Round Stone Crest I am 24601

 Private for Ari. Takes place on 10/5 during the night, after the pack meeting. RE: There is a Full Moon

The meeting had been the last straw for the young silver Lagina boy. Seeing that woman in the place that was rightfully his mother’s, seeing that she had been the one the pack had seemed worthy to stand there flabbergasted him. He found it blatantly disrespectful to her memory, yet he knew why she was there. She had tricked everyone into thinking she was good. Nobody saw behind that mask that Raela put on, didn’t see how she was faking it just for power. It had taken seeing Raela and Gent standing there, side by side and seemingly completely content despite the current situation for Kino to finally realize what had truly happened.

Gent and Raela had killed Minka.

In his mind there was no denying it, everything made sense. Seeing the two together out on his wanderings, close and speaking in hushed tones. They’d been planning, likely since before he’d been born, to overthrow their mother. Maybe they’d even killed Tokino. The wretched woman had weaseled her way up the ranks and lolled them all into a false sense of security, woven the thread so tight that no one suspected a thing. Nobody except for Kino. He saw through it, saw it as if they were waving a banner above their heads. It made him ill, physically made him want to vomit at the realization. The next revelation that he’d had had only made it worse. The realization that the only things holding them back from absolute power were he and his siblings. The heirs to the Crest by blood right, by lineage. Once they were disposed of Gent and Raela could rise up with their own demon brood and completely take over, and no doubt they would make the Lagina children’s death as an accident as well.

He refused to let this happen, refused to let it happen to his sister. Kova and Draven had taken their sides, had chosen their battle and they had chosen to be blind. @Marianna was smart, she would understand. Maybe she’d even seen it herself. All he knew was that they couldn’t stay there anymore, couldn’t stay and wait for their inevitable slaughter. They needed to leave, right then and there. So, he waited until everyone was sound asleep and well into the night to rouse his groggy sibling. He’d nudged her gently, uttering a quiet “shh” to tell her to be quiet before turning and nimbly making his way from the communal den. He stepped out and broke into a trot, heart pounding within his barreled chest in hopes that they wouldn’t be caught. In hopes that his sister would see reason and agree with him. He took them to the borders but didn’t cross them, instead stood just within them. His ghostly figure was illuminated in the bright light of the full moon that was above them, occasionally blotted out by passing clouds. It looked like it might rain soon, and it couldn’t be a more perfect situation.

His attention turned to Ari and he fell into seriousness. ”Ari, we need to leave,” he said bluntly. Even in their like-minded state he knew she would likely need convincing, but he would make her see the reason in his words when she did ask. Knew that, in the end it would go his way if he played his cards right. Those were not wrong to call Kino Lagina conniving, but even still he was not an evil soul.

(This post was last modified: Oct 08, 2015, 04:12 AM by Sahalie.)

While Ari was not terribly obstreperous as a babe, she’d had a mother who loved her, an older brother who kept an eye on his siblings, and a surrogate father who’d taken her in as his own little bear. It was good, life was good – perhaps she didn’t get on with Draven all the time, or had a few misgivings about pack members she saw little of, but largely the adults were willing to play and rarely interested in getting her in trouble. Prior to the tragedy of Minka Leigh, her youngest daughter Marianna Lagina was a happy child with a bright future.

Today, Ari was a much quieter animal, the silent cloud brooding before the storm. She spent as much time away from everyone as she could, put off by the cold treatment most of the other adults seemed to be offering her. @Draven was avoided at all costs – it was obvious that he had become favored among the adults for his wailing at Minka’s last resting place, though the girl had little understanding as to why. The gloomy, chilled atmosphere left the girl wanting to escape from it all, and if she wanted company, it was Kino that she looked to.

As they departed the meeting together, she thought to find them a place to nap – and so they did. Sometime well into her dreams did something nudge into her side, and the tawny pup grumbled and peeled open a grey eye. Without a word, she stumbled after her littermate, yawning widely as she allowed him to lead the way. Once they found a place to stop, Kino rounded on her to drop a bombshell. For a moment, the sleepy Lagina could only blink owlishly, as if she couldn’t quite comprehend what her brother was saying. “…what? Leave? Why…? ‘cos Draven, and the women?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Kino watched her reaction, cool topaz gaze calm and lacking of any joking. He meant it, had thought on it ever since the moment the breath had been knocked from his lungs as he was shoved to the ground by Gent. As he’d fallen, a word had echoed in his mind. Go. He’d forced himself to stay, made himself trek along the very borders of the territory and sometimes beyond longingly. Something out there called him, told him he had more of a purpose than to be trapped within these confines. Within this place where he was no longer cared for, where he was no longer thought of unless it was with spite, or where he was no longer needed. The crownless prince was willing to denounce everything, put everything he’d ever known behind him. In reality, what did he even know anymore? Suddenly, everyone had become a stranger and he was left to float along by himself with his only anchor being Marianna.

Her brows pulled together and his muscles tensed, her still sleepy gaze blinking rapidly under the swaying moonlight that pooled around them. He basked in it, basked in the gloomy glow that had become his home. He was more a creature of the night than a creature of the day. She didn’t seem to be able to comprehend what he had said, and he’d almost prepared himself to repeat it before she burst out. “…what? Leave? Why…? ‘cos Draven, and the women?” she said. He paused, his head tilting to the side as he thought. Draven and Raela…yes they were a part of the equation. But…they weren’t the entire picture. In his mind he saw demons with the faces of their packmates biting at their heels, snarls echoing in the shadows. It was he and Ari on an island, and perhaps that as for the best. “Yes…and no. Why should Draven be getting all the attention? We lost mom too, not just him. And Raela...she’s no good. You can see that, can’t you? She’s pretending, Ari. Her and Gent, they’ve been pretending this whole time. Why else would they replace mom so quick?” he said, his voice soft but with a cutting edge. His gaze was slightly narrowed, the conviction in his words evident. His gaze gentled as he looked at his age-mate, ears pulling back and tail dropping. “We don’t belong here anymore,”

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

Still perplexed by Kino’s sudden decision, the girl plopped her behind on the ground, curling her thick tail around her haunches as she huddled in on herself. The night had taken a chill this time of year, and the child found it rather unpleasant, especially when she could be tucked safely against her brother’s pelt as she dozed. Sleep was the easiest time of the day now, when she didn’t have to think or understand. No one expected anything of her, and there was no one to be compared to – it was only Ari and her dream world, and she found herself wishing for it more and more often.

Idly, she wondered if that’s what Kino meant, but even in her sleep-addled state was able to identify this as a fantasy.

All the same, she tipped her head to one side and cocked her large ears as she listened to her sibling detail his suggestion, explaining why he felt it necessary to leave the only home she’d ever known. Slowly, her expression fell, ears sweeping back by fractions as her shoulders hunched, Marianna falling in on herself as her brow furrowed. She did not want to hear this. “Not Gent,” she argued, shaking her head. “He was there before. He was always there. But her, and Cal – they didn’t do anything.”

Huffing a sigh, the youngest Lagina daughter deflated a bit more, glancing over her brother and back towards the heart of Round Stone Crest. While she might agree they didn’t seem to have a place at all anymore… “Where’d we go? There’s no where to go, Kino…”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Ari seemed to fall in on herself, and the boy couldn’t help but frown. This was no good, no good at all. “Not Gent,” she argued, and his brows rose appalled by the statement. Not Gent’s fault she’d said about the man who had practically thrown her own flesh and blood because he’d been right. It was a thought that offended his to the core, but he couldn’t be angry with her for it. Clearly Gent had brainwashed her as well. Next, she even went on to say that Raela hadn’t done anything. At this he full on blanched. “Didn’t do anything? Gent threw me, Ari, simply because he didn’t like what we had to say. I was trying to defend us, defend mom and he bashed us. Raela too, called us spoiled and horrible. Don’t you remember that?” he said with a frown. He thought, desperate to make her see his way. “You saw Gent and Raela out together before…it happened. I know you had to, I saw ‘em a lot. Always real close together, talking quietly. Didn’t it seem weird to you, when Gent should have been with mom? Made it seem like he liked her a lot, but now…now he’s with Raela. I don’t like it,” he said firmly, a scowl moving onto his face.

The girl asked where they would go, thinking that there was nowhere for them to go. This was a question he could answer easily, for he had thought over it for longer than just these past few horrible weeks. “Where would we go? We could go anywhere, we wouldn’t have to stay in one place. There more than the Timbers, I swear by it. There was more than the Crest, why couldn’t there be more than the Timbers? Don’t tell me you haven’t been curious about it, about what’s beyond this. You’re my sister, you’re like me,” he stated gently, a small wag waving his banner behind his frame. He moved forward and gently pressed his nose to her cheek, “We could do it, Ari. We could go everywhere,” he breathed, hope and confidence mixing toxically in his voice.

“…oh.”

Gent had done that, hadn’t he? It had left her speechless – oh, she didn’t like the teeth that Kino had flashed, but never had it crossed her mind that he needed a headbutt in retaliation. That the man was alpha and that was a show of insubordination meant nothing to her, because before they’d never been subordinates. They were only children, Minka’s children, Gent’s children – apparently it changed on that day that their mother passed from this world to the next, moving on to wherever Tokino sang from.

I wonder if she’ll sing to us, too, Marianna thought, casting her eyes towards the moon before her brother’s voice brought her back down to earth.

“I don’t like Raela,” she commented idly, still not willing to cast judgment on Gent. That he was conspiring with the enemy was enough to make her uncomfortable, but she supposed Kino had a point. At the time, she’d thought the women had something to do with Minka’s passing – perhaps they had? Perhaps they’d planned Raela’s ascent to glory all along?

Such a thought her head and she exhaled, slowly dragging grey eyes back to Kino’s face. While there was no arguing there was a whole world out there (they’d gone out and see part of it for themselves), she wasn’t sure how she felt about setting out and never coming home. She would miss the den, and she would miss the trees where Tokino sang. They would never be able to visit Minka, and—

“What about Kova? Then he’d be all alone. We shouldn’t be like them. Abandoning, and stuff. He came. He stayed with us.”

It was Lagina solidarity, wasn’t it? Kova had sat with them, and stayed with them, when everyone else would cast down ugly glares. The idea of leaving him behind left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she tried to shake it off. “…maybe he’d come?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Conflict seemed to show on Ari’s face, and he felt a faint stirring of triumph within his chest. Slowly she was beginning to see his point of view, beginning to see that he was right in what he’d found. She was beginning to see the light, see the world in the way that he did and it was step in the right direction. “I don’t like Raela,” she murmured, and a small curve worked its way into the corners of his lips. “She isn’t mom…she will never be mom,” he said, pressing his nose into her shoulder.

“What about Kova? Then he’d be all alone. We shouldn’t be like them. Abandoning, and stuff. He came. He stayed with us.” Marianna said, and he paused. Pulling back it was his turn to look conflicted. Kova hadn’t necessarily done anything to them, though he hadn’t done anything for them either. Kova was compliant, perhaps a quiet defiant but never a strong enough personality to stand up for what was right. Still, faint memories of playing with the older boy when he was younger popped up in his head. He’d been perhaps the only real male presence in the boy’s price, and while he wasn’t overly attached to him anymore he still thought that perhaps…perhaps Kova could, in fact, join them. “Why don’t we ask him, then?” he said with a grin. Tilting his head back her called for @Kova , asked for him to join his siblings and change their fate for the better.

(This post was last modified: Oct 26, 2015, 12:15 AM by Kino.)

Kova was once again sitting at the foot of the mountain fishing at the creek. Only this time he stayed away from the muddy section in order to keep himself safe and clean. The water had dried up mostly leaving only a few small remnants of the creek left. Certain deeper pools still held plenty of fish for the youth to prey on since they could no longer escape him. A particularly long pike fell victim to his jaws just before the howl reached Kova's ears. He dragged the fish onto land taking note of where Kino was howling from, then he ended the creatures life swiftly with a strong bite to the beasts slimy head. Kova then left the long fish next to a small pile of mostly eaten warm and cold water fish by the creek. His body turns angling itself towards the call of his younger brother as he launches himself forwards. Kino hadn't been around for a while, and Kova couldn't blame him. When he was younger he probably would have acted the same way Kino had to Gent over their mothers death and Draven's actions. In fact, he was positive he would have reacted that way, and if Gent had headbutted him as harshly as he had done to Kino he probably would have outright left the pack. Especially since his sister wasn't around anymore. Kova knew of other places to go, and he had known life as a loner for a short time after being lost in the winter storms last year. He was confident that he could last long enough to at least find another place to stay.

The only thing that tied him to this place now was his parents burial grounds and the meeting he had had with Gent and Raela alone. The young wolf had thought long and hard about this meeting, as well as his urge to up and leave the land that had claimed so many of his family already. He now had made up his mind and wanted to at least try to fight his way up the ranks. If he failed then the male would have no regrets seeing as though he had given it his best.

All these thoughts and more whispered through the back of his mind as Kova kept and eye on where he was going. Eventually the scents of both Marianna and Kino came into his nose. Soon after that he spots their bodies close together in the distance. Not knowing what the two pups had planned Kova could only greet them with a smile and a wag of his tail as he approached. It wasn't until he slowed to a stop before the pair that Kova caught whiff of Kino's serious stature and mood. His tail stopped wagging and Kova offered his brother and sister a more serious and solemn greeting attempting to lick their cheeks and the bridges of their noses. Then he finally spoke up in a breathless voice. “What's wrong other than everyone being stupid around here?”He gestured to the territory behind him meaning to encompass all of the wolves of the crest with his comment then looked over Ari and Kino with a concerned face.

(This post was last modified: Nov 02, 2015, 05:06 AM by Kova.)

“No,” Marianna agreed, “she’ll never be Mom. Only Mom could ever be Mom.” No matter how obvious it seemed, the girl felt it needed to be said as she tipped her chin upwards, scanning across the dark sky. Minka had once told her that her father sang to her, and Raela had told her that Tokino had spoken to her through stars, as well. She found herself wondering if those words were true – and if they were, did that mean the deceased alpha would, or could, do the same?

Kino’s suggestion was enough to draw her attention back to the present. She was about to make a smart remark when he tipped his head back to call their older brother. The girl cringed, ears flopping back when the cry made their position obvious. Anyone could hear that howl. She could only hope that no one else would try to find them – and thankfully, the powers that be seemed to answer that wish.

Shortly after the call echoed into nothingness, the eldest Lagina appeared with his dark blue eyes and that newfound serious demeanor. The female tipped her muzzle up at the greeting, tongue flicking out across the bottom of Kova’s jaw in a friendly response. No matter what had happened amidst their pack members, this silver prince had been nothing but good to her. “Just being stupid,” she answered, glancing over at Kino. “Kino thinks we should leave,” the girl announced, seeing no need for secrecy. “I dunno, though. I didn’t want to leave you…”

 

A wild dissertation appears!