Iridescent Lagoon The water's clear and innocent

There was something about the lagoon that to most wolves, would have seemed beautiful, charming- enchanting even. Whether it was the way the trees along the banks drooped their branches longingly toward the water so that the leaves at the very bottom would trail along the water's surface, or the mossy green that coated the banks, there was something to appeal to everyone. In one small corner of the lagoon, water lilies had started to bloom, and their fragrance carried across the clear, somewhat greenish waters; they looked like little, floating stars on the surface of the lagoon. Dragonflies zoomed this way and that, their precipitous behavior almost erratic as they veered about. But if nothing else, they made the place even more charming. There was something about the lagoon that was truly beautiful. 

For Asriel, it was the fact that somewhere, at the bottom of the lagoon, lay a perfect skeleton. 

Over the course of five years, below the surface of so gentle a body of water, he could only imagine that her remains had been treated with utmost kindness. No beast would be tall enough to tread through the lagoon's very middle and kick the bones around, and no current or tide would push them on a relentless basis. No- the moment her body had touched the bottom of the lagoon, she would have settled for a peaceful, everlasting sleep; those bones would be beautiful now, untouched, but stripped of every fibre which would have once covered them. 

Asriel sat at the Southeast corner of the lagoon, having been drawn there simply to pay his silent respects, and to imagine what Malia Thorben's bones would look like now. They had been little more than pups- so the collection of bones wouldn't have even been very large. But more interesting still was the fact that once he'd come near the lagoon, he had caught the scents of two wolves who were far too familiar to ever be forgotten. Why they had left Drooping Willows, he didn't know- but it was very obvious that the two of them- his own littermates- had settled somewhere very nearby. He kept his distance, respectfully, but had allowed himself to wander close enough, just to satisfy his own curiosity. 

These days, his sleep cycle had synced up to match that of Celandine's. When she needed to step away from the cubs to eat, drink, or have some alone time, he was readily available. For the most part, he still managed to stay up late into the night, but more often than not he found himself waking sometime after the sun had risen and the cubs had been fed. When he was away he kept busy. To keep the Leaders' task list light, he helped mind the borders and filled the caches with what dead things he could scavenge on his walks.

On this particular outing, he found himself heading further south than intended, beyond the reaches of Firefly Weir where he usually stopped and turned around. It was deemed peculiar because there was something on the breeze that kept teasing at his nose, like a promise that there was something out there that ought not to be missed.

Skoll blinked out under the open sky, squinting for the most part as he picked his way across the wetlands. Idly, he listened for the sound of ravens, wondering if they might broadcast where a fresh carcass laid in wait for his arrival. For the time being though, they were silent, and as he continued to traverse the Lagoon, he discovered why. There was another wolf around. From a distance Skoll sized the rogue male up, stopping in his tracks when he felt his personal space could easily be invaded. His posture grew neutral and lips remained sealed as he watched the brute, uncertain as to whether or not he had seen the man before.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Asriel's mind did not linger with any amount of horror or disdain on the events that had occurred the last time he had seen the lagoon. It had been winter- and the area looked almost completely different; even the shape of the banks had changed over the course of five years, but only slightly. With no real current to disrupt the land, the lagoon had mostly just been itself, save for the addition of water when the snow melted and when the summer lowered the water levels. Had he not had so good a memory, he might not have recognized it- given the fact that the last time he'd set eyes on the place, it had been winter...But it was so different from that now, that no bad memories or feelings were triggered. 

Aside from that, he had learned to remove his emotions from situations involving terrible actions. He hadn't killed Malia- and there had been nothing that he could've done that would have saved her, so now he felt guiltless- unlike how he'd felt as a pup. He'd played no part in her demise, and had even tried to warn her, hadn't he? Or had that been Titan...His memory about that fact had been slightly altered by the fact that he'd told himself over and over, leaving the site, that he had tried to convince her to leave. He'd convinced himself, eventually, that he'd done everything he could, and that he hadn't killed Malia Thorben. Of course, he'd killed many others since that day- and had been able to remove himself from that guilt as well. 

When he caught the scent of another wolf in the area, it was that same, familiar scent he'd caught before...And it drew closer. Once he could see the male in the distance, he watched as the dark beast drew closer, and having expected to see either this wolf or his sister, Asriel recognized him. He'd changed, of course- Skoll looked much more rugged and filled out, not the small, weakling pup Asriel remembered. There was a tiredness about his gait, though, and he smiled softly when he saw the slight silvering of Skoll's muzzle. No doubt, he too sported a few of his own hairs that had gone grey over the years, but not quite as much as Skoll, and this pleased him. 

Skoll stopped, and regarded him calmly; Asriel chuckled, and spoke with his usual deep, silky voice. "Is that how you greet your brother, Skoll? Come. I won't harm you," He said, fiery gaze surprisingly warm despite the bright hue of his eyes. He watched his brother, gauging his reaction to the news. 

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"Is that how you greet your brother, Skoll?" The stranger questioned before verbally beckoning him over, "Come. I won't harm you." Skepticism gave way to disbelief. Disbelief gave way to sudden realization. No... His eyes opened as wide as he could manage. Summer days, with their lengthened daylight hours, were undoubtedly his least favorite thing about the "middle" part of the year. It... It couldn't be.

His ghost grey irises fixated on the rogue's fiery ones. He had only one brother - one sibling even - who had eyes that shone like the sun.

Asriel.

Against his teeth, his tongue clicked, his thin tail whipping about behind him as he took a careful step forward. When it came to the eldest Archer brother, Skoll couldn't help but to be wary. Memories of their cub days together - where the three of them were commonly both caring for and fighting one another - were not ones that were easily forgotten. "It depends," he smoothly replied, advancing by two full wolf-lengths before stopping yet again. "Life for me has not been kind; I know to look twice beforehand than to do a double-take much too late." His head, once lowered as he prowled, came up high and everything about his stance hinted that he might leave at any moment. Perhaps if he had Morganna at his back, he might have been different, but Skoll had been burned one too many times to take chance on a family reunion gone sour (for good measure, he had taken Niles' and Ravenna's little encounter to heart).

"Why have you come back?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Several coyote abandoned a half-eaten deer. But before you can take a bite they reappear.

His brother's face showed the shock and surprise he'd been looking for. Asriel held himself the same way he always had, with his shoulders squared and crown tilted forward, so he could look down on almost everyone he met. There was a calm about him, though, and for his brother, he did dip his head a bit as he approached, looking just as wary as ever. Though Asriel had been hard on his brother when they'd been young- he'd criticized him, shot him down and had manipulated him- his eyes sharpened when he heard that life had not been kind to him. It was one thing for Asriel to belittle his brother, but Asriel did not take kindly to anyone else doing so. Skoll was an Archer. They were royalty. 

"We aren't children anymore," He said calmly. "But you are still my brother. We are Archers; any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine," He said. His loyalties still lay with his family, and only his family. The other companions he'd had during his life had been comrades, friends, but never family. Skoll asked why he had returned, and the answer was simple. "I had my own kingdom; I built it from the blood of those weaker than me, and with the fidelity of those I trusted most. But they weren't Archers." He said. "I had my time, going on conquests and building a pack of loyal subjects...But none of them- not one- measured up to our expectations." He said. 

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Skoll's head turned slightly to one side as if to give his left ear a chance to hear Asriel better. Of course they weren't children anymore, but Asriel assured him that they were still brothers. They were Archers and their blood ran so thick that they shared enemies. For Skoll, it reminded him of something he had thought he had lost - his lineage. Now, here they were, just like old times, two princes - no - two fallen kings. While Asriel had seemingly walked away from his kingdom, Skoll had traded his cracked and blackened crown for a lesser position in favor of serving Morganna, who had come into her own right as Queen.

He drew even closer, just enough so that he could lower his voice if he had to and his brother would still hear him loud and clear. He tried again, "What is it that you want?" His eyes dropped enough to show that he was assessing just where Asriel stood. It was obvious he had come to this part of Relic Lore for something. If Asriel was still the brother he remembered, the two of them dealt in a strange sort of trade. Skoll typically wanted secrets or some sort of handsome, tangible reward; and, to get such prizes, he usually did his brother's dirty work. Even after all these years, the assumption had not been shaken.

"I'm sure you've changed," his tone was starting to even out, perhaps almost teeter on boredom or exasperation. "Though, I'll let you know beforehand that while Morganna gives me a wide tether, I will not agree to anything reckless like before."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Still the skepticism. Skoll assumed he wanted something, and Asriel knew what he was implying- because young Asriel, had he wanted something, he would have used Skoll to get it. He regarded his brother calmly when he spoke of Morganna, and his ears perked. So his beautiful sister was still alive as well- he could only hope that life had been friendlier to her than it had to Skoll, who seemed tired. He seemed to lack the sharp, kindling lick of flame that Skoll had had when he was younger...If anything now, he simply seemed as though he didn't even have time for his brother- nor did he even seem terribly enthused that the other Archer, from Elettra's first litter, was back. They were meant to be a force to reckon with- but instead, Skoll simply seemed drained, as though he didn't care that they were all in the same area again. 

"Morganna...Is she well?" He asked, sidestepping Skoll's question, but knowing that he wouldn't get much from his brother unless he gave something, he replied. "There's nothing I want. I don't need you to do anything," He said, though he did keep in mind that Skoll did seem somewhat willing to do his bidding still, as long as it wasn't too dangerous. "I wanted to see you. And Morganna. And...And mother; though she rests." He said quietly. "I was curious to see what happened to the kingdom I left behind; I'd hoped to see that you and Morganna had inherited Willow Ridge." He confessed, his gaze clearly asking why it was that they had left. 

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"Morganna...Is she well?"

Skoll gave a silent nod but nothing else. He had to be sure that he was not going to be taken advantage of again. As if Asriel had sensed it, he ultimately obliged. There was nothing that he wanted or required. In fact, he had wanted to see Skoll, to see Morganna... to see Mother... He kept his lips sealed. It was a good thing Asriel had already found out about that; a part of him had dreaded telling about Elettra's passing. It was courtesy not to, say, shoot the messenger, but it was usually Skoll's misfortune for it to happen anyway. At the very least, that bullet had been dodged.

"I was curious to see what happened to the kingdom I left behind; I'd hoped to see that you and Morganna had inherited Willow Ridge."

Skoll's tail swept to one side and back. Aha. His head returned to it's normal position, the suspicion partially gone from his face now that he looked upon his golden-caped brother fully. "Uncle Nicolo was hard to dethrone. I couldn't do it," he revealed. "Morganna went north and I had to leave--" He opted to keep his reasons why unsaid for the sake of keeping this particular story short and sweet, "When I returned, our youngest sister Ravenna secured her birthright. At her side, my son Sven serves as her right paw." Here, a sliver of pride flickered across his face, puffing his chest if only for a mere moment. "Willow Ridge still belongs to us." He kept quiet about Niles and Isolde; if Asriel ever wanted to hear more about the siblings who had come after them, he would need to ask for specific details.

(This post was last modified: Jun 05, 2018, 06:12 AM by Skoll.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Nicolo...Asriel squinted. Was he the one who had taken the throne after Elettra passed away? Asriel didn't like the sound of that- he wasn't even sure that he remembered a Nicolo; he remembered Sorya, but not Nicolo. A small thrum of a growl reverbrated in his throat, humming past his sealed lips when Skoll admitted that he couldn't take the throne, and that when Morganna left, he had to as well. It didn't sit well with Asriel that not one of Elettra's three firstborn children had inherited the throne at Willow Ridge; she had groomed them, but it had seemingly been usurped by an uncle that Asriel didn't even know- and an uncle who had made both Morganna and Skoll leave, for whatever reasons had caused them to make that decision. Skoll kept that private, Asriel noticed- but he didn't press the issue. Why he left didn't matter, so much- but Asriel could only assume it was likely because Nicolo had felt that his position in the pack might be less secure with two of Elettra's children there, ready to snatch the throne that was rightfully theirs to begin with. 

He nodded when Skoll spoke about Ravenna, whom Asriel had already met. She was a younger sister of their- so still, Asriel would have preferred had Ravenna stepped aside to allow Morganna or even Skoll to take their rightful place, but Skoll didn't seem too upset- in fact, he seemed quite proud that his son, a male named Sven, led alongside her. So two Archers still held the alpha ranks at Willow Ridge- Ravenna, their sister, and her own nephew, Sven. Having noted the look of pride on Skoll's face, he couldn't help but reflect a bit of that on his own. At least Nicolo was gone- and Archers still led the pack. 

"I'd always thought it would be us," He said, thoughtfully. "You, Morganna and I; but as long as the Ridge still belongs to Archers...I suppose no complaints can be made." He said. "And what of the two of you now- do you lead the pack you have?" He asked. 

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