Sacred Grove Burning an eternal flame

Set for the wee hours on 3/4 just after midnight. Situated between Willow Ridge and the beginning of Sacred Grove. Anyone is welcome to join!

Abruptly smoldering amber irises sprung open to stare into the night infused den tucked covertly beneath the roots of an elder willow, a sudden surge of heat that began to course through the piebald timber wolf's embodiment from the tips of her toes to the points of her rounded audits warranting a salmon painted tongue to protrude from its once enclosed lair behind a row of pointed teeth. Only the briefest of moments needed to pass before the cogwheels within her mind connected the dots. Spring was on the neighboring horizon and with it came the familiar flames that engulfed a fertile female's being. Enoki's heat cycle had arrived, although milder in comparison to the year prior. No doubt a by-product of Morganna's increased dominant displays over the female subordinates.

Ebony hued sides heaved with the effort of inhaling the crisp night air of winter's receding grasp into her inflamed lungs, the effort that once stung her organs now doing little to soothe the ever present burning sensation until the confines of her humble abode seemed to be radiating in the dismal heat. She needed to cool down before the scorching heat promised to incinerate her lithe frame from the inside out and the only cure she knew to be in existence for such a curse was beyond out of the question. Enoki Ashrelle had discovered its answer the hard way with Heigen the year prior and that was something she was not keen on having repeat itself this year. It was best on her behalf not only to avoid repercussions from an enraged @Morganna , but to try avoiding any males until the wretched cycle finished its course. Regardless of what the body knew it wanted.

Lurching forward onto sleep riddled limbs the magpie pelted woman pushed past the blackened entrance of her den to grace the slumbering outside world cloaked in a blanket of ivory pin pricked navy, the orchestra of the twilight hours enchanting her like a pied piper. Without hesitation swarthy paws detoured from the well worn paths that intertwined throughout the drooping timbers to mark their own path through the depleted powder beneath their wake. The rays of warmth during the sudden peak in temperature this past week melting small patches to reveal the saturated beige soil yearning to regrow its lush grass. Some minuscule blades of green beginning to make their first worldly appearances again. Deeper and deeper the woman trudged along her path away from the pungent odor of the other females, an ivory dipped tail lashing convulsively at her rump while a white clad shoulder brushed roughly and ineffectively against the smooth bark of a barren willow any time one was passed during her retreat as if the sole action alone would dis-spell the current predicament plaguing her frame.

To no avail was relief found, albeit the motion of pacing seemed to quell a fraction of the roaring flames as the cool night air raked its intangible fingers through her plush winter pelt soon to begin its shedding process, an agitated rumble of a growl resonating deep within the confines of her chest. Gradually the familiar landscape her paws knew by heart now began to shift to lands less familiar. Where once a thick network of willows stood proud, the umbrella shaped trees began to thin making way for a different species of topiary who's bark held the similar bleak color pallet as all vegetation did during the colder months, yet held a rougher texture. The greatest change was the hum of power Enoki could feel vibrate beneath the cushions of her pads, a source awe worthy had her mind and body not been distracted by the onset of spring.

 

Suddenly, and unceremoniously the two toned Timber wolf tossed the weight of her body into the snow that remained within this place until limbs writhed awkwardly above toward the slightly obstructed pale orb nestled high in the night sky. The familiar itch accompanied with the heat associated with her cycle last year making its presence known once again. God, spring time sucked and how embarrassing it would be for someone to catch her in such a state as this. She could only imagine the absurdity one would assume witnessing a wolf wriggling like a helpless earth worm against the ground.  

I'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

With a vow the dark brute set forth to the Grove he had not only grown up in, but where he had become a man and made many a memory. The years seemed to trickle away as the familiar trees greeted him in the distance. When his paws fell past the invisible line of the Grove the charge of the land resonated into his bones. Sending a pleasant tingle to course down his spine, and a smile to etch itself upon his face. Why he had memories of the feeling, it had been so long. Too long. Home. Even if it wasn't so any more he had missed the phenomenon, the hum of the land in its own quiet welcoming. A rough sigh, he took his time, taking it in. There were a lot of trails that looked to be faded while others remained by the use of prey. Leathery nostrils tested long the dead grass apparently there were wolves who came and went too. The idea made a small piece of him angry, but the Tainn smirked. How many times had Swift River had to chase a wanderer? No, he couldn't blame any. There was certainly something to this place that beckoned to the living. Who could resist its temptation?

What he was most eager to see was the river. Picking up another gear of speed, slightly giddy he let his heart guide him. While traversed, he spied where Corinna had helped him catch a beaver in his youth. He could even recall places their scents had marked. Then there was his favorite spot. The little curve in the river where he often brooded, where Ice had become his friend. The dark water sang the same comforting song as if it had always been waiting. Carefully he peered down where its rushing kept the ice at bay as he had done many a time. Remembering days long passed. "Hello brother," he murmured, half wishing he could have went for a swim. Perhaps one day. Alas it wasn't that warm, and as the sun began to fade he trotted to the old dens. The newest no one had made use of. So he found the first, picturing a small Hael,Kisla, and Fenru. It blew his mind thinking how they now had families of their own and no longer came to his ankle. A few steps and his muzzle lowered by the entrance, checking for things old and new. It seemed foxes had sought it for refuge at one point or another. Triell did not bother to prod. He found his old den he had made when he was young, where he had taken care of Ozera. Damn, he was getting old. Sitting reminiscing, but as the sun fell to the other part of the world he could not pull himself from that place. He felt like this could very well be the last time he saw it. Instead of fussing with where he ought to be he hunkered down, and decided he could rest.

Dreams and old times flickered in his mind, sharply his eyes sprung open, and he jerked his head. Uncertain what had drawn him from his sleep, he shoved off from the cool ground, dark ears cupped forward. There was someone, something out there. Muscles tensed, his thick mane bristled against his shoulders. If this was where loners kept to themselves he wasn't sure what he would do. He still felt so protective of this place, even if it didn't belong to him. Deep down he was reminded he needed to go home in one piece. He wasn't Triell the Guardian of Swift River, not any more. Still...

Trying to be quiet, with precision his paws pulled him toward the source of sound his mind couldn't make sense of. The closer he came, there was still nothing that brought a picture. It was sorta like an elk rubbing it's antler on something, or a fox digging in the snow, but it wasn't quite those things. Topaz eyes scanned the shadows and silver light, heart beginning to race. Finally, sight drew upon the movement, but he wasn't sure what it was he was seeing. It looked like a tangle of legs flipping around, but whatever it was seemed to be made of darkness and light. Thick brows furrowed, as he crept closer his nostrils twitched. They were soon assaulted by an undeniable scent. Snout wrinkled, and his rounded ears flattened. It was evident there was no one with the lady, but what was she doing? Was she okay?

"Er..miss?" He called, sliding another one, then two, then three steps her way before halting not wishing to alarm her. It was evident concern was in his fiery gaze.

Triell Tainn

(This post was last modified: Mar 04, 2016, 05:25 AM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

Back and forth the two toned body squirmed about the earth's chilled surface, sprawled limbs continuing their onslaught upon an unseeable enemy with each awkward twist of her slender frame. The audible mixture of a growl and whine that lofted from her slightly parted jaws offering little aid to her already peculiar display while working wonders to disguise the hushed advance of @Triell . Yet again to no avail the Ashrelle female could not secure an ounce of relief from the infernal itchiness and fervent burning that encased her writhing frame despite the dusting of snow caked onto the tips of her fur. Oh how she couldn't wait for this dreaded part of being a woman to be done and over with, how she longed to return to simpler days of patrolling well marked borders and bringing down quarry after an exhausting chase to satisfy the mouths of new life and old brought into the world by superiors. 

Eventually the piebald female came to accept the fact she would be constrained to suffer and forced herself to roll right-side up, pressing the previously exposed flesh of her abdomen to the cold ground as an unsuspecting pair of audits twitched to catch the voice of someone entirely unexpected at such an ungodly hour in the night. An ebony skull twisted with lightning quick reflexes to cast a smoldering gaze upon the dark fellow whom would now serve as her midnight company, limbs fumbling underneath her frame to stand as his larger silhouette gradually drew nearer. Once erect shadowy ears now pressing neatly against the back of her skull. Stay back, her conscious mind wanted to shout at this stranger over the erratic thumping of her heart against her sternum. Her body withholding such a likened signal, though, as her jaws began to part to speak and the height of her tail rose slightly with a wave to further coat her raging pheromones across the surrounding icy landscape unintentionally; or so she would have liked to assume. Natural instincts were a hard thing to curve, especially when soaring hormone levels wanted to do all this irrational talking and doing come this time of year.

Gradually the initial surprise that cloaked Enoki's facial features upon being discovered waned to morph into a more pleasing expression. A genuine smile gracing dark hued lips before actual words began to tumble from them. "Oh. Well, hello there. I wasn't expecting to run into anyone out this way so late at night." She answered honestly in her soft honeyed tone of voice, dark amber irises stealing a chance to properly study the male before her while awaiting a response. Plush fur as dark as the night surrounding them marred only by a splash of ivory upon a broad chest disguised muscles she didn't doubt were as powerful as one guessed. A pair of fiery orbs that blazed in odd familiarity against that darkened mask sent a shiver down the course of her spine, but where had she witnessed such a sight before? It mattered not, though, in that moment. The piebald woman's eyes were not displeased in the slightest with what they observed. 

I'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

Never having been a female it hadn't occured to him how miserable they could feel in spring. Well, at least how their own physical symptoms varied. No one had ever explained it to him, and he hadn't witnessed such behavior. Usually, girls were irritable and a bit all too cozy at the same time. But rolling around if plagued by fleas? It made his own skin squirm beneath the surface just thinking about it. So the man struggled for a logical explanation. But by its name heat did put it into a different light. With the dappled maiden thrashing around in the largest piece of snow without the sun he could only imagine it was for relief. This only seemed to occur to him as her dominant obsidian figure stood, and her dark amber eyes found his. Suddenly embarrassed he had caught her off guard, rapidly his nape lowered, cranium tilting briefly to the side to offer her privacy. Even if it was a bit late.

The man held his pose like that for a moment expecting to be scolded, but no growls or words ripped into his flesh. So the Tainn couldn't help but turn his head to really look upon the lady. There seemed reluctance in the twist of her ears, but that was to be expected. Suspicion was expected among strangers, but the circumstances only added more reason for caution and consideration. There was detection of her slightly raised tail, but it served only to remind him how he would need his own wits. The change in the lady's facade may just make that harder.

"Me either," he murmured while a sheepish grin twisted the side of his lip. He still couldn't help feel he had traversed into more than just the Sacred Grove. Why he wasn't a boy any more, he surely felt the part beneath her warm gaze. Especially, how poised, and collected she remained despite what could have been a rather awkward encounter. It certainly had him admiring this stranger.

With her figure still he could make out why she had appeared of shadow and moonlight. White hairs adorned her nape,shoulders and flanks as if the moon had kissed her. Rather unique, he mused. But, his topaz eyes were drawn to her face. The bright eyes, and sincere smile that only hinted what lay behind. Curiously, upon her muzzle there seemed to be a hint of scars, but he wasn't quite sure from his distance. However, she was alluring with or without them. Gently, he cleared his throat. "I'm Triell. I was just taking a rest from traveling when I worried I might have been trespassing on another predator's territory. They often go bump about this time o' night?" There was a tease to his words, a smirk that played at the corner of his mouth just then.

Triell Tainn

(This post was last modified: Mar 04, 2016, 06:35 AM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

A shadow tinted audit pivoted outward toward the side to better collect the muttered statement that finally came in the seconds following her own, the baritone voice registering against the soft inner membrane accompanied by that sheepish grin rekindling what flames Enoki may have managed to douse during her midnight romp in the snow. Seriously, it just took a smile to woo her these days? How unbiased mother nature's handiwork was when it came to what, or whom caused the heat to begin pooling within the depths of her stomach. All the more reason for the magpie maiden to be wary of her actions and words around this unknown brute. Engaging in another one night stand debacle this season was highly unwise granted the heavy storm brewing over her willowy home, but luckily for this woman there were no pups to serve as evidence of last year's anti-wedlock consummation.

This time both ears came to stand forward as the man cleared his throat before offering his moniker, inky lips beginning to mirror the subtle smirk that adorned the corner of Triell's mouth. What tension remained under her lush pelt from the surprise of being discovered soon melted away as her body came to relax in his presence, a glint of mischief even daring to shine within the dark amber pools of her eyes. "Oh other predators are the least of your worries, @Triell ," Salmon tongue testing the smoothness of his moniker for the first time before continuing. "Much scarier, more dangerous things go bump this time o' night out here. Like myself, Enoki Ashrelle, for example." Slowly the playful tone revised into a flirtatious one that ran parallel to his own teasing, swarthy lids lowered a fraction to morph her once bright gaze into a more sultry display. An ivory dipped tail lashed out playfully behind her moonlit flanks while jaws offered a non-aggressive snap at nothing but air, a lighthearted chuckle ruining the current facade she had cloaked herself with. She was being utterly silly now.

(This post was last modified: Mar 04, 2016, 06:48 PM by Enoki.)

I'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

An assumption she may fear his presence was easily dismissed by the faint trace of playfulness in her warm pair of eyes. But, with only her holding his attention it would have been hard to miss such a look, even if not the boldest. The words that sprouted from her lips forced long hairs upon his neck to raise as if a cold chill had stroked down his nape. He was anything but cold. Aware he was treading into unknown territory, and what could be rather dangerous ground he wanted to scoff such musings aside. In the back of his mind he felt in control, and little want to be more than in the present. There was only so many what ifs he could take.

The timbre that colored her last words, brought his heart rate up a notch. He surely believed they were not far from the truth. Swiftly, he placed her name,and face in the recesses of his mind sure not to forget should their paths cross again. But for now her scent was mostly of one thing so he didn't try to retain that as part of her true identity. The Tainn really didn't know what to say with the change in her stare. It made him feel more like the hunted, than the hunter. Then laughter danced across the quiet night, and he felt no closer to knowing who Enokie Ashrelle was. There seemed to be a challenge there, and he certainly wouldn't mind hearing her laugh again.

"You might just need to prove that to me," he murmured, taking a step closer into her proximity, smirk more steady along his jaw. If this was only a game of chicken and who backed down first. "Or are all wolves where you come from so fierce?" He jested with flick of his dark banner.

Triell Tainn

are you with me through it all?

As the sound of her laughter began to fade into the darkness, absorbed by the faint thrumming grove and its night time painted foliage, murmured words hosting a challenge of their own soon filled the patchy woman's ears. Without hesitation the dark lining of her lips tugged at the corner to mirror the steadfast smirk that came to grace his own dark hued maw, a low rumble of another playful laugh filling the cavity of Enoki's chest. "I don't know if you can handle that." Bright eyes watching the swarthy male take a step closer into her proximity, her own ebony limbs holding solidly onto her current placement.

An obsidian ear flicked sideways then forward toward @Triell in response to his later statement, the smirk upon her marred muzzle beginning to increase slightly in size. Taking a step forward of her own, the piebald maiden paused her motion to answer his question. "I was born in a land where fierceness was your key to survival. Our bodies-" Words fading off just long enough to allow suspense to take residence within his mind, slender frame beginning to move forward again slowly to brush the clashing colors of her fur along one side of her body against his darker complexion just enough to allow a small preview of the rippling toned muscles beneath her pelt. "trained to be as sturdy and relentless as the mountain range we were raised upon." she finished speaking the slightly fibbed edition of her homeland just as her paws completed a full rotation around his stilled frame, reclaiming the position where distance lay between them.

Internally Enoki knew this act was entirely dangerous to perform with the presence of her annual heat cycle wafting thickly around them with each sway of her banner, but that fact seemed so minute in this moment. "And what about you? Does such fierceness run through your own veins?" She jested back with an equal flick of her tail, a brow quirking upward curiously. There was no doubting he held her attention just as firmly as she did his that night, but it was his move now.

I'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

Wry grin remained, but his dark brows raised briefly, a silent hmm of sorts. He wasn't sure if he could either. But he'd surely made it through many epitomes of hell for this to break him. The way she beamed back, taunting him in turn wasn't something he wanted to back down from. It was all too tempting. What else had he been missing?

Dauntless, she was, and so continued an intricate dance of two strangers. Without hesitation the Ashrelle took it up a notch. Proving her point, she slipped closer, letting their coats entwine enough he could feel the taunt sinew beneath. The man's breath constricted, but all he could do was look upon her contrasted body, highly aware of where she touched him by the heat left behind.  It was by both will and shock he did not reach out. But, some how not surprised it would be a mountain she hailed from. It seemed where most dangerous woman were raised.

 The cool air of the night swept away the moment that had felt both eternal and brief as she faced him. Upon her question, a deep chuckle of amusement rumbled in his chest. Also perhaps to cut the tension his body was coiling up in the height of the season, and all the latest grievances. "You might say that." Despite the haziness her scent alone wasn't creating, his dark face smoothed. "There's a legend in these lands where the trees remain scarred by a burning fire, but I still carry in my blood." There was no expectation she may know what he spoke of, for the Tainns were not what they use to be.  But, it had defined his entire life.

 It was his move. He didn't feel as smooth as she. Hell, he hadn't flirted in a long time. The want hadn't existed. The dark wolf with a singular patch of white wasn't about to let it stop him. He padded closer, lowering his crown. "Can you catch fire Miss Ashrelle?" The question was just a murmur on his tongue, as he faintly touched his nose to her cheek before darting back into the shadows trailed by an echo of laughter.

Triell Tainn

are you with me through it all?

Shadowy ears rotated forward in response to the first words that flitted off his tongue, curiosity further piqued as the chill upon the midnight air did little to extinguish the constant sensation of smoldering embers just below the patchwork surface. The sound of his amused chuckle floating pleasantly around the darkly hued female. Attentively her attention remained on his dark mask, smoldering amber gaze ever watchful of @Triell's facial features and the way they further portrayed his story with each tiny movement to further reel the woman in to his tale. Although not born of these lands the legend woven within her eardrums was only a blur to the piebald female, a merged pack hunt between the allied Willow Ridge, Secret Woodlands and Whisper Caverns had taken place near the border of such charred timbers and land untouched by the hunger of flame.

Soon his words began to trail off leaving a burning hunger for more knowledge of this legend behind. Bright irises watching closely in silence as the dark male advanced toward her, words barely above a murmur leaving his mouth before a cold spot adorned her flushed cheek where his nose applied a feather light pressure. Could she catch fire? Jaws beginning to gap to provide some answer to this question, her words were stolen in the current of wind his body produced as his shadowy silhouette dispersed into the darkness. Echoed laughter the only indication where his paws were leading him. Stunned Enoki stood frozen where she stood until a sea of flames engulfed her slender frame. Oh, Miss Ashrelle could catch fire alright.

It hadn't taken long for the sudden surge of warmth coursing through her body to eliminate the ice that held her captive in place. Taunt sinew coiling among powerful limbs to spring forth in pursuit of the fleeing wolf, laughter of her own mingled on the air as a hazardous zig-zag pattern was adopted. Shadow and light combined frame weaved effortlessly through the night kissed timbers and vegetation, fully intent on catching her quarry of the night as a sense of joie de vivre overtook her. How truly alive she felt in that moment.

(This post was last modified: Mar 23, 2016, 04:58 PM by Enoki.)

I'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

Forcefully, he took in a heady breath to silent his laughter so he could put some distance between them. But the look upon her face had been utterly priceless, and he had to take in another greedy gulp of the cold air to maintain his stealth. It didn't seem she was directly pursing him yet, and he wondered if she would take a run for it while she could.

Sharp ears soon caught her own melody from somewhere behind him. The thought made him smirk, if he was two rather than five years of age. So the chase was on. With excitement of the game, and a tinge of fear he would not get far he forced himself to pick up his gait into a sprint. Surely, he could not outrun her, so instead the man had a hiding spot in mind. He only had to reach it first, before she spied him.  With purpose his trail staggered left then right,stepping by one brush and pausing by another. The Grove was well ingrained into the map of his mind, and he knew only a little further would he have to run. 

Heart pounding, and his breath course he leaped through a slushy bank of snow, when bright eyes caught the sight of the elder tree large enough to help conceal him. A grin, he dived for its base tucking himself into a large black ball, even covering his nose with his thick tail. How rapidly the cage of his heart rose and fell  as he huffed against his black banner, trying hard to quickly remain still. He had to breathe, and found letting it puff out of the side of his cheeks softly worked for the moment. Now, to watch without his eyes fully open to see if he could surprise her again.

Triell Tainn

are you with me through it all?