Sacred Grove This Is Your Wilderness

Halloween Event: Angier, uh oh…is that a black lynx that just crossed your path?

With the autumn months already stretching into the cold grasp of winter, Angier was starting to worry. Despite having told Elettra to not overthink or be anything more than concerned with the pack, the Lyall secretly agonized over the months to come. Not only were his sons growing up fast, but Sköll and Morganna were also maturing; and, come the following Spring, they would both be considered actual adults. With their coming of age, he and Elettra (him even more so than her, as the yearling Archers were her own flesh and blood) faced the threat of being overthrown.

He followed the edges of his realm before stumbling upon the most peculiar scent. Lynx. His hackled rose but not long after he thought to deviate from his trail to follow after it, the feline emerged from the mist on his right and in quite a hurry, it scampered away into the willows on his left. Now, had it been any other lynx, Angier might have shrugged it all off, thinking himself too easily spooked, but this one... this one had pitch black fur. His brow furrowed and when he thought to actually turn around, Sköll's musk wafted his way.

Well, that was curious. It was typical of his step-son to wander to and from Willow Ridge but for the yearling to wander towards Sacred Grove, a place Angier had once been very familiar with, he could not help but to follow. Maybe now was an opportune moment to evaluate him and figure out what his plans were. Obviously, the boy would stay with his mother; he was an Archer after all, and perhaps Angier ought to see for himself if only the second-born royal would have the heart to tell him... Through the fog he traversed the rugged terrain, stopping only when he finally came upon the Swift River without seeing the prince anywhere in sight. He exhaled slowly, before calling out and tilting his muzzle upward to sample the chilled air, "Sköll? ...Sköll?!"

(This post was last modified: Oct 19, 2014, 06:29 PM by Angier.)

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♬ Josef Van Wissem & SQÜRL - This is Your Wilderness

October 19th; Late morning; Mist; 31° F/0° C

Sköll should have been in bed, shielded in shadow from the waking world and tucked away into a dreamless slumber. What happened instead was the rare, but still occasional, fit of insomnia; and, without anything better to do aside from continuing his beat around Willow Ridge, he opted to seek out solitude well away from where he could come into contact with his pack mates. In the mist, it was much too easy; as was characteristic of the swarthy prince he overstepped the boundaries of the pack lands and made his way north across the Swift River and into the Sacred Grove. Sticking around and attempting to fish was out of the question. It just wasn't worth it to get himself soaked to the undercoat and possibly freeze to death - it might have been a little over the top, that latter though, but Sköll did not like to take risks when it came to his physical well-being.

He had just been enjoying what he could see of his immediate surroundings just along the edges of the Grove when the utterance of his first name, twice, snagged his the whole of his attention over the sound of the River. There was no mistaking that voice; he had known it since his ears had first opened to the world. Sköll's fur rose and he barked and growled into the thick haze. No words were exchanged... it just a simple, audibly startling, ear-grating sound to make it clear to Angier that the yearling had been disturbed. Grumpily gathering his feet beneath him and shaking out the droplets that had settled on his sleek black-furred coat, he made his way to where he knew the Leader would have appeared from when traveling northbound from the Ridge.

With such grace and air, Sköll emerged, likened to that of a wraith against the backdrop of an unbroken curtain of gray. There was no challenge in his stance, yet the lifting of his head and crown and the stiffness in his legs wordlessly told the Lyall that he still was of a lofty and rather prominent rank as Elettra's son. A sneer distorted his white-colored lips, wrinkling the bridge of his swarthy snout, "And what do you want? You never go out of your way to hunt me down..."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

As was predictable, Sköll answered in his usual derisive remark - nothing short of being absolutely true to form. Angier shrugged, immediately turning defensive. This was nothing new - would never be new - but the prince should have known by now that in having Angier as a caretaker and guardian, the Leader knew all his moves and words. This was a dance that had begun ever since the boy had begun to walk, begun to talk, begun to conquer... and the Lyall could predict every word with near-accurate measures. He had raised Sköll; the kid should have known better to try and rebel. Not now. Not when they had another winter to weather together.

"What did I tell ya 'bout that cheek?" he retorted, drawing to the edges of the river so that he wouldn't lose Sköll through the mist. His nose twitched; it seemed as though the melanistic feline had been spooked from its decaying treasure - a bit of deer that had been left behind by a larger predator. Angier held no interest in it, being more troubled by the superstition of having it cross his path. On an exaggerated level, he could have very well walked into a death trap or set the stage for a coup.

He strode into the riverbed and stood where the freezing waterway only barely reached the middle of his forearms. "I'm not yer father," he admitted to begin with. "But I reserve the right to worry 'bout ya. Without Guiness, without Skana, without yer actual father, who'll look after ya then?" He didn't even want to give the young royal a chance to state that he could fend for himself, that he (and his sister Morganna) were more than capable of being independent. As far as he was concerned, Elettra's litter from last May were not even past their yearling days and it was his responsibility to see them to the end of them.

"You remember those rules I gave ya as a cub?" he questioned. "As long as I'm yer superior, they still stand. Now, c'mon, the Grove is off-limits. 'Specially in this fog." The occasional lifting of his forepaws from the water hinted at his anxiousness to retrieve the Archer from the abandoned forest, "After what 'appened t'Deacon, ya don't want yer mother ta worry, do ya?"

(This post was last modified: Oct 20, 2014, 05:38 AM by Angier.)

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Titan slipped through the fog trying to figure out where in the world he was. The mist was great if he had been planning to hunt for his coat blended in perfectly with it and the shadows. However that was not what the young male was doing right now. The dark wolf had been trailing after Angier's scent so that he could meet the alpha male and talk to him about certain things. Topics that were mostly about who he could learn medicinal skills from since the Adelaide wolf that Elettra had told him of was no longer around, and jobs to do. He wanted to know if he could help out with certain duties around the pack a part from the bit of herb scavenging he'd been doing to stock up Xetor and El's supplies for winter.

However the fog was so thick that Titan had to resort to his old tricks he had of getting around the tunnels back in Secret Caverns. He relied more on smell, hearing, and feeling instead of his sight which didn't help too much in the thickest parts of the fog. Sometimes the mist would clear in places allowing the dark wolf to see, but these clear spots seemed to be somewhat rare.

The stench of cat infiltrated the silver misted black male's senses. He stopped along Angier's trail to listen and smell the area before the sound of Angier's call echoed around him. At least he knew that he was getting rather close. Though Titan somewhat dreaded having to talk to Angier with other wolves around. He hoped this "Skoll" wouldn't keep the leads attention for too long.

A prickling sensation went up his spine as the cat scent suddenly got stronger. Titan let a low growl rumble from his chest as he realized that the cat was very near, but he couldn't spot it himself. The young wolf hadn't met with a bobcat, lynx, or cougar yet in his life. He did not know the dangers that they could pose to wolves.

Standing his ground as the scent grew even stronger, Titan spotted a shape moving slowly through the fog to his right. It's so close! How did I not hear it? Titan's blue orbs switched onto the black form that regarded him with an angry glare. Titan's growl turned into a snarl warning the creature to stay away. His posturing and growls seemed to deter the creature as it turned and slid its long body through the fog to disappear back into the landscape. Pleased by the affective use of intimidation on his part, Titan turned to follow Angiers scent again. His growl was gone and the boys fur lay flat once more, though he held his head up with pride at his accomplishment. This was the second time he had felt a good feeling come from someone or something submitting to him. Titan could certainly get used to that feeling of power.

"After what 'appened t'Deacon, ya don't want yer mother ta worry, do ya?" The voice of an older male rang out as Titan approached the source of the scent trail he'd been tracking. His ears quivered forward at the comment that was pointed towards another. Titan didn't want to interrupt, but he also didn't want to startle them. Maybe.. It could be fun to though. That thought floundered about in Titan's head before he made the smart move and chuffed a few times to give them his location.

"Lo." He spoke before turning to approach Angier from the side instead of directly behind him. However he didn't say anything else; instead allowing the pair to finish up whatever they were talking about first.

Everything that came spewing from the Lyall's mouth was nothing new. Always... It was always "Ya can't do that." or "No. That's no good. Don't. Stop." His mother, on the other hand, had never denied her second-born anything as far as Sköll could recall. He rolled his eyes when Angier had come to a point where he tried to convince him to come back to the pack lands with him, if only to keep his mother from worrying. It wouldn't work; but, then again, Angier had never truly had a hold on him. At the sound of an approaching newcomer, the prince's mouth sealed shut; and, when that new kid showed up beside the Leader, Sköll couldn't help but grin.

"About time you arrived," he muttered, shooting the similarly-coated boy a quirked brow to wordlessly plead that he play along. He took a step to one side, readjusting his posture and daring to let his tail come up in defiance. "Mother doesn't need to worry," he stated, his frown returning. "I have someone with me-" he pointed with his muzzle towards Titan, the velveteen quality of his voice changing into one that was more forceful than anything else, "-and we were supposed to start at dawn."

His fur bristled slightly while his eyes narrowed; if this was the time to make a scene and possibly get Angier off his back, now was his chance, "I never get why you don't trust me. You're always like this. I've had it." He bore his fog gray eyes to the blue-eyed yearling, "Cross the stream and let's go..."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Instead of seeing the young Archer begrudgingly collect himself and outwardly admit defeat, the arrival of Titan, the young Scout Angier had once met from Whisper Caverns, changed their conversation completely. Angier let out a soft snort, something that could have been a rather strained welcome to the other yearling. But just as the Leader's lips could part, Sköll greeted Titan as though he had been expecting him all along. The Lyall's head angled downward as he stared suspiciously at his step-son through his own pair of pale, narrowed eyes.

The prince was clever, taking the upper hand and sliding the metaphorical rug out from beneath Angier's feet. The two boys had planned something, or so it seemed in that moment, and Titan had arrived much later than Sköll would have liked. The patriarch ground his molars together but once Titan was ordered to get a move on, he glanced over at him. His silent stare questioned, challenged, and examined the Thorben for something that might have been amiss.

His intuition should have won the argument in his head; but, again, the words Elettra had once spoken to him had echoed in his head. Sköll was an Archer, his mother's son; he understood several things and knew his boundaries, he even learned very well from first-hand experiences and minded all sorts of intellectual, logical reasoning and explanations. It was just his stubbornness that needed to be countered with discipline.

As much as he wanted to sternly instruct Titan to keep so much as the tip of a nail out of the river, Angier kept quiet, waiting for what Titan was going to do. Only in the face of another individual could he fully realize the Trickster's true intentions...

Titan listens on as Skoll pulls the spotlight onto Titan's appearance. His words caused the dark Thorben's ears to flick once in greeting to the long legged Archer. He hadn't realized that Skoll had been looking for him until he spoke up. Or at least that's what Titan assumed as he passed a curious look from Angier to Skoll. He caught the look the willow prince threw to him and realized immediately that he was up to something. It was the same look he and Malia had used often as youngsters when trying to get out of trouble, or into it.

Feeling oddly complacent, Titan nodded his head in Skoll's direction and gave Angier a goofy grin.

"I was up all night looking for herbs, so I guess I slept in a little..." He answered sheepishly before flicking his gaze to Skoll and shrugging his wide shoulders.

For some strange ass reason Titan felt like Skoll had quite a bit in common with his sister. As he surveyed the situation the dark wolf could see that both Skoll and Malia had been defiant to anyone who wasn't family, they both liked to play tricks on others, and being bossy also seemed like a quality both flaunted. The ache in his heart resurfaced as Titan thought about Malia. Why the young Archer was reminding of his sister Titan had no idea. However he missed the tricks and bossiness of his sister, and playing along with Skoll's plan made his heart feel full again. Even though the dark wolf was definitely not his sister. I'll talk with Angier later I suppose. Titan quietly sighed knowing that he had plenty of time in the world to talk to the elder Lyall about healing herbs.

"Yeah yeah bossy fur I'm going. " His tone was rough but the glint in his eyes and wagging tail betrayed the fact that Titan was joking with Skoll and meant no harm in it. Picking up his giant paws and turning towards the stream, Titan first tested out the water. He let out a huff realizing that it was rather chilly. Then began wading across the shallows resisting the urge to look back and see if Skoll was coming. He didn't want to get the Archer in trouble by looking like he didn't know what they were supposed to be doing...

In what was possibly good grace, Titan stepped up to the plate and took Sköll's side. It made the white-lipped royal smile and as Angier turned to address Titan, the Archer openly smirked, even if a bit of Titan's cheek was not particularly appreciated. For now, it worked and hopefully the Lyall would not see through his ruse. "Next time I'll fetch you then," the prince remarked in his own lighthearted sort of way. He watched as the dark-coated yearling made his way across the river. His tail idly waved about behind him, a sort of victorious gesture.

"You can go now..." he called to Angier across the river, wondering now why the Lyall simply, stupidly stood there. "Tell Mother if you want, but we'll be back before sundown." This, quite frankly, was a lie, but there would be time yet to see just how Titan stacked up to him and whether he was of use to the Archer, personally, or not. He waited until all four of Titan's paws had reached the cold, damp riverbank. He had thought to tell Angier to scram but decided not to; he already had the upper hand and their conversation was through now that the Thorben had joined him. "Come along," he beckoned to his companion as though he were some sort of lackey or well-acquainted sidekick. "My step-father is such a drag. This way..."

Sköll's lanky legs easily found their way through the mist, the ground-bound clouds stirring and giving way wherever he stepped. When they were out of earshot of the Leader, the prince rounded on his age-mate, turning about and sizing him up. "I remember you," he commented in a nonchalant manner. "You're Yuka's brother, aren't you? ...Titan? You... You were the one that wanted my mouse." The latter of his statements was another falsehood but not one of ill intention - the poor thing, having been dead for so long, had just been accidentally misplaced. Sköll had simply forgotten what their first encounter had entailed and all he could recall of it was that he and his mother were joined by a tall white-furred woman... and Titan... and all the young prince had wanted then and there was his plaything back.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

"You can go now..." the boy had said, much to Angier's dismay. Had Titan not been present, the Leader might have thought to lunge after the young Archer just to put him in his place. Without @Elettra nearby he could have very well seized such an opportunity to bestow upon the disobedient and undisciplined second-born every nip, growl, snarl, and shove just to get him to physically submit. Sköll might have killed a Leader in lands far away from here, but that did not even begin to intimidate him at all. If Elettra had "loved him" as she had claimed, then surely she wouldn't even allow her son to do such a thing... Surely.

As both yearlings stood on the opposite bank, the Lyall shrugged as he eyed the back of Titan's head and the scheming stare that occupied his step-son's face. As Sköll came to verbally pull Titan along through the trees, Angier remained until he could no longer pick them out from the fog, which took almost no time at all. The forest could have very well swallowed them whole. Elettra knew best, though, he settled; if he was told not to worry about Sköll or even nitpick at him anymore in the last months of his yearling days, then he wouldn't.

His pale eyes went to where he had thought he had smelled a bit of deer and wondered if he ought to collect it for his (biological) sons. He was quick to remember the lynx, however, and whisked away the thought completely. A "black cat" had crossed his path today and he supposed it would not bode well if he continued to press his luck if there was even a possibility if a streak of bad luck would be following him closely in the months to come.

(Exit.)