Sacred Grove Into the dark...

Quote:OOC: Halloween RE for Andromache: Walking through woods you hear a strange noise... Also, there are two entries for Ghost Story Prompts XD @Naia

Roma was scaling the steep rocks that bordered the side of the beautiful lake she had came to not too long ago. She had come this far searching for her sister, determined to find closure; now she just wanted to clear her head. The serenity of the lake helped her to calm down and deal with all of her crazy emotions. She was walking across terrain that seemed to be a distinct line between the rocky hillside that would lead up to the lake and the line of trees that were the entrance into some kind of small forest that Roma had yet to explore. For some reason, Roma found herself staring into the forest, mesmerized by the trees. They seemed to glow eerily under the light of the moon. It didn't help that aside from the moon, the sky was blank and black, devoid of the stars it usually donned. Roma shuddered as a chilly breeze ruffled her thick fur. It wasn't particularly cold, but something felt...off. Then, Roma heard a strange noise coming from the forest of tall trees. Her body went ram rod still and her ears strained upward, trying to make out the faint noise that seemed to be carried on the wind.

It sounded like...a pup? Roma's body dropped into a defensive position as her eyes darted around, scanning the territory for anything that seemed off. Nothing. Just the light whistle of the wind blowing past her ears and that strange, faint noise. Though she almost always followed her instincts, which were screaming at her to turn tail, Roma refused to acknowledge that she was afraid. Curiosity and pride got the better of her and the large woman carefully started in the direction she believed the noise was coming from. She slowly approached the barrier of cedar trees and then stopped. She had never been in this forest and something about it seemed very strange to Roma. The ground, the trees, even the air around it seemed...ancient. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to see through the trees and look for the source of the noise from where she was standing. Not an option. She would have to go in. Steeling her nerves, Roma pushed past those first few trees and entered the Sacred Grove.

The noise grew louder as she slowly crept deeper into the forest. Whatever that wailing noise was, it was definitely somewhere in this forest. Roma's hair was standing on edge as she scouted the area. Though the trees were well spaced out, she had to watch her step in the ill lit forest. She probably would have jumped at the tiniest noise, but even though the undergrowth was thick and should have been full of rodents and other small animals she heard nothing besides that creepy wailing noise. Then, she picked up an unfamiliar scent. Wolf. And this was no pup. More alert than ever, Roma came to a halt and started testing the air, trying to pinpoint the source of this new scent. Someone else was in this forest too and Roma had a feeling that this other wolf was not the source of the noise.

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Life was a funny thing sometimes. The wolves of Cut Rock River had been sent forth on a recruitment drive of sorts, and where did she end up but the exact place she was recruited herself over a year ago. Of course, it hadn’t been Cut Rock River doing the recruiting then... her history in Relic went farther back than that; before the River pack had even existed she stood in this spot talking to the Pitch Pine Trail King. Naia tilted her head up toward the darkening sky and sighed, wondering if her former leader was looking down on her from the heavens. Pitch Pine Trail was no more and neither was its King—a fact Naia didn’t like to recall. It had been a dark time in her life, simply watching with nothing she could do as her pack dwindled and dissipated.. waking up every morning to find that more family members had abandoned them in the night. She shivered as the wind picked up, though her chill had nothing to do with the autumn breeze.

She wandered back toward home through the grove, and Naia could hear the cries of Shade’s children echoing solemnly as the wind whipped through the trees. Well.. they weren’t really Shade’s children—Karpos and Adsila were safe in the borders of Cut Rock River now—but when she had first heard the eerie sound long ago she hadn’t known the pups were safe, and she was sure that their ghosts had come back to torment her for letting Pitch Pine Trail fall apart. She had carried so much guilt the last time she traveled these woods.

”Hello?” she called, suddenly sensing another nearby. It was quite dark this far into the grove, but she thought she could make out the shape of a larger wolf ahead. The fur on the back of her neck stood up and her tail twitched nervously as it usually did when she was unsure of a situation. Perhaps more than memories haunted these woods… Naia shook her head, annoyed with her own overactive imagination. It looked like a wolf and smelled like a wolf; it was a wolf, plain and simple. ”Who are you?” she asked, peering into the trees.

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Roma nearly jumped out of her fur as a bell-like voice called to her from the distance: "Hello? Who are you?" Quickly, Roma spun to face this new intruder. With the darkness upon them, she could only make out the she-wolf's size: very small and delicate. This relieved Roma quite a bit and after recovering her nerves she confidently trotted up to the new wolf. She usually would have given a new wolf a respectful distance, but under these circumstances Roma had to walk right up to the wolf, only one tail length away from her, just to make out the color of her fur. After closing the distance, Roma could see that her fur was an odd arrangement of brown and black and cream and her eyes were a light honey color. Roma could smell the scent of fear coming off this wolf and felt little less embarrassed to have jumped at the sound of her voice. It was just this stupid forest; it clearly had them both on edge.

"Hi, my name is Andromache Moon, but you can call me Roma. " Roma said politely. Her instincts told her that this wolf wasn't looking for a fight and her nose told her that this was the unfamiliar scent she had picked up earlier. This made Roma feel much more relaxed, but she still could not shake the eerie feeling that this land gave her. Roma sat down on her bottom in front of the stranger and let her tail lay flat on the ground. She hoped that she could reassure this wolf that she was not a threat and hopefully this girl could help her figure out what that odd wailing noise had been. "Did you hear that strange noise as well?" Roma asked, letting her icy blue eyes dart to each side of the she-wolf, scanning the trees for any sign of...whatever was making her feel so darn uncomfortable.

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Naia shrank toward the ground as the shadowy stranger approached her, a reflex leftover from her lone wolf days. The stranger’s scent met her nose—a female, no pack—and Naia relaxed somewhat as well, though she would have preferred the woman to introduce herself from afar. A lone wolf was certainly less of a threat than if she had run into someone from Willow Ridge, or worse Whisper Caverns, but she would have to be pretty naïve to dismiss this powerful wolf before her as harmless. The woman introduced herself as a Moon, and Naia cocked her head curiously. A relation to Athena, perhaps? The little scout couldn’t see much resemblance at all between the two, which was a good thing if Roma thought to accompany Naia back to Cut Rock River. The less this new Moon resembled the other the better.. no doubt there were still some hard feelings in the ranks about Athena’s indiscretion and desertion.

”Roma… Moon.”Naia said, her honey eyes still curious. ”Nice to meet you.” Her face broke into her usual easy grin. ”I’m Naia Aegina, scout and second of Cut Rock River.” She watched the loner’s expression, looking for signs that the name of her pack might mean something to her. She nodded slowly and turned to sweep her eyes over the darkening forest around them. ”You heard the Slayer children crying?” she asked, meeting Roma’s icy gaze once more. ”Such a sad tale.. but nothing we can do to help them now.” She spoke with mournful resolution, knowing the finality of her statement would do nothing but inspire more curiosity. The woods were strangely quiet now, the wind having died down. ”Walk with me, and I’ll tell you all about it..” The scout did love telling stories, especially embellished ones, and if they ended up near the Cut Rock River territory after the story… maybe Roma would stay for awhile.

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Roma watched as the dainty she-wolf reacted to her name, seeming to dwell particularly on her last name. Something seemed odd about that and with dry humor Roma wondered, Perhaps, Athena killed her father too. Roma quickly discarded such a snide and bitter thought: she was beginning to understand that she couldn't blame Athena for what had happened with Zeus. A lot of people would have reason to kill the cruel wolf, and it was naive of Roma to expect that she could show up four years later and still find the monster alive.

The she-wolf introduced herself as Naia, the second of a pack called Cut Rock River. Roma nodded at the title to show her acknowledgment and respect. Perhaps the tiny she wolf wasn't as harmless as Roma had judged by looking at her size. To her question about the noise, Naia replied that the sound was indeed the whining of pups, some 'Slayer' children, though this name was unfamiliar to Roma. In a remorseful and somber voice, Naia invited Roma to walk with her and hear the tale of these children. Roma did not like the feel of this forest, but she could tell that whatever the noise was seemed to mean something to Naia and Roma could tell that the girl really wanted to share the story of these Slayer children. Sympathetic and curious, Roma felt compelled to hear the story no matter how eerie the setting might be.

Following Naia through the ill-lit grove, Roma prompted Naia to tell her story: "I would like to hear the story that could explain such a sad noise." Fixing her icy blue eyes on the she-wolf, Roma stared intently hoping to convey her attentiveness and desire to hear the sad tale that needed to be told tonight.

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Naia wanted to grin like a Cheshire cat when the loner agreed to hear the story, but she retained her somber expression as she began her tale. ”There was once a wolf who roamed these lands: he went by the name Shade Slayer. He belonged to a pack called Willow Ridge— the pack is still there actually, just to the west of this grove. These wolves serve a vicious queen named Elettra Archer, who is as achieved in the black magics of the Dead as she is in the art of tooth-and-nail combat. ” Naia flicked her tongue across her nose in thought, wondering just how far she could stretch this tale without dishonoring Shade’s memory. Elettra Archer be damned though—she would make that woman out for the butcher she was.

”When Shade fell in love with another in the Ridge ranks, the beautiful Rosealia—a woman with a pelt of pure white to contrast Shade’s coat of black onyx—the two were forbidden by their necromancer queen to produce offspring within the ranks of Willow Ridge.” This next part of the story ought to be familiar enough—almost every wolf knew of someone who had deserted their pack after a night of passionate oathbreaking. ”The young lovers’ passion got the better of them, and once they knew there were pups growing inside Rosealia the pair fled under the cover of night, too frightened of Elettra’s wrath to reveal their mistake to the queen. When she discovered their treachery, in a fit of rage the sorcerer queen spilled the blood of her own daughter in order to lay a curse on the ill-gotten children of the lovers.“ Naia took a breath, and when she spoke again her voice was lower, so Roma would have to lean in closer to keep listening.

”Shade and his mistress were happy for a while, gathering followers to start a new pack as Rosealia’s belly grew round. I was one of those followers.” Naia smiled as she remembered those happy days. "When Rosealia’s pups were born… that was where the trouble began.” Naia’s paws moved faster over the ground as her story’s pace increased. ”Shade’s lover claimed the pups—one boy and one girl-- were crying all the time and driving her mad. She said they gnawed through her belly when they nursed and spoke in the tongue of snakes. Shade hadn’t a clue how to react.. the pups seemed normal in every way to him. As Shade got closer and closer to establishing his pack—Pitch Pine Trail—Rosealia’s madness only worsened. Every now and then she would dash off into woods, screaming that her “pups” were calling out to her—leaving her real children in the den, cold and alone.” Naia stopped in her tracks, her nose twitching as the scent of willow trees ahead warned her that they had reached the western border of the Grove. How fitting.

“During one such fit of insanity, Shade chased his crazed lover into these very woods. She raced on ahead of him, screaming for her pups and darting just out of reach whenever Shade neared her. After hours of this, even Shade could hear the pups’ voices in the wind, crying pitifully for their parents. Just as dawn was breaking Shade heard his lover shout from up ahead, ‘I’ve found them!’ He made a mad dash to catch up with her, but when he reached her Rosealia disappeared—from sight and smell.. as if she had never been there to begin with-- and in her place stood Elettra in all her glory and anger. The necromancer queen tore the exhausted Slayer’s throat open in one swift stroke, and as Shade’s life drained out between her teeth she used his blood to bewitch these woods... to forever remind Shade’s followers here, the Pitch Pine Trail wolves, what would happen to those who crossed Willow Ridge.” Naia leaned in close to Roma, as if she was sharing a secret. "No one ever saw Rosealia again.. but the Trail wolves-- if they were still around-- would swear to you that Shade Slayer's spirit still haunts here, vicious and maddened, pursuing the cries of his pups that he can never find. If you heard the pups crying, Roma, be careful.. The Slayer isn't far behind." Naia let her story linger in the nighttime air, her honey eyes watching Roma for a reaction. Clearly the story had been jazzed up a little, and the River scout wondered if her new acquaintance would call her out as a mythomane or praise her creativity.

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(This post was last modified: Oct 15, 2014, 09:11 PM by Naia.)

Word of the day

Roma had listened to the story, intent on showing her compassion for a sad tale. However, she was surprised to find that as the pair walked on, she felt her fur begin to stand on end and all of her muscles were tight, ready to dart the other direction should the noise start up again. Refusing to admit this, Roma tried to remain calm as Naia went on about the evil queen Elettra and poor Shade Slayer who died a vicious death for no other reason than love. It wasn't until the very end, when Naia said that Slayer wasn't far behind that Roma caught onto the jest. It was all a ghost story and Naia was just fantasizing the story like an expert mythomane. Still, Roma had to give her credit. It was very well done.

"You almost had me there." Roma admitted with a playful smile as her body began to relax. "Until that last part about the Slayer not being far behind I believed your story." Roma blinked respectfully at Naia and then she added "Not too long ago another wolf told me a ghost story, but his was very obvious. Yours was well crafted, so I give you credit as a wonderful story teller." Roma hoped she had conveyed her appreciation for such a great story. She was a very proud wolf who did not like to show fear, but she also enjoyed some fun and games every now and then.

Roma picked up on the scent of willow trees and wondered how far they had gone; she had been too absorbed in the story to pay much attention. "Where are we exactly, Naia? I don't want to go too far and get lost, I have a sister to return to by day break." Roma looked around the grove before coming to a stop, hoping to indicate that she wished to go no farther. However, she also wouldn't mind sharing her own ghost story if her new companion had time. "If you would like, we could stop here for awhile and I can tell you one of my ghost stories. I'm afraid it won't be nearly as scary since you'll know mine is a story, but maybe you could use it on pups one day to keep them from leaving their dens at night. It sure worked for me." Roma couldn't help but smile at the sense of nostalgia that washed over her at the memory of Zeus telling her a ghost story. It seemed surreal to think of him that way now, given what Roma had learned about him.

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Naia smiled as her acquaintance praised her story, though tricking the woman hadn’t been her intention. ”Sadly --ghosts and witches aside-- there’s more truth to the story than fiction. If you ever visit Cut Rock River I’m sure you’ll meet the Slayer orphans in person.” Naia would love to be able to say the story was made up; no pups deserved to endure amount of tragedy that Karpos and Adsila’s short lives had already seen. ”... And we really shouldn’t go any closer to Willow Ridge,” Naia cautioned. Elettra Archer may not be a necromancer, but she and her pack were dangerous nonetheless.

”Smell the willows ahead? We’ve reached the western border of the grove. Cut Rock River lies to the west, Willow Ridge to the south... and the Caverns to the southwest.” Naia watched her companion’s expression curiously. She had mentioned a sister, who Naia could only assume was the Moon traitor, Athena. The last she heard Athena had skulked off to hide within Whisper Caverns, an enemy pack to the River wolves. Is that where Roma was headed before the night was through? That would be a shame indeed.. Naia really liked this wolf and would hate to have to name her an enemy someday.

”The night is young; I would love to hear your tale. The pups are always pestering the pack scout for new stories.” Naia reclined onto her haunches, watching the stranger expectantly. She loved a good story almost as much as a pup.

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Quote:OOC: I am sooo sorry about this length, I just got excited and got carried away. lol

Roma's mood sobered as Naia revealed that the story had more truth than Roma would have expected from a ghost tale. How sad that any wolf should go through that. Those poor pups, Roma thought sadly remembering how she felt when she learned that her father had killed her mother. Their tales were not very similar, but Roma could still understand what it was like to lose a parent in such a horrible way.

Roma's attention was pulled away from the sad story of the pups as Naia explained where they were. Roma was relieved to have someone explain where other packs were. She wouldn't want to venture too far and find herself in someone else's territory. That might cause trouble for her sister, and the last thing Roma wanted to do was bring any more pain to her. Roma wasn't sure she could say that she loved her sister, not yet at least, but she was sure that she wanted to help her; to alleviate some of the pain that had been brought down onto the strong woman. Still, Roma could not help but notice how Naia looked at her when she mentioned the last pack, the Caverns. Roma had assumed that her sister had spent a lot of time in this land; she had found a mate and a daughter. And Roma would also assume that Naia, if she knew Athena, would have connected the two by their last name. Could it be that Naia knew her sister? Did Naia know something about Athena's past that Roma did not? That certainly wouldn't be a surprise considering that Roma still knew very little of her sister's past. Still, Roma wondered if it was safe to ask Naia about Athena.

But before Roma could ask her anything, the tiny wolf rocked back onto her haunches and happily invited Roma to share her story. Roma also relaxed, sitting back onto her haunches and giving her chest fur a quick lick to straighten them out before beginning her story.

"Once upon a moon, a moon as red as blood, a thick fog rolled into the lands of my father's pack. At the time, he was only a pup, determined to prove himself to his pack mates. So, when strange howls started coming form deep within the fog my father and one of the other pups decided to investigate. The pair traveled deep into the woods when the red moon was high in the sky." Roma let her own eyes glide up to the moon that now shone above her head. How many times had she stared at it when her father told this story, trying to picture what it would look like red? "It was dark and the fog made it hard to see more than a paw step in front of you. The only light to guide their way was the eerie red glow of the odd moon. Still, my father pushed on, following the sounds of the painful cries, hoping to prove himself to his pack by chasing off whatever threat had befallen them. " This is how her father had told the story and when she was a pup, Roma could picture him as he described himself: as a hero. Now, her memories of him were tainted and tattered to shreds. "Finally, him and his friend came upon a lake and the water seemed to quiver under the weight of the dense fog. Bravely, my father reached out his large paw and touched the water. Then, all at once the fog thinned out, the red glow of the moon grew brighter and brighter, making the lake look like an ominous pool of blood. From the red-stained waters arose the figure of a wolf. At first, this wolf looked beautiful: she had fur as white as snow and mesmerizing orange and white eyes. But while the two male pups stood, enchanted by the beautiful ghost-like wolf before them, my father's friend made a crucial mistake." Roma paused and wondered how much of this story was true. Had her father made it all up? Just a fable to make himself look like a hero? Well, he certainly didn't look like a hero by the end of his tale. "The young pup took a step forward, toward the enchanting she wolf who stood in the middle of the blood-filled lake. Then, he took two more. My father finally looked over, about to call out to him to stop, but it was too late. The blood-water engulfed the pup. He had walked in far enough for the water to reach his belly fur, but the water did the rest, pulling him in deeper and deeper until my father could not reach him. The pup howled terrified as he kicked and kicked to try and stay afloat. My father could only watch as the water quickly won out over the pup and dragged him to the bottom. Horrified, my father quickly turned tail and ran far away from the blood-water lake and the beautiful enchantress. Afraid his pack mates would mock him, my father told them that the other pup had stumbled into the lake hit his head, drowning before my father could save him. Now, as if cursed, my father claims he sees that enchantress in his dreams on the eve of that same night every year. And he hears the same horrible howling that had drawn him to the lake in the first place, only now he knows that it is the howls of his friend that he hears. And he told me and my brothers that we should never leave the den at night, for fear that the enchantress might try to catch us as well." Roma blinked and bowed her head to signal the end of her story. She only hoped that Naia liked it as much as she had liked hers.

(This post was last modified: Oct 18, 2014, 01:12 AM by Andromache.)

OOC|| No worries, mine up there was a long one too. Let's wrap this up and claim our points! And ribbons! ||

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Naia stood as Roma finished her story, wagging her tail in delight. ”Fantastic!” she praised, honey eyes bright under the moon’s glow. ”The smallest pup wouldn’t leave the den for a week if I told that one!” Imagining little Karina’s reaction brought a smile to her face, and Naia was overcome with the urge to snuggle the little princess and tell her everything would be alright. ”I ought to be getting home as well,” she sighed; it hurt her heart to be away even for a night after missing out so much of the pups’ growth while she had been away on a scouting mission.

”Please visit me at our border in the Cedarwoods should you desire a pack to call home. Your Moon sister is welcome too.. so long as her first name is not Athena.” The little scout’s expression darkened for a moment, and she took a few steps toward home before turning back around, realizing that she probably owed Roma an explanation for such a rude declaration. ”My apologies,” she said, ”The wound Athena left on Cut Rock River hasn’t healed completely.” With the ranks thinning and an ailing alpha, Naia still hadn’t forgiven Athena for abandoning her family in the middle of the night and taking another loyal River wolf with her too. She doubted if any of the River wolves would have a warm welcome for the woman.

”We welcomed her into our pack as family," Naia explained, "..and she tore her way tooth and nail up the female ranks before breaking her vows with an unknown male. She fled in the middle of the night with a heavy womb, and took with her a packmate who had been up to that point a loyal, productive member.” Naia couldn’t imagine what had possessed Aeolus to flee with Athena. It was common belief among the River wolves that he had fathered Athena’s children, but Naia wasn’t so sure. That man didn’t have a disloyal bone in his body.

”What a night for sad stories!” Naia remarked, offering her companion a small smile. ”I promise, I am not usually such somber company. Please visit me at my border and allow me another chance. Until then, farewell Roma.” Naia left the grove with urgency in her step; if anyone had asked she would have told them she was eager to get home to her family, but in truth the night’s eerie tales had spooked her just a little bit. It was easy to believe in ghosts and deiform enchantresses on a chilly night when the moon cast dancing shadows and the wind moaned pitifully as it whipped through the tree branches.

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