Whisper Marsh In the garden of my mind

A content sigh befell Enoki's lips as ebony hued lids came to a gentle close, the rays of sunlight on that clear day beside the Whisper Marsh's iced over banks doing wonders to warm the splashes of swarthy fur that adorned a vast majority of her slender frame. The piebald female couldn't remember the last time such a luxurious sensation amidst a relaxing scenery foreground had been experienced due to winter's ever chilling fingers gripping the land so firmly she swore she would suffocate if spring didn't arrive soon. Day in and day out all her smoldering gaze witnessed was the dreary gray color pallet of the world dusted with ivory from the latest snowfall. As much as she enjoyed the colorless powder, enough was enough.

Today a rare chance to enjoy nature was presented to the sun bathing timber wolf, her ebony tinged skull rested firmly upon outstretched forelimbs. All around her the soothing sounds of a gentle whisper upon the breeze tickled her ears as the wind toyed with the icicle resembling cattail reeds that lined the still marsh's shores. An occasional peek from beneath a former closed lid watched the swaying vegetation before scanning her immediate surroundings until the warmth of the sunlight lulled her back to a state of relaxation. It was a pleasant relief from the unspoken chaos that churned among the barren willows. Enoki was no fool and had come to pick up on the tension between her leading pair @Nicolò and Morganna among the other things plaguing the smooth barked boughs. Isolde's death was still a heavy cloud above the Archer domain and only time would heal the wounds upon all of their hearts at the precious loss.

Gradually the morning rays gave way to early noon, the heat her dark haired pelt had come to absorb eventually becoming enough to warrant a trip to the muddy banks of the marsh to seek relief of a different sort. Ebony limbs rose and shook the clumps of snow that attached to her embodiment, dark amber optics focused on the thin layer of ice that separated the slow flowing water and her parched throat. A swift couple jabs of her paw made quick work of shattering the glass thin crystals, a coral tongue promptly lapping the cooling liquid into the back of her throat until her stomach sloshed with the gathered water. Dragging the tip of her tongue across the length of her swarthy lips any traces of dribbling were taken care of before the patchy woman retreated a couple steps onto more solid ground, ivory hued haunches lowering to connect with the earth. Gazing out across the expanse of Whispering Marsh, Enoki's thoughts began to dance across the forefront of her mind, audits tuning out the rest of the world briefly.

Tensions were high within Willow Ridge. Ever since his talk with Morganna, he felt like he was walking on pine cones, which would be close to impossible considering the lack of cones in the willows. Nicolò braced himself for the worst and while he had intimated that he would mate with someone, it would take a miracle for him to find anyone willing to be with him. The only women he were close to within the pack were his sisters and that would simply not do. So the man continued on with his duties, doing what he could to provide with the caches and attend to the borders so that he did his job. The only reason he had come to the lore was to satisfy his sister’s curiosity of travel, but now Nicolò truly wanted to find something close to true happiness. Thus far, he had found nothing close to that and he was quite disappointed in what he had found with the Archer lineage in Relic Lore. Elettra’s children were out of control and it went unappreciated. During his thoughts, he was doing a patrol of the borders, and stopped abruptly when a scent leaving the territory intrigued him. It was older but familiar to him and he remembered the face of Enoki. He had met her in passing a few times but never truly got to know her on more than a personal level. Whether or not she was close to Morganna was a mystery to him, but he was curious as to her choice of location. Choosing to mark the border and follow her scent, Nico made haste. He was surprised to find that his journey took him all the way to the marshes. The dark Archer saw her from a distance and watched for a moment, taking in how peaceful she looked and allowing her that. While he did not want to break the silence and bother her, he had come out all this way with the intentions of seeking her out. And so he proceeded. The man was confident in his approach, but polite in his manner of speaking, his voice soft, "It is quite peaceful out here…" He hoped that grabbed her attention. The dark male tried to not look so stern as to try and leave a good impression on the lady.

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Watching winter's gentle breeze blow a thin layer of snow across the marsh's frozen surface while thoughts of varies categories flashed across her mind, Enoki's distracted state hadn't caught onto the Archer male's steady approach until his soft spoken and unexpected voice nearly sent her leaping from her skin with a heart racing like a frightened rabbit against her sternum. "Nicolo.." Her lungs forced out his name in an airy gasp just a hair above a whisper, an ebony limb lifting to press against the dark fur of her chest to unsuccessfully calm her thundering heart before rising to face her company.

An easy, breathless laugh fell from her lips as dark amber eyes crinkled at the corners, ivory dipped tail wagging idly just below her rump. "You Archers have a knack for sneaking up on people." Thankful for being born with a mostly dark complexion that masked the heat radiating against her cheeks in a time such as this, a humorous tone draped over her words to disguise the embarrassment of not only being caught off guard, but slacking from any duties she could have been seeing to instead of visiting a sense of utopia. "But I agree, it is quite peaceful. I don't often allow myself the chance to enjoy such pleasantries." The air came easier to her lungs now that the beat of her heart found its original pattern again, dark amber irises briefly meeting @Nicolò's pale yellow counterparts.

(This post was last modified: Mar 12, 2016, 06:07 AM by Enoki.)

It seemed that, even though his words were soft, he had succeeded in surprising her. His name fell from her lips in a whisper and he remained silent, his pale yellow eyes pinned on her. Nico felt no shame. He listened to what she had to say and was pleased that he was generally right in his assumption. The dark Archer did, however, feel the need to apologize. "I’m sorry for startling you. That was not my intention." He inclined his head slightly at her, his pale eyes connecting with her own ambers. To her words, he gave a hearty laugh, his voice calm, "Noted." He approached her, his body moving smoothly toward her. She was dark, much like him and the sun was a pleasant change from the weather they had been having. He made himself comfortable a respectable distance away from her, his yellow eyes still trained on her face, "I’m glad you took time for yourself. It is always important to keep that in mind." His tail wrapped around his paws, waiting patiently for her response. The man was casual in his posture towards the other woman, wanting their conversation to become as friendly as possible. He wanted to know who she really was.

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A soft shake of her head and a lighthearted smile gracing her swarthy countenance politely dismissed his sincere apology, smoldering amber gaze drifting from his face only momentarily. "I appreciate the apology, but it's quite alright. Served as a good method to put me back on my toes." A light chuckle fell from her lips then, the pace of her swinging appendage at her rear increasing in speed to further put the man at ease over startling the unsuspecting maiden. Dark hued ears twitching when they began to fill with the sound of his hearty laughter, warranting the smile upon her leathery lips to widen in size. What a wonderful sound Enoki came to deem the noise.

Glistening amber gaze soon came to watch the motion of his ebony limbs as the male advanced closer and made himself comfortable near by, her own haunches lowering back down to the ground to settle into her own comfortable position that bordered between casual and submissive; a habit after serving under the Archers for so long now. Tail thumping lightly against the snowy ground, an ear closest to @Nicolò twitched hearing his calm voice once more register upon the warm air, informing her of his gratitude for having taking personal time for herself. "I've honestly been busying myself with what I can to avoid the cloud hanging over the pack, but today was too nice not to take for myself." Another soft laugh escaped her maw, gaze now refocused upon his face. "I hope you've been taking enough personal time. I can only imagine how stressful things may be for you since you took over the leadership role."

It was during this bout of silence following her question that Enoki allowed herself to properly take in the features of her company. Aside from the obvious factors that Nicolo was around the same age as herself and held a likened dark pelt with light silvery portions, albeit not as extreme as hers, the man was an attractive specimen nonetheless. His frame was of a good medium, sturdy and compact build made well for stints of stamina rather than strength, but the Ashrelle woman held little doubt the Archer male couldn't prove himself a worthy opponent. On the other hand the ebony and ivory clashing female knew little to nothing about him on a more personal level. Something she wouldn't mind changing if he wished to venture down that road.

(This post was last modified: Mar 15, 2016, 06:58 AM by Enoki.)

She was quite beautiful. As the woman spoke, he took the time to observe her thoughtfully. He knew enough about her to know that she was around the same age as he. Enoki had pleasant enough curves and Nico did not hide the fact that he was checking her out. When he was finished his evaluation, his pale yellow eyes met hers again, a small smile on his lips. She seemed happy and he was pleased that the darkness within the Willows had yet to affect her mood in such a way. Her words, in their own way, weighed on his conscience heavily and he knew that his actions had a large effect on the cloud hanging over the pack. This time, when he spoke, there was no smile or laugh accompanied with his words, "I’m afraid I must apologize again then. Morganna and I…as you may already know, do not get along very well." His pale yellow eyes watched her carefully to see what her reaction to his words would be. Nico was more than aware that most of the wolves in Willow Ridge were bound to Morganna through her own manipulation. Based on how Enoki had approached him, he was hoping that she had not been touched by her infection yet and he had a chance to make a change and a friend within the pack… Someone who was not his sister and someone who was not required to love him.

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A sudden flush of heat began to warm the circumference of her cheeks between words flitting off her tongue noticing that he had unabashedly taken the time to check her out as she spoke. Bright amber eyes unwavering from his paler set when they came to meet again. The smile that once lay visible upon his swarthy maw soon came to fade following her words, a brief bout of guilt tugging at her gut thinking she may have said something wrong just then until his words began to fill her rounded ears again. Another apology on his behalf, this time for the strained relationship between himself and his niece.

Enoki nodded her head silently once in acknowledgement, having already been made well aware of the tension @Nicolò spoke of. Unbeknownst to the swarthy male the shift in ranks was not the only change to occur under the umbrella shaped canopy of their home. Enoki's loyalty was for the most part placed at the feet of Morganna; likened to a heirloom passed down from mother to daughter when coming of age, but the strength of that loyalty grew more fragile as time passed and more questionable actions were performed by the peachy girl. Strife among family, your own flesh and blood a prime example. Skulduggery held no place in the patchy woman's life.

Lowering her frame into a laying position despite the weight of the conversation now, she still found it easy to relax in his presence, a small sigh escaping her lips. "I have always been cautious of Morganna, her brother Skoll too since I came to Willow Ridge. I respect El's oldest daughter of course, but I hope this is not too brash of me to admit that I fear what the future holds for the pack." She confessed to him in a soft tone, the uncertainty that plagued her mind often evident behind each syllable uttered. If her words had not made it clear by now, the glint behind her smoldering gaze surely would have portrayed that she was on Nicolo's side far more than Morganna's.

The only reason he did not suspect any deception from her was due to how comfortable she seemed in his presence. Everywhere else he went there was complete tension, it overwhelmed and choked him. It made him wish that he never came to Relic Lore and remained in the Torbine, but he knew that he never would have allowed Adele to leave and it would have made her miserable to remain there. His sister always came first in his life but now if she was miserable here…then it meant that they could leave, just once everything was taken care of. And as he looked at Enoki he knew he had added one of his responsibilities. He wouldn’t leave her here alone to fend for herself. The Archers were had lost their wits and he did not want to leave her with a pack of psychopaths. Her words send a tremor of shock through him and he had to look into her fiery orbs to make sure she was not lying to him. Of course, he would warn against her saying such things because it would get her killed. He told her as much.  "I’m going to suggest you not say such things to anyone else. Everyone else has a very close connection with Morganna."  His pale yellow eyes observed her to make sure she understood. His ears flicked, to make sure they were alone, his heart gripping anxiously in his chest. "If things go south within Willow Ridge and I must step down, I will be leaving with Adele, most likely. Come with us? I do not like the idea of you staying here." He remained silent, watching her carefully. This could go wrong but if she was scared because his niece was crazy, this was the least he could do to alleviate any of her stress.

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His reply came only as a half surprise to the patchy female, swarthy ears flattening backwards in response regardless to the weighted warning behind his words. Had she been in the presence of another the likelihood of such words falling from her coral tongue were slim to none, the risk of being reported to the queen on accounts of treason not worth the consequences. To partake in such blasphemy going harshly against Enoki's code of life. "I know.." Voice fell from her lips just above a whisper, her own uncertainty of whether someone could possibly be listening in forcing bright amber eyes to scan the immediate area as inconspicuous as possible before returning to @Nicolò's paler pair.

Morganna was a force not to be so carelessly reckoned with, the two toned female well aware of how deep her claws could possible sink into the skin of others. Especially these newer wolves coming into the pack whom she knew so little about. Who knew where their intentions laid as unfair as it seemed to accuse them of being nothing more than henchmen, but these were times of uncertainty. Too much change was happening for Enoki's personal liking.

An array of emotions danced across her swarthy facial features as her ears absorbed the offered invitation, jaw shifting slightly to allow her back teeth to nibble worriedly upon the lining of her lips. Leave Willow Ridge? Although the thought did warrant some temptation being a wolf raised on tradition and stability it also caused her heart to constrict in anguish at the idea of leaving the only other home she had ever known. Yet, was living in chaos worth it in the end, was this the Willow Ridge she still knew and wanted to continue living in?

Silence passed the duo by in an assortment of minutes before finally her voice spoke up, reluctance and confusion the most prominent emotions gracing her dark mask. "Willow Ridge has come to be my home, it's not a place I could so easily leave after all the effort I've contributed toward it the past two years, but if things do not return to a state of balance I will not hesitate to seek a better life for myself." A brief pause to drag the length of her tongue over the side of her muzzle, curling near the end to wipe over her coal black nose before coiling it back behind her lips in anxiousness. "If worse comes to worse I just may accept that offer."

He was glad to have gotten his point across. The Archer lineage was well-known for their tempers and how out of paw things could get if the wrong button was pressed. Nicolo had witnessed it multiple times back at the Torbine and would not enjoy seeing it executed here. The man watched the other woman was she mulled over his invitation. He knew that he was taking large risk and was possibly going to have to deal with his sister's wrath later on, if she agreed, but it would be worth it if there was one less casualty. And if the woman was as beautiful as Enoki it would have been a blessing to anyone to save her life. When she spoke, his ears flicked forward, attentive to her words. When she spoke, he felt his heart calm considerably at her response. He was not wrong in his assumptions, she was seeing the same deterioration as he. The dark Archer offered her a reassuring smile, his voice slightly more confident now, "I understand. I just wish to ensure your protection...I hope I did not come across too strongly." Certain words, however, had caught his attention. Two years. Clearing his throat, he proceeded, "So, you swore allegiance to my sister then? Quite awhile ago..." He gazed at her, quite intently, not willing to lose her amber gaze. He wanted to know as much as he could, including a history of the pack that he was attempting to save. If his sister built it in shambles in the first place, then perhaps there was nothing left to rebuild in the first place.

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