Sex: FemaleIt had been a number of weeks since her mother and father had died just at the outskirts of Willow Ridge, having spent their last moments together on this earth at the very same tree which they had met. It was a willow which Ravenna often had visited now, taking time to leave various gifts there in honor to her fallen parents. Ravenna had no doubt in her mind that their spirits guiding her now and the rest of their children with a hope that one day they would be strong and united once more. Ravenna did not know how long it would take her to forgive her age-mate brother @Niles, nor did she know if she would ever see him again in order to try and do so. Although after spending weeks literally speaking to none within her small pack, with a heavy breath and a certain determination this morning, Ravenna had every intention of speaking to her leaders about going north to inform her sister of the recent happenings. Surely Renier would likely want to speak to Grizzly Hollow and Deacon along with them, though Ravenna longed to be the one to leave this place behind, if only for a little bit, in order to try and cope as she delivered this information to the sister she had once longed to be close to, @Morganna. Standing out along the edges of their pack den's little clearing, she calls out to her new leaders.
you can set yourself on fire
Time was not making their loss much easier. The dragging days seemed to bring one reminder or another what they had lost. Everything felt wrong, and strange. Any talk seemed forced, and silence stretched endlessly. He didn't know what to do except to keep watch, and leave caches when he could. Though he wondered if they would be touched. For himself he felt hollow, and numb. He felt there was little he could do. He could not change what happened. He was not an Archer, but a Lyall.
Another sleepless night, he had hung near the heights of the territory, keeping watch, while trying to still his thoughts. He wanted so much to do something to bring them all together. To show them they needed to continue for those gone.
Ravenna's voice called for him and Enoki, and he wondered what she had in mind. Swiftly, he loped downward to the small clearing of the den where she awaited alone. He could not even wag his tail, or offer a smile. Instead his eyes looked over her, wondering how she was doing, and feeling it was still pain and sorrow. There was something else. "You have something on your mind." He raised a brow, looking to her silver eyes. He didn't think she would leave them, but it did not make him worry any less.
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It was a guessing game who would be the first to arrive, granted how prompt both leaders had been on the scene when they were called as subordinates to her mother's demand. It was odd, knowing that she had been the princess here, the last of Elettra's children. Something in her felt as though even if it was her blood which founded this land, she was a dying breed. A breed soon to be replaced. These thoughts made it obvious Ravenna was nervous as to how the pack would change with the coming of spring, but hopefully it would be for the best. After all, if Renier were to breed, they would be Lyalls and if Enoki were to breed, it would be Archers perhaps, as Ravenna had a time or to caught Nicolo and Enoki together in what seemed quite pleasant terms around the pack.
Renier Lyall would be the first to come to her call and Ravenna steps forward to him, her silver eyes turning away when he looks at her directly, though she does not shrink before him as a sign of submission. A part of her did not understand how to. She never needed to for her mother and never had considered it with her uncle. His lack of emotion though was noticed and, to be honest, Ravenna had the same mannerism. She did not wave her tail, did not perk her ears, smile or woof in greeting. Though very suddenly she would close the distance between them and embrace him. Her skull lowering now, if only to press the side of her face to the front of his chest. She had not touched another one of her members since she had curled along the bodies of her dead parents. She had not played, wrestled, or cuddled at nights. She had slept alone, down in the 'basement' of the Infirmary where the scent of her mother was yet still strong. Renier was warm. Comforting. She had missed it.
Still pressed against him, she spoke. "I would like to leave," She pauses for far too long and it was perhaps cruel of her to startle Renier as such, but Ravenna just wanted to make sure that someone still cared if she was here or not. With her mother gone, whom she spent 95% of her time with since birth, she could not be certain. "...Likely for a few weeks, perhaps longer. You said Morganna's pack was a long travel far north correct? I would like to go there to tell her of what has happened. She deserves to know. All of Relic Lore does; To know what they have lost." After all, greatness had fallen.
you can set yourself on fire
The silver wolf's eyes moved away from his. He did not quite understand why, but he wasn't going to take it to heart. He couldn't in a time like this. But, for the first time she brought herself close to him, face against his brown and white chest. Mindfully, he rested his head along her nape to hold her close. He wasn't the only family she had left, but it didn't stop him from wanting to comfort her. He had noticed how she had changed in the parting of her parents. Withdrawn into herself, avoiding contact of any sorts.
The words he'd been dreading fell from her lips. He felt his heart jump into his throat. She was the remaining child of Elettra and Angier. Had she given up on the Ridge? Was it too painful? Niles had fled from them, and he hated to see her do the same. He didn't dare speak. He was holding his breath, fumbling for words that didn't come. All he could do was hold her more tightly until she left.
The silence is cut as she explains why. To see her sister and tell her the terrible news. He had thought about it too. She needed to know, and not by a stranger. Someone she knew. Part of him wanted to go with Ravenna, keep her safe. He doubted Elettra and Angier would appreciate him if something happened to her. But, another part of him wasn't sure he could see Morganna again. Deliver the words, and see her take them. Poking at old and new wounds. It was not only her sister she wanted to tell, but the rest of Relic Lore.
He wasn't sure he liked that idea. He felt it would reveal the Ridge as weak. They had no direct enemies, and he supposed the word needed to be passed. The leaders' lives had stretched far. Maybe, it would reach their other children. "I don't like the idea of you going alone. But, I think it is best if you were to let her, and Greer know what has happened. As well as others. I have made amends with Grizzly Hollow, and there is a new pack to the north west of us. Secret Woodlands still stand." His mind raced for other details she would need for her trip. Tried to ignore the twist in his gut.
Did anyone else know of her plans? He doubted it. She had always been closest to Elettra. If Sven was going with he would have been here. The Lyall wasn't about to stop her, he only would feel better knowing what Enoki thought. Trying to be united as leaders instead of divided. The sooner Ravenna left the sooner she could be home.
In his moment of silence as she had paused in her words, she could feel his heart pump harder with the holding of his breath, how he tightened the length of his snout more so to press her closer to him. He cared. He did not want to loose her from this pack, did not want to let her go. The very corners of her lips turned though it was far from a true smile. It was a start, however and that is where she had been left to continue her words. She listens to his words, speaking how he was not comfortable with leaving on her own and also telling her how the rift between Grizzly Hollow and this pack had been filled. Good. The last thing they needed was an enemy while they were still so broken and beaten from all which had happened over the last year. "I know it is always better to take a traveling partner, though I dont think our ranks can afford it..." She mentions this delicately. After all, Sven would want to keep close with Attica and surely all three could not leave. That would mean only three ranking members would be left in the pack, not nearly enough to hold their ground if someone were to try and fed off of their lands or worse, take them entirely.
Lifting her head and then taking two steps back in order to look over Renier's facial features, she continued. "Since Grizzly Hollow is not far, maybe you could pass word to them? I think they'd rather here it from you then me... No Lyall there even knows me." She spoke, a grim expression tugging on her features. It was true that she did not know much of her family other then her immediate family which was not ether gone or dead. "I don't know much about Secret Woodlands, ether. I know mother was close to their leader but I don't even know if that wolf is still in power, or still alive for that matter... I can arch out west into their direction on the way back if you would like, though that may cause me to be out a few days longer." She spoke this, the sentence lingering almost in question. It would be quicker to travel straight up and down the length of the mountains. With the mountains to the east it would be much harder to get lost if she just kept them in her sights. Going west would make things more difficult for the woman who had not seen further north then Sacred Grove. Still, by the way she spoke these words, it was obvious she was leaving the final call to him.
you can set yourself on fire
It was true, they didn't have numbers to spare. It wasn't that he thought her weak. Without her parents he felt more responsible for her, and her well being. If anything happened to her...
If it had been any other time he would have encouraged her to go. She was young, and while she had traveled there was so much more to see. With Morganna's departure he knew a hole had been ripped. But, her elder siblings were pieces of what was left of her family, and he hoped to see their relationship mend. Even if it was only a start. With grief hanging over them, he felt it would be good for her to get away from the willows, head out with purpose. "You're right," he murmurs.
He releases his grip, but holds onto her silver irises as she slips back. His gold gaze suddenly flickers away. He had no trouble speaking with Veho, and they ought to know. It saddened him to see the change across her facade. He felt the same. He felt as if he had been born in a completely different place now there were so little of Lyalls there. It hadn't been his home for a long time. "Maybe, time will change that," was all he offered in turn.
She was clear about her knowledge of the Woodlands, making the point of taking longer if she went that way. It hadn't been long since he had met the lady Aideen, and it would be better if she went straight to the Monadnock. He started by answering about the Woodland's former leader. "No, she is not. I rather wait to get the word to them than have you away longer." The season of mating would be upon them, and he felt it would be better if she was home. He was sure there were plenty of slicked-tongue, over-eager bastards in wait. That wasn't a subject he wanted to breech.
Instead, it was directions he would speak."You keep a steady direction north. May want to take first stop between the Wildwood and Secluded Springs. I think there's a pack around them, but I'm not sure. May be worth checking on." He had a brief encounter with a White Fir Notch wolf, but that was all. "Try to stick to Serpent's foothills, you'll reach a fast running palisade. You can follow it, but will need to start heading east at its end. You will know when you hit the tundra. It is like nothing here. But, keep north-east, you'll soon see the flat peak. There's a small lake at its base where you'll want to wait for your sister. I don't think you'll get much trouble if you let her know it's you." He didn't believe the pack was a threat, but like most of their kind a stranger brought out suspicion. He let out a quiet breath, looking to see if he needed to repeat or give further details.
She nods delicately to his words, a silence befalling her as she thinks about what it might be like to meet others of the Lyall family. Truth to be told, the only ones she really knew as Lyalls was her father and the uncle which was standing before her now. Once Ravenna had gotten older and Ravenna had questioned how her mother had met father, Elettra had explained their odd coupling and how Angier was the brother of her ex-leader, Borden, and a man which she had come to hate. With this information it was a wonder if some of the Lyalls were at odds with one another back then in the same fashion the Archers were now.
"Okay." Ravenna responds, this being towards Renier deciding against having Ravenna venture further towards the west after she had visited her family far in the north. He had decided to wait and Ravenna did not question why. She would only assume it was because their members were small and he needed her here to help with ether guarding, hunting or finding herbs when there were so little bodies to do the job. She would never have imagined it had anything to do with the breeding season on its way. After all, the only men Ravenna had been around in all her growing into adulthood was men of her own family. She had never the knowledge or luxury of what it was like to develop feelings for another wolf in such a manner, be in a small fling, a lust, or even further. Perhaps for the best, anyhow.
When he began giving her direction, she listened ever carefully to him, her eyes shifting downwards to her footing unintentionally as she thought deeply, trying to remember these place markers which she spoke of and knowing that if she just kept the mountains to her right, she knew she was going the correct direction. Lifting her attention back to him, she nods with a confirmation as she spoke it. "I think I got it."
you can set yourself on fire
There was a moment, he thought she might question the matter. Make this conversation more than a little awkward. Hopefully, when the time came she had a better understanding than Morganna had had. Those thoughts were brushed aside. A simply okay was all that was said, and he breathed a silent, little sigh of relief. There were plenty of other reasons she probably could see. Just as she had to go alone. It would be a lot quicker, and at least on the other side he felt her eldest sister would take care of her before she had to make the journey back.
The young, silver wolf seemed thoughtful, as he explained points to watch out for. He had faith she'd remember. She had scouted enough not to get lost he felt, and keep in mind the layout of the land.
There was a small smile that twitched on the side of his face. "You'll do fine Ravenna," he spoke, if only to encourage her as Angier may have done."You know the way home, and I don't doubt you can take care of yourself." She was an Archer-Lyall after all, and she had an important task ahead of her. "Anything else?" He wondered, feeling it was going to be hard to watch her walk away. Get much rest wondering when she would be coming home.
He seemed to be confidant in her that she would be able to make this journey on her own, despite the fact that she had not ventured more then just around the neighboring lands around her pack's territory. She too, filled with both determination and ambition, knew she would be able to make it there and back safely. After all, it was in her blood to travel just as much as it was to fight and heal those wounds from the fight. Angier had been quite a wanderer and explorer back in his day before settling down with her mother. When he questioned her if there was anything else, she shook her head lightly, allowing silence to fall between them. Instead of speaking out a 'thank you' to his positive words, she would come in towards him, once more offering an embrace to allow the side of her cheek to press against the front of his chest. After a few delicate moments, she pulled away, trotting off from him in order to get a good last rest and meal in before her venture the morning after.