Skyfall Glen It's warfare, is war fair? No.

RE: Lenae, you wander across a frozen lake and notice there is something stuck half in, half out of it.
All welcome.

Lenae knew her body well enough to know what this was. She wasn't some starry eyed yearling who didn't know any better, it was old news and she was already tired. It had started a few days prior, just a little something that felt off, like an itch she couldn't scratch. But now it felt more solid, more real, tangible and yet still out of reach. There was nothing she could do about it, nor would there ever be, she would always need a helping hand... and that thought terrified her.

Temptation was an awful thing, sinful, but she felt it in her bones, like yet another curse she couldn't shake off.

It had never been so bad back home, surrounded by family and those she trusted. It was always going to be unpleasant, all stinky and hot and bothered, but safety had always been a certainty back when her Father reigned. There were no ifs or buts hanging over her head like a guillotine ready to drop.Here though? Lenae couldn't help but be afraid.

She adored Piety and her entourage with all she had but she had to be alone. The thought of being Lorcan's presence made her shiver, he was nice enough, she supposed, but the fact that he was male was more than enough to make her need to put distance between them. Thinking of it like that made it sound so base, like she had no self control, but it was easier this way and solitude wasn't so bad- or at least that's what she told herself.

Her wandering paws led to the glen once more, but this time there was no Cyril, just silence and the snow.

The crisp air would surely do her good, right? That's what she hoped as she hurried through the snow, inching towards the shoreline of the lake. It was pretty here, with the gorgeous mountains in the backdrop, but wasn't it a bit open? A bit too familiar? She shivered and came to a stop, her tail curling around her hind leg. It was then she realised that there was something in the ice, something dark and shadowy. She sniffed, her nose twitching as she took in the sight and scent of it, it was close to the shore, a few footfalls away. She could have easily stepped forward to inspect it, put her curiosity to rest, but of course she didn't. Lenae was afraid, scared of falling in, slipping and bumping her elbow.

Even this was too much, too soon.

Keeping his thread with Neha very vague

Seeing his sister was an eye opener, making him uncomfortable to stray long within the Lore, but he couldn't get himself to leave. It had once come so easy for him to step outside of the Lore and not look back. Something changed within him. He was being pulled to stay within the borders of his homeland, but that didn't make him stray any closer to the mountain. Aleister was guilt stricken for all the years he was gone from that mountain, everything that he missed. However, there was a lot he gained. Independence, confidence, and self sufficiency. He needed no one to survive.

However, where he gained in independence, he also gained a strong sense of loneliness. The Vuesain man only joined a few packs during the winter when he knew he would gain an added security for survival. But he would be gone before spring drew upon them. He was a loner at heart, but he craved something more. So his paws took him west away from the thick forest where he met his sister and far away from the lake for now.

As he mindlessly wandered, the Vuesain man soon came up upon a female a few feet from the frozen lake that he was traveling around. It was the beginning of the season where females carried that mouthwatering scent that drove men wild. Abruptly stopping in his tracks, Aleister tried assessed the situation, but the temptation muddied his thoughts. She just smelled so delightful. Rarely did Al come across females in heat when he traveled, when he did he would steer far away as he did not want interaction. But today... Today he craved it.

Approaching with a soft bark in her direction, he gave her a comfortable space in between them as he tried to see what she had been peering at. "I wouldn't go out on that ice if I were you," he murmured softly as his mismatched eyes looked back to the dark object sticking out of the ice. His curiosity growing.   

 

(This post was last modified: Mar 02, 2018, 12:49 AM by Aleister.)

Lenae winched as her ears swept back against her skull.

She was doing better these days, there was no denying that, but the sound of a strangers- a mans-voice made her question all of the progress she had made. Had she been fooling herself all along? The fear she felt was the same as before, as tangible and as sharp as ever. It's talons dug deep into her skin, opening up scabs and revealing layers upon layers of scar tissue. She turned ever so slightly, and one bright yellow eye took in the sight of the stranger, such an odd looking one at that. His coat was unremarkable, in the sense that it was similar to her own, tawny with a dark mask surrounding his face. But his eyes set him apart from the rest, they reminded Lenae of an odd pair of stones, as though he had plucked them off the ground and decided he liked their colours.

She licked her lips nervously, as her tail swished slowly, hesitantly behind her. She wanted to run, common sense told her to but she had no will to listen and so she remained on the shore. Though at least she had the mind to face him, to not leave her back exposed.

"I wasn't going to...I didn't want to fall." She told him, her voice remarkably soft, quiet, as though she didn't want him to hear.

(This post was last modified: Mar 02, 2018, 12:24 AM by Lenae.)

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

She turned slowly to face him, her bright yellow eyes resembling spring dandelions took in his figure. Certainly looking him over as he was doing the same. Her earth toned coat resembled his, nothing spectacular or unique, just sorta plain, normal. She was much prettier than he expected, though the bar wasn't set very high with his long periods of solitude. Sleek and small, the female seemed nervous as she turned her back away from him, her cream ears pressed against her skull.

He didn't mean to make her nervous, so instead of closing the distance between them, the agouti male settled on his haunches averting his mismatched gaze back to the lake. Aleister almost didn't hear her speak, her voice remarkably soft and quiet. Nodding, he motioned to the thing that stuck out from the ice. "Any idea what it is?" He asked, his voice low and nonchalant as he gazed at whatever it was.

 

He didn't move closer. That was good, she could deal with that. Instead, he settled down on his rump as if they weren't strangers who had met at a particularly difficult time. It was nice, almost, not to be sniffed at like she was a prime piece of meat off a fresh kill. He asked about the shadow under the ice and-somewhat reluctantly- she turned to look at it once more.

She was closer to it and still she had no idea, not an inkling to what it was. She could make a wild guess of course, but that wouldn't really answer his question, now would it? Then again, if she really wanted to find out she would have to go closer, maybe even break the ice. That wasn't something she wanted to do, so she merely shrugged as odd tasting, cynical words left her mouth.

"Something dead, probably."

What a horrible way to go. Lenae had fallen into cold water once, had shivered so hard her bones hurt. She imagined it would be slow and painful, inevitable, like the setting of the sun. She swallowed thickly as she yanked her gaze away, the thought made her want to shiver but she wasn't any colder than usual. It was all in her head, that's where all, if not most of her problems laid.

"...At least it's not suffering anymore." She said, trying to reassure herself, to chase away the prospect of suffering and agony, feelings she hadn't experienced to the fullest...but she knew of those who did. Poor souls, she missed them terribly.

The earth toned girl didn't get any closer to the lakeside, instead opting to simply give the unknown shadow thing another look. Her gaze lingered for a few moments longer before she spoke, her somber voice soft as she guessed what was most likely the truth. "Yeah, probably." He agreed, his voice soft as his mismatched eyes lingered upon her back as she gazed out at the dead creature.

His bi-colored gaze was calculating as he watched her, trying to figure her out piece by piece. She seemed like a skittish girl, a mass of nervousness, but there was something else that he couldn't quite put his paw on. Perhaps it was the heat that was making her so nervous or maybe it was just him. Maybe he was too off-putting and scary. As she looked away from the ice, he didn't avert his gaze this time as she spoke once again.

"Maybe they went quick? Didn't suffer, maybe had a heart attack or something." He suggested as his mismatched gaze looked to the dark shadow again. "Something quick and painless, no time to think about any regrets or anyone you'd miss." That's the way I'd want to go.

 

During her better days she would have hoped they were wrong, that it was just a bit of wood trapped under some ice. But after all she had seen- all she'd seen other's do- she couldn't help but assume the worse. She missed the days when she could hope, when the prospect of her future didn't seem so scary or dark. Some days, when Piety was by her side she could dream but what if she got her hopes up and it all crashed down around her? She had been burnt one too many times, hoping seemed dangerous, as if she was asking for trouble. Begging for it really.

She sighed, yes maybe it was quick. She had never seen anyone die from a heart attack but from what she could put together it just stopped beating, still and silent, like a rock hitting the floor with one final thud. All over, just like that.

Lenae decided she didn't want to talk of this anymore. No more death things or regrets just...whatever this was.

"I'm sorry....I didn't- My name is Lenae."

Her nervous habits pushed to the forefront, only just managing to shove away her previous thoughts. They were unpleasant, weakness in it's most obvious form, but it was better than before at least, the thoughts of death and the ever lingering desire to do something shameful. She held onto the feeling tight with all she had.

She wouldn't sit, but she made a pointed effort to stop swaying on her paws. Being normal was harder than it looked, especially when she felt anything but.

Great, he did it again! Made her uncomfortable again as he rambled on about death and regrets. He sure needed more practice with conversation as he tended to let his dark thoughts spew out of his mouth instead of keeping them locked away like any normal wolf did. Breathing sharply as she nervously stuttered before introducing herself and changing the subject. Her name was interesting and unique as he nodded towards her as a formal greeting.

"I'm Aleister, sorry I tend to just let my thoughts talk." He said sofly as he watched as she no longer swayed upon her feet. Curious, the agouti changed the subject. "Are you from around here?" He asked, his mismatched eyes meeting her dandelion gaze. He hoped she didn't know a thing about his birthplace and that instead she was from someplace he did not know of.

 

For the tiniest fraction of a second when she heard the Al part of his name her heart did a weird, flippy floppy thing in her chest. Lenae had called for Aleksei that night and yet he never responded. Not even a peep. She had caught his scent on the borders, he had been there somewhat recently and yet...What had she done wrong? After all that had happened in the Lowlands, was it wrong of her to seek out the company of a friend, of someone she trusted? Apparently so.

Sometimes Lenae couldn't help but feel as though the world didn't want to grant her a respite, that she was made for suffering and nothing more.

Aleister was a nice name nonetheless, steady and firm, like the ground beneath her paws. She ran his name about in her head Aleister Walister, maybe Ali for short, if he didn't mind.... if she had the courage to call him that. At his question she tried and failed to resist the urge to think about it too hard. Technically she wasn't but these days she did roam these parts, sticking to Piety like glue.

Until now that is. So she nodded, unwilling to say just where she was from. In case. He didn't seem bad, she wanted to believe he was good, to inch closer and enjoy his company, bask in his attention- But it was risky, she knew that. Wanting something didn't make it right.

"I'm sorry." The words flooded from her mouth. But why, what was she sorry for this time? She couldn't help the way she smelled, or felt. Perhaps it was time she left...before she really had something to be sorry about.

"I'm...out of sorts at the moment." Her lips ticked just a little at that, as if she wasn't usually this skittish and afraid.