Drooping Willows blood of my blood

@Elettra - your niece has come a-knocking!

July 7th; Early Afternoon; Partly Cloudy; 70° F/21° C

She should have known that it would all come to this, that one day her welcome at Cut Rock River would run its course. She should have known better than to be impulsive, but to take a step back and consider all that she had been given, made Taima realize just how lucky she had been. She had her prince and she had a son and they had a place to stay. However, now that the golden-furred boy was growing older and starting to test his parents' boundaries, it was about time that they sought out the help they had needed from the very start. Motherhood had taken its toll on Taima and she was out of options as to rear Octavius on her own. This was made worse by the fact that the cub had yet to bond with his father.

As she laid in the depths of the old bear den, she thought of something. If she couldn't go back to Cut Rock River territory and if she needed help with Octavius (as it stood the only contact the cub had had in the first couple months of his life was between him and his parents), then she would have to find some resources in the form of another pack (preferably one with a teacher, guardian, appointed cub-sitter, and other cubs for Octavius to play and socialize with). For most of the morning, she kept an eye out for Datura, her eyes keen on picking out any tint or shade of bronze through the browns and greens of the firs and cedars. Every so often she reached over or around to graze her tongue over her son's muzzle and face, hoping that he would remain as he was, containable and manageable. Over the past few months he had grown into a bumbling ball of golden brown fur, and watching as he gradually learned to walk, gained weight, and began showing hints of a genuine distinct personality, only made her worry further.

If they did not move now, Octavius might prove to be a challenge to look after. Exchanging his infantile whimpers and whines for mobility might have been better the other way around, but as Taima saw it, she would rather deal with moving her family without having to face any number of questions or having to stop because her son began to feel heavy in her jowls.

When she had had enough of waiting, she succumbed to her restlessness and began to slowly herd and lead her son away from the underground burrow. "Come on," she encouraged him with a cooing tone. "Follow Mama." For a while it was slow-going as she continually kept an eye out her mate. It wasn't until Octavius had started to become just as restless did she begin to actually put some distance between her and the only true home she had ever known.

---

Leaving a mark every so often in the grass and against trees ought to have been enough for @Datura to follow their trail. They had not gone too far, but it was still a few hours away to the south of where the den had been. In the time that they had traveled the cedar trees made way for willows and it soon dawned on Taima that she had been here, or somewhere near here, before. After firmly instructing that Octavius stay put beneath one of the umbrella-like trees, she strode forward sniffing about and looking over the ground with wide eyes.

She could have sworn that she had picked up a whiff of something. Something that distinctly spelled out that a pack of wolves lived nearby. It had been a female's scent she had deciphered first before pulling several male signatures alongside it. It wasn't until she came alongside a particularly tall willow tree that she stopped in her tracks. This particular male she had just scented struck a note; it made her eyes light up as she recognized who she had discovered. Angier. Uncle Angier.

Her eyes narrowed as she continued walking, waiting to find a scent marker so strong that it discouraged her from actually trespassing. Taima stalked past a few more trees before she had to stop. She had found them. She had found her uncle and his pack. Perhaps there was hope to be had after all. Her tail wagged and her breath caught in her chest as she traveled along their borders before finding a moderately-sized clearing to stand in. She wanted to see them as clearly as they saw her when they approached, but somehow, she was certain that they would have the advantage here. Down here the sun was much too bright, even as it filtered through the willows, and the grass-covered ground was much too soft under her feet.

Without another moment to lose, she lifted her muzzle upward in a hesitant howl, requesting the presence of the only family she had left, Angier and the woman who was quite possibly his mate.

<3 @Taima, I wasn't sure if you wanted just El or if this was alright. If ya would prefer Sorya not be here then just shoot me a PM and I'll remove the post.

The Archer woman had been frantic, making sure that the borders were secure and that none of the other pups had disappeared, since the disappearance of Deacon. She had been glued to the den with Castiel and Greer or she had been out patrolling the entire time. When the call reached her ears, she rushed to the scene. The woman before reeked of the scent of being a mother and with that Sorya's hackles rose slightly. The second of Willow Ridge had been irritable since her 'failing' to keep Deacon within the confines of the pack. She gritted her teeth slightly as her tail rose to assert her dominance. "State your business at the borders and perhaps I might call for one of my alphas." The words were not that of a kind wolf.

Sorya Archer wanted straight answers before calling for her sister or brother-in-law and she wanted answers that would be worth her time. Sorya did not know that the woman before her was Mrs. Taima Lyall and she also did not know that Angier was Taima's uncle. None of it mattered to her. All that mattered to the charcoal guardian with a sooty grey muzzle was that this was a loner at the borders who was with child. That seemed suspicious enough to her. "I dare you to give me one good reason to not run you from the borders at this very second." She piped in only seconds after her former words. She wasn't afraid to do it either.

Three more days. Three more days at the very least, would she be once more reunited with @Angier Lyall and his traveling companion, @Rowan. After yesterday her eldest son to her second litter, Deacon, having disappeared, she had sent Angier off to their two allies with hopes that they might have any news on what had happened or, if they were lucky, that their son would be safely with them after having rested off a venture far beyond his age and boundaries. A few days was really nothing. Back before they were mates, Elettra and Angier's meetings were few and far between, his visits often in secrets by his devotion to her as opposed to where he actually resided. Even still, Elettra would find herself wondering off for a whole day without a care as she ventured for herbs. Though now the news of her missing son weighed her and she was far beyond stressed and panicked.

She had not eaten. Had barely slept and her body quivered with tension and anxiety. If she was not fretting over @Greer and @Castiel, snapping at them if they so much as walked more then a yard from the confines of the pack den, then she was pacing her territory border, so much that she may very well grind out a trench from it. Offering a quick calling demand for @Adelaide and @Xetor to take post at guarding the pups, she frantically moved to the call of a loner at her border. Maybe Skoll had rounded up the thief and had brought them here? Maybe some random traveler had found Deacon, scented the willows upon him and brought him home?

When she arrived, seeing no Deacon and only the stranger and her sister, she was flooded with an overwhelming disappointment and pain. Sorya's aggression was matched with her sister's, Elettra's tail raising and her hackles on end. Her stare is intense upon the younger, smaller woman as she came to stand at her sister's side - the pair matched in seemingly every aspect though Sorya is obviously younger and a bit more thickly built. Sorya had spoken enough and so, Elettra only awaited silently for answers. She might have been a Lyall, but Elettra most certainly did not know her as Angier's niece, the woman that for long now Borden and Calla had been searching for.

Although Gus was not one to question his mother, he found himself whining as she carried him away from his birth place. I'm not ready! he squealed, I like it here! But his mum wouldn't tell him why they were leaving or where they were going. This filled Gus with a deep, deep fear as he wobbled uncertainly after his mother, the wide open world flooding his senses and overwhelming him. There were so many different trees beyond the den, ones that grew close together or had needles that poked at his poor pads. The sounds were equally as troubling: raucous cries from above, strange chirping all around him that he hadn't heard from inside the den. What where these creatures? Where were they?

Several long, arduous days later and Taima abruptly plopped him under the most curious tree. Reverently he bobbed his head as she told him to stay put, though he wanted to cry when she turned around and walked away. Mum, he whined, don't leeeeeeave. In an attempt to distract himself, he studied the wilted branches that sagged all the way to the ground. Even if they weren't the kind of trees he was used to, they were kind of alright.

After several minutes with no further sign of his mother, Gus decided that waiting for her would best be spent asleep and, despondently, he curled up against the bending trunk of the willow tree.

If Taima bombs this as badly as Rook initially did with WC, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with myself. omg. lol.

While Taima had expected the emergence of one of her uncle's lackeys, she had not expected to be greeted with such harshness. She visibly shrank away, bowing her head and flattening her ears. "I dare you," the intimidating guard had said, "to give me one good reason to not run you from the borders at this very second." The young Lyall's breath caught in her chest and the words failed to form on her tongue. The courage and nerve came easily, however, as she remembered that it wasn't just her own skin on the line. She had to do this, not for herself, but for Octavius, her only son and heir. She had to do this if she was to see her father's domain rebuilt and revived.

This was for Octavius. For the father she had scorned. For the mother she had missed with all her heart...

"My name is Taima Lyall," she stated, her voice only slightly wavering. "My un--" Before Taima could even explain, she was startled by the emergence of yet another dark-coated woman, whose ivory lips also framed a set of clenched teeth. Apparently Taima had upset them, and she sorely wished now she had known the reason why before coming along their borders. At the very least, she was rather glad to have avoided subjecting her son to such an aggressive encounter.

She flattened herself in the grass, her stomach pressed against the ground with her ears completely flush against her skull. "Please," she was begging now, unsure of what to say or do. "I n-need my family... I have a son, we need your help." Between the willows and being as spindly as she was with just being months out of her yearling days, Taima could have easily looked like a pup. The insolent daughter that had constantly sent her father into such a whirlwind of rage, just as these two women were before her.

"Is my uncle Angier here?" she dared to peek up at the lookalike ladies' faces, a whimper solely shaping her words. "I just want to see him."

The woman before her started to speak and introduced herself with a highly familiar last name. She was cut off by the arrival of the Archer woman's sister, the queen herself, and with that Sorya backed up slightly and let her tail lower below Elettra's respectively. She gave her sister a quick lick of the chin before turning her attention back to the girl. She spoke of having a son and that they needed help and though it was not Sorya's place to judge, it irritated her. A girl who had a child she could not care for? How... irresponsible. It didn't even begin to touch into the judgement she had just passed. She remained calm and hid all of her emotions in her face while giving a quick look to Elettra. It was her call.

Her Uncle Angier? As if anything couldn't get more interesting with Deacon still missing... this woman was technically the niece of her sister by matehood? It didn't necessarily change anything from Sorya's view but it might make Elettra change whatever she had been thinking. This Taima wolf asked to see her uncle, who as far as Sorya knew, was out looking for Deacon still. She hadn't seen him recently so she just assumed that was where he was. The rigid Archer woman did not change her stance and would not until her sister passed judgement. Even then she might not change it but rather go and head back to the den to make sure Greer and Castiel were still alright.

Just found out today my cat is sick beyond what I can afford to keep him alive... Sorry if its jumbled crap, but I did not want to leave you guys waiting.

She listened to her, remaining as firm as Sorya did at her side as critical eyes watched the young girl. "Do give reason why it is my responsibility to help you and your son. I have sons - five of them, what makes you think there is room for yours?" Though technically two of those sons were fully capable of taking care of themselves, the other three were not. Not to mention, the one that was missing at this very moment. She was but a rogue woman, lonely, young and confused with a single child she was not sure how to handle. The girl having spread her legs to soon, however, was not Elettra's responsibility. Her pack was. Her family. ...And then the woman spoke of her uncle, Angier. It made her lip quiver, a growl forming in her throat. She had hoped she could easily send the youth and her baggage away but it would seem the gods sought it fitting to screw her over yet again. "Taima?" She questioned, calculating the names of the other Lyalls she had met from Jaysyek and Borden's litters and assuming this child, never having met before, was indeed the missing daughter. "No. He is not here and will not be for a few more days at best..." She did not yet bother to tell the other woman of the news. Quite frankly, family or not, it was none of her business. She did not know the woman and so, did not trust her. She gritted her teeth then, hating the position she was in and after a few moments, a sigh took her in defeat. "You may hide your child within the protection of my territory, but you may not enter the pack den and you may not use our caches for your boy. Though you may enter our land you will not call yourself a Willow Ridge wolf. Not until my mate can pass judgement upon you." She had her own children to think of, obviously, and another woman with pups and possibly a mate lingering about was a threat. A big one, given their certain situation with tensions so high and the pack split up on a search. Still, she knew she wad family to Angier and so would leave the decision up to him upon his return. "Now go. I have recently lost someone dear to me. I am not in the mood for distractions." Her jaws would snap then in warning.

"Do give reason why it is my responsibility to help you and your son," the more dominant of the women stated, "I have sons - five of them, what makes you think there is room for yours?" It sounded as though Taima had blown her chance, her last hope in keeping her son alive. As it was, with her constant worrying about him, she was a terrible hunter and an even hopeless scavenger. Without the support of other wolves, who could at least look after Octavius and provide him with the social stimulation he needed to thrive (and, surely, all those morning and afternoons alone were bound to possibly leave an impression on the boy), she felt as though her son had been dealt a terrible hand in the game of life. It really should have been the other way around, the way she saw it - being the only son of two children who were their parents' appointed successors.

She held back the whine that building up in her sinuses, shivering while she fought to keep herself from cringing upon hearing the words that meant that she would be turned away, never to return. The words that fell on her folded ears, however, caught her by surprise. The woman had known her name. Had Angier mentioned something about her before? She considered Renier, Calla, and Ryvet - her age mates- and their ventures in looking for her, but decided against it (though this was actually the truth about how the young Lyall had slipped into Elettra Archer's memory).

Her Uncle Angier was not there and he would return, hopefully, within a few days' time. Taima whimpered a singular note of dejection but it was cut off by the Lady Archer's considerate and lenient gesture of allowing her and her son to stay. Though, there were rules, a judgement of sorts, which she should have seen coming. The cub in her head groaned and grumbled out of habit; she might have grown up but, mentally, her youth remained and it still hated to be dictated to. On another hand, she knew it was for the best and nodded in understanding as she stared at the ground.

She was not to use the pack den or make use of their caches. She was not to be considered apart of Willow Ridge unless her uncle, himself, accepted her into the pack.

"Now go," the Leader's words were succinct, a clear order for Taima to make herself scarce and keep herself as such while she was a guest of Willow Ridge. She gave her tail a few wags, bowing her head low as she crawled backwards and away from the two women before straightening her posture to prepare herself for the journey back to where she had left Octavius beneath a willow not too far away. "Thank you," she sobbed. "Thank you... I will retrieve my son and I will be back to seek out my uncle." She gave a rather grateful smile, one more whisper fleeing from her lips before she made her leave, "Thank you."

(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2014, 05:38 PM by Taima.)

Grey said that Taima's post could be taken as a 'left to get Octavius' post so Sorya be questions! @Elettra

The woman had groveled at the feet of her sister and it hadn't been very effective with snappy comments in response until the girl mentioned a last name that made the situation completely different. Taima Lyall. It meant that by matehood, it was Elettra's niece. It was mentioned that the man was not on the lands and Sorya knew why. The entire pack knew why for that matter. Deacon was still missing and so it was rather dismal with everyone out searching for the missing Archer-Lyall child. She had been ordered to stay behind on the manhunt to watch the two remaining pups as well as watch the borders to make sure no wolves thought to cross it. Elettra granted her access to the lands but decided that it would be up to Angier if her and her son were allowed to join the pack.

With Taima's gratefulness and leave, Sorya turned to her sister and posed a question to her. "Would you like me to keep an eye on her until Angier gets back?" She asked the question as a more untrusting manner then a 'care about her' manner because Sorya had no reason to trust her. The slightly stockier and younger girl hoped that she would be tasked with enforcing Elettra's decision though she could not quite place the reason why. The entire scenario just seemed too suspicious to her. Why would Taima have a child as a loner? Seriously? Where was the father of this child? Too many things were off about the situation.

She watches the quiver, the uncertainty of the situation and yet all the while a certain feeling that she would be objected, and she would have been had the woman not announced her name quickly enough. Had she not told her that she was a Lyall and so, in some manner now, family. She listens into the woman's various thanks, making sure she would keep scarce until she was able to find her uncle and speak to him personally. Elettra's eyes narrowed, saying not another word as she watched the woman scamper back off of territory lines towards her child hidden somewhere just outside of their home. She was only a guest here within the Archer's home and would make sure she would be treated well enough as such and yet, still not of their own. A grumble moved over Elettra's lips, turning to her sister then once the youth was well enough away. "Yes, please." Her words spoke with a certainty. "Keep a very close eye." It was obvious Elettra did not like this, even more so with the current circumstances. After all, @Skoll, @Lunas, @Morganna and @Angier were all off looking for Deacon. @Asriel seemed no where to be found and @Xetor , @Rowan and @Adelaide were forced to keep a constant watch on the other two children in shifts. Now, her sister would be left to watch over this new girl. The pack was separated, working their ass off, and tensions were an all time high.