Hearthwood River Let the ashes fall, forget about me

Mace had expected something magnificent. He retained a few snatches of memories from Cut Rock River, and remembered it as breathtaking. He couldn't say how much of that was nostalgia and how much was truth, and he couldn't even say if it was Cut Rock River or Darkwater Rapids in those memories, but nonetheless, he recalled a stately forest. That Maksim would keep his pack alongside a forested river was a given, but this exceeded even Mace's expectations.

He'd never seen trees so tall. They clawed into the sky and towered over all other forests, their canopies so high that Mace could feel his neck ache when he craned it back to look heavenward. The sound of water in the near distance was like coming home, but the man was careful to stay well beyond the nearest marks left by wolves. He would not begin his attempt to rectify his wrongs by disrespecting their claim.

He rocked back on his haunches and took a seat alongside a smaller sequoia that was set a healthy distance from where the claiming scents were most concentrated. Even if he had been a mile or two away, he would still be able to smell them, and even being this close had its risks. The Attaya could only hope he was safe there as he lifted his snout up and howled a short, quiet note to grab attention and assure the river wolves that he was alone and harmless.

@Kisla perhaps if you have time / if she'd leave her pups for a little bit at this time? Otherwise, anyone would be awesome, esp. Maksim kids!

(This post was last modified: May 07, 2017, 01:16 PM by Mace.)

gorgeous set by kydnt

Guardian Dem 1/3

The morning had not started out well for Inna, most of her mornings lately hadn't. She'd had to rush out of her den just to vomit not wanting to get the place she'd be having her children dirty. After having covered that morning's episode she had gone to the river for a drink to hopefully wash the taste from her mouth and she hoped the water would help to settle her stomach. When she felt she had enough to drink she had started for the cache but feared that it would be the same thing as the previous mornings. She was hungry but the smell of the meat would only further upset her stomach.

She was almost thankful when there was a call from the border, she wouldn't have to eat just then and hopefully her stomach would settle a little. Her abdomen had swelled just a little more over the past weeks so she moved even slower than she had only a couple of weeks before. She was happy to be having her pups but she was ready for them to arrive already. With her symptoms seeming to get worse and the discomfort she felt as her sides swelled with the life growing inside her she was ready for it to be over.

Inna hadn't wanted to keep their visitor whose voice seemed familiar to her waiting long so she moved as quickly as she could through the trees. Finally she arrived panting a little from the effort but nothing a few deep breaths couldn't​ help. As she had thought​ the male she'd met at the lake was waiting. A smile crossed her inky maw, “Hello Mace,” she greeted the man kindly, “It's good to see you again. ’What brings you to the borders of Hearthwood River?” She wondered if he may have come to see her father or if he had already done so.

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2017, 04:40 AM by Inna.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

He wasn't left waiting long. That was a good thing. His brief time spent at the ethos weighed heavily in the back of his mind, and he didn't want to start thinking too hard about it or what he'd said, lest he shake his own resolve. Try as he might to be better, the Attaya was an expert at convincing himself of things. If he thought about it too much, he might convince himself that Maksim would not agree with this, and he would turn away at the last moment.

Never again, he told himself as a dark shape moved through the trees ahead. The inky Attaya trimmed his ears forward and squinted at the approaching shadow, then pressed them deferentially back as Inna materialized. She was rounder than when they last met, heavy with child now. A niggling sense at the back of his head told him she shouldn't be out on the borders in her condition, but he was also glad she was the one to meet him, and ultimately kept his tongue still on the subject. He'd made a promise to a dead wolf in a grave, but that didn't mean he had to right to come along and start scolding his descendants.

Inna, hi, he said deeply, and his smile was wide and warm as he tilted his head toward the earth. His tail, previously curled neatly around his haunches, wriggled in the dirt in a show of willing inferiority to her. He plastered his ears back submissively and licked his lips before spitting out, I, uh... I was hoping to join.

(This post was last modified: May 06, 2017, 11:21 PM by Mace.)

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-Ayti flies in- Guardian dem 1/3

The massive man had been spending a lot of his time just walking around the territory, especially after the birth of Kisla's new children. Things were different with the wolves in the Lore than with the gypsy wolves. They seemed to be hyper-protective of the birthing dens, and it was spurring on a protective feel with the dark-pelted wolf. Really, he wasn't as concerned about loners as he was about other predators - bears, lynxes, etc. So, he was quite surprised to smell a loner's scent around the edges of the territory, mingled with that of Inna's. The combined scents caused the coffee-colored man's tail to wag, and he trotted forward eagerly to meet the newcomer with his friend.

The newcomer's pelt matched that of Inna's - was even darker, perhaps. Aytigin found that he was the lightest wolf there, which was rather uncommon for him. The stranger's size nearly rivalled that of the massive wolf's as well, and Ayti's tail waved happily as he approached. Perhaps he could help this situation. I didn't look particularly tense, so the River wolf smiled and left his posture relaxed and friendly.

Aytigin greeted Inna by touching his nose to her cheek, and then turned hazel eyes to the newcomer with a grin. "Hi, there," he started, tail wagging slowly behind him and his head lowering in a respectful nod. He'd heard the man - Mace he thought Inna had said - say he wanted to join the pack. Which, of course, would be a good thing - with so many pups on the way, it would be better to have as many paws on deck as possible. "I'm Aytigin; I haven't been here very long. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay over here." He glanced at Inna with a soft smile. "Everything good?" he asked, tipping his head to the side.

Guardian Dem 2/3

When she saw that it was Mace at the border Inna’s tail swayed happily behind her as she plotted along to meet the man. With everything else that had been going on her visit with him hadn't quite slipped her mind but she reserved the time to think about it when she was alone. He'd been friends with her father which already gave him a special place in her heart. Maksim had meant so much to her so having been able to meet Mace had been an unexpected but special encounter for her.

When she reached him she greeted him as an old friend but was curious if he had come to ask her to show him her father's grave as they had spoken of. She had not been expecting him to say that he wanted to join but a wide smile appeared on her features. Before she could voice how she felt about it though Ayti showed up, she suspected he was looking out for her.

Inna allowed him to say his peace and when he turned to look at her asking if everything was okay Inna nodded. “Everything is perfectly fine this is Mace an old friend of my father's,” she told her friend as she returned his touch to her cheek with a small lick to his. She then turned back Mace to tell him what she'd wanted to before.

“It pleases me that you seek membership of Hearthwood Mace. As I'm sure you are aware I'm due to have pups soon and I would be happy for you to be in their lives.” She hoped that maybe when they were older he could tell them the things about their grandfather that she could not. If it were up to her she would accept him in that moment but she could not. “I am sure my mother or Lachesis will be here soon.”

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2017, 04:41 AM by Inna.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

Mace's eyes sought to fall anywhere but Inna's eyes, and they found a place to rest upon her lips and chin. When the corners of her black mouth lifted into a smile, his widened momentarily, then fell when distraction seemed to catch her. Her head turned over her shoulder and Mace rose from his casual sit to press himself nearer to the ground, mistaking the approaching shadow for a leader. It wasn't until he chanced a glance upward that he noticed Aytigin was submissive as he came forth, betraying his position beneath the raven Baranski.

Mace relaxed with that knowledge, but only marginally. His tail swung in wide arcs behind him with the tip aimed down and close to his hindquarters, and in greeting he licked his lips again and softly whined. In spite of his size and muscle, Mace had never in his life been a leader. He had ambition dormant in him somewhere, but for what was earned, not for what could be taken. He therefore never struggled to show the appropriate deference, for he'd been dancing this dance his entire life, whether he was in the Lore or beyond it.

Besides, the law of the pack placed all pack individuals above the lone wolf, and Mace was nothing if not a stickler for the law.

Charmed. I'm Mace Attaya, he returned to the large male wolf, whom he wrongly assumed was probably Inna's mate. They were of similarly dark complexions, although Inna's was markedly darker, and he pressed himself fondly toward the Baranski with a brush of his nose against her cheek. Mace observed all of this as indirectly as possible, noting it mostly in his periphery while trying to keep his eyes from raising in an accidental challenge. Perhaps someday he would come against Aytigin in a spar, friendly or otherwise, but certainly not today. While a ripple of uncertainty squirmed through his breast as it always did when he was faced with a male wolf of similar stature, unlike his meeting with Askan, Mace was the one doing the approaching here, and that made all the difference in how his insecurity manifested.

I hope that I may be involved, then, he said with a grin that matched the warmth in his breast. It meant a lot to him, to be told he was wanted in the lives of children. I hope that I may be for you and yours, including your babes, what your father was for my family. A bulwark for the Baranski lineage. There was ever the possibility that his spotty record with the Baranski family would bar him from their ranks, a possibility raised to the forefront of his mind when she mentioned Lachesis, but he held fast to his hope that this time, he could keep his promise.

gorgeous set by kydnt

Guardian dem 2/3

Aytigin perked his ears at the mention of Inna's father once more, but still he did not pry. She could tell him about her father when she was ready to do so. Instead, he turned his attention back to the black wolf at the border, still smiling softly. He waited for the stranger to share his name before he spoke again, but his eyebrows shot up when the other man addressed him. A familiar, albeit watered-down, flame ignited in the flirtatious wolf's chest. "Charmed, hunh?" he drawled, but then caught himself and shook his head with a chuckle. "Sorry, pal. It's a pleasure to meet you." It really was, too. A friend of Inna's was a friend of Ayti's.

The espresso-colored wolf tipped his head when Mace said he hoped to be involved with the pack, then went on to talk about being there for the Baranskis. The older man seemed very uncomfortable; very submissive. "Hey, uh, you know you're allowed to make eye contact, right?" he asked, dipping his head down to try and capture Mace's desaturated blue gaze. "I don't bite, and I'm pretty sure Inna doesn't, either. So you can save all the cowing down for the alphas, if you'd like."

He punctuated his words with a soft smile. "It's nice that you want to help out. Honestly, I don't think you have much to worry about. Now, I can't speak for Lachesis and Kisla, but if they'd let me - a deplorable, vagabond, handsome devil - in, then you've probably got at least a little bit of a shot." He winked at the man then - a friendly one, rather than a flirty one - and bumped his shoulder gingerly against the young woman beside him. "Don't you think, Inna?" he asked, hoping that she could try and help him calm the loner's nerves a bit.

Guardian Dem 3/3

While it was a surprise to find Mace at the border asking to join Inna was rather happy about it. She just hoped that her mother and Lachesis would accept him into their ranks. She was glad however it turned out that she was able to tell him what she'd wanted to at the lake. Her tail swayed a little faster behind her at his words. She smiled, “I'm glad to hear you say that and if all goes well you will have your chance to be a part of not only mine and my children's lives but that of my brother and sisters as well.” She wondered if Lekalta and Aleksei would be just as pleased to meet Mace as she was.

Then Ayti spoke which Inna had expected the chocolate wolf was a friendly man but he was being perhaps a little too friendly? Inna worried he might scare Mace off. However, his tone changed with his next sentence. Inna’s was worried that he'd scare Mace off went away but then he went on and she had to look at him her eyes widening a little until the 'handsome devil’ part, her jaw nearly dropped. Then with a bump to her shoulder he asked her opinion on the matter.

She turned back to Mace, “Don't mind him,” she said giving Ayti a return bump to his shoulder, “He's a bit talkative,” she jested. Really it was nice of the man at her side to try and ease Mace’s nerves. “He is right though just because we are at the border doesn't mean we can't talk like we did at the lake.” Having the position she had in the pack Inna wasn't really used to others being submissive toward her. It bothered her when Lekalta did it and it did when Mace didn't as well. “I'm sure you'll do fine when my mother and Lachesis arrive.”

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2017, 04:42 AM by Inna.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

@Mace hope you don't mind me throwing Lachesis in! :B
also, @Inna don't forget to edit your posts for guardian dem! <3

Hearthwood acquired two more members just days before—small, feeble members, but river wolves nonetheless. The Baranski widow’s children were healthy and thriving, which gave the ghost hope for his own children. He wished the blue-eyed sparrow an easy birth, for it was her first and he did not want it to be her last.. He couldn't help but worry, as it was in his nature to do so. Their status might be complicated but it did not mean that he did not care about her—and it was not just because she was carrying his children.

He was trying not to stray too far from the dens, as with the arrival of Kisla’s litter he knew that Lilya was due any day. XIX would never forgive himself if he was not present for the birth of his children, as he also promised the sparrow that he would be there, by her side, to help her through the ordeal. However, when a howl sounded, he reluctantly pulled himself away from the clearing after informing Lilya that he would be absent and to call for him if she needed him. Lachesis would be sure to make this quick, for he did not want to be away for too long.

As the leader approached he was greeted by three familiar raven-coloured wolves, the line in his forehead smoothing out as his tail arched over his back. He nearly rolled his eyes (in amusement) at Inna’s presence. Despite her pregnancy—and her due date arriving fast—she was still persistent on answering border calls. The ghost brushed his shoulder against hers in greeting as he glanced over at Aytigin, offering the large wolf a sharp nod. He hoped that the talkative wolf had not said anything stupid to make Mace think any less of Hearthwood and he mentally kicked himself for not arriving sooner. “Mace,” he greeted once he turned to the ebony loner, a small smile stretching over his pale maw, “it’s good to see you again.” Only a few weeks ago had XIX led the dark wolf to the edge of Hearthwood, allowing the Attaya to poke his nose around and hopefully find the answers he was looking for. He had missed the bulk of the conversation between him and the two river wolves, so his own question rolled off his tongue, chartreuse eyes focused on the former rapids wolf: “What can I help you with?”

(This post was last modified: May 07, 2017, 03:08 PM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you