Sierra Hills All your angels on the edge

A perfect snow had fallen overnight. Tiny flakes that glittered loudly and killed quietly. Under the cover of darkness a storm had come, likely blown in from a distant mountain range. The past hours had left the ground under three feet of snow with no scents to follow and all but the largest landmarks hidden from view. The wide expanse was bathed in unstained white from one edge of the hills to the other. The surface sparkled under a hopeful morning sun and a light breeze blew gentle eddies across the landscape. Spiralling into the sun, only to sink back down like drops into a still pool of water. Perfect, just perfect. One could almost smell the impending spring in the face of such a sight.

Skadi could. She had to hurry... they had to hurry. The woman lifted her muzzle from the snow, eyes searching the landscape, and saw none of the beauty. From the beaming sun to the flawless snow at her feet it was nothing but a calculable equation. Impassive eyes ran along the ridge, hunting for that one factor. It was at the highest point that the snow had avalanched under their own weight and the red underneath bled through.

There.

Her black gums contorted into an expression that was equal parts smile and snarl. For Nayeli, there was no escape. The woman had given her home away, Skadi and her brothers would not hesitate to take everything. The faint breeze blew a trace of fellow wolf her way. The owner was unknown and no concern, but a low growl emitted at the stench. The half-wolves were everywhere here. No matter, they couldn't possibly interfere. They were nothing more than scenery.

(This post was last modified: May 12, 2015, 04:16 PM by Skadi.)

@Skadi
Didn't quite know where Skadi was in proportion the mountains themselves, so... I tried to be vague about locations, etc.
Word Count: 329

It was cold today, Ceara noted as she traipsed lightly beside the red-painted mountains. She was so light that her paws barely pressed into the surface of the snow-covered ground. She padded quietly along, not really following much of a path, and having no real idea of where she was going. She was simply exploring, as she had been wont to do since she had joined Oak Tree Bend. It was quickly becoming a habit. Being an Omega meant it was sometimes hard for her just go up and talk to her pack mates, and so she didn’t know any of them yet. It was a dilemma she was trying to solve… somehow.

Vaguely, she caught the scent of another wolf somewhere. The cold made it difficult to pinpoint the smell, so she didn’t try for too long to spot the wolf in question. Rather, she kept it cautiously in the back of her mind as she went along. She also made a point now of being a bit quieter and quicker. Whoever was there, they did not carry the scent of Oak Tree Bend, so they were a stranger. Ceara had had amazing luck with strangers so far, but that didn’t mean she’d let down her guard. That was foolish.

The sun against the snow served to blind her a little, and eventually she decided to just sit down and close her eyes. They hurt a bit from constant glare. She knew this made her potentially vulnerable, but what she lacked in strength she made up for in speed. If she was truly in danger she could simply slip away and run like mad back home. Or so she hoped. To be perfectly honest, joining a pack had not given her anymore confidence in herself, though she was used to that. It did, however, give her a reason to keep breathing. So. If she found herself in danger, she would run. Simple as that. And so she sat.

(This post was last modified: Feb 16, 2015, 02:05 AM by Ceara.)

CEARA
The way she shows me I'm hers, and she is mine
Open hand or closed fist would be fine
The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine

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

@Ceara
----------------
It wasn't too degrading here.

The snow was perfect and untainted underfoot. The crisp air held no stench of lesser-wolves. In the far distance a ridge of mountains appeared, as worthy and impassive as could be hoped for. Her eyes lifted from the path to admire it frequently. It was a place fit for her kind, she could see that already. Garmr held sway over her every actions, but she wondered if she couldn't come up with a use for the place. Any excuse to visit the place.

All at once she realized the perfection had been spoiled. She wasn't alone anymore. An ebony nose twitched sharply to the side, suppressing a sneeze in case they were close. These canines didn't like being insulted. Her pace slowed as Skadi fought against her desire to leave them in the dust. As much as she disliked admitting it the curs had the advantage of knowing the land and politics. Perhaps she could whoever this was. She stopped completely and made a show of scenting the air. Many years had taught her the best way to act and lie convincing was to do it as truthfully as possible. Skadi spun in the direction of the scent, purposely forgetting to shift her weight from the shoulder Nayeli had injured. The silver woman floundered for a minute, then hurried shook herself off. She barked, the high pitch bark of desperate searching. "Hello? Is someone there?"

It was an easy matter to track this newcomer down, but she knew how to play this game. She dragged it out, picking a random direction to stare in. The hardest part of this game was acting like she wasn't superior.

(This post was last modified: Feb 27, 2015, 07:10 AM by Skadi.)

Hope you don't mind me throwing Serach in here! @Ceara - since they're a part of the same pack, it would make sense for them to know of each other/met briefly

The freshly fallen snow was wet and soft underfoot. Pristine and white, it would have made for a beautiful sight...at the beginning of the season. With spring on the horizon, Serach was completely sick of snow. The thick white blanket of slush was suffocating to him, but there was seemingly no escape from it. Winter in Relic Lore was harsh, and no amount of yearning could bring the sunshine back any quicker. Curling his lip in disgust, the young wolf walked carefully between the rocks, trying to ignore the white filth that clung to his paws with every step.

Serach had been walking along the border when he had discovered the scent of one of the Bend's newest pack members. She had a name similar to his own, though he couldn't remember it at the moment. Still, he needed something to roust him from his routine, so he had decided to follow her, heading east towards the snow covered Sierra Hills. More often than not, it seemed like these newcomers were only temporary resident's in his pack's territory, and he wanted to see if this girl had decided to give up so soon. If she had, he wanted to know where she was going.

His pack mate's scent was easy to follow, and the further he traveled, the less bothered the pale wolf was by the snow and more intrigued. Once or twice along the way, a shift in wind had alerted him to other scents, and as the scent of Ceara grew increasingly stronger, he wondered if she was having a secret meeting with somebody. That would be a good piece of gossip to break of the monotony of his day.

The voice that broke the silence, though, wasn't his pack mate's (at least he didn't think so). Coming around the corner of his makeshift trail, Serach could see the brown and red fur, and more importantly, smelled the scent, that he recognized. She was sitting and her eyes were closed. Somebody else had called out. "Who's there?!" the youth shouted, staring into the trees and rocks were the bark had come from.

This was a game, and Skadi knew exactly how to play it. The other... wolf hadn't answered and she was left swiveling her ears in vain attempt. There was a certain kind of deception that rode the fine line between fiction and truth. Reality sometimes blurred, as it did now. She did not have to pretend to want to find this other wolf; the actor and persona shared the same goal. The only thing to disguise was her clear superiority and her reason, but even there the truth had some room to stretch.

Skadi fell into the role naturally, letting out a high, keeling whine as she stepped down hard on her bad shoulder. It was there, she may as well use it. The more truth, the more weakness this half-wolf could see the easier the pretense would be to keep going. She shuffled heavily in the direction she judged was correct, snuffing in a dual-purposed gesture. The trait was one she would expect from such squalor and she did not want to startle whoever they were. The attempt was not enough.

As her stumbling approach she heard a great rustling and then the dark hind-end of a retreating wolf. She stopped short, looking after them in an unadulterated expression of shock. Were these wolves really so weak-willed? Perhaps her whine had not been loud enough to convince others of the injury. Her mouth opened to call out again, then snapped shut at the second voice. There was no need to hide the surprise whipped her head around. "Just me. I just need a bit of help!"

It was boy, the same height as her son. She hesitated over the dis-proportionate feet, wondering over the age. Dull yellow flicked up to his face and she smiled, pulling the gesture from when she'd held affection for her offspring. Distant it might be, but it was there. "I didn't mean to startle them." She stated, pure honesty contrasting with her cruel intentions.

(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2015, 08:52 PM by Skadi.)

Serach had called out and several things happened at once that set him on edge. His pack mate was apparently easily startled, and without saying a word, she darted off into the trees, causing Serach to bark at her retreating back in confusion. What the hell? he thought as he turned at the sound of the rustling bushes. A dark and silver furred wolf stepped into sight; presumably the stranger that had called out who apparently needed help. Instinctively, the hair along Serach's spine and neck rose as he stared the stranger down. He had not been raised with an affinity for strangers, and although her smile was genuine, he did not return it with one of his own.

Choosing to ignore the stranger's comment about scaring off his pack mate, the yearling decided to cut right to the chase. "What do you need help with?" he asked her, his tone of voice riding the line somewhere between curt and blunt. Sierra Hills was not Oak Tree Bend, but it was close enough that the boy still felt protective over it. The sooner he could get rid of this stranger, the better he would feel and the sooner he could go looking for his scaredy-cat of a pack mate and figure out what the hell had just happened.

is disturbing that Skadi reminds me so much of the heroine from the "His Dark Materials" books

This encounter was still being felt out. This was a game who's rules were still being determined. She let the smile fade somewhat, as it naturally would have with such a curt greeting. There was no sense in trying to force cheerfulness if it wasn't responded to. That was just how the rules of this interaction were working out. There was no need for niceties, a requirement she was fine without. It meant this would go faster. In the back of her mind she wasn't surprised though, it was typical of these degenerates to be so unrefined.

He was quick to question her and Skadi fell to the most convincing lie she could contrive. Not all wolves had a talent for lying. There was a certain way to go about and a certain mindset that could spin the most deceptive version of reality. Skadi had a had a steel-trap for memory, but little imagination. That one trait was what gave her words such conviction. There were rooted in truth; the falsity was only a simple twist that could be easily remembered.

"I'm looking for someone," She said, lifting sincere yellow eyes to Serach before lowering them in respect. "I though she came this way, but I lost her after those wolves attacked us." The gray-pelted woman drew smooth attention to her shoulder. There was so much truth, only the slightest slip of the tongue. Really, it could have been nothing more than an honest mistake. She made a point of settling down, tucking her tail about in a nervous manner and mildly letting her injured limb just touch at the ground. 

Serach would never make a good scout; he didn't have the charisma required for it or the patience. It was a consequence of never having left his birth pack - nothing else really mattered to him besides the Bend and those who resided within it. Except for his siblings, but the stranger in front of him was definitely not @Kisla or Fenru. He could see that the stranger in front of him was injured, but there was very little he would be able to do to help her. If he could not be a scout, he would certainly never be a healer.

The boy's ears perked as she answered his question, his brow furrowing in concern. Not for her, of course, but the fact that there were wolves around who had attacked her. That posed a danger to the Bend, and that was absolutely not okay. "Who attacked you? Were they near here?" In his haste to question her, the boy completely overlooked her first statement that she had been looking for somebody. She had an injured leg - surely she could not have traveled very far on it? His hackles had risen in his anxiety, and without thinking about it, he had begun to pace back and forth in the snow, his eyes darting back and forth from her to their surroundings, as if he was expecting her attackers to come pouring out of the woods right now.

this can be placed anywhere on the plot timeline you'd like!

Skadi could feel the conversation slipping away from her. The grey tip of her tail beat nervously against her flank as she watched Serach react and take it in an unexpected direction. There was nothing she could. Running would create suspicion, forcing the conversation would only irritate this pagan-youth and disincline him to trust her. This situation was not really unfamiliar anyways. It was more falling back into an everyday encounter than acting at this point. She placidly waited Serach out, blinking in alarm as he launched questions at her. When his hackles rose Skadi automatically pulled back, being well-accustomed to the bouts of rage that occurred in her every conversation with Garmr. Skadi was used to having very little control and this situation was familiar in all the wrong ways. Still, it didn't mean it had to be a waste. He was excited, anxious; he believed her.

"I- I don't know." She said quickly back to him, turning to cast her own brief glance into the shadows. For all she knew Garmr could really be there watching this. Certainly he would be as disappointed in her at this moment as he would be disgusted with this youth. She had only to imagine his "greeting" of her; Skadi shuddered and opened her eyes to answer Serach. "No, on a mountain to the east." There was an awkward pause and Skadi wet her lips anxiously. She had to be careful here; too little truth and he would see the lie, too much and he would her for what she was.

"They've been chasing us since and now... I can't find my friend. I'm worried they found her."

(This post was last modified: May 01, 2015, 12:40 AM by Skadi.)