White Fir Notch And I feel a weakness coming on

OOC! OOC Note<3

Sylva’s hazel brown eyes stared curiously at her Alpha as she spoke, quilling the Yearling’s fears over yet another blunder into uncharted territories as she tried to navigate the delicate balance between wolves. As Raela’s gaze toward toward the looming mountain and beyond, Sylva’s own followed, curiosity to what laid beyond, she’d need to look into exploring that later on, but for now her ears pricked as Raela mentioned her birth pack being cruel. She wanted to speak, to tell Raela something right then and there, but instead she bit her tongue (literally) to keep herself from speaking out just yet.

She felt anger build within herself at the thought of anyone chasing Raela away. A small but protective growl rumbled with in small wolf’s body as she pressed against Raela’s side as she continued to speak. Her eyes closing slightly as her ears pricked attentively to the history lesson. As soon as Raela was done speaking, Sylva opened her maw, she did have a few questions.

“Why were they cruel? What reason did they have for chasing you out?” This second question, Sylva had thought over carefully, she didn’t want to blurt out something like ‘why would they chase you out?’ She had a faint inkling that there had to have been some reason, recently she had noticed a cause and effect type of pattern among most situations and it had her curious and worried, what could have been a cause to effect an entire pack to be cruel?

She followed up the questions though in an unusual way, she stood quickly, her nose pressed against the ground as she followed an impulsive idea. Searching along the river’s edge, she eventually found what she had been looking for. Her tail wagged happily as she returned to Raela’s side and settled down before dropping..a rock. She nudged it toward Raela without a word, as though the intentions and meanings were blindingly obvious.

ThoughtDialogue

The girl was impressively quiet, for an impressively long amount of time. It was appreciated, though she could see when she glanced over that it was not because Sylva had nothing to say. Her eyes were practically brimming with words. The soft growl was felt between them, against her side, and as soon as she realized what it meant the Queen felt gratitude. At least everyone out here seemed to think the Asurns had been wrong. The second her tongue came to rest, the pup's leapt into action. Raela was hardly surprised. If anything Sylva had earned the right to babble for listening so well. 

While the questions themselves were not strange, what was was how few had bothered to ask them. Minka had, but only to be sure that her potential recruit was no traitor, criminal or what have you. She couldn't have blamed the woman either. Now very much in the same position, Raela understood the caution fully. Before she could formulate a response, however, the girl was up and moving. Like a squirrel this one was. Curiously, her yellow eyes followed the yearling's path; only growing in their bafflement as she was presented with a rock.

Not wanting to offend the youth, she forced out her appreciation. "Uh, thank you," she started, glancing between the present and its giver. "What's this for?" the matriarch asked, momentarily postponing her reply to the first two questions. This was a more puzzling experience than either of those had been, so far. 

            

@Raela !

Sylva paused for a moment, trying to remember exactly what her dad had said all those months ago, there had been a moment similar to this when he and she had been sitting by the river their their old home. He had used a rock as a symbol, but here Sylva was quite literal. She tilted her muzzle up toward Raela before speaking. “Y-you're like a rock in a river, even though your old pack was cruel and negative, you didn’t let it wash you away. Instead, it shaped and influenced you, but you stayed solid in what you believed in...like a rock so..um..yea.. Dad told me that once...…”

Her soft brown gaze shone with pride, she had managed to remember exactly what her father had said, though this time around, the situation had been far different. To her, Raela was like a rock, strong and sturdy. A small smile tugged at the yearling’s maw as she looked up at the Agouti female. She didn’t have much else to say at the moment and smiled as the seconds dragged by. She was adapting to social situations fairly well but there may still be a good bit to be learned.

ThoughtDialogue

Whatever her befuddled mind had managed to suppose would be the explanation was swiftly swept away for something much more touching than she would ever have imagined. The older woman turned her brilliant yellow eyes down toward the stone as Sylva spoke, her face blank with the weight of what was being said. The girl had never been this profound, about anything. She wondered how many had brushed the child off, or judged her at first glance. Everyone had something deeper – and it was because of her kindness that the matriarch got to see it. By the end of the little speech, the Alphess had begun to think that this rock was a wonderful gift indeed. At last her attention shifted back to the dark yearling; face warmed with a truly appreciative smile. 

The new happiness in her chest left the woman speechless. Raela just grinned. After a moment though, her jaws did part. "Your dad sounds like a good man," she replied at last; gently turning the rock over in her paws. It was then that the pup's questions seeped back into her consciousness, and the Queen's joyful expression faded into something very serious. "They didn't like me because I was weak." Her sunny eyes went cold; fixating solidly upon the object's hard surface while vivid memories played out before them. "They said I was useless, so they got rid of me." There was so much more in that awful story, but details hurt. 

I wonder what Tolas would think of the pups... Raela mused to herself, suddenly saddened that he would never share in this better life with her. She pressed her paws harder against the rock. 

            

Sylva listened quietly to Raela’s explanation, though a small tear started to form in her eyes at the mention of her father and she quietly mumbled “He was a good man….before…[/b] She just couldn’t go there yet, there was too much pain involved, in all the months since her father’s death, Sylva hadn’t really thought much about it, when she did, the wound was fairly raw and brought feelings that she didn’t want to experience back. While trying to fight off those bad feelings, she scooted closer to Raela before pressing against the older woman’s side.

“Y-your not weak Raela, just look at what you and Gent have done.” She was trying so hard, she wanted to focus on Raela and her happiness but now that her her dad had been brought up, she just couldn’t seem to keep her mind off of him. Next to Raela, she felt safe, maybe safe enough to finally confront and explore those feelings that she had tried to hide from. Or..maybe not. “I miss him…” That was ass Sylva trusted herself to give voice too. Dad…..I love you She thought quietly as she found herself pressing her paw over her nose.

ThoughtDialogue

(This post was last modified: May 07, 2016, 07:05 PM by Sylva. Edit Reason: Fixed a double posted paragraph )

OOC: PP with permission. 

Her own wave of sadness had distracted Raela from the internal suffering of the girl at her side. Had she been looking, she might have seen the sadness in Sylva's eyes earlier. The tone of the yearling's voice, however, was more than enough evidence. The older woman glanced up from her gift; expression softening considerably. Of course there had to be some terrible pain in the pup's history; she had been found all alone, and from the look of her manners she had been like that for some time. Ruddy-colored ears flicked forward to gather up her companion's sentiments. 

Again a wash of gratitude colored Raela's demeanor. Her lips curled upward in another warm smile; honey eyes melting as she regarded the youth. Sylva was not wrong in the slightest; but deep down the matriarch could not get herself to accept the compliment as reality. There would always be that insecurity inside; the idea that she was useless and little more than a burden to everyone else, but for now that demon slunk away. The Queen only grinned. "Thank you," she replied softly, letting the sound of the river fill the silence. Her gaze drifted back toward its steady flow, only to be abruptly torn back to the child in the following moment. 

“I miss him...” Raela looked down, exhaling a quiet but extended sigh. Her ears fell to the sides. She said nothing for a few seconds, before the urge to do something to soothe the yearling took over. The agouti-furred woman reached over; touching her nose to the pup's neck once in solidarity. Her yellow eyes sought Sylva's dark brown, and Raela rose to her feet. "Hey, why don't we take a walk, hmm?" She suggested, her face equal parts gentle and concerned. She had always found it easier to talk about heavy things while walking; and the walking itself often eased her stress. Hopefully it would do the girl some good too. Sylva seemed to agree, and the pair slipped from the river's edge and back into the woods.

-Fade-

(This post was last modified: Jun 06, 2016, 03:01 AM by Raela.)