Hearthwood River long live the pioneers

Karina all but leaped to her feet as her mother concluded the meeting, uttering a low, beckoning wuff for Davin to follow her. She meant to leave the meeting as inconspicuously as she had joined it, and she had no intention of letting Kjors catch up to her. Her hurt feelings churned painfully as she thought of Kjors, silently watching the rest of the family fall over one another to reprimand the princess. How could he not stand up and defend her? He could have explained that she was a priestess, the voice of the Mother herself, and that Her will does not conform to the petty laws of wolves. The Mother doesn't care who Hearthwood River is or isn't aligned with; She just wants to see Her children safe and obedient to Her will. Karina couldn't understand how the others couldn't see this.. perhaps such clarity is only granted to a priestess.

When Karina was convinced that they were alone, she turned to Davin and spoke with resolution. “I don't care what they or anyone else says, I'm going to find Kova.” She fixed her crystalline gaze on her friend as they walked, almost daring him to challenge her. “It's the Mother's will,” Karina explained, demeanor softening, “When I was a pup.. she brought me to him for a reason. This is it. I can't abandon him, or my duty.” They walked a few more minutes, Karina deep in thought. She didn't know what Kjors would think of this mission, and so she couldn't risk telling him her plan.. perhaps if he had spoken up at the meeting... but he hadn't. He had been silent, so silence was what he would get in return. “You can't tell Kjors,” she said suddenly, “Or anyone!”

That didn't make sense though-- if her family didn't know what had happened to her, they would search high and low for her until she was found, and likely bring her back home by force. “Well.. not at first. When I leave, it will take them a few days to realize I'm gone. You have to tell them then. Tell them that I went to search for Kova.. to comfort him and make sure he's okay. Tell them I'm safe and I don't want to be followed.” There. That would work, right? By then she would have a good head start, and she would have made it to Round Stone Crest before even the swiftest of scouts could catch up to her.

“I wish you could come with me,” she said finally, halting her progress. “..But I need you here, to explain to my family. And look after Kjors..” Karina felt a twinge of guilt, but steeled her resolve with the reminder that Kjors had been silent. “I'll leave as soon as the freeze lets up,” Karina added hoping that it would comfort Davin to know that he still had a few moons with her. It was a lie though.. a lie to comfort Davin but also to give him false security, so he might believe he had more time to decide what to do. To decide whether he would spill her secret or not. Karina did not trust even Davin to keep quiet, especially if he thought it was a bad idea for her to go. Everyone always thinks they know what's best for the princess. “We have a lot of preparations to make,” Karina said, voice more lighthearted, “Come on!” She bounded ahead of Davin, worries slowly slipping away as the pair darted through the redwoods.  

   

    
 

Nineteen stepped forward after the scout and said his piece, and the Timber woman received his words of caution with no small amount of appreciation for their healer's talents. Though she had yet to require the young medic's services, she never ceased to be grateful that Nineteen-- or Lachesis, as he called himself now-- was part of her pack. He was one of the first wolves she had met in Relic, and the memory of the scrawny, awkward youth he used to be brought a small smile to Naia.

Kisla concluding the meeting seemed to drop a lead blanket over the weary scout, and as family members departed she wondered if she would even make it to the community den before she dropped. Perhaps she would take the healer's offer and seek him out once she woke, for the sooner she got her strength back, the sooner she could find Inali and tell her the good news.

The minute she closed her eyes she would be dreaming of her lover's easy smile and sparking azure gaze— since Kisla had mentioned Inali back at Round Stone Crest, scarcely a moment had passed that the ex-Crest scout's countenance had not flickered through her thoughts or haunted her dreams. Naia nodded to departing family members and said her goodbyes with uncharacteristic concision, eager to slip into the dream world, where she could hold and gaze upon her love all she liked.

(This post was last modified: Feb 17, 2016, 07:58 PM by Naia.)

Kisla dismissed the pack, and Lekalta studied her parents for a stolen moment. Her mother seemed tired – drained, while her father seemed more rigid. Whatever their worries were that stemmed from the aforementioned pack, Lekalta was not going to lose much sleep over it, given her naivety and age (the world revolved around her, did it not?) but she was pleased that the pack meeting had come to an end now. Pack politics was not something she was interested in at this moment, and she shot up to her paws the moment they were ‘free.’

As the others began to filter out, Lekalta took to following suit, and with a playful jab to Inna, and a puppy play bite to Orren’s ankles, the girl scampered away, her tail waving through the air with an air of confidence as she made her way to find something to steal the rest of her days’ time with. One look voe rher shoulder and she invited her dark sister to join her, and quickly she sped off – she would not see her parents until later that night, when she crept in to the den and curled up against her sister and family – something that would only then allow Kisla to sleep more soundly, despite her exhaustion.

are you deranged like me? are you strange like me?
lighting matches just to swallow up the flame like me?
do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?

Inna’s youthful ignorance prevented her from understanding all that was going on during the pack meeting as much as she tried. If she ever hoped to make her mother and father proud then she would have to start understanding all that happened during these pack meetings. She was worried about her mother for she seemed to have a lot on her, Inna wished there was something that she could do to help but she didn’t know what. Perhaps now that her father seemed to be feeling better he could help her.

The pack meeting was soon over which Inna was glad about because she hated not understanding what was going on around her. The playful jab that Lekalta gave her brought her attention to her sister and in return she playfully nipped at her shoulder as she followed her and Orren away from the meeting area.

(This post was last modified: Mar 01, 2016, 05:02 PM by Inna.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

With everything said and done, the pack began to drift away from one another. her eyes fell upon Karina as the girl practically flew away from the gathering as fast as she could -- her own heart ached to go after her daughter and see if she was okay, but fatigue wore upon her heavily, and she felt her shoulders begin to slouch beneath it all.  She would seek her out soon, but first she would sleep, and allow her eldest girl to calm her frayed nerves from the meeting.

Inna and Lekalta left - as well as Naia. She offered a nod to her remaining comrades -- a quiet farewell before her muzzle tipped toward her mate, grazing his cheek in a stolen embrace before nodding in the direction of their den. She loped past him then, her bright eyes shifting back to see if he would follow, and without waiting further, Kisla Baranski made her way to bed. It had been a trialing journey upon her emotions, and she was ready to have a restful sleep -- little did she know that when she awoke the next day and went to seek Karina out her daughter would be long gone from the River wolves, completely against their wishes.

(This post was last modified: Mar 14, 2016, 09:37 PM by Kisla.)

sparking up my heart