Round Stone Crest I bring you my weary

ooc: @Gent, @Minka, @Astraeus, @Cessair, @Kova, @Raela, @Octavius, @Kino, @Marianna - Back dated 7/30. Hello everybody!

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It had been an effort to keep moving forward, to keep following Gent to the pack's territory. Her new territory, where her new packmates would be waiting - not specifically for her, of course, but waiting all the same. She would be a liar if she tried to claim even to herself that she didn't feel just a bit nervous about meeting so many strangers all at once, even if they were to be her new family.

Calanthe had been sure to listen carefully as Gent described each of the other wolves she would meet, keen to have at least a basic grasp of who did what in the pack. She really didn't want to make herself look foolish (let alone insult someone) by confusing everybody's roles.

She had been nervous when she realized how very high up the den seemed to be; higher grounds had not served her well on her own. They had made her too visible to prey and competition alike, and made her feel uncomfortably exposed. Still... from a defensive standpoint, and with more than one wolf to guard it, she could see some advantages. They could probably see threats or friends coming from a ways off... and she supposed if it ever flooded, the den probably wouldn't be in too much danger.

All of her wonderful speculation and internal monologuing came to a screeching halt once they entered the den itself. Nothing at all could grab her attention away from this place or its inhabitants. As awkward as it was to think, she was finally... home.

(This post was last modified: Aug 14, 2015, 04:28 AM by Calanthe. Edit Reason: Had to back date. )

The king had done his best to lay down a solid foundation of knowledge for the girl on their way through the dense forest, hoping to make swift the girl's transition back into pack life. The sooner she began to lay down roots with them, the stronger they would grow and the more likely she would stay with them for the remainder of her life. For once, things were looking to take a positive turn, and the leviathan felt his spirits rising with every step they took.

When they came upon the main den, he could not sense @Minka immediately within. It was she who he wanted to introduce Calanthe to first, and share with her what had occurred to bring the girl under their umbrella of protection. Her approval of the situation was a priority, though unlike Chemical he doubted very much that she would disapprove of this decision of his. The man let out a loud bark that resounded on the mountaintop, hopefully beckoning the queen to his side as well as any other nearby members.

Most of all, he willed the children to come out to play with their new pack mate under his watchful eye. It was important for Calanthe to familiarize herself with and become comfortable around the other adults, but the prideful father couldn't pass up this wonderful opportunity to show off his children to a newcomer.

The summer heat hat practically dragged the woman down to the river. She always seemed to be thirsty; but it was no wonder as to why. Panting dried out the tongue like nothing else. At the burning peak of day the agouti female had trudged resolutely down the small mountain; the call of the rolling waters ever-present in her ears. There was little use in expending much energy during the day when it was so darn hot. The girl doused herself in the cool liquid and decided resting here was the smartest idea. The heat would die down in a little while. Fortunately, by the time the subordinate had awoken from her midday nap, patchy clouds covered most of the sky. Even more delightful; they had covered the sun. For a moment Raela laid still, wondering vaguely what had roused her from sleep. She had a faint recollection of a sound...  A summer breeze brought a new scent down from their hilltop home. At first, panic lit her veins and the girl's head snapped to attention. It was then that she scented Gent's presence as well. Still worried, the Crest wolf hobbled to her feet. They were near the den, the pups- She broke into a gallop, her speed restricted only by the fact that her sensitive hearing had picked up no sign of trouble. No growling, crying, nothing yet. Part of the reason for her dash was just to get close enough to be sure everything was alright. Thankfully, there was no tinge of blood in the air. The nervous girl darted upwards, hurdling fallen logs while her ears strained to catch any sign of danger. She was ready to call out this time. If something was wrong, she knew now she couldn't handle it alone.  Drumming feet brought the summit into view in no time. Raela was sure now that all was quiet, and so her pace slowed to an uneasy trot. Glinting amber eyes searched frantically for the rocks of the den, finally locating Gent's towering form. The woman slowed further, pausing some distance away in the foliage. Whether or not he had noticed her yet was of little concern; though she expected as much. No, her eyes sought the stranger first. Unfortunately, her viewpoint allowed no such visual. Cautiously, the subordinate padded forward; her tail straight with agitation. Worried eyes sought the glaciers she had become so accustomed to. Their owner seemed perfectly fine, earning him a faint smile and a respectful dip of the head. It was obvious that she was looking for the source of new scent, though, and her gaze fixated again on the den. The younger woman's pale fur then appeared in the entrance.  Raela was taken immediately with the newcomer's thin frame. She looked awful! Fear gave way to concern, as it so often did. Still, the female looked more than happy to be alive, and the reasoning behind it came in clear. This was a new pack member. Again her leaders had taken in a tattered soul. Now aware of herself, the woman relaxed her rigid tail into a slow wag. A smile formed on her creamy maw in greeting. “Hey, welcome to the Crest.” She turned to glance at her swarthy friend for the briefest of moments before returning to the young female. What was the story here?  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

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

Kino was sleeping peacefully within the confines of the new…or rather new to him communal den. It had certainly been a different transition from sleeping with just his siblings and mother to sharing a much more spacious den with many quite frankly strangers. At first he had found it difficult to sleep, not wanting to curl up with his siblings like they had at the risk of looking weird in front of all these wolves. They weren’t curled up against each other. But, in the end he had taken the risk and made a little niche with Ari who had quickly become his favorite sibling and partner in crime. The two were quite obviously inseparable except, of course, when they were off doing their own explorations. More often than not they would converge later to compare notes of what had transpired during their day, ooing and ahhing at each other’s discoveries. He’d been out exploring from early that morning and the events had made him drowsy, so he’d meandered his way back to the main den for a bit of a nap. That was, until a loud bark erupted from outside the den.

The young silver lad’s light gaze popped open, head shooting up and looking around with partially alert stature. While Ari’s eyes had slowly begun to pale from their puppy blue and Draven’s was turning into a blue-green, Kino’s blue had only seemed to deepen. Even their fur had begun to change, his elder sibling’s coat sprouting reds and browns while his younger brother’s gray began turning into a coarse jet black. In this aspect, Kino was getting slightly darker as well, but only with the greys that had previously mostly accented his body taking over completely leaving his a gradient below the world around him. It was clear that he was becoming a ghost of sorts, a Lagina trait he had only known and seen in his elder brother’s pelt. He offered a yawn, getting to his paws and offering his de-saturated pelt a swift shake before moving toward the mouth of the den. He came upon the sight of the large black man he had known to be called Gent. He had been a father figure to the trio since their birth, and though they knew that he was not their biological father Ari seemed more than happy to accept him as such. Next, he took in the familiar form of the kind woman Raela who had also played a good part in their childhood so far and the no-so-familiar form of another woman. She was pale in color, though not like Kino, and paired with a set of pale yellow eyes like the sun. It was not unlike Raela’s but not quite as striking. He tilted his head, moving to the black man’s side.

”Gent, who’s this?” he asked, gaze settling on the strange woman curiously. Wait until Ari showed up to see this!

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Calanthe immediately noted the signs of wariness in the other woman's body as Raela came into view, and could feel herself beginning to crouch again in submission - though she did not tremble this time, especially once Raela relaxed and offered her an amiable greeting. Calanthe attempted to smile back as she replied, "Thank you." She paused, then awkwardly began to add, "Er... my name is--"

She was interrupted with the arrival of a much younger gray wolf, and in spite of her awkwardness, even the rather atrabilious young she-wolf could not help but smile a bit at this newcomer. She had always had a soft spot for the young. Her smile grew more relaxed as she dipped her head a bit and answered the little one's question: "My name is Calanthe... Quickfoot." She winced slightly at her own epithet; it was as much a source of pride as it was a sharp reminder of what she had lost. She wondered if the pain would ever fade.

She glanced at Raela again, then back to Gent, still feeling somewhat awkward... although judging by Raela's initial reaction to her, Calanthe had caused a bit of awkwardness, too. She cringed to think that her new... packmates might be made to feel even temporarily uneasy around her (and why was that still such a difficult term to apply to these wolves?)

"I... apologize if I startled you," she said to Raela. "Gent... invited me to join your pack." She dipped her head again and added, "It's nice to meet you."

"Kinnoooooooo, waaaaaaait," Marianna whined unhappily, her slate gray eyes still pressed closed.  While the pups' naps had grown shorter and less frequent, the child still enjoyed curling up with her silver sibling and drifting off to imaginary lands whenever her paws got too tired.  She was even content to ignore the strange bark, and she might have, had her brother not peeled himself away from her side and ventured out of their den to investigate.  It took the girl several extra moments to shake the slow sleepiness from her skull, jaw cracking in a fierce yawn before the Lagina princess wandered after her brother, decidedly less animated.

Her weariness did not last as she broke into a trot, bumping into her brother's side playfully before joining @Gent where he stood.  "Dad!" she crowed happily, slender tail wiggling behind her.  The swarthy alpha was offered a playful nibble before the child's gaze was shifting again, flitting over Kino and Raela before settling on the new wolf.  A new wolf!  This was the first time a loner had become a packmate (since the child could remember, at least), and she trotted forth from the safety of the king's shadow to inspect Calanthe more closely.  "Hello!" she bubbled happily, "I'm Ari!  Are you gonna be one of our friends?" Marianna continued, her stubby tail still wagging as she stared up.  It never occurred to her that an unknown wolf might be dangerous.  As far as she was concerned, her father thought Calanthe was okay, and that was plenty for the princess.

(This post was last modified: Aug 18, 2015, 02:56 PM by Kjors. Edit Reason: Runaway tag! )

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Draven was not in the den itself, but he hadn't managed to wander very far from it - just enough that he hadn't seen or heard Gent leading the pale stranger home. He heard Gent's call, though, just as he was pouncing on a lizard sunning itself on a nearby rock. The call distracted him, and his pounce ended with Draven crashing awkwardly against the rock while the lizard skittered away through the leaves. Ow. The dark-furred pup dragged himself back onto his feet and shook himself out, wincing at the throbbing pain in his shoulder. At least wrestling with Ari and Kino made him ready for that kind of bruising, but still - ow. Draven shook himself out again, then looked up in the direction of the den. That had been Gent's call, he thought. He was pretty sure it was, anyway - and if Gent was calling, something interesting might be happening. (Or something important, which was kind of like something interesting except more boring. Hopefully it was just interesting.) Curiosity peaked, Draven trotted back to the den, his little tail wagging eagerly as Gent and Ari and Kino and Raela came into view... although it slowed a little bit when he saw the pale, skinny wolf standing with Gent. Who was she? She looked awful... Draven quickly went over to stand next to Ari, his eyes locked on the stranger as he moved. She didn't seem mean - but what long legs she had, and what patchy fur! "Hello," he said to the stranger, his head tilted in curiosity. "Who're you?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 13, 2015, 11:00 PM by Draven.)

His pale gaze rested on the female, auds pushed forward waiting for her response. He watched her as she began, pausing upon his arrival and allowing a small smile to bloom on her maw. She lowered her head to his height and he allowed his own cranium to tilt to the side to allow a better hearing angle at her words. "My name is Calanthe... Quickfoot." she said, and her last name was the thing to take the most interest to him. Not the fact that she was a new packmate, though the information was duly noted, but that she had such a peculiar name. “That mean you’re fast?” he inquired earnestly. He’d certainly not heard anything like it, and because of this he thought it might be a nickname instead of an actual last name.

"Kinnoooooooo, waaaaaaait," came his siblings groggy call, and he allowed his attention to be swept away to turn and look upon her approach. She bumped shoulders with him, then, as he figured, went straight over to Gent. Even the dark man, though, was not able to catch Ari’s squirrel-like attention though as she caught site of Calanthe. Her question mimicked his own, as she hadn’t been there for the answer, and a smirk moved to his lips. The biggest surprise came with the arrival of his younger brother, who didn’t show up too often to their little get togethers. Sure he had been lurking he’d presumed, but other than that the boy was even more elusive than the ghost himself at times. Again the question was repeated, and this time he sighed. ”This is Calanthe, she’s our new packmate. She’s quick,” he said, introducing the female for her. He had little time for repetitive questions, especially when he had more to ask.

TAG: ---  |  WORDS: ---  |  NOTE(S): ---  |  ?

(This post was last modified: Aug 14, 2015, 10:46 PM by Kino.)

Calanthe smiled and started to answer the gray pup's question, only to be interrupted as another pup appeared, this one a russet girl-pup with a bubbly sort of energy that reminded Calanthe powerfully of... who? Amani? Mateu...? Certainly the girl was like somebody Calanthe had known before...

Calanthe again tried to respond as the girl, too, asked for her name - but before she could get anything out a third pup came along, this one with fur as dark as new-burned charcoal. This third newcomer, too, was quick to ask Calanthe who she was, although he seemed less excitable than his... sister? Could these three rainbow pups all be from the same litter? They certainly looked the right age.

It was a fortunate thing the first little pup, the ghostlike one, spoke up again for her. She was beginning to feel just a tad overwhelmed with so many little ones at once asking about her, and was relieved the little gray one took over the introduction. And he did so better than she'd expected, which was promising - maybe these wolves had nicknames, too, though she hadn't heard any used yet. But the little gray boy seemed to decipher what her epithet meant fairly easily, so... hmm. Maybe she shouldn't quite jump to conclusions. These were strangers, after all, and hadn't Kenelm (the name grated painfully across her already raw nerves) told her wolves in other packs could have strange ideas about names and roles and the like?

"Hello," she greeted the two new pups once the gray had finished speaking. Then, deciding it was a safe enough risk to take, she added, "Your brother is right. I'm... going to be joining your pack. What are all of your names?" she asked, glancing again at the gray pup to make sure he knew the question was directed to him, as well.

(This post was last modified: Aug 16, 2015, 01:38 AM by Calanthe.)