Heiress Loch nine in the afternoon

@Kino birthday thread yaaaay~! (so, set for 5/5). By now Sahalie knows about all the pregnant ladies~
Sahalie, you hear the bizarre croak of a blue heron. 

The impenetrable darkness didn't bother the young girl as she danced through undergrowth and around the wide trunks of the forest: she had grown up in the dim light of the thickest wolves, the darkness was a warm comfort. She did wish, though, for some sign of sunlight—that would mean they had found it. The Lake. She knew vaguely that the surprising gem was somewhere south of her home, in an abrupt but welcomed break in the trees. She had decided to take Alastor out here, if only to get away from the insanity that had taken over Oak Tree Bend in the last few weeks.

This was not to say that she was not excited.

Every bone in her body resonated with an excitement. More than anything, she was happy that she would have siblings—younger ones, not like Darrah. Sahalie was ready to really be there for the youngsters, to give them the whole world. Her own birth had been surrounded by so much pain and confusion, and she wanted more for the youngsters. It did not matters which litter: her actual siblings, her adopted siblings, or Kyna's new family additions. They all deserved everything.

However, there were some mixed feelings in there, too. Of course, she was very confused how Spieden ended up pregnant in the first place. Or why all of the females did—well, except for Leotie. She figured maybe Leotie had just been too young, or something. But they were all carrying children now and it just blew her tiny little mind. Last year it had only been her and her brother, but this year there would be so many. And how did this even happen?. What did her father see in Naira? What did Naira want with her father? There were so many questions, and the ones about the paternity of Spieden or Kyna's litters fell to the back of her mind as she wondered how on earth Naira could ever end up with her father.

A strange noise echoed through the trees. Her ears flopped atop her head, and the girl glanced sideways at her silver friend as if to ask what it was. "Do you think we're close? I know the lake is here somewhere."

(This post was last modified: May 06, 2016, 11:40 PM by Sahalie.)

 

If Kino had thought that things had been hectic with the leaving of Drestig and Jessie, he’d been sorely mistaken. After the spring, things had erupted into a quiet chaos of confusion and hormones with not just one of their members falling to the obnoxious perfume of the thing he’d heard by whispers here and there called ‘heat’, but three of them. As the months had progressed, he’d noticed the subtle change in frame of each of them as the lives within them grew bigger and bigger until he was absolutely sure they would have to explode in a gross display of guts and pups. Yet, still they did not and if anything it only made him more concerned. How long did these things usually last anyways? And how did he even feel about the prospect of pups anyhow?

As the thoughts had crossed his mind, he’d gotten to thinking about how it had been for him as a pup in the Crest, before everything had gone to hell. When everything had been good. He supposed it would have been around this time of the year that he, Ari, and Draven had been brought into the world. He didn’t remember much, obviously, until about his third month of life, and keeping track of exact dates was pretty much impossible. Rather, they had to judge by the seasons and by just…feeling. And, as he got to thinking more he got to feeling that it had to be close. That, perhaps even that day he had been born. A feeling of melancholy had settled over his mood at those very early morning thoughts that had kept him from sleeping what had felt like the entire night. Instead, he’d opted to escape from the crowded den and sat outside looking at the stars above imagining what his life might have been like for perhaps the millionth time had Minka not died.

Sahalie had sought him out about midday, convincing him easily in the way only she could to come with her on an excursion south to a lake she had discovered. They’d traveled most of the day until they’d entered a dense forest, fog billowing from its bowels in a way that made him wonder why the girl had even ventured in in the first place. Light penetrated the dense vegetation and canopy in various places, casting a vague stream of light in the otherwise gloomy place setting him partially on edge. The large silver boy coasted closer to his small friend on guard, bright topaz gaze flickering around them warily.

Hal’s voice broke the partial silence suddenly, causing his shoulders to tense then quickly relax. He looked down at her as they went, thinking on her question about whether or not they were close. Taking in their surroundings, the strange sound that seemed to only be getting louder made him think. To him it sounded almost…like a croak perhaps, and he knew of only one animal that croaked. A frog. And frogs lived in water, which had to mean they were close to the lake, didn’t it? “I’d say so, I think that sound is a bunch of frogs and frogs live near water. So, we must be getting closer,” he said, relaying his thoughts to the girl.

lol listened to "When the Day Met the Night" by P!ATD like the whole time writing this

"Really?" she responded at the prospect of frogs, "I thought it sounded more like a bird." A bird that had crowed for so long it has lost its voice, but a bird nonetheless. There had been some musical quality in the noise that was altogether absent from any frog she had ever encountered. Her head tipped left and right as she looked at her friend, smiling "Whatever, doesn't matter what it is." Regardless it was a good sign that the water was nearby.

Following the intermittent croaks eventually lead the pair out at last to the overwhelming sunshine that blasted them from above and below on the lake's reflection. The brightness was so startling for the girl that she hesitantly turned as if to bury her face in the elbow—for that was about where her neck reached—of her silver friend before realizing it was just the sun. She shouldn't fear the sun. Still, the warmth and brightness from above felt so foreign to the girl who lived in the half-light, the one who wanted so ironically to be the sun. "Sorry," she said shyly with a little giggle, pulling away from him and walking boldly out into the open and the mirror surface ahead of her.

Abruptly, she broached the topics she had come out here to discuss in the first place. "Al," her face was suddenly serious as she found his gaze. Her forepaw trailed aimlessly through the water, breaking the surface and sending slow, long ripples outwards into the depths. "Why's everyone getting pregnant. What the hell are we going to do with a ton of cubs? Me and Drift were a handful." Somehow she still found a way to laugh, "Especially me, I suspect. Even if I wasn't the one going off and getting lost."

"I'm really excited, don't get me wrong," she practically radiated delight from sun-up to sun-down, and she wanted new brothers and sisters more than anything but, "Just....confused... ya know?"

(This post was last modified: Jun 13, 2016, 03:02 AM by Sahalie.)

 

A bird? How could Hal possibly think that sound was a bird? His topaz gaze swept over to her, concern evident as he watched her head tilt from side to side. He knew it was just her testing the sound in a way that it seemed only their species did, trying to get just the right spot to hear a sound perfectly clearly. But when she did it, it seemed kind of…cute? The boy forced his sight away, brows furrowing slightly at the intrusive thought.

Following the sound, they exited the tree line and were assaulted by a sudden brightness that send his head spinning. His eyes closed quickly as he winced, head dipping down and maw accidently bumping into the nape of his friend’s neck as she sought refuge in his elbow. His head popped back up immediately, gaze snapping open wide and in shock as his attention turned back down to her not expecting her proximity. It seemed she had been shocked too, but not for quite the same reason that he had been. Sorry, she apologized in a shy fashion, then promptly charged ahead to the open. Kino stared after her for a moment, blinking as he tried to collect himself. Sahalie Tainn was a walking contradiction, and sometimes he thought he would never get used to it.

Following quickly after her, he once more had to stop abruptly as she did as well. God, this girl needed a warning sign. Moving instead to the side, his auds swiveled to catch her calling his nickname, head turning to follow the movement as his brows raised in question at the seriousness in her tone. "Why's everyone getting pregnant. What the hell are we going to do with a ton of cubs?” she questioned. Ah, so that was the real reason she wanted to get out of reach of the pack. To avoid any prying ears. A small smile played at the corners of his lips as he settled his tall, sleek frame into a more comfortable sitting position. "I'm really excited, don't get me wrong. Just....confused... ya know? she said, and honestly the boy didn’t really know. He wasn’t even in remotely the same area as his friend was. Kino’s siblings hated him, or at least Draven did. Maybe even Kova too. After all, the other silver boy had simply left Kino alone. And, to his knowledge, Kino only had three siblings. Sahalie certainly had more than that on the way, and her family situation was…unique at best.

“I dunno, Hal. I guess I used to think that when you had cubs you did it ‘cause you loved someone, but I don’t really know if that applies to anyone this time.” He knew his mother had loved his father, but Tokino, the man he was named after, had died before the boy was even born so he hadn’t had a single chance to get to know him. Still, the love had been there and that had been the reason he’d been born, hadn’t it? But neither Spieden nor Aponi had mates that anyone knew of or had met and he didn’t know if Naira and Triell were mates either. They certainly hadn’t been very affection from what he’d seen, but he was also new to the pack still. What were they going to do with all these cubs coming? It was a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of work for all of them. Hadn’t any of them thought of that before they’d gone out and gotten pregnant? Still, the deed was done and it couldn’t be undone. They’d all simply have to pull extra weight.

“I guess we’re all just going to have to play parent or something. They aren’t gonna be tiny for long anyways, I grew up pretty fast. I’m guessing they will too,” he commented absently, rolling onto his pack to stare up at the sky. He’d definitely grown up fast, but…maybe it hadn’t been all physically. Kino had matured quickly mentally, perhaps faster than others his age. He’d had about four months of being a kid, of having childhood experiences before all of it had been stripped away. None of these would be related to him, but he knew that, for as long as he was around, he wanted them to have more than he did. “I just want them to have good memories.”

@Kino

"Hah," Sahalie nearly coughed. She was unsure if love was a requisite. Sure Spieden said that usually packs had two leaders that loved each other, but that seemed like such an old ideal rather than a reality she had seen anywhere. She had met too many cubs without mothers or parents, and was completely unsure of where her own mother had stood with her father. Or any other woman. He spent a lot of time with that woman, but was that love? It suddenly occurred to the girl that she had no idea what love was really like, since everyone spoke about it as if it were so much more than a family or friend kind of love and those were the only love she had. The dark girl plunked her butt down beside the silver boy and stared determinedly at her paws as if that would make everything clearer.

At any rate, Alastor made a good point. They probably would need to play parent, what with Naira being an old fogey along with Aponi and Spieden being apparently husbandless. It would surely take the whole village. "I hope I can be a good parent." She wasn't sure if she meant now or in some other place at some other time.

Her shoulder bumped against his elbow, "Of course they'll have good memories. They got us, don't they?" While Sahalie's childhood hadn't been the best, she still felt full of happy memories. Anyone could make it happen if they tried hard enough. "We both turned out okay. And we'll make sure they do."

Even still, a sigh rolled from her chest. "I just wish my dad wasn't with that woman."

(This post was last modified: Jun 19, 2016, 02:55 AM by Sahalie.)

 

Sahalie plopped unceremoniously down next to him, staring at her paws in such a way that he thought she might end up straining herself. "I hope I can be a good parent." she said, and it took everything in his power not to laugh. To him the statement seemed…absurd. In his mind, that sort of thing was way off in the distance. Kino himself didn’t even know if he wanted to create a family, and certainly couldn’t imagine finding anyone special enough to call a mate. The recent females might not have had any qualms about starting one seemingly all on their lonesome, but the boy was more reserved than that. It was also possibly in part due to the fact that he was afraid of losing them. He’d already lost his family once, he wasn’t sure he wanted to put so much faith in others again only to have the same thing happen.

He was jarred from his thoughts by a bump to the elbow by his small, dark friend. "Of course they'll have good memories. They got us, don't they? We both turned out okay. And we'll make sure they do." she encouraged, and he offered a hum of agreement. Of course, he preferred they turn out as Sahalie’s form of okay rather than his. Off in the distance that same croaking noise could be heard and the pale yearling rolled back onto his stomach, muscles tightening and lifting his frame as his auds flicked forward. Topaz gaze narrowed as he squinted, trying to see what it was that was making the sound. He thought he saw a form, but he couldn’t quite make it out…

His attention was pulled from the thing to the sigh that came from Hal’s lips, head turning and dipping to allow him a better look at her. She expressed that she wished Triell wasn’t with Naira, and it certainly wasn’t a new thing to him. She’d spoken to him frequently about her blatant hatred of the older woman, for reasons he could really only guess at. It wasn’t that she was really much different from Speiden or Aponi, other than the fact that her litter’s father was known, but perhaps that was the thing that set her apart? Triell was her father, the sole biological parent that the girl had had during her entire life. And, even though Hal had mentioned that she didn’t really care that her mother hadn’t been around because she’d never known her, Kino knew that couldn’t be entirely true. He’d never known his own father, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel the void where a father should have been in his life. It was like a part of him was missing, a memory that would make any normally raised wolf feel whole lacking in him. She had to feel that same way, didn’t she?

“You know…I don’t think he’s using her to replace your mom. I know you said that you don’t really care but…she was still your mom even if you didn’t know her. Speiden raised you, sure, and she’s awesome and cool but she’s not blood and I know how much blood means in your family,” he commented idly, hoping that he wasn’t stepping on his friend’s toes. Maybe he was missing the point entirely, but to him that seemed to be a bit of an underlying problem.

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

i am kinda tipsy rn so I apologize for this response quality.

If there was anything that ever bothered her about Alastor it was about how quiet he could be. He never offered his opinion unless she went out of her way to ask, or spoke in a way that clearly implied it was what she wanted. Otherwise he was impassive and trapped in his own unreachable thoughts. Sahalie longed to chase after whatever went on behind those clear blue eyes but felt an invisible barrier of propriety between his thoughts and her own selfish desires. She couldn't know everything, she told herself, knowing that everyone needed their own safe spaces in their minds. Alastor deserved to have something that was his own, and so she did not always ask him when he chose not to respond to one thing or the other. All the same the girl felt a pain her chest of the same old longing, her heart shouting, What, what is it, at his narrowing and flickering eyes. It felt like she had lost his attention.

But of course the topic of Naira roused him again, and she felt the intensity of his attention fall on her once again. She was not afraid to meet his eyes, sighing as she listened to him talk. Like any teenager, she felt with a certainty that, though he tried to understand her there was something he was missing. Sahalie was different than the rest of the Tainns where blood was concerned. "@Spieden is more than family." she corrected lightly, trying not to fault her friend for the mistake. Never less. Never. "I was mad once, though.... when I thought, ha," the memory produced a dry giggle, "I somehow got the idea in my head that Spieden tried to replace Nayeli. I suppose that did make me upset..." But it felt like more than this issue.

"I know he doesn't mean to replace her. Nayeli." Because Nayeli was never mother. "That's why I don't hold it against him. But why her? Is that the kind of woman my dad likes? She's crude and she's aloof as the breeze. She's not a part of this pack at all. I don't like that. How can my father like that? Who is she? I've no idea. And she doesn't care. She doesn't seem to care about anything at all, until she spoke up at the meeting. She used Corinna's name like she owned it some how. She said she was here but she's not. She's just with him."

"I just think she's using him."

 

Hal sighed as he spoke, and he felt himself choke for a second. Ah, so he’d been wrong. Of course he’d been wrong, Kino was very rarely right it seemed. He felt a faint feeling of bitterness bubble in his chest for some reason, followed by something he hadn’t felt in a while. Loneliness. He was trying, god damnit the boy was trying but it still didn’t seem to be enough sometimes. He wasn’t like others, he knew that. He was reminded of that every time he saw how content Triell and Naira seemed to be, every time he went to a gathering in the pack and everyone seemed to know everyone and then there was the yearling, sitting in plain sight but hardly feeling seen. And he tried to push those thoughts away, afraid of the darkness that it brought. Those hateful thoughts that had consumed him so powerfully that it had kept him from being able to eat or function properly. He never wanted to go back to that feeling.

Still, he listened to her even if his heart was constriction painfully in his chest. Not the same, never the same. Everything Hal said seemed to be correct, but still somehow biased. Of course, everything was always biased in some way, shape, or form he supposed. “But…what if she makes him happy?”

She squinted at her friend, feeling that something was somehow wrong with him without knowing what it was or why. The girl had to shrug it off: she had no evidence. All the same she felt the same longing: what, what is it! she longed to shout. Instead she was forced to patiently await his judgement on the matter, the thing she could publicly demand. When it finally came, the evaluation was disappointingly short. But Alastor always kept things simple, his mind floated on top of all the quandaries her heart drowned in, allowing him to truly reach out for the heart of things. He was right without forcing the point.

Sahalie sighed.

"Yeah," the word was low and drawn out, "That's why I never say anything to anyone 'sides you...." Still, somehow her chest remained burdened. Her lungs filled. Exasperation bubbled over, "But he doesn't seem happy to me, though. He seems defeated. I just..." Her ears twisted backwards as her gut tangled. These were not the things she wanted to say or believe about her father, but he seemed so tired all the same that it was painful. And Triell had seemed this way ever since he had returned from that journey to find Nayeli. "I don't know. I guess I shouldn't bother myself so much about it. You're right, he's an adult. He can make his own decisions..." 

The corners of her mouth twitched, her mood lightening "You're so good at this, Al: being my guide. You listen to all these awful things and you're always so calm...." Her paws moved through the loose, sandy soil, "Would you be my advisor. When I'm older?

"I...I mean... I don't know what you've thought about for a role. If you've already got your heart set on something I don't wanna force you into something you don't want to do. I just... I thought I would float the idea."