we keep living anyway

@Cernan

The meeting with Vespertio had gone so much better than the ghostly wolf had expected. The alpha hadn't taken much time to think it over, and had brushed his muzzle along her ruff to mark her with Fallen Tree Cove scent. Once she had gotten over her original apprehension of crossing over the border, Eido had been overwhelmed with mixed feelings of excitement, fear, and bittersweet peace. It had felt like forever since she had been anywhere near a community of other wolves. Not since over six months ago, when her family had gotten so sick. Yes, she had met a loner here and there, and was turned away by many other packs, but this was different. This was a step into a new life that Eido had been craving for what felt like forever.

But she still missed her family desperately. She almost felt guilty for moving on.

Eido pushed the thoughts and feelings aside with a sigh as she picked her way up through the hills and up toward the mountains before her. The terrain was getting more and more rocky, and the pale wolf was not at all used to it. She'd spent most of her life in either valleys or forests, and hadn't really climbed up much higher than a large hill. Her mother had been a mountain wolf in her early years, but Eido had no experience in that area. She wasn't out of breath, but she was tripping over her own paws and knocking over rocks and branches in her way. There was no way she could be quiet here.

As she walked, she remembered that Vespertio had told her to seek out his son. Cernan, she believed he had said. Of course, he didn't give her any physical characteristics of said wolf, so she really didn't know who she was looking for. So far, she hadn't seen anyone, and she was beginning to wonder if she was lost. But the scent of Fallen Tree Cove was everywhere around there, so she suspected that it she was going in the right direction. Probably.

The wind blew and chilled air breezed right through her fur and bit into her skin. She shivered and shook her pelt out. Her mother had been right - it was colder the higher up you went on a mountain. Already, she could tell a difference from down in the Red Fern Forest. Not to mention the fact that the trees were thinning, which made Eido feel more exposed and did nothing to block the icy wind from hitting her. She understood that it would take some getting used to.

Taking a deep breath, Eido trudged forward, occasionally tripping or sliding a bit and cursing on her search for Cernan. She was just beginning to think that there were no wolves in this pack, and that Fallen Tree Cove was actually a lie before she heard something moving up ahead and spotted brown-and-cream fur weaving through the sparse trees and rocks on the hills around it. She really, really hoped that this was the wolf she was looking for, because she was about to really embarrass herself if it wasn't.

"Hello!" she called, taking a few risky - risky in the sense that she might fall and land flat on her nose - leaps and bounds toward the figure. It was male, so she hoped that it was the alpha's son that she was about to encounter. "Um, are you Cernan? Vespertio told me to find a 'Cernan,' and I've been looking for him for a long time now." It occurred to her that she probably needed to introduce herself, so before the male could respond, she added, "I'm Eidolon Seren. I just joined. But everyone always calls me Eido, because Eidolon's a mouthful and I don't really like it very much." She cut herself off abruptly, realizing that she was babbling out of nervousness.

OOC: I'm so excited for this.

It was the clatter of rocks that caught his attention first. Over the span of the boy's short lifetime he'd gotten quite used to the rocky footing and dangerous drops, though his inherent clumsiness as a child could have fooled even Cernan himself. He still took tumbles sometimes, particularly when distracted. @Neha was a natural however, with her lithe frame and nimble feet. She'd often used it to her advantage when they were kids. Grace didn't really come to mind when speaking of the fluffy, thickly built Vuesain prince, and he looked even larger now with his extremely plush winter coat enveloping his nearly mature frame. 

He'd actually looked in her direction a couple of times, but the wind was not in the youth's favor and what few pines there were at this end of the territory had obscured the girl from view. In fact, she saw him first. The lake child picked his way over the treacherous mountainside, searching for the next border mark on wide, sturdy paws. His golden eyes widened; head snapping around behind him when the unknown creature came loping over the unstable stone. The noise was unmistakable, and the young guardian-in-training shuffled quickly to face the potential threat, dislodging a few rocks of his own.    

The sight of her did not quell his tension, at least at first. The stranger before him nearly blended into the snow, were it not so bright and perfect in its lack of hue. The fur on his spine threatened to bristle, but the newcomer's voice carried across the distance between them before anything hasty could transpire. It was enough to dilute the little adrenaline rush Cernan was feeling, and as the unknown wolf spoke, he was left even more dumbfounded than he would have been had she just been a random traveler that so happened to trespass on Cove territory.

The pale girl new his name. No, she knew his father... The look of honest confusion in his gold gaze faded only when this 'Eidolon' explained that she had just become a subordinate in his pack, no doubt accepted by the King himself. His eyebrows jumped up with the realization in a kind of silent “oh.” She approached his position as she spoke, and he was reassured that she did indeed carry the Alpha male's scent on her fur. When he could at last bring his spinning thoughts hack into order, the foreign girl had only just managed to stop herself. Not wanting to seem rude in the wake of surprise, the prince forced out a response.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Cernan," he explained, the tone of his deep voice kept light. He wondered for a moment why Pa had chosen to send the girl to him specifically, but perhaps his sister and Draven were busy with things. The notion that maybe his good ol' Dad might have another reason for sending the new girl his way went right over the tawny boy's head. There was a break in the conversation, and he finally allowed his gaze to hastily take in the individual quirks of her appearance. She was smaller, but only about as small as Neha. Not Halie small. But that was where the similarities ended. Her fur was much lighter, with not a hint of silver to be found and many whisperings of yellower tones. @Ember had sort of looked like that, and seemed to have enjoyed talking just as much. Still, there was something less abrasive about this “Eido.” She seemed nervous, and that was usually his job. The mountain child cupped his round brown ears forward and brought his innocently curious golden eyes back to her own bright orange ones, hoping for an answer as to why Pa had told her to come see him, but still lacking in the social tact to ask, and secretly wishing that if she liked to talk, she would do it some more to clarify.  

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 09:14 AM by Cernan.)

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

I am, too. xD

Eido wagged her tail, panting just a bit from the long trek she'd taken to get to this point. She was quite happy that this was, in fact, the wolf that she was looking for. It would've been awkward if she had just run up to a random wolf, calling them Cernan. She probably should've approached him differently, and simply given her name and fully explained the reason behind her being there, and then asked his own name. But, of course, Eido was never good at starting conversations, and her words all came out in a jumbled, messy rush of nervous noise. As witnessed by this unfortunate male - Cernan - a few moments prior.

After her horrendous introduction, Eido decided to allow the beige wolf a moment or two to speak. He told her that, yes, his name was indeed Cernan, and Eido believed he was going to say more, so she decided to take a moment and get a good look at the male. It didn't occur to her that he wouldn't say more, and she did not realize that he was simply standing there and studying her appearance, as well.

He was a larger wolf than she, by several inches and pounds both, it seemed. His fur was thicker, and a bit unkempt. But, she supposed, so was hers - the wind made sure to blow it in all different directions, and she probably had a few twigs and leaves in there from her journey up the hills. But where Eido's pelt was tinted with gingers and whites and pale browns, this male was painted with grays and tawnies and browns, with white on his underside. His eyes were very gold.

A few moments passed before she realized that neither of them were speaking, and a heartbeat later she realized that she had forgotten to tell the poor, confused male exactly why his father had sent her to him. "Oh!" she exclaimed, shaking her head and gathering her thoughts for a second before she continued: "I'm sorry - your father sent me here because he said that you could show me around the territory. You know - to get me acquainted with the place." She cleared her throat and glanced down at her paws in embarrassment and apologized again. "Sorry. I talked your ear off when I got here, and I forgot to tell you why I was here in the first place. I'm just really nervous; I've never been in this kind of situation before," admitted, lowering her head but raising her gaze to make eye contact with her new packmate.

It seemed to her that they both might be nervous, judging from the way he had turned and looked like he was ready for a threat before she had explained who she was. It hadn't registered in her mind that way before, but now that she was thinking about it, she realized. But that was probably her fault for just sprinting up to a wolf she'd never met before; they were likely to get scared. She doubted he was as bad as she was at the whole talking thing.

OOC: Itching to spree this

Ahh the familiar awkward silence. Having taken in the new girl's appearance thoroughly enough for a first encounter, the prince became acutely aware of the emptiness in the air. He had expected her to keep speaking, oblivious to the fact that she was thinking the exact same. She'd been glancing over his frame as well, and was apparently distracted enough not to realize the absence of words until Cernan was considering forcing the question off of his tongue just to end it. Thankfully, “Eido” realized just in time. The little spike in discomfort beneath his fur faded when the other yearling apologized, fully accepting the blame for that moment of awkwardness. 

It was so strange. She seemed as concerned and unsure about her social behavior as he was, perhaps even more so. He was grateful for the clarity; curious expression softening again when the purpose for this encounter was explained at last and he nodded. Cernan watched the way she shrank uncomfortably in his presence, and continued to say she was sorry for these minor gaffes, even admitting aloud that she was nervous. As per usual for these situations, the prince of the lake was at a loss. His expression was still alert and interested, but the youth's ears had fallen back briefly with some kind of sympathy for her words. It was just so new to see someone else act like this, for him not to be the shaken, bashful one.

She spoke a lot, but that just seemed to be a side effect of her anxiety, where his response was usually silence. The pale girl lowered her head sheepishly then, and he couldn't help the faintest of smirks from slipping onto his muzzle for just a blink. It was bemused and dumbfounded, but it was there; drawn out by her discomfort. It seemed natural to pick up the social slack in a way he'd never experienced before. He'd just never been on this side of the interaction. Her demeanor was sort of... endearing, and he knew right away that he didn't want her to feel like he so often did in her place. "Oh, well, don't worry about it," he replied, shifting his sunny gaze off of hers in his own non-confrontational way before glancing back for reaction. His amiable grin faded as he started talking, only because of his own nerves. Cernan Vuesain was no master of empathetic comfort, especially with strangers, but those words were his honest attempt.

The prince turned with the sweep of his stare, facing down the rocky slope toward the rest of the Cove's territory and leaning his weight down onto his front paws. The rocks beneath shifted a bit. "Uh, have you been to the lake?" His head turned back toward her inquisitively; his tone sincere. The lake was easily the biggest and easiest to spot landmark, but much less so now that it was frozen and covered in snow. She might have passed near it and not even known. 

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 07:23 PM by Cernan.)

I'm totally up for a spree :3 This is super cute. Poor little awkward things.

She thought she saw the faintest hint of a smirk on the male's face before it vanished as he began speaking again. That was a bit odd, but while she was watching his mannerisms, Eido came to the conclusion that he was, indeed, slightly awkward in social situations. Which, obviously, was fine by her, as she was shy, as well. They just had different ways of expressing it, clearly. Where Eido chattered and stumbled over her words, Cernan was quiet. Perhaps that would work to their favor, the ghostlike wolf thought to herself. This way, they wouldn't be likely to be two wolves talking endlessly, as would have been the case if @Vespertio had sent another talkative wolf out for her to meet. On the other hand, it wouldn't be two wolves sitting in brooding silence, either, which would have been the case if Eido was one who did not talk enough. The way it had worked out was good, she concluded.

The masked male before her seemed to take pity on her, and she saw his ears go back before he told her not to worry about her blunders. She offered him a wag of her tail in response and lifted her head slightly, feeling a bit better about the situation. "Thank you," she told him, genuinely grateful that he hadn't been angry at her mistake. Eido expected that she would likely make quite a few more mistakes in her early time with the pack - she just wasn't used to being around other wolves. Having gone half a year with little more than passing conversations or aggressive encounters, Eido was going to struggle with getting her paws underneath her. Not only metaphorically, but also literally. She could tell by the way the rocks shifted underfoot that she was going to be taking some spills here and there before she got the hang of it - or even after, knowing her clumsy paws. She gave him a smile and continued, "That makes me feel a lot better. I've been told I talk too much in the past, and that I'm scatterbrained, so I was worried that I had got on your nerves."

Eido watched the alpha's son as he turned his golden gaze from her to the rest of the territory. He mentioned something about a lake, to which the pale wolf shook her head. "No, I haven't seen any water at all around here yet," she informed him, taking a few steps down in the direction he was looking. The rocks underfoot shifted and slipped, and her hind paws came off the ground a little bit, putting her in danger of toppling forward and embarrassing herself further. Her tail fluffed out and stiffened as she caught her balance and placed her feet back on the ground. She laughed slightly and looked back up at Cernan. "Whoops," she stated simply, brushing off the embarrassment, and wagged her tail once or twice. "It's kind of hard to walk up here." Though, of course, the male probably was fully aware of that fact.

"Is the lake down that way?" she asked, looking back in the direction Cernan had turned toward, this time making sure that her feet did not slip and she wouldn't lose her balance. She was hoping that the agouti male would take the lead, as she had absolutely no idea where to go.

OOC: Feel free to advance some time to them reaching the lake in your post if you like :)

The lake child hadn't been expecting her outright thanks, and so openly honest too. There was a part of him that was glad to have made her feel less bad, and again his little smirk returned, fleetingly, until she went on to admit that she was worried about irritating him with her awkward babbling. Cernan was eager to move past it all, and would have been happier to have the girl just smile and continue on. The notion made the discomfort return once more, and while he could agree that she might have been chatty, it wasn't all that great to have to clarify to a stranger that no, you weren't pissed off by their mannerisms. It was awkward, just like most of this. The boy shook his head silently. 

Instead of adding to that, he patiently waited for her response to his starting inquiry, unsurprised that the great Lost Lake had eluded her vision now that it just looked like a great open field atop their mountain home. She came forward, and his golden gaze moved instinctively toward her inexperienced feet. The ivory-pelted yearling slipped as the rocks predictably gave way beneath her, and for a moment his thick frame flinched toward the girl while she reacted. Luckily Eido caught herself, and that quiet nervous chuckle of hers actually drew a genuine, albeit reserved one from Cernan; partly because it was kind of funny, and partly because his psyche was grateful for the chance to relieve its inner tension with a little laughter.  

The tip of his tail wiggled in response. "Yeah," he concurred, still grinning from the humor of the slip up. The boy would have added something about her probably getting used to it eventually, but his new company spoke again. Curiosity fluttered across his face once more but faded immediately. "Yup. Kinda hard to see right now 'cause of all the snow," the prince explained, golden eyes now fixated on finding his footing as he began to pick his way down the rocky slope. She would probably know to follow. Cernan did look back however, now a bit concerned that she might not be able to make it down without taking a real tumble, if she was particularly unlucky. He didn't really want to nag the girl with a “be careful” or something, but he did hesitate where the ground flattened out some more, waiting for her to join him. 

Will do!

Thankfully, the male didn't seem to mind her incessant talking, and she was pleased to see him shake his head when she mentioned being annoying. Her new packmate's chuckle was surprisingly wonderful to hear. It was quiet, but it was still there, and Eido liked that the boy showed a bit of genuine emotion, even if it was at her own expense. She'd never really minded being the brunt of a joke; she liked making others laugh. It made her feel good to be able to bring some emotion from the stoic male before her. Still, she made a mental note to be more careful - there would be places around up on the mountains that would be deadly if she fell off, and, considering the fact that she tripped over her paws while walking on flat ground on her worst days, she knew she would have to be extra-extra careful traversing the more dangerous terrain.

Her companion didn't seem to mind leading the way, so Eido trailed behind him at a slower pace, making sure that she made no huge slip-ups or trips. She did slide a few times, but nothing to where she was in danger. She just ended up disturbing a few rocks, and perhaps a couple of small plants. Nothing too bad. "It is really snowy," she remarked in response to Cernan's statement. "It definitely feels colder up here than down in the woods. It probably snows more up here, too." She noticed that he seemed to be making sure that she wasn't falling, which was nice, and she made an effort to hurry down the rocks to land less-than-gracefully on the flatter land beside him. Still, she didn't fall, and wagged her tail triumphantly.

Since the agouti boy didn't seem to be much of a talker, and didn't mind her babbling, Eido kept up a stream of nearly constant chatter as they walked, in order to fill the silence. "There's some woods down east of here that are all red. All the plants have red leaves, which is really cool, because I blend in really well down there. I know I look mostly white now, but that's only because it's winter. I have much more ginger on me in the spring, summer, and fall," she told him as they walked. "I talked to @Kajika a few days ago, and I'm going to take him down there during the spring or summer, if it's allowed. You could probably go, too, if you wanted."

Her talking tapered off when they started down a small cliff, toward what looked like a snow-covered meadow. However, the pale wolf understood what was likely underneath that snow. "Are we here?" she asked in excitement, and though she knew that it was probably a little dangerous to go any quicker down the cliff, she decided to throw caution to the wind for a moment. The small wolf hopped and bounded down the cliff, and this time she did actually fall; fortunately for her, however, it was closer to the bottom. She tumbled head-over-tail and landed on her stomach in the snow at the bottom, and immediately shook her fur out and got to her feet, tail wagging. It hadn't hurt that bad, and it had gotten her down quicker. She bounced a little in her spot and looked back up at Cernan. "I'm fine!" she called so he didn't have to ask, taking a step back toward the lake. She was eager to become acquainted with her pack's territory.

Every time she placed a paw badly, or failed to distribute her weight correctly, at least one of his round ears flicked back to catch the inevitable clacking of stone behind him. If she planned on hunting up here, learning how to not make all that noise would be essential. But first things first. Eido had to learn where the pack she would be helping to feed spent its time. She commented further on the snow, and again that ghost of a grin pulled at Cernan's mouth. His home was a bit unique in many ways to non-mountain wolves. "Heh, we get snow earlier than the forests do too," the prince added, remembering the jarring difference he'd witnessed even from a simple trek down from the pass, "and it lasts longer." For now, he was rather comfortable in his extra-puffy winter fur. His chunkier build also helped keep him toasty on the mountain. 

It seemed that as soon as the girl had been assured that he wasn't greatly perturbed by her verbal antics, at least not yet, she became quite the happy 'lil thing. She was happy to talk, and the way she spoke certainly wasn't the most annoying thing in the world. Cernan was finding himself content to let her ramble a bit, because it meant that he didn't have to answer right away. It was kind of amusing too, and as the pair neared the frozen water, he kept one ear constantly cocked in Eido's direction to catch that excited flow of speech. At least she didn't seem scared any more. 

When the pale yearling started to mention the red fern forest, his interest grew a bit. The prince's yellow eyes switched from the stony footing to the girl's face, waiting for a chance to interject but having neither the heart nor the tact to do so until she'd finished. His smirk deepened. "I've actually been down there a few times; mostly to hunt with my sister or my Dad." The boy was speaking a little more than he usually did to acquaintances, but there was just nothing even remotely threatening about this girl, besides the fact that she was unknown to him, and that she had the potential to think he was dumb. 

And all of a sudden they were looking over the great expanse of snow, with Eido immediately taking notice. She asked the obvious thing, and before Cernan could really answer  the smaller youth was excitedly bounding toward it, and not taking near enough care with the cliffside. His smile evaporated into concern, especially when he saw her little crash into the snow. The tawny boy was already sliding, albeit in a more controlled fashion, down towards her when Eido snapped upright, and this time it was his turn to stumble. It was only that though, and at most his chest dipped closer to the deep snow before being caught by a swiftly placed front limb in a gentle spray of snow as the ground leveled out and he stepped out beside her.

She'd already assured him of her condition, not that it looked like a particularly dangerous fall in the first place, and so he settled for an amused chuff and a stiff shaking of the snow from his pelt as the Cove's newest addition padded toward the lake. It was then that his eyes finally caught sight of the scar behind her ear, and it caused him to wonder. She seemed innocent for her age, innocent in the way his little sisters were with regards to the world. Where had she come from anyway? Curious as he was, Cernan wouldn't bring himself to ask about something like that, and certainly not now. He saw how the girl was looking out over the pristine white plain, and strode up alongside her.

The only clue as to the big lake's existence was the smooth downward sloping of the rocky banks they stood near. "Frozen solid," he remarked, casting his eyes over the blanket of snow. He turned along its edge, hesitating to walk without first letting her in on the important parts. "There's a little drinking spot further down this way that we try'ta keep clear," Cernan explained casually, looking over his shoulder. He'd just started walking when it really hit him. "Oh, and we seem to get nasty swans trying to nest here in the spring." The boy's expression darkened, but not at her. His scowl was directed at the shore, and only half-hearted, since winter was the one time the damn things kept well enough away. 

Eido is "quite the happy 'lil thing." XD

Eido really did appreciate the way that the boy had seemingly just accepted her the way that she was, without complaint. She'd met many wolves in the past who had been quite cruel to her over many different parts of her personality - the naivety, the chatter, the clumsiness. Even her own family had gotten onto her for it, many times. Particularly two of her siblings from her parents' first litter - her older brother and sister. Her other older brother had been nice about it, and though her mom had insinuated that she spoke too much, so had she. Her grandparents and Neel hadn't minded, but her father had a tendency to get overwhelmed by his youngest daughter. Plus, the wolves she had met on her way to Relic Lore had not been kind, for the most part. Not just because of her personality, but because of the hint of the smell of disease that lingered on her pelt for far longer than she would have wanted. She didn't think it was there, now, because she doubted that Vespertio would have let her into the pack if it were.

She wouldn't have spoken so much if she hadn't noticed that Cernan actually did seem to be listening, and that suspicion was confirmed when the other yearling smiled and replied to her chatter about the Red Fern Forest. She angled her right ear over toward him, listening while still keeping most of her attention on where she was going. "Well, you know how cool it is, then. You have a sister?" she inquired, turning her bright orange eyes to meet his goldenrod ones. She may not have gotten along with her own sister, but she was interested in learning about his. They must have gotten along, to travel all the way down to the Red Fern Forest together to hunt. It would take quite some time to get there; far too long to spend in the company of a wolf you didn't like.

When she turned to address him after her tumble, she noticed that he seemed to have stumbled, as well. She perked her ears and was happy to find that that was all it was, and that he didn't actually fall. In fact, it was a bit amusing. I guess mountain wolves trip from time to time, too, she thought to herself, but didn't say anything, because it usually wasn't a good idea to tease wolves that you wanted to make a good impression on. Besides, she didn't want to hurt his feelings by laughing at him or mentioning the stumble, so she pretended she didn't see it. Instead, she turned to head over to the lake. Her pawsteps here, on flat terrain that she was used to, were light and absolutely silent; a stark contrast to how loud they had been on the rockier, steeper slopes. And, ironically, a stark contrast to how loud her voice was when she got a good look at the frozen lake.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, trying to picture how stunning it would look in the spring or summer, when the ice would be melted and the water would be that deep blue shade that deep water tended to take. Her picture included fantastic foliage, flowers, and the slate gray rocks with no ice, and her overactive imagination created a beautiful image. She flicked an ear, hearing Cernan pad up alongside her, and turned her head just a bit so that her scar wasn't quite as clearly in his line of sight. She didn't think about it very often - the physical scar, that is - but she usually didn't have anyone walk behind her. She knew that the old injury wasn't a pretty thing to see, and Eido liked to keep a bit of a fallal appearance to her fur. Her grandmother had been a showy wolf at one point, and urged her granddaughters to take pride in their appearances. She did not think that scars were pretty, and Eido was thankful that the incident that caused the scar occurred after her grandmother was gone.

But, Eido didn't mention the blemish, and Cernan had decided to talk, for a change. So, the pale wolf wagged her tail and gave him her full attention as she listened, making a mental note of where he said the break in the ice was. She gave a snort of laughter at the hatred with which he talked about the swans, and she nodded, glad to find that they had that in common. "Birds are mean little bastards," she told him truthfully. "An old goose attacked me not long after I got here. I thought those stupid things flew south for the winter, but for some reason this one decided to stay. And it thought that I looked tasty, because I swear it tried to kill me." She shuddered dramatically and shook her head, attempting to make a joke. "Terror from the skies. There's no escape!"

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2017, 06:02 AM by Eidolon.)