Spectral Woods We're broken people

For @Sahalie, @Drestig, and @Spieden

Weather

Just past dusk

13 F, -11 C

His chest hurt. Badly. It felt like he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight, couldn’t really get a hold of himself. Kova was gone, he had no clue where he’d went. Kino had spent the past few days looking for him, hardly sleeping, barely eating. When he hadn’t come back after two days, the silver boy knew something was wrong. He’d tried to track his brother’s scent, but only came up with dead end after dead end. Then, a certain feeling of fresh grief settled heavily on his frame. The like-pelted yearling had been the last bit of remaining family that Kino had had, the only one who had decided to stick by him when he’d struck out on his own. And now, he was alone. Horribly, horribly alone and while he had felt as though he’d always been alone, it occurred to him now that he hadn’t been. While in the pack he’d had Marianna, and outside of it he’d had Kova. Now…there was nothing.

But, was there really?

Briefly, through the pain, flashed the image of Sahalie. She’d made him laugh for the first time in a long time, and been able to bring a smile to his face. She was, by any definition, his friend. He pondered on it, whether or not he was ready to continue with a life within the confines of another family. Whether or not his curse would break them apart too, but Kino was selfish. He was incredibly, stupidly selfish and found himself hating the feeling of abandonment. He didn’t want it, wanted to shed it like a snake did its skin. And thus, he wound his way towards the borders of Sahalie’s pack. He stopped a few feet away, shifting from foot to foot. A few times he turned around and took a few steps, considering leaving, but then he’d turn around and come back then repeat the process. There was so much apprehension inside of him, so much betrayal and so much want that he thought he would burst. Then, he took a deep breath and tilted his head back and released a call. It was weak and vaguely indecisive, but once it was out it was over with. He stood there, shivering in the cold, topaz gaze drifting up to the darkened sky. His auds laid on his head and he sighed. I miss you, mom.

(This post was last modified: Feb 07, 2016, 01:35 AM by Kino.)

details about finding drift kinda forthcoming since me and becu don't know the whole thing yet

Oh! Alastor!

Sahalie had not seen her friend in a bit, and she assumed he had been busy with his brother. Or waiting for her to call him. Without even thinking about the tone of the message, the girl leapt to her feet and bounded through the snow towards the borders. She was pretty deep into the territory, where the trees were much thinner and the stream coursed through the territory. Far enough that she might have missed his call had her ears not been patiently waiting for any kind of excitement.

She skidded to a stop only inches away from her grey friend. "Alastor!" she chirped animatedly. "Drift's back!" She hoped that Alastor would be happy for her. After all, he had seemed awfully empathetic about the whole ordeal. He seemed to understand her. And her grey friend had offered to help, too, she remembered. She wondered what else she had yet to tell the boy about. There was also her trip across the mountain, he'd probably like to hear about that, too.

Still oblivious, the girl leaned down to slap her forepaws against the snow, sending up small flurries. "Are ya here to play?" Sahalie was certainly here to play. Always was. In her current state she was entertaining thoughts of taking Alastor down to the beaver dam, or maybe just to any frozen part of the stream so that they could slide around like idiots for a few hours. That sounded fun. They could make a game of it, possibly by seeing who could push the other one farther. Yes, she decided, nodding to herself, they could do that.

When she looked into his face, though, Sahalie realized everything was all wrong. His ears were down, his body was shaking. A whine slipped from her throat. Sahalie was not sure if she had seen anyone so dejected looking in her whole life. "Al...What's... what's wrong? Did something happen?" He looked so cold that she shuffled a little closer, so that the tips of her fur brushed her own.  But she waited for some sort of invitation to come closer.

   

The alpha had just returned to the territory, after yet another day of scouting. He'd barely crossed the border, stopping to consider whether to visit a cache before heading to bed, when a shaky call reached his ears. The ebony man turned his head, tilting it slightly as he wondered who would come calling at this hour, and in such a distraught voice. He trotted swiftly over the snow, back to the borders to confront the stranger, a tired crease forming between his brows. The otherwise so quiet woods had become strangely active as of late; Perhaps a sign that spring is on the way? Or he could just be imagining it. Though it was true that he had not needed to answer a call at the borders since early in fall, and now twice in just a few days. As the dark chap drew closer, he heard voices, one voice specifically, and a familiar one. His brows wrinkled further, a grumble escaping his throat. Then he heard a pained whimper, and his trot instantly switched into a sprint, long leaps carrying him swiftly into view of the two at the border. The leader's hackles were raised, muscles tensed, ready to defend his pack, but the sight of the huddled figures made him waver. Anger faded into confusion on his face as he stepped close to the two youngsters. "Sahalie?" His voice was low, questioning but not demanding; What's going on? The stranger, sitting with the bend princess just beyond the borders looked to be no older than her, though a lot larger, his light-grey fur a stark contrast to the girl's darker hues. He smelled faintly of other wolves, though only a few, not a pack collective, and his cowering from spoke clearer than anything else of his lonesomeness. "Who's your… Friend?"   Word count: 303 Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

 

Spieden was already warmly tucked nose to tail within the den when a distant sound drifted forth on the wind. Sleep had yet to carry her off, as dreams would not come easily that night. She supposed the tail end of winter was enough to make anyone restless, but it felt like more than just that.

Her ears instantly perked to the sound of a small, pitiful howl, her head lifting as her eyes narrowed. Under her furrowed brow she looked out into the encroaching dark, wondering what in the world someone could want at this hour. Huffing and snuffling as she gathered herself and ambled out into the night, she hoped that whatever they needed was important enough to rouse her from bed.

Her heavy paws crunched through the snow with a hurried step as Spieden made her way to the border. On the air she could catch Drestig and Sahalie's scent, mingled with the unfamiliar tinge of a strange wolf. Her fur bristled with worry until she heard Drestig's deep voice. It didn't sound like anything was wrong, or at least Drestig had it under control.

Rounding past the last stand of trees between them, Spieden's eyes settled immediately on the unfamiliar figure. The boy looked just about Sahalie's age, and very much like something the cat dragged in. She came to a stop beside Drestig, nodding to the man before she looked to Sahalie for any clue as to who this boy was or why he was sitting on her border. "I'm assuming he's not just here for a playdate?" She asked with a raised brow, gaze sliding towards the silvery youth.

It was an incredibly short amount of time before light paw steps came thundering toward him, the dark form of Sahalie finally breaking through the darkness she blended in so well to. Her expression was jubilant, happiness wrapped in what seemed to be contentment and his heart squeezed in…jealousy? “Alastor! Drift’s back!” she called excitedly, and he cringed. He wanted so badly to be happy for her, to be happy about the fact that she had found her brother but…Kino had just lost his own. How ironic, he thought bitterly to himself. It took a few moments of excited jumping around and asking if he was there to play before she suddenly realized something about it, about the same time he realized just how much his thin body was shaking. How his teeth were clacking together like a woodpecker’s beak on a tree, and he felt like he would never be warm again.

His friend moved closer, "Al...What's... what's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked with a whine. He swallowed thickly, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth encasing the words he wanted to say. How he wanted to rant about how everything was unfair, that his life wasn’t supposed to end up like this, that he wanted to be happy for once instead of being afraid that everyone he cared about would either leave or turn against him. But he couldn’t, instead staring quietly at the ground. A small shudder ran down his spine as she pressed her pelt against his, and he felt sick.

Suddenly, a dark, peppered man came careening from the brush his intense fiery gaze narrowed and expression bared. Kino stood stock still, his heart leaping into his throat and his topaz gaze wide with shock. Briefly the angry faces of his previous pack mates seemed to take place on him face one by one, and the color drained from his face. The expression the man wore softened as he looked to Sahalie, asking who the ghostly boy was. Not long after a female came, looking much the same as the man but with more grey speckled along her pelt. While the man had softened, she remained…cool. He looked from Sahalie, to the man, to the woman before his eyes trailed to his paws. His tongue poked out to lick his cold chapped lips and he gave a small clearing of his throat, more to steady his nerves than anything else. “I…I would like to join your pack. I’m…alone,” he said, unable to even look in the dark girl’s directions. “I can hunt, and I’ll stay out of your way. I swear, it’ll be like I’m not even there. And I can watch out for Ha—Sahalie,” he fumbled over the nickname he’d recently given her, choosing to go more formal. If formal could even describe the way the boy was speaking, in a tone that was more empty than anything. Kino had briefly retreated into himself, and no amount of poking or prodding would be able to get him to uncurl from himself. He needed time to process, needed time to find himself again. He just needed time.

She wouldn't get to find out what was wrong. Alastor's howl, despite it's pitiful quality, had some how awoken the neighborhood and within minutes the cavalry arrived. Or something like the cavalry, it was hard to tell with Spieden's large footfalls. For a moment her companion's tremors ceased all together, and she shot him a concerned glance. Was he afraid of Drestig and Spieden? Her head swung back to her packmates, sizing them up as if she had never met them before. The current patriarch had appeared with a bristling pelt that Sahalie had easily excused for concern, but could see — if she squinted hard enough— how this might have set Alastor on edge. Spieden, on the other hand, was neither hot or cold. Just her normal, lukewarm sarcasm. Not best welcoming party, she concluded.

With wide eyes her head whipped back to Alastor, surprised to hear that he wanted to join Oak Tree Bend. He had been hanging out in the area for months now without expressing even a vague interest in living with other wolves. They had never discussed it, but Sahalie had suspected he had some aversion to it. But now that was all gone, and he was alone. Her very heart shuddered, and she gave a small whimper meant only for Alastor. Where had his brother gone? For a moment she considered trading Drift back in return for his brother. It was too much to see her friend like this.

"Oh, please let him stay, guys," Sahalie implored, her ears low as she looked to Drestig and Spieden. "Alastor is really nice and smart. He was out here with his brother but..." She gulped, glancing back to Alastor, and deciding to stop there. Mustering up the gentlest, most encouraging tone she could, she addressed her ghostly friend  "This is Drestig and Spieden. Drestig is really brave and good at talking. And Spieden raised me since I was little. You ain't gotta worry about them. We'll take care of you." Rather than the other way around, like Alastor had been offering.

"Right guys?"

(This post was last modified: Feb 09, 2016, 02:48 AM by Sahalie.)

It didn't take long for yet another to join the scene, steps a little extra heavy, probably as she came straight from the den. As Spieden came to a stop beside him, Drestig met her eyes briefly, answering her nod with a low chuff of welcome. Then both of their attentions turned back to the children. The strange boy truly looked miserable, huddled and shaking, even with Sahalie pressed against him for support. Spieden's words made her fellow leader cock a brow, head tilting; No, he probably isn't… Then the boy spoke up. Drestig's ears twitched, lips pursing as he listened, confusion marking his features. The boy was so young, where had he come from? Why was he alone? Sahalie, of course, had no reservations, jumping to talk up her friend, and then turning to offer assurances to the boy, words tumbling excitedly from her maw. Drestig almost smiled, then his eyes fell back on the grey pup, and he was again serious. "Slow down, lass." He said softly in response to the girl's question; "We'll need to know a little more first." He had no doubt Sahalie believed everything she said, and it might be very true that the strange boy was alone and in need of a home, but he couldn't accept him without a more comprehensive explanation. So he addressed the stranger, voice still soft and kind, he had no intention of interrogating him, but he needed some questions answered; "We certainly don't want you to be alone, lad. But tell us who you are, how you ended up here. Where are your parents?" Simple questions that could easily have complicated answers. Sahalie had mentioned a brother, but now the boy was alone; What gives? Word count: 288 Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

Spieden was somewhat surprised by the boy's reason for showing up at such an hour. It wasn't often, or ever, that unattended cubs tried to join the pack, and by his shaking and overall aversive behavior it was likely not a whim that brought him here. It made her wonder if he was on the run from something.

As much as she could get from a first impression, he seemed like a good kid in need of a place to stay. Sahalie's pleading only sold it. Spieden had to wonder what had become of the brother, whether they'd split ways or something more ominous. It seemed cut and dried to her, and the sooner they got this done with the sooner she could get back to bed.

Spieden was ready to nod her head, her mouth already forming the first syllable of 'of course' when Drestig implored the girl to slow down. Very reasonable questions were voiced by her counterpart, ones she hadn't thought to ask. Spieden shut her trap, letting Drestig be the mature one in the situation for the moment.

Part of her worried that the inquisition on such a flighty child might not go so well. Spieden sat down, trying to make her considerable bulk look slightly less imposing as she kept her gaze off of the boy. 

Kino tried to feign his wince as Sahalie whimpered at his revealing that Kova was gone. He didn’t want pity, especially not her pity. Anything but that from her. She was quick to jump in for him and on him, insisting that he was nice and, perhaps the most shocking, smart. He gave her a quick glance, brows rising slightly but he said nothing. Oh, if only she knew. His jaw clenched as she mentioned his brother, looking away again soundlessly. There wasn’t much for him to actually say now, except to maybe answer some questions. He wasn’t exactly sure how this whole joining thing worked, as he’d never had to formally join a pack before. He was just going on assumption, and so far he’d been right.

His auds swiveled toward Hal as she spoke, explaining who the two were. Drestig she had spoken about before, mentioned that he was the male who had taken her father’s place as leader. Spieden he didn’t know as much about, but it seemed that she had been the one to take the roll of care giver when her mother had disappeared. She insisted that they’d take care of him, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that. He’d been practically self-dependent for roughly five months, and switching from that would be a challenge. Still, he gave a small nod.

"Slow down, lass." Drestig said, and Kino looked over to him with a bit of a sinking feeling. What was going on? "We certainly don't want you to be alone, lad. But tell us who you are, how you ended up here. Where are your parents?" he asked, and the boy’s stomach hit the floor. His breathing hitched, body going rigid again at the question of his heritage. Then, his expression went carefully blank. “My name’s Alastor Leigh. A few months back my parents and my siblings and I were traveling to a new area and my brother and I got lost along the way. We stuck together but…he went somewhere and hasn’t come back. He always comes back, and I couldn’t track him past a certain point. I don’t know what happened to him or my parents,” he said numbly. He’d already explained this to Sahalie, but every time he had to it felt like a knife to his heart. It wasn’t anywhere near the whole truth, but it was, in its own way, the partial truth. Something from the pack had been left behind in scattered bits and pieces in the move from Black Thorn Downs to Round Stone Crest, things that had never been recovered. Perhaps along the way, fate had decided that the children were the things lost even though it had taken months to come about. Kino, though, knew exactly where his parents were. 6 feet under, and he had no way of getting them back.

kinda assuming @Drestig and spieden will wrap this up after me, feel free to pp sahalie doin' whatever for the purpose of fading

Her quickly flapping mouth slammed shut immediately in the form of a frown. She was not used to being stifled, and it seemed like Drestig hadn't even listened to her at all. Or tried to listen. What more was there to know? Didn't Drestig trust her judgment? Sahalie didn't befriend any bad people, and she would not have stuck her neck out for someone who was suspicious in any way. The girl looked imploringly to her dark caretaker, who looked as though she had been about to say something, but chose to remain silent and take a seat. What could Alastor, a boy barely older than herself, even say that would make Drestig turn him away? 

Drestig, continuing his line of questioning, asked her friend who he was and Sahalie exhaled loudly. She had said who he was. He was Alastor and he had lost his brother. The girl could have even filled in the rest of the story, had she not been silenced. Her ears swivled backwards for only a moment before she realized that her negative body language might be having a negative affect on the grey boy. Trying to instill some confidence, she pressed against him. Though it was fairly obvious that she turned her head to whisper to him, she managed to keep her voice low enough so that her words were only for Alastor, "It'll be okay. You wanna sleep with me tonight?" 

For no matter how unfair she thought Drestig was being, she figured he would still let Alastor stay. And if anything, Spieden would speak up. Right? Spieden had been a leader for longer than Drestig. Even though she knew the woman was awkward, and not always very assertive... she would do it for Sahalie. She hoped.