Grizzly Hollow i broke my bones playing games with you

Since finding Grizzly Hollow, Rook had traveled to the old bear den in his dreams. It was as if it had called to him, beckoning to his subconscious. His childhood could have been lived out here, if the disease and the worry had not driven his parents to such extreme measures. Maybe if Taima had not been so reckless and stupid as to disobey their father and leave the pack on her own accord, perhaps the Lyalls of Cedarwood Forest could have remained. Relic Lore was huge; and, Rook was certain of it. If it took him days to travel north to the Orchard and a good chunk of his day to travel this far as to find the branches of the old cedars above his head, surely, if he went to the east or to the south, there were many territories and subterritories to discover and explore. He had to have a closer look; maybe the family had seen something that he had not been told of as a cub. The "Renegade Grizzly" and the sometimes intimidating encounters with wolverines and foxes did little to discourage him. He had helped herd deer across great distances, was capable of fending for himself (and his sisters should they have use of him), and had a bit of bulk on his bones to make him something that was almost intimidating if he chose to flash his teeth and make a war banner of his full, plume-like tail. Surely, if something had moved in on his parents' old pack lands, he could handle himself. Across the pine needle-covered carpet, he inspected the 'ruins' of what had once been his family's stronghold. The trees here were still healthy - old and ancient, maybe, but their boughs were strong and robust, still sporting their evergreen spikes. For a time he aimlessly wandered before using his nose to scout around and sample what scents were scattered around the area. A couple of foxes, a herd of deer, a young moose, a mother bear and her cubs (two of them, he noted)... There were even some old wolf trails he picked up, but none of them belonged to anyone he particularly recognized... Then, there it was. The excitement in his face should have remained for much longer than it had - a whole 2-3 seconds. It was just... a hole in the ground, the entrance fortified by mud-covered tree root that arched over the tunnel. It looked... empty. The clearing it remained situated in could have been easily likened to that of a graveyard, and yet no one had died here. At least, not anyone that he knew of. His heart felt as though it could have twisted in his chest. All his life he had pictured the perfection that this place had been during the time of his parents' reign within Relic Lore. The minnows in the Heartleaf Creek were plentiful, he had been told;; the forest was always alive with living creatures, and even the wind whispered and hushed his older siblings to sleep; it was supposed to feel safe... For a while he thought to turn around and start running back to Whisper Caverns, never to return, but something, the faintest trace of something he thought he had remembered of the landmark, still called to him. He froze, staring longingly at the burrow's wide entryway. Perhaps the place had been laying in wait all these months and only now was it trying to speak to him, to make him see what it had been all those years ago.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

After having secured a cub-sitter for Gus - it had been hard to ask her uncle Angier to do such a thing, but he, much to her gratitude and gratefulness, kindly obliged - Taima finally had the chance to stretch her legs and seek out time for herself. At first she traversed the pack's borders, but soon after she began to stray to the west, her chest constricted from her remembered desire of longing to be home - her real home within the cedars - within Borden and Jaysyek's old territory. It didn't matter what Datura had said - "What are you talking about, Taima. There aren't any wolves out here. You might have grown up here. But this isn't Grizzly Hollow. Not without others to fill it..." - she still wanted to make it hers. Hers and Octavius'. No matter what her golden prince had said, asked of her, beseeched her, she was going to continue on her quest. Revisiting the place on her own was a start.

The further Taima roamed, strolling closer and closer to the heart of Grizzly Hollow, the more she came to realize that Datura was wrong. She had initially thought that the scent she had been picking up in traces and whiffs through the trees; but, soon enough, she caught sight of him. Tears welled up in her eyes; if she had not thought to brace herself, she might have fallen over, overcome with shock. The back and pelt coloration of this particular soul was, without mistake, familiar. It... was like hers... from the russet-tint at the back of her ears to the variety of grays that peppered her agouti fur, the shade of ivory that made up his underside, the near-black markings that shaded his shoulders, and down to the blackened tip of his tail. Even his medium build, as average and barrel-shaped as it was, struck a note with her.

Her nose twitched; aside from the aroma of other wolves, he even smelled vaguely familiar... there was just something about the base notes that made up his distinctive musk. Inside her head her cub-like self was whimpering up a storm, begging her to drop all her defenses and give him the 'welcome back' he deserved. But where was Mom? Perhaps, it was best to contain her eagerness; subtlety was the key here since it seemed he was lost in thought, just staring at the entrance of the den. She quietly stepped forward with her ears facing fully forward and excitement. Her voice even rose up in anticipation, her tone cracking and wavering on the singular word she had told herself never to utter again, "Da-ad?"

His ears had come down in disappointment, trying hard to repaint the picture that his mother often told him about in the stories she relayed to him just before bed. There were no birds singing (just chirps and brief calls) and there was little evidence of whether or not a pack had once lived here before aside from the worn paths that had lead to and around the den. He scowled. Anything with four legs could have made those trails and again his mind listed off the things he had recalled from only moments before: a couple of foxes, a herd of deer, a young moose, a mother bear and her cubs... He silently shrugged, making up his mind that he was going to come back with someone the next time he decided to visit. Bishop, Namid, Beren, or even Titan, he opted. They, at least, could provide him with some insight. As observant as he was, he was convinced that, perhaps, he was missing the whole picture here. Right when he was about to turn to leave, a voice startled him and instincts had him wheeling around to fully face her. His vision blurred for a second, just long enough to have his assumptions scream out, loud and clear, "Bishop!" Upon second glance though, he frowned at her as he looked her over. Did she just say... Dad? Unconsciously, his stance mirrored her own but one of his ears swiveled to one side. "You must be mistaken," he murmured, forcing the breath from his lungs to form his words. "I'm not -" His dual-toned eyes flickered over the distinct markings on her face, the color of her eyes, and the shape of her muzzle as though he had not actually been sure as to whether or not he was actually the woman's father. "- I'm just passing through. " He grit his teeth together, lifting his left forepaw and angling his body as to suggest that he had not wanted to be discovered or encroach on her place of residence (that is, if she was staying there or had found the place before him some number of hours ago), "I didn't mean to pry, if you're staying here. I didn't know. I'll... I'll be going now."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

As soon as the sentiment had left her lips, she immediately wished she hadn't said it. The man - no, boy... - might have looked like Borden, but he wasn't. Taima stepped back in unmistakable embarrassment, averting her eyes more than one to keep herself from staring at the stranger before her. Her ears fell back and she shuffled off to one side as if having her side against one of the rough-barked cedars would help her regain her bearings. "You must be mistaken," he had said. She could feel the heat pool and radiate from her cheeks.

A low whine emitted from her and suddenly she felt bad for unsettling him. His own words faltered, one after the other in broken, ill-timed pronunciations. "I'm not -" he started, prompting her to meet his gaze, an all-too-familiar combination of gold and sapphire. He was just passing through. Her brows furrowed and she wondered what could have brought him here, to this very spot. It seemed that her scowl had been effective, for he, too, tried to shy away. "I didn't mean to pry, if you're staying here. I didn't know. I'll... I'll be going now.".

Taima was by no means an impressive or intimidating soul, but she supposed standing there, having expected so much of him (solely by accident), had done a number. "Please, wait," she supplicated. "It's... empty." The word stung at her ears; she quickly remedied it, using a more correct term, "I mean, free... Abandoned."

She winced, "I live nearby, you're welcome to it. It's just... my parents used to lived here."

Before he was able to take a second step, her voiced reached out to him, imploring him, "Please, wait." Rook froze, slowly turning to look at her. He knew the place had been abandoned. It was the reason why he had come in the first place; and, he had, quite frankly, been let down by it. A part of him supposed he would have found Kade, the man that his father had appointed as Grizzly Hollow Leader upon his departure. More questions arose: Where was Kade? Why had he abandoned the place? Were the wolves of Grizzly Hollow still even present within Relic Lore? He blinked. Maybe this woman knew... He was about to ask his short list of questions when she continued, "I live nearby, you're welcome to it. It's just... my parents used to lived here." Rook's lips parted and his jaw dropped. "So... did... mine..." he slowly spoke, pronouncing each word with such weight as to carry with it the suggestion that they, two strangers for the time being, could help one another somehow. He thought to cut to the chase with a "Who were they? What were their names?" but decided not to be so nosy. He had just apologized for possibly prying into what he thought was the rogue's resting place for the night. "Where are they now? Why-y..." His voice lilted, confusion finally getting its grip on him. The place, judging on how far and how long it had taken for him, Bishop, and Namid to find the tree line and borders of Cedarwood Forest, was well into the grove, protected by miles of woodland. He knew his father had been afraid, fearing for the well-being of his pack and children in the face of disease, but, truly, it couldn't have been that much of a threat? Obviously the plants still thrived; he had yet to find the remains of a diseased creature; and, most important of all, the forest as a whole was still very much intact. Even the Creek gurgled and bubbled all the same without traces of contamination. He knew because he had tasted it a few times before and had suffered from nothing akin to stomach upsets or dizziness or anything else of the sort. Then, it struck him, maybe this was Kade's daughter. She was apparently older than him and maybe she had an even better reason to be here. "Why did they leave? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong here." He spoke to her now as though he had the right to stand on equal ground as she did... this Attaya girl. In all fairness, he felt that he should have; she was not the only one who knew of the sickness that had threatened Relic Lore from the eastern lands over the mountain range. "What happened here that was so terrible? Why did you leave?" Why couldn't you have kept the pack alive? Kade had been trusted to keep Grizzly Hollow, not abandon it.

(This post was last modified: Aug 20, 2014, 03:55 AM by Rook.)

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

"So... did... mine..." the Borden-lookalike said, the heavy words striking Taima with a realization that she had not yet wanted to take to heart. His eyes specifically came to her attention; there weren't many wolves around, that she knew of, that had a yellow right eye and a blue left eye... like her mother's. Even on a first glance, if she wasn't particularly paying attention, she might have visually mistaken him for Renier. His voice, however, was a dead giveaway that he was not her age-mate brother. Her breath caught in her chest and a smile appeared on her face at last. She had started to speak, to bring up the idea that the two of them were possibly related, when he began again, "Where are they now? Why-y..." Taima's small grin ebbed away and her short-lived elation neutralized. He was confused, but she did not do or say anything as to guide their conversation. She wanted to hear what he fully had to say, what he wondered about, and what he wanted to know.

"Why did they leave? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong here." She shook her head, as if to both agree with him and convince herself that the only thing that had been wrong was that she had left the pack, that the reason why they had gone was her own doing. His voice was becoming demanding now, his tone desperate for answers, "What happened here that was so terrible? Why did you leave?"

Taima looked away, her gaze lowering and focusing elsewhere instead of staring at his face. He didn't know. "I didn't leave," she murmured, having a mind to come back at him. The denial still ran rampant in her mind, an ugly beast that she had yet to tame within. "I was tricked... Stolen away... They were gone before I even had a chance to find out what had happened." She wondered if she ought to elaborate, maybe he didn't know that he had an(other) older sister, but then, maybe their parents kept him in the dark to keep him from seeking out this abandoned place. It doesn't matter, she told herself rather than outright telling him.

She grimaced then, unsure of how to go about broaching such a delicate matter in an already fragile situation. She couldn't leave now, regardless of her growing need to run away and never come back. Obviously he had questions and she probably had the answers, but first... "Who are you? Why are you here? If your parents used to live here, then where did they go?"

She had been taken, stolen away from this very place. As much as Rook wanted to fully pity her, he found that it wasn't enough to show her the sort of kindness that might've made him want to be her friend. After all, weren't they both in the same boat? Being two wolves without their 'true' homes and without their parents? To the yearling, he believed that she had done it to herself, botching up her future plans by leaving her place of residence where she had the chance to one day lead a pack of her own; and, now that no one occupied Grizzly Hollow, Rook was wholly determined to make the abandoned place his own... "I'm sorry," he lent, his sincerity winning him out. Adding quietly, he let his gaze rest upon her face, a small twitch of his tail letting her know that he did wish her the best, "I hope you find them." At this point he had thought their conversation to be over, that now was a good time to relay his well-wishes and announce that he would like to catch up with her again somewhere down the road, but she continued. "Who are you? Why are you here? If your parents used to live here, then where did they go?" she directly questioned him, her gaze uncertain and pained, as though he might have been pulling a thorn from the underside of her fore paw. His lips drew into a thin black line, "My name is Rook Lyall. My parents, they led a pack here before my sister and I were born in Renegades Reach to the west. I guess I just... wanted to see it for myself, to see if the stories were true. I thought Kade would have been here, though. Are you here looking for him?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

"My name is Rook Lyall," the words as he had spoken them, syllable by syllable, had her floored. Her own lips parted and she took a step back as her ears came down. His parents - their parents - had left Relic Lore completely, possibly taking the pack with them. Then came the pressure and tension in her chest, as though the gap where her home and family had been had started to crumble. "Ren--" she started, stopping herself from speaking her agemate's name. "Renegades Reach? Huh. Well, that's..." Her eyes had begun to seek out places just beyond where her younger brother stood. "That's interesting."

She blinked a number of times, not wanting to look at him now that he had confirmed exactly who she had thought him to be. A sniffle itched at her nostrils and she absentmindedly shook her head. "Kade isn't here; I don't know where he went. But..." She forced herself to give him one good look-over, to find all instances of familiarity in his face, build, posture, and mannerisms. "Grizzly Hollow and the Cedarwood with all its trees really i-is... was a wonderful place," she assured him though her voice split in mid-sentence. "I can't imagine why they would have left."

Her mind began to kick into gear as she tipped her head downward, her gaze fixated on the ground. "You should go back to Renegades Reach, Rook," she abruptly said once she recovered herself, shooting him a tearful gaze as the bitterness began to balloon and burn up in her head, along her spine and into the whole of her chest. One might have thought that the scent of the pine needles underfoot was only just beginning to get the best of her olfactory senses. Whether or not he was playing her for some kind of fool by pretending to be some naive cub, she had yet to find out, but regardless of his outlook, a part of her was upset that had not even thought to ask who she was. "There is nothing left for you here. Grizzly Hollow is just a hole in the ground with nothing and no family to fill it with! Without her even realizing it, she had begun to snarl, whimper, yell, and scream at him, "You should go tell your mother and father that they should have waited for the daughter they had left behind! Maybe then there would have been something here for you to find."

All around them the air seemed to lift away from him, the silence between words and sentences filling with a sort of faint crackling noise as though the air had been electrified. It made Rook's fur start to bristle along the space between his shoulder blades. He didn't like it; and, as the young woman began to tell him that Kade was not around, that she did not know where he had gone, and that Grizzly Hollow had really been a nice place, Rook's lower jaw quivered. Something wasn't right and that was made apparent by the way she turned away, focusing her gaze down to the ground as though something interesting had rested between her paws. Again, he had called it, and the next thing he knew he was being told to go back home. Meeting her eyes, he winced, painfully aware that he might have said something that had hurt her or struck a chord so deep within her that the only way their meeting could have ended was leaving her in tears. But, all too soon, her demeanor changed and the tone in her voice was no longer quiet or thoughtful. Instead, she had him shuffling backwards, her words jabbing at his ears until he realized just what he had done. "You should go tell your mother and father that they should have waited for the daughter they had left behind!" she had cried, sending Rook tripping over his own feet and tail and leaving him scrambling to right himself. "Maybe then there would have been something here for you to find." A whimper emitted from him as he continually backed away. He had known his sister Taima to be the rebel in their family, an echo or shadow of Trisden's younger years, but he had not been prepared to face her. Had he known, right from the start, he might have embraced her, let her know just how glad he was to have found her, but... not now. Not after the 'welcome' she had just given him. Without another word, he turned around, tearing his gaze away from his sister's face, from the pain that was etched along her eyes, muzzle, and the distinct triangular markings that mirrored their father's own looks. As he kept his limbs moving beneath him, he did well in trying not to look back. Whatever Taima had just said was wrong; firstly, he had found something - someone - back at the family's old home and it had, unfortunately, been her. Secondly, there was still something left for him there and he vowed to himself that he would return to investigate its unseen, untold history for himself at a later date when she was not there to confront him. And, lastly, Grizzly Hollow was not just a hole in the ground; and, if she did not want it or think anything more of it, then he was going to take it for himself so that maybe, sometime in the distant future, Taima, his long lost and well-missed sister, could finally come back to a place she could truly call home.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

As he moved back, she came forward, and once he had gotten her message, which was now as clear as the daytime itself, her golden eyes sought after him until she could not see him anymore through the thick evergreen tree trunks. "Stay away from me Rook!" she barked, certain that he would have heard her, no matter how far he had run, "And, don't come back!" Only once she was completely alone did she feel the cool grip of loneliness and longing close in around her. The corners of her mouth turned downward and her ears fell back as her tail tucked itself between her heels.

A whimper tumbled past her parted lips and all too soon, she grimaced, "Rook?" She followed after him, stepping past the old den as she looked around, not even finding a trace of agouti-patterned fur or a masked face nearby. She could have handled it all differently, maybe taken into account that while she had looked familiar, Rook couldn't have possibly known her by scent or by plainly looking at her. It was just too bad. The shame stung at the underside of her torso; her parents and mentors had taught her better than that.

Turning around at last, her ears perked as she thought she heard a young voice call out in the distance. Her mind went to her son, whom she had left behind just so she could stretch her legs and clear her head. She had done just the opposite and she was the only one to blame. Inhaling sharply and swallowing down the cries that threatened to bubble up in her throat she began to head back towards Willow Ridge. Perhaps this was meant to happen... and though she had once wanted Grizzly Hollow for her own and for Octavius' sake, maybe this was ill-timed for a reason and this situation had all come about at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Taima cast one last glance towards the bear den and the trees beyond it before setting off at a set pace, determined to make it back home by nightfall. Grizzly Hollow, for her, would have to wait; for as long as she had her son depending on her, he came first.