Thicket of Secrets ...and the moonlight overthrew you

*prays for food drop* Ohhhh, SoW plz... Feed Castel so Niles doesn't have to hunt. He is a doof and can only scavenge. x|

She mentioned to him that she had just startled a flock of starlings, nothing more. "Suuure," he grinned, not at all intimidated by a bunch of itty bitty birds. Just like that, she fell into step and the duo was off again, heading nowhere in particular for the time being, but destined to find the snow-covered fields that her pack had claimed in the north. His steps were slow to match her short-legged pace and he continued to smile when she asked, "Are we going to get breakfast?" While he had thought about getting her something to eat, he hadn't really considered the whole ordeal as "breakfast." Back in Willow Ridge, he simply ate or didn't. More often than not, though, he was scouting around for the disturbed dirt mounds beneath the willows where the pack's food caches were stored.

"If you'd like, yeah," he nodded, careful to lead her through the spaces between the hedges where it was clearly a place to safely step. On a tangent, he thought of the bramble fields, fancying the idea that there could have been berries beneath the snow. It made no sense though: first, he had never tasted or even seen an edible berry before and, secondly, according to his late mother, most green things grew in the spring and summer. Not winter. Winter months were meant for hidden food stores, relaxing (as not to expend precious energy), and eating whatever dead creature might have succumbed to the frigid temperatures and unrelenting storms. When he and his father had been out on their (failed) expedition, they had developed a sort of strategy where they ate only when the hunger pangs became painful. Until then, they ate snow or drank from the streams whenever they encountered them. It was a survivalist tactic Angier had once adopted during his travels (before he met Elettra).

Niles began to scour the ground, lowering his head and trying to utilize his sense of smell in the nose-biting cold. In an attempt to keep their conversation afloat, he randomly asked her, "Say, have you ever fished before?"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

(Feb 05, 2017, 09:05 PM)Spirit of Wildwood Wrote:  There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

I just noticed that the little bird on the top of Niles' table is the same little bird in Cas'. T.T Feels.

The little wolf paid no heed to his teasing tone, and instead bumped her shoulder against his in return. She then matched pace with him, grateful that he took into account her shorter legs and made an effort to make it easier on her. It especially helped because her legs and paws were beginning to throb again - probably from when she had chased those starlings. Inwardly, she cursed herself for doing something so stupid, when she very well knew that she was not at all healthy enough to play like that. She closed her burning eyes for a half moment, allowing Niles to take the lead and trusting him not to lead her nose-first into a tree while she reigned in her traitorous emotions. It just reaffirmed the fact that, though she had let herself pretend for a while with Niles, she was not like him. She was limited. She was temporary. There was nothing about her that would have a lasting impact - not anywhere. She had only a fraction of the time that Niles, or Sahalie, or Alastor had.

The thought sent a spike of jealousy into her gut, and she pushed it away with a minute shake of the head. There was no need to be jealous of them - in fact, she was so very glad that they were going to live all the life that they were supposed to.

But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Just a bit.

She hadn't realized she was being quiet until Mr. Silent himself decided to strike up a different branch of conversation with a 'Say, have you ever fished before?' That was a bit odd to ask, Cas thought, because she didn't know that wolves really ate fish. They weren't like cats or birds and they couldn't just sweep a paw into the water and pull one out... could they?

"No, I haven't," she replied, making up for her earlier sullenness by bouncing ahead a few strides and turning around to face him, walking backward in the direction they were heading. "Care to teach me?" That could prove to be fun, Cas decided, and didn't even use her nose to search for easier prey.

The silver-dusted girl turned and fell back into step with her companion, leaving enough room that they didn't brush pelts, should he get uncomfortable. "So," she began, looking up at the sky through the trees above and not even feeling a bit of claustrophobia. Not with the boy beside her. "How was your morning? Did you do anything fun while I was asleep?" she questioned, side-eyeing him and scanning him over. She hoped he'd had a good day so far. "Sorry about that, by the way. I sleep like a log, whenever I can!" chirped the girl, still fully letting Niles lead and choose where they were to go.

Was totally blind to that SoW post. Thank you for pointing it out! XD Also, yas, same little birb. <3

Eyes to the ground and the surrounding area, the hedges and the tangled vines all covered in frost, Niles had missed that shake of Castel's head. When she chimed that she hadn't gone fishing before, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, the smile still remaining on his maw. By now it was apparent how comfortable he was with her. Anyone who had come to know Niles through his adolescent days would have known that this was the Niles that went on expeditions with his sisters, exploring the Ridge and looking for new things to lay claim to (like frawgs and sticks and flutterby wings that no longer fluttered).

"Teach you?" he questioned, echoing her words. "Psssshhhh--" Slight pause for effect. "Well, yeah! It's funner when y'ave someone to fish with." Truth be told, Niles was no fisher. In fact, when Angier had tried to teach him some months ago, all Niles did was focus for a little bit and then spoil it all by frolicking in the water instead. At the very least, some techniques did stick with the youth; he might not have talked much, but he was surely listening to everything his father was trying to teach him. Perhaps, when they finally made it to the Wild Rye Fields, he would show her...

"So," she began again. Niles' eyes went back to the forest before him, certain that they would be northeast of the Blackberry Fields soon enough if they kept going at this pace. "Mmhmm?" he sounded back to her. She asked about his morning and if he had done anything fun. The Lyall had to think about it but momentarily scowled. One reason why he had gotten up so early that morning was because he had to go... Like, go go... but apart from that, he had intended to find something for her. He just hadn't succeeded and was spooked by Castel and her starlings instead.

The whiff of something edible that Niles had smelled before was starting to grow stronger as they walked. He had initially thought it had been his nose playing tricks on him in the cold, but the further they went, the more obvious it became that it was something they could eat. His large ears had come forward and his paced had picked up (not by a lot, but it was clear in his step that his curiosity had piqued). "It was o-okay," he said, slowly becoming distracted. Even his tail had lifted up a little higher as they went. "Didn't do much, didn't... find..." His nose dropped to the ground, his nose even leaving a small trail wherever he lightly dragged it across the across. "Fi-ind much," he finished, his voice starting to crack again - much to his disappointment.

He cleared his throat and came to a gradual stop. To his right he could see the stretch of open fields but nothing out of place, like, say, a dead creature or the vermin his father had called 'coy-otes.' To his left, he stole a glance at his sprite of a travel companion and sniffed at the air, "Do you... smell that?"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Cas had noticed that Niles had evolved greatly from the scared, timid young thing she'd met yesterday. He was much brighter; much more talkative and seemed happier, too. She liked to think that maybe she had at least a little to do with the happier part - she found that she wanted Niles happy, actually. It made her feel proud of herself; like she'd done something important.

Didn't have anything to do with the fact that Niles made her heart jump around in her chest like a trapped butterfly or a caged bird. A really special feeling that no one else had ever been able to make her feel.

That wasn't it at all. It couldn't be.

Could it?

She took a deep breath and smiled when he announced that he would teach her, tacking on an 'It's funner when y'ave someone to fish with.' And damn, wasn't it adorable how he added his own little tweaks to the words? She allowed herself a few seconds of unashamed studying him, affection warming her fur and softening her gaze. She felt like she'd missed so much in life, being without this boy for so long.

"Maybe we can find a creek or something near the Fields," she offered, and, letting herself be bold, licked his cheek in a sort of kiss. Though, if asked, she'd obviously say that it was a simple friendly gesture. "If I fall in, you have to get me out, though!" she added, wagging her tail and hopping off to the side to sniff at some bushes to her right, searching for something the two of them could eat.

She looked back over in concern when he started stuttering again, and she padded back over to walk alongside him. His nose was pressed to the ground; it was obvious that he had scented something interesting. In turn, she pressed her nose to the snow and her tail waved excitedly. "That smells like food!" she chirped, then took off at a lope down through the woods and toward the smell, keeping her pace relatively slow to be easier on her legs and so that her larger companion could keep up with her. "C'mon, Niles!" she called to him. "Let's go!"

(This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2017, 01:20 AM by Castel.)

"Maybe," he concurred when she mentioned about finding a fishing spot near the Fields. The kiss she had given him, even if it had taken him by surprise, was a cause for letting the silence come over them. On the outside, he smiled, through the sensations of heat flashes and prickling along his cheeks; within, his inner self had curled up in a ball, tail thumping about as he practically screamed to himself. His first kiss (ever received). His timing to bring up the strange, half-enticing smell could not have been timed better.

"That smells like food!" she trilled to him. For a while, he stared wide-eyed at her before the thought fully struck him and set his legs into motion. "C'mon, Niles!" Cas wasted no time in pulling him along, "Let's go!" She might have been fast - waaaaayyyy too fast for him - but with decent control over his gangly legs, he managed to make his way over to where she stood, all too eager for her to lead on...

His tongue lolled out of his mouth, his lumbering footsteps carrying him over to her side. He sniffed at the air again, glancing down at her and taking cues to where he might point his nose. "I think muh-- m'snoot's broken," he joked, audibly inhaling now. "Where?" Just for fun, he slowly craned his head downward - "I think I smell... I smell..." - his nose grazing the tips of her ears before he started chortling out loud, "OH! That's you!"

(This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2017, 07:02 PM by Niles.)

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

-dies from cute overload-

He caught up to her, and at first Cas was not even aware that he was joking around - especially when he used the word 'snoot'. She'd never heard that particular word before, and she tipped her head back to look up at him in perplexity. "What the hell's a snoo-" she began, but broke off when she heard him snuffle loudly. Oh. Snoots were noses, apparently. "Nevermind."

She laughed along with him, ducking her head and flicking her ears about when his muzzle grazed them. "Noooo," she whined dramatically, laughter still bubbling from her words and tone. "I'm not food! The food's over there!" She angled her ears down a small slope a coupe wolf-lengths in front of them.

She pushed his shoulder lightly with both of her forepaws in a playful shove and hopped over to the declining ground. "Breakfast is serious business," she informed him, then finally looked down and spotted the mostly-eaten, frozen carcass below. A couple of coyotes were still nibbling at it, having either not noticed Cas and Niles' presence, or were too hungry to care. Her tail waved happily and, without warning, she yipped and bounded down the slope, toward the coyotes and carcass.

The coyotes snarled and stood stiff-legged for a moment, but Cas growled back - still mostly playing, really, but the coyotes didn't know that - and they backed off. But the girl wasn't happy with that. She took a bit of a running start and leaped over the remains of the carcass to chase the coyotes a bit - not much, because she remembered that she'd recently taken a rather large fall doing just that with a certain packmate of hers.

No, this time, the little wolf only pursued them for a moment before turning back toward Niles and the food, triumphantly waving her banner and prancing toward them. "Showed them who's boss," she asserted, tone light and sing-songy as she settled down beside the carcass, but waited for her companion to take the first bite.

"Noooo," Castel had playfully protested. Niles' nose had scrunched up, finally feeling the laugh in his belly as he took a step back from the force of her shove. He probably could have stood his ground, just feel her press her paws against him, but the laughter had gotten the best of him. "Breakfast is serious business," the sprite had made sure to let him know. Niles could only snicker as he relented, "Alright, alright, I get it." She had danced down the gentle hillock and he shuffled after her, leaving two trenches for tracks where her dainty footprints had been.

The sharp yip she emitted brought his focus to her and, immediately, he glanced about for what had caught her attention. There were no bird, no large prey, or another wolf... She had already charged downhill and Niles just... stood there... frozen on the spot, his eyes wide as he stared after her. He hadn't even realized the coyotes had been there; he hadn't been paying close enough attention. His heart, which had been constantly aflutter in his chest, suddenly dropped. If they had come up against Deacon, or perhaps some sort of other potentially dangerous situation, she might have come to harm.

The coyotes, that he hadn't even seen in the first place through the hedges, had tucked tail and fled - all because of Castel. Niles' jaw dropped as she turned to face him. His eyes hadn't even paid attention to the vermin, he only watched her as her tail had gone up and her barks had caused them some alarm. It was the power in her charge and in her step that had made them retreat.

"Showed them who's boss."

It was with a reluctant step that the boy came forward, pale eyes regarding the surrounding area now that the coyotes had gone. "Ya  sure did," he quietly complimented with a wag of his tail. He came to stand opposite of her with the frozen moose carcass between them. It had taken a bit, but his smile was recovered as he placed a forepaw on the moose's hock to peer at his companion. "Where'd ya learn how to do that?"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Feel free to fade out in your next post, if you want c: Or, let me know if you want me to end it after your next post. We can start a thread in WRF after, maybe!

Turning her gaze up toward her friend, the yearling tipped her head slightly. "Coyotes run away if you chase them. You've just gotta be loud and pretend you're scary," she told him seriously. "We're a lot bigger than them, and they're kinda chickens," she finished, tail wagging as she took a bite of the frozen food. She chewed thoughtfully, wondering what had caused the temporary drop in Niles' mood, but not wanting to ask. She could've sworn he had frozen, sort of, when she'd begun chasing the coyotes. If anything, she would've assumed he'd join in on the fun and run after them with her. Then they both could've showed them.

The silver-dusted girl took a few bites of the food before her tail set to wagging and she raised her head. "This is going to sound a little weird," she began, then looked away for a moment to gather her thoughts. She looked back up to him. "I'm really excited for you to come meet my pack. I didn't think I would be, but..." She took a breath. "I don't know. I guess it'll just be nice to have a real friend there. I mean, someone to have fun with. I like being with you."

That was a bit of an understatement - Cas found that being with Niles was currently her favorite place in the world, and she couldn't see that changing anytime soon. She'd be content anywhere, at that moment, provided the dark-furred boy was by her side. Here she was - in the middle of a dense, confining forest - and she was happier than she'd ever been in her entire life. She just felt like he needed to know that.

She cleared her throat, feeling a bit of awkwardness after her admission. Of course, it was probably only her feeling awkward about it, but still. She wanted the subject changed. "After we eat, we can probably start heading back up to the Fields, if you're feeling up to it." She gave him a soft smile before turning her attention back to the meal.

Think one more post ought to do it from ya, tack on your 'fade' then archive. c:

What she told him in return seemed like common sense. What Angier had told him was that coyotes weren't to be messed with - most especially if they were in pairs. Seeing Castel chase them off just moments ago, had Niles pretty certain that his father probably had something against the smaller canines. That, or the older Lyall hadn't believed that his son had enough gall to fend for himself against such creatures. It made him temporarily scowl, but as he came to regard Castel, even as she ate, he fully smiled, his hope for the future and what he could become restored... If she could do it, then so could he...

He quietly followed suit, tugging at the tough hide and getting to what scraps of frozen sinew and meat remained when the coyotes had left. "This is going to sound a little weird," his ears perked as he pulled at the muscle, biting off only what he could manage with one mouthful. It had been sometime since he had last eaten; taking it slow with something as rich as moose was probably wise. "I'm really excited for you to come meet my pack." He stole a glance at her, their eyes meeting for a second before he continued eating. She went on to say that it would be nice to have a friend, a real friend with her there. Niles considered this in-between bites; come to think of it, he, himself, had never had a friend before. Ravenna was his sister, his parents were his parents, and @Enoki, she was merely a role model of sorts, an "aunt" or second mother at best.

"I like being with you."

There his heart went again with its little cartwheels and skipping beats. He simply smiled at her; really, he could have said the same thing, but he withheld the words, believing them too forward for only knowing her for no more than a full day. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away, complicate things with implied ideas of taking her away from her pack or going against what laws they held within the Wild Rye Fields.

"After we eat," she had his full attention again, even if his mouth was full, "we can probably start heading back up to the Fields, if you're feeling up to it." He swallowed before licking his lips, nodding at her once, "Whenever you're ready then."

(Fade.)

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

She didn't get a response, but she didn't need it. She was pretty sure he liked her presence, as well, and though the thought made her feel extremely guilty, it was also thrilling. She felt more than needed or tolerated - she felt wanted, and that was an amazing feeling. Especially for someone who'd never really felt wanted in their entire life. But everything about what Niles had said, and almost every bit of his body language, suggested that he really did want her.

She was so glad she'd decided to head back south.

The small yearling took a couple bites more before she felt stuffed. She wasn't, not really, because she'd only had about half a dozen small bites, but the combination of the winter shortage, and the fact that she just didn't feel like eating most of the time, had caused her capacity for food to decline. Not that it really mattered; she'd actually gained a couple pounds since joining the Rye pack. Whether that was from fat, or muscle, Cas wasn't sure. She was feeling stronger, but she wasn't dumb enough to let herself think she was actually getting better.

Regardless, she was feeling better, and she was thankful for it.

She waited for Niles to eat however much he wanted before she bounced backward and wagged her tail happily. "Let's go get you to Drestig, then!" she announced, then turned and trotted off through the underbrush in the direction of Wild Rye Fields.

{fade}