Quaking Vale i don't like my mind right now

I've been wanting another @Sachiel and Cas thread for forever indulge me

Okay, so things had been a little bit slow lately. Cas was fairly sure that packs were not supposed to be as quiet as Quaking Vale - especially with as many young wolves as they had. Shouldn't everyone be energetic and happy and ready to face the day just about every morning? Or, every other morning, if you were a sick alpha who was still slightly sore from a specific wolverine fight a few weeks ago. Castel was beginning to wonder if Sahalie was ever going to come reclaim her position as alpha female.

She was beginning to wonder if she even wanted her to.

Was it quite so wrong of her to like the job? Not so much the fact that she was in charge of so much, or that she could lord her position over Larkspur's head. It was more the fact that something in her had changed to fit into this new role, and she loved it. The thought of Hal coming back and reclaiming the position, when Cas had worked so hard to do a good job and had matured so much over the months... it was unpleasant, to say the least. She wanted to say that she'd be okay with just giving the alpha role back, but now... she wasn't so sure she'd be happy.

But these were all deep thoughts for another day.

The young alpha padded after Sachiel's scent, humming lightly in the back of her throat. It had been a while since she'd gone anywhere with the kid, and she didn't want him to feel like she'd forgotten him. After all, he was probably one of the best things on the planet. How could she be expected to not take him on adventures?

The russet boy continued to spend more time on his own because it was what he preferred. He did not like the scents of others, accompanied by their nagging voices, clouding his vision and disturbing the colours around him. The orange was already too much to handle, as it was loud and blinding. Which was why he often slunk away from the vale, his chunky paws carrying him quickly through the stripes trees as he sought the comforting, subdued green of the pines. He seldom ventured farther than he should, for he knew it would worry his parents and that was the last thing the boy wanted to do. Typically he kept close to the borders, distancing himself just enough to keep the agonizing orange out of sight.

A familiar scent caused his steps to fumble, but he did not stop, for he did not know if he was in the mood for company. The smell trigged blue; the same blue that matched the eyes of the red girl. It was a sickly sweet smell that blanketed the girl, one that both worried and comforted the boy. Blue and red, that was Castel. But today he wanted green.

Sachiel could tell the small leader was following him, but he did not stop, nor did his pace change. There was nothing he could do to prevent her from joining him, as the blue-eyed alpha was quite persistent, but he also did not want to stop to allow her to catch up. Her legs were much longer than his—she would catch up eventually.

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

The little bugger knew she was there. Sachiel was too smart to not know that he was being followed. And yet he made no attempt to slow down - no attempt to stop and wait for her. Wow, and here she was thinking that they were friends or something. But whatever - it seemed as though the kid was on a mission, and there was really no reasoning with him when he got like this.

You had to be a little bit more forceful when claiming his attention.

So, the little leader kicked it into high gear so that she could sprint up beside the pup before slowing down again, giving him a playful nudge to the flank with her muzzle. "Hey! You're ignoring me," she complained in completely mature fashion, her blue eyes sparking playfully as she met his mismatched ones. She wanted him to know that she wasn't serious whatsoever with her fussing, and that she wasn't angry. Though, she figured he probably already knew that.

"What color are we looking for today, kiddo?" the silver-brushed girl asked, tail waving like a pendulum behind her.

The boy could only go so fast. His paws struggled to maintain a quicker pace but as soon as he picked up speed he would stumble, so Sachiel adopted a brisk walk. He was sort of, kinda ignoring the blue-eyed leader. Not because he did not want to spend time with her, as he quite enjoyed the blue-red wolf, but simply due to the fact that he wanted to be alone. Didn’t she have important adult things to tend to—like bossing around the bigger wolves and leaving him to his own devices? That’s what cool friends did. Left their introvert friends alone and get into mischief … alone. Unfortunately for the little Leigh, the russet girl was persistent, and no amount of ignoring would prevent her from following him.

He shrugged in response after receiving a nudge to his flank and a complaint from the older female. Being mean wasn’t in his nature; therefore, Sachiel had not been trying to hurt her feelings. He just wasn’t good at being social… and preferred not to be.

What colour are we looking for today, kiddo? A frown creased his features as his pace slowed, brows pinching together as he kept his mismatched gaze on the path before him. He had the picture in his mind—of the soft, green needles that enveloped the trees surrounding the vale. Typically the boy kept his adventures within the orange perimeter, even if he detested the colour, but occasionally he would slip over the imaginary line and soak up the array of colours. “Green,” he mumbled in response, another shrug accompanying his words. 

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

Castel was, unashamedly, never going to be what others would call a cool friend. It wasn't that she didn't know that Sachiel wanted his alone time - it was that she was being selfish and wanted Sachiel time. They hadn't spent any time together for a while now, and she was fairly certain she was going through some type of withdrawal. So, when she caught up and the boy didn't seem entirely opposed to her presence, she decided to accompany him on this little adventure.

Besides, if the wolverines happened to show back up, she wouldn't want a pup by themselves.

"Green's my favorite color," she hummed in response, padding off to the side and behind the boy, allowing him to lead the way. She wanted to show him Ephemeral Apse eventually (as she was unaware he'd already seen it) but figured that it was too big a walk for the day. Besides, there was green all around the territory - it'd be easy enough to find.

Now, the only thing to do before they reached the green, was to fill the silence with conversation. Which wasn't something Sachiel preferred, but Cas was particularly good at. "You know, Niles and I chased away these big monsters not too long ago. They were big, around my size, and brown," she emphasized. The small alpha didn't really know the extent of Sachiel's color fixation, but she was willing to indulge it. Different wolves learned in different ways. "I was kind of worried that we'd lose for a minute there - especially when one of 'em bit Niles right on the nose!" She told her story in a quiet, but enthusiastic way, hoping to try and get him engaged in it.

His ears twitched at her comment but he did not respond. The boy was not sure if he had a favourite colour. There was still plenty he had not seen in his four months of life, which meant it was not right for him to decide so soon. He just knew that he hated the colour orange, for it was loud and obnoxious and absolutely, positively dreadful. Even the thought of it left a sour taste in his mouth, causing his brows to pinch in irritation. Green was not his favourite but it was better. His pace did not slow as the russet girl allowed him to take the lead, his nose lifted slightly as he remained on his previous path.

The silence was short-lived, as it always was around the blue-eyed wolf. Her voice filled the air with shades of crimson, but he did not associate the colour with anger. It was oddly comforting to the dark agouti, for it was cut with shades of cerulean. Talking was not his favourite activity, but with Castel it was impossible to avoid. So he listened, his lips drawn tight and his ears pinned forward.

Big, brown monsters? The tip of his tail quivered. But they were gone now. Castel said so. She and Niles—soft dove, charcoal, and a little of the same cerulean that reminded him of the russet wolf—had chased them away. Huh. The small leader seemed oddly amused by the fact that Niles had gotten bitten on the nose, so while it sounded bad (black and orange falling into each other; loud!) it wasn’t. Right? If Castel was enthusiastic about it then Niles was okay. Right? The corners of his mouth twitched as he glanced over his shoulder, mismatched gaze seeking out her red figure. “Not hurt?” It was a stupid question but he couldn’t stop it from rolling off his tongue. Part of him felt bad for completely ignoring the blue-eyed leader.

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

Unbeknownst to the boy, Cas didn't particularly enjoy the shade of orange that they were surrounded with, either. She much preferred lush greenery, or perhaps the golds of the Fields. Part of her wanted to return to the Lowlands someday, but she didn't think she would be able to make the journey. Of course, she'd have to tell Sachiel about the fields, hills, and valleys in the future. In all honesty, she hoped that the boy would like to travel and see the Lore. Perhaps he'd kind of be able to pick up where she left off.

Though she hadn't meant to, it seemed that the older wolf had alarmed the boy. Darn. She'd really hoped that he would like the story. "Oh, no, we're both fine!" she enthused, tail waving to show him that yes, it truly was nothing bad. But still, she turned so that he would be able to see the fresh scar on her shoulder and flank where the animal had bitten her. "I even got some battle scars. Pretty cool, huh?" Although she didn't want to scare him, it was important that he know that there was danger in the world. Perhaps not so much right now, when he had so many wolves to care for and protect him. But, in the future, that might change.

"What about you?" she asked, leaning down to tap her nose to his forehead. "What has Sachiel been up to lately? See anything cool?" Maybe he'd met new wolves; gone on new adventures. It was pretty likely, after all, and she did want to change the subject.

While he was intrigued by her story the boy did not have time to hear it. Not today, anyway. He was determined to get to the emerald trees beyond the striped forest, his cream-coloured paws moving with haste. The monsters were gone and that was all that mattered. Brown and almost Castel-sized. That’s all he needed to know if they decided to make a comeback. She responded quickly, announcing that both she and Niles had come out of the battle unscathed, aside from a few battle scars that she showed off proudly. His lips curled and he nodded, solemnly, to show that that they were indeed pretty cool as he looked over the faded pink marks on her shoulder and flank.

She made a quick change of topic, turning the conversation around to him, which made his toes curl and his hackles to quiver. Sachiel blinked at her unexpected touch, unsure how to react, and continued forward, not allowing it to slow him down. He gave a quick shrug, his tongue heavy in his mouth as attempted to come up with a verbal response for the girl. “Nothin’ cool,” he answered nonchalantly, the right corner of his mouth falling into a lop-sided frown. “Jus’ lookin’ around.” It was the truth. While he had encountered a few wolves in his adventures none of them really stuck out to the agouti. It was the colours that had. 

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

She'd made the boy smile - kind of - which was a sort of small victory for the young alpha. Apparently, he, too, thought that her scars were cool, which caused Castel's tail to set off in a wag once more. He didn't respond verbally until prompted, and brushed off her touchiness with little more than a shrug. The kid was determined, she'd give him that. But Castel Noor-Lyall was equally so, and she'd be damned if she wouldn't be a part of Sachiel's adventures. Especially since he was so much more easy to find in the territory than Laurel, whom Cas equally wished to adventure with. She just could never catch him at a good time.

What also became apparent was that this boy had no interest in talking, and Cas found silence to be awkward at the best of times. So she patiently waited for his responses when she prompted him, nodding her head to show that she was interested. But he hadn't seen anything cool, which the small female found hard to believe, but whatever. It was just as easy to fill the silence with her own words, thoughts, and expressions.

"Niles and I found an awesome place to the east of here," she began, allowing Sachiel to lead them wherever he wished. "It's dark, with these pretty little pinkish-purple flowers and lots of green." Her tail set off at a wag, recalling the confessions that the two of them gave to one another there. "It's probably one of my favorite places."

(This post was last modified: Nov 02, 2017, 03:49 AM by Castel.)

Once she fell silent his shoulders sagged in relief, his tail hanging low; relaxed. Conversation distracted him from the colours and the boy did not like being distracted. Words made it difficult for him to memorize his surroundings, which was equally important. He had most of the Vale mapped out and knew the best ways to sneak in and out of the territory without being detected. Unfortunately he had not taken one of those routes today. Which resulted in his current situation, with Castel at his side. It was obvious that she was not comfortable with the silence but Sachiel appreciated the effort. It was one of the reasons why he liked her, even if he did not always show it (especially since he had just been blatantly ignoring and avoiding her).

His ears twitched as her soft voice rang out once more. This time she mentioned the monochrome male that she occupied most of her time with. Dove grey and deep obsidian. With just a dash of the same blue that reminded him of Castel. He was a shadowy presence amongst all the tangerine that encased the Vale. Like his father. Who, like a shadow, was seldom seen.

He gave a small nod n response—he knew the place. “Seen it,” he responded quickly with a slow wag of his tail, the corners of his mouth curved upward. Pink-purple. His brows narrowed. The colour had been soft; comforting. They soothed his scattered mind, calming him. He had liked the hidden clearing. And he knew precisely where to find it if he needed to clear his head. He just had to find a better way of getting through all the thorns…

“Any other places?” He was hungry for more. He needed to see it all.

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others