Winter was almost over—slowly but surely the snow would melt and the land would return to its former glory. His Arctic heritage sighed at the revelation, not yet ready to part with the cooler temperatures. However, as his stay in Relic Lore lengthened, he was growing to enjoy the varying, unpredictable conditions. He had survived a flood, dangerous mountain conditions and a dragon; the ghost was starting to believe (or, hoping) that he was indestructible.
The river wolves had not experienced a tremendous growth over the winter months, but that did not dampen the ghost’s spirits. He hoped the warmer months would bring loners north—the snow-dusted expanse embraced the cold, making it undesirable for those who were not accustom to the frigid climate. Perhaps it was why Maksim had chosen to settle inside the depths of Kingsfall, to avoid the exposed lowlands and offer shelter to those without Arctic blood. Lachesis did not mind, even with his thick, alabaster fur. Since his arriving in Relic Lore he had always sought out refuge among the trees. There was no other place he would rather call home.
A fresh scent pulled him to the borders, his steps quick and precise as he weaved through the pines. Had Lilya or another river wolf noticed the stranger hovering by the borders? Curiosity caused his pace to quicken and it did not take long for the pale-furred yearling to come into view. A small, lop-sided smile rolled effortlessly onto his bleached maw as he approached, his chartreuse gaze following her own, stunned, gape.
“They’re remarkable, aren’t they?” He said, finally, after a lengthy pause, his tone light; welcoming. The young girl was clearly doing her best to avoid trespassing, so there was no need for any sort of hostility.
stick with those who stick with you
Out of luck Inna had come across a small mouse in the snow, it was much to small for a meal but that didn't mean she couldn't chase it and that was exactly what she did. The chase started with the mouse running across the snow, since it was light enough, and her pouncing through the snow after it. The mouse then slipped into a nearby hole that she knew it had to have made, she tried burrowing into the hole nose first and in the end she'd managed to catch it by its tail. Before pulling it out and tossing it into the air. Once it landed it quickly was on the move again with her chasing it then it dove down another hole not too far away. Inna ended her chase there with a shake of her pelt as she had never meant to catch the mouse for keeps but it was nice to have a little fun. With a huff she trotted off in the direction of the borders as there was work that needed to be done and she intended to get it done. Perhaps once it was she could find the mouse again and have a little more fun. Traveling quickly she reached to border in no time and began her walk as she always did a every so often she would stop to refresh the markers. It was important to keep them strong so others would know the pack was there.She wasn't really sure how long she had been walking the borders but she can across Lachesis scent and paw prints in the snow she didn't remember being there from her last patrol. She was curious what her leader was doing, she thought he might tell her some more stories or maybe there was something else of interest they could talk about. Letting her curiosity get the better of her she followed his trail until it seemed to head out of the trees. Inna followed cautiously as she always did when she left the safety of the trees and as she did so she saw what had brought her leader to this place, a female whose coat was light in color but more importantly she was a stranger. As she came up behind Lachesis she chuffed in greeting before giving him a slight bump on the shoulder as she came up beside him. Her gaze followed that of the girl and her alpha to the girl to the trees that made up her home. “Some of the biggest I have seen,” she chimed in. |
The ebony Baranski was not far behind the ghost. He swelled with pride as she sauntered up to the border, and returned the bump to her shoulder as she stood next to him. It pleased him to know that she had also noticed a presence, hovering, at their borders. The older male made a mental note to praise the yearling once they were alone.
While dangerously close to imposing on Hearthwood borders the stranger had acted according. The pale wolf had adopted a submissive stance when Lachesis had initially approached and there was no hostility in her gaze; only youthful curiosity. It appeared that she had been entranced by the massive trees and had no intentions of crossing into claimed territory.
A soft smile stretched across his dark lips as she spoke, explaining her reason behind her close proximity. “Not at all,” he responded warmly, the words rolling off his tongue naturally. He understood—just a few weeks ago he had been so wrapped up in finding herbs in the lowlands that he, too, had stumbled a little too close to pack borders. Fortunately it had been Whitestone rather than one of the other new packs, so his mishap was quickly dismissed. XIX was grateful for the growing relationship between the two packs—they were a formidable asset. It would be foolish of him to get on Craw’s bad side (which did not seem hard to do).
The loner spoke once more, reiterating that she was no threat to them before introducing herself. “A pleasure to meet you, Eido. I’m Lachesis Stark, leader of the pack beyond these trees.” He paused in order to let Inna introduce herself, his chartreuse gaze falling to his inky sidekick briefly before flitting back to the pale girl. “Are you new to these lands?” He asked, his own curiosity building. Was she looking for a home, perhaps?
stick with those who stick with you
Her approach had been a cautious one as it always was when coming out to meet someone at the border, not all guest could be counted on to be as nice as Craw after all. However after seeing just who was at the border she came to stand next to Lachesis smiling when he returned the bump she'd given him. It seemed they were usually the ones greeting their guests together and she rather liked it that way. Her attention had turned to the pale female who seemed rather interested in the trees that made up their home. She was rather close to the borders but seemed to have a healthy hesitation about getting any closer. Lachesis didn't seem to have a problem with her proximity so Inna didn't react to it, it was best to take her cues from him. Inna didn't want to embarrass her alpha with poor behavior to a guest. The girl that Inna felt was around the same age as her finally told them what exactly she was doing there and after she spoke the Baranski let her gaze drifted to the healer for his response. It was what she had expected from him, there wasn't any harm in looking Inna felt as long as it didn't impose on the border. The girl seemed cautious about that which Inna was glad for since she didn't want to see the girl get into any trouble. On top of that she let them know she was alone and no threat to them which the ebony yearling felt she was telling the truth. After Lachesis introduced himself his gaze turned on her which Inna took to mean it was her turn, “It's nice to meet you Eido, I'm Inna Baranski a yearling in this pack.” She payed close attention to how he spoke to the girl so that she would know what to do if she had more of these sorts of situations. As he asked if Eido was new to these lands Inna’s gaze drifted between the two before stopping on the pale girl to await her response. |
If Inna had not been present he would have been a little more cautious about the loner’s presence. She was awfully close to their borders—a couple more steps and she would have been in Hearthwood territory. The girl was also much younger than he was, so she was not much of a threat. Even with Inna being close to the loner’s age Lachesis felt at ease with the Baranski at his side. Perhaps it was because her demeanour was similar to Maksim’s… it felt as though his friend had never left…
His soft smile did not waver as his ebony sidekick spoke, keeping her introduction short and to the point just as he had. The stranger—Eido—responded quickly to his question, a small smile stretching her lips as she spoke. The ghost could tell that she was being honest, for the words rolled off her tongue with ease and she answered without hesitation. Unless, of course, she was just exceptionally good at lying. No. She seemed too… naïve for that; too innocent.
“Wise choice,” he answered softly to her statement about testing out the life of a lone wolf now that she had arrived in Lore. “I did the same when I first arrived in these lands.” Even now, despite having no plans to leave Hearthwood, he missed being able to travel without restrictions. But, the river was his home and the pack his family. He could not imagine leaving them behind. “How much have you seen so far?” He asked, his burning curiosity fuelling the words that dripped off his tongue.
stick with those who stick with you
Inna felt she knew how to handle a situation where their visitor had kept their distance as she had done before. However, she felt this was different as the girl was rather close to their borders, so close it would be easy for her to just walk into their territory. It was a question of chase her off immediately just for getting so close or find out what she was doing there and give her the chance to explain. Lachesis seemed to think allowing her the chance to explain was the better option and if it were her she probably would have chosen that way as well. The Baranski was glad to know she would have made the right decision in this situation. Observing Eido Inna could see that she was nervous, Inna didn’t blame her though since she probably would be too in this situation if she was on the other side ofthe border. The girl had given them reason as to why she was there which Inna believed her, she seemed far too fearful to tell a lie. That wasn’t the only reason but it seemed that Lachesis felt the same since he wasn’t moving to chase her off. Inna didn’t think the healer would do such a thing without good reason, he had a peaceful demeanor that she found very comforting. However his peacefulness didn’t seem to be working for Eido, her body spoke volumes to Inna as to how she was really feeling despite what she was saying. The girl explained that she had recently come to the lore and only just made it to the trees and wanted to be a lone wolf for awhile. Inna was reminded of the conversation she’d had with Lachesis after her return when he spoke about living as a lone wolf when he first came to the lore , Though he had been in her life from the start that was the closest she had ever felt to him and she was glad for that. “I too have had my time as a Lone Wolf at the end of last winter to be exact,” she told the girl. Lachesis was curious about how much she had seen and Inna couldn’t lie, she was curious about that as well. Perhaps this girl knew of a place that Inna could one day visit and see for herself. After returning Inna said she wouldn’t leave again but she had’t said that she wouldn’t have adventures. It would of course have to wait until the spring when the pack was in a better situation but she could wait that long. “Do you have a favorite place that you’ve found?” Inna asked after Lachesis had asked his. |