Skeletal Hill The world goes round and change is all we see

For @Adelard please

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

For once, Enera really wasn't sure how to feel. She was getting older, and both her body and mind were changing, and now there was all of this going on. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she knew something within the pack had changed, beyond the season. If the new smells and snappy attitudes weren't bad enough...

She was excited to be an older sister, mostly. She felt like she'd be good at it. She wanted to tell her little siblings all the stories Mama had told her, take them to all her favorite places to play. She hadn't told Marrah or Caelyn about it yet, but she was going to eventually. She was happy to share sister duties, since both their parents had...

Enera scowled and stomped harder as she walked, determinedly leaving the borders to go find somewhere else to sulk for a while. Why couldn't things just be like they were before the winter? Before everyone disappeared and things got cold, before everyone was fighting. She didn't like this new tension in the territory. The place she'd always felt so safe and loved was now filled with tension and bitterness. It wasn't right.

She had reservations about her Ma having other pups, too. She knew Mama would love her forever, of course, and Enera was excited for more little family members, but she also worried that maybe Mama would be so busy with her new children that she wouldn't have time for her. She felt selfish, thinking that; at least she still had a mom, even if she didn't have a dad. And that was another thought that made her walk faster. Her new siblings didn't have a dad, either. None of them had dads.

Enera was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't see the warning signs until she'd stepped out of the trees and into the grey clearing. Well, 'clearing' was a generous word. The young Rayvne girl stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the pile of weathered bones. Many were sun bleached and cracking after however long in the elements. But that didn't matter; there were so many. Enera's jaw dropped as she soaked in the sheer amount of animals that must have died to make this hill.

She was beginning to back up when her eyes caught on one near the base of the hill, grinning at her from resting place. A wolf's skull. She knew it had to be by its size and the teeth bared at her. Enera's ears fell flat and she dropped to the ground, huddled in a defensive crouch as she slowly began inching her way backwards into the safety of the trees.

Since Woya's response to his proposal of courtship, Adelard had been her shadow. He slept curled around her and traced her every step, day and night. Only when it seemed that her heat had dissipated did he feel comfortable peeling away from her. The coupling season had been frustrating for everyone. It was time to allow her some personal space. He would be back for her soon enough.

First things first: check on the cubs. Caelyn and Marrah were easy to trace, but as for Enera... His eyes squinted as her trail gradually led him outside territory lines. Out along the river banks, he followed her. He had an inkling of where she might have gone, but she was not at the fork in the stream. Instead, her scent led north.

Adelard pressed onward, head and tail level with his spine. He might have been large and intimidating for his species but he still had some sense to keep his wits about him.

Against the backdrop of evergreen bark and fresh ferns he easily spotted her, but she was not okay. Her rump rounded and tucked as she backed away. The Leader prowled forward until he saw what it was she had been afraid of. At first impression, it seemed there was nothing wrong. No immediate sense of danger, the scent of blood, or otherwise...

He came to a stop at the treeline. Not wanting to startle her outright, he called into the clearing, "Enera?" A pause to see if her stark white figure would turn to face him. This time his tone was more inquisitive as if wondering what she was up to, "Enera?"

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

Enera's ears were flicking about, listening for any sound of someone sneaking up on her, but her eyes were locked on the wolf skull. It looked like it had been there a long time and she didn't smell anyone else, but someone who would create a pile like this might be able to hid their scent. They might even be like that lady Adelard had once told her about - a spirit. Did spirits have scents? Did they make sounds? Could a spirit just sneak up behind her and pouce-

Footsteps approached behind her and Enera froze, hackles rising in fear. Who was behind her? The footsteps stopped and she felt their eyes on her, but she didn't dare look away from the skull. She felt as though the moment she did the danger would fall upon her, that nothing would touch her as long as her eyes were fixed upon the dead wolf before her.

"Enera?"

The girl just about jumped out of her skin at the call, but relief washed over her as she recognized the voice. He called out again, and this time Enera was able to tear her eyes from the horrible, horrible bones and she sprinted to her leader. "Ad!" she shouted as she did, skidding to a stop just in time to avoid crashing into the man. She buried her face in his side, huddled against him and trying to block out the fear permeating her whole being.

Something short.. Adelard's slowly coming outta that March mindset, so he should come around with more than a hundred words next post.

A quick scout of the area through the treeline produced nothing unusual. Apart from the abnormal pile of bones, there was the forest, the cub, and his shadow.

"Ad!" Her yelp called his attention back to her, and when he turned she was already headed his way. His whiskered brows came up as she slid to a halt, paws digging into the forest floor. The girl hid against his ribs and the last few tufts of his winter coat. She had been scared.

"Hey, Small Teeth," he cooed, turning now to run his nose along her shoulder and spine, whatever he could reach. "What's the matter?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 04, 2022, 11:13 PM by Adelard.)

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

Enera wasn't sure she'd ever been so scared, not even when Mama told her about the wolves that killed her family and would have killed her. At least they were far away, and the worst they could do to her was haunt her nightmares. Here, now, there were bones stacked into a pile with a wolf skull. She didn't know how long it had been like that or if there was anything around to continue adding to the pile.

Adelard was comforting, and big. Nothing would dare mess with them if Ad was here, right? She was safe with Ad. Enera breathed in his familiar, comforting scent. He smelled like home, just as much as Mama did. He smelled like the pack.

The panicked girl found herself relaxing, even if just a little. His nose ran comfortingly along her back and shoulders, further soothing her. She sniffed. "There's a hill of bones," she all but cried into his side, still not wanting to move her face from his side for fear of seeing the bones again. "There's a wolf in the bones. Why is it here? Why are there bones just piled up like that?" She shuddered.

"There's a hill of bones," she told him. Adelard's head came up, eyes scanning their immediate surroundings. It was hard to miss it. The colossal collection of osseous matter laid before them undisturbed. It took a moment but he found what the girl was so taken with. He blinked as she trembled against him. There was only one possible answer.

The whole of his body curved around her as he nuzzled his nose to her ear. At first, he only shushed her with the whisper of his breath. The sooner he could pull her from her fear, the better. "It's all right. I'm here."

It was with a solemn stare that he regarded the bones again. Against the backdrop of twisted trees, the sight was, indeed, terrifying. He swallowed, inhaling a shallow breath. The stench of death and decay prospered anew with the arrival of Spring dew and new growth. Maybe one day the Lore would reclaim everything here. For now, it was all on display for all to see.

"War is a terrible thing, Small Teeth," he began in an attempt to comfort her. "But, you must not fear it. Come." The gentlest effort was made to nudge her chin up and away from him.

"Look," he encouraged, his voice low and collected. "They are merely what they are." He glanced at the girl again, a small smile on his maw, "Only bones, and nothing more."

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

Adelard continued to comfort her, and when she began babbling he curled further around to murmur in her ear. Enera sniffed and shuddered, trying to take deep breaths until he began talking about war. She knew war was terrible; war was the reason her mama got pushed from her home, why her grandparents and aunts and uncles were sky walkers. She did fear war. War should be feared, Enera thought, but she didn't argue.

He was encouraging her to look and for a moment Enera resisted, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. His calm voice eventually convinced her to pull her face away from his side and peer up again. She could see the bleached bones peeking through the slowly thickening foliage. She shuddered again and looked away. Only bones and nothing more. Is that what they would all be one day? Just bones, piled up somewhere, with no one to remember them?

Enera sniffed again. "Why is everything so different?" she asked. "Everyone's so mad. Why can't we just go back to the way we were before?" she looked imploringly up into Adelard's face.

Adelard knew nothing of the Rayvne family's violent history. In fact, he was oblivious. It could have potentially been so close it could have touched Enera if Rhaegara had not made her escape.

The Leader was patient and collected, waiting as the girl closed her eyes and shook her head. She peeked at the bones, a shiver running through her. Adelard gave a small smile, but then she sniffed, "Why is everything so different?"

His head tipped to one side and one ear flicked back.

"Everyone's so mad."

Adelard's brows rose as she wondered why they couldn't go back to how the pack had been before. He sighed and blinked for a time before focusing on her. "It'll pass," was all he could manage. After a brief moment of rendering his lips into a thin straight line, he quietly expounded, "No one is mad. Spring just... makes everyone get a little huffy is all." Half of a wry smile tugged at his jaw, "Pollen," he sniffed, an attempt made to dodge the birds-and-the-bees. On a more serious note, he gently nudged her with his nose, "Don't worry your pretty little head so."

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

It was still scary here, and Enera wanted to go back home now, but it was less frightening with Adelard there with her. His scent washed over her, calming. It, at least, remained unchanged through everything happening right now. Mama was going to have more pups. Was that why everyone was so upset, even though he denied it? Woya was the same - but then, she'd always been grumpy.

Enera scuffed her paws. She was going to be alright, and so was mama, and so were her new little siblings. Everything would go back to a new sort of normal, she was sure. She glanced back at the bones again, another small tremble coursing through her, and she took a deep breath. "Thanks dad," she said without thinking, pressing her face back into Ad's side. "I don't think I'll come here again." She mentally tracked the way she'd come so she didn't do so again accidentally.

The masked man watched as the girl's head turned to face the bones once more. She quivered, but it seemed the courage was kind enough to grant her a breath of ease. He steeled himself, his own eyes grazing over the graveyard. Death was only natural, and one day they would all return to the earth. Just like them... but, hopefully, in a more peaceful manner.

His jaw jumped as the fleeting thought of attempting to bury them all came to mind. It was a task too great for one wolf to attempt, he knew, but nature needed no help in the end.

"Thanks dad," her voice called him back to the present. He should have been surprised; but, for all he knew, he was the closest the cubs had to a father figure. Today was the day to just accept it. Enera could have been his daughter by blood, but Fate found it more endearing for her to adopt him instead.

"A fair decision," he nodded. "But, I'm sure their spirits wouldn't mind the company every so often." A tiny grin with a hint of mischief. "We'll let them be for now," he swung his body around as he reoriented himself. Easy, lumbering steps pointed him back home. Finally, there was a wag to his tail, an open invitation to lead him on a different adventure, "So, where shall we go next?"

(This post was last modified: Jun 09, 2022, 05:20 AM by Adelard.)

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher