Pookastone Scowle At my worst I'm my best

RE: A cold snap seizes Relic Lore in its icy grip!
All welcome! as always she swears like a sailor

Mari had never been so fucking cold. She trundled along, her head dipped down against the icy wind, she shook all over making her dark form seemingly blur around the edges. She couldn't feel her toes, her ears or even her nose. If this wasn't hell on earth than she didn't know what was. In hindsight, she had no idea why she thought staying here would be a good idea, fucking @Niles and his seemingly earnest offer.

What if this had been his plan all along? Revenge for the time she'd gotten all pissy at him? 'Yeah, come stay with us, it's reeeeaaal nice, trust me.' And she fucking had, she'd taken his word and so here she was dying, surely. Cause unlike the locals Mari wasn't made for this weather, she was convinced that heat flowed through her veins and that she was built for the south and it's long sunny days. As the snow pelted down, her coat turned to white, as though nature itself was trying to turn her into someone she wasn't: a white maiden, pure and kind. Marisol was nothing like that, she was a snake, hissy and mistrusting, ready to strike if anyone got too close. But instead of venom her weapon was words, just as acidic and cruel.

Nearing the centre of the territory, Mari clambered over the snow covered rocks with her nose pressed to the ground. Her little hidey hole had to be somewhere, she refused to sleep in the communal den even if it meant battling the cold alone. She was fine with that, or at least that's what she tried to tell herself, over and over as if that would change anything. At least this damn wind and snow had a silver lining, she couldn't even feel the itchy-scratchy heat beneath her skin. Wasn't that fucking grand?

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2018, 03:06 PM by Marisol.)

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!

Somewhere, hunkered down amidst the snow-covered boulders and frosted tree trunks, Niles was waiting out the storm. He had been lounging around, cradled between the two roots that made up Skoll's previously-owned "nest" at the base of a particularly twisted cedar with peeling bark. His eyes had been closed until he heard someone shuffling about nearby. He shook the snow from his crown, ears turning this way and that until he saw her. A smile easily found its way on his ivory lips.

"Well, well," he teased. "I thought that might've been you."

He sat up, looking a little too tall for the day bed his brother had dug out some number of weeks ago. He took in the white that clung to her coat, realizing that she kept her nose to the ground. "Did ya lose somethin'?" I'm right here...

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

Understandably, Mari wasn't in the most playful of moods. Niles might have meant well, but being teased like that only made her grimace, her long incisors jutting out from beneath her lips. Her tail lashed behind her, a black blur amongst so much white. She hated it here, not at the Scowle per se, but the north in general. Not only that though, Mari had more shit pilling on her plate everyday. It had taken her a while to notice it, and she hadn't even met all of her pack mates yet- nor did she even want to- but...One scent in particular didn't sit right with her. Didn't smell as springy as it should.

"I ain't in a good mood today."She warned, as if it wasn't obvious enough already. Stepping closer to the little hidey hole Niles had claimed as his own, she peered down at him, her gaze as cold as the weather. If she couldn't find her own den why not take his? It was an option at least."So quit it, will yah?"

Shoving him aside, Mari wormed her way into his space. He was fortunate she was so small, didn't take up much room at all- but just to be a pest she jutted her leg out and gave him a kick. Had to remind him she was in charge around here, or so she liked to think. At his question, she snorted as she rested her chin atop her front paws.

"I dunno, my will to live, maybe?"

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!

"I ain't in a good mood today." Oh, she sounded pissed... "So quit it, will yah?"

Niles let out a mere scoff, letting her words of caution roll off him like water. That was fiiiine by him. He had steeled himself when she approached, eyes narrowing as she elbowed past him. Whatever. He stared at the place she had come from, oblivious to what she was doing until he realized where she was standing. She pressed up against his left side, making his right lean into the ground and against the knotted root beside him. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a hint of a glare. Then, without much of a warning, she stuck out her leg, the heel and ball of her foot landing straight into his ribs and pushing him to one side.

Oof.

His ears flattened momentarily in annoyance, but it didn't bother him much. Once she had settled down, she actually didn't take up much space at all. He shook the snow from his face and his ears again, looking over at her as he reclined forward onto his elbows again, crammed up against the root as to give her enough space before she was really just laying against him. Skoll, whose lanky build easily matched his younger brother's, had initially intended for this spot to be a one-wolf nook.

"Ah, well," his tone had turned wry, not particularly sour but unmistakably bored. "You an' me both."

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Mari was used to shoving others about, but they usually weren't as tall and as leggy as Niles. Not that it really mattered, but sometimes,every once and a while, common sense told her that she was punching above her weight. That one day she'd run into someone who'd give her a wallop back. Whatever, she could take it. Life had beaten her down more times than she could count, how bad could another blow be?

She scowled ahead, wondering just how cold things could get here. That was sort of tempting fate though, wasn't it? Just as bad as saying what could possibly go wrong.  As the minutes passed warmth returned to her toes, nose and ears, and with it her temper began to cool. It was hard to be angry all the time, not just physically stomping about but mentally it was just...so draining. And yet, these days it was all she knew, she felt as though the world didn't deserve her happiness or smiles. Not after it had chewed her up and spat her out.

"I don't know who it is, never met her but...Think someone around here's gone and gotten knocked up." She wasn't sure why she thought it'd be a good thing to bring up, the words (and her obvious sense of disgust) all just came flooding out. "Smelled it...and it's disgusting, why'd she do that? Come spring, proper, and there'll be mutts running around and I- I can't stand that. I'd rather leave, go it alone again."

She ended it all with one big huff as her ears flicked back against her skull. Was she oversharing, probably, but whatever, it wasn't like she cared what Niles thought. She was just stealing his warmth, cause the damn giant radiated it like the sun.

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!

Moments passed as the two just laid there, watching the storm from their perch. Niles had little else to say, not because he didn't care, but he frankly didn't want to piss her off further. So, when she spoke again, he glanced over at her, listening as she relayed the information about one of the Scowle's ladies having her heat resolved. Angier hadn't said much on the matter when Niles got the whole birds-an'-bees lecture, but Niles at least knew what it was and what was supposed to happen. He just didn't have any first-hand experience with any of it. At least, thus far.

He took note of her aversion to it all, feeding on it for the time being. If he had to be honest with himself, he couldn't help but be a little bitter (okay, maybe a little more than just "bitter"... let's say "angered") that Castel's sickness had stolen away their chance to be parents. "Yeah, well..." he couldn't even think of anything better to say, "Sometimes... sometimes some wolves can't help it... I mean, especially if yer Leader an' all. Then, hey, they can afford it." A while ago, Niles might have had a thought that he would have liked to be around cubs, but since moving past his defeat with Celandine, he couldn't help but to be slighted. He had his chance back within Quaking Vale and life had robbed him of it. It stripped him of his lover, his happiness, and now his position within the pack... What else could it possibly want? Niles had little else to give, and his desire for doting on cubs that weren't his was just one of those things apart from his attitude and penchant for being mostly on his own.

It dawned on him then that he and Mari were two birds of a feather - at least, for now.

"If you go, can I go with you?" he tossed out to her, his tone intending to be playful but turned out ultimately half-serious instead. Morganna had Skoll and Celandine; she probably didn't have much use for him, really...

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2018, 03:12 AM by Niles.)

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Marisol wrinkled her nose. Can't help it? Like he Mumma couldn't help herself, two damn seasons in a row? She gritted her teeth as her moon eyes thinned into sharp slits. She adored her Mumma and didn't like speaking ill of the dead but what sort of fool made the same mistake twice like that? Mumma weren't stupid, she was clever and hardy to survive as a loner all of her life, she'd taught her kids to use their wits, to keep them honed and razor sharp.

So why'd she slipped up like that? Maybe she hadn't really tried to resist at all, maybe Mumma was just lonely. That was a sad thought, Mari had to bite back a whine. Niles' question took her by surprise, she tried sightly- as much as she could anyway- and watched him, her bright eyes roaming over his expression, looking for a trace of deceit. She found none.

"Don't see why not, you're not the worst." She told him, a hint of a smile on her lips. "You sure Boss Lady will let you though? S'like she's gathering Archers around here." It felt a little weird, honestly, to be one of the few non-Archers around. Mari didn't care about being in the cool club but...they certainly had their own thing going on here, and she couldn't decide if she wanted to be part of it. Whether it was worth the effort.

Either way, she wasn't going anywhere right now. Not when this big lug was warming her up- in more ways than one, probably.

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!

"Don't see why not, you're not the worst."

Now that made him smile. He even had to make sure he didn't go overboard with it, lest he manage to tip her off that she had made a mistake in inviting him along.

"You sure Boss Lady will let you though? S'like she's gathering Archers around here."

Niles shook his head with a slight roll of his eyes. Morganna did what she wanted. Same as Skoll. "I'm only half Archer," he divulged. "Not like them, but just enough to fit in. I'm a Lyall more than anything." He lifted his paw under the snow that had gathered on top of it, tipping his head to one side to watch the snow tumble down onto his shoulder and fore arms before he looked to the side of her face.

He considered for a second whether or not he wanted to, say, poke the bear in her or not, but decided not to. Instead of saying something that rather complimented her silvery eyes and dark fur, how she reminded him of his mother, and what a powerful, potentially influential lady she was, he went for something blunt and easy on the ears. Something that said that he subtly appreciated her company and that he was something of an odd duck too, "So, yer not the only not-Archer 'round here, ya know."

But, then suddenly in a pause that was too long for his taste, there came doubt. He tilted his head the other way, considering that his sister had let her in and Mari had mentioned about her gathering Archers, "Where're ya from anyway? Ya didn't come from Torbine, did ya?"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Was there even such a thing as a half Archer? They all seemed so fucking proud of their heritage, like they believed that it somehow made them better than the rest. Every damn Archer she'd met dangled their name about in her face, except Niles, he claimed to be different, felt as though he was a Lyall more than anything else. That name didn't ring a bell, she idly wondered if she was supposed to recognise it but quickly shrugged it off. Niles was a nobody like her, good.

"Least there's that." She agreed, covering her back paws with her plush tail. "Otherwise...those will be really fucked up. I know some packs like to keep it in the family but- that's just wrong." She felt a little nauseous just talking about it. Surely the Archer's wouldn't do that would they? How was she supposed to know, wasn't like she was tight with them or anything. Mari was just...here, like a spectre.

Once again, she side eyed him, a slight frown tugging at her lips as she realised he was eyeing her up, so to speak, lingering on her features, her sharp snout and bright moon eyes. A snappish 'what' pressed against her closed lips, the hell was he looking at? But then he spoke once more and she-somehow- managed to bite back her crass words. For now at least.

"Nowhere." Was her automatic response, but that felt lacking so she expanded a little. "Far south from here, where it's warm and sunny. Better than this shithole." Which was to say, of course she wasn't from Torbine, she'd never even heard of it before."Where's that?"

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!