Cedarwood Forest keep the door ajar

Where do we belong, where did we go wrong?
If there's nothing here, why are we still here?
Leave it by it's pain, leave it all alone.
If I never turn, I will never grow,
Keep the door ajar when I'm coming home...
- Fallulah; "Give Us a Little Love"

B o r d e n
I will try, can't you see I'm trying?

Whines and whimpers echoed through the woods; even the winds seemed as though it has changed directions. A familiar face, one that had not yet gone forgotten by the souls of Relic Lore, had emerged at long last. It had been just a little over a year since Borden Lyall had had a carpet of pine needles beneath is feet, but everything about the realm of Cedarwood Forest seemed to welcome him home.

Limping through the trees, he meandered about with his ears back against the nape of his neck and tail held level with his spine. To him, it only seemed logical that his children - particularly Renier, who had only departed Renegades Reach a few days before he had - would gather in this part of the Lore. Their cub days had been filled with fanciful renditions of Grizzly Hollow, the magnificence and beauty of Jasper Rocks, and the mysteries of the Thicket of Secrets. To even think about finding them elsewhere was surely a perplexing thought; and, Borden very much preferred to try and keep himself in order. Just as he trusted Anyu to keep his eldest daughters Trisden and Aiyana in line (as they were both directed to keep the Reach in working order in case he suddenly desired to return), the Lyall patriarch trusted his instincts to guide his every step. If he suddenly felt wary of his surroundings, he changed the direction of his path and, if he wanted to take a step back, he fully turned around and walked until he felt comfortable again - physically and mentally. He was surely certain though that no matter what, he would find himself at his predetermined destination: the old bear den that was his abandoned stomping grounds, land that was left to Kade Attaya, his mate, and the rest of the pack who wished to stay behind.

It had been a while now since he had left the edges of the tree line and the hedges of the Thicket of Secrets behind. His nose and whiskers continuously twitched as he went, just in case he might have missed the familiar scent of Lyall en route to the heart of the forest. So far, though, there was nothing that particularly stuck out to him; there was just the usual, miscellaneous tangs of fox, deer, squirrels, and a hint of raven wherever an old scent trail might have been several days ago. A low whine escaped from his nostrils; the more he looked around the more he began to venture into the parts of his mind that he only recently began to venture into. What he remembered of his place within Relic Lore was, at this point, his strongest memory, from which all other memories were rooted to. He could remember what it had felt like to leave the Mountain of Dire, the heartwarming memories of finding Jaysyek and the life they had within the depths of this very forest, the faces of his children when they had each emerged from that underground burrow, and why they had left Grizzly Hollow behind. Now that he thought of it all, comprehended each fleeting scent that curled in his nostrils, he came to realize that the land and everything within it was still very healthy, untouched by the plague that had once threatened to bring his domain into ruins and his family into their graves under his watch.

Now that he was here he was going to make sure that everything was or would be as it was - just as he remembered it. One way or another, he was bound to find what he was looking for... in no particular order: Renier, the pack den, Rook and Bishop, Kade, and the children he and Jaysyek were still sorely missing (Taima, Calla, and Ryvet). The only catch was that he had to keep himself from getting lost first...

table by Switch

Well, what do you want from me?

Cedarwood Forest was grand in its size – so much so, that Cut Rock River could not lay claim to its entirety. That did not keep the golden she-wolf from feeling more protective over it though, and the day had found the regal from pacing over the pack borders to investigate the forest. The run in with Narime had done little to soothe her, despite the fact the female had stated they would not be back – somehow, she felt the rising tensions would only elevate before they faded.

She did not worry for the River pack – of course, she was concerned there would be those hurt.. but truly, they were a tight knit group who worked well together. Lachesis, Naia, Bastet, Karpos.. all of them had proven their loyalty time and again, and because of this, there was very little she feared from other packs.

But that confidence might not have extended to the shadow that now lurked so close to her home – within her realm. The scent was new – oddly familiar in a sense that she could not quite place. Quietly debating whether to ignore it and return back to the side of her mate and her children, instead, the Tainn born ventured forward, never once backing down to a challenge.

She did not recognize him when she saw him – she could not, for she had only ever heard his name in passing. Instead, her eyes studied him quietly as her figure lifted to pronounce her rank. These lands might not have been hers, but this forest harbored her family, and she had very little tolerance to those who shadowed her home. Your uncomfortably close to Cut Rock River lands, she warned, announcing her presence as she strode forward. She was but a waif of a thing in comparison to the male, but that did not keep the steely glint from her eyes as she regarded him solemnly.

sparking up my heart

B o r d e n
I will try, can't you see I'm trying?

After some time, Borden's whimpers and whines quieted and there was nothing but the sound of hushed woodland in his wake. The birds didn't even dare to sing their late afternoon songs here and one reason why could have been because the misplaced patriarch was not alone. He kept his nose to the ground, only lifting his head every so often as to roll his shoulders and tilt his head from side to side. He had to be close. He just had to be... By now he would have thought he might have at least stumbled upon something familiar - a certain tree, a specific cluster of boulders, or a fallen log - to put him on the right track. As he wandered on, however, something eventually clicked... and something in his psyche shifted.

A warning sounded out from the darkening reaches of the forest and the Lyall stiffly turned around to stare into the face of a pale-eyed woman, a dominant one at that. He was momentarily caught off-guard but, marker after marker, it turned out that she was not Taima. His head slightly tilted to his right before righting itself again. No; she wasn't Bishop either. One of his ears twitched atop his head and without batting an eye, he replied in kind, "Close, maybe, but my family and I live here, too."

Fleeting images of Jaysyek, their cubs (the four of them, two agouti and two white, who were all but only a few months old), and the place he was currently attempting to find his way back to danced hazily in front of him. It seemed his eyes had clouded over, but he eventually came to in a matter of seconds. "I don't remember a place or pack called Cut Rock River being so close," he commented, his voice genuinely intrigued. Planting both of his forepaws into the cool soil, he wondered why Sibyl had not told him about this woman and her pack. He would have to relay this bit of information to both Jaysyek and Kade later... "Have- Have you been here long?"

table by Switch

Well, what do you want from me?

She blinked at the blatant and false statement, her green eyes studying the male and wondering why he felt the need to lie. No others live in this forest but us, she warned lightly, her tail lifting slightly to accompany her statement. Cut Rock River's numbers were dwindling, and while they were not at a population to which they could claim and maintain the entirety of Cedarwood Forest, she wanted to make specifically clear to this male that he and family's presence was certainly not welcome here. Winter would be approaching them soon, and she wanted to ensure the resources of this land went to feed the mouths of her children, and hers alone. Especially if they would be having a winter like last year..

He had not heard of the pack, and she regarded him hesitantly. It was surprising to her that he had not smelled their borders, but she did not comment on this. A year this late autumn, she finally offered, taking a step closer to investigate the elder male. Something seemed off about the entire situation, but she could not quite place her paw on it. Who are you? Perhaps there would have been a more pleasant way to engage in conversation, but Kisla had never been one to entertain strangers -- they were never to be trusted, and given he firmly believed he was going to live here with his family in the same forest.. she did not imagine he was a potential recruit to their ranks.

(This post was last modified: Oct 12, 2014, 04:33 PM by Kisla.)

sparking up my heart

B o r d e n
I will try, can't you see I'm trying?

It seemed she was threatened and/or upset, that much was obvious as she raised her tail. The Lyall took a step back to give her space. It was actually nice of her to still lend him the answer of Cut Rock River being close to celebrating a year after its founding. Upon being asked who he was, his eyes narrowed to express his sense of worry. "Borden Lyall," he stated. "I live not far from here. Grizzly Hollow. Close to Jasper Rocks..." He wondered if the woman would know of the area; he assumed that she did. If he could remember correctly, Elettra was still probably telling others of his previous misdeeds. Perhaps that was why the young lady before him now was so wary.

"Do you kn-know Jaysyek?" he asked, his tail tucking now between his legs as he cowered a bit. His ears had started to ring and it was making him uncomfortable. They might have been the same size, but her youth, along with his injured fore paw, easily gave her an advantage over him. He had not meant any harm or means to cause trouble. All he had done was gotten lost and somehow ended up on this side of the forest. "My mate," he breathed as he backed up again by half a step. "I can't seem to find her anywhere."

His jaw trembled as he spoke, adding just for good measure, "I need her. Do you know where she is?" Fearfully, he took in the forest around them, certain now that he really had come to the wrong place at the wrong time. When he regarded Kisla again, there was nothing about him that was confident and proud of who he was. Right here, right now, without someone familiar, he was absolutely frightened.

He had forgotten why he had come here in the first place.

"Can I trust you?" he asked, seemingly naive now. "Can you help me?"

table by Switch

Well, what do you want from me?

He did not rise to her challenge – not the way she had pegged him to. Instead, the man took a pace back, reminding her that as rarely as it did occur, there still were a few gentleman in the world. That thought was struck from her mind the moment he introduced himself, and with a hitch of air, Kisla held back a gasp. Borden. The man who had taken their sister with him on his journey – who had taken a girl that should rightfully have stayed with her family and offered her a chance to forget them all.

Anger had never been so black and white to the tawny female as she attempted to grasp words. Before even a snarl could bubble out with her accusation, the male before her seemed to shrink back, and suddenly he was entirely different. He muttered about his lost mate, questioning if she had seen him, and as she eyed him warily, something seemed to click. Borden Lyall did not live in these forests any longer, though he seemed to believe he did. His memory was seemingly gone.

And suddenly the situation shifted once more – what was once black and white had faded to a variation of grey, and her gaze flickered rather helplessly past him, uncertain of what to do. The man that had stolen her sister form her was no longer here – he had been stolen with age, and now, somehow, had managed to pull on her empathy strings. I can help you – and you can trust me, she offered, defeated for the moment at locating the well-being of her sister. I don’t know where she is.. but maybe she’s at Cut Rock River? We could start there.. She would need him to see Lachesis – if she knew anyone that could aide the Grizzly Hollow patriarch, it was him.

sparking up my heart

The promises you'll make

renier lyall

and keeping the things you forget

The Lyall could not leave the forest alone. The comforts of cedar, the overgrown trails of his childhood, it was his place to haunt. It was the only part of the Lore he felt safe to stay. It didn't come without effort. When in the forest he tried to avoid the River wolves. If he was not sleeping he frequently left the ruins of Grizzly Hollow to hunt, with a hope he might just find one of his siblings again. Often he came back with an empty stomach, and tired mind.

It was on one of these trips back, did a specific scent seem to slap him by his nose. Father? Because of his confusion, and worry a heavy scowl folded above his golden eyes, and with haste he inspected the area. Ren knew it was Borden. It was one of the first scents he had come to know as a child. What was he doing here? In the forest of all places. Dark nose twitched, trying to see if the eldest Lyall was accompanied. It did not seem so. Renier smothered the whine that wanted to come, and instead began to pad after the trail.

The sooner he found his father the better. He knew he would catch him, but it did not stop him from feeling a small nip of fear. He shouldn't be alone.

When the scent became stronger the Lyall did not expect to hear the familiar voice of the lead female of Cut Rock River speaking. Suddenly, he halted, lurking in the brush. From the words he caught she did not seem angry. Would she be if she saw Renier?

Borden's safety was the most important, and with a walk that was steady and certain he made his way to the pair. A single word fell from his lips, "Dad." His golden eyes looked upon his masked father, wondering if he would know him today. Then he would decide if he should attempt to talk to Kisla.

template base formed by GINNYSAURUS.

B o r d e n
I will try, can't you see I'm trying?

What expressions or realizations that might have shown up on the young woman's face had gone unnoticed in his distressed. His mind had seemingly rewound back by a year and, according to his memories, he had no recollection of Aiyana, her sister, or that he had taken the Tainn to his homelands to the northwest. "I can help you – and you can trust me," she said, and while it provided some comfort, it did nothing more than assure him that he had her to look out for him. She did not know where Jaysyek was; it made another pang of dread strike his chest. A part of him could have sworn that she had just been here, or there, beside him or even just leading him on through the Cedarwood... and somehow he had gotten himself separated from her.

"I don't... I don't know," he said, his voice rife with uncertainty. He hunched down and slowly backed into the side of an old cedar, bits of the decade-old bark flaking off where his flank had made contact with it. What to do? What to do? The ringing against his eardrums was not making anything easier either. At least, that was until a certain masked face emerged from the gaps between the tree trunks. His mouth gaped open and his ears came back up; the utterance of his name, the title he had been given by the cubs he had loved so dearly, could only further pull him back to the present. He knew that face, the good Lord would have smite him if he had ever forgotten it...

"Renier," he murmured with half of a whimper, his head briefly angling to one side in a tic-like manner twice before shakily nuzzling the side of his face into his son's mottled shoulder. He winced as he sharply inhaled, exhaling as though he had just had a thorn pulled from the underside of his foot. In his skull he tried to recall what he had said without avail, only half-certain about just how much time had really passed. There was no mistaking that the boy before him, now thoroughly a man in his own right, was his third-born boy. "Can we go home?"

table by Switch

Her words did little to soothe him, and the tawny she-wolf felt her chest tighten at the stress of the situation. Something was amiss, and while it did not take a genius to figure out the older male before her was distraught and sick, that did not mean she knew exactly what to do about it. Just as she was about to give up on luring him in to the Cut Rock River territory and in to Lachesis’ capable and gentle paws, another came forward.. one that surprisingly, she knew as well as Borden.

The young male had not been in her ranks long – he had smooth talked his way in just long enough to seemingly fill his belly and then slip away. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he came forward, but realizing that he was the son. of the man soon allowed her features to soften.

Her ears quizzically shifted forward as the regal female shifted her attention from the Lyall patriarch to the boy who had swore his loyalty and then vanished, deciding to allow this detail to remain unspoken between them. Is he going to go with you? It was a basic question – she did not want to leave the older man alone if the boy was also just going to leave him alone here.. and if he was, then she would notably be relieved if they left sooner rather than later.

The pressing questions of her sisters whereabouts and well-being would seemingly not be answered today, and she felt a small shudder course her spine with the knowledge that she may, in fact, never know what had happened to Aiyana.

sparking up my heart

What Ren wouldn't give to have his father return to himself. Since death was a stronger sentence, taking him entirely, Ren would live with what they had, and be grateful. There was remembrance igniting in his eyes today with steady affirmation of his name. "Yes," the Lyall confirmed, dropping his head, nestling his russet crown into the side of Borden.

Steadily, he stood, doing best to keep the pont of his tail at his hocks. Partially, because of Kisla's rank, and the respect the rogue had for his father. Despite changes, he always saw him as leader, and protector.

The question that had made Renier leave Renegade's Reach behind, brought him from his high. Against his will, ears seemed to fold. There was never an honest answer he could give about that. If he was here what of the Reach? All he did was give a low hmm, and "Maybe, but we need to find mum first." Hopefully, that would appease him for now. If they had been alone he would have sought his mother and figured out what had happened since he had come and gone. Apparently, they must have followed him. Or just dad? Since they were not alone, eyes carried over to Kisla's silver frame, out of respect he did not reach her green eyes.

For Borden's sake he assumed she was not going to take his promise from his hide. Why would she do that? Partially, bemused, ears became erect, and he took in a heady breath after her own question. "I will see to it he's safe, unless..." No, he had no right to ask her of favors, and he did not want to give her lame excuses. Then, he asked himself why he cared what she thought of him any way. They had only met once, and yet...

"Do you think your healer could do anything for him? I already owe you but," But, what Ren? There was something more, something about her scent that reminded him of...her. He hadn't noticed it, before, but he had had a lot on his mind, and a far more empty stomach. "Wait, are..are you a Tainn?" There was caution to his golden eyes, and a gleam of interest as he dare look upon her face. He did not recall if she had ever said, but now it was nagging his mind. Aiyana had left her real family to join them, why he did not see why he owed her any favors, he had always tried to please her. She never quite seemed happ, unless Rook or father was about.

(This post was last modified: Nov 19, 2014, 10:10 PM by Renier.)