Spectral Woods Peace in the silance

The atmosphere was erie, serine and quiet, it allowed the ebony shadow to get the one thing she sought right now, peace of mind. The hazel brown eyes of the young female shone dully as she looked around the mist filled forest. She paused, inhaling softly and glancing around. Silence was all she could detect, not a stray breeze creeking through the tree nor the gurgling of a stream, it was an odd relief for the medic.

“Spring’s coming soon.” She murmured quietly, glancing toward the nearby, snow covered ground, soon the plants would be blooming and she she’d have that comfort, the sweet, sharp, platorua of scents of the herbs that grew from the earth. For now, she was content to settle down, her back pressed against the rough bark of an old tree. |I’m listening.” she said quietly, leaning back into the tree and closing her eyes contently.

ThoughtDialogue

Serach's nose was dipped into a snowbank at the base of a tree, his nostrils flaring as he tried to pick out the scents of the deer he had been following. But the snows were thick and there was little to be found. Pulling his muzzle back, he shook his head to shake the snowflakes from his nose with a humpf. He'd seemingly lost the trail, which was not the news he wanted to deliver back to Aponi. Taking a few moments he looked around to gather his bearings before setting off, further from the Bend's borders to see if he could pick up the trail.

He was not lucky enough to find the deer, but his search was not entirely fruitless. The scent of a female wolf piqued his curiosity, and he made the decision to abandon his luckless search for the deer and see what this stranger was doing in his woods. When he saw her, he stopped his in his tracks, a pale figure against the white snow. If the scent had not told him otherwise, he would have mistaken the small, black furred girl for Sahalie. But Morganna had already confirmed to him that Sahalie was not there and so this girl before him was clearly a stranger. Chuffing, he offered an easy wag to his tail but did not approach her before saying, "'Lo. Everything okay over there?"

The voice cut through the air, though it wasn’t what the small wolf had been expecting. She shifted, her brown eyes blinking open slowly as she craned her neck, her ears angled toward the source. A large tan figure stood within the misty clearing. Sylva paused. Her blood running cold as the fog partially concealed the figure’s forms, all she saw was a white canine, she swallowed, unable to find her voice for a moment, instead a slight whimper escaped as she dragged herself to her paws.

”Zilas…” she choked the name out, unable to believe it, she took a step forward, planting a small paw onto the root of the tree. “No it…” She thought for a moment, reality hitting her as the wolf’s scent crossed her muzzle, and then she recalled the voice she had heard. It wasn’t him. Sylva’s ears dropped slightly, a small sigh of relief escaping, she looked the unknown wolf over one more time.

“S-sorry, I thought you were someone else. The forest, it seems good at playing tricks on me.” She relaxed a bit, settling her haunches down onto the snowy ground. “I’m sorry if I’m too close to your pack’s borders, I just...it’s nice out here.” She said, rambling a bit and giving her head a soft shake, trying to focus. “That’s assuming your pack is near here….oh rivers this is frustrating, I’m Sylva.” She eventually managed to spit out.

(This post was last modified: Feb 27, 2018, 06:36 PM by Sylva.)

From where he was standing, all Serach could see was the girl slowly rise to her feet, her eyes widening in shock as though she was looking at a ghost. It would not be the first time that Serach had been mistaken as such while wandering through Spectral Woods, nor was it likely to be the last. He shook his head at the question, presuming it to be a name. He had no idea who she was talking about, but Serach was certainly not whoever they were. Opening his mouth to say something, he wasn't able to do so before she continued on, coming to her own realization that he was not who she had first guessed. She continued to ramble, causing Serach's eyes to narrow in confusion. What exactly had he stumbled onto?

"You're not too close, but close enough it was worth investigating," he answered when she finally stopped and gave him a chance to respond. "I'm Serach Donata - I lead Oak Tree Bend. I take it you're not very familiar with these woods?"

Serach sorry for the delay!

Sylva grimace slightly, her muzzle twisting back when she realized it, she had been rambling again, she paused, biting her tongue as the male spoke. Her head nodding slowly at his name and question. “Well Search, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” she started off with, relieved that she hadn’t trespassed or come too close to a hair trigger and overly protective wolf. She tensed at the bit where he mentioned being a leader, she seemed to have rather bad luck with them, though it usually was her fault.

“No...I’m not familiar with them.” She said, turning to look around the fog shrouded forest. A small smile started to form on her lips, it mixed with sadness. “Kinda why I started this way, it’s new grounds, less chance of bumping into people.” She thought, before silently adding That I betrayed . “It’s beautiful ful though, erie and quiet, the trees sound so differently here then everywhere else I’ve been.” With that, she paused, her ears flicking “You sir? I assume you’re familiar with them if your pack is near enough to warrant investigating a stranger.”

She was a talker, that became apparently very quickly. His question about her familiarity with Spectral Woods was answered in full. But Serach was a patient man, so he was content to let her ramble a bit while he watched her attentively. She confirmed that she was traveling on her own, which made him relax a bit more. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a group of wolves encroaching on the Bend's hunting grounds.

Casting his gaze around them, he smiled and nodded his head in agreement with her assessment of Spectral Woods. He thought they were beautiful too. "I am indeed," he responded, looking back at her. "I was born in Oak Tree Bend and have lived here my entire life. You'd be hard pressed to find a wolf in all of Relic Lore who knows or loves these woods as much as me," he explained, the fondness he felt for his home clear in his tone. "Are you from the Lore, Sylva? Or are you a newcomer to the region as well?"

(This post was last modified: Mar 23, 2018, 01:55 AM by Serach.)

Sylva listened to the cream colored male’s words, slowly nodding in agreement. She detected the fondness of the woods that he spoke with, and she could relate in a way. It seemed similar to her love of trees in general, their vast mystery and strange silence. Shelter for the very things that the wolves ate. It provides nutrients for the herbs that could heal, reasons like that was why she had a deep respect for the ancient trunks that surrendered the two.

The healer’s ears perked at the last question, she swallowed nervously, letting her gaze drift a bit before she responded. “This part of the lore yes, but I’ve been living west of the mountain for years now, It’s become time to explore other options throughout this way.” she said, turning back toward the Bend’s leader “This place feels more like home then most of the places I’ve visited, it’s a lot like where I grew up, only thing missing really is the whispers of a river cutting across the rocks.”

I am so sorry about the delay on this. Wedding planning has had me incredibly busy. Note: I defer to you as to whether or not you want to acknowledge the coyotes. Since this thread pre-dates the BWP, we are free to ignore them.

Serach couldn't remember the last time he had simply talked with another wolf outside of the Bend, with no real purpose in mind except for conversation. It was a nice feeling, and a reminder that yes, he really should get out more so it wasn't such a rarity in his life. Her not being new to the Lore wasn't all that surprising - very few of the wolves he had met had ventured to Spectral Woods in the southeast even though they might have grown up in Relic Lore. "We have one of those as well," he said of the river. "Although it's further east from here. But there's plenty of water running over rocks, although not in the winter."

Shifting back to something she had said earlier, he asked her about her life on the other side of the mountains. "You said you've lived in the Lore for years - are you part of a pack?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 29, 2018, 03:47 PM by Serach.)

You realize that two coyotes have been following you.