Turtleback Lake there might be something outside your window

@Raela - Random Event!
The sky is dark with storm clouds.
June 5th, 2015
67°F/20°C - Cloudy, Raining, Dark - 9pm

The young Slayer girl had been careful every step of the way. She had taken precautions to hide her tracks in case her father decided to break his promise to let her wander on her own. She had warned her mother that she might not return and told her not to come searching. The woman cloaked in white was ready for a new life away from her overprotective parents. Her mother had seemed to respect her choice, which made the young girl curious as to why she would allow that. Her mother had always smothered her. In fact, both of her parent’s reactions to her request to leave seemed to be underneath their character. She would have written it off as them accepting the fact that she was grown up now, but she was not naïve.

The emerald eyed girl grinned as she ran through the water that lapped over the shore of the lake. The cold water felt good against her paws as the sun started to set. Her stomach rumbled but it was a dull hunger that came from a steady diet of rabbits and voles. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath as she looked up towards the skies. “I’m out here adventuring, just like we planned.” She whispered as she stared at one small, insignificant star. She would never forget her brother. She would remove herself from the water as she noticed the storm clouds that now covered the forest. This only made her hold her grin as she looked at them. She loved rain!

CRACK! The roar of thunder and the sight of lightning made her nearly jump out of her skin until she realized she had nothing to worry about. Slowly, the water started to fall from the sky, making Valeria run towards the forest to find cover from the storm. She liked the rain but it always made her fur seem musty and sticky. She eventually found cover underneath a fallen tree.

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(This post was last modified: Jun 05, 2015, 09:56 PM by Valeria.)

Oh yes, this was where all the rain they were missing had gone. The last few days had been deluge after deluge, quenching the thirst of all the lore's inhabitants and then some.  Raela was beginning to miss the warm inviting light of the sun. Clouds had rolled in, refusing to release the land from their darkness. It was only the evening before that Rae had set out for the east. Loki's parting words had made the woman feel that she hadn't quite done enough scouting of the lands herself. She still wasn't quite sure if she believed the peculiar man, so just for good measure Raela put her own feet on the trail. It was hardly prime traveling weather now though. She'd waited for the second storm to subside before striking out; finding that a cool, overcast day followed. Even if a storm was to come barreling down on her any second, she at least had the nearly-summer sun off of her back.  It was late when the drizzling rain met the Crest wolf's pelt once again. She'd managed to follow the river through the palisade and all the way to where it formed the lake of islands. It was a sight the girl would have to take in in the morning though. She'd be turning around at first light. Rae hadn't expected there to be so much territory between the Crest and the former Cut Rock River wolves. It's Hearthwood River now isn't it, she mused. At dawn she would rise to discover that their forest, Kingsfall, lay out across the water. Most of this trip had been made with the comfort of knowing that there were no foreign packs between the two allies, and of course that Gent knew exactly where she was headed. It almost shocked the girl that she hadn't run into any loners or rouges just yet... The eastern wind did little to betray the white woman's location. Likely the stranger would smell her approach before the russet girl made herself known. It was Raela's oversensitive ears that told her of the loner seeking shelter beneath a nearby pine, and her golden eyes that pinpointed it. Hesitating, she watched from a distance before parting the soaked foliage to announce herself. “Hello?” came the tentative holophrase. Thinking quickly, the woman added something to her introduction. “I'm sorry, I don't want to bother you.” Raela brought herself up under a nearby tree as well, still a safe enough distance from the loner should she make her desire to be left alone physically clear. “I'm on a scouting trip from a nearby pack.” She hoped the other woman would pick up on Raela's subtle desire for companionship. It was no fun to weather a storm like this alone. Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

The young Slayer girl had been busy shaking her pelt of the loose water droplets when she heard a voice. Val would look up to see a russet wolf standing under a nearby tree in the rain; all Val could do was offer a warm smile and a kind tone to the woman.  The white woman would speak with a care free tone without sounding overly hippie. “Hello! I wouldn’t mind company if you need more cover!” She would call out. She was not one to be aggressive or rude to wolves, especially when she was a loner and they made it clear that they were in a pack. The ivory woman would move over towards the side to make room for the woman if she chose to join her underneath the decent shelter.

If there was one thing that Valeria was confident in, it was her survival skills as a lone wolf. She had been on her own since she was a mere 8 months, which left her 4 months of lonerdom when she left her parents behind. She had heard of the rest of her family, Night’s side down to James (no knowledge of Isardis, Karpos, or Adsila and their respective parents) but she had never thought to seek them out and she did not know of their history in the Lore. It was probably a good thing she did not often introduce herself with the Slayer name. Her emerald eyes remained stoical despite her carefree nature that she often expressed. She was naturally a proper and stiff woman with the heart of a naïve, carefree adventurer. Part of her wondered if this would get her killed one day.

“My name is Valeria but you can call me Val.” She left it a casual meeting by leaving out her full name. She felt self-conscious with her two middle names and last name. Part of her mind ran through the idea of joining a pack but she was far from done with her exploration. She would have to wait but it would never hurt to start gathering Intel on what these lands had to offer before she was to make a decision. She had a feeling that the tawny wolf would be able to help her with this. If not information on her pack, then standings and opinions and locations she might have for other packs. She knew some liked to keep their secrets from others.

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To her delight and relief, the stranger was neither hostile nor aggressive. Not a moment later she was offering Raela shelter. Pausing a moment to take in what was being offered, Raela then advanced with a gracious dip of her ruddy crown. “Oh, thank you.” Nothing in the female's voice or demeanor suggested trickery. She seemed a tad bit formal but that was certainly nothing to worry about. The Crest girl settled in under the tree's protective branches; reclining on her haunches for the time being. She didn't trust the loner enough to lie down just yet. Another frightening crack of thunder sounded above them, filling her eyes with light and rumbling on for some seconds. Raela shifted backward, pressing closer to the relative safety of the tree trunk. Thunder was only okay when it was quiet.  A mahogany-furred ear cupped itself toward the new voice; introduced as “Valeria.” Her eyes remained tensely skyward; finding the other wolf's pelt when a nickname was offered.  Looking her over now, Raela finally noticed the younger woman's age. Why she was barely a yearling! Curiosity swam in her thoughts then. She remembered Kajika, but he had been nearly an adult when he found their borders. No, this girl was a whole year younger. “I'm Raela, or Rae.” She offered a friendly smile in return for the casual conversation. Her inquisitive nature got the better of her, urging the subordinate to pose a question. “Where are you from?” It was standard, of course, but she couldn't help worrying about the girl. She'd barely managed to survive on her own at two let alone one! Thankfully her eyes found nothing on the female's body that spoke of injury or ill health. Perhaps she hasn't been gone long. Raela only hoped that she was alone of her own choosing.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

Val had been graced with the severe training that came with the last name Slayer. Titana and Avalon had not let her work to extremes because they cared about their little princess but she had become a skilled hunter which kept her alive. When the woman introduced herself as Raela and then offered a nickname, Val opted for the name ‘Rae’. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Rae.” She dipped her head in an official greeting to the woman. Raela would ask where she is from and being who she was, she answered but she was vague about it. Her ivory pelt would lay neat against her skin and bones as she turned, sitting to face the woman to allow more of a conversation between the two of them.

She thought carefully about how much information she was to give. “I’m from a pack far north of here named Terras Fortem.” She left her answer unclear as to where it was, just in case she knew of the place or some of the harsher rumors around it, which were just that, rumors. Her mind fell into a defensive mode as she remembered her training. She liked to think she was a soldier with a soul but she could not go as far to say that. There was no way she’d hurt an innocent and she was terrible in battle anyway. “What about you? You said you were from a pack, doing some scouting.” She pondered these words aloud as she looked at the tawny female, interested in what the woman had to say. The woman was double, if not triple her age now that Val was getting a good look at her. She was around her size and seemed to have a decent muscle build to her. Perhaps she was a hunter or, more realistically given what she was out in strange lands doing, a scout.

Intrigue was one thing that the young Slayer child did not lack. There was also the matter of how she overthought everything, which explained her constant wondering and her stoical expressions. She was kind but sometimes she worried that if she did show emotion, it would reflect badly on her. She feared others would mistake her curiosity and intrigue for more sinister tones. She knew that the world was dark and full of terrors. Myths and legends made men cringe with fear over the supernatural and unknown. She had to be careful.

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There is a rabbit\'s nest nearby. +1 Health

Raela was slowly beginning to relax around this stranger. Valeria continued to speak pleasantly, prompting a returning “You too,” from the older girl. Her full attention fixated on the pale coated youngster as she spoke of her home in “Terras Fortem.” “Oh.” The woman offered casually. She remembered Aeus as being from somewhere in the north as well. Nunavut, was it? Her thoughts only wandered so far before her new acquaintance's attitude began to shift some. It was still a somewhat polished and urbane way of speaking, but now she sensed that the girl was holding some information back. It was hardly worth troubling her for. Valeria wasn't even required to give her the time of day; and it was impressive that she even volunteered the name and direction of her home so willingly to a stranger. Quickly the conversation took a sharp turn back toward Raela.  Thankfully she wouldn't even have to mention her natal pack; the monsters to the east. It was her new family, her true home that Valeria asked for, and the tawny woman was happy to oblige. There could be no harm in her knowing the location of official pack boundaries right? They were not hiding from loners. “Oh I'm from the west,” she began, looking away in the direction she'd indicated. “Just a day or two that way. I'm a subordinate of Round Stone Crest. ” She'd never had to say these words before. It felt good to be so official; to have a real home and to speak its name with pride. “I was headed this way to scout the area and to find out more accurately the distance between our pack and that of an ally.” Somehow it seemed wrong to divulge the location of Hearthwood River. She knew they were hiding from the same enemy as her own group, and on top of that it really wasn't her place.  This subject left her an opening to question the youth further. Her golden eyes swept once more over the taller girl. Still she could find no signs of abuse or neglect; was she alone because she wanted to be? It was clear enough that her pack was still around. And in addition she smelled of no other wolves. The Crest wolf's lips parted to reveal her curiosity. “So what are you doing out here?” Her tone was laced with concern for such a young traveler. If she had been gone some time and still managed to fare this well, congratulations would be in order. A subtle shuffle of the woman's feet came in response to yet another monstrous-sounding boom of thunder. She would be glad when these storms moved on.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

Her answer proved to reap some rewards as the woman gave a general direction, a time as to how long it would take to get back there, and a name for the pack. Carefully, Valeria would store this information and return to her thoughts once more. She was pulled out as she was asked a question: what was she doing here? Should she answer this? She told her mother she wouldn’t even give the pack name out… but she was also four months away from her mother right now. “I’m out here to find myself: soul searching if you will. I was tired of living under the shadow of my brother and I needed to find a place that would take me that would not know of my esteemed former soon-to-be leader Nahilus.” She didn’t sound bitter; she just spoke in a calm tone.

Her emerald eyes watched as the rain fell outside. “Most of the time I love the rain but I was taught that being out when lightning was out was dangerous.” She shrugged, looking towards the sky for any indication that the storm would let up anytime soon. The clouds were still dark grey, almost black, overhead as the wind whipped around her white fur. She would grin as another flash of lightning appeared in the sky and CRACK! The sound made her calm almost. It was times like this when she could relate back to fun times with her siblings before all of the heir nonsense rivalry. She would remember back to when Nahilus had dared her to climb the big rocks while it was raining and how she had done it just to prove she could.

Her mother had been mad at her for that, but it had so been worth it. She would turn her attention to Raela and ask a question. “So do you like the rain?” The question was innocent enough as she looked at the tawny fae who sat there, avoiding the rain such as she did. “Not necessarily being in the rain, just the rain in general.”

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So that was it. The girl had left willingly, at least according to her story. The situation she described was undoubtedly an irritating one of it caused her to end up out here, yet the moonlight-coated youth relayed the predicament as if it didn't trouble her at all. A question jumped to mind. Maybe she had simply been gone long enough that it was no longer a bitter subject. But she was still so young. She couldn't have been gone that long, could she? The query was stored behind her tongue until it was her turn to speak. A moment of silence passed, but instead of prying further, Raela's golden pools followed Valeria's gaze to the torrential rain that would have truly soaked her moments before. The older woman remained quiet, listening to the downpour and to her new companion until questioned.  Now pressed a little further into the trunk of their sheltering spruce, Raela glanced warily at the sky as another flash of light chased away the nighttime darkness. The loud crashes of thunder were not to her liking at all. Smiling sheepishly, she formulated a response. “Oh, the rain is fine with me as long as I have shelter. Lightning's gorgeous as well. The thunder however...” Her eyes tilted upward indicatively as it rolled over head like a freight train. She waited until the clap subsided before speaking again. “I don't like it when it gets loud like this.” Oh she was such a child. Still, the woman was shrinking down now, trying to find some comfort beside the tree and this new stranger.  Raela had almost forgotten to ask her question. “How long have you been on your own?” She let it hang in the air between them, allowing the pale girl to think it over. “I was forced out of my pack when I was two, and I was alone for months. It wasn't easy on me. If the Crest hadn't taken me in I don't know how much longer I could have lasted.” The information was offered in hopes of convincing this “Valeria” that she wasn't here to interrogate. She had offered a piece of her past in return for some of Val's own. She simply couldn't leave this youngster out here in good conscience without knowing she could handle herself. Personal experience had told her that it wasn't likely for the girl to be thriving as she appeared to be. Come to think of it, she couldn't picture Kova surviving out on his own again. He was almost a year when he went missing too, and he was so skinny... The thought brought her eyes to the ground as she waited.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

When the woman spoke about the beauty of lightning but the frightening roar of thunder, the girl would ponder about the cohabitation that the two beasts shared in the sky. After thinking about it for a few long seconds, she would speak to the other woman. “It is impossible to have beauty without fear. Beauty is a frightening thing in itself.” She would turn her head towards the older woman with a soft smile. There was nothing to be afraid of now that they were bundled down and sheltered in for the storm. They were dry while others were getting soaked by rain water. She felt good for once in her life and that was not going to change. She also felt a certain ubiety for what was happening around her. She knew that no matter where she ended up, she was her and no one would judge her for it.

The other woman would ask her how long she had been out on her own and quickly, Valeria would respond to Raela’s question. “I’ve been on my own for about four moon cycles. I told my parents I was going out to scout and never returned. I think they knew when I told them, since my brother Absyrtus was the scouter, and I was more of a hunter. They let me go anyway.” She would say as she looked between the soothing storm and the tawny female. She had been forced out of her pack while Val had left willingly. This surprised her but she made no comment about it. It was strange because in all her time, she had never seen anyone forced out of Terras Fortem.

Sure, she had seen people turned away, but never forced out.

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