Spectral Woods the stars are bound to change

@Drestig shalie isn't very far from the main back area, definitely not outside the borders. no pressure to reply any time soon I just got ahead of myself.

She hoped no one would see her as she stamped angrily back to the den and cursed herself for being so stupid. She had no mind for the eerie light or the fog that had gently wrapped itself around her body like a cloak. Stupid, she told herself. Stupid, stupid.. The little black lump had no idea where the den was, but she sure as hell was determined to find it. The forest still smelled like familiar wolves, so she found herself too bold to admit that she was lost. But she definitely regretted coming out this far in the first place.

Sahalie was very sorry that she had tried to run away.

It was hard being young in a family of old and sad wolves. She felt more and more as she grew that she had to walk on her toes, that she had to play quietly, that she could not bother the others. No one seemed to know what to do with her. Her relationship with the all-dark — Spieden— had come to serve as a template for all the other wolves in Oak Tree Bend. And she hated it. She hated feeling sorry, she hated feeling guilty. It made her more sad than she knew how to be. And Drift didn't seem to understand this. Mostly because she did not have the words to tell him about it. She didn't have the words to tell anyone about it. And so Triell's youngest daughter nursed these painful feelings and concocted the notion of escape. But now she just felt sorry for this, too. Too much guilt.

She had not traveled beyond the main den before. Spieden and Triell had made very sure of that. But it hadn't occurred to Sahalie that the outside world would be so different than the one she had grown comfortable with. Why was this part of the forest so dark? Where was the sun she so loved to bathe in? The darkness was not just in the hearts of her family members. It was here all around them.

And thus there was no choice but to give up and go home.

Patrols again today, he had ordered himself, while his heart and paws longed to leave the territory, he had a duty to keep the land safe above all else. A duty to Hotei, who had done this every day while he was alive, and whom he had promised to look after the pack in his place. And a duty to Triell, who needed all the help he could get right now. The oaken king had been absent lately, his usually shadow-like presence now dwindled into a faint ghostly passing now and then; Not that I blame him... He had been through a lot after all, both with the pack and personally, all the losses that were pulling down the rest of the Bend wolves no doubt weighing twice as heavy on the shoulders of their leader. So his loyal second did his best to fill in so to speak, maintaining the borders and keeping watch of potential threats. Not that there were many.

It was especially hard to motivate himself today though. A thick fog lay over the land, fighting against the sun to wrap the summer land in an illusion of winter. Even as the day grew warmer, the haze persisted, and the ebony scout glared at it, wishing it away along with the painful memories it ensued. Seething didn't do any good though, and with a heavy sigh, he lifted himself up from his rest at the den opening and shook out his fur. Then he stood for a moment, looking back and forth, deliberating on which way to go. Their - his den, lay about halfway between the Great Oak, with the main den, and the borders. The privacy had been alluring back when the two lovers settled, now he sought comfort in its solitude. Regardless, he usually started his patrol with a swing by the communal area, to check who was about and whether all was well. This morning he had gotten a rather late start though, and skipping that part of the routine would save time.

After a few moments of debate, the silver tipped man shook his head and set off towards the pack center; he would make a short pass, just to observe. Not like his usual inspections were very social, but still; Just quickly. Something drew him to the communal den, despite his general aversion towards spending time in the area. He was worried. With Triell this aloof, he couldn't help but speculate about the pups, how were they doing? Had @Spieden taken on looking after them? What about the rest of the pack? Personally he hadn't interacted with the pups, beyond seeing them once or twice around the den, he couldn't bring himself to. Before the whole affair with Nayeli's monsters he had hoped that this spring... But that dream had been killed, brutally murdered and torn to shreds. So now he tried to avoid the children that would remind him of those lost dreams. And yet he worried.

He drew nearer to his destination, and suddenly a fresh scent interrupted his thoughts. Someone had crossed this path just recently, and not just any someone; Out here? Alone?! There was no way about it, he swerved sideways and followed the pups trail. His personal feelings would have to be put aside for now. It didn't take long for his tall, trained legs to catch up with the escapee, a small dark form in the grey fog. "Aye!" He called from behind, slowing his pace as he neared her; "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Word count: 596

"Speech" Thoughts

WHEN YOUR DREAMS ALL FAIL,

AND THE ONES WE HAIL,

Drestig Avalon

ARE THE WORST OF ALL,

AND THE BLOOD'S RUN STALE.

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

@Drestig
The thickness in the air had dampened the regular sound of footfalls. As it was, Sahalie nearly peed herself at the sudden shout from behind. Into the air the little black puppy lept, springing quite high since she was little besides skin and bones at this point in her life. Returning to the ground was difficult. She landed harshly on her forelegs. Unbalanced, she tipped ass over tea-kettle and landed upside down in the dirt in a comical heap.

Uncertainly, the girl peered out at the flipped view of the world to see a dark wolf approaching. She held her breath. The girl's eye sight was still rather poor, and with so many ebony wolves in the small family it was hard to determine who was who. Was it her father coming to scold her? It had been days since she had seen him: he had been so busy. But the steady, slowed pace was not the careful flow of her father's regal posture. This was not someone she was familiar with on some sort of first name — any name— business. Still she did not let out the air trapped within her.

"Not running away!" she roared back suddenly. Guilt was present in her tone, but so was anger. Completely directionless anger. "Not going nowhere!" Triell's daughter, despite an utter lack of moral instruction, could tell nothing but the truth. Even as she lied she made the truth as clear as day.

"Shalie," she grumbled abruptly as she stared at her paws dangling above her. She didn't know his name, so she assumed he didn't know hers. He was just another face that avoided her.

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2015, 10:23 PM by Sahalie.)

He felt rather horrible when the puppy sprang up in shock, tumbling over on the forest floor. He hadn't meant to scare her, just stop her before she wandered too far. Caught up in his own reluctance, he had forgotten that this was just a puppy, not a trained wolf who knew to listen for approachers and always be aware of everything around her. Now she lay upside down, paws in the air, glaring up at him with accusing, cerulean eyes. The sight was rather comical in truth, and the ebony scout would have found it hard to hide his grin, had he not felt so guilty for scaring her in the first place. He parted his lips to apologize, but was cut off by a sudden, enraged outburst. Deep ember eyes widened in surprise as the child continued to shout, trying to sound convincing and failing miserably.

Despite himself, Drestig was finding it harder and harder not to smile. The dark girl remained in her compromised position, making no move to right her flipped world. Instead she suddenly changed tactics, grumbling an introduction, and now the scout could no longer help but smile. There was a sad note to the grimace, but mostly it was filled with affection, it seemed he had no defenses around pups, they always got to his heart, no matter how hard he tried to shield it. Walking over to the girl with slow steps, he lowered his silver tipped muzzle to push at her rear, helping to roll her back onto her feet. "I know." He said softly. The names had reached his ears at some point, though until now he hadn't been sure which of the two this was. Now he smiled at her, eyes glowing with warmth; "Hi Sahalie, I'm Drestig."

Word count: 299

"Speech" Thoughts

WHEN YOUR DREAMS ALL FAIL,

AND THE ONES WE HAIL,

Drestig Avalon

ARE THE WORST OF ALL,

AND THE BLOOD'S RUN STALE.

@Drestig idunno what happened here e___e

Her head tipped backwards so that she could watch him with her uncertain, slowly-changing eyes. He was much more forward than Spieden, who had never approached her with such familiarity in the cub's short memory. She nearly spooked again when she felt his gentle push that tipped her neatly upright. No one touched her like this. Maybe Drift, but he was in a different category than all the adults. Suddenly she felt very shy indeed. She had assumed that the adults didn't want to touch her for some sort of reason, but this one had reached out to her without the hesitation she was so accustomed to. Again and again her world was tipped on his head. She knew not what to make of it.

He knew who she was though, and that was still admission of guilt to her. If he knew who she was, why had this dark giant not come to her before? His brief touch and — was that a smile? — seemed to her like everything she had ached for in the lonely nights since her birth. The name that came of his lips seemed easy to him, but she tipped her head as she tried to work it out. "Dess... duh-ress. dess-t..." she frowned and looked back up at him. Her tail fluttered behind her. She wanted to please him. "Dessee" It didn't seem so off from what he had said.

"Dessee..." she chirped more sadly, turning her head away from him and laying it on the ground between her paws, "I am doing bad thing?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 09, 2015, 12:27 AM by Sahalie.)

Me either, but just roll with it? xD

The girl seemed rather shocked by his touch, eyes turning away shyly. A knot of guilt formed in the dark scout's stomach as he saw it; It must be so hard for them..! Every wolf in Oak Tree Bend was burdened by sorrow, most of them having grown reclusive, tending to the pack in only the most practical of senses. But the pups, they were children, knowing only very little of what had caused all this hurt and gloom, and probably feeling both confused and scared, and even lonely; That's no way to grow up... The scout sighed to himself, taking half a step back and sitting down on the wilting leaves, watching as Sahalie straightened herself up and looked up at him, head titled. her eyes, murky in their state of change from puppy-blue to a yet untellable hue, were wide and curious, but also full of a range of mixed feelings that were hard, if not impossible to tell apart. Drestig could feel his heart swell, smile falling so easy on his lips, even as he felt pain stab within him; She should be happy and carefree! Not consumed by all these dark feelings, forced upon her by adults who should know better.

The raven pup wagged her tail, trying her best to repeat his name, and his smile grew wider. @Darrah and @Zera had had the same problem, though they had learned eventually. Hearing the little voice straining with the unfamiliar sounds only made Drestig's heart even warmer, eyes twinkling with amusement as she continued without much further luck. Finally she seemed to give up, putting down her head in resignation. The silver tipped lad tilted his own head, watching her with a tiny smile; "Nah don't you worry little one, you're doing just fine." He assured, lowering himself down to lie next to her, stretching out his own muzzle to rest on one paw, nose turned towards her. "Yours isn't too easy either, perhaps we should shorten them down. Halie?" His face was serious as he waited, hoping that she would turn back to look at him, but his eyes were still full of warmth; She is a gorgeous little princess...

Word count: 365

"Speech" Thoughts

WHEN YOUR DREAMS ALL FAIL,

AND THE ONES WE HAIL,

Drestig Avalon

ARE THE WORST OF ALL,

AND THE BLOOD'S RUN STALE.

@Drestig

Her eyes widened as Drestig relaxed on the ground beside her, his head level with hers though it was nearly three times the size. Thoughtlessly, she wiggled closer so that their fur was nearly touching before she felt a lance of guilt strike her heart. Spieden had, through actions rather than words, made it pretty clear to obtain consent before touching another wolf. But Sahalie managed to stop just shy mixing her dark brown coat with the inkier hairs of Drestig. She tried to tell herself that Drestig had touched her and that surely it could be okay — maybe— to make contact with him as well. He didn't seemed like the kind who would mind, but, cocking her head she decided she did not have enough information yet.

"But I was running away!" she exclaimed with a whine. Her jaw snapped open, surprised that she had been the one to betray herself. She did not yet realize how much she had already given away. She pressed her chin against the ground in shame, and nosed one of his large ebony paws in askance. She didn't want him to dislike her for being a bad girl. With her prodding nose she begged him to overlook this and just pay attention to her. She dearly loved this affection he heaped upon her. He had a charming smile.

"Mmmm!" She agreed quickly in attempt to distract him from her slip-up. Her head bobbed up and down. But, figuring this was not enough, she nearly tripped over her words to add in, "Do you like cuddling? I do not think anyone else likes to cuddle but I do and I thought... I thought maybe you do..." Her dark muzzle tipped up towards him as she searched his face for a yes.

He was stunned to see her react by inching closer to him, rather than shying away,  a strange mixture of curiosity, desire and apprehension in her puppy blue eyes. Then they suddenly changed, widening, not in fear though; More like... Guilt? He wasn't left time to wonder about it though, as the dark child suddenly blurted a confession, head oddly tilted. The surprise on his face intensified, then slowly changed as a smile curved his lips; "Oh, I thought you said you weren't running away?" He said, not the faintest hint of sternness in his voice, how could he scold her? Instead he was looking at her questioningly, brows cocked, while he tried to hide his amusement.

Sahalie meanwhile, had taken to nudging his closest paw as way of apology, prompting him to raise it up so that her muzzle could sneak its way underneath it. She seemed to be much more outgoing than her older siblings, though perhaps it wasn't so strange that she hungered for attention. Drestig's eyes kept glistening warmly as he watched her, seeming to struggle with herself. Another unexpected outburst had the raven scout taken aback once more, face showing his surprise. "I uhm..." He uttered, the tiniest bit of reticence in his voice; "I haven't much experience with... cuddling." A sheepish smile was flashed at the dark girl, and, seeing the obvious pleading in her eyes, his defenses melted away; "But perhaps you can teach me?" Shifting his weight, he closed the last distance between their bodies, pressing a black flank against her slightly lighter, smaller form.

His head lowered back down to lie on the ground like hers, ember eyes studying her curiously, there was something special about pups, their way of taking in the world openly, saying and asking whatever came to their minds. And they were all so different, even while they were still this young, tumbling around and trying to learn control of their limbs and finding out how to interact with others, they had their own separate personalities, their own ways of being alike and different. A pang went through his heart as he saw a bit of Nayeli in that deep brown face, and he wondered whether their pups would have been like her. But it didn't serve any purpose, and he shook off the thought, instead focusing on Sahalie; "Halie, why were you running away?" He tried not to put any pressure in the question, but a touch of concern rang through, his brows slightly wrinkled. He kept looking at her, not strictly, but with enough seriousness in his eyes to show her how important the question was.

Word count: 441

"Speech" Thoughts

WHEN YOUR DREAMS ALL FAIL,

AND THE ONES WE HAIL,

Drestig Avalon

ARE THE WORST OF ALL,

AND THE BLOOD'S RUN STALE.

@Drestig

Her heart beat quickened. He had noticed her slip up. The huge male did not, however, ask her any direct questions about it. His paw lifted up and her little snout wiggled underneath it so that she would not have to answer. How could she talk when this gigantic foot on her mouth? It was so great in size it nearly covered her whole face and head. Speiden's paws were much larger than his were, she was quite sure, and a good deal more intimidating. She was glad that it was not her milkbag's paws on her face right now. That would just be weird. These were good paws. The pads were rougher than hers in a way that made her wonder at the difference between her own awkward, soft toes. How much time would pass before these paws would be Sahalie's paws? She was not sure there was an advantage to the roughness. There certainly was not one with Speiden. Or the other wolves.

When he spoke she wiggled her snout back out from under the mountainous paws. "I do not... either really," she admitted sheepishly. "Speiden does not like it. Dad is not... there... and brother. Idunno if you know this but brother is weird." He was always off doing weird things and had grown into the reclusive personality that all the Oak Tree Bend wolves shared. It was like the only thing they had in common with one another. "I cuddled with Jessie once cause she was sad. "

Drestig finally inquired about her failed attempt to escape the spooky woods. Sahalie pretended not to hear him and stood up, neatly placing her paws onto Drestig's back. "I kinda just wiggled into her belly. But yours is on the ground it looks like. I can't reach it." She appeared to be very busy surveying the available cuddle area. Her eyes aimed determinedly for the other side of him. Cautiously she looked back at his ears.  Her own twisted backwards and her stomach churned as she tried to find the words to explain herself. She didn't feel like she had to be afraid to tell him the truth. Drestig seemed like he would still like her even if she was a bad girl. 

"Everyone's so sad here. And I can't fix it."

(This post was last modified: Aug 19, 2015, 09:53 PM by Sahalie.)