Lost Lake you'll see a different side of me

Discovery thread for Fallen Tree Cove! Private for @Vespertio

“Located on the northeastern side of the Lost Lake, lies a rocky den created by avalanches that ripped down the mountainside during the brutal winter of 2013. The den is protected on three sides by large boulders, with fallen trees littering the sides of the boulders. The inside of the cave is open and vast, large enough for a pack to take shelter. The fallen trees act as a blind, concealing the den from those who don’t know its exact location, making the cave fitting for the Lost Lake that seemed to appear and disappear as well.”

It was almost time, almost time for her plans to come together and seal up with finality. Taking another trip up to the Lake, Athena wondered if any of her followers were here. Was her sister keeping guard of the territory while she was away? Was Vesper silently looking after the waters in the shadows? Though, she could smell their scent in the area, there was no telling if they were still here or not. It seemed everyone was coming and going, looking for others to join them, waiting for her to take her leave from Whisper Caverns. However, she didn’t think it was the right time yet, she needed to confront Ash and speak with her daughter before she parted ways. Part of her still wanted to leave peacefully and with a possibility of them becoming allies, so that she could still see her daughter, but the other part of her was still hurt. Her heart was broken by their mistrust and nonexistent compassion for what she went through. She didn’t comprehend the fact that Ash and Narime were trying to protect Rory, for her sake. They justified their actions by the fact that Rory didn’t need to see her mother that way. However, Athena felt that her daughter needed to know that her mother didn’t abandon her. She was taken from her.

The more Athena thought about leaving Rory, she knew it was the best for her daughter right now. Her daughter didn’t want to be near her with her undistinguishable face and Athena feared that she had frightened her child too much. She had to do right by her. She had to go, while she stayed here with Ash, who would protect her. Athena may later regret this, but she felt that it was the right thing to do for her at this time. She still wanted to be in contact with her, to make sure she knew that she did this for her. However, if she left Whisper Caverns on a bad note, she might not get that luxury.

As she walked along the lakeside, she looked around for a place where the group could call a den site. She didn’t want to reclaim the Poison Path pack den as they proved dangerous when Ash became trapped within not too long before the pack’s disbandment. Athena was worried that it would happen again and if she had future children, it could trap them inside or worse crush them. Though she is coming back to her old home, she was going to start anew and find her own shelter. A shelter that might prove a little safer for her loved ones.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

Some day you too will know my pain

Vespertio Vuesain

And smile its black toothed grin

For once sleep without nightmares found Vespertio as he lay upon one of the many boulders that lined the lake's shore, letting the ebony that saddled his back absorb what warmth the sun offered that chilly, clear day. It had been some time since the last encounter with the soon to be queen of the lake and his latest trip in search of more souls to recruit for the pack they planned to create, so he decided a little R and R was deserved before setting back out to scour the nearby lands for more wolves willing to join them and increase their chances of surviving the upcoming winter that was already nipping at their nose tips. His tail hung limply over the edge of his personal tanning bed while his head lay nestled between the space of his paws, the cream of his eyelids covering the mesmerizing and inviting canary yellow orbs that were his eyes.

Hours passed as the Vuesain brute laid there lackadaisically in the afternoon sun until a familiar scent tickled his nostrils, rousing him from the first bit of actual sleep in a while. Slowly raising his crown with a yawn passing his lips, he scented at the air and a coy smirk tugged his ebony lips back more. The lady of the lake. Had she come to check up on him or had she recruited another member? Rising from his private pedestal he gave his pelt a generous shake after stretching out his body, causing what sleep remained to recede and then lept down onto the moist sand of the beach to start towards her direction. Curiosity filled his light footsteps as he followed the shoreline, an ivory silhouette forming shortly after he rounded one of the many bends the lake held. Sending out a woof he alerted her of his presence, but not before he began realizing there was no second figure accompanying her. Maybe she wasn't here to bring home another. Then why was she here?

For now it did not matter for he was sure she had a logical reason to return, leaving the cavern wolves once more and would undoubtedly fill the handsome male in on her plans. The distance quickly melted away then as he picked up his pace to a decent trot until the two wolves were only feet away from one another, slowing back down to an easy lope. "What brings my vixen to this side of the lake?" Vesper spoke, his tone flirtatious and charming as usual whenever he spoke to @Athena during their encounters, tail waving behind his back like a mighty banner per usual as well while letting his golden gaze meet her amber one. He was indeed curious to know what brought her here. They had yet to venture on this side of the lake since pre-claiming it as their own.

Her gait was relaxed and her pace was rather slow as she surveyed the bank of the lake for a suitable spot for their den. They already knew they would take claim to the lake, but they needed a place to sleep and gather together. Without a common meeting place, there wouldn’t be as much communal bonding and a bonded pack works together a lot more than a pack that didn’t know all of its members. She knew that this time she would have a lot more pack meetings to make sure everyone knew each other and to make sure everyone had a role to play in the pack. Wolves that had a purpose tend to be more productive and loyal. If they have something to work towards, they will have goals and would be harder working than those who don’t. She wanted wolves to work towards advanced roles and to have attainable goals that Athena could help them achieve. However, before that happened, she needed to find a den site for her pack.

With the old Poison Path just northwest of them, she wandered over to the more wooded side of the lake, but was still close to the mountainside. She quickly picked up the scent of Vesper and with a look behind her, she saw him trotting over to her. A smile formed on her ebony lips as he joined her, her tail wagging behind her. "What brings my vixen to this side of the lake?" His charming tone, making her smile grow a little larger. He definitely wasn’t giving up on his charm, but Athena wasn’t one to complain, she secretly liked the attention. “Just out scouting. We need a den site and the old one that we used is a bit too dangerous now for my liking,” she said, her amber eye looking to him. “Have you spotted anything suitable around here?” She asked, her gaze looking back over to the tree line in front of them.

Perhaps they could try in there or maybe there was a small opening somewhere down further that would give them a good view of the lake, but she couldn’t look down much further with the tree line bending along with the lake, blocking her view.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

Some day you too will know my pain

Vespertio Vuesain

And smile its black toothed grin

Her smile didn't go unnoticed as the younger male reached her side, his charming ways finally starting to make some sort of impression on the lady of the lake. Or so he thought. His thoughts where then brought else where as Athena indulged him with talk of a suitable den location that needed to be found and facts of her old den site that was now deemed too dangerous to use. Vesper hadn't thought to scout the area for such a place, but as time had passed since his first paw steps in the lore and arrival at the lake he was now starting to gain a decent knowledge and layout of their home to be. With a shake of his head to answer her question, he then allowed his golden gaze to follow hers towards the treeline before them. "Not that I can remember, but I do remember coming across a certain bend that may yield some potential just off the shore line within the safety of the trees.' Vespertio informed.

Knowing that she would follow him he began to trod in the direction of said bend, his gate just as relaxed as her own. Well it was more of a cove to be exact, but details were not all that important to him at the moment. The pink of his tongue began to poke through the small gape between his canines as the pair walked in silence, his tail continuing to wave behind him. On a previous trip to this cove he had wandered through the pine trees that lay just yards from the shoreline in order to grow more familiar with its layout and had found a few suitable areas for a den. Most of them were trees uprooting and the result being an interlocking web system of said roots forming ideal bedding areas if one was willing to do a little digging to spruce up the place, but he wasn't sure how the queen would take to dwelling underground in a similar fashion to the cavern wolves she now rested with. The similarity may not be the best for her.

Although, she didn’t expect him to have an exact locations for her to see, she hoped that since he has been here for a while, he’s at least found some sort of shelter here to cover himself and who knows that could have worked for the pack. When she ruled over the lake the first time, she grew to know the lands like the back of her paw, but with the harsh winter, many avalanches stripped paths down the mountainside and re-landscaped the area. It would be helpful to find an area big enough for a whole pack, but if they had to, they could just dig out their own. “Not that I can remember, but I do remember coming across a certain bend that may yield some potential just off the shore line within the safety of the trees.” When he began, she thought she wouldn’t have any success with her question, but he continued on and surprised her.

So, he was looking around at the place. It was a good idea if he was going to be her partner. He needed to know the area as well as she did. Though, she had a slight advantage of living her already, there was a chance for him to catch up. However, she wasn’t ready to give him locations to her secret places. Those, he would have to earn with time. It take him long to take her where exactly he was talking about. He led her closer to the cove that was guarded by a bending tree line. She had come here often on her patrols, but the area had a new look. It was evident that an avalanche landed here. She could see deeper into the trees that there were piles of dead ones and some uprooted. Her eye landed on the interlocking uprooted trees, but what would they do when it was raining. Moving her gaze onward, she continued to walk through the pine trees, her eye looking for anything that would be suitable for a large pack.

That was when she almost walked right past it. A shelter that was made out of fallen boulders, but concealed by fallen trees, that she almost passed right by. Stopping dead in her tracks, she walked over to the structure cautiously, not sure if anything had claimed this as their own. Smelling nothing by rabbits and squirrels, she took a circle around it. Noticing that it was completely enclosed on the three sides and no obvious gapes that would let in water, she went to the mouth of the nature made cave. Sticking her head in, she saw how spacious it was inside. It was definitely big enough for a large pack to live within comfortably. “Vesper, I think... I think this is it.”

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

He watched the ivory queen expectantly as she surveyed the root system, but with a shake of her head Vespertio knew that it would not do for the pack and he had to agree with her decision. The majority of it was exposed from above leaving the wolves vulnerable to any water be it rain or flooding that may occur during the upcoming winter and it would do little to keep them warm in the chill of the night. So they continued on in their search for a proper den site, following the expanse of fallen trees and boulders that dotted the area around them.

Three days had passed since he journeyed back to this lake, each day spending a couple hours to scout the area and make a mental map of what was where, what was to be found in the area and the available prey for hunting opportunities. With winter fast approaching most of the bigger game animals had ventured off in route of their annual migration leaving the land riddled with the smaller critters such as rabbits, foxes, beavers in the lake that broke the morning silence with the slapping of their tails on the waters surface and so on. If one was lucky they would stumble across a school of fish trapped in tiny pools blocked from the larger source of water by fallen logs and debris that had broken free from the beaver dams. Now the young brute prodded his memory for other hopeful locations he meandered by on his mapping mission.

But he didn't probe for long as Athena's voice broke his concentration with word of possibly finding the ideal location. Switching his golden gaze from the view in front of him to her location, he took in the sight of the natural cave she was referring to. He had walked past the very spot nearly all the time while becoming familiar with the landscape and not once did he give it a second thought. From an untrained eye it appeared like an ordinary sculpture of boulders with fallen trees on its sides, but as he stepped closer and nudged his nose past the curtain of leaves that sheathed the entrance to stand beside her, he noticed how truly spacious it was inside. "Huh. Would you look at that. I've walked past this place a lot and never bothered to give it thought. Just seemed like a bunch of boulders to me." Shoulders raised into a slight shrug before turning his attention away from the cave and settling it on Athena. "I think you're right. Its big, inconspicuous and seems damn well sturdy." Lifting one of his back legs, he gave the nearest boulder a good kick and lifted the corners of his ebony lips to form a cheeky grin when it refused to budge an inch. "Yep. Nice and sturdy. This'll do."

Den picture reference!

As Vespertio came towards her to take a closer look for himself, she stepped to the side to let him have the space to look. "Huh. Would you look at that. I've walked past this place a lot and never bothered to give it thought. Just seemed like a bunch of boulders to me." He said as he looked into the potential den area for them. “There’s more to some things than meets the eye. Those that don’t take that closer look luck out on the beauty of the hidden things,” she murmured quietly in his ear before taking a step back, so he could get out easily. Her words held a deeper meaning that she wasn’t sure he would understand and doubted he would.

Nodding her head when he mentioned how sturdy it was and validated his words with a swift kick to the side of it. A smile formed on her lips as agreed with her. So this was it. This would be their home, but there was still one essential thing they hadn’t discussed. Their name. They couldn’t stake claim to the lake without a name for their enemies or allies to call them by. Poison Path had been almost a warning to those, but it was also a hindrance. Once Naira and Rhysis were gone, Athena didn’t have the same morals as they did. She was a kinder soul back then and the name sounded evil and discouraged those looking for a home. It made them sound unwelcoming to potential pack mates.

This time, Athena will have a say and this time, she make sure it won’t have a hindrance on them. “We need a name, Vesper. A name that our allies and enemies can call us by,” she said before she climbed upon one of the fallen trees that lay across the boulders and followed it until she was on top of the den. She looked around at her surroundings, names and ideas running through her head. She needed something strong, but at the same time inviting to an extent. A name that wouldn’t make them sound like something they weren’t. Then it came to her. “How about Fallen Tree Cove? She suggested, her gaze looking down at him. Her head cocked to the side slightly as her mind wrapped around the name. It was simple and it was fitting. Exactly what they needed.

(This post was last modified: Nov 10, 2014, 03:33 AM by Athena.)

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

His ear gave a light twinge feeling Athena's warm breath fill it with words doubled in meaning. “There’s more to some things than meets the eye. Those that don’t take that closer look luck out on the beauty of the hidden things,” she spoke before taking a step back to make his exit from the potential den easier. He pondered her words over and over again to decipher what she was truly hinting at and his brows furrowed together lightly in the process while his face was away from hers. Was she referring to their relationship? It couldn't be easy to come to terms with her newly found scars nor the loss of an eye and those were features he overlooked upon their first encounter. The thoughts continued to swim around his mind until he gave his crown a gently shake. Nah, she couldn't have meant them. They were just two strangers working towards a common goal, seeking power and whatnot. Right?

With a change of subject he followed suit behind Athena back out to the entrance through the curtain of tree leaves as she bounded up the length of a fallen tree in order to stand at the tip top of the boulder formation, peering down at him which caused a smirk to faintly be seen on his countenance. He did like a lady in power and boy was she beautiful right now. WHOA wait..did he really just think that? Luckily the ivory queen offered a distraction from his current thoughts as she then spoke of them needing a name. They needed a name to be revered by allies and feared by enemies, but what could they go by? Taking a look around he threw together the names of what he saw together in an attempt to create a name that fit the description. Blind Cave? No, if anything he figured Athena would take offensive to the name nor did it sound cool. Sunset loche? That was a possibility, but again it just didn't feel right theoretically on his tongue. But then aloud came a name that felt perfect. "How about Fallen Tree Cove?" his queen spoke and the name couldn't have been better. "Darling, I think you just found the perfect name."

One more from you and I can fade it out?

The name ran through her head several times after she spoke it. It was simple, but it was exactly what she was looking for. A name that didn’t warrant unneeded judgment like Poison Path had. No, this name was elegant and was fitting. "Darling, I think you just found the perfect name." Smiling down at him as he approved her suggestion, she gracefully leaped down off the den site and walked towards him. Nudging him affectionately with her muzzle on his cheek, she smiled as she glanced at his yellow gaze before she looked out across the cove that led back towards the lake. “This is going to ours, my love. All ours,” she said quietly before letting a smile cross her ebony lips as she looked back to Vesper.

“Fallen Tree Cove will rise very soon.” She said before she lifted her head up, releasing a melody into the air. Athena didn’t have her other followers with her to officially stake their claim upon the lake, but her howl signified the start of something new here at the lake. All others that wanted this land, would have to contend with her and her group as their plans were beginning to come together. She wasn’t sure if Vesper would join her in her song, but when her howl drifted off, she looked to him once again. “Would like to walk with me and take a short trip up into the mountain? I would like to show you something,” she asked him.

She wanted to show him her private ledge that she used to watch the sunrise and sunset. As it was a few hours till dusk, she wanted to get up there to watch as she hasn’t been up there in so long. Then she planned to come back and break in their new den site for the first time. Hopefully, Vesper would like to spend this time with her so the two of them to become closer of partners or more…

(This post was last modified: Nov 10, 2014, 05:30 PM by Athena.)

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

Over and over he mentally dissected the name, even whispering it under his breath to taste the name on his tongue while enjoying the way it rolled so effortlessly and how his faint Italian accent gave the words a little more spice. It was thrilling all the same, though. Every bit of what has happened in the past few weeks fueled his body with an energy that made him vibrate from nose to tail tip. He could feel the power he craved beneath his paws, nails kneading the soft soil of the land that would be ruled by him with Athena at his side. This cove, this lake, everything around them was about to become their kingdom. A future king and queen were only days away from being crowned. As graceful as a swan landing on water the very queen he spoke of lept from the top of their den and made her way over to where he stood to give an affectionate nudge to his cheek before speaking words that did wonders to him. “This is going to be ours, my love. All ours,”. A strange sensation couldn't be ignored as the unexpected brush of her fur against his sent a static chill down the length of his spine and the apples of his cheeks to become pinkish in coloration, silently thanking whatever gods existed that the majority of his cheeks were thickened with his incoming winter coat and covered his blush.

Had he wanted to offend the lady of the lake and been half of the man he used to be he would have snorted at her comment. Love was not a possibility for him and in his opinion it only made someone weak, vulnerable to the enemy. But the truth was this Vuesain didn't know what love was. In all of his three years of life he had to manipulate it out of the ones around him. Out of his mother and out of his own father, the ones naturally programmed to love their pups from the start. What kind of love was that? Yet what was that reaction a simple touch from this she-wolf caused? It was different and fearful at the same time. Within the theoretical blackness of his heart he couldn't possibly love someone. No, love was not possible for him, but his body said other wise. That tingle down his spine, that tint of his cheeks and the slight increase of his heart rate. Those were all things that spoke beyond words. Within the confines of his heart love indeed was starting to blossom and it was his choices now that would either let it grow and become something beautiful or run from it with his fear of being truly loved and let it wither and die.

He let silence follow her words before returning the affection with a gentle lick to her scarred muzzle and then over the center of her forehead before murmuring proudly in her ear. "Yes, my dear. Fallen Tree Cove will be a force to be reckoned with. Everyone from near and far will come to revere and fear us." With that said he then granted his ears the pleasure of listening to her melodic song for a few fleeting moments before standing proudly and regally beside her, head tilted back to allow his deeper toned song to intertwine with hers. The message range clear over the cove, bouncing off the surface of the trees around them. They were here and nothing was going to keep them from protecting what was theirs. After a minute or two the last syllables of their duet began to fade, heads lowered levelly. “Would you like to walk with me and take a short trip up into the mountain? I would like to show you something.” His ears pricked forward in curiosity, the golden coloration of his eyes reflecting such as he met her single amber gaze and nodded. "I wouldn't mind a good stretch of the legs with a beautiful lady." He charmed, flicking his head to the side slightly to indicate he was ready for her to lead the way. He did not know where she planned to lead him, but any time spent with her he realized was far better than laying on some rock watching fish swim past him.