Stonewatch Timbers bring me back to earth

@Raela - after dark, clear skies.
RE: There is a shooting star tonight.

This is a sub-territory discovery!  Ari has returned to the Chanting Chase, a patch of timbers separated by lengths.  When the wind blows through these trees, it sounds like whistling or singing.  The grass is low, but present, and beams of light shine through the incomplete canopy.  Pines dominant the territory, leaving the understory easy for a wolf to navigate.  The forest looks like this.

It was late, well past when Marianna should be tucked into her den with her brothers, but when her mother had slipped back out, the child opened her eyes once more.  After a few moments, she assumed Minka had gone to check on something and took the opportunity to gingerly extract herself from her pile of brothers.  Kino might be a fellow explorer at heart, but @Draven was just as likely to tattle on her as he was to allow her this little adventure.  It would be impossible to wake one without waking the other, and she was happy enough to play by herself.

No sooner had she toddled out and shuffled through the darkened grass did she look up for the moon.  The night was dark, the moon hidden, and the child found the stars instead.  She was content to look for shapes among them when she saw one streak across the sky.  Her breath caught, eyes widening, but it wasn't just one!  It was several!  All falling and shimmering, dancing across the darkness as they sprinted out of Round Stone Crest.

"Hey!  Wait for me!" she called after the stars, wheeling around on her haunches to chase after them.  She wasn't quick enough to follow the streaks, but fortunately there were hundreds, thousands even!  There were far too many to count, and she didn't even try.  "Wait!" she called to the sky once more, unaware she'd long since crossed the borders of her home and stumbled into the same special forest she'd found with Minka, where her father had sung a beautiful song for them.

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2015, 01:37 PM by Marianna.)

 

A wild dissertation appears!

It wasn't often that the Crest woman found herself wandering at night, but during the summer she was tempted to stay out later and later; especially when the light of the sun was so hot. The cool night air on this very evening made her bones restless; feeling a cool night breeze across her face was all the incentive the woman needed to delay her return to the den. She had even thought that perhaps @Astraeus might have wanted to share this cool atmosphere with her, if she could find him. He'd been a bit distant as of late, and the sweet-hearted woman wanted only to regain the closeness they'd had that day in the rain. Of course he wasn't in the den yet, and she could assume he was out on patrol as he should have been.  Raela had yet to pick up on any recent scent trails of his, and was reluctant to raise her voice into the night over a simple meeting. Instead she padded along the mountain; seeking out some detectable trace of the chocolate man. Instead, she found the incredibly recent evidence of Minka's only remaining daughter. It was no surprise that the wandering child was out on her own yet again, but Raela had yet to catch her in the act. Her eyes turned upward from the trail, denoting how dark it really was out here. There wasn't even a moon to navigate by. If Marianna was still out here somewhere... The gentle 'hoot' of a distant owl chilled her spine. There were all kinds of dangers out at night that were much harder to see. Ari wouldn't know she was in danger until it was too late.  With no further hesitation she abandoned her quest in favor of tracking down the wayward princess. She broke from a swift trot to an easy but anxious lope toward the border. All the while her thoughts grew worse. Cougars were always so stealthy in the dark, and what of Eirian? Or Vitani? Did they still lurk outside the border, waiting for one of the children to be foolish enough to stumble out alone? ”Wait!” The high-pitched call jerked her ears to attention. That sounded like Ari, she realized. Her mind generated all the reasons for the girl to be telling someone to wait, and none of them were good. Her pace quickened to a run as she closed the distance. It was hard to locate the pup by sight in the darkness, so her voice tried for her.  “Ari?” She called, the concern plain in her tone. “Ari sweetie, are you out here?” Her voice rose into the cool night as she slowed her advance. This is where the call had come from. The last thing she wanted was for the girl to think she was going to be yelled at, and to hide herself out here alone. If the child learned that each time she was found or returned home she would be met with anger, she would never come back. She would stay hidden when they came to find her; putting herself in more peril the longer she remained. Raela was only concerned for her safety; teaching her to bring an adult along would come once that was assured.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

As fast as she ran, Marianna still couldn't keep up with the stars. She would spy one streaking across the blackened sky, only for it to twinkle out of existence in the next breath. Never before had she witness anything so quick, not even @Gent when they were playing outside of the den. It might have been awe inspiring, were the child not so determine to catch one of these stars and follow it. Where were they going in such a hurry? She gave a small growl of frustration, willing herself faster as she craned her heads skywards. All at once, one of her wide paws caught a stone and she went sprawled across the earth with a startled yelp.

The girl rolled several times before she landed in a heap, legs tangled beneath her and chin on the ground. Her ears rang from smacking her jaw into the hardened soil, and after a moment, a high whine rose up from heap of tawny fur. In her graceless sprawl, the Lagina princess had bit her own tongue when her tiny pin-like puppy teeth snapped shut upon impact. She'd stubbed her toes, as well, but neither of these things compared to the pain her pride was currently suffering.

Dimly, she was aware of a familiar voice nearby, but it occurred to her neither that she may be in trouble for sneaking outside the pack grounds after dark (or on her own), nor that Raela might actually be worried for her safety. Instead, the girl only gave another cry, ears flattened against her head as she slowly tried to untangle herself.

Where was Tokino now? Didn't @Minka tell her that her father was always watching over her? Why didn't he help catch the stars? Why didn't he keep her from falling? Why wasn't he singing to her like he did before?

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Raela paused between the towering trees, suddenly aware of how the land had changed in her rushed pursuit of the Crest princess. It would have been much more beautiful if Ari wasn't lost out here somewhere. Her torn ear picked up something, swiveling to catch the brunt of the child's unhappy yelp. Her feet moved before she could even turn her whole head. A sound like that truly warranted such urgency. Luckily for her, the proximity of the call was enough to locate the pup in no time at all. She bounded over, eyes finally catching sight of the little girl as she lay on the ground. For a moment her heart stopped, breath refusing to pass through her lungs. She drew nearer to the sprawled youth, bringing her head down to assure herself that Ari's movement meant she was okay.  “Ari, are you alright?” She blurted; nervously looking the girl over. There was no scent of blood and no visible injury, and for that her tension eased just a little. “What are you doing out here?” The anxious woman asked, still far more curious than upset. She had called out to someone. So who was it? Why had she chased them out here? The subordinate's head rose, scanning the nearby area while her ears flicked about. If there was someone else here she needed to know. Even in the darkness it was clear that if something tried to come up on them she would see it. There was little to no cover to hide in aside from a dead tree or two. This was good news as well.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

(This post was last modified: Aug 25, 2015, 07:21 PM by Raela.)

            

Was she alright?

Marianna's ear tipped as her whimpering died in her throat, finally aware of the presence of another wolf. A solid wolf, an actual wolf, not the so-called father her mother insisted roamed out here, singing. With a large sniffle, the girl managed to get her tangle of limbs beneath her body to pick herself off the dirty. @Raela was given a sore look, but was not addressed until the youth shook her earthy pelt out, flinging pebbles and bits of dust into the air before she sighed heavily, ears airplaning out to the side.

"'m fine," she muttered sullenly, immune to the woman's concern. The fact that she'd been crying a moment ago seemed to be lost, or perhaps intentionally forgotten, and the girl tipped her head back to look for the sky again. Crying was shameful, but someone witnessing her tears would be absolutely opprobrious. With another great, heavy sigh, bereft with the weight of the world, she peeked back at her mother's friend. "Stars. They was fallin'," she tried to explain, wishing another one might streak across the sky so that the adult would understand. It was only dark, and the girl twisted her lips. "They was fallin'. I wanted to see where they was goin'," the puppy babbled, trying earnestly to explain why she was all the out here.

It wasn't as if she felt remorse for crossing over the borders of Round Stone Crest, per say, but that it was odd to be out at night, chasing the sky. "I thought maybe here. 'cos the singing."

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Her nose was practically touching the girl; sniffing at her in an attempt to determine her status before Marianna herself could answer. Instead the first thing she heard was a sniffle, and Raela's head drew back to get a better look. The child rose slowly, looking sideways at her. Ari was clearly upset. The older woman's ears fell to the sides as she stared back, still listening for some sort of reply to ease her worry. Instead she had to squint to avoid the girl's shaking and what it flung into the air. Thankfully the pup finally decided to offer something of a proper response, but it only assured her of Ari's physical state. She was beyond relieved to hear it, but now there was the obvious concern for her mental health. What was bothering her so much that she was way out here? Raela considered the possibility of a run-away for just a moment before the chubby girl spoke again.  The stars? She wondered, following the child's gaze. It struck her slower than it should have, but she was still reeling from the thought of her Queen's only remaining daughter being injured all alone out here. Was that why she was calling after all? It was a far more benign explanation, but she kept her own ears on point just in case. Still nothing. Ari tried explaining further while the adult scanned the sparse foliage around them. Singing? Now the explanation wasn't sounding so benign. Who on earth was singing to her out here? Her fur bristled at the idea that perhaps Eirian or some other shady character was trying to lure a pup out of the territory with singing, but Ari had been very clear about chasing the stars. She'd have to tell Minka about the singing though.  “So you saw shooting stars?” She inquired placidly; looking upward again. A smile threatened to break onto her face despite the urgent fact that they needed to return home. No danger had been detected yet, and that much was a relief, but Raela had no desire to stick around until it did. “Those stars move much too fast for any wolf to catch them, big or small,” she offered, turning her yellow eyes back to the little girl. “And they vanish without a trace. You'd have a better chance catching a bird out of the sky,” a soft grin pulled at her lips. The subordinate's brows then furrowed with puzzlement all of a sudden. “But what do you mean about 'the singing?'” she asked, tipping her head a bit.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

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

Following Raela’s gaze, the pup nodded. Shooting stars, falling stars, it was all well and the same in her limited experience. Another burst of light zipped across the sky and the princess inhaled sharply, only to have her ears fall flat with a discouraged sigh as it flashed right back out of existence. How badly she wanted to see one up close! Wrinkling her short snout, the chestnut child glanced back over at the adult, her ears in class airplane position. “But I don’t wanna bird,” she tried to explain, expression growing my closed. “I seen those, lots of those. But never seen a star up close. I thought, if they was fallin’…”

But the girl trailed off, knowing it was all in vain. It seemed the subordinate’s explanation was true – as soon as a trail of light appeared, it would vanish again in but a blink of time. Marianna gave a small whine of disappointment, planting her round behind on the ground with a put-upon sigh. She might have been content to wallow in her disappointment had her companion not encouraged conversation, and after a moment, and ear twitched, and the child restored her attention on Raela.

“Yeah! Singing!” she chirped, glancing around the still forest. “One time, when I was ‘venturing, I heard singing an’ my momma told me it was my fa…father?” What a strange word, she thought. She liked ‘da’ much better – Da made so much sense, Da was here whenever she needed him, Da was Gent and @Gent was everything. “She said he was singin’ for me, an’ he was always there if I needs him. But he’s not. No stars, no singing.”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

The little girl's reply was in characteristic fashion; glazing over the woman's point and focusing instead on the semantics. A half-exasperated half-saddened smirk crossed her lips as she looked down at the pup. Ari would probably get the message if she just sat back and waited a moment for it to sink in, and sure enough the child drifted off into thought. Luckily the Crestling's depression seemed to consume her for only a moment before she was spouting off about the mysterious singing. Enraptured at the mention of the youth's father, Raela leaned forward with her ears pricked; nodding gently every few words. Her chest quickly filled with a heaviness that brought her autumn-colored ears down further and further as the realization dawned. If Minka had heard this singing too and labeled it as Tokino... Oh dear... Minka had told them something as beautiful and sentimental as this and here the poor girl was doubting it.  Her expression deflated into something much more solemn as the chubby girl finished. She'd have to be very careful about this. “Mmmm...” she started, glancing away as the words struggled to reach her tongue. There was no way she'd let the innocent child go on being disappointed with such a wonderful idea. Her expression then warmed as a new thought dawned, and she was all too excited to share it with the girl. “You know what? I'll bet instead of singing tonight he decided to show you those beautiful lights in the sky,” Raela motioned upwards with her muzzle as a smile parted her dark lips. “But you can't bring stars down here. Not even he can,” she cooed softly. “But you can watch them,” the woman offered, her voice rising in suggestion. “After all I'm sure they're out tonight just for you.” Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

It was not doubt as much it was true bewilderment. The child had taken Minka at her word, believing the singing to be literal – that it was the wind whistling through the trees that day did not occur to the princess, for she had believed her mother told her at face value. Just as she did not understand the imaginative nature of the alpha’s explanation of the woods, the child did not realize the subordinate was beginning to display sadness, just as she did not recognize the woman’s concern, either. Instead, she only gazed up at the older wolf with only befuddlement, her brows furrowing has her head tipped to one side.

Ears swiveled forward, eager for any account for this conundrum. The smile did little for the child, only brightening as @Raela began to explain the singing was not the only gift her ‘father’ had to offer. It did seems strange to the little girl that she might have a father and a da both, but no one told her she had to give up @Gent or pick between the two, so she opted to leave the notion as it were, instead much more interested in the stars.

“These’re for me?” she murmured, stormy eyes growing wider as her gaze jerked up. While Ari was still a bit disappointed she could not catch the glowing lights, her pulse began to quicken with the idea that her father shook the stars down just for her. (Not for her brothers, not for anyone, just so she could see their splendor.) “Amazin’,” the puppy drawled, stifling a sleepy yawn. “So…so he’s still here, then? These’re he’s woods?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!