Drooping Willows I am a cloud watcher, are you?

AW! Claw had decided to do some cloud watching.

Unbeknownst to Claw, unlike the rest of the Lore which seemed to be set ablaze metaphorically with the impending change of the seasons, things were rather peaceful amongst the band of wolves that called the Split home. At least for the most part if you factored out the old man having itchy paws and going out on more adventures than usual since his lover bid the group a temporary adieu. The thought caused a smug sneer to temporarily cross the boy's features. Yet another tool to add to his arsenal for picking on the older man. Nothing more, nothing less. Who one curled up with at night held little to no interest for the young teen.

Salmon tongue split once closed jaws that had been contently nestled atop outstretched paws moments ago, rolling out like a red carpet before an obnoxious yawn bellowed forth. Despite the snow that still controlled most of the ground, some patches of fresh green grass were beginning to fight for their right to enjoy what sunlight became more frequent through the broken cloud cover. Claw included when his makeshift duties could be considered complete. There was only so much cache filling a young teen could handle.

Currently the marbled teen had found himself caving into the wanderlust itch his paws held, seeking solace beneath the wispy boughs of the willows he often played amongst as a pup whenever the lagoon didn't lure him in first. It was amongst these smooth barked trees that a more recent scent trail of @Clouse had piqued his interest briefly, said curiosity though soon faltering and giving way to boredom once more as the trail eventually reached a dead end. A gentle groan rumbled within the depths of his chest as he shifted about, twisting in order to roll onto his back and allow his paws to fall against his chest while the emerald hue of his gaze fixated on the rolling clouds above, blinking whenever a rogue ray of sunlight managed to pierce the thin canopy shielding him.

"What shapes can I find today?"

Word Count: 345

Something was wrong. The air had been different, the scents of the women in the pack changing- besides Eve, of course. The 'birds and the bees' was a typical parent to child story which Eve would rather do without, though she had an idea. She wasn't an idiot, after all. But what had mostly perturbed her was that her father's attention had been otherwise split. Before, it was just her parents, her cousin Ra and her two brothers. Clouse had come, Ra's brother, which she at all didn't mind. It wasn't until Niamh arrived did things begin to change.

Ra was in lighter spirits. Eve would see her whispering with the new woman. Clouse was putting meat back on Ra's thin bones as well. That was good... but, then her father smelt of the new woman, alot and there was a tense air with her mother that Eve had not felt before. Eve had successfully avoided the new woman in their pack and so stole further distance by heading west.

Since her time leading Ra into this direction, Eve had become more and more interested in lands beyond the day to day views of the same quiet forest she had been born to. Those mountains seemed massive. Even wanted to know what was around them or in them.

She trailed that way though in her heart knew she would not stray far, not without her brothers. Living with only her immediate family the majority of her life thus far, she had not quite expected to run into a stranger or knew exactly what to do when she had.

She stopped quick, staring down at the young male, belly up and looking at the sky. "Who'er you?" It came out a bit brash but, that was just Eve for you.

Dark fur absorbed what little warmth the sun offered the world below as he laid there, content to bask in its glory as long as he pleased. Another break in the floating clouds above had tan lined lids squeezing to banish the excess brightness away momentarily until the next batch of shadows cast below swept over his face, allowing the teen to open his eyes once more. "Hmm." He humored nobody but himself as his gaze once more studied the various fluffiness of the clouds passing overhead. "Ah, a rabbit!" He would exclaim in a rare display of true childish nature, the corner of his lips tugging back to form a toothy upside down grin while an ebony lined limb pawed at the spied creaturesque shape in the sky. Unaware that his peaceful solitude would soon be interrupted.

Who'er you?

Consumed in his state of relaxation the sudden and unexpected voice from a stranger that shattered his peace all but had the boy jumping in his skin and immediately rolling back onto his belly to seek out its maker. Emerald eyes narrowed against the filtered sunlight to spot a stark chocolate silhouette against the otherwise still mundane background, a twitch of his nose picking up on a peculiar note to the strangers scent. It wasn't anything like the scent that mingled recently on Lantana's fur, but more akin to that of Clouse for some reason. How strange.

"Claw." He muttered out gruffly while slowly pushing himself up into a seated position, remaining neutral in posture despite the internal annoyance at having his sunbathing cloud watching combo exploited. "And yerself?" The question was returned, cream brow quirking in genuine curiosity. Of all the times he had wandered about these trees he had heard of others dwelling near by he just hadn't seen a living soul to prove it.

The boy jumps quick, rolling back onto his belly and looking to her with a narrowed gaze. Far different then the toothy grin on his features when he had been staring up at the sky. Eve's own sky eyes stared back at him and she couldn't help the bit of mischievous giggle that slipped from her lips at having nearly spooked him out of his skin.

"Eve." She introduced back when he asked, after having stared his name was 'Claw'. A simple, almost...primal name, she guessed. Like being called 'Moss' or 'Mud'. And his markings on his pelt did kind of remind her of mud, honestly. The way his paws and muzzle were, it was like he had dipped them in some thick mud or a tar of some sort. At least, that was the best she could think of. Though the patterns arced and streaked throughout his coat of otherwise pale cream like the sands around the part of the Lagoon she had ventured to. She hadn't seen anything like it before and she hadn't realized she was staring.

Shaking her skull and sitting down as he lifted himself up into a sit, she went on back to talking. "Your fur looks cool." She blurted. Far different then her own all brown all around color. The prettiest she felt she had was her eyes, pale and bright like clear morning skies.

"Are you one of the wolves Clouse lives with?" Since she had been heading that way and she found him, it was the simplist thing Eve could guess. Clouse had been going back and forth and maybe Claw had been curious of those east just as Eve had been curious of those west.

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2023, 04:48 PM by Nineve.)

For a brief moment swarthy lined ears splayed back to lay against his skull in direct response to the mischievous giggle he heard fall from her lips, a small wave of embarrassment causing the skin beneath his cheeks to flush a bit at having been caught in such a vulnerable state. Lucky for the boy his fur all but hid such bodily reactions, able to maintain some level of coolness despite the unexpected hiccup to his day.

Much in the simplistic way he answered her, a name was bluntly given in return. Eve she had dubbed herself before those piercing, sky blue eyes bore into him from across the way. Unlike his rather flashy fur he had yet to see even a remote resemblance in another, the young girl sported a solid and otherwise boring pelt. Yet those eyes of hers were mesmerizing in themselves the way they seemed to mirror the bright blue morning sky above on a clear day, effectively displayed while nestled neatly against her chocolate fur.

After some would be awkward silence that followed her observing stare, the girl gave a shake of her head before blurting out a statement. Never before had the young Archer been told his fur was cool looking and such a rare compliment had his cheeks warming once more, figuring his fur was anything but cool since it made him stand out so much and garnish unwanted attention at times from others. A trademark he assumed he inherited from his bastard father, but mother never confirmed.

"Er, thanks. I like your eyes." A compliment deserved a compliment back right? So was the way of proper manners he thought after spending much of his time with the band of others at the Split, his social skills gradually improving from the otherwise feral state one could assume he was in the day Loach had stumbled upon him. Curiosity washed over Claw's face hearing Clouse's name, ears pivoting forward to better hear her next posed question. She was smart too.

Claw gave a small nod of his head to first answer her. "Yeah, I happened to find one of his scent trails and decided to follow it. Had nothing better to do." He admitted, a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. What was a teen to do when the itch for exploring struck? "You related to 'em?" Further curiosity shone behind his emerald gaze, wondering if it was just a coincidence she had a similar smell to herself due to him visiting, or was this teenage girl another estranged member of his family he was only recently starting to discover. If so, the questions would be endless.

His ears fell back, but he did not shy away. Both Eve's brothers were rather quiet young wolves, Eve always being the boldest, most daring, loudest. Maybe Claw was a quiet wolf too and Eve would do her best to be gentle with him. You know, just in case.

Again, his features looked a little, awkward, embarrassed. Eve's chocolate front feet shifted about. She wasn't much used to interactions outside her family and, being a small group, it required the adults to often be gone- hunting, guarding. It had always been Eve and her two brothers to keep one another company.

"Thanks." A delicate smile then touched her features as her tail began to wave along her backside.

And then, interest sparked in his eyes and Eve was all willing to further give and take with the conversation. "Yeah, we're cousins of some sort.. Clouse and his sister Ra, who lives with us, their father and my grandfather were brothers, I think." There was a 'hrmmm' on her lips as he head is tilted up, hinting that she might not be quite sure. Gaze once more turning back down to Claw, she shrugs. After all, she hadnt even met any of those wolves and, "Apparently us Archers are a pretty big family, so I've been told." And yet, as it were, most seemed to have gone from these Wildwoods long ago.

(This post was last modified: Jun 13, 2023, 03:10 PM by Nineve.)

Cream painted brows quirked themselves upward immediately in response to her declaration that the duo were in fact related, following along the lines of cousins of some sort. Whatever that entailed was lost on Claw for he never bothered to get himself tangled in the messy roots that sometimes came with ones family tree, nor bothered to pry such information from his mother. Luckily, though, Eve managed to shed some light on the subject otherwise cast in darkness that had only just begun to catch his interest.

Claw mirrored the slight hrmm that she had made prior as his mind attempted to wrap itself around this familial concept, finding it actually began to manifest a small pain behind his eyes while figuring out how cousins and grandparents fit into the equation with one another. It was only the part of possibly being siblings that made the easiest bit of sense to the young boy before his attention was drawn away by the utterance of a surname the boy actually knew well if only thanks to his mother when he was younger. Archer.

The connection shown brightly behind his emerald gaze. "Archer you say? I'm an Archer." He confessed to another for the first time in his young life, an odd sensation flooding himself. Where its source came from he knew not whether it be some form of validation that he wasn't entirely alone in this cruel world, that he indeed had family outside that of his mother.

Mother.

Had she known this entire time?!

There was a brightness cast into his gaze, where already his eyes were bright in vivid lime green coloration. She was an Archer. He was too. These lands were once teeming with them and had deverted to more or less ghost stories when all the wolves had seemingly moved on to greener pastures. Now, a new chapter. Perhaps once more the Archer name would come to life and reign supreme as it once had. Maybe not. Eve, for one, had no interest in the duties, responsibilities and restrictions which leadership would intel. Sounded boooorrrinnnggg. Even still, she flaunted her family name well as though it still held great meaning in the Wildwoods.

"Oh yeah?" She quipped. "Neat." She lifted up to prance around him and bring herself a little closer as she gave him a playful side eye. "I guess we're like, cousins or something too." She shrugged. Besides parents and siblings, the how exactly they were related was lost on her in the same manner which Claw felt. They were family but not exactly the way her and her brothers were family. "I guess we're kind of a big deal, then. Archers." She says the name again with a rolling of her shoulders and flops back into a sit once more.

"So do you and Clouse have a pack out that way, over the mountains? Are there more Archers?" With her questions, her curiosity was obvious and by the way she watched him eagerly in wait. "I have my two brothers and parents, and Ra but, it's pretty quiet there. Nothing really interesting seems to happen."

(This post was last modified: Jul 14, 2023, 06:30 PM by Nineve.)

Unlike his newly discovered relative, Claw had not been so lucky to have his head filled with such fairy-tales of his lineage. it was only now thanks to this chance encounter that some of the fog that surrounded who he was began to lift, though, heavily obscured it still remained for the boy. The Archers were only enough to make up half of who he was, the mysterious lineage of his father making up the rest. Alas, who his father even was was still the biggest mystery of them all.

For now, Claw was content to delve into however much of their entangled history Eve was willing and capable of sharing.

Bright eyes watched the chocolate girl prance about himself for a moment before settling back down, playful side eye in tow while suggesting what their relation could possibly be. The idea of having relatives, let alone some within traveling distance of The Split, had the marbled boy's tail thumping heavily against the earth. "Yeah, I guess we must be. The next generation of mighty Archers seems like a big deal to me." He flashed a toothy grin toward the girl, the speed in which his tail thumped increasing slightly.

It would seem the level of curiosity was bubbling over between the two of them, questions of genuine curiosity now coming from the chocolate coated girl. Was there more Archers back at the split? Claw took a moment to recall whether or not any of them had actually shared their lineage before, but no such conversation came to mind. "No, think just Clouse and myself." He admitted, allowing one ear to give a small flick before continuing on to answer the rest of her question with a small shake of his head. "Don't think we can call ourselves a pack. Just a bunch of strangers that grouped together thanks to Loach. We work well together for the most part, just surviving together." It was the best way he could describe their misfit group.

Things had been a bit boring and as Eve aged and things changed in her home with the arrival of her father's new woman, Eve's interests outside of the Willow Ridge had increased. Now, she knew one of Clouse's band and not only that, he was an Archer like her in one way or another. Having two brothers and no other age-mate members in her group, Eve was quite used to wrestling with the boys. Now she had another to do that with. Hopefully her brothers wouldn't be jealous...actually, it might be more interesting if they were!

"Before I was born, Archers ran the show around these lands. Alot of the packs had Archers as leaders or were members who branched off from an Archer pack." Between Avella and Ra, she had the info and Claw seemed interested in hearing about it. She wondered if his own parents or grandparents used to rule here too.

Then, she huffs, nodding along with what Claw had said. "Yeah, it definitely hasn't been easy for us, either... Others come and go, but its never enough for us to feel, secure, you know?" It was just one struggle after another. Eve was itching for 'greener pastures' for sure.

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2023, 07:33 PM by Nineve.)