Fallen Tree Cove To Change a Soul

@Namid @Desideria @Asphodel @Hemlock @Hexamora  Angele wouldn't mind meeting some of her new packmates ;)
Word Count: 276

Angele sat on the lake shore, staring out across the calm waters.  In the quiet morning, mist curled up off the blue surface, vanishing a few feet above it. Angele couldn't help but think it was beautiful.  This was... peaceful.  Tranquil.  It was something she was unaccustomed to, and she wasn't sure how she felt.  Part of her was uncomfortable with the sudden quiet, but part of her reveled in it.  She had been sitting there for some time alone, yet she felt no inclination to move.  She was unsure where her brother was, but he had his own duties to attend to, whereas she did not yet have a specific job.

She sighed.  What was she doing? This was no life for her.  She needed... she didn't know.  She wasn't used to all this second guessing herself.  She was confused. She...

"You just need to get used to it, that's all." She muttered, shaking her fur out and shifting the position of her paws on the ground. "You've never experienced this kind of life. You'll adjust."  She swished her tail, repeating you'll adjust under her breath without even realizing it.  

With a start, Angele realized what she was doing.  Angele shook her head and stretched, ceasing her muttering.  She took a few steps foreword and stepped into the lake just enough to wet her paws.  The splash disrupted the silence as she lapped up a few tongue-fulls of the crisp, fresh water. She resumed gazing over the lake, paying no heed as her paws began to turn numb from the cold.  She began to chant under her breath again, once again unaware of her actions. 

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

The lake was quickly becoming one of Dezzy's favorite places to spend some free time. Perhaps this would change when cold weather returned, but while the sun shone and warmed her thick tawny pelt, she was happy to inspect the boarders closest to the water. On this particular day, there was another wolf out in the lake. Hackles went up as she realized she did not recognize the wolf, ears pricked forward as she gave a short chuff. She tipped her nose and inhaled – only then detecting the faint scent of pine upon the female. So she was a member of the Fallen Tree Cove pack. Desideria was no longer the newest members. Fur settling back down, she approached the water's edge with a short bark. Her tail hung at half-mast, she addressed the pale wolf. "You'll adjust to what? Who are you talking to?" she asked the much larger female, head tipped to one side. She hadn't scented anyone else near the lake – couldn't see or hear the presence of another wolf, either. While she doubted Namid or her king would have taken in a crazy wolf among their ranks, they did still harbor Primrose. Something definitely was not right with the white witch. Deciding the best cause of action was to keep a safe distance, the younger she-wolf did not track any further into the body of water. Instead, she held her ground on the shore, and called out to the stranger one more time. "You're new here. What's your name? I'm Des."

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There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Word Count: 360

Angele started, then silently cursed herself.  She hadn't heard the other wolf approaching, which was not good.  She was letting herself go already.  She wanted to change, but she didn't want to change that much.  

Ignoring the question about the muttering, Angele turned to face the younger wolf.  "I'm Angele." She introduced, stepping from the water and shaking her paws out.  She glanced back behind her; it was getting warm enough that the mist over the lake was beginning to disappear.  She returned her gaze to Des, looking her over.  She was small, but Angele had seen many like her.  She was built for speed, and was likely even faster than she.  Even so, if there ever came a time when Angele may need to fight her, the strength would be all hers.

There was a tension around the other's shoulders that suggested either a mistrust of the stranger or surprise that she had come across another wolf.  That was something Angele could understand, as it was something she held herself.  The difference between them, however, was that Angele had trained herself to hide such tension.  She wasn't keen on giving advice, but seeing as Des's scent designated her as a pack member, Angele was willing to give it a try.  "You are tense." She commented.  "You should try relaxing your shoulders, else an enemy may see it.  Never give a clue."  

Angele waited for the anger at her proffered advice to come; it was something she was used to.  She tended to unsettle other wolves.  As she watched Des, she found herself continuing to evaluate her.  It was a habit she'd grown into, sizing up every wolf she met in case she had to fight them.

Never give a clue.  Her own words, one of her own key rules.  She had just broken it, at least a little.  

Every wolf has the potential to become your enemy. She recited in her head, aware that should this little girl become a problem she had just helped her - whether Des wanted the advice or not - to find a way to fight better.

She sat down, silently awaiting the other's reply.

"Speech" Thought

(This post was last modified: May 19, 2015, 09:12 PM by Angele. Edit Reason: Speech/Thought color key )

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't advice. Taken off guard, the female simply stood for a minute, yellow eyes studying the newcomer as she tried to process the startling change in events. After a moment, she exhaled heavily, some of the tension releasing from her shoulders. Hackles started to settle back down, and she studied the light female for another few seconds in silence. While her unease was obvious through her posture, she'd never considered it as giving away information, only a silent warning to other wolves. To be honest, a fight was the last thing she wanted – especially with a wolf as big as Angele. "Always thought that was kind of the idea. You know, scare 'em off, that sort of thing. Not working, huh?" she replied with a breathless laugh, tail falling to half-mast as she shook her head. As the older female settled her haunches, so did Desideria, sitting a few lengths away. Hadn't Kajika told her to keep trying being friendly with packmates? This was as a good a place to start as any – a wolf in the same position that she was in only a few days prior, she'd certainly be a better face than Primrose had. Clearing her throat, she sought to continue their conversation. "So, you're a new member for Fallen Tree Cove, huh? Welcome. Where'd you come from?" she asked, deciding that was as a neutral place as any to start. Her tail swished behind her once. "Do you like it here, so far?"

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Angele inwardly smiled at Des's comment, thinking.  Yes, the idea of hackles was to scare off another wolf, but if one's opponent knew anything about fighting it would only alert them to the fact that they planned to attack.  All of Angele's successes in the past had been because she had surprised her adversary.

Her ears flicked as the reddish wolf sat as well.  She hadn't expected that.  Des seemed... almost comfortable.  There was still the air of unease, but that was to be expected.  The last thing Angele wanted was a conversation, but she supposed talking was a thing packmates did.

"I'm actually Anthem's sister." She said in response to the question, assuming she knew who the beta was.  "We come from a pack called Silver Wind.  To be honest, pack life... isn't my forte, I suppose.  It's been a while.  I have to adjust."  

Angele curled her fluff tail over her now-cold paws to attempt to warm them up.  Des's appearance had snapped her out of her reverie, and now she noticed what she'd failed to see before: the water was cold.  She scolded herself for letting her physical well-being come into harm's way because she was confused.

Her haunches were still sore from where the cougar had scratched her, but she tried not to show it.  The pain mostly presented itself through stiffness in the leg, and she was glad her new packmate hadn't desired to welcome her with a brawl.

With a sigh Angele decided to humor her and make an attempt at confabulation.  "How long have you been a member? What do you like about the pack?"

If she was going to talk, she might as well learn what she could about the other members and the way the pack worked together.  If I'm going to do this, She thought, I might as well do it right.


"Speech"  Thought

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

"Oh! Anthem. I know him – we met, when I first joined. Namid told me he was a very loyal second," she rumbled, thinking back to the stormy male. He hadn't made a terribly good impression, but she assumed, given the general pleasant demeanor by which she referred to the beta, that the siblings were on good terms. There was no reason to share any tension that might be between herself and the guardian in training. "Pack life…pack life isn't my thing, either. I lived with my family, when I was young – I joined other packs, but never lasted very long. Law…law is such a subjective thing, you know?" She had no idea why Angele was unused to the lifestyle, but didn't pry. If the older woman wanted to share, so be it. Dezzy wasn't so different – but then, her words often committed mutiny without her mind's consent. "I haven't been here that long, either. I like Namid, though, the Queen. She's very nice – she's very fair, I think. I've known some very…unkind alphas. I like working with her, so far. And I like the lake. I like catching fish, going for a swim. It's very smart, having a fresh source of water within pack territory." Glancing once towards the still water, she gave a half-smile. It was a good place to rinse of with Kajika – swimming was something else she enjoyed. Under the pines was a fair place to sleep. Despite her run-in with Anthem and Primrose earlier, life in Fallen Tree Cove had been pretty decent, so far. "I'm told there are a pair of yearlings, as well as another male – I haven't met the Lord yet, either. Namid speaks very highly of him, though."

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OOC: So sorry it took me so long to reply! I was out of wifi.  I'll try to do a long post to make up for it :)  Also, we should probably finish up in a few posts or find something for them to do because Angele is really not talkative...
Word Count: 283

Angele was glad to hear that she wasn't the only new member.  She felt more comfortable around the younger female knowing that she too felt out of place among a pack.  While having a pack made of uncomfortable loners was never a good thing, having wolves that understood one another was a good thing.  It made it easier to have their backs when things got rough. 

Angele shrugged one shoulder.  "Anthem and I had an... interesting childhood.  Loyalty to our Alphas is our number one rule."  Or it used to be, anyway, she thought.  She and her brother had been apart for a long time; for all she knew, Anthem's rules had changed.

They did disagree on one thing.  "The law is the law." Angele said, voice growing stern.  She forced herself to calm down.  "It does not matter if the law does not feel right.  It does not matter if the law is wrong.  All that matters is doing as your told, and doing it well."  Oh, how she wished she could believe as the young one did... 

The mention of the alpha brought Angele's ears up.  "Yes, Vespertio is a fair man.  I haven't met Namid yet, but Anthem speaks highly of her as well.  I look foreword to our introduction.  Vespertio has the pack's best interest at heart, and that is what counts."  She thought back to her introduction to the stern male and his questioning of her ability.  He had been kind yet calculating, open yet protective.  "He is a good alpha." She muttered, almost to herself. 

She shook herself out of the flashback and regarded the female.  What kind of a contrubution did she make to the pack?

"Speech"  Thought

(This post was last modified: May 26, 2015, 10:04 PM by Angele. Edit Reason: Color )

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

Feel free to have Angele leave in your next post if you want -- if we each post one more time, it's long enough to claim. (:

Desideria's ears swept backwards at the female's firm assertion that the law was the law, and only the law. The notion that it must be abided by with absolutely no exceptions sat foul in her gut – there were plenty of reasons, she reckoned, when the rules set should be broken. If it harmed a friend or family member, the rules should be ignored. If they hurt herself beyond reason, she wouldn't follow them. Frankly, Des had always viewed legislation more like guidelines than an absolute scripture, though something told her she ought not try to explain as much to Angele. Her alpha, it seemed, understood where she came from, and that was enough for the scout in training. "I think your introduction to the queen will have to wait until the puppies are born, you know how mums are with their dens," the timber wolf murmured quietly. Her tail swished behind her at the notion, quietly proud that she was allowed within Namid's presence even now. "Hopefully, I'll come across Vespertio soon, though I imagine he's busy with the pups' arrival soon, anyways." It was all well and good, she supposed, that she might have time to practice the duty she desired to claim before meeting the man in charge. While his mate was supportive, she had no idea what sort of lord he actually was – and even a fool knew that a wolf would treat his bonded much better than he'd treat any other. Rocking back on one foot, she tipped her ear to one side. "Do you want to be beta, like your brother?"

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OOC: Sounds good :)  I'll leave a bit of space for Des to reply to anything she says. That way you can get some dialog in if you want and Angele will then leave.
Word Count: 277

Angele flattened her ears at the question. That was none of her business!

But it rang true.  Did Angele want to be a beta?  Though she'd originally planned to lay low, she was now an official member of a pack.  She might as well make the experience pleasant, right?  Why not be beta?  The alphas would never have to worry about her trying to overthrow them - as some beta's she'd run into had tried to do - and she and Anthem could resume their team-up.  It would be a strong pack indeed with the alpha pair bonded and the beta pair a team.  

Even so, she didn't want to express her new ambitions to Des.  "Why do you ask?  Would that be a problem to you?"  She knew there were at least two females between her and Namid.  Two that she would need to defeat if she were to complete her goal.  Since Des had joined before her and didn't seem to be a yearling, that meant this female had to be one of those two.  Angele had no desire to cause strife, but she was suddenly glad of her instinctual appraisal of the other member. 

This was the time for making friends, not squabbling over her position.  She would discuss her plan with both her brother and leader(s?) before she would act.  Perhaps she would simply be allowed to face the current female beta rather than fight both of them.  That would, of course, be preferable.
 
Angele sighed.  "Is that not everyone's ambition? To be near the alphas?  Perhaps some day I will attempt to reach my brother's level.  But for now, I am content."


"Speech"

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.