Whisper Caverns turn the pages ever so slowly

For anyone in WC!
RE: The moon has turned a blood red and the forest is covered in a dense fog. Have the ghosts of Relic Lore decided to return?

The Thanne youth had grown. The turn of her six month of age came with a spurt of growth which included gangly legs, large flappy ears, a long narrow maw and a sprouting winter coat. Her coat was a dingy color of white the only mark came from a prominent black splotch that covered her mouth --probably the only bit of color she received from her father, Dziban. The youth was a growing bud and her weight had increased since having Ash and lady Narime as her protectors, even Silver had pitched in a few times to help feed the lone Thanne pup and she appreciated their efforts to boost her growth. Their guidance and constant feedings had thus far made her quite the healthy beauty and in the right light, it showed. Her appearance hardly mattered though as night covered the Cavern land and moved beneath what remained of the moonlight, thick fog and dark shadows concealed her as she followed the sight of a looming blood red moon. It was beautiful, nothing she had ever seen before and yet it was spooky, and a fear that Rory had never felt before overcame her.

The hoot of an owl paused her stride as she looked around her, studying what her eyes found in the darkness but thick fog made it hard for her to concentrate, and before someone could catch her off guard she continued on with a much quicker pace. Her movements were swift, so much so that she was at the border of her home without realizing it and stopped finally to catch her breath, her salmon hued tongue hung loose at the side of her mouth. She wondered as she stood staring past the border, where they all were, her mother--who's scent was becoming more scarce--she worried over the most although Ash had become her replacement father, and then she wondered where her father was. This date was probably one of the first that she actually stood to think of him, he was apart of her and the smudge on her nose reminded her of this but he had gone without her, without @Athena, and she worried over him...was he okay? The thick fog and red moon tugged at her emotions and without thinking the young Thanne pointed her head upward to emit her impersonation of a howl, it was shaky and high pitched but it was her own and she was proud. Finally, Aurora "Rory" Thanne felt alive.

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The fog rolled thickly across the grounds he was slowly becoming accustom to -- it was only his forming memories now that guided him through it, and the ebony male found himself true to the title that had been given to him as Guardian, sweeping past the borders. There was something off about the night.. something that pumped the blood through his veins with a flare of uncertainty as he maneuvered through, and as a shadow moved across the ground in sync with the clouds in the sky, Nios cast his gaze upward to catch upon the moon.

He had never seen it so, and something about the haunting sight set his lips to purse in a thin line. He had never felt truly settled in Whisper Caverns -- staying away from the namesake of the lands itself and keeping to the open lands, for he disliked the ultimate confinement of them.. but he had grown rather fond of Narime, and would see her pack and members prosper, even if he was uncertain to how long his time would be spent here.

A howl broke his thoughts, however, and as the song echoed across the heavens, his yellow eyes caught a glimpse of the blood moon before another cloud shifted over it, transforming the land to a darkness that sent a chill straight to his heart.

The caller was not far -- one of the Caverns, he assumed, and tilting his own muzzle back, Nios allowed his own low and throaty song to escape -- beckoning to her. He did not know it was with the only pup the Caverns had kept this year he was singing with -- nor would it phase him. Instead, he felt the low crave of socialization, and if she accepted his presence, he would seek her out in the fog for conversation.

'cause its home, but it's gone

The fact that fog rolled along her ankles no longer disturbed her, instead her focus remained on the blood moon and she found that her call grew louder, more bolder the longer she stood to stare it at. She paused just once to catch her breath and a beckoning call made her ears fall to her head in surprise--someone else was out there! The masculine voice of Nios was a welcoming sign of company, she'd come to realize that a friendly presence had been harder to come by since her return and she'd begun to appreciate the sparse amount of new faces she'd encountered since her return. The Caverns was her family and yet she had only a few names that she memorized, it was becoming well past time for her to meet more wolves aside from her caregivers and she couldn't pass up the opportunity to do just that.

Without missing a beat she pushed through the fog that attempted to conceal her path and within no time she found the looming figure of the dark male who had called to her, his presence was much larger than her own even through the thick fog. She was cautious, having suddenly become uncertain of the male's intentions, but his bright eyes were like a flashlight in this darkness and she found that she'd become mesmerized by his appearance--she did not recognize him at all and yet she was drawn to him. The Thanne girl was a child of few words, it had been a blessing and curse of hers since birth, therefore as she stood face to face with the dark male the only movement came from her thick tail as it swayed slow at her haunches. What now? she thought as her own pale gaze stared intently at Nios, wanting him to take the lead...

I meant to get this up before my prolonged absence. Its been in my drafts for a while. Please skip me when it comes to her turn. Nari's not doing much but watching anyway.

Narime trudged up the hill coming from the meadow and heading into her packs border. You would think that hunting during a full moon would be easier, but unfortunately it wasn't. The moons light, even tonight's blood red moonlight, would allow deer to better see the predators that normally lurked in shadows. The only reason Narime even tried to hunt was because the fog that covered the landscape would help to conceal her ghostly gray form. Since hunting hadn't gone as planned Nari was heading back to the den her tail drooping in defeat. She had always been a talented hunter, but that didn't mean she caught absolutely everything that she happened to run across. While slipping over the sparse territory, Nari's nose twitches at the fresh scents of her pack mates; specifically Rory's scent. Nari wonders curiously at what the youth was doing out and about. True her own children had been much more adventurous at Rory's age, but Nari quite enjoyed how the white pup had stayed relatively close and safe around their territory. Narime caught sight of Nios and the white shape of Rory further off. She didn't particularly want to bother them as Nari had learned the hard way from Yuka that she was a bit overbearing and rather too protective at times. So instead she wandered off to the closest bushes and bits of short bare trees. There she sat down simply viewing the landscape while keeping a watchful eye on her pack mates.

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Fog rolled over his swarthy pelt, and with a few steady strides, the male moved forward, his eyes gleaming as they surveyed the landscape before him – so unrecognizable beneath the blood red moon and the fog that seemed to mask the very presence of the Cavern wolves. The she-wolf would find him first – the grace of youth still evident upon her features, and yet her form was slender as it began to ascend further to maturity. At the age of two, Nios should have been better with those of her age – but Ruiko and Aeylen had not successfully carried another litter, and thus the dark wolf had not the experience in dealing with youngsters.

But she was blooming in to adulthood, and as she stood, the mist swirling about her very pale figure, he would himself more at ease than he would have initially imagined. Canting his muzzle to the side to reveal the more inquisitive nature of the Tainn male, Nios Tainn made to close the distance between them, his own form held with an aloof friendliness.

Narime’s presence was noted – though he did not understand why she sat back to watch. Was Rory a cub of her own? Feeling suddenly very much the one being closely watched and untrusted, Nios blinked down to the girl, his tail giving a quick sway behind him before skimming his eyes up toward the moon, giving a nod in the direction of the sky. Have you ever seen anything like it? It was certainly a conversation starter.

As he approached, she felt herself shrink beneath his looming figure and vibrant gaze, his presence was one that commanded attention and within a span of a few moments, the dark male had stolen her's without fight. She watched him carefully, noting the friendly gaze he gave and the lack of dominance he displayed over her and she mimicked his posture in return, thankful that an elder stranger had given her the opportunity to feel like that of an equal. As the spookiness of the fog no longer plagued her mind, the young Thanne found herself consumed by the strangeness of the moon and listened as her companion mentioned the beauty of it, to which her narrow head shook but she did not comment any further, it was strange and unique but it was nothing compared to the figure that stood before her.

Questions swirled in her head over the dark wolf, she wondered where he came from and how long he had lived in the Caverns, for she had never met him until now and this place had been her birthplace. She wondered what duties he possessed, whether he knew her father Ash as personally as she did, and whether he knew Narime; her scent could be noted in the distance. She knew both leaders well, they had been her protectors and had helped to raise her when her mother had so easily failed, but that was what made her so unique. She valued them both equally and only saw Narime as her leader where Ash was her father, nothing more, his title did not mean much to her because he had never showed her anything but kindness and love that a father would and she loved him because of that. Nios reminded her of a leadership type wolf, one that others would fear because of their position therefore she kept her gaze and eyes low, wondering what he thoughts of her as she stood before him. "Who are you?" she wondered finally, thoughts of the moon overtook her mind once more, "why is the moon red?" she questioned with a cocked head. He was an adult, he should know, right?

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There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

The pale dove seemed interested in studying him – her bright eyes swept over him with careful calculation – as if she was debating whether or not he could be trusted. Stoical, much as his father had always been, the Tainn allowed his own bright amber eyes to rove over her. He did not know her story – though he had known a youth was in Whisper Caverns ranks by scent alone. He could only presume her to be the product of the two leaders – though she looked nothing like either of them, and he had not seen Narime extend motherly affections upon her.. though it would explain why she so carefully watched them now.

Casting a glimpse in the direction of the Caverns queen, Nios’ quiet invitation remained untaken, and with a flick of his tail, his gaze would revert back to his companion. She spoke then, and his own broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. Nios Tainn.. Yours? he offered first – to answer her questions in direct order they had been asked. She was so young that he doubted she would place recognition on his surname – an extension of the wolves that had truly claimed these lands as their own first before other settlers had also found its beauty. Ruiko had told him many times how Hidden Tree had flourished at one point, before relocating to Swift River. The lands had once been so quiet.. but the ebony male could not envision them now as such – it would only appear to be a ghost town.

I do not know, he admitted after a beat, his own eyes straying toward the sky as he tipped his muzzle upward. But it’s haunting.

(This post was last modified: Jan 30, 2015, 06:03 PM by Nios.)

'cause its home, but it's gone

The night was rather calm and soothing to whoever ventured out into it. Nari was at ease as she somewhat contentedly watched her pack mates converse.  A moment of peace and quiet without worrying about chores always did wonders for the silver she wolf. However, there was work to be done. She languidly stretched before turning to lazily lope towards the caches to check on them. Her mind was unworried where Rory and Nios were concerned. Both were safe within her territory, and she knew that Nios would keep the child safe should she decide to venture outside of Whisper Caverns tonight. So Nari decided to leave them be and see if she could find somebody else to ease the bit of loneliness in her heart. Though she would disguise this need to be around others by checking on the caches; for there was always a chance of running into someone digging out a meal for themselves. Disappearing into the dried dead grasses, Narime trotted over the frosted ground keeping her nose up checking for the scents of anyone interesting. Her smooth pace brought the she wolf to a cache relatively close to the caverns. Nobody was there, and the cache smelled as if it was close to empty. She figured the lazy, sick,or injured wolves might have depleted this cache first out of the bunch of them. However as she padded onwards to the other caches Nari was pleased to see them relatively well filled. They would certainly need it come the deepest parts of winter. (EXIT Narime)

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The intense feeling of nervousness began to overtake her as she stared at the man, watching his every move and wondering what he thought of this meeting. Were she boring him, and was she truly interested in what she thought of the moon were two thoughts that swirled in her mind as she stared just past him now, much too nervous to stare directly at him any further--she had already become too engulfed in his stare. He gave his name, such a handsome calling, and she found herself grow worried over whether she would be able to remember it later if she ran into him a second time, thus she repeated it three times in her head before she remembered that she hadn't given her own. "Rory, I'm Rory Thanne." she wondered if he knew her mother and whether he was familiar with her lineage, so many in the Caverns were, but than again this wolf seemed different and mysterious-- perhaps he would see her differently than she expected so many to.

He was honest in his answer and bit her lip momentarily in thought, her eyes returned to the moon and remained on the spot for a moment longer as she contemplated its meaning, could it be a positive message or could it mean that there was something horrible brewing for the future. "This moon doesn't seem like a good sign, it's almost like death, a painful death...." the young Thanne knew very little about death aside from the prey that perished at the jaws of their captors and yet she felt that this moon's meaning was deeper than the blood spilled from their prey.

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