Turtleback Lake [BWP] The past is everything we were

RE: A recent heat wave has left the forest drier than usual.
@Hawthorne
Takes place along the southern shore of Turtleback, where the Falls meets the lake

Elias hadn't yet dared to venture into the forest. Not this one at least, it was thicker, denser than the one to the east of the Keep. Darker too, who knew what secrets hid in it's depths? Elias had no real drive to venture forth into the unknown, he wasn't particularly brave nor was he an explorer. Things were still rather tense and Elias had no interest in annoying any other neighbours that had claimed the land before @Nineva and her crew had even thought about crossing the mountain.

Things had seemingly come to an impasse. But not the good sort, their was bad blood between the two neighbouring packs and Elias wasn't sure if anything could ever be done to make it better. He couldn't help but wonder if the Driftwood Surge wolves would take offence if they knew he was there, limping around somewhat close to their home? He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth, hopefully it wouldn't come to that, today at least.

He kicked a pebble with his good paw and watched it tumble into the lake with a soft little splish. He was half tempted to jump on in after it, it was so hot today-and every other day. Maybe that was why everyone was so cranky and on edge.

(This post was last modified: Jul 05, 2018, 11:18 PM by Elias.)

There's cranky and then there's Hawthorne.

She was getting far too antsy to keep sitting around within the Edge's borders. She knew the threat of coyotes was still real but at this point, she couldn't care less. If they were really so bad why hadn't they started intruding on pack lands? Must have not been so brave after all.

Her paws lead her north towards the lake. Part of her considered going to see Matheo but she didn't know if she really wanted to go bothering him. What if he didn't want to hang out and she had come all this way for nothing? Yikes. So instead she opted for a lonesome adventure. Or at least she thought it was going to be a lonesome adventure. There was a blonde figure up ahead. She would have thought he was good looking to some degree if he hadn't been so big. Hawthorne liked her boys a bit more lean (exhibit A. Sachiel with the exception of Matheo) so it was a good thing she wasn't here to ogle at strangers.

A sniff of the air gave her an unfamiliar scent cloaking his form. Obviously not a part of her own pack or the Surge. Curiosity got the best of her so she strode forward and offered an almost too deep chuff.

Elias glanced away from the lake to see an unfamiliar dark from in the not so far distance. They weren't close enough to say they'd snuck up on him but he should have heard them coming. Probably would have if he hadn't been kicking stones about. Nonetheless, he stood up a little straighter and waved his tail in-arguably, an overzealous- greeting. He'd gotten so used to running into coyotes these days, a friendly face was all he needed.

"Hey! It's hot out today, right?" He stepped forward to wade into the lake a little, inadvertently hiding his bird-feet in the process. "Come on in, the water's great!"

Okay, maybe it was laying it all on a little too thick. The words tasted sickly sweet the moment they left his tongue. He couldn't help but cringe as he internally hecked so many times he lost count. Maybe this was salvageable, they seemed young-ish, maybe they wouldn't call him out on his cringeyness. Hopefully. A boy could dream.

She physically cringed at his joyful greeting. Her eyes narrowed into a signature Selwyn Squint that she had been honing over the last few months. Tail flicked behind her almost in annoyance. Pretty sure my dads warned me about not going swimming with strangers. Her words were a bit clipped as she eyed his form. Yeah it was hot and she might have entered the water had he not seemed so enthusiastic about it. I'm not interested in getting drowned today. Sorry. She dismissed it with a lift of her head.

Where are you from, huh? Don't recognize you. Or your smell. Maybe he was a drifter but he looked a bit too well taken care of, along with the fact that he had the smell of others lingering on him. She needed something valuable to take back to the Edge and learning about new neighbors could be just the thing.

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

Scouting dem 1/3

Oh.

Elias flinched, hard, at her harsh words. She hadn't yelled or growled at him, but he couldn't help but feel as though this was worse. That it was so effortless, automatic, made him regret even offering, even trying to be nice. As if he could be anything but. His tail nosedived down between his legs before he flicked it back up. It wasn't a big deal, there was no use in getting all upset about it.

"No no, it's okay. It was stupid." He was quick to backpeddle, to force another smile to pretend as though everything was peachy. No hard feelings, not from his side anyway. "You can never be too careful."

Elias knew that well enough, he'd met enough savoury sorts to understand the world was never going to be as safe as he'd once thought. The fact that her dads had instilled that knowledge in her was good...He was a little jealous, maybe. Ignorance wasn't always bliss.

"Huh?Oh." He mumbled, snapped out of his reprieve. He lifted his front pays up and down as he splished about, as if he needed a moment to think about it. "Vigils Keep. We're...sort of recent? Set up a moon ago ,or so. Across the lake." If he squinted hard enough he could sort of-maybe?- see the rocky shore, the edge of Nineva's kingdom.

"Would...would it be rude if I asked where you were from?" He was half tempted to add whether her dads had warned her about that too, but he didn't want the yearling to think he was mocking her.

(This post was last modified: Jul 20, 2018, 09:37 PM by Elias.)

As she neared the lake a bit closer, she noted tracks in the earth. Deer tracks. That was promising but she was probably too close to the other packs to be picking on their prey. A brow raised sharply at his words. Vigils Keep and across the lake? She didn't bother hidnig her snort. Hawthorne couldn't wait to see how the Surge wolves would take this. Maybe she should go make that visit Matheo.

Nah because I already know where you're staying at. Was that a threat? Maybe. Shallows Edge, down in the falls. That was all she was willing to hand over for now. Her features crinkled as she sniffed at the coyote prints in the earth. The scent was far too fresh for her liking. Hawthorne knew better than to try scrapping the vermin by her own which meant her time here would probably be short lived. She wasn't done with Blondie just yet, though.

What's your name? The yearling was trying to soak up as much information as possible before heading back to Askan and Reyes. Surely they would want to hear about this.

Scouting dem 2/3

Shallows Edge? That name vaguely rang a bell. Was that one of the packs Nineva's Queensguard had mentioned? The tall dark one? Possibly, Elias didn't have a lot of time to mull it over as the stranger went onto ask for his name. Unlike the dark yearling Elias didn't hesitate, he had no qualms about sharing his name. The Selwyn had nothing to hide, the way he saw it he had to lead by example. Maybe if he was friendly and honest she'd relax a little too. Or maybe not, it was impossible to tell.

"Elias Selwyn."He offered dipping his head to make it formal, proper.

He wondered how much he was supposed to say, would Nineva be interested in relations with Shallows Edge? Maybe? Friends and allies were always good things to have, right? His uncle had always stressed the importance of inter-pack relations, that whilst they weren't manditory it was always good to have allies to fall back on when times got tough.

"I'm sure my... Queen would like to speak with your... dads?" He could only assume they reigned over her pack. "Maybe they could come pay her a visit?" Was that too presumptious to ask? To expect her leaders to make all of the effort? He shifted his weight from one paw to the next.

The wind rusted the branches of the nearby trees and-oh. More coyotes? Would Elias never have a peaceful day at the lake? He sighed as, had he hands he would have pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe...I'm not being creepy, promise but there are coyotes. Maybe we ought to get a move on?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 20, 2018, 09:37 PM by Elias.)

S for swears bc hawth

She laughed.

Like full on laughed. The kind of laugh you made when someone made the funniest joke you had ever heard in your whole life.

No shit, huh? You sure don't look like one. She remarked a bit more lighthearted (although by no means friendly) than her previous tone. He didn't act like one either. At least not the ones she knew. While Sachiel had a friendly streak she didn't think he was even this outgoing - unless he was living a double life.

She raised a brow sharply. Yeah dads. Plural. Because she figured that was the part he was stuck on and not that he was maybe asking something better. She scoffed slightly, finding him almost narrow minded if that was what he was getting stuck on. Granted Hawthorne had known the Reyan duo over half of her life and two dudes being dads was totally normal to her. Yeah maybe. They're busy individuals but something can probably be arranged. Worse case scenario they exchanged scouts or whatever. Wasn't like Hawthorne would protest to doing some scouting.

Ah shit. She huffed as her fur bristled some. If we head into the trees we have a better chance of losing them. Trust me.

Scouting dem 3/3

Look like what? Elias tipped his head to the side in obvious confusion. He'd been about to ask, but the yearling continued on before he could even get a word in edge ways. From her -strangely familiar- squint he could tell that she didn't approve of his questioning tone. He hadn't meant to insult her, or her father figures for the matter, he had just been a hesitant to refer to them with such...casual titles. It wasn't all bad though, she didn't shoot down his suggestion. Maybe Vigils Keep could get along with some of it's neighbours, they just had to make the effort, maybe even take the incentive.

At her suggestion Elias nodded. He would have done pretty much anything she said, because for some reason or another he trusted her- and maybe it was because...he wanted her to trust him too.

"Of course, lead the way? I've never really been in those woods before... And Elias was pretty good at getting himself lost. At that point it didn't really matter where they went, all he wanted to do was to shake the coyotes off his scent, lest he lead them back to the Keep...