Umbra Copse Don't you run with scissors, son

@Draven you found a cairn, who built it and why? Treyah had the same RE last check but I didn't get around to using it :D

You're gonna hurt someone

Treyah Tainn

She had planned on taking a short jaunt south just to check that Reiko hadn't overshot the Bend the same way she had to the north, but with the trees growing closer and the mists losing their blue tinge she began to worry about getting lost herself. A million and one horror scenarios played out in her mind about just what might be happening back at home. What if dad got worse? What if Mum had another episode? What if they'd already found Reiko? What if he was dead... Gradually her paws had slowed until she found herself standing still in a strange forest, with no recognition of the direction in which she was travelling.

She should have known that this would happen.

Her tawny head turned to scan the forest around her, eyes finally falling on something large looming in the mist. Perhaps if it was something she could climb up on she'd be able to catch a glimpse of the mountain and find her way home? It really was well past time she got back. Moving towards the solid shape she wasn't paying nearly as much attention as she should have been to the woods around her. She was bone tired, hungry, and the anxiety that came with being lost was sapping whatever reserves she had left.

holy shit I suck sorry this took forever and a day, also this is Draven's 200th post!

Draven was trying to be a good father, really he was. His son was only a couple of weeks old and so that meant the only was he could contribute was to make sure Neha was well fed and protected. He completed these tasks diligently and enjoyed what little time he could spend with the wriggling mass that was his son but he had to wonder how much of it the cub realized was happening. After all, he didn't remember anything of being that small and his first memories began around the same time they were allowed to leave the den. That didn't stop him from trying though, bringing small game a couple of times a day, the occasional herb if Neha had an upset stomach or some anxiety and sitting watch with ninety percent of his free time.

Even with all the work he was doing Draven was finding it hard to ignore the small nagging voice in the back of his head that grew louder everyday. Neha was the mother of Sachiel and he loved his son fiercely, but did he feel the same way for the woman? He had told Sahalie that she should just give in and love Alastor and the advice had seemed so simple at the time, but now? Now it seemed a lot harder to follow through, even if he knew it was what was best. The small nagging voice whispered again not love. Draven had to stop himself from physically shaking his skull.

The healer is training had been so distracted trying to get the thought out of his head that he had not noticed the approach of another. He had said he was going out looking for small game but really Draven had just wanted some time away from the pale tawny woman, the more time he spent with her the louder the voice grew. The thick fog and the distraction were the perfect recipe as suddenly the two strangers collided. With a grunt of surprise the dark wolf stepped back in a hurry, "Sorry." the apology was quick on his lips before he had even taken a look at who he had run into. A she-wolf, younger than himself and he couldn't help but notice how attractive her golden eyes shone even with the worry he thought he saw swimming in them. Not love.

(This post was last modified: Jul 29, 2017, 09:05 AM by Draven.)

Mama told me look before you leap

Treyah Tainn

She was psyching herself out, head turning this way and that - perhaps a muffled crack underfoot or maybe there was something bigger out there? Once again her eyes turned towards the solid shape as she tried to get her breathing under control. There was nothing out here that was trying to get her, it was just the fog and the light playing tricks on her... "SHIT!" she yelped as she spun about just in time to catch the grunted Sorry. Her legs were wide and her ears folded back defensively, breath coming in ragged pants and swirling the mist about her face as she tried to catch her breath and sight of whoever had so unceremoniously rammed her behind.

Small tremors of terror shook her legs as her heart thudded wildly in her chest and finally she managed a shaky laugh, "I'm so sorry! You startled me." She slowly began to right herself, legs returning to a more restful position, her head hanging sheepishly as she considered just how foolish she must look to the dark stranger, but she didn't want an awkward silence to stretch between them for too long, "I'm Treyah, I live on the other side of the mountain," but of course that didn't explain what she was doing over here.

He had collided with the girl from behind (much like he had done to Neha those months ago), and it had startled both of them half to death. The apology was quick on his lips and laced with the shock that he had felt over having even finding someone out in these foggy woods. In return, she stared at him from her splayed defensive position, ears pinned back to firmly Draven was not even sure that she would have heard the single word that had been spoken. Then, just as he was beginning to feel even more defensive than he already was she relaxed and apologized herself even though it was not her fault that he had been wandering so carelessly.

Shaking his head to dismiss her words he cleared his throat, ”I should have been paying more attention.” Maybe then he could have avoided this awkward mess, but then again he wouldn’t have met those golden eyes to unwittingly. She was bigger than he was, both in height and in weight even with the clear physique of a yearling. Neha would have shrunk away from the collision, quiet herself and smaller but Treyah took it upon herself to begin with introductions. Apparently she was not as phased by this as Draven was.

Realizing that he had been staring for perhaps longer than was appropriate he looked away quickly, ”Draven Leigh, of Quaking Vale.” Formerly Fallen Tree Cove, and before that Round Stone Crest. It was then, with his eyes averted from that warm gold that he noticed what Treyah had been heading towards, some looming shape through the fog. As solid as each of the wolves the healer felt both uneasy and curious, what the hell was that?

Always think before you speak, and watch the friends you keep

Treyah Tainn

Her tail waved as he apologised again, fighting back the desire to blame herself else they'd end up in an endless loop and never get anywhere, instead she settled with "No it's fine, really. It's hard to see anything in this fog." Her gaze followed his and settled on the looming shape that had her so distracted in the first place, a worried ear turned towards the man as he introduced himself and where he was from. Her lip pulled in a frown wondering just how off course she was. "Umm, is Quaking Vale new? I was born in Oak Tree Bend and I don't recall it ever being mentioned before..."

Oh god she'd wandered too far in one direction or the other and gotten herself lost hadn't she? Well, at least she'd found some company. She forced a smile and moved to bump her shoulder to Draven's. Despite the forcefull collision prior proving he was no ghost she just wanted to double check, "So what do you think that is? Should we check it out?" She had already begun to walk forward, doing well to hide the unsettling feeling that formed in the pit of her stomach as she approached. The ground was doing something funny, kinda like it did in the Grove but not nearly so... pleasant... but she pushed on regardless.

Out of the corner of his eye Draven saw the girl turn to face as he had, and took it as his opportunity to move infinitesimally. His green eyes surveyed her side profile, the creamy markings around the eyes that had been so captivating and rich warm tone of her coat, even if it was swirling with mist. It was because of his intently he was looking at her that he saw the frown growing on her features and he in turn felt his own lips turn downwards. All he had done was introduce himself, was he really that bad at talking to girls? And, even if he was why did the thought bother him so much? He had a son with Neha, as far as responsibilities went he was already tied down.

Her words made him smile though, it had not been his introduction after all, ”It only came to be in the spring so it is still only a few months old yes.” Again Neha flashed through his mind, and suddenly this all felt so wrong. The way he wanted to see Treyah smile instead of frown, the way he felt a shock when her shoulder pressed against his. Similar to how he used to feel when he had had his crush on Neha and went to visit her at Grizzly Hollow. Maybe that was just what happened when you talked to girls once you were a yearling, but it had never happened with Castel and certainly never with Sahalie.

Draven should have turned around and went back to his son and his son’s mother, he knew that. He knew what was the right thing to do, and the flutter in his heart every time he locked eyes with Treyah certainly wasn’t it. But. But, he felt his paws begin moving forward anyways when she asked, intrigued at just how she had stirred this feeling out of him that had been dormant for so long. A shiver ran along his spine and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the yearling next to him or because what they had been looking at suddenly came into clear view.

A pile of bones, taller than even Treyah towered over them, carefully constructed. Clearly someone had taken great care and time to make this, a stronger shudder ran down his back causing his fur to stand on end. ”What the hell is this?” It was a thought that he had had before, but this time it wasn’t contained to just his head, this time the words seem to break the silence that hung heavy on them. Draven stepped closer to Treyah, pressing his flank against hers as his muscles tensed. He had just met her but his first reaction was that he needed to protect her from whatever creature had build this castle of bones.

Stay along the beaten path

Treyah Tainn

If the pack was only a few months old then perhaps she wasn't as far off course as she feared. She relaxed with the news until the swirling mist cleared enough to reveal just what they had been moving ever so steadily towards. Her limbs locked as she looked on in silence, equally repelled and drawn in by the sight before her, it was like something straight out of one of her mother's stories and her imagination had never done these structures justice.

Much like her siblings she had been raised on stories of the yeth hound and couldn't help but let the name pass her lips in a whisper under her breath as Draven's flank came back to rest against hers, the tension in his muscles clearly conveyed where their fur had come to mingle. Were it not so damn terrifying she might have stopped to entertain the thought of how it looked so similar to when her parents sat side by side. "We should go." She suggested without a second thought, paws steadily pacing backwards as she stole one last glance at the strange apparition willing it to be swallowed back up by the fog in that instant. "My mother got stuck over here once, before I was born... she says these are all over the place but I never believed her..." When they crossed the mountain it was the first time she had seen her mother truely at peace, and now she had a small inkling as to why.

One more post from you and I'll fade in my next! Then we can start something more recent ;)

With their flanks pressed firmly together Draven could feel the stiffness in the yearlings body as they both stared on in horror. At first his question seemed to break the silence, and then it hung heavier. Every one of their careful breaths seemed like the volume of a screech, even the pounding of blood in his ears was as loud as a coursing river. He blinked firmly at Treyah’s words, thankful to clear his head of the image that had filled his mind staring at this shrine. The few moments his head had gone under just before Sachiel had been born, how close he had been to ending up just a pile of bones. Maybe he would have even been added to what they had found here.

Letting out a breath the Leigh did not know he had been holding his legs felt shaky on the first step they took away. His side still pressed into Treyah’s he couldn’t help the way his fur stood straight up on his back, even as they turned away. Suddenly it felt like there was something in the woods watching every move that they made. If he listened close enough he could almost hear it breathing. He didn’t answer at first, just stared straight ahead without looking back even after he knew the fog would be too thick to see it anymore. Then when they were past even where they had run into each other Draven shook his head, ”I’ve never seen anything like it,” and I hope I never do again, a thought he didn’t add.

The idea of this being so close to the pack was alarming, even more so that his son would eventually wander these woods alone. What if whatever had made this met the child and thought Sachiel would make a lovely addition? Swallowing the bile that threatened to come up his throat at the thought Draven clenched his jaws. But, if he was honest as much as he wanted to run home and check on the pup he knew he was okay. He was probably with his mother, or another pack member. And if he was being even more honest the feeling of Treyah so close to him was intoxicating now that the cairn was far from view. Looking at her out the corner of his eye he smiled in a way he hoped was charming, ”Where are you trying to go? I can help you get there if you want.” He had a good enough idea of the area from his many excursions looking for herbs.

never listened when she said

Treyah Tainn

With distance put between themselves and the startling apparition, and her heart finally recovering properly from the jolt it recieved from the dark man's initial bump, she finally allowed herself to really take him in. He wasn't a small wolf by any means, though he stood a little shorter than herself, and his green eyes stood out so starkly against his dark face that she found herself momentarily breathless. There was a warmth that radiated from where their flanks were touching and while she knew she should put some distance between them now the initial danger had passed she couldn't bring herself to take that extra step in case it was enough to sweep him away with the mist.

When he asked where she was going she was bought back to herself and realised she was staring, and she couldn't help the queasy way her heart thumped at his smile. Heat radiated off her face under her fur as she quickly looked away with a smile of her own. "Oh-umm, I was trying to find Oak Tree Bend again, we left in the winter. My sister is leading there, I wanted to let them know that dad is sick and see if she knows where Sahalie settled... She's my sister too but Aponi and Sahalie aren't sisters... well, maybe..." She'd heard so many different versions of the same story from her mother she was sure she'd never know the truth of it. She managed a nervous laugh before summing it up with "It's complicated." As most things surrounding her mother tended to be.

Draven's own heart pounded for an extra beat or two when Treyah returned his smile before dropping her gaze straight ahead. However the smile on his face didn't last long as the conversation steered in an unexpected direction. He had no knowledge of Oak Tree Bend or if anyone named Aponi, but he could easily take her to where Sahalie was. But, that also meant taking her to where Neha and Sachiel were and the thought made him feel guilty enough to put more space between them.

The dark man held back the sigh that threatened to slink through his teeth when he was brought back to reality. Turning directions so they were headed back towards the Vale he answered the question he was sure was about to come, "I don't know about Oak Tree Bend but Sahalie is in the Vale, which is where I live." he felt guilt leaving the rest of the story out. But she didn't have to know did she? Shoving the thought aside he led her towards his home, and far away from whatever the hell that thing had been.

FADE