Riddle Heights dare you to move

@Phineas @Aesire

Erebos' persistently nomadic lifestyle, along with his chaotic mental state, had effectively beaten down his body to feel more than its age. His joints were becoming arthritic, and pained him after long sleep and in any sort of moist or cold beyond what his coat could keep out. He found himself winded after a lengthy leg of walking, and could only manage small, easy prey on his own. It was obvious that he needed finally to settle down, to find a slice of peaceful sun to bask in until he passed away. However, something else grew inside him other than joint inflammation and an even more ornery disposition; he did not wish for retirement among strangers, but at his brothers' sides.

It all seemed so silly now, with distance and time to set them truly apart. Erebos had tried very hard to hold onto his anger and resentment, but even with all his effort it still slipped away. Now all that remained was a sense of sorrow for not having any family with him. He thought of them often, wondering if Aeo and Thanos had been able to find peace and settle down, if they had mates and children of their own. He wondered if Phineas' pack still stood strong, if him and Borlla had welcome their third litter this year. And the constant thinking of them only made him miss them more.

Thus, instead of finding shelter with a pack as his body hollered he should, Erebos set about the long journey back to the Lore. Back to home.

 When he finally returned to the magnolia trees, freshly greened in the midst of spring's passing, the absence of any wolves at all nearly caused him to give up then and there. To not find them, not even a trace of them, he thought the worst. Perhaps there wasn't anything to come 'home' to after all, maybe his siblings had vanished from the land as he had, and now he'd never be able to find them. He thought of all the bridges here that he had burned, that if he couldn't find a single one of his brothers then he had no place here in the Lore. His body couldn't take another lengthy journey though, he could feel it in his burning bones, and so with determination renewed, he set upon the laborious task of tracking Phineas down by scent.

It took time, far too much time. When Erebos at last arrived upon Silent Moon Plateau's threshold he was thoroughly exhausted. But Phineas was definitely here, and while he couldn't catch any sign of Borlla's presence (nor his other brothers though that wasn't entirely surprising) he picked up on Hypatia's scent as well. Happy even with just this, a smile curled his parted lips as he softly panted.

Without ceremony, Erebos threw back his head and let out a staccato howl, requesting his brother's presence. It was time to finally make amends.

The howl that echoed through the air was painfully familiar -- but not necessarily a face Phineas desired to see, especially given the silent chaos that surrounded his family and home. Still, he could not ignore his brother, and so he moved his way to the direction of the borders, a stoical mask filtering across his features.

The two males had not parted on terrible ways, from what Phineas could tell, at least. The silver male had helped establish Magnolia Glen, and then seemingly drifted away once more -- possibly with the intent of punishment for hs ivory brother who had slipped away from them and Asphodel Meadows so long ago. Phineas had sworn his brothers as nothing more than distant blood when they had relentlessly tracked him here, only to vent frustrations to him of their birth land's overtaking. Somehow, they ahd eluded it was his fault, and yet none of them had stood up for their home either.. instead, choosing to drift after him and point an accusatory paw in his direction.

Thanos and Aeolus had been the worse of the two, though, and so, when Erebos' familiar figure came to view, the ivory male did not allow his lips to curl back in a silent snarl, the way he might have greeted his other Argyris brothers. Instead, his bright eyes washed over his littermate, withholding his emotions. Closing the distance between them, the Plateau Alpha did not break word to the very near stranger before him -- instead, allowing the silver wolf to explain his reasoning for being here.

Erebos awaited his brother's arrival patiently. His ember orange eyes stole around the landscape, taking in this new home that Phineas had laid claimed to. Forcibly calmed breaths analysed the air, both sensing his sibling's approach and those that he called family. No, this new dominant female scent was completely unfamiliar to him, but pregnant all the same. Oddly though, he was picking up on a second woman giving off the same pheromones...

Phineas appeared, cresting the horizon, stoic and silent in his approach. Even as his steps halted, he did nothing but level his gaze expectantly onto Erebos. It wasn't any sort of surprise to the aging man. In fact, he wouldn't have been startled by an aggressive greeting. After all, he had abandoned his pack, spread ill will about him, lit a flame of resentment within Aeo's heart. Did Phineas know about the later? He hoped not. Erebos hoped that his sins against his own blood could be swept under the carpet, that he could just be allowed his final years of peace.

Bowing to his brother, he displayed the appropriate physical signs of respect and submission that would be expected of any stranger.

"Phineas, I..." he heard his own voice drift off as something unnameable caused him to hesitate. With a second of silence and then a clearing of his throat, Erebos pressed on. "I'm here to apologize. To make amends. I abandoned our natal home, and then I abandoned you and Borlla, and... just about everything else I've ever tried to commit to. I resented you, for sins less than my own, for allowing something that I myself too stood by and watched happen. I caused so much tension and mistrust between us and it was all terribly one-sided. I can see my own stubborn stupidity now, and I didn't... I didn't want that to be the end of it. I want to fix things, if you'll let me. I want to finally be honest. I want my family."

Erebos, of all his littermates, had been the only one (in his eyes) to at least try to start a new life. Thanos' attempt had been embittered.. and the tawny wolf had hunkered off with the desire to protect some pup he had met upon this very mountain -- leaving behind his own blood.. Hypatia and Kyros. Phineas had not understood then, and he certainly did not understand now... As for Aeolus -- the brute was completely written off, in the mind of the eldest Argyris, and he did not allow his thoughts to dwell upon his brother.

The silver wolf's words seemed  decent to any listener -- and yet they made no sense to the ivory wolf. After all the time.. had his brother not made a family for himself yet? The answer was right before him -- beginning to grizzle, much like himself, Erebos Argyris was seemingly alone in life.. at least Phineas had his children... at least, for now, before they learned of Aponi and what a stolen moment of selfishness had wrought.

"Our blood alone does not make us family," he corrected, though his tone was not harsh, despite the words. "Why now, Erebos? You left Magnolia Glen without a word.. and only now, you determine that we are bonded as brothers -- and seek to return?" He did not know what to make of this -- if it was truly worth the effort to bridge the gap that had grown between them over the years. He had other concerns now.. and if Erebos would not prove to be an ally, then it would only further his place in his rising hell.

(This post was last modified: Jun 04, 2015, 02:45 PM by Phineas.)

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

He had remained crouched through his own speech, and now held the strained posture as Phineas spoke. His brother's choice of words was far shorter than his own had been, not denying nor accepting his apology but asking further questions. An ear flicked back in irritation, as Erebos didn't much enjoy the feeling of anticipation within his bones. He also didn't like the aching that holding his current position was inflicting upon him, and found that this was actually the main source of his aggravation. Erebos lowered himself completely onto his belly, releasing the tension from his muscles as he took his weight off of his limbs completely. Chin touching his forelegs, the man continued to avoid his brother's eyes, looking almost everywhere except, but occasionally glancing to appraise Phineas' condition.

The other man showed his age, but in a far more composed and regal way than Erebos did. This was to be expected, however. Despite whatever hardships had separated him from Borlla and caused him to move the pack, Phineas still had at least consistently had a pack. He hadn't braved this past year nearly completely on his own, traveling a remarkable distance and grinding down his own bones and weakening his muscles from overuse to do so. It only proved further to Erebos how stupid it had been of him to leave each and every pack he had half-heartedly tried to declare his loyalty to.

"I'm not here just because you share my blood," Erebos muttered to counter Phineas' first remark. "The notion might not be mutual anymore, but you are my brother still." All of them were, but he dared not bring up Thanos and Aeolus now. Distant memories flittered through his head, no longer of his regrets but of his time growing up, with the three of them at his side. Before Phineas had fallen in love and everything had gone to shit. They had a bond, as buried as it was with a heavy mixture of ashes and dust, and Erebos did not consider it perished.

"Time. Mortality. Perhaps I'm still acting selfishly, I don't think that's something I'll ever be able to change about myself," he admitted to him, choosing to no longer hide the uglier parts of who he was. It would be no use lying to Phineas again, and anyways, Erebos didn't want to. "But I'm sick of running from everything. I've traveled so many miles... to find your pack again. I don't want to die anywhere but at your side, tending to your legacy." It was the children he spoke of then, of Hypatia specifically for while he assumed Phineas would've sired additional litters she was the only survivor of the batch he knew. And truly, she was perhaps the single wolf he had missed the most from within the Lore, despite having only last seen her when she was just a little girl, an indescribable soft spot having formed the moment he laid eyes on her and her late brother.

His eyes flickered briefly to Phineas' own, growing more and more anxious about being rejected as he could not find any words better to give his brother. The truth wasn't the most pretty or valiant words he could've uttered, but perhaps the sincerity would be apparent and Phineas would appreciate and trust Erebos' presence for the simple fact that he was finally cutting the bullshit.

(This post was last modified: Jun 05, 2015, 12:56 AM by Erebos.)

His bright eyes studied the man he used to call brother. Erebos would have made a fine Second in Asphodel meadows -- even Magnolia Glen, if he had not had Inkheart. But his mistrust of Phineas had become apparent when he had struck out without word once more -- as if he was seeking punishment upon his littermate.

Yet he laid it out before the Argyris man -- in his older years, he desired nothing more than to surround himself with what he deemed as family.. clearly, having never taken a mate and fathered children of his own. The very thought caught the ivory wolf off guard for a moment -- had Aeolus created a family by now? Thanos?

The promise was a heavy one. And it did little to stir Phineas' trust of his silver brother, given he had heard such a speech very close to it in their past. Yet as much as he longed to deny their relationship.. that their very blood bore the same DNA, he could not, and a gentle sigh was released from the man. "You have found us at a strange time, Erebos," he determined then, his tail giving a light lash through the air as he attempted to collect his thoughts. "I need allies more than ever now -- not enemies." His fiery gaze would study the man's features, his brows furrowing. He did not expect Erebos to repeat himself -- he simply needed to state the obvious mess his brother was about to step in to.. as it did not seem likely that there would be 'peace' any time soon.

trying out a new speech pattern for erebos, nevermind my horrid inconsistencies

Erebos stared at his brother's paws out of deference, though he wished dearly to look up into his twin eyes so as to read the thoughts swimming behind them. The silence was heavy upon his arthritic bones, and his tail slithered through the grass, agitated by the anxiety coursing through its owner. When finally it was broken by Phineas' voice again, his heart skipped a beat and he shuffled his paws. For a brief moment, he made eye contact, unsure; was he saying this because he had accepted Erebos' plea?

His ears trembled with attention, and his mind buzzed with concern over what the hell the other Argyris man was talking about. A strange time, he had said, not a tense or dangerous time, but allies were what he needed? Against what, or whom? Did it have anything to do with Borlla's disappearance? Or with the duo pregnancy he was sure he'd sniffed out?

"Whuz wrong? Is someone given ya trouble?" Erebos felt a protective flame slowly bloom into life, the first he'd felt in a very, very long time. "Does it have t'do with Borlla bein' gone?" he dared to look as high as Phineas' muzzle. "What happened to the old girl, Phineas?"

(This post was last modified: Jun 19, 2015, 08:25 PM by Erebos.)

He withheld a sardonic snort at the sudden questions that fell from his brothers lips – as if the regal could not take care of himself. His fiery eyes swept over the grey wolf, hinting to such emotions in his eyes, though not speaking them. “Borlla left – abandoned her children,” he mused, the feel of her name upon his tongue as he spoke it foreign to him now – when was the last time he had spoken it aloud? “This Plateau is to give them a fresh start.”

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts while shifting his weight. With a gentle sigh, the ivory wolf gave a nod to his brother, pulling back and beginning to lead him on a walk past the borders and to their home – Silent Moon Plateau would accept his presence. But he would be under scrutiny.

“There is a lead female. I coaxed the she-wolves to fight for their hierarchy – Aesire came out on top. All was well. Until she bred with my Second.. neither of them telling me until she was pregnant.” He snorted then, his eyes flashing fiercely. He would have granted them the rights to do so freely – all he had expected was to be respected as the patriarch of this pack.. and they had not even seen fit to tell him until after. “Now, they have two children running around.. threatening the inheritance of my own.” Here he did snort, shaking his muzzle. “And then I went above and beyond that – I had a one night stand with a girl, and she claims the pup she has birthed is mine. And she will use her to her advantage.”

Erebos' ears swept back against his skull upon Phineas' rather nonchalant account of Borlla's crime. She just... left? Abandoned them? Well, he supposed that answered the question of whether or not the pair had brought another litter into the world, and yet it left him with all too many other inquiries which he now felt quite uncomfortable discussing with his brother. Instead, he remained silent, taking note of Phineas' movement and hoisting himself up off of his stomach to amble behind him. Abandoned... the word repeated itself several times in his head, and Erebos could only muse that perhaps that was the mysterious connection he had felt with the woman so long ago. They were both runners at heart.

As they walked, his ember eyes looked around them freely, taking in this odd new place. His ears once more stood at attention, but did not wander; they faced Phineas and took in his words alone. He cataloged the name Aesire, and while he snorted his discontent with the news of her actions, it didn't quite shock him. After all, his brother seemed to carry a curse when it came to women. It would take reuniting with Thanos and Aeolus to see if the jinx had followed the whole litter, or if it was just Ere and Phin who caught it.

News of 'a girl,' whose name Phineas didn't offer, was more of a shock. Erebos had no room to judge his brother for the indiscretion, but he certainly hadn't expected such an... odd array of circumstances to befall him. He could certainly see what the man had meant with his earlier comment about needing friends; in seemed his children's haven was turning out nothing but usurpers of their birthright.

"How's Hypatia dealing with it all?"