Sacred Grove come drag me down

I had a dream I was dying

October 22; Just before sunrise; Moderate snow; 36 ° F, 2 ° C

It was the first snowfall of the season and Skoll, having been up all night, wandered in anticipation for the sunrise. Oh, to think of what colors would show if the sun shone through the gray storm clouds. He imagined it to be some sort of magical moment with hues of pink, orange, yellow, and blue rendering the snowflakes into some kind of rainbow of their own. It was probably a bit imaginative and fanciful, but according to the prince of Willow Ridge, it was only expected. This sort of thing only came during this time of year and, he had to admit, there was always something wonderful about watching everything he had ever known within spring and summer become blanketed in white.

At first he had thought to go to Fireweed Rise to watch it all from there out in the open, but thought against it. Staying home within the willows only invited his younger siblings to spoil this special moment as the frost accumulated on the ground and he simply could not have any of that (watching Isolde, Ravenna, and Niles frolic in the snow for the first time was something meant for their parents to witness and for their older half-brother to not spoil)

He spun about in a circle before deciding to head north in the night, wondering if the stillness of Sacred Grove would grant him the escapade he was searching for. Hours before sun-up, he found himself in the company of the strange trees after crossing the frigid current of the Swift River. The rhythm in his step slowed and, several times over, he backtracked to keep close to home. The last time he had been here, he and Titan taunted Angier just for fun; and, though not much had changed, Sköll merely wanted to be sure that he would not find himself lost, leaving his sister to worry about him back within the Ridge.

Along a crooked path that wound through the rough-barked trees, he walked until he thought he had wandered enough. Unlike the willows, these earthen sentinels were tall and, perhaps, a little older, judging by the width of their trunks. Their branches stuck out in all directions and the brisk wind that occasionally whipped through the Heart of Relic Lore did little to nothing to stir the snowflakes here. They simply fell down from the heavens, falling and piling up where they landed as the dark prince stood still to stare up into the limitless void of gray above.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Since meeting @Morganna, the young loner had decided to continue her trek southward. It was expedient, by any means, nor was it terribly efficient, but Isuni figured there was plenty left for her to see in the forests of Relic Lore, even if there was finally a destination in her mind. Winter was coming, after all, and it wouldn’t be unwise to consider finding a more permeant home while the winds blew and the snow blanketed the earth and all that grew there. Her footfalls were brisk, and meandering lines were straightened, but even then, it seemed the change in weather would beat the redhead to Willow Ridge and her wolves.

The snow was nothing knew, having been born to an Alaskan mountain, but the frosty flakes still brought a smile to the young woman’s face all the same. Her step grew higher, and soon a purposeful lope became an excited bounding, moving her bulk with more speed or grace than usual for the creature. When she did slow, it was only because the chilly air had stolen her breath, leaving sore lungs and her tongue lolling from her mouth as she slowed, breaking her gait to a lazy walk. It was only then she noticed the crooked path the trees have formed, the bow of their branches forming a cathedral as she walked. It was breath taking, she thought with a wild grin, neck outstretched as she stared upwards at the dark sky, watching as the snow fell like tiny faeries, coating her face, and her whiskers.

Had she been looking, she might have noticed the shadow lurking in the pre-dawn hours. Instead, she all but stepped on him, startling only at the last minute when something became visible in her peripheral vision. The blossom spooked sideways, tail flying up as did her hackles in a defensive reflex, sienna eyes wide as she realized it was a large male staring back at her.

“Sorry,” she ventured cautiously, hoping he wasn’t in the mood for revenge. “Wasn’t watching where I was. Didn’t mean to bother, uh…?”

A wild dissertation appears!

I had a dream I was dying

Once, he watched a snowflake land at the tip of his nose, remaining there in all its minuscule glory (with six pointy tips spread out from its web-like center) until it melted into a small droplet that was easily shaken off. Several of them landed on the bridge of his muzzle but a sweep of his right forelimb across it whisked them all away. Now, if he hadn't done this, he might have actually realized he had been discovered before the woman had even come into his midst. As it were, with his chill-bitten nostrils, he had failed to noticed the stranger until she practically ran into him.

Out of instinct alone, he jerked away from her, his paws shuffling through the damp forest debris that had accumulated from seasons past. A wide-eyed stare regarded her but the look on his face was merely emotionless aside from shock. If it weren't for her lofty tail and the lifting of her hackles, he might have backed away to allow her some space. Instead, he saw it as a challenge and he cautiously lowered his head and turned his ears forward. A growl did not sound from him though but he did flash his teeth in warning when she uttered an apologetic, "Sorry."

She went on to tell him that she hadn't been looking where she had been going and that she didn't mean to bother him. His devilish ears relaxed and his tail lowered slightly, no longer stemming from the base of his spine in a straight line. His nose twitched as he regarded her, his body language opting to relax bit by bit.

"I probably shouldn't have been standing about," he offered in kind. It wasn't really an apology but he hoped that it did convey that he was also in the wrong. Perhaps it would be enough to keep the ground beneath them neutral. "Not a bother at all," he added. "I was just... resting. Hadn't expect the snow to come this early in the year; most the trees at home still have half of their leaves left." His stance shifted as he relocated his weight from his left to right. "Is this your place? I didn't mean to trespass. I'm just wandering through. Couldn't sleep." Okay, that was a lie, but he threw her one more tidbit to mull over in regards to the gnarled roots and the low overhanging branches that made up the Grove, "I wasn't aware this place was somewhere easy to navigate to. All other times I've been here have been lonely."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

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

“S’okay,” the woman hummed, eagerly accepting the meagre explanation in place of any anticipated violence. Large ears rotated forward, and smoky hackles settling back onto her fiery pelt as she realized the male wasn’t going to launch into an immediate assault. This did not guarantee her safety while in his presence, but her tail slowly fell to half-mast as well – as long as the stranger threw no threats, she’d not, either. In fact, was straight out behind her, the loner displayed a friendly wag instead, her bushy tail swaying back and forth through the snow as she tipped her head.

“Hadn’t expected a snow, either. Was thinking I might try to find myself somewhere to live, before the winter came. But here it is.” Capable shrugged her shoulders as she glanced up, narrowing her earthen eyes as she peered up at the grey sky. The cold, eastern winds had come in, signaling the end of the life in the forest until the warm spring rains returned once more. As the swarthy male shifted his weight, she did not move, but allowed him her attention once more. He was too large, too healthy to be underestimated – here was a wolf that could truly harm her, if he put his mind to it. (And she got complacent.)

At his question, she shook her head, a smile upturning her mouth. “Not my place. I was watching the snow – not looking, and, well, you know the rest,” she hummed, raising a brow. She’d all but stepped on his tail in her carelessness. “Maybe I couldn’t find it if I tried. This weather keeps up, though, and I’m gonna have to find somewhere dry. Was hoping to be further south by now.” A raised brow, and she studied him more closely. “Why couldn’t you sleep? Not a cougar, I hope.”

A wild dissertation appears!

I had a dream I was dying

She seemed to settle down; the least the Archer could do was be cautious, he had already made it clear that he wouldn't outright attack her for something that was, maybe, an accident. His eyes never left her as she looked up into the stretch of gray clouds. She was about his age, give or take, he determined, but what got him the most about her was her impressive size. If they stood shoulder to shoulder, they probably would have seen eye to eye. He wondered how much of a challenge it would be if he invited her to a scuffle, if she could easily overpower him with her own set of willowy limbs. A coy smile took over his muzzle, just imagining a blur of red and black with bits of white and tan flashing in-between their sudden movements. If Skoll had ever seen an actual wildfire, he might have likened it to the sight of it. Dangerous, but exciting... something that got the adrenaline running through one's veins.

Upon hearing that the place was not hers to keep, he politely nodded. The arch of her brow piqued his interest, just like the way @Piety bashfully smiled at him or the way @Hecate just stared right back at him. She commented that she probably couldn't have found her way back to this very spot if she tried and, already, Skoll's mind was at work. "No," he answered her question. "No cougar... I don't think they really come down from the mountains all that often anymore. Rather, I think I've just taken a liking to the company of the stars."

"I know of a decent place down south. Willow Ridge," he then offered, returning back to her previous tangent. "Isn't far from here, just over the river beyond these trees. If you've some miles left in your legs, I'm willing to walk with you there."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

“Mhm.”

Stars weren’t so bad, she supposed, if you didn’t mind the silence. While a blanketing, suffocating lull was no longer a stranger to the young loner, breaking the pattern every once in a while with someone who might speak back was a welcome change. A risk, certainly, but the constant rise and fall of the sun got terribly flat, and sparing a word for the world around you got folks to thinking you were a bit out of your gourd. Besides, what was an adventure without a bit of danger, anyways? It was good for the soul, provided you kept your wits about you – the other wolves couldn’t hurt you if you didn’t get too close, if you were bigger, if you were smarter.

How many of these boxes she had ticked, Isuni wasn’t entirely sure, but her ears piqued forward at the mention of no cougar. Her grin had turned twisted, something amused and something irritated. “Good to know,” she drawled. “Found a man on the highlands who’d found one – so he said.” While Craw had clearly been brutalized, she was starting to wonder if the white wolf was a liar. Whatever had harmed him, though, she supposed he did need the protection, regardless of whether there was actually a predator prowling, or perhaps an offended wolf somewhere.

Her tail gave another slow, gentle wag, studying the stranger’s face. “Plenty of miles left in me. And miles to go before I sleep,” Isuni laughed, eyes narrowed just a fraction as she swung her head. With questions like that, he’d give a girl a complex! “Willow Ridge, huh. What’s your name, Shadow?”

A wild dissertation appears!

I had a dream I was dying

Her comment about the man who had found a cougar should have been brushed off but all it did was remind him of Guiness, especially with the sight of her eye-striking red fur. He would never forget that act of heroism the Guardian had taken upon himself; if it weren't for the old man, Sköll's younger brothers might have been done for. His thoughts stalled, everything fading out until he realized just how quiet it had become in his mind. All too soon, the dark prince suddenly acknowledged his want and need to bring this vividly colored vixen home.

She looked into his face and he had to figuratively pull himself from the innermost corners of his skull. Then, she laughed. Sköll was prompted to smile, especially after she asked for his name. "Shadow" might have been a suitable nickname for him, but having a moniker wasn't particularly his style, plus, his brother Greer was more of a shade than he was. The younger Lyall deserved the 'title' more than he did. The Archer was all gloom and words, but the Lyall was defined even more with silence and creeping about in all the darkest places.

He could have very well held out his hand in order clasp hers and give a soft kiss upon the fingers that wore gem-adorned rings of precious metal. "Sköll Archer, miss," he introduced himself. "Willow Ridge belongs to my family... and, perhaps, one day it might be mine." Typically, he used this kind of line to ensnare and bedazzle a possible companion, but today he actually tried to deliver it without too much hubris. He merely wanted to let her know that he was someone important.

"And, what might I call a lovely wildflower like you?" he simpered. "A rose is a rose after all, perhaps, but someone like you must have a very beautiful name..."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

The smile was mirrored, the woman trusting easily in the benevolent display. A pretty smile and a handsome face could go a long way, and in moments like these, the loner had trouble remembering why she tended to keep her distance from strangers, especially those of the opposite sex. Without her consent, her tail gave another wag – were her hand to be kissed, the gentleman would not have found slender fingers adorned with jewels and precious metals, but calloused digits and bruised knuckles – all the same, it would have earned him a pleased blush. While male attention was not new to her, she was often to center of ire among her pack, not such lavish compliments. It through the redhead off, though she tried to swallow the grin back down.

He’d asked for something, hadn’t he?

“My name is Capable. Just…Capable,” she hummed, tail swirling a bit in the breeze. For once, she had a moment of regret she’d dropped her true name – Isuni Rahal sounded much more noble, beautiful, interesting than Just Capable.

All the same, the thought caught the corner of her mouth and lifted it by fractions. What was a rose without its thorns? Beauty was fleeting, but wits were everlasting. And speaking of those wits, that steel trap had caught something interesting, something to be addressed before they left this private little grove constructed of snow and ice. “Sköll Archer, you said? Very strong name, for a handsome man – perchance related to one Morganna, then? Met her, further north.”

A wild dissertation appears!

I had a dream I was dying

Her name was Capable. Upon first impression, he might have thought that she would have continued. He name was capable of what? But, then, it quickly dawned on him, with her additional clarification that her name was just "Capable." This, on its own, made the royal grin even more. He could easily appreciate the beauty of her name (even for how simple it was). Compared to his siblings, he was a walking thesaurus and the fact that her name was a synonym to the likes of competent, efficient, and able struck a chord.

Now, if only he could do the same for and to her...

"Sköll Archer, you said?" she questioned. He gave her a sanguine nod of his head. "Very strong name, for a handsome man--" His smile turned into one that seemed more humble. As if he were shy, he idly picked at the ground with his right paw before placing it back down on the ground. Then, @Morganna's name came to his ears and he blinked as though he had been stunned. She practically pulled the rug out from underneath him on that one.

Immediately, he wondered just what Morganna was doing if she had been traversing the wilderness north of home. First it was that Guardian, then there was that other guy that he had yet to meet... the one Angier marked as one of their own some couple of days ago. Now, here was Capable, another one of his sister's acquaintances. Maybe it only made sense that the reason she was headed south was because she was on Morganna's trail.

"Ah," he sounded, trying not to let on too much that he had been surprised. "Yes, that would be my sister. She's been out a lot lately..." To this, he openly frowned, even as he slowly turned about and invited her to start walking southward with him to where the Swift River had split the Heart of Relic Lore from the reaches of Southern Eden. "I hope she didn't give you too much trouble?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away