The Pines were boring her to death! Always the same, adults working, so hard, that they were barely ever around, leaving the yearlings to each other's devices. Said devices usually amounting to moping around and generally being miserable. In some part it baffled Nalda how the pack could go on with such gloom at its core, on the other paw, everyone within the Timbers seemed uniquely skilled at ignoring other's misery. She could only spend so much time wallowing though, while she could understand @Arion's position, similar to her own as it was, and even @Ember, to an extent, the former Zamora was not trained in sympathy, and neither was she interested in practicing. So she mostly stuck to her usual regiment, quiet, lone exploration.
The mountain continued to draw her, towering above the forest with its eternal cap of snow, casting long shadows over the woods. There was something regal about its lofty silhouette, and it served as a phenomenal throne for those managing to climb it. On top of the marvelous view, the slopes were littered with the remains of the would be royalty who hadn't endured, leaving it the perfect destination for scavengers and treasure hunters alike. Nalda walked the rocky paths steadily, well versed in the art of mountain climbing, and too smart to make the missteps that would land her among the carcasses in the jagged crevices far below. She sought the rocky ground, not for something special, but really anything that might steal her mind away from the more somber parts of reality, for just a little while.
The last thing she expected was to find that thing in the air. A short glance upwards, to judge the time by the position of the sun, was when the glint of reflected light caught her gaze. Pausing in her tracks she narrowed her eyes against the light, watching as the small glimmer grew bigger, floating towards the ground. A streak of brilliant blue against a cloudy sky, the yearling could not tell exactly what it was, but she knew she wanted it! Casting a quick look over her surroundings, judging carefully, she prepared herself, sinking down on her hind legs. Then, when the glittering treasure neared the perfect position, she jumped, jaws parted to grab the thing, and hold on tights.
Word count: 386
Thoughts ”Speech”
He did not know what lured him to the mountain or why he could not stop his feet from moving. The smudge had avoided the rock since discovering his mother’s cold body, but as he left the safety of the pines his inner compass pulled him west. His obsidian coat had lost its lustre and he was positive he had lost some weight due to the weeks of wallowing he had subjected himself to. But he could not allow the depression to consume him any longer. It had already been long enough, and while he still mourned the loss of his mother, Arion knew that Zia would not want him to grieve forever. And he could not avoid the mountain forever either.
As he maneuvered through the trees he quickly realized he was also following the scent of the golden-eyed Nalda. The sparrow was not an exuberant character by any means, but Arion was quite fond of her nonetheless. She was a spitfire and unafraid to speak her mind — something the smudge needed from time to time. Once he realized that he was following her R did not change his course; instead, he quickened his pace.
It did not take him long to arrive at the base of the mountain with a lump the size of a boulder forming in his throat. His limbs shook uncontrollably as he struggled to compose himself, his breathing becoming laboured.
Breathe Arion, breathe dammit!
With a determined grunt he trudged forward, his brows narrowed darkly as he followed Nalda’s path. However, her agouti fur caught his eye before he was able to get close. Just as he was about to call out a greeting she lunged forward, jaws stretched as though she was attempting to catch something. Was she dreaming — or, worse… “Nalda, no!” He shouted, his paws rooted to the spot as he watched her helplessly.
The push of strong legs send her upwards in a sharp angle, neck out stretched as she went with full focus for the glistening treasure. She'd measured perfectly, and cream-painted jaws clicked delicately around the prize; A feather! Even faster than she'd gone up, the young wolf plunged back towards the ground, the blue quill clutched tightly between her teeth. She maneuvered in the air as best she could, stretching out her front paws as she looked down to gauge her landing. Then the sudden yelp reached her ears, making them jolt, her head spinning around to look over her shoulder. Black fur flicked briefly in her field of vision, then she ducked beyond the cliff's edge.
Russet tipped head jerked back around, a grunt escaping the girl as she landed against the lower ledge, the jolt rattling through her body. She took a moment to shake her shoulders, snickering to herself as she tilted her head to study her find. An absolutely stunning, sapphire color glittered in the sun, a reminder of the stone she had been unable to sneak from the old man in the ferns. A meager second prize; But this one's mine! Spinning on her heels, Nalda tilted back her head to look up the cliff, spotting a good route on the uneven wall.
A few quick leaps brought the yearling back to her original position, head and tail both held high in her triumph. She glanced about for Arion, a wide smile on her face, the feather steel firmly secured between her teeth. She was rather pleased that he had seen her feat, and was not too proud to cock her head smugly, showing off her prize.
Word count: 282
Thoughts ”Speech”
He didn’t know what to do. The smudge was frozen in place, sea green eyes wide as he watched her silhouette hang, suspended, in the air. It was as though time froze and his mind was instantly taken to the day he found his mother’s broken body on the rocks of Dire. The discovery had already thrown him into a dark hole — he couldn’t go through that a second time. Especially not with Nalda, one of the only level-headed wolves he had left in his life. But, was her flight an accident — or had she flung herself purposely from the rock? He did not know, nor did he care — at least, not in the moment. All that mattered was ensuring that his friend did not get harmed.
Without further hesitation, he flung himself forward. However, Nalda reacted quicker. She landed on the lower rock, a flash of blue between her teeth, before she returned to her former perch. He stopped, abruptly, his breath catching in his throat. She was… she was okay. Everything was okay. Her golden gaze landed on him as a lazy smile unfolded across her maw as she showed off the feather she had caught. While he was impressed, Arion was too busy recovering to acknowledge her catch. “Y-you scared me,” he said suddenly, his gaze adverted from hers as the words dripped off his tongue. Arion did not speak of his mother’s death, so Nalda would not know the reasoning behind his fear. And he did not know if he was prepared to tell her.
When her inviting pose didn't immediately yield words of awe and praise from Ari, the young shewolf felt a pang of disappointment, eyes reluctantly flicking down to look properly at him. Nalda wasn't above sulking, and a pout was making its way onto her face when she noticed the panicked look in her friends eyes. Both the remainder of her proud posture and the developing frown fell as she focused on the boy, brows furrowing while her eyes ran over his body. The shabby look of his fur was nothing new, even before Zia disappeared her son hadn't cared much about his appearance, and losing his mother certainly hadn't helped. Still, she felt like he looked abnormally disheveled; Is he thinner? She hadn't seen much of her comrade as of late – though she'd assumed their adventures had simply taken them in opposite directions – which made it harder to tell for certain. What she could see was his wide eyes and rapidly expanding chest; What's up?!
She got her answer without asking, the accusing statement stumbling from the black lad's mouth. Nalda's ears perked, eyes widening in surprise; Scared? She would have sought his eyes, trying to find more clues to this odd anxiety, but he'd turned them away. Stumped by his unusual behavior, the slate girl slouched back into a seat on the rock, tilting her head slightly. R was usually the first to fun and thrill, so what was this all of a sudden? Her voice was puzzled as she spoke: "'was jus'a bit o'jump, nothin' big. 'is'not like'm gonna fall!" She grinned confidently, hoping to dispel whatever fear had gotten into him; It's not log we haven't done a lot more dangerous before!
Word count: 285
Thoughts ”Speech”
Instantly the smudge felt guilty for his behaviour. She had been so proud of her jump and Arion had offered no praise; just unwanted anxiety. Just because he was feeling under the weather did not mean he had to drag others under his dark cloud. Nalda did not deserve that. A dishevelled smile rolled onto his dark lips as he turned his turquoise gaze back to his tawny friend. Be normal, he thought, bitterly, to himself as the girl spoke, shrugging off her extraordinary jump with a cheerful explanation. ‘Not like I’m gonna fall!’ But that was exactly what happened to Zia — at least, that’s what he believed had happened to her after discovering her broken body…
“It was a pretty good jump,” he responded warmly, his smile deepening as he met her golden gaze. “Whaddya catch?!” He asked, his curiosity peaked as he remembered the item she had caught between her teeth. It must have been interesting if she had flung herself from the rock in order to obtain it. He would work harder to be more like the old Arion — he did not like upsetting his friends. He could wallow in his sadness when he was no longer in Nalda’s company. She and Ember were the only family he had left; he could not lose her.
For the briefest moment, his face stayed blank, bright eyes uncharacteristically distant. Then the familiar, bright, slightly crooked smile appeared, words of admiration falling easily from his lips. Nalda smiled widely, puffing out her chest in an exaggerated show of pride. "'course i'was," She answered loftily, continuing to grin at him, his former lapse all but forgotten.
The question made her relax her stance, brows furrowing slightly as she focused on the feather, tilting her head towards Arion to let him look as well. "'s a feather," she said, unnecessarily, continuing with a small shrug: "N'sure wh'kind, never seen'a bir'tha' color." She paused then, smile shrinking a little as she thought about the ridiculousness of her stunt; I thought it might be something more interesting… The blue stone that Koda had ended up running off with was still fresh in her mind. A feather wasn't exactly a comparable prize though, and really it was stupid to think that someone floating in the air was a rock. So instead of trying to explain, what was frankly quite embarrassing, she turned down her eyes, muttering rather bashfully: "I thought th'color was pretty." There was something about that clear, turquoise-blue that really appealed to the, otherwise quite pragmatic, yearling. She glanced back up to meet Ari's sparkling eyes; Who knows why…
Word count: 218
"Speech" Thoughts
Pretending to be happy and all there was difficult and exhausting, but for Nalda he would try. He could not stand to see the questioning expression she had given him when he had not reacted the way he normally would have. Arion did not want to disappoint, or upset, his friend. She deserved more than that.
The smudge stepped closer as the girl presented her find to him, the pride in her voice impossible to miss. Despite her tone, her expression began to falter, as though she was ashamed by her stunt. Perplexed, he leaned closer, examining her remarkable prize. “I haven’t seen a bird that colour either,” he mused, his voice low as he squinted his eyes to get a better look. “That must mean it’s a super rare feather,” he concluded with a sharp nod, his expression relaxing as he studied his friend’s falling expression. With a wide, lop-sided grin pressed to his dark maw he motioned to the feather once more before speaking, filling the space between them with his soft voice. “It is a pretty colour.” And awfully familiar. With a blink he dismissed the thought, his attention refocused on his agouti friend. “I’s a good find, Nalda.” Arion never found anything cool or interesting like the feather his friend had captured. No, he found other things—things nobody wanted to find…
“Wha’cha doin’ out here?” He inquired, his curiosity bubbling off his tongue, intertwined in the words that crashed into the cold air. Usually they explored together, as though they were attached at the hip, but due to recent events the smudge had isolated himself from his friends and his pack. It didn’t feel right, stumbling upon her rather than accompanying her…
Sex: Male
