Shroud of the Lost when the night has come

and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see;
no i won't be afraid, oh i won't be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me.

tw: Death. For @Brielle and @Ryenne, AW to Woya's family only. @Adelard @Adora
Subterritory Name: Lovers' Drop
Parent Territory: Shroud of the Lost
Coordinates: (-15.62304, -19.95117)
Picture: https://unsplash.com/photos/lsxBdL_66FQ
Description: At Lovers' Drop, the ground gives away suddenly into a chasm. At it's narrowest end is a waterfall that starts from beneath the earth, meaning it is unreachable without climbing down. Light does not reach far, and the end cannot be seen. It is unknown whether there is a pool of groundwater or a shelf of pure stone, nor if one would ever be able to find a way out even if they did survive the drop. The local wildlife remember stories of a river to another world, underground biomes that home monsters, and most notably, the one for which it is named. Many couples used to come for the beauty of the falls, but time eroded the integrity of the cliff's edge, until one fateful night a pair of young wolves sat too close. The ground fell away beneath one girl, and the other, overcome with grief, threw herself in after her beloved. From then on, the place became one to be avoided.

Bri was growing by leaps and bounds, even when it felt like just yesterday she hadn't even opened her eyes. Her world was expanding just as quickly, enabling the family to travel more and more. Still, there was a worry plaguing Woya. Summer was reaching its hottest point, and she was nowhere near the Chasm. Her thoughts drifted toward Enera more and more, concerned that maybe she would not be able to direct this loose web of a family that far in enough time to meet the girl as she had promised.

The adult. She was grown now, wasn't she? Like Woya's niece and nephews, wherever they'd all disappeared to... they'd all turned two this year.

Her sandy eyes found her daughter and those long, pale legs of hers that were still so uncoordinated, and the woman couldn't help but smile.

"We should probably start heading back soon Bumbleb-," her next step hit air and instinct froze her whole body before her mind could figure out what happened.

The ground had dropped away suddenly, and the roar of a waterfall could be heard within the dark chasm it created. That had been... very uncomfortably close.

"Stay back hun," she warned her daughter gently, ready to catch the girl should she try anything dangerous.

Brielle had been eager to explore. Once she had overcome the fear that had come with the outside world, it had been hard to keep her within the safety of the hollowed out log they had called a den… and with that meant travelling from place to place happily with her family… eagerly. She was bouncing along, about to argue with her mother when she stated they should head back when her mother froze, causing the girl to pause, confusion on her features and then concern as the girl was warned back away from them all. She didn’t understand what was going on! Why was she to stay back? There were many questions that ran rampant in her mind. “Mama? What is it?” She asked, taking a few steps back as she watched her mother’s continued reaction… not staying back or shifting back in any way from where she had been standing… it was hard to hear much of anything above the roar of the waterfall, and the young pup did not detect anything strange on the air… at least, not from what she could tell. “Mama, you’re scaring me.” She would state with a hint of worry in her voice… scare perhaps was not the right word, but she was still learning. ”Speech"

Jeni-Sue @DA, iMouritsa @DA & yellowicous-stock @DA

Thankfully Bri listened, allowing Woya's eyes to drift back into that darkness to try and discern some of the shapes lurking within. Did she not have a child with her, she would have been positively thrilled and fascinated with what she'd happened upon. Being careless with safety was not the example she wanted to set, however.

'Mama, you’re scaring me.'

She blinked, and looked over her shoulder at her daughter with a bright smile.

"It's okay hun. Here, you can come look if you promise not to lean forward."

Woya lifted a forelimb and waved it, inviting Brielle to sit between her limbs and against her chest so that she could easily pull her back if needed. It would be good for her to see that these hazards existed, after all.

The bright smile ebbed away her fears like a soothing balm, encouraging the lanky girl forward, stumbling over her paws for a moment before she placed her paws down, a smile quickly forming on her features. “I promise!” She stated with a wrinkle of her nose as she looked at the water that had gathered below, the way it rippled from the waves of water pouring out from above. She desperately wanted to lean forward, and a part of her started to but she was at least trying to behave. Trying being the key word, finding her head craning forward, thinking if it was only her head and not her whole body that she would not be breaking the rule that her mother had set by looking over. “It looks so dark… where does it go?” She asked as she peered back up at her mother, her paws still firmly planted on safe ground despite her antics. ”Speech"

Jeni-Sue @DA, iMouritsa @DA & yellowicous-stock @DA

There was a skip in her step as Rye made her way through the evergreen shrubbery, not at all daunted by the eerie feeling enveloping the forest. In fact, she was quite delighted by it all.

Two voices up ahead were just loud enough to catch her attention, one of a young child and the other was... vaguely familiar. A little perplexed, and definitely intrigued, she proceeded to stomp forward in the direction of the voices, not taking any care to soften her footfalls. She could take on a child. The adult? Likely closer to a fifty-fifty.

Rye had enough of her wits about her to notice when the faint sound of a rushing waterfall could be heard, and then the ground suddenly dropped away from beneath her. She skittered backwards with a gasp, head dropping to look beneath her at the big dark opening, deep enough that she couldn't see the bottom.

When her gaze finally lifted, she locked her eyes on a small white form part way around the empty holy leading down to what seemed like nowhere. Oh. Rye now knew why the voice had seemed to familiar.

Her lips pulled back in a grin, though it was anything but kind. "Well hey there." She definitely still held a grudge for being shoved into that other pit, and it seemed fate had brought them back together at another one.

Woya's tail swayed happily, as thought for just about the millionth time what an absolute angel her daughter was. Watching her, she couldn't help but think of her other children, none of whom could really be considered as around. It stung, she each single one of them dearly, but all the mother could do about it was hope that they were living their best lives. Even if alone...

Her forelimbs continued to frame Brielle's shoulders, holding her gently but safely in place even as her neck craned.

"I'm not really sure," she answered the youngster's question honestly, "definitely lots of rock. Probably a pool? Maybe... bats?" her smile turned a bit toothy then, wondering if the mention of the flittering, fanged beasts would give Bee a fun little spook. Instead, it was her who was startled.

The third voice immediately struck her as familiar, yet nothing came to mind until her sandy eyes lifted to land on a living ghost.

Oh fuck. Fuck.

"Trouvez votre père. Maintenant."
(Find your father. Now.)

The words were for Brielle only, all humor and kindness gone from Woya's voice. She needed her daughter to listen without question. Moving out of the girls way, and also placing herself between her and the stranger should she try to stop Bri, the wolf's posture also shifted, tail and chin raising high.

She didn't know how the girl survived that kind of a fall, but she wouldn't a second time.

(This post was last modified: Oct 02, 2023, 10:40 PM by Woya.)

Everything was happening so fast… her mother spoke with a smile, and then it was all gone. Instead of the warm and docile tones she had come to expect from her mother speaking to her, instead there was a lack of warmth and humor to them… instead, there was a stern order that was akin to her being scolded and she found that she did not like it one bit. She opened her mouth to argue, but saw the way her mother placed herself in front of her. She saw the paws of another as she glanced towards the ground. Oh. There was something. And it was not friendly. At least, that was what her brain was able to piece together. She turned, immediately taking off with all the speed and might allotted to her with her size, age, and strength towards the direction she knew she might find her father. Normally, she might have argued, whined, or insisted that she remain with Mama because she did not know where her père was at the moment, but she was smart enough to put the situation together. “Père! Père!” She’d find herself howling as she made her way further from her mother, something not quite right settling in her chest. ”Speech"

Jeni-Sue @DA, iMouritsa @DA & yellowicous-stock @DA

Rye watched silently as the smaller woman spoke what sounded like gibberish, brows raising as an even smaller white form of fluff bolted away in the opposite direction screeching at a tone that had her ears flicked backwards. But the loud child was of no concern to her, and her yellow gaze swiftly returned back to the other woman.

She had no need to put on a display that mimicked her... opponents. That was definitely the correct term. A sworn enemy in Rye's opinion, and one that needed to be dealt with. For her own safety, of course. Perhaps just the smallest amount of revenge.

"Fancy meeting you here," Rye almost purred out, slowly walking closer around the edge with sure-footed steps. This pit seemed more dangerous what with the addition of rushing water, but at least the landing would be softer than the rocks which had cushioned her own fall.

Woya was immensely relieved that her daughter complied. After all, the child was her mother's spawn, and she carried every strength one could imagine for a wolf, including being perfectly fierce and beautifully headstrong. She watched her pride and joy flee out of sight, hoping dearly that @Adelard would be there to catch her.

Then her eyes hardened and narrowed, turning back onto the one who should have been dead. Woya bared her fangs as her hackles bristled, taking her own swift steps forward. She was seven years old, she understood perfectly well the situation she was now in and entertained zero notions of fucking around. That included responding to Ryenne's words.

Once close enough, she would attack with every ounce of strength she possessed. While sending the other flying down into the pit would be the most sure win, it clearly wasn't guaranteed to be permanent. This time, Woya wanted the younger wolf's throat first. To be sure this threat was dealt with.

(This post was last modified: Nov 14, 2023, 10:36 PM by Woya.)

Her opponent wasted no time in rushing forward, every ounce of her - not that there was much to begin with - bristling with rage. In response Rye braced herself, fully expecting the other woman to not hold back in the slightest, and she didn't want her to. This was personal, and she wanted payback. Revenge was best served piping hot and thrown into the other's face, in her opinion.

Their bodies collided with a thud, and Rye felt small jaws snap at the delicate skin of her upper chest and throat area. A snarl erupted from her own opened jaws, feeling the sting of teeth. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

She had no ability to bite at more than the tufts of the smaller woman's ears, and so instead used her larger stature to throw her weight around. Rye grappled the other woman with one foreleg, leaning back on her hind legs and rising up into the air to lift her opponent off the ground. With a heave she twisted her body to try and simply throw the other woman over the edge, not caring if she took some of the skin from her body with her down into the foreboding pit.