Silent Moon Plateau There is a life about to start

ooc: @Zane @Phineas @Vitani not sure of the exact date on this. Cade?

---

The trip had taken a little longer than Zeta had anticipated, but considering that she and her brother had both reached the mountain in one piece and in relatively decent health, she decided that was nothing she should concern herself with at all. The important thing was that they had found somewhere the Erebos' scent lingered, and it was fresh, which meant their father was right here with this new pack that they had discovered. Not willing to let her brother go on ahead to scout without her a second time - because what if one of the wolves he encountered was Erebos, and Zane got to meet him before Zeta? - the girl barrelled ahead, trotting right up to the pack's borders before looking back at her brother with an excited grin.

"I think he's here, Zane," she said, her tail beginning to wag hopefully. "Can you smell him? He must be here with this pack. We found him, and now we can stop and bed down with somebody, too, just like you've been wanting to," she added, unable to resist the quick jab. It was good-natured, and she was in too good a mood to be irritated anymore at how many times Zane had suggested they give this or that area a look in case there was a pack nearby. They had found exactly the man they had set out to find, so all was forgiven.

The only barricade to their progress now was the border itself. Even Zeta wasn't keen on hopping across and trespassing on some strange pack's territory, not as hungry and tired as she was under her excitement. She desperately wanted to, but if Zane didn't talk her ears off for it, one of the other pack wolves here might find her and give her a good, sound thwacking. Although clearly agitated as she fought down the urge to sprint forward and howl for Erebos, she instead looked to Zane again and asked, "D'you think we should howl for the Alphas?"

the rabbit

Adopt my twin!

@Vitani
Dated 10/26 - set the day after this thread.

He had picked up on it just as swiftly as she had, the scent as familiar as though recognition of it had been coded into his DNA (and perhaps it had) despite how he had tried to forget it. The smell of it made his lips curl and his snout wrinkle with distaste, but as Zeta turned to face him, face alit with such unbridled joy, he was forced to hide such emotions. The silver mask adorning his dial turned into that of solemnity as he followed her quick pace, allowing her to track their father to the borders of yet another mountain pack without a word of interruption.

'I think he's here, Zane,' she told him, and he frowned at the use of his real name. Now, more than ever, he yearned to cling to the childish barricades they had erected of secrecy and code names, the only semblance of safety the boy had in the face of what was to come. He hadn't wanted it to come to this, had only wanted Zeta to be happy, but knew truly that his buried wish had been for her to find something else, anything else to fixate on so that they could leave the man who had abandoned them behind. She went on to suggest that they could live here, and it took conscious effort for the youth to keep the hair along his spine flat. He did not want to call this place home, not if Erebos was here. He wanted to get their answer and then return to their true pack, to their mother @Delia and leave the bastard here to rot. Surely, there was nothing he could say that would want Zane to stay, and he was torn between wanting the man to be the monster he'd invented him to be and wanting Zeta to find her peace.

Don't be selfish, Zane, he scolded himself internally, forcing himself to at least not grimace in front of his sister, even if he couldn't quite pull off a smile just yet.

"Yeah. We should ask them first, rabbit," he agreed, before throwing back his head and calling out to whoever it was that claimed this land as their own, and Erebos as an ally.

Thinks seemed to be a rocking boat at the Silent Moon Plateau and for once in her not-so-long life the pale viper woman wished for a steady pace. The Lieris woman wanted to be content with things. Winter heavily approaching them and she wished for situations to stop approaching with it.

When she found herself not trailing after Erebos or looking after @Wren and @Maeve the woman stalked the borders. Taking care of the lands she could call her own by now. Rounding borders and making sure everyone was, well, alive. Of course today something had to throw excitment her way. A call sounding out for those who claimed this land and Erebos as an ally. Tension took place in her body and swiftly she made it to the scene. Tail taking place slightly above her and head held high. Her eyes landing upon two lone wolves (whom she considered to be of rather beautiful looks). One female and one male. Offering a nod to both of them with teal eyes casting a careful glance. "Hello there, what brings you to the borders of Silent Moon Plateau?" Pausing she took in a deep breath. "And for calling someone who claims Erebos as an ally." Erebos was certainly a close friend whom she cared about. So why had these two came seeking him?

Ears pricked and eyes trained hard on the lands beyond the invisible barricade before them, it was all Zeta could do to keep herself rooted firmly at her brother's side and wait for someone to answer his howl. Once or twice she even contemplated asking Zane to hold her down before she went racing into the territory - but she stopped short of it, and somehow she managed to keep herself from doing much more than dancing impatiently about.

She stilled when she saw the white woman approach, her body lowering halfway into a seated position as she stared at the newcomer. The way she spoke and held herself made even the rabbit calm down somewhat, the signals of authority plain as day. The moment the woman quieted, the Argyris girl leaned forward, forgetting not to make eye contact in her rush to speak up. "Erebos is our father," she told the woman. "My name is Zeta Argyris, and this is my brother, Zane. We've been looking for him for a while, and we... we were wondering if he might be here."

She looked to Zane for support, hoping if she didn't convince the woman to - to at least let Erebos come here to the border and talk to them, if he really was here. He had to be here. He just had to be.

the rabbit

Adopt my twin!

He tried to cling those moments, the ones that existed between his howl and the arrival of the silver-ticked woman who would finalize the end of their search. Those moments that it was still just him and Zeta, alone together. He watched the horizon just as intently as she did, but with apprehension in the place of excitement, and as @Vitani at last crested the horizon to meet them, his tail lashed behind him out of misdirected anger. It was building, the closer they got to their father, a wrath he hadn't known existed inside of him, but it had yet to become unwieldy. When finally she stood before them, authoritative and demanding of answers, he acted appropriately, signaling submission through his lowered posture as he leaned into his sister. A step forward was taken under direction of his protective personality, ever so subtly placing himself to be before Zeta, just in case.

Then Zeta said it out loud to this stranger, this other mind, tearing away the last of his defenses against what was to come. No childish codenames, no secrets and misguidance, no whisperings of the second language their mother had shared with them. Everything was out in the open, vulnerable, and he could no longer hide; Zane could no longer deny.

His eyes blazed up at the queen, the only piece of him that defied deference. As much as he abhorred this reality and the idea of being reunited with Erebos, he would be damned if this woman stood in the way of his sister's happiness.

(This post was last modified: Oct 30, 2015, 06:02 AM by Zane.)

"Erebos is our father."

Impossible she would've told herself had the grey girl not addressed the two as Zeta and Zane Argyris. Now her skin was on fire. There had been valuable things kept secret and countless moments among Erebos and Vitani but never once had children been a topic of discussion. The woman Zeta seemed to show more colors of Erebos now that she thought about it. Yet the male Zane seemed to hold those eyes that Erebos held. Part of her wished to be able to turn them away, to deny the fact of Erebos perhaps having a lover somewhere. But they hadn't done anything wrong and the Lieris had no reason to dismiss them except for her own selfish reasons. "He is here, healthy and alive." Vitani said, some sort of discomfort shown in her face but she didn't let her posture of power be dimmed down. "I can get him but I first need to ask something...do you plan on leaving once you have what you want from your father, or do you plan on staying?" She was aware they needed numbers alas she was also noticing they needed loyalty. So far she hadn't seen an Argyris do wrong. Maybe having more of them wouldn't be a bad thing. Especially if the two would have family here.

Looking over them briefly Tani let her icy eyes meet the eye's of @Zane before looking to @Zeta's face. "I also hate to press upon family matters but your mother, Erebo's mate, will she be coming to find him too?"

Despite her nerves, Zeta found herself grinning at Vitani's first question. Were they planning to stay? How could that even be a question in her mind? "Bien sûr, ma dame!" Zeta exclaimed, allowing herself to laugh just a bit. "Of course we plan on staying! We came all this way looking for him - how could we up and walk away again after finally finding him? But please, can we see him now?" she added, leaning forward in her eagerness. "We've come all this way looking for him, and now he's so close..."

She trailed off, her forepaws padding impatiently around as she listened to Vitani's next question - only to still entirely as that question was finished off. Her ears flattened a little bit at the reminder of their mother, and her voice was softer and far less certain as she answered, "We... we left her behind. We didn't even tell her we were going." Beryl eyes flickered up to lock on her brother's face, silently pleading for his assistance here. "She might come looking for us, but I don't know if she'll be able to track us down all the way here, or how long it might take her if she does."

"Please, can't we talk to Erebos, now?" she asked again, looking more subdued as she glanced back up at the alpha.

the rabbit

Adopt my twin!

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Healthy and alive, she told them. It took a great amount of willpower for the boy not to scoff at the news. Wasn't that just what he'd been expecting? Absolutely nothing had kept their father from returning to them. He'd simply chosen to roost with another pack entirely. There had been surprise within the woman's eyes before she'd responded, a flickering emotion that the orange embers within his skull had caught notion of, and yet Zane felt none of the same within him. He could easily conclude that she had not been told Erebos had children. Perhaps this was circumstance, or perhaps she was even just surprised that they would be here, yet Zane clung to the idea that the man had simply chosen not to speak of his family at all. Perhaps, even, he had another here already.

The thought burned him alive like a flame and he pressed himself closer to Zeta, desperately attempting to absorb some of her, that positive, hopeful energy she always exuded. When at last Vitani asked them about their mother, Zane could not stop the wrinkling of his muzzle, a silent snarl etching deep creases into his features. How dare she ask about her, his mind hissed, unwilling to acknowledge that such outrage was unfounded.

When Zeta spoke up once more, her enthusiasm quelled the boy's anger, at least what was visible, and his dial smoothed into somber submissions once again. Of course Zeta wanted them to stay, and the boy would not argue the matter with her. He was quite certain that Erebos would work his charmless ways of chasing them away with time, if not outright abandoning them and this pack altogether. Wasn't that all he was known for? Running away? Zeta would see the truth soon enough. She would want to go back to mother, and things would all return to normal, he was certain of it.

"She wouldn't be a threat if she did," he added in at last, hopping that Zeta's honesty wouldn't persuade this alpha that allowing them into the fold would bring a mother's vengeance upon the pack. "She'd prolly even want to stay with us." Was the lie necessary? He didn't want to risk it regardless, for them to be turned away now when Zeta was so close to what she wanted.

Permission to fade here given by Caroline.

Unfortunately for Erebos, he had been quite a ways further away than @Vitani when the howl had been sent out into the atmosphere, and thus it had taken him until this very moment to at least approach the situation. It perplexed him thoroughly that someone would howl out his name, much less a voice so young, and he found himself increasingly worried as he drew closer. By the trail of her scent within the air, he was able to perceive that Vitani had already ventured forth to receive those knocking upon the door they now jointly owned, and yet he couldn't imagine any kind of peaceable request for his presence. After all, Erebos had never been one to make friends, but certainly there were plenty of wolves out there soured by his abandonment. Least of all was he suspecting those who he'd most hurt to have finally tracked him down.

As he neared the tiny gathering, he was able to breathe in the trio's scents, each inhalation bringing a stronger smell that gave him more and more information. Most nagging of all was the inkling of a memory, yet scent alone was not enough to winkle it into view. No, it wasn't until he came close enough to witness them, horrified ember eyes settling upon their twins within the skull of his son, that he realized how much trouble he was actually in.

He hesitated there, stopping completely at a distance from them as his gaze bounced between them, taking in @Zeta's grayscale coat, a perfect blend of his colors and her mother's pattern, the mismatched green of her eyes, a peculiarity inherited from her grandmother, @Delia's only surviving parent. Zane was cloaked in black but retained a mask, an odd marking that had been prevalent within the foreign pack. So much of their mother, yet so much of him. This was what he had ran from, this was exactly what he had been unable to face. Without a doubt, standing before him, was his very blood. These were his children.

With a gulp to wet his suddenly parched throat, Erebos at last pressed forward once more. He attempted to exude confidence, lifting his chin and striding forth with purpose, but he was uncertain of whether or not he was actually pulling any of it off. When at last he came to stand at Vitani's side, he could only offer a single phrase; "C'mon."

With that, they were expected to follow him, into the territory as wolves of the Plateau. Only when they were alone would he allow Zeta her questions and Zane his brooding silence, and he wasn't sure what would be the worst of it all. His daughter's excitement, his son's seething hatred, their presence overall, the questions he knew Vitani would be asking, or the judgment @Phineas or the rest of his family might pass upon him. Why could things never just get easier?