circles out of sheer panic. What to do? What to do? HIDE! In a panic he searched the ground for something to hide in. An unearthed tree root, an inconspicuous boulder, a bunch of brambles or a patch of tall grass... anything. Beneath a willow tree... THAT ONE RIGHT TH--

“Jus- what do you think yer doin?”

Tannis' lanky frame, at first, came up as though he were a feline, his back curving into a arch as his wiry pelt stuck up along his spine and his head lowering like a turtle's might when it retreated into its shell. She sounded much closer than when she had first hollered at him. In fact... He turned around to realize she was just right there, out in the open, perhaps just within charging distance. He flattened himself to the ground, looking very much like those internet memes about "monorail cats" with his legs tucked close to his body and his tail extended out behind him in a rather apologetic wag.

"Nuth-thinggg?" the word that lifted from his throat came out as though it were a question, and immediately his tongue flicked out a number of times from between his teeth. He looked at her face once then quickly withdrew his gaze. The way she had demanded an answer from him had him assuming outright that she owned the lands, and as much as he wanted to roll away, he knew very well that he had to stay still... to not move in any way that might suggest he meant any harm to her. In all truthfulness, Tannis was physically very much incapable of harming anything, let alone another wolf... hopefully she would pick up on such a fact just by looking at the pile of fur he had become.

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2014, 05:20 AM by Tannis.)

The young Archer did well to mask her smirk as the man fell right over and rolled. There was an intensity in her eyes as she watched him, caught somewhere between amusement and confusion. She had never seen a wolf react this way to the presence of another and it filled her with a great sense of power. Perhaps she didn’t have to chase him off just yet...

When the wolf finally stopped his scrabbling and hunkered down to the ground she advanced with a confident swagger to her step, the apologetic wag of his tail only adding to her blooming confidence. When he finally managed to answer her she felt as though she were towering over him, hastily dropping her head to push her nose just behind his left ear, a singular dark lip pulling back to reveal her teeth. She took in his scent, not marked by others, so perhaps he wasn’t a spy, but that didn’t mean his interrogation was over.

The darting of his tongue could be seen to continue from the corner of her eye as she applied a little more pressure to the small hollow between his ear and neck. Through clenched teeth a small smile tugged at the right side of her mouth, concealed from her unwitting victim. “Didn’t look like nuthin... to me.” Her whisper was laced with the hint of a growl. Surely if he chose to challenge her, to raise himself to his feet and run, or even to turn on her she wouldn’t manage much more than a small nip before she found herself toppled. But she was within summoning distance of a pack, and she hoped he was smart enough to realise it.

Fearful yellow eyes dared to flicked up to the dark lady before him but he quickly blinked and refocused his gaze elsewhere when she took his submissiveness as a cue to come forward and greet him properly. Fear really should have been apart of his instinctive response but as Tannis laid there, immobile and subject to this other wolf's caprice, he expected it. Just a couple of years was all it had taken to bring him down from his throne as his father's heir, fabricated into what he had thought was a noble and lofty position within his father's growing Council. He was nothing but a lore keeper, a guardian of secrets... a collector of words. At the bottom of the hierarchy, being talked down to was something Tannis had always known.

She had brought her lips so very close to his left ear. It made the hairs along his spine tingle, “Didn’t look like nuthin... to me.” Just as though this young lady had been one of sisters, his mother, or one of his former pack members, he answered her with a soft whimper which escalated into a bark that was more like a yelp than a woof.

"Please," he implored her. "I just... I just..." He managed to shuffle back, an attempt to hide his tail between his legs. "I just... I was looking for something." He tried to point towards a point in the distance with a lift of his head. "Over there. I-I thought I s-saw something, but I didn't and I was just going on my way." ...but then you stopped me.

"You... You aren't," he sputtered. "You aren't Corvinus are you?" In his mind's eye, after staring at the tips of her toes and the willowy structure of her midnight black limbs, the sight of her made him think back to the very moment that had sent him running: the smug grin on Verona's black-furred face, the stony glare in his father's sun-hued eyes, the feeling of dread that pooled in his stomach as the verdict of his exile was passed. Within seconds, his scent morphing into one that distinctly broadcast the terror he was feeling in every muscle of his being. "Please. Don't."

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2014, 07:32 AM by Tannis.)

Looking for something? She lifted her head and took a step back, her inexperience showing as she exposed her neck for just a split second before tucking her chin and stepping back to look at where the man motioned. “What sorta somethin’?” she probed a little further her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she looked down on the quivering tawny lump, now absent a tail. There was something fishy about this one and while her teaching told her to call for an adult it was her pride that forced her to probe deeper all on her own.

His spluttered question however sparked a sense of mischief in the young princess and drew her back to games she had played with @Skoll on rainy days. While she had no idea what a Corvinus might be it clearly held some power over the man and she simply couldn’t resist. Drawing herself back to her full height she looked down at the man from the corner of her eye, her fur bristling in a threatening display. “An- what if I am?” she questioned haughtily before lowering her head inch by inch to rest her nose dangerously close to his muzzle “What would you matter to me if I was?” The growl was back in her voice although mischief clearly lit her eyes. “What’s yer name?”

If only @Skana could see her now, and what a wonderful guardian she would make.

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2014, 07:13 AM by Morganna.)

The woman, a girl, he soon came to realize, seemed genuinely interested in what he had thought he had seen. Really, it was all just a figment of his imagination, wishful thinking manifested in something akin to a hallucination incited by hunger and disorientation. "Mm-my m-mother," he divulged as she continued to look down upon him. He stared at the grass tips that touched the tip of his damp, leathery nose. "My sisters." It seemed his answer might not have persuaded her to continue on a more indulging note of conversation; she proceeded to direct his question back at him.

What if she had been a Corvinus and he hadn't known it? What if, just by questioning her heritage, he had unknowingly, figuratively spat in her face?

Uh-oh.

He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to insult her further. As far as he was concerned, he was still under the Corvinus' watchful eye and, perhaps, any ally or spy they might associate themselves with. The youth, who still towered over him, growled again when he didn't answer. Apparently the interrogation was not over just yet, "What's yer name?" Once more did the rogue lift his eyes, stealing a glimpse of her peach-hued irises. Whether or not she was playing coy or stupid, he couldn't exactly tell, judging by the look that was on her flawless face, but he was somewhat sure that something in her smile was off. Even then, though, he found that he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Tannis," his teeth clicked and hissed. He made a face that told his younger companion of his worry and trepidation. For a notary to have so many words and so little to say, the man felt utterly rueful, feeling as if he was not even worthy of breathing the same air as his interrogator. A potential Corvinus who had been born the very year when he was displaced.

"Forgive me if I've upset you," he tried again, "I've forgotten that I know nothing of your rule. I've been outlawed for as long as I could remember, but I do know who holds the power here - you do..."

What he thought he had seen turned out to be less interesting than she had originally hoped. Perhaps if he had seen a rabbit or something she could track down herself later she may have pressed him further, but she had no interest in imaginary wolves prowling about her mothers lands, for surely if anyone else had been by this way she would have smelled them too... but finally she had a name to put to his face, and his scent - as laced with absolute terror as it was, evoking memories of the hunt she had shared with her brothers on a stormy Autumn day.

He stroked her ego, not that it needed it, when he told her that she held all the power here. Moving back to give the stranger room to get up, she allowed the silence to stretch out for perhaps a moment more than was comfortable, as if she were weighing up what he had told her and she was trying to decide his fate. “An outlaw then...” she seemingly considered, failing to recognise the danger such a title held. Why had he been displaced? He could well have been a murderer for all she knew but those were grown up thoughts, and the young Archer was still convinced she was invincible. “Well, I’m not a Corvinus. I’m Princess Morganna Archer of Willow Ridge, an’ unless yer have business with me mother I suggest yer rather quickly come up with a reason fer me ter not summon the rest o’ th- pack...” She kept her eyes closely trained on the man, this Tannis. Perhaps he could be useful to her yet.

Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment The burnt sienna huntress was well into checking the caches, a rabbit dangling from her mouth that she had managed to come across while going from one to another. Yet she paused when voices could be heard filtering through the trees. Not being able to quite make out the words, Senka quickly headed towards them. They were too close to the borders for her liking, though her mind told her it could simply be her pack mates. Yet it wouldn’t hurt to check, just in case. As she was weaving her way between the willow trees, Senka had managed to catch the tail end of what Morganna was saying. “...business with me mother I suggest yer rather quickly come up with a reason fer me ter not summon the rest o’ th- pack...” Which, in turn, made the Huntress wary of just who the princess was speaking with and quickly dropped the rabbit she was still holding at the base of the tree she was standing next to. There was no way she was about to hide in the shadows and let the younger female, the child of her leader, interact with the unknown male wolf in front of her. Stepping out from behind the drooping branches with her head held up slightly, Senka stalked to Morganna’s side, though sticking back slightly and to the girls’ left. ”What's going on here?" The huntress questioned as she, too stared down at the male, awaiting an answer. And if he thought Morganna towered over him, then surely Senka was even more frightening with her longer limbs and bulkier body.

table by mimi

"An outlaw then..." she mused. To that, the brute gave an eager whine, as though he were agreeing with her title for him. He never would have thought to call himself that; and, on second thought, he kinda liked the idea. Tannis... the Outlaw. Yeahhh... If his tail had still been extended out behind him, it might have wriggled with cub-like glee despite the negative connotations "an outlaw" might have (and, really, before all this Relic Lore business, Tannis had not thought of himself breaking a pack law by accidentally looking upon a secretive (mis)deed). The girl's next statement called him back to what was going on in the waking world, the one in which he was basically rooted into the ground beneath a stranger who, upon closer inspection, might have been younger than he had originally thought.

She was merciful enough as to let him know her identity: she was royal by blood, a princess, but not a Corvinus as he had assumed. She let him know that she was expecting him to give her a reason to not call the rest of her pack. Over and over he stumbled over the words in his head. He opened his mouth to speak but the next thing he knew, another pair of legs, red-flecked and partially off-white towards the tips of her digits, had joined Morganna's. His fearful eyes raked up her forelimbs until he saw a glimpse of her face. He looked away as she demanded to know what was going on.

Again his answer was repeated, but this time, he had prepared a second, more acceptable, part, "Nothing, ma'am... I was jus'... on my way out." Then, without even thinking, without even considering the repercussions of such an action, he slowly began to crawl backwards with every intent to remove himself from the situation altogether...