Driftwood Surge raw language

@Lachesis -- Clear Sky, 21.2 ° F, -6 ° C

The sky was a clear, brilliant blue, but that didn't mean it wasn't still cold as hell. Mako's toes stung a bit, submerged in the cold current of the shallows as he watched the viridian heart of the river surge before him. As if the cold could do anything to seep out the hot, bitter lump he'd felt living in his throat for nearly the past month. He'd talked a bit with Oksana the other day, just some smalltalk, really. But it was probably the most interaction he'd had in weeks. It had made him feel a little better for a time, but soon the feeling was back. He didn't know what was wrong with him, and looked towards the river as if it could reach into his own head and pull out the answer hidden in there for him.

The Shark waded in deeper, deep enough that his tail started to be pulled along by the current. He dipped his head down to the water, a tiny rabbit's liver he had been carrying slipping out of his mouth. The tiny scrap of meat likely wouldn't be missed, and maybe, just maybe, the river might give him some answers in return.

Since the ordeal at the Driftwood borders Lachesis had been keeping to himself, patrolling the edges of the territory more frequently and avoiding his subordinates. He did not regret his decision to exile Aytigin from the pack but he felt as though the river wolves looked at him differently. The bear-like male had been nothing but an asset to the pack and had improved tremendously since his arrival, which was why the decision weighed heavy in Lachesis’ heart. But there was no going back. They had dedicated a meeting to the one rule Aytigin had broke. He couldn’t go back on his words.

What troubled him the most was that their numbers were dwindling after he’d rejected both Alvar and Lekalta. Was it karma catching up to him? Reid had disappeared, too, after going on a scouting mission. His tail flicked in frustration as he stomped through the dense forest, his brows furrowed in thought.

As he neared the edge of the river a familiar scent greeted him, causing his expression to soften. Mako. A newer member of the Surge, brought to the mountain forest by Risaela a few weeks before she decided to leave for good. He hadn’t taken her departure well—or at least that was what he’d gathered from his sullen expression when they passed each other in the forest when the silver Tainn called from the borders.

Little cold for a swim, isn’t it? He called out to the yearling, the corners of his mouth curling in amusement as he stopped at the edge of the river. 

stick with those who stick with you

Mako didn't really know how this shit worked, only that it did, eventually, in it's own way. Minutes, months, years, even. And maybe not in the way you wanted or expected it to. So while Lachesis calling out from behind him was a surprise, causing his shoulders to involuntarily flinch and his body to twirl around in the water to face the older wolf, it wasn't exactly a surprise. The boy was wary, amber eyes blinking hesitantly and dark ears crumpling alongside his head. A smarmy comment was on the tip of his tongue, but he had enough wit about him to think twice of smart-talking the alpha.

"I guess, yeah," Mako muttered, slowly pulling his limbs from the water and meeting Lachesis at the shore with a quick shake of his wiry coat. The Coho's head was low, averted, expression subdued. Any other time he would have brushed past the pale wolf with some pretense of having something important to do. Lachesis' appearance was a coincidence, probably, maybe. Unless the river really fuckin' liked rabbit livers. Mako would admit he could be a little bit dense, sometimes, but he wasn't dense enough to brush off something dropped right in front of his damned paws like this. 

So Mako stayed, watching. "I, uhh, heard about... uh... That guy you had to run off." Mako mumbled, feeling entirely like a fish out of water as he grasped at something to say. The river gave this to him, though. He just had to figure out what to do with this.

His head tilted softly to one side as he observed the greyscale yearling, the corners of his eyes crinkling with worry. This wolf was still a stranger to the ghost. He’d arrived alongside the silver Tainn when the river wolves had claimed the mountain forest as their own. Lachesis blamed it on himself, as he’d been too busy fretting over the older subordinates and their hormones to pay much attention to the younger male. At least he didn’t have to worry about the teen breeding; he had kept his distance from not only the females in the pack but the males too.

A frown darkened his pale features as the youth mentioned the incident with Aytigin. He shrugged, his tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth as he attempted to articulate a response. Shit happens when you break the rules, he murmured, his chartreuse gaze pulling away from the dark youth and focusing on the rushing river behind him. We’ll move past it. We always do. It was the one thing river wolves were good at; persevering. Moving forward. Recovering. Driftwood was no stranger to misfortune and bad luck—or wolves that didn’t obey the rules.

How are you doing? He asked, his creamy brows pinching together as he addressed the other pink elephant. The yearling had been close to the silver-eyed girl. She was the reason why he was even in Driftwood. Now she had gone, leaving him behind with a bunch of wolves he didn’t know. 

stick with those who stick with you

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Mako nodded in understanding. Hell, he'd only been a pup himself when he'd been dragged out of the Bend by his mother over some crazy drama he still couldn't quite wrap his head around. The situation wasn't the same, but the lesson was; how quickly things could all fall to shit. 

Mako scuffed a paw in the cobbled riverbank, glancing away from Lachesis for a moment. "I'm fine..." He said at first. He let that statement hang in the air, sounding entirely like the lie it was. But he could hear the river churning behind him. Mako swallowed around the thick lump in his throat, amber eyes floating back towards a pair of green. Clearly, Lachesis wasn't an idiot. And clearly, whatever weirdness was going on with Mako could result in weirdness, and thus shit, in his own pack.

"-kinda, I guess." He amended. He sighed, his broad ribcage deflating and ending in a groan. Mako looked away again, turning slightly. Maybe if he just got it out it wouldn't feel as bad? Like ripping a bad thorn out of one's paw? "Honestly, I feel like shit and I don't know why. I came here to ask the river, then you showed up." He bit out, rushed, while staring at a rather uninteresting looking rock off to the side.

I’m fine.

It took everything in the pale leader not to roll his eyes. He’d used the expression himself one too many times, and it was a lie almost every time it had tumbled off his tongue. It was evident that the girl’s sudden departure had taken a toll on the youth, otherwise he wouldn’t be wading out into the freezing river during the spring melt. With a heavy sigh the yearling admitted his shitty feelings and admitted that he had come to ask the river why he felt so miserably about the situation. Huh—that was a new one. But he wasn’t one to question strange quirks, as he frequented the shores of Turtleback to dump his worries and stress into the water in hopes that they would disappear. They never did. Probably because you cared about her, he responded, his tone cool and level as the words filled the crisp air between them. And I suppose she didn’t tell you that she was planning on leaving…? While the ghost did not doubt that the silver girl had been planning her departure for quite some time, he imagined that she did not notify her new friend of her plans. Otherwise he would have been handling it better—or he would have joined her. For his sake, and the pack’s, Lachesis was glad that Mako had decided to stay. But he wasn’t sure the yearling felt the same. 

stick with those who stick with you

Mako, truly, couldn't help the scowl that settled on his features. In fact, if you asked the boy, he would have said his face looked like the epitome of neutrality. But there was no denying the deep furrow between his brows, the way the leathery wet pad of his nose scrunched up, or the slight peek of white tooth beneath his lips. 

"No, she didn't." He managed to bite out irritably, his paws moving unbidden beneath him as he began to pace the riverbank. One way, then another, just a few short paces in each direction before he repeated his circuit, again and again, looking much like a tiger in a cage, or a shark in a tank much too small. Mako glanced towards his leader, just a short glimpse out of the corner of his eye. Did Lachesis know? Had Rissy told the leader of the Surge, but not her friend, of her plans? His heart lurched in his chest. "I just feel like I don't know even half of what's going on here." He sighed, thinking back to the strange outburst about cats that had occurred during the meeting. This shared history that Mako had just stumbled into, then been abandoned with. And maybe that was all his fault. It's not like he put much effort into figuring out the Surge. He'd been so damned preoccupied. Blinded, really. 

"I thought we were friends, but I feel like I don't know anything at all." He snuffed with irritation.

(This post was last modified: Apr 05, 2018, 05:19 AM by Mako.)

Ah. It did not surprise the ghost that she had failed to mention her upcoming departure. Risaela did not have a malicious bone in her body, but she was spacey. Unfortunately for Mako he had to deal with he negative repercussions of her naïvety. He was still young—filled with an endless amount of hormones (both good and bad). While Lachesis had been upset at first he understood why the silver girl had chosen to leave the Surge. But that came with age—something that the teenager lacked. He’d also known Risaela for much longer; most of her actions no longer surprised him, even if they came without warning. You and me both, he breathed, his ears sweeping back against his skull as he kept his gaze focused on the pacing boy. She is a girl of action and, unfortunately, doesn’t always explain herself until after she’s made a decision. If she’s chosen to give an explanation. Things haven’t always been easy for her. Or any of the river wolves. I am sure she meant to tell you, but you have every right to be angry and upset. His plume swayed gently behind him, a line forming between his brows as the frown he wore remained. When you’ve lost as many wolves as I have you sort of get… used to it? Doesn’t make it any less shitty, but it makes it easier to deal with. Another shrug was offered. He didn’t know if he was helping the yearling or making things worse. He was six years old and still not good at giving advice or being sympathetic. 

stick with those who stick with you

Mako's deranged pacing faltered for a second as Lachesis spoke up. It made it hurt a little bit less to hear that Ris had neglected to tell anyone of her plans, but it didn't mean that it still didn't hurt. Quickly he picked up his pace again, walking too and fro as he absorbed Lach's words. He liked to think he knew Rissy pretty decently, but obviously this wolf who had spent her formative years with him would know her better than he did. With her sunny disposition it made it hard to believe she had her own skeletons lurking in the closet, whatever dark things had transpired in her past. He almost felt a little bit bad for having to dig this stuff out of Lachesis rather than Risaela herself, even if he didn't give specifics.


Mako grunted, glancing to Lachesis to find a frown burrowed in his pale features. He stared at the elder wolf, almost willing the male to give him the answers he sought. As if anyone but Mako himself knew what it was that he wanted. Companionship? Love? A place to belong? Was this something he just needed to get over? Was he too dependent on one wolf for his own mental well being? In a way, that was why he'd left his home back with the Blackfish.  Even living among so many wolves, he really only found himself interacting with his close family; His sister, his mother and her lover sometimes. Some teasing that he was a 'momma's boy' later resulted in Mako setting out to prove otherwise. And yeah, he got along fine without mom around, but he was surviving more than thriving. Was Rissy just someone else to cling to? 

He didn't want to get used to loss, he didn't want to become some day as jaded as Lachesis was. Even if Mako admitted that he was clingy and dependent, that didn't mean he could just give up on those important to him. Mako's nose wrinkled. "She's not lost, though, is she?" He stopped, turning fully towards Lachesis, amber eyes strangely pleading. The leader wouldn't have let her leave if he knew something would happen to her, would he?