Spectral Woods When a wolf comes knocking.

for @Spieden but any other OTB wolf may join if they want! Set during late afternoon

Drestig had told Askan that he'd recognise Oak Tree Bend's borders when he found them. That they were near impossible to miss. And oh boy was he right. Even after five long days of travel through mounting snow, when his mind and body were not at their sharpest, he was able to pick up the heavy scent that lingered in air. He'd found it, thank the Gods for that.

His paw hovered over the invisible line, as he decided what to do. Waltzing right in would be rude beyond belief, even if he explained that he was sent by Drestig. It'd be a sure way to piss them off and make an awful first impression, so he pulled his paw back and placed it on neutral ground. By that point, he'd mellowed out some. His resentment at this situation had fizzled out and he'd just decided to accept and deal with things as best as he could. He still thought that Drestig had made a poor choice, that even Icicle would be a better candidate for this sort of job. But an order was an order and Askan had no intentions of disobeying his alpha. 

All he had to do was get the job done, then he could head back home. Easy, right? As long as he didn't outright insult anyone, things would be fine. He wasn't there to make friends personally, he was just passing on a few messages. And if any of the Oak Tree Bend wolves felt liking coming for a visit, he'd show them the way. That's all there was to it.  It wasn't going to be hard...unless he had to socialise. Conveying information was easy enough, he could just list it out, but small talk? No no no, he was not here for that.

With a sigh, Askan tilted back his head and let out a low howl, the sound bounced off the nearby trees and rang through the quiet woods, announcing his unexpected arrival. His call was as casual as he could muster, there was no real urgency to it. He was willing to wait, to see who showed up. So the Rye wolf settled himself down onto the snow covered ground and kept his ears and ears at the ready, lest one of the Oak Tree Bend wolves happened to be nearby.

(This post was last modified: Dec 01, 2016, 11:48 PM by Askan.)

@Askan for Lila's devlopment. I hope the play of her seeing him howl is okay.

chase the wind

lila aquila

and touch the sky

The sky was a bright blue today. One of her favorites. Some how when it was this way, everything felt connected with the blue misted wood below. In winter those skies seemed so infrequent. Often it was a dull gray, making everything else bland. The time dragged. She began to wish for change. The sun was not to be held back today, and she took every opportunity to take in its light. It was with a lightness of foot, she would prance from shadow into sunlight, where the tree branches opened up. For a moment she took in the heat, resting her eyes. A quiet moment where she wanted for nothing.

The moment did not last long. A stride of a much larger wolf, lurking near the outpost of the Bend, caught her ear. Tip-toeing and careening round tree trunks and brush, she took her time to find him. Hoping that her stealth skills were better, and her ink pelt would help in concealing. When dark-blue eyes laid upon him, instantly she knew he was a stranger. What could he want? Swiftly, he called out, but his voice seemed to lack any formality. It only made her brow quizzically raise. It was not her place nor her job to address him. But, Aponi's daughter had ideas of her own.

A tall frame, except for her tail, without hesitation she stepped out to answer. "You don't belong here." She saw no reason for him to so aimlessly call for any important member to give him audience. If he wasn't planning to be part of this pack, what could his intentions be?

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

it's fine with me!

Askan hadn't expected company to arrive so quickly. Nor had he noticed her presence. He had only just sat down when a shadow emerged from the darkness, their footfalls light and their eyes a blueish-grey. Right away he could tell that this was no alpha, she was too small, too puppyish and still had a bit of growing to do. She carried an earlthy smell and paired with the fact that she had appeared on the other side of the border line, Askan assumed that she was a Bend wolf. Not the one he had called for, but some response was better than none.

The Rye wolf climbed to his feet and stood tall, with dignity and pride. He wasn't about to kiss the ground she walked on- or something grovely like that- but he intended to represent his pack and alpha well. Or at least he did before she spoke. As soon as those words left her mouth the Yukon wolf had a hard time adhering to his promise. But that was okay. Like he'd thought before, he wasn't going to outright be rude or cause trouble but he wasn't going to say anything that felt forced or unnatural. It was a thin line, and Askan had to walk it.

"You don't say." He responded drily, unfazed by her sharp accusation. He paused for a moment and allowed his words to sink in, before he turned to look at her head on and continued. His expression was sharp and his lips were pressed into a thin line, but it lacked it's usual callousness. By no means was he a shining beacon of hope and joy, but it didn't look as though he was going to bite her face off either. His expression was as neutral as he could manage. "Go and fetch your alpha for me, would you? We need to talk."

It wasn't exactly a secret, but he had no intentions of telling her what he wanted to talk about. Cause if he did, he had a feeling he would just end up repeating himself over and over again. And if he had to do that, surely he'd snap like a twig and loose it.

(This post was last modified: Dec 07, 2016, 08:45 PM by Askan.)

@Askan @Lila finally i'm here lol woops

Hardly more than a day had she been back from her little 'vacation', and already duty called for her. It was to be expected, the snow had become a constant feature, the days meanwhile growing shorter and colder, with nights that chilled down to the bone if not for the warmth of bodies huddled together in the pack den. It was the time of the year when lone wolves turned up with empty bellies and so many promises on their tongues. Spieden fully expected to find one such loner beckoning at her border, giving her as routine a task as any.

With a sigh, Spieden loped towards the boundary, making her way around where the snows ran deep. With her crooked ears alert she caught Lila's soft tones, and then the voice of a male. She caught just the tail end of his words, her silvered brow raised 

"No need, I'm here," She said as she passed the last stand of alder trunks that stood between them. She stopped in front of Lila, her tail waving slowly above her back. Though the girl wasn't her own, she was protective of her just the same as any of her brood. She looked over the stranger, his thick dark pelt and clear yellow eyes, somewhat surprised at what good shape he was in. He sure didn't look like most of the scraggly loners that showed up. Recently evicted, then?

"Let me guess," Spieden drawled, "You're looking for somewhere to hold out over the winter. Your old pack toss you out or somethin'?"

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2016, 04:10 AM by Spieden.)

He had hoped that the young Bend wolf would have trotted off and gotten an alpha, or at the very least an adult, for him to talk to. But it seemed as though his request was unnecessary. Out of the shadows, an alpha emerged and announced her presence in a rather casual way. Were all Bend wolves like this? Laid back and easy going? It seemed rather strange to Askan, as alphas were the figures of authority in the pack, they were the leaders and so had to act with dignity. And yet this one... She wasn't what he had expected, to say the least.

"What?" Askan scowled, offended by her assumption. "No. My boss sent me here, he has some messages he wants me to pass on."

He could see why she had said that, winter was drawing close and no doubt they Bend would have to deal with loners appearing at their borders, begging to be let in. But Askan wasn't a lone wolf desperate to get out of the cold, and neither would he ever resort to mooching off others just so he could survive. His pride would not allow that. He'd rather try and withstand the winter on his own, sure he might die but death was better than the alternative.

 But that was neither here nor there. He had a pack, a home to return to so there was no use getting worked up, not when he had a job to do. 

Askan cleared his throat and continued, doing his best to come across -somewhat- polite. "You heard of Drestig Avalon and Jessie Tainn?"

He figured that'd be the best place to start, because there would be no point in relaying their messages if she wasn't even familiar with them. Why would she care if a couple of strangers had set up a pack to the north? Why would she care if they'd had a pup? Of course, he hoped she knew them, or at the very least was aware of their history with the Bend. If not, he supposed she'd just have to relay the information to the pack, to pass on the news to those who knew the Rye monarchy and cared about them.

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2016, 06:00 PM by Askan.)

chase the wind

lila aquila

and touch the sky

The young lady stood unimpressed. If he was going to come a calling at someones home, he could give some kind of effort of humility or kindness. He was here by his own means, not hers. Good hell, why did he stand so tall any way? Out here, he was a nobody. She half wished her mom was here to teach him a thing or two.

Eyes narrowed at the brute, he implied she should get someone else. Why she had manners she didn't feel she should waste them on him. He'd be foolish to hurt her, she wasn't about to do as he asked. The words of disagreement were about to escape her mouth when Spieden's voice interrupted. Good.

Lila felt ecstatic. See the dope stand so proud now as if he was better. There was a moment of glee as the Coho woman stepped in front of her, questioning the odd visitor. But, he didn't want to live here. He had news of two wolves she had never heard of. Why she wanted to say so, and had no reason to care in Spieden's presence she held her tongue, wondering what it all meant. She didn't think they had visitors like this, it would be nice to see what her leader did.

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Spieden wasn't too put off by the stranger's bristling at her assumption. A messenger then, or a scout, from an aforementioned 'boss' of vague providence. They had no neighbors nearby besides the mountain pack, any other pack had quite the journey to reach the little corner the Bend carved out. Who could possibly have a message for them? And then, what would there even be to say? But Spieden was not left to wonder for long before he continued.

"Ehh?" She said at first, in surprise rather than misunderstanding. She was pretty sure she had heard the names Drestig and Jessie come from the male's smarmy mouth. Her silver flecked brows lifted in surprise and she leaned forward with interest, departing from her somewhat bored posture earlier. She looked at him with new eyes, realizing her prior assumption that this would be an utterly routine and banal encounter was incorrect. She had to readjust her expectations somewhat.

Her and Jessie had never seen eye to eye, but Spieden was quite fond of Drestig, even if she did not share his desire to leave the misted wood. Sometimes she questioned whether she had made the right choice staying with the Bend, dreaming of greener grass. But she made peace with her decision when she reminded herself that happiness could not exist around the emerald eyed woman, who was like a black hole for any positive emotion. If this wolf was an associate of hers, perhaps that was where he earned the sour attitude. She nearly laughed at the thought, instead barely concealing a smirk.

"Heard of them? Hell, Drestig and I lead together for a time, but the two of them left back towards the tail end of last winter." She explained. "Did something happen to them? How do you know them?" She asked, letting him explain himself before she made any more assumptions.

'Ehh?'

What was that supposed to mean? The surprise on her face was as clear as day, but that told Askan nothing. Was she surprised because she recognised their names? Or was she baffled because Askan had spurted two names at her with the expectation that she would know who they were? At that point, it could have been either. Askan tilted his head in obvious confusion and squinted, as though it would help him decipher what was going on in her mind. And then her lips quirked up as little in amusement, like she found this whole situation rather funny. Well good for her. Askan on the other hand did not, he did not enjoy being left in the dark. He had asked her a question and he expected a response. Not just a surprised look and a smirk. He expected words. 

To his relief words came, and quite a lot of them too.

"Nothing bad happened, they're fine." He assured her, internally pleased that she was concerned for their welfare. "And they're my alphas. They lead Wild Rye Fields, to the north in the Larkcall Lowlands. Founded it near the end of summer.  Drestig recruited me a few months back and made me his second. Sent me down here to pass on a message or two." He shrugged as though it were a superficial thing, as though he hadn't spent days trekking his way down.

He paused for a moment and rummaged through his brain to recall what messages his alpha's wanted conveyed. There was quite a lot, so he took a second to gather his thoughts before he started again.

Clearing his throat he began. "They've had a daughter. Name's Phoenix, but we call her Percy. She's doing well, even if she causes a lot of trouble at times."He couldn't help but smile a little at that. He always had, and always would have, a soft spot for her. Even if to this day he wasn't quite sure why. "What about your pack, how are things going for you?" He didn't care at all, but he had been told do inquire about their well being, so he did. Even if it came across a little forced.

(This post was last modified: Dec 16, 2016, 04:16 PM by Askan.)

@Askan @Lila Maybe start wrapping up here if you guys want?

"Oh..! That's good to hear," She said, unable to conceal the pleasant surprise in her perked ears as the stranger assured her that the duo was fine, and had even started their own little family. The pair really had accomplished what they had left to do, good for them. She was sure their heads would be spinning if they had stuck around for the spring and saw what chaos had ensued. "We're fine," She responded, "Same as always... Sort of. Serach's leading, we've got three different litters, long lost relatives, yadda yadda, pretty busy but can't complain." She told him, apparently holding the same amount of patience for small talk and pleasantries as the messenger did.

North... The lowlands. She'd never been, but knew enough to tell that was a hell of a long ways away. "You must be exhausted, huh?" She asked, not really expecting or needing an answer. "If you want, you can stay here a bit, rest up, fill your stomach. I'm sure the other's would like to hear about Drestig and Jessie." She offered. It was the middle of the winter, she didn't want the poor scout's death on her paws by sending him straight back without respite.

"Name's Spieden Coho, by the way..." She said, noting she never got the male's name.