Wild Rye Fields hear my call

PACK HOWL!
Mid-morning 10/05, Day after Reyan left.
Calling all to join her @Drestig @Jessie @Neko @Aleksei @Sphinx @Chimera

She hadn't slept that night, instead the tawny woman wandered just letting her paws take her wherever they desired. They took her through the thinning wild rye, the cracking of the stalks as she traveled through them loud in her ears as the sun set behind her and the stars began to shine above her. She walked through the night all throughout the pack territory, occasionally weaving in and out of the borders as she contemplated what to do next. To carry on here with the backbone that kept her here or follow after him? Where did her loyalty truly lie?

Her mind couldn't settle until the dawn fog drew over the rye stalks, finally as the rising sun peaked over the eastern horizon she understood. She understood what she needed to do. What she had to do.

The beta was quick to make her way to the Lookout, her gaze fierce and determined as she watched the rye shift with the breeze. Adelayde was silent for a while as she looked out across the fields she had called home. All night she wondered if this was still home for her. All night she thought of chasing after Askan and seeking a new beginning without any heartache. But where would that leave the rest of them here. No matter where she went there was heartache, misfortune seemed to always follow her. So, what was the point in starting anew?  

If the Rye pack was destined to fall, then she was going to be there for its downfall. She wasn't going to just give up when the going was tough. Screw that.  

The most elegant and determined howl escaped her lips as she called for her pack to join her in song, the rest that wanted to stay and fight. She called for them to remember that together they can achieve the impossible. Together we are strong.  

(This post was last modified: Oct 06, 2017, 05:54 PM by Adelayde. Edit Reason: Time of day and date added )

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Sphinx Avalon

Me and my broken heart

Wounded was the only way one could describe the shift in demeanor for the young speckled Avalon as her greying legs dismally dragged the weight of her growing body through the swaying stalks of rye and eventually up that large hill to the top of the lookout. A place that now served as a cesspool for bittersweet emotions the moment her paws halted at the highest point and her soft amber eyes could gaze out across the lowlands nestled on the other side, hallucinating almost that she could see the grass parting ways to reveal the path the two men had taken in order to leave those they had supposedly called family. To desert her. But she wasn't alone up on that hill. The female beta had beat her here.

Sometimes being a near carbon copy of her mother in both appearance and disposition held just as many flaws as it did advantages. Like a shadow, she had clung to the bark of the lone Oak that served as the communal den a couple days ago when Adelayde had returned from scouting the lowlands in order to track the local elk herds meandering about. The solemn news passed on from alpha to beta a hard piece of meat to swallow for the pup who had looked up to the dark-coated man and served as a hero in her mind. Much like the tawny female, even she had not been worthy enough to receive a goodbye from her favorite grump and his companion. So this was the thanks she got from fixing things that were broken? There were too many thoughts for a pup of five months to dissect.

Silently she leaned into the woman's side, unable to imagine the storm of thoughts brewing within her own mind until she shattered the early morning silence with an elegant and determined howl. Together we are strong. So the lady of the Rye did the only thing she could think of to clear the floodgates of her own mind. Tilting her head back toward the rising sun her jaws parted to let out the sorrow that was suffocating her heart and maybe, just maybe she hoped the pain that filled her howl would reach Askan's ears wherever he may be and bring her guardian home. Together they would be strong, together they would get through this, but damn did it hurt all the same.

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Aleksei missed them already. When he walked the fields, one word sprang to mind: empty. So, so empty. When he’d first arrived here, he thought the expansive, open territory was a blessing. There was unfiltered sunlight, and a cool breeze. But Aleksei realised that it wasn’t just the place that was liberating. It was having wolves behind him, wolves like Askan and Reyes. It was the relief of knowing that he was supported, respected. And now?

Well, there wasn’t any. His friends had left their home.

Did he blame them? No. Absolutely not. There was no bitterness held towards them, no venomous thoughts or disapproving tutting. They hadn’t abandoned this place. They’d simply moved on, grown tired of being the ones used. It was understandable. He’d been there himself. No matter what, he was going to support Askan and Reyes—they deserved it. He was sure of that.

Jogged from his thoughts at the sound of a howl, Aleksei’s brow furrowed and he frowned. ‘Together we are strong’? What the hell was that supposed to mean? He scoffed. Was this supposed to be some rallying call? Or a backhanded insult thrown now that they were gone? Aleksei Baranski shook his head and turned away. He’d have no part in this howl.

This was all far too late.

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

A part of Neko wanted to follow Askan and Reyes when they left the Fields. She had seen them almost as cornerstones of the pack, and certainly in her life personally. Perhaps she had just taken them for-granted and just assumed they would always be there, however unfair it might have been for her to expect it. Reyes had not only found her, lost and alone, and invited her to join the pack, but he had also checked on her after she joined to make sure she was adjusting well. Askan had also made sure she adjusted to life in the pack and had even given a complete tour of the territory soon after she joined. He had even continued to look after her personally afterwards.

It wasn’t just Askan and Reyes, though. It seemed to her that half of the pack’s adult members had disappeared, and Neko couldn’t help wondering if they had left by choice or if something had happened to them that kept them from returning. She had suffered loss before and survived, and she knew would recover, but that didn’t make it any easier.

With most of the useful plants having died off by now, there wasn’t much work for Neko to do, unless it involved traveling. Without much work for her to do (or work that she felt like doing anyway), she found it easy to give in to the loneliness and emptiness she felt. She was laying alone among some stalks of rye just staring out into the creek at nothing in particular when Adelayde’s howl pierced the morning air from the lookout. She lazily stood up and stretched as a call from Sphinx followed. Now fully awake, Neko felt compelled to join. She cleared her throat and pointed her muzzle at the sky, then gave her own mournful howl. She had no thoughts or words, but she would let the pack know she was still there and had no intention of leaving them.

(This post was last modified: Oct 09, 2017, 01:01 AM by Neko.)

It was a blow to the heart, there was no denying that. Part of him had always known that his first recruit wouldn’t stay with them forever, but he hadn’t imagined it would be this soon. Even if he should have seen it coming. Askan was no longer the same wolf that he’d hunted with out in the Lowlands on that fateful day, he’d changed; Ever since Reyes..! The Rye king sighed. He knew it wasn’t right to blame the rogue, the truth was that his guardian had been growing ever since he took him in, and if love had had any further part in that, it had only been a positive one. But he was hurting, he couldn’t help but feel abandoned, as he supposed any father would when their son left them. It was the law of life, young wolves setting out on their own to shape their own lives, and at his core, Drestig was deeply proud of his protégé; But that didn’t change the hole in his heart. It was the timing more than anything, their numbers had decreased dramatically already, and the couple jumping ship had been a further decimation of the ranks. Now, with winter coming, they were already struggling to keep the pups fed, and what had started out looking like a comfortable year was once again a fight; I don’t know if I have another fight in me… As if hearing his thoughts, a howl suddenly rang out over the dark fields, filling the frosty air with a song of unity. Silvered ears perked, the alpha pausing in his restless pace along the eastern hillside. He’d never heard Adelayde’s voice sound like that before, the otherwise sunny girl pouring out her feelings in a clear, melancholic note with one, simple message. At the opposite end of the territory, Aleksei might be wondering how such a message should be interpreted, but Drestig knew, and his heart swelled at the sound; They had not been completely abandoned. He turned to jog the small distance, to meet her at the lookout, wanting to show his appreciation face to face, though his aching knees made him waver at the bottom of the steep rise. But then another voice joined in, young and faltering, and even more full of heartache than Ade’s. And the father hurried up the slope, careless now of his stiff joints, as he raced to comfort his daughter. Finding the mottled pup, curled up beside thier, now oldest, member, Drestig felt another stab of bitterness towards the renegades, having abandoned her like this. And painfully aware that he was not who she longed for, he walked to their side, nuzzling her cheek softly and leaving a gentle kiss at her nape. No doubt, seeing her so distraught was what hurt him most of all about all this. In the distance, another voice joined the chorus, making him smile ever so slightly. The young medic had not forsaken them either, despite how easy it would have been. The king’s own head rose, and as Adelayde paused for breath, he met her two-colored eyes with a silent look of gratitude, before letting his own baritone sound with the choir, still strong, despite the weakening of his body. Word count: 542 Thoughts ”Speech”

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