Ghastly Woods Stay just long enough to be found

She'd never searched for them before. Since early winter she had kept that promise to Sagacity. Not once had she gone out with the intentions of satisfying the curiosity that burned inside her. The Keep wolves lived close by. Close enough that she came across traces of them. Wisps of scents in the cherry trees and kills made in the meadows. And she'd been content with that. Little reminders of her reclusive neighbors. There was no real reason for her to look and she'd had things to do. So winter, spring, and now summer had come with only those unobtrusive reminders and an idle curiosity.

Until now.

The traces of them she came across in her normal travel had vanished. There weren't something she kept track of, just random little findings, so it took weeks to notice the absence. She remembered the faces from the hunt, all of them working in tandem. That meal had stayed them through the winter. Over the following months she'd learned nearly all their names. What could have happened to them?

So -finally- she began searching for them, not expecting to like what she found. The forest was deathly still. The silence was a far fry from her bustling little thicket full of jays, squirrels and wolf pups. But this was the best place to search, she'd always suspected they lived here. Dry branches reached out for her, digging into her pelt as she cast forward. Her hackles rose, unnerved by the place. It was just as close and confining as her thicket, but utterly dead. It was only late evening, but the canopy cast the forest in deep shadows. Everywhere she searched was empty, but here and there she caught stales traces of her neighbors. She whined low and the sound split the silence. Something terrible must have happened, and she needed to learn what she could for her own packs well-being.

she is almost to the old Keep borders

(This post was last modified: Sep 20, 2014, 04:49 AM by Iopah.)

Hiya @Iopah ! I hope you don't mind ole' Couth meeting Io and giving her some info! This is set the same day that Couth joined BTD (more for my reference)

He could not shake these unintentional feelings of sadness and grief. Everything had been taken from him, and despite his efforts to start anew in Black Thorn Downs, he could not help thinking of how his life once was in Hollowheart Keep. He had been a respected wolf, and his duty as Medic was made more important once he ascended into the rank of second, a place he had not earned but been given by default. With the absence of his best friend and confident Sagacity who had held the role as second since his acceptance into Hollowheart Keep and the long time second Chulyin who had disappeared not so long after, the pack had taken a downward spiral with the death of their elderly leader Mapplethorpe. He missed them all, their faces and voices were not forgotten, and he often worried about the cubs that were traveling alongside their single mother, Naira. He could only hope that his former leader and her litter of two had made it on their long journey to who knew where.

As he traveled his mind was a plethora of emotions that shown through on his chocolate face; part of his did not mind that others could tell his displeasure. Though his sense of directions were horrible, he seemed to have found his way back home to the Keep without problem, his nose leading the way as he tracked what remained of the fading members. He could still remember the sound of laughter from the cubs as they enjoyed their short span in the pup ranks. With a relaxed stance he approached what were once the borders and found a remarkable sight, it was a tangible wolf, one he could interact with and her smell made his stance lift with renewed interest. "Who are you?" he asked with a cock of his narrow head, it would do him well to finally get some of this pain off of his chest.

(This post was last modified: Sep 18, 2014, 03:33 PM by Couth.)

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

@Couth
oh, Io might actually learn something from this thread!

Everything was dead here. The branches that fingered out to grasp and pull at her pelt. Faint wolf-trails were decaying into the ground itself. The wind that had been so lively in the meadow was stagnant here. The air was as still and dead as the rest of the area. A sudden voice surprised her and she spun with hackles raised to face the intruder. He was watching her with a relaxed expression, but Iopah took a step back at his direct question. She was on edge, the feel of this place was wrong. It must have been a happier place when it was inhabited. There was no other way they would have guarded it so closely.

"I live across the meadow." She answered shortly, drawing herself up as much she dared with the branches looming down on her. She didn't trust this male, who seemingly materialized from the ground itself. This stranger even smelled like the Ghastly Woods, along with the tang of blackberries. A loner, she finally decided, someone who likened this desolate patch as his own. That decision did not inspire trust in her. She wanted to find out what happened, not trade barbs with a wolf looking out only for himself. She made to move away, not turning her back, but angling to the side and away. Her gaze wandered cautiously to the side, seeing a worn trail leading into the murky depths. Interested, an ear flicked towards it. She took another step away, in the direction of the trail. "I'm looking for someone I know... she used to live here."

@Iopah!

He watched her closely, noting as she gave him a look over and wondered what she were thinking as she stared at him. Could she tell that he was a wolf who had so quickly and easily lost everything or did he resemble the creature he once was as a second ranked medic; he highly doubted it, patches had already begun to form on his pelt. He felt tired, his energy nearly exhausted as he thought of everything he must build back up again, it meant that he would have to prove himself to his new leaders, prove his worth as a medic, and prove himself as a talented wolf. These obstacles made him weary of his new pack and the wolves that occupied it; did they trust him knowing he came from Hollowheart Keep?

Sighing deeply he listened as Iopah spoke, her words were short and she reminded him of his dear friend Sagacity, beautiful and smart. "Welcome to my side of the valley then," he started and settled to his haunches slowly, his ears pressed to his skull. He was unsure of what this woman wanted, and when she mentioned knowing someone from the pack he felt his heart lurch--maybe she knew of his dear Sagacity. "She probably left with the rest of them. We were all scattered around once the pack disbanded but maybe I knew this female, what was her name?" there were only a hand full of female's in the Keep ranks, it would be a far stretch if this meadow woman knew Saga. He wondered for a moment how this woman would even know Sagacity, they were days away from the Meadows, surely this female could not have ventured here often.

@Couth

She'd just made it to the little trail she'd spied. A little ramshackle thing already being reclaimed by the diseased woods. The male was still to her left, but farther now with the distance toward the trail. He spoke as she dropped her head cautiously to sniff the earth. The scent was not faint enough that she couldn't detect the individual members. After giving Couth another distrustful glance, she took another deep whiff in. Of all the Keep wolves she'd previously met, only one was a member at the time of it's downfall. At Evann's familiar scent, Iopah's body stiffened. So this was there home then, and the Keep wolves were no more. She looked further along the trail, thoroughly considering simply leaving this male. And she would have if he hadn't spoken at that moment.

She probably left with the rest of them. We were all scattered around....

She spun around, once again, to face him. 'We were scattered.' We. He more than knew what happened. He was one of them. Suddenly she remembered her promise and took a step back. The movement was not cautious, but rather apologetic. Her ears swerved to the side and she spoke, "I promised not to search you out," For the little she'd know of them they had always upheld their end of the promise. "Guess it doesn't matter any more."

She observed him a bit more kindly, taking in the sparseness of his coat. His scent made sense now she realized in sympathy. "Sage." She said simply, feeling embarrassment creep up. The names of two wolves, that's all she knew of them. "I am looking for Sage."

@Iopah!

He was silent at his spot, chocolate eyes staring at the woman before him as he took his time to memorize each strand on her body, the color of her eyes, even the tone of her voice. She was an important factor to him whether she knew it or not, and if he needed to seek her out, he needed to remember who the woman from the Valley was. The words he spoke seemed to have struck a chord, perhaps she sought more information from as he did she and because of this the smaller male made a move forward, cautiously, before choosing his words. "I'm glad someone sought us out, we were so secretive I think you're one of the first to know we've disbanded..." he sighed, finding that his confidence had grown since moving to Black Thorn Downs.

He settled to his haunches, a single ear pivoted behind him as he waited for what he'd intentionally wanted from the woman, which was whether she knew of Sagacity and her whereabouts. He was sure that someone had to know, he could not believe that she could have disappeared without a trace, could she. When she spoke of a Sage the male's shoulder's sunk, he did not know of that nickname, he had not spoken of it himself but he had to mention, "as in Sagacity? Please say its Sagacity..." the words trailed off his lips and a soft whine left his lips. He had so much he wanted to tell her, ask her, and beg of her but he could not find her and it was beginning to irritate him. "she was my best friend, the reason I'm here...I can't believe that she's gone from me." he spoke, more so to himself than her and when his eyes glanced back to Iopah he felt his confidence grow further, "so what will you do with this information?" he asked, knowing this information could be useful for packs in need or more hunting ground. He did not know how he would take the information if another attempted to move here, this area had too much memory and he would not be okay with anyone taking those memories away from him.

@Couth

He took a step forward and she held firm, tawny ears the only part of to angle away from him. She needed to know and this was the only way. Somehow, Sage had become more than an acquaintance to the Woodland hunter. There were kindred spirits, both driven to the point of being blunt. In another version of reality they would have been friends. If something had happened to her Iopah should have the decency of at least knowing. Shouldn't she? He spoke about their secrecy, and Iopah could do nothing but smile weakly. Her pride at having correctly found this place was being dashed by his words.

At least she would learn what became of Sage. But she could tell, as she offered that particular name, something was wrong. There was not the recognition she expected. Her hopes fell with her expression and she took a step back to observe him from the shadows as he pleaded with her. "I don't know, the name is all I have." Her voice was soft, trying to explain. He continued and she could only stare bleakly at him. His words tugged at her. Her head dropped in sympathy and she breathed a silent whine. A friend, a confidant like no other, simply gone. How many years had she struggled with the gaping hole Kele had left? Too many. She couldn't met Couth's eyes as he spoke. He couldn't even explain her disappearance and suddenly the words were spilling from Iopah's mouth. "She was gray and bold, the ends of her feet and ears were black. We met at mid-winter, we killed an elk together."

When he asked about her intention she stared at him, not understanding. What information? What had she actually learned? So far she'd been the one answering question. She frowned at him, brows drawing together in an irritated expression. "I just want to keep my family safe from whatever happened here." There were a million ways she could have phrased that better, make it sound more sympathetic, and her less callous. It was something Sage, or rather, Sagacity might have said, and that realization is made her wince at her words.