Secret Falls Empire of our own

It's time! This is the official Claiming Thread! Let's get this done quickly folks! Short and sharp :D
@Remington @Cottongrass @Phoenix @Reyes @Hawthorne
A picture for inspiration

It was time.

Standing atop the icy falls, Askan dug his toes into the snow, tipped his head back and let out a long, timberous call. Rather than being his usual 'oi get here' sort of summons, this one was was landed with purpose, his intent clear. They'd faffed about for long enough now, all those weeks spent doing nothing but lurking had been a massive waste of time. But the past was in the past and now they had to look forward to the future. As to what it would bring, he had no clue but at least now it was in his own paws. No longer did he have to rely on someone else to get the job done, or defer to someone else's judgement. This, all of this, the falls, the trees and rocks would be theirs. They just had to claim it as their own.

His call had set the wheel in motion, all he had to now was wait for his allies.

(This post was last modified: Nov 25, 2017, 02:55 PM by Askan.)

There was one ally Askan did not need to wait for – his most loyal shadow was not far off when the last Selwyn decided it was time to gather the troops and make Shallow’s Edge their proper home. They hadn’t strayed far from the falls and the lake since its discovery, but Reyes did not like to rush into things. Had to think long and hard on it; thankfully, Askan allowed him this, or saw the benefit, or something to that effect. But they’d been here, and it seemed right. There was no time like the present.

Emerging from the sparse, snowy forest, the large wolf brushed against his mate’s flank and added his own, coarse howl to the chorus before falling silent, ears pricked. “The snow inspire you, cabrón?” he hummed, something bright in his silver eyes. “You ready for this?”

She was fumbling about in the snow and somewhat hoping to run into Plant Boy out here. Hawthorne wondered if he'd ever want to hang out with her again after the bone discovery. She wanted to say oh well and shrug it off but the weird kid was kinda growing on her. Not to mention he seemed pretty helpful to have around. He wasn't called Plant Boy for no reason!

A howl - no, two! - broke her thoughts. Her tail whipped behind her with obvious excitement. She was quick to tip her head back and join in the male's claiming song. Once she thought she had made her presence clear enough, Hawthorne ran off through the patchy snow to find the dark males. She was going to tackle both of them! The young girl had every intention of showing them just how excited she was. Even if it was in a fairly unprofessional way.

He was determined to be the first one there.

The world was determined to stop him.

Cottongrass didn't even know why he bothered most of the time. Because he was clumsy and cursed with bad luck on a good day. Adding things like snow and speed might as well have been a death wish for him. But he didn't care. Instead he focused on scrambling forward with all the grace of an overexcited puppy. He darted between trees and stumbled over roots with fluffy snow tripping him up every step of the way.

He didn't stop until he caught sight of two dark figures. And Hawthorne might have beaten him in terms of enthusiastic greetings but Cottongrass wasn't about to let that stop him. He stumbled towards them and almost fell once or twice but he managed to stay on his feet. And he wasn't first but he was pretty sure that was okay. Second place was good! Not as good was first place but at least he wasn't last. That would have been terrible.

His jaws parted in goofy smile while his tail wagged hard enough for the rest of his hindquarters to sway along.

Nope hope, no love, no glory, no happy ending

Phoenix Avalon

Percy had been sneaking up on @Remington, and she was almost in the perfect position to strike. One... Two... and then Askan's howl cut across the air, soon joined by Reyes, and Hawthorne... Urgh Could their timing be any worse?

She knew that the older woman would probably see her coming now but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity she'd worked so hard to gain so she quickly threw herself from the undercover in an attempt to quickly tag Remington with her nose before wheeling about with a howl of her own. Her song cut off with a "You're it!" before racing back towards the falls with a laugh on her lips.

It was about time.

He had kept to lurking around the falls, his tawny figure stalking through the juniper-coloured trees. Maybe he was hoping he would run into the grumpy Askan, who had spoken of friends lurking nearby. Or, maybe, he was hoping to have another midnight rendezvous with Pumpkin Eyes.

But then there was a third possibility. One that he had not expected to come into his adventurous mind. Maybe he wanted to stay… he had been offered a home, after all. Sachiel had gotten along with three out of however many wolves Askan had rallied up. Surely that was a sign that he was supposed to stay? His lips tightened at the thought. But did he want to give up his freedom? There was still much of Lore he had yet to see… staying here would prevent him from doing that… unless he decided to be a scout, or something similar, in the future. Then he could wander (within range, of course)…

His ears flicked toward the direction of the falls, his brows pinched together. There was a collection of voices, lulling Sachiel away from the depths of the forest. The sound of rushing water captured his attention, his mismatched eyes searching for the figures that matched the voices. Was this what he wanted? He frowned as he looked for the most familiar face—Pumpkin Eyes. A half smile worked it's way onto his dark features, his tail flicking with uncertainty. Winter was approaching… he would need somewhere to bunker down… and he could end up liking it… Taking a deep breath in the boy stepped forward, out of the trees, and approached the group with cautious steps. He looked to Askan, his smile stretching across his lips as his ears flattened against the back of his skull. He hoped it was okay he was here… that he intended to stay with the rag-tag group. He looked to Pumpkin Eyes (although his gaze was focused on her forehead, not her eyes) and waved his tail in greeting. Do you have room for one more?

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

Thoughts of distraction kept her blind to Phoenix. It was two voices that brought her from the haze, putting a smile on her face. They had not moved on, nor had anything been a miss. When the snow had started to fall she had began to get a little anxious. Now, they'd staked their claim, and she was glad it was here. In the forest where  a wolf belonged.

Then, she realized she was being followed. Surprised, she merely chuckled as the girl began another game. Why she wouldn't get away that easily, Remi wasn't about to miss this. She threw her voice in with theirs. This was home, and she planned on doing all she could for it. Now, for Phoenix. The silver woman pushed forward after the little, quick nymph.

(This post was last modified: Nov 26, 2017, 07:09 PM by Remington.)

Starting round two, thanks for being so quick guys <3 No need to worry about post order, keep it coming

Askan chuffed in amusement at his mate's words. He wouldn't say as such but Reyes was right, in a sense. Now that the snow was here they had no excuse not to put their plan into motion.  It was now or never and Askan would be damned if he let this chance pass them by.

"With you here?"By his side, now and forever? Askan grinned."Hell yeah."

One by one they all trickled in, gathering atop the summit of their own little waterfall. Hawth, then Cotton, Percy and- an unexpected face but a welcome one nonetheless. He'd offered Sachiel a place to stay a while back and that offer was still in effect. If this was what the kid wanted then he was welcome to stay, yet another friend, ally who didn't fit in anywhere else.

Remington was the last to arrive. Better late than never, Askan supposed.

"Sure, welcome to the club kid."He said, shooting him a wry smile, before his expression shifted, becoming a little more serious. Like his Father, almost."Good to see you all, but it's not a social call. I've got something to say and I want you to hear me out. We've been hanging about these parts for weeks now and it's time we made it official. Made them ours. I plan to lead with Reyes, does anyone have a problem with that?"He asked, looking to each of them in turn.

No turning back now.  Askan was given a silent affirmation before the other wolves started to trickle in, one by one.  They were prompt, he’d give them that…but they were all…  Shit, they were all kind of young, weren’t they?  Sure, he brought Hawthorne, knew what her age was, met Percy a couple of times, but there was another child and – thank fuck for Remington and Cottongrass.  At least they weren’t all juveniles.

Reyes remained silent whilst Askan had his piece, privately amused by the way he ended it – it was so like the Selwyn, though.  He had nothing to add, though it was clear; anyone who had a problem with Askan had a problem with Reyes, and he would stand stalwart between his mate and the rest of the world.

More wolves arrived. Wolves like Sachiel and Percy and Remington. Cottongrass paid them no mind.

His yellow eyes were focused on Askan and Reyes. They were good together. And truth by told Cottongrass didn't understand what kind of together his mind meant but that wasn't important. The important part was that they would start a pack. One that was lead by his two best friends and that he would actually matter. He wouldn't be a subordinate among many but instead a scout. He would be a wolf with a pack role because Askan said so himself. And while he wasn't the first one to arrive Cottongrass would be the first one to speak.

"Nope." He didn't have a problem with his friends leading together. How could he? His tail wagged and he stood tall with a grin spread across his features. He didn't have a problem with Askan and Reyes in the first place.

He never would.