Spectral Woods The boy who blocked his own shot.

Sorry if this feels a little blegh. I had a hard time coming up with a topic for this thread Dx. In result, it's also backdated a little if that's okay.

@Serach

The Tainn simply needed time alone to process his thoughts. How could so much go wrong in such a short amount of time? How was it that every single time something important happened, he was the last to find out? Silver was dead, and his mother was without a doubt pregnant. Hadn't anyone thought that maybe this was important information for the prince to know? Overwhelmed, Darrah made the mature decision of distancing himself from the Bend until he was able to cool down. No need to embarrass himself further.

The raven prince trotted about the earthy floor of Spectral woods in a haze, finding once familiar territory to be somewhat of a challenge in his current state. Where was he? 'I don't know what more to be upset about.. Poor Drestig...' the boy choked back tears thinking of how his stand-in uncle must of felt. Drestig meant the world to Darrah, how could nobody of thought to mention anything? The prince should of been there for him. '..And new siblings..? How am I supposed to feel right now?!' and how long would he of remained oblivious to the situation had he not overheard some whispers?

"I bet Zera knew all about it." The prince spat. He'd always assumed the pack thought much better of her than they had for him. The princess was loyal in times of crisis, whilst Darrah grew secluded and ignorant. "I bet she was there to comfort Drestig.. And I bet she was the first to hear of the pups.." he thought to run away, hell, what was holding him back anymore? It was obvious to him now that he was of no great importance to his home, perhaps they'd even throw a party in honor of his departure. 'Unbelievable..'

One king, One crown.

Darrah Tainn

(This post was last modified: Jun 15, 2015, 03:54 AM by Darrah.)

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Backdating is fine! For my own reference, this is after Serach finds out about HR and Kisla living in Kingsfall.

The skies above Oak Tree Bend were dark indeed, at least figuratively. The young wolf had not been there to see the aftermath of Silver's death, but news had traveled quickly and the pack had mourned the loss together. Serach had barely known her - just like he knew barely any of the newer wolves that had taken up residence. Lifting a paw to rub an itch along his muzzle, Serach shook his pale head in agitation. You don't know any of them. That was the truth, if he was being honest with himself. The subordinate pushed himself off his haunches, forelimb returning to the ground to catch his balance as he stood up. He had ventured out into Spectral Woods again today, hoping to pick up any trail of his missing sibling. But whatever trail had once existed had gone cold long ago, so with a sigh that was more similar to a grunt, he turned tail and started on a slow walk back towards Oak Tree Bend.

It was during his return walk home that Serach picked up the scent of Darrah. It was a familiar scent, but further away from the Bend than was normal (at least as far as Serach knew). Curious, the boy turned towards the scent, his walking pace increasing in an effort to catch up to the younger Bend wolf. He wasn't particularly close to Darrah either, but he would be remiss if he did not at least check up on his cousin to ensure that all was well, especially the recent circumstances. "Darrah?" he called out, his voice loud in the relative silence of the forest around them. "Are you there?"

Sounds good to me! :)

'You're being stupid again, Darrah. Over-exaggerating.. Like back when Nayeli disappeared!' he cringed. 'That's no way for the future king... to act..' it was hopeless. How was he to rule when every last bit of bad news to come his way was foolishly mistaken for tragedy? 'I've got to get over myself..' collapsing to the floor in a rather over-dramatic manner, the prince let out an exasperated sigh. 'I can't run away.. I've worked so hard the past couple of months to better myself..' accepting defeat, the boy closed his eyes. 'Better just.. Suck it up, return to my daily routine.. Help in any way I can..' What made him think he was worthy of such knowledge to begin with? He'd been quite snotty in the past, no wonder nobody approached him with any news.  'Heh. What's with these unbearable mood swings, am I going insane?'

Almost to no surprise anymore, Darrah was intruded upon by the company of another wolf. The voice was familiar, though not one he'd ever expect to hear. "Serach?" Wiping any remaining tears off into his raven fur, the boy squinted in effort to seek his cousin out from the distance. "What a pleasant surprise!" He quickly forged a smile upon his lips. Was it strange to question the male's presence? They hadn't so much as even spoken a single word to each other in the past, so why was he here now? And with such horrible timing too.. "W-was there something I could help you with?" nervous, the raven prince found his tail hiding between his two hind legs. Family always frightened him a bit. Ordinarily their attendance meant he was in some sort of trouble. Although; he couldn't recall doing anything bad as of recent.  

One king, One crown.

Darrah Tainn

(This post was last modified: Jun 19, 2015, 02:20 AM by Darrah.)

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Hearing his own name called out, Serach turned his head in the direction the voice had come from. It was definitely Darrah, there was no questioning it now. The younger boy was close by, and it took only a few minutes for Serach to weave his way through the trees and vegetation that remained between them. A pale grin emerged on his lips as he approached his black furred cousin. In terms of appearances, they were nearly opposites and as Serach pulled up in front of Darrah and came to a stop, he was surprised to find himself tilting his head upwards to look up at Darrah. When had that happened? Clearly the Tainn genes, passed on by Triell and Ruiko, had favored Darrah, but Serach had been too self-absorbed to notice.

Momentarily distracted by the realization that his younger cousin had grown up without him noticing, Serach nearly missed Darrah's question. "Hmm?" he mused, snapping himself back to attention. "No, not particularly. I was out looking for Sceral again and was headed home when I found your trail." Serach smiled again, the his tail wagging easily from side to side. "I figured I would come see what you were up to." It was an unasked question, but now that he was here, the subordinate was genuinely curious as to what the yearling had been doing outside of the pack's borders. He was not a pup anymore, that much was obvious from his size, but they were family and pack mates and it was Serach's responsibility to at least check to make sure that Darrah was alright. Especially in light of recent events.

Being with Serach like this sure was strange, perhaps it was because their paths hardly ever crossed aside from the occasional pack arrangement. The two were rather close in age, so it was an honest shame they hadn't at some point became close. Darrah wondered if they were compatible enough to ever form a friendship. His cousin had suffered far more loss than he had, and from what he could tell, the boy shared the similarity of being rather reclusive. Perhaps it'd even benefit them both to be in each other's comforts. Or maybe it was too late for that sort of thing. 'hmm...'

"Sceral.." another wolf he hadn't the pleasure of ever actually meeting. From what he could remember, Sceral was the brother of Serach, and they were rather close. If recollection served the prince right, he vanished a few months or so ago. Darrah never got to hear the whole story, but then again was it really any of his business? "Any new traces?" more than likely a stupid question, his cousin would of looked far more optimistic if his searches brought any success. 'Agh, stupid..'

"Oh, uh.." his curiosity shocked the young Tainn, nobody ever seemed to care about what he was doing. At least not as far as he could tell. "N-nothing much, really.. I just wander off when I feel like I have a lotta thinking to do.." letting out a sigh, Darrah permitted his body to relax and took a seat onto the mundane woodsy ground.

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Serach's smile gradually faded away, his lips pursing together in a slight frown. Darrah seemed confused at the mention of Sceral, and it caused a pang to shoot through Serach's chest. He had been the only search party to look for the lost Aesir-Donata sibling, but he had not fully realized that his pack mates had entirely forgotten about the other creme furred yearling. I suppose he was preoccupied, with Nayeli disappearing as well, he thought, surveying the yearling before him. Rationally, he could understand, but that did not make the emotional realization any easier to bear. "No, no new traces. Being good at disappearing is a common trait among Tainns, I guess," the wolf shrugged his shoulders, and then settled down onto his haunches to sit. "He knows where we are, if he wants to come back." He said it calmly to Darrah, his voice almost solemn. It was the first time he had vocalized aloud, not only to himself but to another, that there was a very real possibility that Sceral had chosen to leave. It hurt to admit, but there was no use beating around the bush about it any longer.

Darrah had relaxed down into a sitting position, and with the awkward conversation about Sceral's absence out of the way, the conversation turned back to Darrah himself. He stuttered over his words, as though startled by the question, and the smile that had disappeared from Serach's face earlier began to make a reappearance. Wandering out alone in order to think? We're alike in that respect. "What's on your mind, Darrah?" The Bend subordinate asked, his head tilting to the side in the same way his mother's had when she had asked questions. He wasn't sure Darrah would tell him, and Serach certainly did not expect him to tell him everything, but he supposed that his cousin's mental wellbeing was just as important to Triell as Darrah's physical wellbeing, so since he was here, he might as well try to ask.

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

Darrah couldn't help but to chuckle at his cousin's playful slander towards the Tainn's and their magnificent way of abandoning others. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who could decipher the truth, especially now (considering recent events). Could it be possible, even in the slightest, that Serach shared the same viewpoints when it came to his.. situation? He'd save the question for another time, and he'd be sure not forget it. "I truly am sorry, I suppose I can sort of relate.." trying his best to display a sincere facial expression, the yearling wondered if that was really the right thing to say. After all, Nayeli came back. With a frown, the prince began awkwardly digging his paw through the dirt. 'No good at these kinda talks..'

He knew the question was bound to come, though that didn't make answering it any easier. Talking about his mother would only prove him to be a selfish little fellow, and that was a trait he was trying so hard to break himself free of. When it came to the pups, what honestly was the big deal? If anything shouldn't he be thrilled? He'd grown so apart from Zera, this would be a great second chance at having a little family to rely on! But.. Nayeli, of course. Rolling his eyes, Darrah decided to skip that part completely and go to the more realistic downer, Drestig. "You've heard about Silver.. right?" Of course he had. Hell, he might of even been there when it happened. Either way, everyone knew. "I'm just.. Worried about my uncle I guess.."

 

One king, One crown.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Whoops, sorry for the delayed response. I must have missed the notification that you had responded. Also, Serach apparently likes talking. He hasn't talked this much in ages. <3 Since @Skadi and @Garmr are dead when our thread takes place, I'm going to assume that Serach would know about what happened, even though he wasn't there.

Darrah chuckled in response to Serach's sideswipe at the Tainn family and their tendency to disappear without a trace. It truly seemed to be a curse, not only among the family themselves, but among those they loved the most. The boy had grown up hearing about his mother's first mate - an absentee father and leader if there had ever been one. Never mind Serach's own father and his siblings, who had followed the tradition. It had even touched Nayeli, and so had affected the lives of Darrah and his sister, Zera. The Bend subordinate was expecting his cousin to bring up his mother after his apology, but the younger wolf decided to answer Serach's other question instead. Nodding his head, Serach decided to let it go. There was no use prying, especially not into a subject that was so close to their hearts.

As Darrah spoke what was on his mind, Serach inhaled sharply, his brow immediately furrowing. Of course he knew what had happened to Silver. The wolves of Oak Tree Bend were no strangers to tragedy, but Silver's murder had been particularly cruel. The wolf stared down at his paws, contemplating what to say... "You're right to worry about Drestig." He had once been close to Serach as well, and seeing him in such pain over the loss of his mate had been hard to witness. "The pack killed them - her killers. But revenge is a tricky thing... those bastards deserved to die, but it can't bring her back." Lifting his head, Serach took a deep breath and prepared himself. As he had spoken, he had thought about what his mother would have said if she was the one giving the advice, and it was that advice that Serach needed to share with his cousin now.

"You might not know this, but Sceral isn't my only sibling. I have several older siblings, only a few of whom I ever got to meet. One of them, my sister Rissa, was murdered when she was about six months old. That's actually part of the reason Oak Tree Bend exists - my mother moved the pack to be closer to where Rissa's grave was. Just like Silver, Rissa's death was also avenged - your father helped to track the killers down and make them pay for what they had done. But what helped my mother the most wasn't that her daughter had been avenged, but that her pack mates were there to support her. Not just by listening, but by living." He cleared his throat, a slight smile on his face as he realized he was rambling. The silent ghost had forgotten what it was like to talk to somebody else, and once the words started, he just couldn't stop. "The point of all of this is that @Drestig needs us, to know that we are still here and that we love him. We have to try and make him smile again and be there for him when he grieves."

That's okay! I had a lot of catching up to do with other threads any who! :) I love it when characters get worked up over a topic and talk a lot, it's adorable x3. Plus, you're helping me understand more of Darrah's lineage. :). Sounds good to me! I'm going to go ahead and assume Darrah knows very little of the situation, but has a decent understanding.

Darrah nodded as his cousin spoke, having confirmation that his feelings were valid felt amazing. Although what Serach said next sort of, well, it felt like something was ripping apart his insides. The murderers were indeed gone but she wasn't coming back. Memories of Silver would probably haunt Drestig for the rest of his life, because she was gone. The prince couldn't bare to think of his 'uncle' suffering forever, there had to be something he could do. Anything. Panic flushed through his bloodstream and the yearling felt a sudden sense of uneasiness. 'D..Drestig..' he frowned, letting the ivory subordinate continue speaking and with all intent listened well to his words.

The prince had been quite unfamiliar with the history of Serach's kin, thus bringing the number of siblings he bared a little overwhelming. 'Several...?' There was a lot to the yearlings family that had not yet been revealed to him, though this was definitely a horrendous start. Glancing toward the ground, Darrah wondered if it were a similar circumstance that took the cub away. As the white male cleared his throat, the boy wondered what he could add to the conversation. This was a serious talk, one he'd prefer not to screw up, but he really was bad at this sort of thing. "I-I'm sorry to hear.. T-thank you for sharing.." he stuttered, hoping that'd be enough for now.

Smile again? How would they accomplish that? The yearling recalled it taking months to smile again after his mother had vanished. Drestig's situation was far more complicated, would it be possible for him to feel happiness again? They were in love, and fate wrongfully tore her away. "Do you really think there's hope..? F-for him to feel, well... Okay again?"

One king, One crown.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.