Darkwater Rapids [bwp] are you really gonna love me when i'm gone?

  RE: Violent thunderstorms overtake Relic Lore.
Open for one or two.  Late morning.  46F/8C.

Reyes had thought the end of the breeding season would put an end to his springtime melancholy, but such was not the case. His co-leader had taken a stroll north over the past few days and returned in short order, but even that had not shaken the hurt deep in Reyes’ bones. He didn’t have words to explain it, not in this language, not in the one he was born to – not even the way he moved through the trees and was drown to the rolling water by some unnatural force.

He was no forest wolf, no wolf of the northern clime, where water was abundant and free.

Thunder growled overhead, warning of a springtime storm rolling in. Rain pattered against the trees as it threatened to only get worse. Still, Reyes stood, staring into the rolling rapids as his heart seized and clenched in turn. A sigh shuddered through him, and it sounded just like the clouds cracking open overhead.

The spring…

No pups…

Nothing sat well with him, not right now.

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2018, 08:07 PM by Reyes. Edit Reason: 'yotes )

S for swears

Mari was sort of-very- lost. She vaguely felt as though she remembered these parts, all the trees and the distant rush of water that made her ears twitch. But it was hard to tell since the world had changed a lot with the passing of the seasons. And even if it hadn't well...it wasn't as if she'd been here long anyway. It was shit. Too much foliage, all dark and broody like something from a bad dream. Lightning ripped across the sky and Mari grimaced, just in time to pin her ears against her head to protect them from the roar of thunder.

It almost sounded like, fuck it sounded exactly like those fire sticks. The very same things that killed her sis- the members of the Steppe one by one, till all who remained scattered to the wind like dust. Fuck fuck fuck.

She frantically shook her head as she broke into a lope, meandering through the trees till the sound fast-flowing water drowned out the storm. She slowed to a trot, then a walk as she noticed a dark form lingering by the riverside. She didn't care who they were or what they doing but....she sort of felt as though she recognised that shitty brown colour of his pelt. She couldn't see his face, nor could she really latch onto his scent with it being so mucky and bleh. But if she didn't know better she would've assumed it was....

"Oi, chico feo , you gonna jump or what? Take the pussy way out?"

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2018, 08:03 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!

There are fresh deer tracks, but there is also some coyote prints along with them.

“You won’t stop me,” Reyes answered automatically – he did look like a jumper. That’s why he had a retort all squared away. It took an extra moment for his brain to register the female pitch, however, and another moment after that to place exactly why he knew that voice so well.

The dark male sucked in a sharp breath as he pivoted suddenly, ears plastered against his skull as pale grey eyes searched across the familiar form. Yep. That was her alright.

Three long, hard years later – countless fights and famines later, he was sure – but right as rain, it was his sister. “The fuck are you doin’ out here, Marisol? And don’t use that language, tchht. Mama taught you better than that.”

Reply

Mari didn't even have time to fling back a witty retort. He turned and shit- it was him, but Gabriel's face was all fucked up, marred with scars like he'd been mauled. Not recently, clearly, this was old news but...shit, he'd been shoved through the wringer clearly. Mari couldn't decide if they made him more ugly or what.

Of course that was how he greeted her though. Any concern she'd had for him-even if it was brief as fuck- vanished as soon as he uttered that word. The one he knew she mated the most. She gritted her teeth as her tail flicked up in a wolfish approximation of sticking up the middle finger.

"Fuck you. It's Mari. M. A. R. I. "And just for emphasis she nipped at the empty space between them, the taste of ozone settled upon the tip of her tongue. "Same could be said for you, Gabi." Her smile was sickly sweet. Two could play at this game. She flinched-just a little- at the mention of their Mother, but was quick to hide it with an overly dramatic yawn. She was pretty beat, after all."The hell happened to your face anyway? Looks like you tried to mate a cougar."

Little did she know they'd soon have company, as if she hadn't spent enough time with her distant distant cousins as of late.

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2018, 08:33 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!

Gabriel offered his sister a sharp grin, bright knives staring back at her as he sized the woman up. All grown – not that she’d gotten very big, apparently – he hadn’t seen his sisters since they were yearlings, and he was a freshly grown adult himself. His tail flicked in response, undeterred by the sharp language and wicked gaze. On some level, Reyes had always been aware he’d been a mean to an ends for the twins, and little else.

“I did try to mate with a cougar. Should see how it looks now,” he retorted dryly, finished the sentence with a sharp snort. It was only then that he noticed the faint scent of coyote nearby – he’d been distracted first by the rumbling thunder, and then by an appearance of a ghost he’d not seen in years on end. His ears fell back and he scowled. “Mari, did you bring fuckin’ coyotes into my territory? Dios mio, I taught you better than that, chica.”

Mari hadn't expected the truth from her brother but his response made her snort nonetheless. If he wasn't going to tell her then fine, Mari wasn't gonna kick up dust about it. He could have his secrets if she could keep hers. It wasn't as though they had ever really pried too much into one another's lives, many things had changed but that hadn't. Things were just better this way.

Following Gabriel's line of sight, her own silver eyes squinted as she tipped her ears forward. Sure enough, between the rumbles of thunder she could hear the chittering. Fuck. Had the ones from the mountain really followed her here? Or-like Crow- was she a damn coyote magnet? She couldn't decide which was worse, but it didn't really matter, not now anyway.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" She seethed, thoroughly insulted by his implication. "Your territory? The fuck is that supposed to mean?" She stepped a little closer and sniffed, sure enough beyond the stink of coyote several scents clung to his skin. One was more prominent than the rest but there was no mistaking it, Gabriel had shacked up.

It was true that he'd taught her a thing or two about going it alone, most of the habits that kept her alive were learned from him. Still, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right, so instead she stuck out her tongue and mustered the ugliest expression she could manage. No one could ever say she wasn't petty, it ought to have been her middle name. Marisol Petty Reyes.

"So you've got it all made in the shade huh? Pack of your own, friends." God, she was bitter. He had everything she didn't...not that she cared."One of them now, all high and mighty."

What were loners to pack wolves? Just potential recruits, or pests like these fucking coyotes? Speaking of...unless her senses were deceiving her, it seemed as though they were inching closer. Bold fuckers.

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

“It means exactly what it sounds like. It’s goddamn mine.”

Perhaps not right where they were standing, but the rapids were only a few minutes hard run from the outer limits of the Edge borders. Even from here, the distant smell of pack was apparent; with the gang of coyotes that had been lurking around, Reyes and Askan had been doing double time making sure the boarders were damn well obvious. Even to stupid coyotes. Which, of course, likely meant it wasn’t actually Marisol who’d led the coyotes in, but they’d already been here – or worse, they’d been drawn in by the trio already roaming around.

Clearly, they’d have to take more serious action. But that would have to wait.

Thunder cracked overhead and the first sprinkles became more heavy rain as the Reyes siblings continued to have their tiny standoff. “If you want to call it that, ‘sol. It’s my goddamn pack, I fuckin’ dragged my mate out of the rut we were stuck in, and we founded this goddamn place.” Made in the shade, his ass. She was welcome to try and dad these damn hooligans any day of the week. If nothing else, watching out for Marisol and Mariposa had given him some practice. “They’re his fuckin’ friends, not mine.” The kids had taken his fucking name. No one had even asked him. Never mind that he recruited Hawthorne. Never mind that he was Askan’s mate and didn’t have the Selwyn name.

Whatever. It’s not like he cared.

“I was gonna offer you a cache, Mari – but we gotta get rid of these visitors first.”

(This post was last modified: May 05, 2018, 09:51 PM by Reyes. Edit Reason: open tag )

Maybe Gabriel wasn't holding his cards as close to his chest as she'd first thought. At her pointed words he was quick to respond in kind, mentioning that he had a mate and some drama that had in turn lead to them creating a pack together. How sweet, like a fairy tail. Seemed like he'd already got his happily ever after. Not like Mari, who was tangled up in what could only be described as a tragedy. But good for him, congrats- she wasn't jealous. She'd deny it even with her dying breath.

Mari half expected Reyes to drop a name, but instead he said the h-word. So her brother had tied himself to a dude, huh. She hadn't seen it coming but it wasn't a big deal, her jaw didn't drop and she certainly wasn't aghast or offended. It was what it was, and it wasn't like Mari hadn't liked a lady or two down the line, long ago.

Things got bitter real fast though and it was clear that he'd changed in more ways than she'd thought. For the better or worse, it was impossible to tell. The same could be said for her really, the world had reshaped her too, these days she couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing. Maybe neither.

"Woah. So surly." For once she tried to lighten the mood, because it was fucking awkward, that's why. "Is he into that?"

But yeah, Gabriel was right, there were matters to attend to. As much as it pained her to admit it, after scaling a mountain she wasn't in the best state to be dealing with much else but a nap and some lunch. Above the sky flashed and rumbled, the rain pelted down harder, they'd be soaked in minutes if they stayed out in this.

"Wasn't planning on hanging around. Scrapping in the rain ain't my idea of fun. Deal with em another day, when your not-friends are with you."

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

“Fuck all knows what he’s into,” Gabriel muttered under his breath. It wasn’t just bitterness – sometimes (especially lately, with the deep, dark mood he’d allowed himself to sink into), he really did struggle to see what someone like Askan could see in someone like him. He was handsome, in a fashion, but Marisol wasn’t wrong. He was surly, aggressive. Assertive, unforgiving. Not exactly ‘mate-like’ qualities – which was why he never intended on a mate, or a family, but here he fucking was, sulking about all of it like an overgrown child.

Dios mio, his attitude was all over the place, wasn’t it?

The wolf gave himself a hard shake, glancing over Mari’s form into the distance one last time. Though present, the coyotes didn’t seem keen on actually causing a scene… Fine. Whatever. He’d go hunting later.

“Stop bein’ a martyr, zorra. C’mon. Have a goddamn meal, have a nap, wait out the damn storm, and then you can go back to lurkin’ around and yellin’ at folks. No one’ll fuck with ya inside the borders.”

Especially those damn ‘yotes.