Mountain of Dire Calamity Affair

Dreary eyes wandered up towards the fiery golden glow of the early morning sun. With a soft sigh, lids slid shut with the rising sweep of his head. There it was again, the warm stroke of sunlight against his face; his only comfort in the depths of unfamiliarity. A fresh morning breeze snaked through the trees causing a cold chill to rake up his spine and ignited a sharp shiver that rippled down his neck. His body shuddered and the hackles along his back stood up on end as he curled his tail in closer, in attempt to feel some kind of comfort and security.

His head lifted, only slightly, to gaze back over at the large piles of dirt and rubble that had built up around the entrance of his newly made den. He had been digging since the late hours of the previous night and all through the early hours of the morning. Desperation and fear had kept his energy high, but now that he had finished his work, tiredness was starting to creep up on him. Lorcan lowered his head back onto his outstretched paws, settling his chin neatly between the two, as he lay down comfortably just inside the entrance of his shoddily-made den. His eyes fluttered shut, fighting against the growing light of the sun that brimmed over the horizon as his body finally gave in to sleep.

(This post was last modified: Jun 20, 2016, 01:47 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Wanted to put someone in here... but not just use Rue for everyone :P Here's how I'm picturing this, with an awesome not-shoddily-done-sketch: click for cross-section. If this goes against how you've imagined the den, just let me know so I can change it!

It was Wraith's influence which turned his attention to the mountain. In a time which felt like an age ago, himself, Wraith and Enoki had partly scaled a southern part of that mountain and hunted down a pronghorn. It had been a successful trip, formative, and a sign of what the Ridge could have been if they had all worked together. But the pack had rotted. Craw knew that mountains held significance to Wraith, in much the same way that wide rolling hills and plains did for him - which made the wide tundra of Larkcall quite easy to adjust to - and out of curiosity for what his friend saw in them had chosen to climb it himself. It was not an easy endeavour. While built for strength, Craw found it hard to constantly heave himself upwards, though did get a vicious thrill out of looking back down and seeing the world sprawled out behind him, the forests and beyond it the tundra he was so fond of.

Only once did he look down and feel his heart leap into his throat, for a split second seeing that ground rushing up, the wind in the air passing through his fur as though dropped by gravity - but it wasn't real. He bared his teeth in defiance of the memory, of how it tried to make him weaker, and carried on climbing.

What kind of wolves chose to live in places like this? Once, Craw might have asked that with some non-negative level of scorn, but Wraith had completely altered his perception of that. Besides, the Whitestone wolves lived on their own little rocky peak, so who was to judge others for living on a much larger one? Of course, Craw owned all of his, which was a fairly key difference, but it was hardly feasible to think that you could stake a claim to every part of whatever landmark you chose to live on or in or around. Out of curiosity for those he might find - both vagrant and packwolf alike - here he was, for better or worse, and just as the sun had risen from its slumber, so Craw finally came across the scent of something other than goat or cougar.

The lone male was out of sight, though, and Craw hovered unknowingly close to the den which the man had made, the freshly-dug entrance faced away from where he stood and thus out of direct line of sight. He did not try to hide the wheeze in his throat as he lowered his head to the ground and snuffled, analysing the wolf he thought to be currently absent, until he noticed how the dirt and stones seemed so disturbed only a few feet away. As he moved towards it, Craw would walk upon the roof of the den, now having spotted where the entrance lay, and paused. Attentive ears detected the subtle sounds of breathing, and a snaky grin spread across his face as he realised that the lone wolf he'd found was curled up inside.

With a careless and heavy thud, Craw thumped his rear down on the hard earth. Bringing a hindleg up to scratch behind his jaw and ear, he grunted with noisy satisfaction, and kept an eye on the entrance.

It had not taken the young male long to slip into a heavy, deep sleep. Though the sunlight had only recently begun to flicker tendrils of fiery light over the horizon, within the dark confines of his hurriedly-made den, darkness reigned and the sweet sound of silence hushed him into quiet slumber. For all the wolf knew, it was only the faint hiss of his breath and the deep thud of his heart that tied him to the real world, for in the darkness of the night when he had created his temporary shelter, the freshly disturbed ground was much less obvious to his tired eyes. The young male was safe and hidden, or so he had thought.

He couldn’t remember dreaming, but whatever thoughts had been swirling through his unconscious mind were suddenly disturbed when a loud ominous thud broke the morning silence. Dark ears pricked up immediately, flickering around in all manner of directions as the sound echoed against his chamber walls, as his mind wearily roused from his sleep and struggled to process the situation. Eyelid twitched up, exposing narrow slits of gold as his eyes traced up the crumbling walls of his den towards the ceiling where the sound had erupted.

A subtle growl grumbled in his throat and his brows furrowed as he forced himself alert. Large paws shifted to clamber back onto his feet. He crouched there in the dark for a moment, suspicious as to what had caused the sudden thud above him. Black nostrils flared as his muzzle inched forwards towards the entrance of the den, as he tested the air for any scented clue. The pungent scent of a dominant male wolf caused his hackles to raise and his ear to fold back with unease. A dominant wolf meant that a pack was possibly nearby, which potentially meant his choice for a den site was dangerously close to their territorial boundaries… which would explain why a dominant pack member had come to investigate. His tail flicked sharply with uncertainty as he cautiously crept forwards out of the shadows of his den, golden eyes glancing up behind him.

His gaze was met with a pair of devious yellow eyes, enclosed by deep obsidian fur which itself surrounded by silver. Thick scars littered the large male’s face. The stranger was rather intimidating to the slightly smaller, leaner young male. He paused for a moment, hesitant that the scar-laden dominant male would try to harm him, before slowly and calmly stepping out from the shadows of his den and out into the open where he was fully visible to the other wolf. Lorcan tilted his chin up to address him, respectfully. ”I apologise if I am too close to the edge of your pack’s boundaries. It was not my intention, just this land is unfamiliar…” He lowered his head in a nod of respect, tail sweeping briefly between his legs. ”I’m Lorcan.” The younger wolf hoped courtesy would keep him out of trouble, as his body was still exhausted from his travels.

(This post was last modified: Jun 21, 2016, 09:13 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

A smaller brown shape emerged from where Craw had predicted the entrance to be, prompting a thin smile and an immediate ceasing of the scratching. The foot came back down as the spider peered down at the man he had woken, who, in turn, had trained his own golden eyes back up at the wolf who had disturbed him. Craw saw the moment of hesitation, and was comfortable in his own greater position should his actions be met with hostility - and, to be fair, it would have been entirely deserved - but the lone wolf chose politeness instead.

How pleasant. Craw's ears twitched forward as the first thing out of the man's mouth was an apology, lips curling in dark satisfaction, but he repaid respect with respect. Though the loner's posture showed signs of submission, Craw did not add any dominance to his own, beyond the fact that he was literally sat on top of the man's sleeping quarters. "Craw," he rasped in return, manner calm, for courtesy certainly did press his good buttons. "Stand easy; I'm way too far from home to be territorial. Though, from the looks of things," he said, pushing up onto all fours and taking a step closer to the den entrance, peering down on it from above, "I'm the trespasser." He twisted his head as he observed it, as though it were a strange thing he wished to understand, then glanced back up to where Lorcan stood just in front of it with a small smile. When he spoke again, his tone was curious, as though the idea was foreign to him: "You would choose to settle on a mountain?"

I hope this is okay? Feel free to power play Lorcan, or PM me about it :)

To Lorcan’s surprise, the larger wolf cloaked in midnight black and stormy grey did not take the opportunity to enforce his dominance – even though he was clearly at a great advantage, positioned on the ridge above the den. Charcoal lips pursed open as he slowly let a sigh of relief slip like silent smoke out his chest. Well, that was one potential danger averted. His lean muscles beneath his grey and tan fur rippled as he readjusted his paws for a more neutral stance. However, the young wolf may have been new to the loner life, but he was not arrogant enough to assume he could handle himself in his current weakened condition. His muscles were tired from his journey across the mountains, and his body was in need of sustenance. He needed to keep this encounter friendly.

The larger male introduced himself as Craw. Lorcan’s golden gaze flickered, mentally storing that name to memory, as he continued to hold his tail low in submission. The male’s next statement was enough to put the younger male at ease. His tail emerged from between his legs and settled calmly in a neutral hold behind him. He was at least reassured that he hadn’t completely lost all his senses the previous night when he had smelt no mark of a pack’s boundary. Lorcan watched curiously as Craw peered down to inspect his den, his face perplexed in judgement. “It’s not the best, I know.” He admitted, leaning down to nudge a stray rock away from the entrance with his paw, as the man continued. “Oh no Sir, It wasn’t my intention to settle here... I was only planning on staying here a day or two to rest.” His head cocked to one side as he turned to study the appearance of his creation. “Although, I doubt it will even last that long.”

Flicking his tail is dismissal, decided that perhaps he better continue moving and leave his monstrosity of a den to the mountain hares, Lorcan stepped forward to approach the male up on the ridge, moving calmly to stand beside him. “I grew up in a valley, beneath a mountain similar to these.” His golden eyes scanned over the horizon, up to the cold grey peaks of rock in the distance. “They aren’t the easiest place to reside, I know, which is why I presumed my presence would not be a disturbance here.” He lowered his rump to sit, eyes still trained on the horizon. Rumble. Crack. The roof of his den that the pair of wolves were perched upon gave way in an instant, and the floor broke away beneath him, resulting in Lorcan finding himself in a state of tohubohu face-planting a pile of dirt and stony rubble, his limbs splayed out in an awkward fashion under and around him.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Hahaha, yes, that's totally okay!

An ear twitched happily at the word sir, though he didn't otherwise acknowledge it. Why spoil a good thing when they had so easily fallen into their natural roles? Without needing to lift his tail an inch, both wolves had quickly established their relative hierarchy, same pack or no. Things always went so much smoother with sensible wolves like this one.

He snorted quietly at Lorcan's criticism of his own den in amused agreement, but he had no interest in picking apart a loner's efforts to stay safe and dry. Craw was surprised he had bothered to dig it out at all if he only planned on staying for that short a time. Such were the daily worries of the vagrant, he supposed, whose only priorities were their bellies and survival - and for the successful among them, that could leave time spare for... time-wasters such as this.

When Lorcan moved to stand next to Craw, the spider's attention fixed on him instantly, the den momentarily forgotten, as a little snippet of the man's personal life was offered. Craw had been considering his response when the lone wolf made to sit - and then they both learned the dangers of hastily-done workmanship. Craw's reactions were not much better than Lorcan's, though he managed to avoid smacking his head into the ground, instead falling more backwards as the earth under his hind legs gave way first. Unguarded alarm flashed across his expression as they fell the few feet to the bottom of what had previously been a dark den, and was now a well-lit hole with a very, very leaky ceiling. He fell to the ground with a heavy grunt, hind legs having buckled under his weight and his forearms spread wide as he had tried to catch himself. It was only a little more dignified than Lorcan's fall, really.

For a moment, he didn't move, still catching up with what had just happened - and once it did, and it was clear that it was over, Craw just barked in rough laughter as he composed himself, heaving himself out of the collapsed den (which was a pit entirely too cramped for two). "I think even your pessimistic estimate was too generous," he grinned, and stepped away to shake his head of the small amounts of dust and earth which had settled on it (but mostly to clear it from what had just happened). "If that was a trap, you should try not to catch yourself next time."

Fancy that deer that was killed nearby? Or anything else, I don’t mind xD

Golden eyes widened in horror as the plumes of dust and dirt slowly settled, leaving Lorcan covered in a blanket of dirt, with tiny stones clinging to his long wisps of fur. A piece of rubble tickled at his nostril, causing a sharp intake of breath before his body erupted with a loud sneeze, sending yet more dust flying. A soft growl rumbled in his throat as he lay there, sprawled amongst the rubble, supressed by a wave of embarrassment which flushed hot across his pale skin. He took a moment to figure out the position of his limbs, toes twitching as he began to regain some form of bodily control before he slowly heaved himself up from beneath the rubble. His head turned, jaw ajar in speechless concern, his wide-eyed gaze flashed towards the large monochrome figure of Craw, who appeared to have fared better in the tumble, having managed to land somewhat on his feet unscathed.

A cackling laugh broke the silence, and a sly comment followed.

Russet ears folded back against his head in shame, his golden eyes falling to the ground for a moment in an attempt to hide his insecurities. Craw shook his pelt and Lorcan echoed his movement, twisting his entire body sharply from one direction to the next, from his head to the tip of his tail. “That was entirely my fault, are you okay?” His voice was dry and croaky, his throat still infested with dust, as he looked over to Craw with mild concern, dirt still plastered across his face. When craw spoke of a trap, the young male wasn’t entirely sure if he was joking. Having only just met the older wolf, he wasn’t ready to full hand over his complete trust just yet. Still he snickered, finally moving away from the pile of rubble that was once his temporary home, and settled down to sit on a less disturbed piece of mountainous rock a few metres away.

His attention turned back to Craw, wondering why he had wandered up the mountain in the first place if his pack land were not close by. ”Where about is this pack you belong to? Are you scouting here or —“ He paused mid-sentence, realising it was impolite to ask so many questions all at once and forced himself quiet, with an eager lick of his charcoal lips. ”If you were searching for something, perhaps I could assist you? I do owe you after all…” He added, acknowledging the fact that he had just caused a complete stranger, who was of some kind of status, to fall ass-first off a ledge.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Feel free to move the thread in any direction you want <3 Craw's content to just talk for now, but obviously as a loner Lorcan will have more reason to be interested in easy-meal opportunities.

Shaking himself further, finding the feeling of earth particles in his nose rather off-putting, Craw's attention twitched to the sheepish-looking Lorcan and his admission of guilt. The concerned question was answered only with a thin, amused smile, as if to say it'd take more than that, but he liked that the wolf would jump so easily to apology. This man had manners, poor-decisions and poor-den-building-skills aside.

After all, who had been the inspiration for Craw climbing this mountain in the first place, who was now one of his most trusted companions, and who had also started off their relationship with an accidental physical assault?

The association worked very well in Lorcan's favour.

The smaller wolf stalked away from the ruin of his home and came to sit, on what Craw hoped was a more sturdy piece of ground. Craw turned to face him, not having moved much himself, and once more brought a hind leg up to scratch at the side of his neck - but this time to fight off a real itch rather than a faked one. It had only been brief, barely lasting a heartbeat, but the feeling of falling had sent prickles of cold fire through all his skin nonetheless.

"I was just hoping to learn about what kind of wolf picks a mountain as his home," he wheezed with a somewhat teasing tone, as if to say and now I know! "My pack is to the north, in the tundra. I'm more of a... flatlander, myself." But if this was indicative of a pattern, he could see the appeal in these mountain wolves. His yellow gaze dropped to the hole in the ground, and he snorted, entertained by the idea that Lorcan's den was destroyed and thus Craw was the injured party. It was not an idea he was going to contest, but when he spoke, it was clear that the question was not entirely serious: "So, how exactly were you thinking of paying this debt?"

A wave of relief washed over the Lorcan, as his anxious concern for the older male was put to rest as a thin dark smile tugged at the corners of Craw’s obsidian lips in amusement. The lean male tilted his chin to one side momentarily, his golden gaze searching Craw’s scar-ridden face for any hint of untapped emotion that may have potentially been simmering under the surface if he had told a lie. However, as Craw paused to gingerly scratch at his neck, Lorcan began to accept that all possibilities of confrontation appeared to be behind them. The anxieties that had clouded up his mind made way for a much focused, calmer demeanour.

A single pearlescent fang tugged gently at his charcoal lips as he bit back the urge to bombard Craw with questions about his intentions and instead listened intently to what snippets of information the older male was prepared to offer him. His brows furrowed at Craw’s response, casting a shadow of suspicion across his golden stare. “Why do the mountains make you so uneasy?” The words broke through the barrier between his inner thoughts and his mouth, tugging curiously at his vocal chords. His tail flicked behind him in vague amusement.

Craw’s voice was dismissive as he enquired as to just how Lorcan was planning to repay him for his troubles. The young male’s head tilted to one side as he pondered. He had expected the older male to suggest an appropriate action, given that he had hinted at being the pack’s alpha male, Lorcan would have thought that an alpha male would have a many number of tasks to hand out to willing volunteers given the chance. Apparently not. Lorcan was left to come up with his own ideas. “I could provide you with food or herbs.. or information perhaps. Tell me what you want and I will be at your service” To Lorcan there were many advantages to having an alpha male as an ally and so he was prepared to accept whatever task the pack wolf asked of him.. After all, he was currently a lone wolf with no sense of direction or purpose. Lorcan much preferred to be put to good use.

(This post was last modified: Jun 28, 2016, 06:01 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together