Umbra Copse fate be changed, look inside

Spare me, I am rusty (and maybe a bit frazzled from venue hunting)~

September 9th; Late afternoon; Moderate rain, sun's trying to shine through; 47 ° F, 9 ° C.

See, it hadn't been that hard. For the past couple of weeks it had occurred to Murphy that she might have made a huge mistake. Firstly, she had never been this far from home before. Secondly, most especially since the Connor clan had experienced in a boom of eight cubs over the span of two years, she had never been this alone. Up until now, she had never been without her older sister or her older brothers. Being the baby in the family constantly meant she had someone on her tail or in her ear or had their jowls around her muzzle for assurance or disciplinary means.

Perhaps this was what freedom felt like, she had tried to reason with herself now that she could no longer navigate her way back to her previous sleeping location from the night before. No one to answer to, no one to hold her down, no one to refuse her whims or antics, no one to bite because they were simply just not there... This, she decided, was why Quentin and Beirne had left in the first place - and, this would be the reason why she had followed them.

Murphy Connor needed her brothers back. She would find them and bring them back home or, more than likely, try to stick with them out here... wherever this place was.

The trees of Umbra Copse were not at all welcoming for one such as young as Murph, but at the very least, there was something in the air that told her that Quentin might have come this way. She smiled to herself as she walked around one very old tree, stopping just long enough to relish a single shaft of afternoon sunlight that filtered through the dense canopy above. The rain spell and the urge to travel away from it would come again soon enough.

(This post was last modified: Sep 24, 2016, 07:38 PM by Murphy.)

there are no strangers here, only friends I've never met

The longer her legs grew, the further she wanted them to take her. Why the bear incident had jostled her, as the weeks went on the scare was easy to dismiss. The great beast had only been on the look out for its own child. She did not think it should be back for any reason.  

The child had momma's rules set in her mind. She could not help, but wonder why? Everyone else left the Bend time and again. To get food, take a walk outside its bounds. The others pups too she was sure. Why couldn't she? She was older, capable now of following her trail back. She was quite certain Kyna had done this stuff all the time. Obviously, if she ever got a whiff of a bear she would extract herself. She was getting quick, less clumsy in her motions. Momma had gone out to get something to eat, and why Lila had been asleep then. She wasn't now, and wanderlust was calling her name. Ideally, she would liked to tell her mother of her intentions, but she did not have the patience to wait. Besides she told herself. She would not go too far, nor be gone too long. Perhaps she would not be missed. Aponi could be gone for some time.

The child was cautious as she trotted from the main den. Dark-blue eyes, the color of the mist, scoping out for others. She would have preferred company on an adventure, but she quickly decided alone was best. She was not sure where the other pups were, and didn't want to sound the alarm of sorts. So the dark cloaked girl hoped not to run into anyone of the Bend. It would slow her down, and then she could count for trouble. Why she was confident she held a smooth tongue, she wasn't sure she could fool Spieden or Serach. So far so good, and she hurried on.  A thrill shooting through her veins and she finally crossed the border of the Bend. Why hadn't she done this sooner?

Just like that she was sucking in the snippets of sky, letting her paws eat away at the ground. On top of the world despite the snippet of rain. For trees were not in short supply, and she liked the cool air about her coat. What she found fascinating was the contrasting leaves, so yellow and bright against the rather gray sky. She continued her pace, trying to catch the other colors. Red and orange. The further she wandered, she began to notice something. The trees began to change entirely. Long, skinny dead branches sticking out from the round sides. Unlike the oak, these ones seem to tower, and crowd together. More menacing, than her trees. Heart thumped in panic, she began looking back from where she came. She was not sure where that was.

If Murphy had wandered a little further - perhaps with a bit more confidence in her step - she might have discovered that the wolves of Oak Tree Bend just lived close by. As it stood, however, it seemed that the discovery of its presence would find her soon enough. Something that sounded not particularly large (but not particularly small either) was coming and it was drawing close. A breath caught in the young Connor's throat and her head turned so that she could directly face her eyes and ears towards the source of the oncoming presence. The guard hairs on her coat tingled as her hackles came up. Had it not been for the curiosity, her tail might have curled over her back and her ears might have come forward. Though, as she ducked behind a tree, she came to find a lithe creature moving between the trees. Any other wolf would be stupid to not recognize one of their own kind.

Murphy's eyes squinted momentarily as she regarded the youngster. She even held suppressed the wag that was threatening to wriggle down her spine and slink across to the black tip of her tail. Now, Murphy was not stupid... She knew enough by now that wherever there were cubs (even if it was just one), there had to be a family or at least one parent nearby.

Her green-eyed gaze softened almost instantaneously as she noticed the young girl whip around and regard the place from whence she had come from. Just a few days ago, the yearling had done the very same thing - months ago, when she had done such a thing, she would have found her brothers at her back. A part of her ached as she wondered if anyone would come to collect their missing sister.

But, perhaps they wouldn't? her mind entertained the idea. The corner of Murphy's mouth twitched downward as five seconds silently went past, the panic clearly settling over the youngster before her. Well, if that were the case...

The older girl stepped out from behind the twisted tree she had hidden behind, her tail waving effortlessly from side to side at last. "Heh-lo?" she offered, her accented voice just soft enough as not to demand the cub's attention but rather seek it from her. A soft smile emerged on her brown-furred muzzle and she hoped she would be perceived as the friendly sort of company, "Are yeh okay?"

there are no strangers here, only friends I've never met

Young, she yet to know anyone had spied her. Eyes were still clawing over the foliage, looking for something she had come by. Had it been that tree with the the really gnarly branch? With purpose she tried to move, taking a closer look. When she cocked her head to the right, the tree beside it seemed to have a similar limb. They was a whine building in her throat, but the determined child would not let it sound. She could figure this out.

A soft voice, that oddly had a familiar ring, brought her back around. Blue-gray eyes found a pair of vibrant green, settled in a face of mottled black and gray. Perhaps by tuition or instinct she felt this was a friendly wolf. Young like Halie, and Kyna. Nice, even. But, the voice of her mother seemed to tell her she shouldn't count on any of that. The wagging tail was something the Aquila could not ignore, nor the smile the young lady had taken upon herself. The question that was needed.

<b>"Um..."</b> She was certainly okay, but not okay? It was probably evident in her gaze, she was not sure how to respond. Naturally, her ears tipped back, and the inner battle began. She didn't want to say she had lost her way. But, she really did want to get back to the Bend. Out of trouble. Talking was another thing she had yet to master. "I just, I took a wong tern.." She sucked in a long breath, biting part of her lip in her teeth before continuing. "I nev been ear for." Narrow, black face was scrunched in guilt, eyes wandering to and fro till they settled upon the yearling expectantly. She would know what to do right? What Lila meant?

(This post was last modified: Oct 07, 2016, 02:59 AM by Lila.)

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

"Um..." the younger lass offered upon being addressed. Murphy's tail continued to wave; she could have waited forever for an answer if she had to. Her brothers had shown her that kindness when she was about that age. "I just, I took a wong tern.." The Connor gave a silent nod, recognizing now that the little one was indeed lost. The intake of breath prompted Murphy to do the same, to keep from saying something that might've been akin to scolding. She didn't know this cub, wasn't related to her, hadn't known where she had come from (apart from, well, somewhere over that way from where she had stumbled from)... She had no right to say that she wasn't supposed to be out here alone. They were figuratively in the same boat.

Murph seemed to stare for a while and she had to look away when her eyes locked with those puppy blue eyes. It was all too clear now that she ought to help. What would Quentin do? she weighed in her mind. What would Beirne do? "Well, that's awl-right," she began, but stopped as soon as she had said it. Apparently, it wasn't all right. Murphy had been lost for quite a while now but she was old enough to be on her own; the cub before her, on the other paw, well... she couldn't be out here on her own (and Murphy was not about ready to play cub-sitter and delay her search any more than she had to with all this rain). For a second, her own face wrinkled into a momentary scowl. Then, she tipped her head to one side and smiled back at the wee bairn. "I'm Murphy," she lent. In jest and hopes that the girl would return her smile, she lightly prodded a paw to the little patch of white on the cub's chest, "Whut's yer name?"

there are no strangers here, only friends I've never met

The child waited, afraid. This lady was not of the Bend, but she was felt she would tell her what she had done was incredibly bad. Wrong. Unsafe. That she was lucky nothing worst had come of it. She knew these things. Was certain that would be exactly what momma would tell her.

The lady did not answer straight away. It was evident she was mulling it over. Or adding more strings of criticism. Oh boy...

There was no hiding the shock, mouth agape. What? She had done the one thing she should never do. It was all right? Lila wasn't about to point that out. She would take the warm assurance. In fact just those words made her feel that she would get back, and things would be all right.What other form of hope did she have?

Blue eyes held tightly to the green of the yearlings. So now what? There seemed to be a moment of infliction to the yearling's face, but whatever had caused it must not have meant much. There was a smile. One that Lila felt she could believe. Murphy. The name appealed to her, but it was probably only because of the owner. It wasn't until she nudged her, requesting hers did a smile break on her ink toned lips. "Lila." She was still having trouble with pronouncing Aquila, and didn't quite want to rub it in Murphy's face she had two names. "Do ya kner ta bend?" Short tail swayed behind her, taking a little leap. "I wive ter."