Chanting Chase I think it's time we all come clean.

@Gent

Leaving her new friend behind was more than just a little disappointing, though Rose knew they'd be together again soon. The Hervok busied her mind with blissful thoughts of activities they'd participate in next, mindlessly maneuvering through the oncoming tree's. 'He sure was nice..' she blushed, admiring every last detail of the experience they'd just shared. Every last detail of him. "Maybe I can even come back tomorrow!" a grand idea, but the pup knew it'd only be possible if she could sneak away again. She wasn't so worried about her parents, Korrin on the other hand was a completely different story. Why was he always so, well, overbearing?

Pushing thoughts of the future aside, Rose knew she'd have to really concentrate on surrounding scents if she wished to safely make it home. Pushing her snout toward the earthy floor below, the Hervok was able to catch the faint perfume of her once-traveled path. 'Goin' good so far, but I still gotta lot more walkin' to do!' she sighed, wishing she would of had Cal arrange her trip back after all. 'N' I gotta make sure nobody see's, this has gotta be a secret...' She'd always been the good girl, what on earth had happened to her these past few months?

Well you're my favorite bird and when you sing..

Rosen

Why was he here, of all places? The wind curled all around him, rubbing against the bark of the trees, forcing itself through the thin spaces it could find to create a melody of whistling and humming with each good gust. He knew what this had been described as to @Marianna, and so he had avoided this part of the timbers the best he could. It had been a comfort to Minka to have both himself and the strong memory of their father, for them to know exactly what the difference was and that it existed at all. Now, more than ever, he bitterly wished his partner had just let it go. Would things be different between himself and the children if they thought him to be blood? Would his favorite little princess still be following him now even, her earthy crown threatening to reach his own and still growing?

A sigh fell to the forest floor as he physically shook the thoughts away. He had resigned himself to never dwell, so why was he here? Ah, right. That foreign scent that he had caught whiff of upon his winds. Shutting his ears to the would-be singing, he pressed forward with renewed determination. Something odd had occurred today under his nose, and he was determined to find out exactly what. The king was gaining on the stranger's trail quickly, and the closer he drew the moe he was able to discern from the air through his lungs. Young, female, Draven and Calanthe... Nina. Immediately his thoughts turned to @Danica, not for mistaking this girl's identity but rather because she reminded him, reminded him of what he had so freshly lost. He was tired of being reminded today.

Deep red fur struck something of a memory within him as well, but he could not place it and thus swiftly discarded the notion completely. A bark was issued to command her to halt as he swiftly placed himself directly into her path. His pale eyes held no mal intent, but they were as truly cold as their glacial nature, leaving no room for funny business.

"What's a Woodlands pup doing in my forest?" he demanded to know, not considering that he might frighten the young girl.

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

Rose had been oblivious. Oblivious to surrounding noises, scents, in fact any hint that would have brought her to the conclusion that danger lurked nearby. The male now placed in front of her was much larger, and definitely stronger. He hadn't appeared very friendly, either. If the stranger wished to kill the young Hervok, it surely wouldn't be hard. Though she wasn't stupid, she now recognized the situation she was in, perhaps that's why the amber fae suddenly felt petrified. Nevertheless it was too late to react now, she had no choice but to face whatever circumstances were thrown her way.

Stopping dead in her tracks, Rose tried her best to avoid eye contact with this strange new elder. "Ummm.." She pondered over the correct response to give, though her mind ran blank under the tremendous pressure she had found herself under. "Well I.. I got lost and.. I made a friend and we played for a while!" The fae couldn't help but feel as if her new acquaintance wasn't the type to take 'pity' on small animals, perhaps the truth wasn't exactly the best answer to give at this time. "I-I'm goin' home now, though!" expression filled with plead, the Hervok definitely would have fancied Cal's accompaniment now.

Well you're my favorite bird and when you sing..

Rosen

As he observed her reaction to his abrupt presence, her fear seeped into the air and filled his lungs. He quickly exhaled the scent, a low chuff of a sound fleeing with it. He wasn't purposefully in the business of delivering scares to little children, yet he couldn't quite gather the emotional energy to put on a front and give her reason to fall back into ease. He remained as he was, a living statue that saw the world through eyes carved from ice.

She spoke of making a friend, and he could piece together that this was @Draven. Had they played then? The gears within his head burned hot with their blurring motion. The boy must have been happy during his time with this girl, or else there would have been something off about her and her words now. Maybe that was what was needed for his children, he thought, and wondered if this monthling would get on with @Marianna as well. Some fresh blood, unaware of their troubles, a kinder, more light-hearted (temporary) replacement for Kino even.

"You played with Draven?" he asked, the question much less harsh upon the air as his initial inquiry had been. Don't get ahead of yourself, Gent, his mind warned him. "I'm his father," he then explained, hoping that if he offered information rather than just interrogating the girl that they could find some common ground. The phrase, as it recycled through his own ears, struck him as odd, and he realized that it was the first time he had made the claim aloud since Minka's death.

"My name's Gent, I'm the alpha here."

(This post was last modified: Oct 30, 2015, 10:04 PM by Gent.)

Sorry! I lost my laptop charger, so it's been really hard to get online! :(

The fae simply couldn't accept that this man was Draven's father. Sure, they shared the same midnight-black coat, though their presentation and all around aura obscured from each other so much that the youth couldn't help but feel as if this was some sort of trick. Rose's friend was warm, truly a kind soul. This new figure however.. He was frightening! But why would he lie? Keeping all guards up, the Hervok desperately searched for something to say. 'I dun' like this..'

"G-gent?" And an alpha at that? Hadn't Draven stated that he wasn't royalty? Something was definitely off now. "I-I'm Rose.. P-pleasure to meet you.. " she bowed out of courtesy, though still managed to keep an eye on him whilst doing so. "D-Draven and I had a lot of fun today!" A desperate acclamation, but if the man did hold some sort of claim to her new friend, then perhaps she could talk herself into being spared. "W-we played games! A-and climbed a tree! But Cal made us stop... And.. And.." the youth wanted so badly to take off, but knew she wouldn't be fast enough. Not against him"And he wants to see me again soon! S-so you better not kill me!" Was he really that terrifying? Or maybe she was just that pathetic. Nevertheless, Rose needed to be reassured that her life wasn't in danger.

He frightened her, despite his claims, and while he was used to having presence with others, he had never been around a child that had been so shaken by his company. Even @Danica had warmed up to him considerably swiftly upon their first meeting, though he had been only a yearling and had certainly approached her with much more friendly airs. The king shifted his weight, a bit uncomfortable with her stuttering, and regretted his harsh impression, but her final declaration caused his eyes to widen with shock and his ears to sweep back in offense. She thought he would kill her? Why would she think such a thing?

"I'm not going to hurt you," he swiftly assured her. "You haven't... done anything that would even remotely warrant that..."

This was certainly awkward now. Perhaps he shouldn't want this little girl around his children, infecting them with her fearful nature. Or maybe this was just... something normal? He couldn't know, given his limited experience, but his indecision was not strong. Regardless of whether she might be a little overly skittish or not, he was certain that her presence would be something of help to his grieving youth.

"Look, Rose... If you want to be friends with Draven, then you're welcome to come here and play with him. I... want him to make more friends, y'know. Other than his siblings. I haven't scared you away from that, have I?" He wasn't particularly good with kids, but somehow he'd gotten the trio to adore him, before their mother's death, anyways. Hopefully he could get Rose to at least feel safe coming back, if not befriend her as well.

Found it! In my car...

Rose let out a heavy sight of relief at the elders affirmation, and even loosened up her posture a tad. "Good, cuz I dun' wanna die." the fae stated, though was it really okay to just go ahead and trust him? Wolves told fibs all the time, perhaps she'd still warrant caution for a bit longer. 'But if he's really Draven's dad.. He gotta be okay! I think...'

"N-no!" Rose stuttered back to the male, still a bit conflicted with her opinion of him. "I wanna see Draven lots more! H-he's.. My only friend right now.. But he's my BEST friend!" grinning, the pup was quite proud of having a pal to hang around with, especially with times being as tough as they were back home. Draven was the perfect companion for her, and she'd sure hoped the fact went both ways. "I've never had so much fun in my life, not even with my brother and sister!" maintaining her grin, the Hervok took a moment to bask in everything positive her bird-like buddy had supplied thus far.

"While we're here.. Can I ask you something? And can we keep it a secret?" It was still eating at her. Draven had said he held no claim to the throne, but here this man was stating that he fathered the boy, all the while affirming the position of alpha. It just didn't add up!

Well you're my favorite bird and when you sing..

Rosen

lol whooo!

Her assurances relieved him, but also caused him a level of confusion. Had they really gotten along that well? Maybe this was her youth speaking, perhaps children truly could be so wildly different. Or maybe this hadn't been her first visit. The idea that anyone, even a whelp, had been coming in and out of his territory without his knowing was highly disturbing. Had no one noticed? Or had the others simply not thought it worthy of his attention? He wasn't sure which option was more prepossessing, as they both presented grave problems for the alpha. Problems he truly did not need ontop of all of his other stressors.

Her high pitched voice hammered through his thoughts, requesting that she might ask him a question, a secret question. Perplexed further, his ears pressed forward to hear what she had to say.

"Yeah, of course," he agreed, uncertain of who exactly he would be keeping this inquiry secret from. Hopefully it wasn't biting off more than he could chew with this point.

"You're safe here, Rose," he added, hoping she would take the sentiment to heart. Draven needed a friend, but Gent didn't need yet another distrusting child around to make him feel inadequate, reminding him of what he had lost.

The young fae nodded at her elders proclamation. Safe, somehow she couldn't help but to believe him. "Well, it's none a' my business really but..." the last thing Rose needed was to be put under the assumption that she thought the possible prince was some sort of liar, so taking time to carefully select her wording was rather important. Perhaps the former heiress would be better off dropping the subject in general, however curiosity often outweighed common sense in her world. "If you're really Draven's dad then..." she paused again, afraid that she'd already come off too strong. "Well, you see.. Draven said that he didn't got no claim to the throne, bu' you're his dad and you're a king, right? Does he jus' not wanna be a prince?" There, it was done. No going back now, even if the Hervok wanted to.

"I guess it dun' matter though, so if you dun' wanna answer I'll understand. I wanna be his friend either way, was just wonderin' why he wouldn't wanna rule the pack one day!" Especially when that's all she's ever dreamed of doing, however her claim had vanished alongside her previous home. "Maybe this is something I should ask him myself, anyway."

(This post was last modified: Jan 11, 2016, 06:15 AM by Rose.)