Hollowheart Keep Divide and Conquer

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The sun was starting to set as they made their decent into the fogs of Ghastly Woods. Having made the journey once, quite recently, Drestig had taken the lead, guiding their path across the mountain. Now, as they moved into the dense forest, he slowed down, turning to look over his shoulder at the grey wolf following him; she was the lead scout after all, while he was just in training. Their trek had been quiet so far - the green eyed dame was no big talker - and the Avalon had contented himself with studying the area around them as they moved, taking note of the familiar land marks that pointed them in the right direction. After having been assigned their mission by @Triell and @Nayeli, @Jessie and Drestig had agreed to start the trip together, making their way to the Ghastly Woods, where the man remembered smelling a pack on his last visit, and then spilt up to cover the rest of the western part of Relic Lore. Now, as they slowly made their way through the trees, the clear signs of wolves that had marked it only a month ago were faded, almost nonexistent, the forest silent and empty. Drestig wrinkled his brows, often pausing to study the tree trunks and sniff at their bases, ears laid back in annoyance. It was obvious that a pack no longer laid claim to these lands; "I guess they left..." The dark pelted wolf finally grumbled as they entered a small clearing, the dirt clearly stamped by the frequent tread of paws; though the tracks were old. Between a set of big rocks near one edge was an opening, the scent from it revealing it as a den, though that to was faded. Shaking out his fur, Drestig once more looked to his companion, the mild agitation evaporating from his face as he sighed; "Well, no use in hanging around here any longer then. We agreed to start going west?" He asked the grey woman, confirming their plan; they would split up and cover the many packs in the area, getting a count and feel of their mentality, as well as check in on @Kisla of Cut Rock River, one of Corinna's older daughters, and look for Fenru and Arlette who had not been heard from since they left the pack to cross they mountain in early spring. The Avalon felt the excitement stir within him, the last two times he'd been on this side, he hadn't straight far from the mountain, but this time would be different, it was time to explore! Word count: 433 My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”

Truthfully, she was not happy with the plans at all. If she would have gotten what she had wanted, she would have been on this mission that she had suggested on her own, but knowing that she had to obey Nayeli, Jessie's final decision was to bring Destrig. From what she had observed and heard, he was in training to become a scout, so as the Head Scout and being one of the most loyal and oldest members of Oak Tree Bend, she found that on this trip, she could evaluate his skills and see if he truly was Scout material. Of course, he would have to work much harder, now and in the future...it had taken Jessie almost two years to accomplish the goal she had been dying to retrieve. Since she was observing him, she held no protests when he decided to take the lead. She noticed his paths and his directions that he took silently, her mind pointing out some minor flaws to the plan that he executed, preferring to be the silent teacher, even though she was unsure if the other man knew it.

As soon as the man began to speak, Jessie's ears immediately flicked towards him. She hoped that what he had to say was important and not small talk. Jessie liked to work in silence. When she heard his words, a frown formed on her lips. A pack once here was apparently no longer there. It was much needed information but the Tainn was slightly irritated that it would have had to come to this. When he spoke again, Jess shook her head to answer his inquiry. She then spoke, her command obvious, "No, I want you to go to the far west and see if Whisper Caverns is still living in the meadows. Then I want you to head north and see if there are any packs up there. I will handle the south and west areas. We will then meet in Fireweed Rise to return to Triell. Understand?" Her emerald eyes flashed towards the other male, waiting for him to confirm that he understood the plans before they would split up.

Dawnthieves.de, somestock @ DA & candyhorse @ DA - Table by PuppyThief

(This post was last modified: Sep 13, 2014, 07:05 PM by Jessie.)

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

The dark man was painfully aware of his companions vigilant watch. He knew extremely little about the grey woman, who seemed to largely keep to herself - Just like Triell's older brother Hotei, who had a close relationship with the lead scout; as the only one it seemed. But unlike Hotei, who Drestig had spend some time with here and there, and he generally thought of as a stand up guy, in the few instances he had had any contact with Jessie, she had seemed stiff and formal. And if there was one thing that rubbed the Avalon the wrong way, it was a stiff. But the green eyed lady outranked him, and if he wanted to be a scout he needed to answer to her; Well it's about time this whole pack thing showed a downside, I suppose... But as long as she didn't say anything, he could try to ignore her; at least she seemed to prefer the silence as well. So it wasn't until he found it necessary to ask about the plan, that he finally turned to the grey dame, addressing her for the first time since they left Oak Tree Bend. There was a distinct frown on her face, ad it was hard to ignore. Even as he spoke his question, the black lad felt his smile dry up, and her reply didn't help his mood much. She spoke in a crisp voice, eyes fixed on him in an almost accusatory manner; Wow, someone's in a cheery mood... Drestig forced himself to keep his attention on the other, ears politely perked, face expressionless. Mentally, he rolled his eyes; Well, that was BASICALLY what I said... He though, suppressing a sigh at her orders. Really, he was in half a mind to simply turn around and start walking right then, not even giving an answer. But of course that wasn't the way a good subordinate acted, and as much as he felt like rebelling against his commander in this moment, he wanted to be a scout even more. So he offered up a small, hard smile and nodded stiffly; "Okay, I understand." His voice was cold, but - with substantial effort from his side - not challenging. Directing his gaze at a point near the tip of her muzzle, he silently waited to see if she had any more to add, politely letting her depart first; Let's just get going! The sooner she left for her own part of their mission, the sooner he would be on his own, free of her emerald glare. Word count: 428 My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”

The woman watched him closely, holding back the smirk that she so wanted to show. It was so much fun to be able to know how aggravated they would get. She never said anything though. It taught them how to react to harsh commanders and to follow commands. Surely, she still didn't trust him, she didn't know him, and that was partially her fault for not wanting to get close to anyone. When he finally did answer, her eyebrow arched upwards slightly, noticing the tone of his voice. Keeping that note in her mind as well, the woman nodded her departure to the man. She wasted no time in turning around and walking to the northern part of the lore, a place she had been only a few times, each having been with Hotei.

As she walked away, she finally let a satisfied smirk settle on her features. Hopefully, they would finish their missions around the same time and be able to meet back up in Fireweed Rise. Her tail flicked behind her once she finally disappeared into the foliage. Silently, she wished the subordinate luck...and finally she was off.

Her reply was silent, a simple cock of one eyebrow and a last, piercing glare. Feeling his rebelliousness boil within, the black subordinate lifted his eyes to meet hers, sending her a firm stare of his own. It was brief, only a momentary show of his defiance; Yet it felt like it stretched on forever, flame against emerald, one iron will against another. Did he see a glint of humor in there? Could it be that the ice-queen isn't completely cold after all? In the end he averted his gaze once more, showing his submission. He didn't like it at all, having to bow to her, but he did it, knowing that this was what a pack wolf did; I miss being on my own! He scowled at the ground as she turned to leave, waiting for her steps to fade into silence before rising to leave himself. The thought was only half-hearted though, in the end, he was happy with his new life in Oak Tree Bend, even if it meant having to battle his chaotic nature now and again. Off I go to serve my pack, and hopefully get some adventure in the process! Word count: 196 My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”