Cold Water Creek there's a fire starting in my heart

@Leith

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

He hummed softly as he made his way through the thick trees of the area, glancing up to see them barren of any leaves. It was a shame to arrive to such a land in such harsh of a season. Perhaps if they had arrived in spring, or perhaps summer even, things might have been different. Perhaps the surroundings would have been incapsulating, stunning and a sight to beholden, but instead everything was just dead. He glanced over his shoulder to his constant travel companion, the shy Stark boy not realizing how familiar these lands would be to his parents or to Leith. He was blissfully unaware of the fact that these lands were just a day’s travel south of the place where Leith was born.

“Oi, ya keepin’ up okay, Lee?” He asked curiously, his voice naturally softer than that of his obnoxiously nosy older brother. “Ya reckon there’ll be some grub ta find near ‘ere?” He asked, the thick accent that most of his siblings had adopted from his mother hanging heavy over the silence of the forest despite his timid demeanor. The sun was hanging high in the sky, so there was plenty of time to hunt for food before they might find a cave or old dug out to rest in for the night. Landen preferred not to travel by night, especially when clouds hung thick in the sky. It made him nervous of getting lost, though he supposed there was no real way of getting lost when you didn't have a destination in mind.

Landen had begged their parents to let him go out and explore and, of course, Leith couldn’t resist sticking his nose in places it didn’t belong. He’d insisted he’d go along and keep the kiddo company, maybe show him around the old stomping ground (and see if those nasty coyotes were still hanging around). Lach and Lil had been concerned, rightfully so, but it wasn’t like he was going to get his brother killed. If Leith could get himself this far with his less desirable antics, surely he could keep himself and the yearling going. Thus, they’d set out on their journey.</p>

Landen was much more reserved than Leith, but that was a given. Leith was mayhem incarnate, a ‘shithead’ as so many affectionately called him. He wore this as a badge of honor. But, he thought he may have been rubbing off on his sibling. He was getting lippier, a little sassier, and honestly the man reveled in it. When Landen called back to him to make sure he was keeping up the pale man snorted, lengthening his stride and giving a rough shoulder check to his younger sibling. “Who d’ya think yer talkin’ to, huh? Best you keep up wi’ me” he said with a grin, his emerald gaze looking around them once more. He had indeed romped around these woods in his youth, those not nearly to the same extent as their more adventurous sister Makvala. Still, it brought back memories.

“Y’know, there’s ah forest south uh here tha’ got burnt ta ah crisp couple ah years ago. Ah real ol’ pack used ta live there, Oak Free Wind or somethin’ like tha’. Could smell th’ smoke all th’ way up at th’ Surge,” he remarked, wincing at how old he sounded.

(This post was last modified: Jan 19, 2021, 12:28 AM by Leith.)

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

Landen was not as bold as his older brother, and he knew that. He had always looked up to Leith and his wild tendencies, but he had never dreamed of actually being him. He still wasn’t like the man, not in the slightest, but he liked to think that some of the behaviors his brother afforded were rubbing off on him… in their own odd ways. Still, he had been a great travel companion, and Landen was lucky to have him.

He snorted softly at his brother’s comment, a wide grin splitting his features as his tail wagged eagerly. He couldn’t wait to see what his brother would be able to tell him. He was eager to learn from the chaotic jack of seemingly all trades. “M’th’one who is ahead of ya, Lee.” He pointed out sassily with a childish grin easily settled on his features, as if he were proud he had used logic in the situation to determine that Lee was indeed the one who needed to keep up.

His ears perked at the mention of a pack. “Oak Free Wind? What kinda name is that?” He asked, his voice a little foster than his brother. He seemed to know a lot about the area, which meant they had to be getting close to Driftwood Surge’s old territory right? “Wait, does that mean we’re actually gettin’ close ter the ‘yote territory?” He asked his his tail wagging. He had long since called it that after learning why his family had been driven out of their previous lands.

(This post was last modified: Jan 19, 2021, 04:15 AM by Vayko.)

Landen is travelling with Leith and Legolas

”Yer cruisin’ fer ah bruisin’, brat,” he said, looking at his kid brother with narrowed green eyes, though an amused expression still rested on his lips. Maybe the boy was growing on him, though he wouldn’t dare say that out loud. After all, he had to maintain some semblance of pride. The man cackled as his brother asked what kind of name the pack had, his head bobbing in agreement. “I dunno, guess they ain’t got as much sense as Ma ‘n Pa,” he joked. Lach and Lil were sort of fuddy duddys in Leith’s mind, but he still loved them plenty. Well, maybe not so much when he was grounded to his den for playing pranks on the elders, or playing games with his siblings like ‘whoever gets sprayed by the skunk first loses”. Nobody appreciated his humor, he was an acquired taste.

Landen asked if they were getting close to the coyote territory and he scoffed. “We’re already there, ya dingbat. S’far as I know, all of th’ Lore got taken by th’ ‘yotes, fuckin’ buzzards. Craziest thing I ever seen, Ma ‘n Pa said th’ same. Seems like they ran themselves off after they didn’t have no one to make ther chaos with. Good riddance I saw,” he said, spitting on the ground. He still had a nice scar on his ass where one of them had bitten him.

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

A twinkle of amusement flashed in the yearling’s eyes as his brother threatened him with a beating. As if his brother would lay a paw on him! He didn’t take the thread seriously, listening as his brother cackled at his words, though he just tilted his head to the side. It had been a somewhat serious question and he found the laughter had done little to sate his curiosity. “Guess not.” He mused talking about their parents. He missed them both, if he were completely honest. “Ah ‘ope they’re okay.” He knew his parents had both been worried when it came to him going off on his own, but then his older brother had swooped in and gone with him.

Somehow, Landen got the impression that hadn’t comforted his parents much, though he didn’t know why. Clearly his brother was an expert navigator and adventurer so who better to keep him safe? His ears twitched softly at the nickname, looking around. “Reall, this is th’place y’all grew up?” He asked, looking around. He didn’t know what he was expecting… perhaps something grander? “We close ta th’Surge?” He asked, eager to see the lands that their parents had once claimed as their own. He’d heard so many stories about it from Lee, Leggy and Makvala… Mak in particular had a lot to say when she was home… she tended to wander in and out, never crushing that adventurer spirit.

“Where’d ya reckon they went?” He was, of course, referring to the yotes. What if they came back? What would they do then? The coyotes had driven out a whole pack of wolves.

Landen is travelling with Leith and Legolas