Archainn Tunnels I got miles to go 'til I ever get home

Sága made her way south, following the base of the mountain through bright, peaceful forests, and over rubble that had long since made it's way down the slopes. The idea was to lay her scent as far and wide as possible, just in case either her family or Hudson's decided to cross the mountain, though in all honesty the silvery woman had almost no hope that it would help reunite anyone. What she truly desired was some time on her own. Hudson was great, as were the others, but she'd had almost no time to herself since waking up in this strange land. Perhaps a day or two to her thoughts could do her some good.

If Sága hadn't been looking for little pockets that might hold onto her fur, or protect her scent from the wind, she might have missed the entrance to the tunnels entirely. The way the shadows played along the rockface, twisting and turning with every curve, or sudden spike could trick the eye. Once she noticed it, however, she found her interest piqued.

Never one to deny an adventure, the Tainn woman made her way into the darkness, past a large, mostly-frozen lake, and then through a series of tunnels beyond.

@Marian just you're like aware? lol <3

The belly of the mountain had a voice. "oooOOOOoOOOOOOOOooooO," Azra called out in a low voice too formless and lazy to be a howl.

"ooOOOooOOOooooOOooooOOOooOOOooooOOooooOOOooOOOooooOOoo" replied the abyssal gut of stone.

Once more he called out again, "oooOOOOoOOOOOOOOooooO," slightly softer. Feeling the sound bounce back to him at odd angles, changing the shape of his voice; in some places the rhythm as well. Because Azra was a big fan of distractions and other worlds, he let this shadow of his voice carry him away from underneath the mountain his father had died on. He hadn't even originally intended to come here or get anywhere close to the mountains but Annie had more or less nipped his tail until suddenly... they were here. She had gone off to "do her own thing" and Azra had used this as an opportunity to meander. The ground was steep but still grassy....ish, and it was easy to forget he had ever been here at all as a scorched little baby.

Then he found a yawning mouth right in a cliff face. Actually, there were a lot of holes but most of them looked very high up. Holes for bats, probably, he mused with a smile. Bat holes. Only one was accessible to Azra but he could barely squeeze himself through it, it was almost as if it was meant for smaller wolves. There was almost an audible POP! when he scraped and squeezed his way through. Fleetingly, he wondered if he was going to even be able to get out of here without Annie's help. He turned into the darkness and began walking.

It was several hours of ooo'ing into nothingness when the tunnel began to slope up and little holes in the ceiling left little impressions of sparkling starlight on the floor. Bigger holes let full beams of sunlight down in the tunnel, strong as tree trunks. "oooOOOOoOOOOOOOOooooO,"

That's where he found her, standing in the light, staring out into the dark, chilled lake.

"Oh," was all he could say.

I love him. I love everything about him. He is so cute omg.

Her russet-tipped ears swiveled at the sound of an, "oooOOOOoOOOOOOOOooooO," to her right.  Slightly startled, the woman took a step back before her eyes settled on the pristinely pale form of a wolf. Sunlight spilled from the ceiling, onto his coat in tiny pools, shifting with each breath that expanded his chest. They seemed to be of an age, though he stood perhaps a little taller than she did. All in all, the important thing was that he was real, and not at all some vengeful cave spirit sent by the Gods to trap her in this cave.. probably...

Saga's head cocked at his, "Oh.", feeling almost as though she had gotten in the way of something. "Oh, uh.. hello." The words fell awkwardly from her tongue. "Were.. uh... were you singing?" She certainly hoped not.  Awkwardness aside, when he didn't deign to charge at her, or offer any hostile body language she let herself settle in a neutral position, though her tail picked up a friendly wave. Perhaps he might have information on either Hudson's family or her own?

(This post was last modified: Jan 30, 2021, 01:59 PM by Saga.)

Sága is currently travelling with Huddy, Aubine, Adelard, Rhaegara, Riven, Maugrim & Hrun

is azra the spirit in "into the unknown" ?? we'll just never know

Her greeting was awkward but it was as gentle as her face, radiating silver light in the gloom after it had relaxed. Gradually the lingering remnants of his voice echoing faded away. Taking her in, he decided she was probably around the age of Annie and himself, which instantly struck him as strange. Was this another wolf he should have grown up with, in another time or another place? Her eyes were soft like the moss cushioning his paws just outside these tunnels. She looked like she could handle herself, that she was capable the same way Annie was.

"Singing?" Choking audibly, he responded with a thorough head shake, "Oh no, no, uhmmm..." But it kind of was, wasn't it?  "I suppose maybe. I'm not very good am I?" he said as he began to chuckle a bit. "It was just so boring walking through here on my own. I thought I'd keep myself company."

"I'm sorry, I'm Azra" he straightened a bit as if it would make him look more presentable, even with his poor musical abilities. "And i should say... this cave light bouncing off the water really suits you."

Upon his admission that he might have been singing, a giggle bubbled up from her chest and a playful smirk pulled at the corner of her maw. "I mean, I wouldn't say you were bad." Not out loud, for sure. Saga hoped that the playful lift of her paw would be enough to show the man that she was trying to laugh with him, not at him. "But I did want to know where these tunnels lead, if you're still wanting company?" She tilted her head towards the caves at the back of the chamber, signaling that perhaps they should walk. "I definitely can't compete with what you had going on before though."

Whereas she might have normally taken such a compliment in stride, Azra caught her off-guard. Blinking, the silvery fae felt a warmth creep up her neck, and spread across her cheeks. "Oh.. I uhhh..." Wow. Very eloquent. "Thank you. You too." You too? Mentally kicking herself, Saga attempted to change the subject. "You haven't uhh.. you haven't met any Macieos or Tainns, have you?" Ugh, and she had forgotten to introduce herself. Great.

(This post was last modified: Feb 03, 2021, 12:22 AM by Saga.)

Sága is currently travelling with Huddy, Aubine, Adelard, Rhaegara, Riven, Maugrim & Hrun

"Ehhhhh," he said, quirking his head and drawing back his ears as if to say I'm not so sure about that. But if the girl wanted to be polite, then that was more than alright. Azra was not one to argue. He sat back and laughed with her, since he never needed an excuse to laugh at himself. Or with himself. Whichever. He noted, barely, that he was making comparisons of this girl to Annie. Her giggle was more lyrical, and she did not snort. These were not bad things, just different, and he wasn't sure why his brain seemed to care.

He hardly noticed, though, that his compliment seemed to unbalance the stranger. Cheerily, he closed his eyes and bobbed his head along with her words. "Yes, yes, they tell me I'm very dash—" he didn't know what a Maceio was, but immediately he realized that she had said Tainn! "What a mighty coincidence, actually. I'm traveling with another girl who is half Tainn. And I myself am... something like a quarter Tainn through mateship. Are you?"

Azra leaned in closer to study her face, even though he had already declared her pretty. She didn't much look like any Tainn's that he had heard of. They were normally dark or agouti, as far as he knew. And their eyes were gold. "A Tainn, that is. I mean. Are you a Tainn?" There sure were a lot of them, so it wasn't the wildest deer in the herd.

She felt her heartbeat thumping against her chest as a small rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins. He knew of the Tainns, and was travelling with one? Saga tasted the air again, searching for the other scent that must be clinging to his coat, and hoping desperately to find her sister's perfume there. When she found no trace of familiarity there, she felt her tail fall, if only a fraction of an inch. So she wouldn't find her family today, that was okay. There was still tomorrow.

Her disappointment was short lived, however, as his mention of not only travelling with a Tainn, but potentially being one through mateship was intriguing indeed. "Yeah, sorry." Once again, the silvery woman felt a wave of awkwardness at skipping over her introductions. "I'm Sága Tainn." But he obviously wouldn't know her through her name alone, since she didn't know him through his, but she would get to the bottom of this. "Who are you travelling with? And who are you related through?" She didn't know the entirety of the Tainn family, of course, but her father had told her enough, and her grandfather had taught her even more.

Sága is currently travelling with Huddy, Aubine, Adelard, Rhaegara, Riven, Maugrim & Hrun

"Saga..." he whispered without even realize his mouth was open. "Like a story." Azra loved a good story—after everything, they were all he had. What a mighty coincidence indeed! What a name. He was floored. The Donata had told Annie he didn't really believe in such things. It truly did seem like the land had some sort of mysterious plan for them all, placing Saga right in his footsteps through the mountain. What this meant, he didn't know, but he was certainly intrigued.

Her question shook him from his momentary reverie, and he blinked rapidly to clear the dream away—though it still clung to his eyelids. "Her name is Annie, Marian. I think she said herrr... mom? Was from Secret Woodlands out west. I've never been out that way. And, well, when it comes to me, my Grandma was Corinna Donata, her first mate was Indru Tainn so I'm like... half related to a lot of their kids and like, Oak Tree Bend in general. That's where I was born."

"What about you?" It was interesting, comparing relatives. This was not something he could do outside of Relic Lore.

"Yeah," Her grin shifted from playful to warm. "like a story." While she couldn't be sure what her mother's intentions were in giving her such a name, it felt somehow like she had expected Saga to be a part of a story greater than herself, or walk a path much more suited to legends, and heroes, and it felt like pressure, and high expectations, and honestly, the woman had never really been fond of any of those things. There were worse things than disappointing your parents, however.

She listened as he spoke, waiting for something to ping in her head, or for a connection to be made. Annie and Marian were names she did not recognize, and Secret Woodlands didn't sound familiar. Her brows knit together in quiet contemplation as she tried to piece together a connection. It wasn't until he mentioned Indru that the metaphorical lightbulb went off. "Oh, Triell! My great grandpa's name was Triell." While the young Tainn had never had the pleasure of meeting him, her grandfather still spoke of him. "I think they were brothers?" Or were they... cousins? Something like that.. yeah.. "And my grandpa Darrah was born in Oak Tree Bend!" But if Azra was only half-related to Indru's kids, and Corinna was his grandma then that meant that they weren't related? Right? "So that would mean that you are not my cousin, but like... my cousin's cousin?" Gods family trees were hard.

(This post was last modified: Feb 03, 2021, 03:37 AM by Saga.)

Sága is currently travelling with Huddy, Aubine, Adelard, Rhaegara, Riven, Maugrim & Hrun

i kept having to tell myself "this isn't sahalie. you are not related!!!"

Wow. He was for sure going to tell Annie about this.

He could tell by the way her expression knit together in confused contemplation that he wasn't striking a cord with her at first. So she wasn't related to Marian. Annie had already mentioned having a sister, and while Azra hadn't met her he assumed they would look more similar and at least smell the same, so he wasn't really expecting much there. However, he certainly hadn't expected Saga to say a name so similar.

Triell? Wow!" quickly, he leapt back to his feet, his tail sending the dust motes suspended in the sun-shafts eddying away. And he had heard of Darrah, too! Though not quite as much. "Triell used to lead Oak Tree Bend before my dad did! He survived the original wildfire that took out the Wildwood!" He was kind of like a legend. Triell had not ended things well with his father, but Azra didn't really want to mention that. It wasn't so important, now. Saga didn't seem anything like that.

"Triell was Indru's little brother, yeah! So yeah that's...like uhm." Fitting this all together was like mental gymnastics, like a fox trying to catch a bird. Well my dad was Triell's half uncle and then you're his daughter... ". Were there words for this? "You know what, cousin's cousin is good". Otherwise they'd be there all day. "I just can't believe there are so many connections out here. Like, I just walk five feet"—a bit more than that—"and there you are!"

"I think this will make a good story."