Secret Falls the flood

DIS IS ALL WELCOME PLS JOIN <3

The little smudge had snuck away from the den – it was time he saw more than the fallen timbers that made up their comfortable abode. In order to make sure he did not get lost, the boy marked up a few tree trunks with his claws – low enough that he would notice instantly, and those who were much taller would have to take more time to find. Rather pleased with himself, little R pranced away from his home in search of something -- anything -- that would capture his little attention span.

It did not take long. As he plunged deeper into the trees, an unfamiliar sound had captivated him. Perplexed, and driven by curiosity, the boy’s pace increased as he closed the distance between himself and the strange sound. Despite his leisurely walk turning into a brisk jog, Arion made sure that he left some sort of trail behind so he could find his way back to the den. If it was successful, it meant that he could share it with his playmates. But, for now, it was a secret and he didn’t want to share with anyone…

It did not take long for the boy to come across what was generating the strange sound. It grew louder as he approached, his over-sized paws treading carefully as the ground grew damp from the spray of water. The creeks that weaved through their territory seemed to originate from the falling water before him… how weird. Transfixed by the strange sight before him, the boy made sure that he steered clear of the body of water at the base of the falls. Unfamiliar with the idea of swimming, Arion was not keen on starting today – especially in water that moved so quickly. There was still so much he had to experience; drowning was not something R wanted to partake in. Remaining where he was, the boy flopped against the ground as he observed the strange sight before him. He understood that the falling water fed into the creeks, but where did it come from? What was at the top of the falls? With a confused expression distorting his features, the boy’s soft-blue gaze remained transfixed on the sight before him.

(This post was last modified: Sep 18, 2015, 05:32 AM by Arion. Edit Reason: all welcome :( )

I know I'm jumping into this kind of late for your Oct 23 deadline, but I have a weeks worth of vacation coming in a few days so I should be able to do a slow-mo spree to finish them. <3

It was entirely by accident that she even noticed the scratch marks. Her mother was calling. An idle note on the air, but Bracken knew what it meant. She wanted to teach them something. A shiver had run down the girl's spine -the thought of being discovered and contained, enough to send her scurrying for the shadows of the broken that littered her home. Keeping to the shadows, she traveled in search of anything that wasn't a lesson.

Her gaze landed on the first mark with surprise, wide ears swiveling as her mother continued to call in the distance. Bracken leapt from that red-cedar shadow to the next, and then to the one after that. She looked up, panting from the wild dash, to see yet another scratch mark. Oh?  Wide ears perked, then fell over. The mark was the perfect height for her and the girl pressed her face in close. The pinpoint of developing orange in her iris was mere inches from the marks Arion had left. Her brow furrowed in puzzlement and she glanced around, as if someone might be watching her now. She took an experimental sniff and yipped with familiarity. One part of her puzzlement was solved, at least.

It was easy to follow Arion, or rather the marks he had left. She trotted along, perfectly happy and perfectly unaware she was learning the sorts of tracking lessons Iopah wanted to teach her. Soon the ground grew wet, but it made the boy all the easier to track Soon he was in sight. She watched him for a moment, making sure he didn't have something she could wrestle away, then followed his gaze. "'Rion?" Perhaps he was looking for the same creature that she and Nalda had found. "What're you lookin' for?"

@Bracken a spree works for me! :) going to play this out after Inkheart's disappearance if that's okay with you? <3

Transfixed by the strange sight before him R was completely oblivious to his surroundings—which was potentially dangerous, considering he didn’t know which wolves were good and which were not. He had never seen something so… powerful, so different… there was nothing like the rushing water back in the Pines. Had his mother seen this wondrous place before? Had his father? The thought caused a heavy lump to form in his throat as his forepaws fidgeted uncomfortably beneath him. His father was gone—temporarily or permanently, he did not know… all he knew was that he wanted his family to be whole again. It was evident that his mother was upset about the sudden departure, but she also seemed… angry; betrayed. Something was off… had his father done this before?

The ebony child gave his head a quick shake; he did not want to think about his father’s absence. He needed to be there for his mother and not wallowing in his own self-pity. He was all that his mother had left (aside from the pack, of course) and he couldn’t allow himself to pine after his missing father.

It was the familiar scent that first alerted Arion that he was no longer alone, followed by the rustling of foliage behind him. She called out to him, asking him about what it was he was looking at: “B!” He greeted quickly with a short wave of his tail, his slender maw turning to her. “Not lookin’ for anythin’, just lookin’… You ever been this far before?” He asked curiously, his head cocked slightly as he observed the tawny girl. Then realization settled in— “Did my marks work?! Did you follow ‘em?!” If his scratch marks had guided the princess to the falls that meant returning back to the Pines would not be difficult. Maybe if I made more father would find his way home… No, Inkheart was much older than the two children—he was not lost. He had either been chased out, or left on his own accord… and he would return the same way (if he did).

it's perfect for me! Bracken needs to have some adultish, serious situations thrown at her!

She picked along the water's edge. Her care was not in avoiding the muck and mess, but rather finding anything that might be deemed interesting. Arion had been around for as long as she could remember and was just as familiar as her own parents and sister. It was hard to tell what she classified him as -such details were far more interesting to her sister. There was just an easy familiarity when it came to the Celencio boy. When he called out, her tail gave an easy sway as the girl continued to look for any interesting creatures as she approached.

"Once," she answered, plopping her butt down to stare into the water, "with Nalda. We found some creature, it was slow and boring." The Falls were empty today however and Bracken could feel her attention start to wane. She looked side-long at Arion. It seemed strange for him to just be sitting here and not looking for anything. Perhaps this was like when her mother answered a question and left that sense that there was something else. Bracken was getting the sense that there were many things her parents and the other adults didn't want them to know.

She was chewing on her lip -trying to decide what to do with that thought- when Arion tossed her another question. It was a far less troubling topic and she lit on it eagerly. "They did!" Her head tilted in curiosity, "Were they for me?!" Perhaps she had been right and it was part of some game! That would be wonderful as long as...

"Mother was looking for me. You don't think the adults can figure it out?" She didn't want to be the one to lead her mother right to them!

While observing the tawny female Arion’s curiosity spiked and he sluggishly pulled himself from the ground. He had come here to explore and was just sitting there—seemed rather pointless. As the girl responded to her question he approached her slowly, his denim blue’s focused on the pool of water before them. She mentioned that her and Nalda had encountered some sort of creature, which she described as boring. His lips straightened out as he pondered the thought—what kind of creature had they encountered? R subconsciously wished that it would suddenly appear, but he was also glad that it remained hidden. If Bracken thought of it as boring than he didn’t doubt her—perhaps he would encounter it another time.

His tail thumped enthusiastically when she answered his question, announcing that the marks had been successful in leading her here. Nodding quickly in response to her follow-up question Arion had realized that part of the reason why he had made the marks was in hopes that someone would join him. He was glad that it had been Bracken—both she and Ember were like sisters to the only child, as he had known them since, well, forever. While he was not preferable to either sister, it seemed that the tawny Reiner was more frequent in his adventures. Her sister was a little more subdued than her, but still a viable playmate.

“I don’t think they’ll figure it out. I tried to make ‘em low enough that only we could see them,” he responded quickly, almost matter-of-factly. They wouldn’t be gone long anyway—just long enough for their parents to miss them, but not long enough for them to worry. They were still close enough that, if needed, they could return home swiftly. Returning his focus to the water before them, Arion slapped his paw against the surface to test its temperature. He remained cautious; R was unsure how to feel about the substance. Although it gave life, it could also take it away—Mother had made that very clear to him. “Was the creature you saw in the water?” He asked as his previous curiosity returned, his denim blues searching frantically for something lurking beneath the water.

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

It sounded logical to her -and in any event there was nothing either pup could do about it now anyways. Bracken kept her attention on the water and the boy, no longer bothered by whoever else might figure it out. Sometimes the reprimand was worth the adventure. She watched him strike the water and as the ripples spread her eyes followed them. Every quiet movement and silent shadow was suspect.

"Yes," she answered quickly, too distracted with expecting the creature to reappear to take time with her words. That water had been much slower than this, the only movement was the water itself. Finally she gave up the hope and slumped back with a sigh. "Sort of," she elaborated. "It was on a rock in the water."

Bracken looked around her and lifted a nose to the air. There was no rock in this churn of water -and she wasn't sure if the creature could even swim against a current- and there was no trace of that fishy mud-scent from the turtle. But there was something moving. Twisted around to look behind her, Bracken froze and stared into the grass. The young rabbits froze at the moment, but the young wolf was already trained on their location. Slowly she rose to her feet and made to poke her muzzle into Arion's side. "What is that?"

He was fascinated by the water, but he made sure he kept his distance. Swimming was still something he was learning to master and as much as he trusted Bracken, he did not know if she was capable of saving him if need be. His ear flicked toward her as she spoke once more, confirming the location of the weird creature she had encountered before. R was a little disappointed the strange thing failed to make an appearance today, but something else had captured their attention.

Just as Bracken’s head turned the strange scent had reached the little shadow, stealing him away from the transparent liquid. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the new discovery, his denim blues widening as he sought out whatever held Bracken’s attention. Remaining where he was, the smudge followed the tawny princess’ gaze with his own to the spot in the grass. Something was there—something was moving. His curiosity instantly intensified as the girl slowly unfolded her legs, her stubby muzzle poking her side as she questioned him on what these new creatures were. Through squinted eyes, he did his best to make out the long-eared specimens… it was something his mother had mentioned before, but the name escaped him. “They hop, I know that. Can’t ‘member what they’re called. Hoppy-somethin’s. They food, though. Tha’s what ma said.” Food. Arion had barely attempted ‘hunting’ but he was sure the two of them could figure it out. It couldn’t be that hard—right?

Her ears went sideways to listen, but that was the only part of her attention to deviate. While the noise might have stopped, she could now see a trembling pile of gray-brown fur. She frowned, scowling mightily at the little rabbit family, at Arion's information. Bracken had been told the name as well, a detail that seemed downright dull when faced with a nest of living, breathing rabbits.

"They food, though."

That was a crucial piece of information and she gave pause, tail flicking anxiously. She had been told that her mother was a huntress and that it was a very important job. A very important job that Bracken didn't know any thing about, and yet here she was trying anyways. For a split second she wished for one of the adults and started to turn to Arion. "Should we—" Fast movement made her head spin round in time to see the mother rabbit abandon her nest.

Bracken tore after it, skidding in the damp earth and ripping grass up by the roots in her haste. She wanted it, it was running, and she wanted it! The chase seemed doomed from the start -the rabbit knew what she was doing and where she was going, while Bracken was just reacting to her instincts. It disappeared into the forest and Bracken came to a breathless stop. "'Rion?" She turned around, wondering where her partner-in-crime had ended up. There was a clear path of damage that lead to the abandoned rabbit nest, and to home, but she didn't want to leave without him.

As much as Arion wanted to chase after them, he knew nothing about hunting and the proper etiquette. He was just starting to reach the age where he would be allowed to observe (and possibly participate) in a pack hunt. The smudge wasn’t so sure hunting was his thing; he didn’t really have a thing. He just wanted to be good at everything, not just one thing. Whether that was possible or not, he did not know—but he was sure he would find out eventually.

His focus returned to the tawny fluff as she began speaking, only to be cut off in a flurry of movement as she chased after a rabbit. It seemed as though her instincts had kicked in, causing Arion to react the same. Without warning, his legs spun out from beneath him and propelled him forward in the direction of the rabbit and his nimble friend. Perhaps they would be able to catch it together?!

However, his friend had gotten a bit of a head start on him. She had quickly disappeared from sight, the foliage devouring her small body as she streaked after the hoppy creature in hopes of noms. His stumpy legs chased after her in hopes that he would catch up quickly; she was going the opposite way of his scratch marks and he didn’t want her to get lost. “Rion?” Her voice called out from the trees, his silky denim blues seeking out her light figure as his movements slowed to as he redirected his route. Within moments he had caught up to her, his tongue hanging happily from the side of his mouth and his tail wagging frantically behind him. “You almost had ‘em!” He chirped enthusiastically as he booped her nose with his own while his eyes danced around in hopes of catching a glimpse of the rabbit once more. “Maybe we go back ‘n tell ‘em about the hoppies? Maybe one of our ma’s will show us how to hunt ‘em properly,” he added with a soft shrug as he motioned to the direction that they had come from. “Le’s find the scratch marks.” With a final swish of his tail, little R did a one-eighty and headed back through the destruction the two of them had created. He worried that if they lingered outside the borders for two long they would get scolded once they returned… and R despised scoldings.