Jasper Rocks wild eyes

Anyone welcome!
RE: You catch a glimpse of a long dead friend.

Oula Whitebark
remember you could weep fire with wild eyes

The full moon hung low in the star speckled sky, lighting the coniferous forest in a soft blue glow. Oula tread lightly through the trees, nose twitching as she scented for any unwitting prey or anything out of place. So far it had been a quiet night, little piquing the female's interest. It was almost disappointing, having nothing to do on such a perfect evening.

Just as she was wishing for something interesting to happen, something shifted in the corner of her vision. Her round face quickly turned, catching through the trees a moonlit form draped in rippling cinnamon fur. For a moment the red tinted male stood still, then flinched as if he noticed Oula watching.

Her heart leapt into her throat, thudding as if it were trying to break free from her ribs. He looked much too familiar, even in the intervening months since his death she hadn't forgotten him. But it couldn't be him. She'd watched his life spill out in red rivulets, the light leave his eyes, the soil cast over his body inch by inch as they buried him. He was dead.

Her mind had to be playing tricks on her, but still she couldn't stop herself. Her breath huffed out in misted clouds as her pale paws dug into the damp ground, propelling her forward and after the suddenly fleeing form. She just had to know.

No matter how fast she ran or what shortcuts she took, the wolf still remained just out of reach. Not fast enough to outrun her, but too quick to catch, leaving her with only a glimpse of copper fur through the trees. If she hadn't been so panicked she might have noticed the lack of scent, the absence of tracks. Rushing water met her ears, and Oula knew they would soon be at the creek. She'd had the area scoped out well enough that she knew the water at this point would be too deep, too wild, to cross. Finally she would have him pinned.

As Oula broke through the treeline she caught sight of the river glinting silver in the moonlight as it tumbled over jagged boulders, spray lighting the air like stars. She slowed as she expected the wolf to finally stop. No one would be crazy enough to cross here, but... She gaped as he continued running, launching an impossible distance over the rapids and landing on the other side. He finally paused on the opposite bank, staring back with an all too familiar amber gaze.

 

"RORIK!" She screamed, running forward as the figure turned and vanished like a shadow into the trees. Her cream paws stopped at the waters edge, breath coming in tremulous pants as she watched the wood, waiting.

 

(This post was last modified: Oct 27, 2015, 02:13 AM by Oula.)

That Veho was awake in the middle of the night came as no great surprise, really – often the medic had trouble sleeping, even if many of his sins had been absolved of late. The little chat with @Rook had been a much needed opening of a wound. It bled and it bled, and it bled all of the toxin out, leaving the skin to knit together much more neatly than it had in the first place. If he thought placing a barricade between his mind and his heart were the way to go, perhaps he was mistaken – but then, when had he stopped listening to instinct to rely solely on logic? The Ancestors rarely worked in predictable ways, and it would serve him much better to listen to the whispers of memories past, to study the path beneath his feet, and allow the wind to guide him.

That Veho was awake in the middle of the night came as no great surprise. That he was alone and studying the moon and the stars was no true shock, either. He was content to let his mind go silent as he watched. There was the sound of footfalls nearby – it sounded like the pads of a wolf, and assuming it was a packmate, the beta paid it little mind. Others had found him at this hour before, so the notion that another Grizzly Hollow wolf roamed around at this hour did not disturb him.

What did come as rather startling was the scream the bounced off the trunks of the trees only a few moments later. Veho sucked in a startled breath, scrambling to his feet as pupils dilated. Not waiting for another yelp or a cry for help, the male tipped his ears forward and set off in a hurried lope, angling his bulk through the forest in the direction he’d heard the voice. It hadn’t seemed to far, but that was some of the magic of a forest, often redirecting noises and disorienting sounds. He bounded over fallen limbs and around trunks, allowing the moonlight to guide his way. The medic didn’t realize he was rushing towards the river’s bank until he was almost in it, skidding to a halt inches away from the water’s edge. Pebbles and sand skittered up from where he halted, plinking against the water’s surface as he raised his crown, glancing around the area for the source of the distressed call. His tongue lolled out to one side as he panted, spotting a familiar grey form further down the bank.

Breaking into a trot without delay, he reached Oula’s side in a matter of moments, drawing up on her left shoulder as he glanced around for the source of her call. He could spot no trespasser, wolf or otherwise, nor could he scent any strange smells upon the chilly night air. Sucking his tongue back into his mouth, he attempted to steady his breathing as he tipped his head, fixing his moonlit gaze on his packmate. “Are you alright, my friend? I heard you shout,” he murmured softly, glancing about once more.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

@Veho

Oula Whitebark
remember you could weep fire with wild eyes

Oula watched the opposing treeline far longer than was necessary, pale green eyes fighting against the shadows across the water to pick out any signs of motion. Nothing stirred on the opposing bank, even the leaves barely moved in the breeze. Even with the wind in her favor the only scent that drew towards her was wet stone and cedar. But a vision of russet fur and amber eyes had burned itself into her thoughts, a face she thought she would never see again. The uncannyness of it was hard to shake. She glanced downward, finding not even a speck of dirt out of place, let alone pawprints.

Her pale fur bristled at the sound of trotting pawsteps, black nostrils flaring to catch the almost herbal musk of the pack's medic. The only indication she had heard him was given by a slight twitch of a small brown ear in Veho's direction, her attention still preoccupied elsewhere.

"I'm fine." She said unconvincingly, her gaze finally tearing with great reluctance from the other side and settling on the grey-coated medic. "I just... Thought I saw someone, is all." She explained, inwardly wincing and hoping she didn't make herself seem incompetent, either too slow to catch an intruder or stupid enough to be chasing shadows. No wolf should have been able to evade her so easily, but all evidence pointed towards the fact that there had never been a wolf. "It must have just been-..." Her voice drifted, her lips pulling in a tight uncertain line, unable to think of any convincing explanation. It had all seemed too real to be a trick of the light, and she'd never been prone to hallucinations of any sort, but that left her with no answers.

 

Had he not known the Whitebark woman to be a particularly intense individual, the medicine man might have worried the wolf was something possessed, staring out into the distance like she was. As it were, the man took no offense, his brisk trot carrying him to his packmate’s side as he gave her a brief once over. If her outward appearance was any indication, there was nothing physically wrong with her, though that did not necessarily mean his assistance was unnecessary.

Veho did not buy into her assurance that she was fine, though he wasn’t about to winkle the truth out of the woman if she was not willing to part with it. Instead, he only nodded, following her gaze out into the distance. When he too saw nothing, the male lifted his head to scent at the skyline, and only found the heavy scent of pine mixed with Oula’s own unique musk. He said nothing, only glancing back to one of Grizzly Hollow’s newer members when her voice drifted off, unable to offer an explanation for what she thought she’d seen.

“It might have been one of the Ancestors,” he reasoned, lifting one shoulder in a casual shrug. “They do not cross over the veil very frequently, but it has happened. Perhaps you saw one of these shadows in a ray of moonlight before it crossed back it its own realm.” Veho turned to offer a gentle smile, aware that if the woman had never had such an experience before, it may have been a bit unnerving. “We could look, if you’d like?”

Oula Whitebark
remember you could weep fire with wild eyes

Oula stared as Veho mentioned ancestors, so casual and offhand he might have been discussing the weather. She resisted the urge to tilt her head, and the explanation of one crossing a veil did little to put her at ease. It only brought up more questions in it's place. If it was him, what had brought him here? Did he remember her? Where had he gone? What was behind the veil? The afterlife wasn't something she'd ever really thought about before, and the abyss of questions that lurked down that particular rabbit-hole was nearly overwhelming.

"I'd like that," she said, meeting his smiling silver eyes with her own sage, even though she knew deep down that they would find nothing. Simply enough, she would be getting no sleep tonight so there would be no point going back to the den. Perhaps the company of someone made from real flesh and blood would sooth the creeping feeling that still prickled across her skin.

"I saw him go over the river, through the trees there." She said, nose pointing over the water to the woods along the other bank. Quietly she picked her way upstream, finding a shallow crossing and carefully treading over the rocks that protruded from the surface.

"Have you ever seen one? An ancestor, I mean." She asked once they had made it to the other side.

 

“Excellent.”

Whether or not his companion had actually glimpsed at anything remained to be seen, but the beta was more than happy to indulge her. Though they hadn’t a terrible lot of interaction since they’d met, the man still held a great deal of respect for Oula, both in her physical abilities, and in her strength of will. He stretched his nose out to bump her shoulder affectionately, and then he was off, trotting loosely in the direction she indicated her potential spirit to have come from.

They splashed through the shallow crossing in silence, though he did allow himself a small smile at the memory of the woman flinging herself after a bees’ hive, and almost missed her question. “Seen an Ancestor? Oh, yes. I seek them out quite regularly,” he explained, not missing a beat as his tail swung behind him. “Often I wish for their advice, or simply their company. That they are no longer of this world means little, really. They are still the same spirits, simply without flesh and bone knitting them together.”

The grey wolf slowed to a halt, putting his nose down as they reached the ridge as he sought anything out of the ordinary. But there were no unfamiliar scents, nor any prints leading through the night. “Occasionally they slip through the veil themselves, seeking out someone in particular. Far less common, really, as it requires a great deal of effort on their behalf, but for someone worth it, I suspect they’d do anything, yes? Did the wolf look like someone you knew?”

I am deeply, emotionally invested in this thread already. Ugh.

@Veho

Oula Whitebark
remember you could weep fire with wild eyes

Oula had to mentally replay the words as Veho rattled back his response. What she had expected to hear was something along the lines of 'no, never' or 'sure, once or twice'. A subtle look of surprise took place on her face, cream brows slightly shifting upwards at the thought of regularly bumping noses with the paranormal at will. Just about everything out of the medic's mouth that night only raised more questions, ones that Oula didn't even have the words to ask.

Oula pondered over his explanation, wondering if who she'd seen was indeed him, was there a reason he had shown himself? Had he been trying to tell her something? Was he just checking on her? And then, why did he run away when she'd chased after? As the pair crested the small ridge, she halfheartedly poked around, already knowing there was nothing to be found.

She stilled at Merlin's question. “Yes… They did…” Oula said, head lifting and eyes peering through the forest as her skin prickled. “They looked just like a wolf I knew. A sentry named Rorik. Were in the same battalion, he’d taken me under his wing, so to speak.” She said, eyes flicking back towards Merlin. Her paws shifted beneath her as she released a long sigh. “The woman I’m looking for was his killer.”

 

“Ah.”

He had suspected as much. While he’d heard stories of seeking out heroes or would-be tragedies, he’d yet to meet someone who’d been sought out by a spirit they did not yet know. Veho was not going to pry into the nature of their relationship, but fortunately, the subordinate brought it up of her own volition. A mentor, ripped from this world before his time due to the cruelty and carelessness of another. There were few things in this plane that could upset him, but senseless violence was certainly one such thing.

“I am so sorry for your loss, my friend,” he murmured softly, reaching forward to touch his snout underneath her soft muzzle in a token of solidarity. “And I thank you, for sharing that with me.” He had no doubt it was difficult to speak of even now, or Oula would have brought it up prior to being shaken down to the bone. But it did get his mind reeling, and he hummed again, looking from the ground to the area his friend had thought to see her deceased packmate.

Guilt could do strange things to a wolf, but Veho had no reason to doubt the pale woman, nor what she saw. There was every reason to believe Rorik had visited her in the night, but to what end? A warning? Information? To try and soothe a favorite student still grieving a loss? He didn’t know, and couldn’t speak for a man he’d never met, though an idea blossomed to his mind. “Would you like to attempt speaking with him, Oula? Seek him out, I mean. Ask him what his purpose was in making himself known to you. I could assist you, were you so inclined.”

@Veho

Oula Whitebark
remember you could weep fire with wild eyes

Though simple in their substance, the soft spoken words from the gentle healer was exactly what she'd needed. The stiffness in her proud posture and the perfect composure of her round face fell away, revealing a somber and tired woman underneath. She returned the slight pressure of Merlin's nose beneath jawline, her angled eyes closing as she exhaled. Never before had anyone offered her their condolences, not even her own home. Fire and vengeance had taken the place of grief in her battalion. Though tears and sorrow had never been explicitly forbidden, it was just not a done thing.

Oula stood somewhat lost in her own emotions until Merlin's voice pulled her back into the present. She turned towards him, the intensity finding its place again in her sage eyes as she searched his silver pair. "You would do that?" Oula asked, small ears perked and attentive towards the man.

"I don't know what to say," She said, words spilling from her lips as her mind tried to catch up with the possibility of it. A glimpse was one thing, but to share words again with her greatest friend was more than she could have ever imagined.

"Merlin, sir, if you could, it would mean the world to me."

 

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2016, 08:18 PM by Oula.)