Nightingale Palisade i like cheech-a-cheech-chee-roni like they make at home

@'Lilya <3

There was an uncanny rhythm to the hills today, but perhaps it was a symptom of the great, meandering ravine which split the earth in two and lay wide open to the world. She could hear the river rushing far below, carrying its secrets with it, though she hadn't yet dared to peek over the edge - it would be intoxicating, and though she had absolutely no desire to end her life early, the urge to jump would be phenomenal, she knew. That inexplicable, thrill-seeking voice in her head which said you can do it, literally could, even though she never would, because there was a clear divide between the realistic and the theoretical... but that didn't stop the sneaking thought that you could turn your car into oncoming traffic, or deliberately put your hand in the fire, or just get on that bus and see where it took you... It was dangerous to have so much power within one's grasp like that, to hold your fate so neatly in your hands and see which way the wind took you. Perhaps it was a whole second world down there, down that gash in the earth's face, and she would merely tumble to a fresh life - perhaps she would sprout wings and fly off down the river.

Humming contentedly to herself, Rue trotted along the top of one of the steeper hillsides, that rhythm in her bones adding a little bounce to her step. It was the sort of beat you felt rather than heard, something which transcended ears and bored straight into the brain, a live-connection to... well, to everything, from the ravine which stood grim and silent to the eagle high overhead which screeched and then soared higher, the young wolf's tongue lolling out of her mouth as she strained to watch it, but then it was just a speck and she trilled a high, contented sound as her soft brown eyes fell back to the mossy earth, feet falling one behind the other over and over, over and over, onwards and onwards forever.

@Ruenna <3 They have the same birthday too! Twinning

It was nature, the set of mind that she found herself constantly lingering in, lacking the ability to stay in one place for too long for fear of what might be following her. It wasn’t hard to tell who she was, at least not to her enemies, because she was almost an exact copy of her mother, just as Maelia had been… something in the genetics she supposed. She’d become a creature of habit yet at the same time she remained unpredictable in where her travels would lead her. She didn’t wander aimlessly per say, she did have her favorite spots, but she couldn’t sit still. She preferred to think of it as paranoia over the ‘what-ifs’ which she knew she shouldn’t let dictate her life… but how could she not? She let a soft sigh off of her lips, taking in the scenery as she let a soft smile fall across her face.

She loved the Palisade which was probably why she found herself lingering around for longer than she probably should have. Icy blue eyes were careful to analyze her surroundings, ears perked and listening for different ‘giveaways’ that could tell her if she was being followed closely or if they still kept their distance. Part of  Lilya always wished she’d stayed to fight the good fight, if only so she knew her fate and the fate of her family, but war had never been her place… a wanderer and diplomat held no place on the battlefield.

Her ears twitched, hearing a soft humming as her head turned to swivel around, nose flaring for a second before it settled down, freezing as her muscles tensed… something was nearby. She carefully crept through the territory, unsure of where this wolf was, but intent on finding them, following the scent trail until she came face to face with the wolf making the noise. “Hello!” She greeted with a chipper yet cautious one. “Jus’ wanderin?” She would ask carefully, tail holding a soft and slow sway as something held her back from approaching further, head cocked to the side slightly as she waited for a response.

There had been much, much worse things to pop out of the bushes than another wolfish face. (Though she could think of a few wolfish faces she'd be happy never stumbling across again!) The moment something moved, Rue's eyes flashed to it, though she hesitated not for a second - and the moment she saw the blue eyes of another young girl like herself, a bright kind of pleasure shone in her face. Tongue still hanging free, Rue tossed her head slightly in an (unnecessary) movement to roll it back into her mouth. She was all about theatrics.

Tail waving behind her in easygoing friendliness, she stopped and perked her head up at the girl, one ear held high while the other fell down. "I was made for wanderin'," she grinned, taking on a little of the other's way of talkin', it meant in a companionable, good-natured way; she didn't really do it consciously any more, it just helped to make her feel a little closer to those she met, and thought that it made her seem more approachable too. She chuffed once in lighthearted amusement, and then spoke again, this time with her more ordinary accent; "It's a fine day for it! What about you, what brings you this way?"

@Ruenna <3

It appeared that her presence was met with an ecstatic tone from the other, a smile on the other girl’s maw bringing an infectious grin to her own as she watched her curiously. It was nice to meet friendly faces, especially when they weren’t trying to kill you and even more so when they weren’t trying to talk pretty to your face just to stab you in the back. It wasn’t something that she preferred to think about. The other girl had reacted much better than she had at discovering another presence nearby, an unknown quantity who could bring any kind of personality to the situation.

She supposed her friendly demeanor might have helped with that if only just a little bit as the girl respond to her question and the wag in Lilya’s tail wagged from side to side at a steady pace to match Ruenna’s own. Then the question was returned and a sad smile came across her features. “I wish that was it for me… m’runnin’ from my demons… m’name is Lilya Valrorys.” She explained carefully, offering her full name in hopes for a name to refer to the girl as in return. She had a light expression of her eyes, friendly even though caution lingered.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

@Lilya <3!

There was something slightly wary about the girl, as though she were surprised at Rue's enthusiastic response - but she'd started it! Rue could hardly help latching onto the other's initial energy, that's what sustained her. At the dampened smile on the girl's face, Rue cocked her head and whined, just quietly, in instinctual concern for what may have caused it. Running from her demons, the girl said... wait, Valrorys?


In a flash, Rue searched the well-tended library of her memory and immediately found the tome labeled with that very name, for there was no mistaking it. It was a fairly light book, for not a lot had been written in it... but as she flicked through the pages to refresh her memory, she recalled that what had been written wasn't... Well, it wasn't very pleasant. Not letting her smile slip to betray what she might know - she'd been wrong before! sometimes there were wolves who shared the same name but absolutely nothing else, no known family ties or history or anything - Rue tilted her head back upright, casually searching that vaguely forlorn face for something familiar. Not sure why; she'd never actually met a Valrorys... "I'm sure you've lost 'em good out here," she chirped, trying to lighten the mood and also tread carefully. "I'm Ruenna Tainn - Rue, though, please! You, uh, you local, Lilya?"

@Ruenna <3

Demons constantly rolled at the girls feet, even if these were just a figment of her imagination or if she was simply being far too cautious… it’d been almost a year since she’d left, and she had yet to catch them but the idea still lingered in the depths of her conscious… one might call it guilt but she called it caution. It was the truth, she felt guilty that it had been Maelia to lose her life just for helping Lilya discover who she was… the idea left an unsettled pit in her stomach… still she found herself turning her attention back to the teen before her.

They were roughly the same age, strange and unique markings that Lilya had admittedly never seen before marked her face, streaks in strange places that made her curious… she didn’t ask. The other girl insisted that she must have lost them by now as Lilya gave a stubborn shake of her head. “Nah, I reckon they’re still out there… wars don’t end until the enemy is dead, heard ‘em m’self.” She explained with a hushed and quiet whisper, almost to herself but loud enough for Ruenna to hear before she was offered a name.

“Pleasure ta meet ya, Rue.” Ruenna was a pretty name, and Rue was a perfect nickname for her, very fitting, Lilya was certain. Was she local? She shook her head again. “Nah, M’running from a war m’family got involved with… got demons chasing me from Otter’s Run to every place since… can’t stay local for too long.” She explained again, partially unsure of why she was giving away this much information to begin with. What if this girl was the one who’d been following her and is just putting up a nice façade? What if she was involved with one of the other packs they’d been trying to protect their home from?

The girl seemed nice enough but Lilya couldn’t be sure.

(This post was last modified: Apr 18, 2016, 10:13 PM by Lilya.)

sorry for the wait <3

A small knot of concern formed in Rue's chest as she watched Lilya shake her head, hoping that she was of some other strand of Valrorys and that Rue wouldn't be compelled to share what she knew about the strand she'd heard about. It must've been late last year she'd run into Throak, yeah, the snows were just starting to fall... As Lilya insisted that her demons were most likely still in pursuit, her use of the word 'war' all but settled it - and what little doubt remained was scattered to the wind at the name Otter's Run.

Perhaps Rue's discomfort showed on her face, though she was still smiling - not wanting to give poor Lil reason to worry. She may not have had real demons on her tail, but Rue could believe that those in the girl's imagination were frightening enough... "Ah," she said, licking her lips, softening her posture to a slightly less exuberant one, her expression tinged with sympathy, "heh, you're not gonna believe it but... I heard what happened to Otter's Run. I met a guy from Feorb, well he used to be from the Brook when we crossed paths, anyway, and... yeah."

It wasn't the first time she'd recognised a name, but what she knew about that name wasn't normally this... sad. Though perhaps Lilya would see it as a good thing? Waiting see how Lilya would react before just blurting out 'they're all dead!', Rue hesitated, hating being the bearer of such violent news. Why couldn't it have been nice news, like 'oh your sister had babies' or 'oh your dad became a master fisher like he always wanted' or 'oh your old herb stash is being well looked after by the new healer'. Those were nice things to tell people.

@Ruenna <3

This other girl was quite strange, and Lilya was still trying to wrap her head around just who this other girl was and why she was looking at her like that… there was a slight discomfort on her face behind the smile… was it something Lilya had said? Perhaps she was after her, perhaps she was a demon that was following her. She tensed, ready to bolt at the sight of anything turning bad as caution began to plague her eyes. Had they finally caught up to her? Were they going to chase her until she couldn’t run? Well, she wasn’t going to go down that easy. She wasn’t a huge fan of fighting, but she’d fight before she gave up without one.

Her words didn’t do much better, breathing hitching lightly as concern flaked over her eyes, calmer than before mention that she’d simply heard about what had happened, and not that she’d been there. Granted, it was possible this girl was lying to her, but they appeared to be the same age which means that her leave to chase her would have been when she was scarcely more than a pup. Surely if they sent someone, they’d send someone older who wasn’t quite as far of a fight. It wasn’t how the Brook had run themselves, brutes.

She reacted with a few steps back, caution still swarming her eyes as she tried to figure out what happened. Was that sympathy in her eyes? “How long ago… how close are they to my trail?” When she’d heard the news, she read ‘I met a guy from Feorb’ as ‘I talked to this guy a couple days ago’. How close were they to her trail? Were they closing in? It was a question she had to ask. “Are they still chasing me?” It was barely above a whisper with fear in her eyes. “What… what happened to Otter’s Run?” She almost didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

(This post was last modified: Apr 21, 2016, 02:22 PM by Lilya.)

@Lilya <3

The distrust and uncertainty which flickered over Lilya's previously-calm face was entirely expected. Rue dropped her gaze in discomfort, tail losing its energy and coming to rest by her hocks. When Lilya stepped back, Rue's ears drew back and she winced, wishing that she'd kept her mouth shut for once. Sure, Lilya had a right to know what had happened, but... there was such a thing as timing, Rue. They'd just met. Now she was nothing more than an unwilling messenger, and perhaps Lilya would remember her as nothing more than that.

Lilya put some distance between them, the gesture significant, and Ruenna began to shift her weight from paw to paw as her discomfort grew. The questions drove down, three, one after the other, each more desperate than the last. "Nobody's chasing you," she whimpered, wanting Lilya to believe her but easily able to see why she may not. "They're... it was late last autumn I met him, called himself Throak Perry, said he'd left Feorb Brook because his ideologies didn't mesh with theirs, I asked why, he told me about... about that war, about what happened to Otter's Run." This sucked so hard. She glanced up at Lilya, wanting to look earnest, so sorry that she'd brought it up at all. Was it worse to know for certain, or to run from what might be?

"They're... they lost. I'm sorry."