Oak Tree Bend Burn The Ashes

While it was true most of her time was spent with Sahalie, the young agouti female found herself exploring the territory of Oak Tree Bend on her own. As much as she liked her friend, she was still a wall flower at heart, and required time and space away from all the others. It allowed her to process thoughts and emotions, something much needed between her mother’s return and her father’s passing, and she knew enough to seek this time out for herself.

She was on the far end of the pack boundaries when the summons went up, jerking Kyna from her fanciful daydreams. Ears tipped forward as she leapt into a lope, hurrying through the snow and springing over fallen longs. She couldn’t be late! She and her mother were still relatively new, and she felt compelled to continue to keep up good impressions.

It seemed, however, most of the pack beat her to the punch, and the girl arrived quietly. Her tail hung low, wiggling at the tip. Drestig was offered a small bob of her head, and Speiden was offered the same show of respect before she padded over to her mother’s side, settling next to her haunch. The only other wolf she really knew was Sahalie – in fact, the youth had no idea her grandmother resided in the pack, as well. So she hummed, and leaned into Aponi’s side as they waited for something to happen.

A wild dissertation appears!

Pale ears perking atop his head, Serach craned his neck to listen more closely. It was Drestig's voice, but it was not for him. He heard Triell's reply and dropped his head back down to the ground. He had been investigating the scent trail of a fox, and while he was curious as to what Drestig wanted with Triell, he was more interested in the fox. Busying himself, the boy hurried off, anxious to find the smaller canine and ensure it wasn't causing havoc. Stopping mid-run, Serach tilted his head back once again as Drestig's howl rang out over the pack's territory again - this time calling for all of them. That's odd, he thought, furrowing his brow in confusion. With one wistful glance towards the forest, Serach abandoned his foxhunt (to be resumed later) and set off towards the pack den.

Dutiful as ever, the pack's members had responded to Drestig's call with haste. Many had already converged on the pack den and were seated, waiting for Drestig to explain what was going on. Some he knew well and others he knew only by sight. As he seated himself, he could not help but notice the tense atmosphere, and once again he found his curiosity to be piqued. What on earth was going on?

He had been back for some time now. The advantages of pack life showing clearly in his newly filled out frame. His fur was still brittle and wiry but once the ice melted he was sure it was nothing a few good meals of Spies fish wouldn't fix. After so long wandering around in the wilderness he had grown to be most comfortable with his own company, and beyond a roll of his eyes at Drestigs howl he was almost content to stay on the trail of whatever small creature left these tracks in the snow (something told him it might well be a stoat, but it could just as easily be a squirrel).

Quick steps and a familiar hum reminded him that is was Sahalie who had bought him home, and if nothing else, didn't he owe it to her to make an appearance? Brown eyes fell on the back of a small white head with close round ears. It seemed to ba a safe distance from any cache he was aware of but what would it hurt to arrive a few minutes late? He playfully bounded forward, thumping the snow at its back and sending the smaller predator flying. He smirked before turning to follow his sisters steps to the oak tree, a quick glance at the gathered finding unfamiliar faces everywhere. He offered a sheepish smile to Spieden before seating himself next to Serach. Sahalie seemed to have enough people around her already.

Her last conversation with Drestig weighed heavily on her mind. Jessie knew that, if they did end of leaving, she was taking the proper steps in moving on her with life, but the snagging guilt at the back of her mind reminded her not to leave him. And yet she knew she would, for her sake, and for Drestig’s sake, and for the sake of the pack, if there was one left after this. The Scout knew it was only a matter of time when her former pupil’s call for Triell rang out through the forest. Her heart gave an anxious lurch and her paws took her somewhere she was familiar with: Hotei’s gravesite. The pepper-and-salt colored woman sat there in silence. Would this be her final goodbye? She sunk down to the earth and pressed her cheek against it, as if it would bring her closer to her dead lover. Before she could sink any lower into her period of mourning, Drestig’s call for the pack issued throughout the Bend. Forcing herself up from her compromising position on the ground, the woman ironed her face before making her way towards her future. The widowed Tainn did not know what awaited her but she knew she would support Drestig in his say. It took her slightly longer to get to the meeting than normal due to her whereabouts, but she stuck to the shadows, her emerald eyes tracing the figure of Triell before moving to the dark form of Drestig and lingering. The Scout made sure that she was seen but remained distant from the rest of her pack mates, preferring the physical separation at a time when she didn’t know what was going to happen. Silently, she waited for what was to come, her softening gaze set on their alpha. Jessie Tainn

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Leotie had been part of the pack for some time now and she was slowly starting to understand her part within it. Most importantly she was starting to feel a little more confident in her new world as much as she’d hated it at first she was starting to love being a part of her pack. She also loved helping out where she could and everyone seemed to be really nice. She felt lucky to have found such a good place though she had known so little when she first came to Oak Tree Bend.

Triell’s voice sounded in her ears as she bent near a stream for a drink of water after her time patrolling the borders. It was a summons for the pack she knew and she didn’t want to keep them waiting especially if it was something very important. She stood to her full height before running back into the forest, by now she had learned her way around rather well. In what seemed to be no time she had reached the clearing where many others were already gathered. Leotie bowed to each of her Alpha’s before she took a place where she could easily hear what needed to be said.

(This post was last modified: Mar 01, 2016, 08:58 PM by Leotie.)

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

Thanks everyone for being so quick to respond ^^ This starts the second round, no need to stick to posting order.

They came in quick succession, each greeted by a nod from their silver-tipped leader. Spieden held his attention a little longer, his brows cocking when she chose to sit by Sahalie, rather than take her rightful spot next to him. Oh well, he thought; This is MY request after all. The female leader might be very happy not to be associated with the proposal he was about to make. Aponi's arrival caught another quirked brow, he was not oblivious to the young woman's attention, though lately he had been much too preoccupied with his plan to return it. He was not immune to her charms though, even if she was very young, and though he didn't know her very well, her own daughter, and the smile she offered Sahalie spoke well for her in his mind. Most of the pups sat close to each other, though Drift chose to stick close to Serach, like he had at the last meeting; This time everybody will be heard. Drestig reminded himself, looking at the two pale wolves. But it was Jessie who caught his full attention, appearing silently and sticking to the shadows, yet his eyes were on her as soon as she came into view. She alone knew what was about to come, and he met her emerald gaze across the distance taken up by their pack mates, holding it for a long while, before finally turning to address the pack; "Thank you all for coming so quickly." His voice was strong and steady, even as his heart beat rapidly against his ribs. Ember eyes slid slowly over every face as he took a deep breath, then said: "Let me get straight to the point, I have a proposition for you all." These were words he had prepared in advance, finding the best possible way to phrase his request. Yet his mouth felt dry now, as he actually sat before them all, and he had to swallow hard before he could continue: "Oak Tree Bend has been my home for several years now, some of you have been here even longer… But these woods have grown dark with ghosts. There are too many bad memories for me to ignore now, I can't stay here." His voice remained steady as he explained himself, his eyes never wavering from the crowd. A confident calm had settled over him, that same he had felt at the last meeting, addressing them all. No matter how nervous he was, it wouldn't show. The dark man took another deep breath, a soft smile curving his lips as he continued: "You have all become my family. You took in an orphan bastard and shaped him into the man I am today. I don't want to leave you behind. I'm asking each and every one of you to come with me, let's start over somewhere new, free of bad memories." He breathed a light sigh, it was done. He had said what he wanted, posted his request; All that remains… Though he wanted to be completely clear, and so he added: "This is an invitation, I would not, could not force anyone to leave if they didn't want to! I wanna know what you think." There. Hopefully no one would hold back from speaking their mind. Ember eyes glanced sidelong at the man by his side, wondering what he thought of all this. Then he looked back to the wolves of Oak Tree Bend, waiting, hoping that they would understand why he made this request; That they would come with him. Word count: 592 Thoughts ”Speech”

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Spieden's usual grunt heartened her as the woman took a seat next to her. Sahalie wiggled a little closer: enough to feel the heat radiating from the large woman's body, but not enough to be clingy. Other wolves were arriving as she made herself comfortable, like Kyna's mother — who, surprisingly, also chose to sit near the dark Tainn girl — and her father's "woman." There were so many things to watch for and Sahalie did not want to miss any of them, though this left her little time to analyze all the things that snagged on the peripherals of her attention: the strange smile shared with Aponi and Drestig, the smile reserved for Sahalie herself, Naira who bumped Spieden on the muzzle but chose to move and sit next to her dad. Suddenly Kino slid in between Aponi and herself, greeting her with a grin and a casual yawn. Despite all the anxiety brewing in her stomach she somehow found herself giggling at the boy. Being so brightly colored, it was impossible not to notice and Kyna entered the scene with her little wiggling tail. Since both side of Sahalie were already taken it would not be possible for the girl to sit with her, but she was only on the other side of Aponi, so she was very close. The dark girl leaned forward to peer around Aponi's silver legs at her daughter. She wasn't sure why her voice was so hushed as she whispered, "Hi Kyna!"

Serach, Drift, Jessie, and Leotie trickled in while she wasn't watching. They sat a little ways off, with Jessie sitting the farthest away of all. Not that that was abnormal, but it only added to the growing tensions. Sahalie made sure to offer the small woman a bright smile. Even if the scout did not feel comfortable being physically close with anyone, there was no reason she could not feel included. Sahalie didn't quite understand that Jessie truly wanted all this distance. Trying not to forget anyone, Sahalie bobbed her head for her beaver expert Serach, and stuck her tongue out at Drift when her eyes fell upon him. And for Leotie there was a smile and an eager tail wave. She hoped the woman was getting along alright.

Drestig's gaze zoomed straight over Sahalie's head to Jessie, but again Sahalie had the quickness only to catch the gaze and not to figure its meaning. There was some formal niceties, but the leader waved them aside to get to the point. Sahalie felt a bubble burst in her stomach. She felt excited but also queasy. She did, after all, like surprises. But despite saying so, Drestig did not quite reach the destination of the meeting immediately, instead opting to talk about how long he had lived as a member of the Bend. Alright. The girl blinked and hoped she could maintain her composure. 

And the he said it. He said the words. Instantly he anxiety boiled away completely, leaving just an empty kettle of searing dismay. Sahalie knew so little about the pain of this forest, but she knew most of the painful history: the loss of Corinna, of Ruiko, of Ice, of Rissa. Mostly just the Tainns. How Drestig fit into this, she was not sure. No one had ever spoken to her of Silver. Perhaps that was why the girl didn't get it, why the forest was so dark to a man whose coat was much darker than the blue tinged woods. Sahalie could fix this, she had tried to fix everything: all the sadness she had sensed since her very earliest days. She had poured everything into being a positive influence for her pack mates, for never giving up on them. 

Was that was Drestig was doing?

Her mouth hung open as she readied her voice to launch itself into the fray, but already the man was speaking again. He wanted them all to come with them to some place else. Her eyes follow Drestig to her father, and she clung to him. What did he think of this, did he know? Suddenly her eyes were leaping from wolf to wolf, her family. What did they want? In the back of her head there was a voice that was explaining to her all the courage it took for Drestig to say this. And a voice even louder that screeched he was a coward.

"But this is my home. It's the only one I've ever known," her eyes welled with tears as she pleaded to no one in particular, "Everything I love is here. The bad memories are in you, you're going to take them wherever you go. How can you know what's waiting for us out there? If you can't make anything good of this place, then you can't say that you'll protect us from anything bad here." Her thoughts came out in a jumble as her eyes switch back and forth between the members of the congregation beseechingly. She was not sure where they stood, or even where she stood. Guilt swept over her in repeated waves, feeling that she had no right to say the things she did, to open the first wounds of the meeting, to cause more pain. Falling silent she leaned in to her peppered coat of Spieden, unsure of what to do anymore.

(This post was last modified: Mar 03, 2016, 06:33 PM by Sahalie.)

Her mother's presence had been noted by Aponi but mostly ignored, there was no need to seek the woman out unless she spoke with her daughter, something the silver fae had been trying to avoid. Still as the tawny woman arrived the already icy eyes became colder as she glanced over the aging body, smirking briefly at the slightly stiff gait. Serves the precious 'queen' right, every year she replaced the last brood with new pups when she didn't even have enough time to properly spend with the last years. The jealously that had once eaten her up as a pup returned at just the sight of Naira so she turned her gaze away. The other's filtered in, most notably the silver pup who sat between her and Sahalie and of course her daughter.

Leaning slightly into the golden fur as a silent greeting the mother's thoughts were preoccupied with how she would lead her daughter away from Naira after the meeting that she almost missed Drestig beginning to speak. Blue eyes snapped back to attention onto the handsome male and the words were surprising to say the least. The last few weeks had done them well in regaining the weight and strength they had left since leaving the mountain and physically they were in the shape to leave once more. A large portion of the woman urged her to speak out saying that she would follow him, a new pack was easy enough to raise in the ranks for but she was interrupted by Sahalie's cries of dismay.

It was the accusing words that reminded Aponi that she had to think of her own daughter as well who had temporarily slipped her mind completely. As Sahalie quieted the silver woman turned to Kyna and murmured as quietly as possible so hopefully only she could hear, "What do you want to do?" The selfish jealous heart wanted her to follow the dark male and get away from the wolf she unfairly blamed every hardship of her life one but she knew she would stay if Kyna said. Perhaps resentfully and unhappily but she would stay.

As the minutes rolled by and more and more wolves showed up, Serach's sense of unease only increased. He watched Jessie slink by, choosing to sit far and away from the rest of the pack - stuck in her perpetual mindset of isolation as ever. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Serach turned his attention back to Drestig as the leader began to speak. The words that rolled out of Drestig's mouth caused the pit of Serach's stomach to drop. His heart began to race, and he wondered if it would push itself right out of his chest. Leave the Bend? Never.

The subordinate was on his feet, his lips sneered into a snarl of disgust and betrayal. He opened his mouth to yell at Drestig, but was cut off by Sahalie who reacted to the news first. His heart ached for her - they were so alike in so much. The Bend was the only home that he had ever known too, and he would be damned if he was going to let anybody, even Drestig, take that away from them. "I'm not going anywhere, Sahalie," he told her, attempting to soften his voice from all the pent up rage he was feeling at Drestig.

Turning his attention back to Drestig, Serach snarled, feeling emboldened by Sahalie's pleas. She was exactly right, and anybody could see it. "Coward," he hissed. "You really think that leaving here is going to make you forget about Silver? Pain doesn't work that way, and you know it." He stared Drestig down, his posture aggressive and defiant. He would lose in any fight against the older wolf, he knew that, but he didn't care. This was his home, and he would not be convinced to give it up for Drestig's foolish notions. "Go ahead and leave then." There was nothing else to be said. Drestig had made his intentions clear, and it was a red line that Serach could not, and would not, cross. Not even for somebody that he loved so much.

As everyone settled in and Drestig began to speak, the man's discontent with their home did not come as a surprise to Spieden. It was familiar territory, Drestig's disillusionment with the Bend had already been laid bare before her and Triell weeks prior. This was where she expected Drestig to submit his resignation, and was prepared with some sorrow to hear the man was leaving. But then the twist came like a knife to the gut.

Spieden's brows rose, nearly climbing off of her grizzled forehead, leaving the fiery amber eyes below wide with shock. Her jaw hung open, working wordlessly. This shouldn't have been a surprise, she shouldn't have the rug pulled out from under her like this. Her and Drestig were supposed to be equals, but what was equal about this? There had been no discussion between them about moving, and here she was hearing about this plan for the first time, the same as any of her subordinates. He had reached right over her head. Her lips puffed with huffed air, did he think she should not take part in whatever decision came to her pack, instead left to scrabble over it with the rest of them?

Spieden wondered at how Sahalie's words so closely echoed the feeling in her heart, despite their vast difference in years and life experience. This place had been the source of much happiness for her, despite the trying times they had, Spieden understood that nowhere was safe from sorrow. As Sahalie settled close beside her, Spieden pressed her chin against the girl's crown like a bird tucking a chick under its wing. The fire in Serach's voice was startling, but she wouldn't hold him back from his tirade. She wasn't feeling particularly charitable to her co-leader at the moment.

As Serach to finish spitting venom, Spieden rose heavily to her paws, her amber gaze fixing with Drestig's orange, her tail rising as his equal.

"Drestig, if you have to go, I won't stop you. I won't stop anyone. Nobody's a prisoner here, I don't think it's cowardly to look for what you think will make you happy." She said. And if it did, then she was already a coward as well. Whatever was left of Salmon River, she didn't know, and she didn't care to find out.

 

"But this place makes me happy. I won't go." She said with the corners of her silvered mouth taught.