Altar of Fire burning ring of fire

For @Eskil

Each day of this dreadful time of year did not seem to get easier for Ravenna Lyall. It was a test of will, of sorts, it seemed to here, where many had failed. Ravenna had been more or less scouting around the outskirts of her home territory when not hauled up within the Infirmary portion of the pack den at nights. She had thought it best to give Enoki space, as she was the leading lady and Ravenna was the only other woman within the ranks who had just recently become capable of breeding. The young silvery woman had no intention on stepping on anyone else's toes and with her uncles and nephew nosing around, Ravenna had felt being alone was best.

She had come to the Rise with every intention to keep her mind busy. Perhaps she would come upon some newly sprouting herbs or she would be lucky enough to come upon then scent of prey. For the moment, the only smell that hung thick in the air was her very self. A powerful, prideful and dominantly strong willed woman would be expected to have anything less. Ravenna cursed this 'birds and the bees' state, grumbling to herself as she slithered her body along the rock known as the 'Alter of Fire'. Hoping up onto it's flat surface, she was content with her pedestal as she looked over the fields as they began to bloom with the red of fire.

Still Eskil searched for his sister, though by the day his conviction grew less and less. A case of too many setbacks with not enough evidence to push him forward. Asha had a nice distraction, but he started to contemplate exactly what he was distracting himself from. It was easy enough to use the excuse that the season and scent of heat was enough to push any male off track, but deep down he knew that wasn't quite it. After losing all his family and friends last summer, wolves he'd known since birth, he'd been aimless. Learning that his sister lived gave him a purpose to keep going, and drew him from the graveyard that he'd been haunting. 

It was a lonely existence, the wolves he met on his travels ephemeral at best. Maybe he'd just put too much hope in Asha being a lasting friendship. As his large white paws pressed over the snow, the surface pocked by stems of red blossoms that brushed against his belly, he contemplated his next step. He wasn't sure if he should keep looking for his sister, the last anchor to his old life, or find a pack and start all over again, rebuilding a sort of life for himself. 

A scent on the wind of a female in heat caught his attention, his stomach turning in primal agitation. He forced the feeling down, he'd already fucked up enough by listening to his loins. He'd just say hello, meet someone new, maybe flirt a little and try to forget those pale ice eyes that haunted him. Eskil picked up his pace as he rounded up the hill, dark spruce eyes skimming over the white stone and finding the smoke colored woman lounging on its surface. She rivaled him in size, and her pale silver eyes immediately caught his attention.

"Hello," He said in a rough yet friendly baritone. He dipped his head, grey tail swishing a slow and steady pace behind him. "Quite the view up here," He said, with his eyes on her it was unlikely he was talking about the scenery. A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips. 

In the vast, open red and white field, it was easy to see the male coming her way far before he reached her enough to speak. She was certain it was the same on his end as well, and those pale silvery eyes only watched his approach with interest. If he was a loner he was worth talking to, to see if he could be a wolf worthy of calling friend or even 'pack mate' given the fact that they were in need of strong, trustworthy and good mannered wolves within the ranks. It would be harder to determine now, granted Ravenna held a certainty that many rogue men were out to satisfy one desire and one desire only, even if it meant stealing away female pack mates and wooing them to break the code of their pack.

As he drew nearer, her curiosity grew. He walked in a relaxed and yet confidant stride, his large form an open pillar of his strength with a heavy and sturdy build. He held many colors of various shades of grays and creams here and there. A much darker complexion of her own which was rather pale grey and silvery savor a few darker points. When he came to stop before her, it was his forested gaze which caught her the most. He was a good looking man, though Ravenna had yet to decide if this was her true feelings or the hormones of breeding season speaking out in her mind for her. "Well hello to you too, Casanova." She speaks, her tongue curling out rather mockingly to his comment, or rather, compliment. "Would you like a closer look?" She then questions, her eyes still sharp upon him for a moment longer before casting back out over the fields around then, leaving him to decide his fate. She would shift, however, so that there would be enough room for him to come sit beside her on the rock if he so wished it.

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

@Ravenna

First time anyone had ever called him a Cassanova, even if jokingly. The corners of the Whitebark man's eyes crinkled in mirth, the small smile that marked his maw earlier having broken into a full on grin. What could he say, she caught him red pawed.

Eskil was close enough now that he could detect the signature of scents on her coat. Despite the grassy fields he'd discovered her in, the silvery she-wolf's aroma was woodsy, with the zest of willow bark and herbs. Besides the verdant notes of foliage, he also noticed the scents of several other wolves mixed in among her own musk. It appeared the young woman was from one of the region's packs, though his knowledge of the area was too scant to be able to tell which or where.

Her voice was taunting, tempting even, but despite his flirtatious comment he vowed to keep his paws to himself. He'd gotten himself in enough trouble already, he didn't need to dance with disaster a second time. And not knowing who she was besides a young wolf of a pack of some sort, he especially didn't want to risk getting caught messing around with an alpha's daughter.

"Well, I can certainly keep you company, if you don't mind." He said, bracing his paws against the altar and hoisting himself up in a fluid motion, finding room beside her.

"Name's Eskil Whitebark, by the way," He said as he settled down on his haunches, then lowered his elbows to the cold stone beside the woman. He tilted his chin, looking at her from the side. "And who's company do I have the pleasure of?"

"Not at all." She spoke, watching then as the large wolf hoped onto the large rock next to her. Then he introduced himself as Eskil Whitebark. She liked the name. There was something 'old' about it, as though to suggest the name 'Whitebark' came from a long standing family that had lasted through the generations. Unfortunately, Ravenna had not visited her family in the Grizzly Hollow or she might have known of his sister in order to do some use for him on the search he had been at. Watching as he came to lay down beside her, her body stretched, paws reaching out for dull claws to scrap the sides of the rock as her back arched, tail lifting and curling upwards as she stretched and then relaxed once more. Though her gut fluttered with butterflies and her spine tingled as a obvious yearning burned within her, she hardly knew how much her body and her scent made men react. After all, this was only her first year going through this hormonal change.

"Ravenna Archer-Lyall." The name is spoken rather proudly when she says it. Sometimes she thought others might have thought it rather silly to state both her mother and father's last name. But she was far too proud to dismiss her mother's family name and loved her father and cousin @Renier too much to offer them anything less. "What have you been into as of late, Loner?" Maybe he was just wondering through, stealing away hearts as he went. Maybe he was looking for a new place to call home. Perhaps she could use the breeding season to her advantage. Perhaps, she could convince him to stay. Physically he seemed a capable enough member for the ranks and maybe with their little conversation he could be of further use to the pack. Someone to be of help, someone who could do Willow Ridge some good.

@Ravenna

Now that he was up here on the stone, sitting next to her so near he could feel the warmth radiating from her body, he was having second thoughts about putting himself so close. He had no doubts in his self control, but to be engulfed in her scent all around him was nearly making him dizzy. But it would be rude to move now, and he'd be lying to say he didn't enjoy torturing himself a little in this way, and so he stayed. The large wolf sighed and lowered his head down to his forelimbs, trying to look like he was simply getting comfortable rather than trying to steady his nerves. The woman's name rolled off her tongue smoothly and he detected just a touch of decorum in the way it was spoken. He was sure of it now, she had to be the daughter of some alpha somewhere.

Eskil tilted his head from it's position on the ground, looking up at Ravenna through the corner of his eye. What an open ended question she'd given him. He almost wished he had some daring tales of adventure to tell the lass, but truly his life over the past few months had amounted to walking from place to place, looking for someone who might as well have been a ghost.

"I'd been looking for someone for the past few months, but it's not going well, to be honest." Eskil said easily, his shoulders bunching up in a shrug as he looked out over the snowy fields and the bobbing heads of the red flowers. "Thinking of just cutting my losses and calling it quits." He said, the decision already halfway made. His evergreen eyes flicked back to Ravenna, ears alert. "So what brings you out here alone, miss Archer-Lyall?" He asked with curiosity.

The strange man at her side seemed comfortable enough, laying down and resting his head to his stretched out legs. If he was trying to hide the fact that he was uneasy by the torture which her dominant scent was carrying, he was doing a good job. Ravenna, being so proud of her bloodline and so confidant in herself, did not yet understand just how distinct her smell had become now that she was ready to breed. Had it not been for Enoki, she would have been queen and her body knew it, screaming out that she was ready and waiting for a equally powerful and strong willed man to court her. She squirms, her body offering a shiver, causing her sides to brush along his own.

Eskil Whitebark then spoke out he had been traveling the lands of Relic Lore in search for someone, though had left it open. Was this a friend? A child, sibling or mate? She wondered, though kept the questions to herself for the time being. He seemed to have not been having any luck, from his words, and thought that perhaps he should give up should he feel he was beginning to waist his time. "You may not ever find this someone if you call it quits..." She spoke, pausing a moment to look him over before continuing. "But everyone gets tired, frustrated... Maybe you just need a break? Some place to rest your bones and ease your mind for awhile?" She was merely offering him a suggestion, though the tones in her words hinting some sort of offering.

Her pale gaze locked onto his own. "I thought it best to keep my distance from the pack during this time... My scent seems to be rather, distracting." She did not give him any more details then this, allowing him to assume she had been warding off the men within her ranks or that she had been keeping from challenging the elder woman's rights. Ether way, Ravenna had in truth been keeping away because she did not want to test Enoki's patience nor position. She did not want the older woman to even think Ravenna would try. After all, it was not like there was any man within the ranks she could have been with even if she wanted. They were all family and probably for the best.

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2017, 02:30 AM by Ravenna.)

@Ravenna

Eskil's head shifted slightly from the perch on his forelimbs, his chin dipping in just the slightest nod. It was true, if he gave up, it was likely he'd never see his sister again. But there was no guarantee that if he kept searching, going to the ends of the earth, that he would find her either. Either way it was a gamble, but he was sure he'd gone through all his luck already getting this far in one piece. He wasn't sure how much luck he had left. Her next words held a hint of something. An offer, perhaps?

Ravenna's pale eyes caught his own dark pair, and he couldn't help the small smirk that crossed his maw. Ah, distracting, yes. That was a good word for it. It was hard to keep his mind from wandering down certain avenues with the lovely company he found himself beside. This month seemed to bring out the worst in some, and it was understandable that she found the need to put her distance between it. 

"Perhaps after the... ah... season is over, I might find a place to settle down. I don't have anywhere to return to, and this land seems as good as any." Eskil thought aloud. He tilted his head towards the silvery woman, with a single ear tilted curiously. "Is your pack willing to take in newcomers?" He ventured.

He was a gentleman enough, or so his first impression had offered her. Ravenna, despite the hardships she had endured as such a very young age with the death of her siblings, both parents, aunt and abandonment of many of her family members, was rather open minded to new wolves. She was cautious and by no means trusted anyone that she did not know well (like @Enoki, @Sven and @Renier) although she was a respectful rather even tempered woman. Her mother had taught her well on how to act as a Queen should act before others and to move in a manner that suggested royalty and talk in a manner which demanded attention. Her father @Angier had taught her well to be well-mannered, learn when to speak and when to listen and to never underestimate anyone. With Eskil here, she secretly studied him, taking in everything about him which she thought she knew (polite, strong, determined) and saving it to allow him time to reveal what stuff he was truly made of.

She listened when he decided he might settle down for awhile, deciding this land was as good as any. It seemed as though he was taking up her offer on taking a break from his search if only to get his head straight and try to recoup. Then he asked if her pack was taking any members and her darkened ears perked to this. Time would only tell if he would really come back to join and if so, how long he would stay, but with the pack very small and needing of aid when it came to hunting and guarding the borders, she figured whatever time he offered the pack was better then none.

"I have no doubt." She paused, then decided to briefly explain. "Our pack suffered great loss over the winter and we are in need of rebuilding." She did not dare explain for the subject, after all, was very hard on her and likely would always be. Surely over time should he join the ranks, he would learn of what had happened to Willow Ridge. "Would you come back to me then, after your desires have subsided?" Or both their desires, actually, though she did not speak up about her own feelings during this breeding seasons, but only spoke in question with curiosity of what he might have to say.