Round Stone Crest smoke in the rain

@Gent @Lugh @Kova @Octavius @Astraeus @Raela @Cessair @Draven @Kino @Marianna

No posting order! 

Backdated to beginning of July

The weather had quickly become sweltering as the days grew longer and the nights shorter, luckily for the wolves of the Crest the dense foliage provided plenty of shade. It seemed that as the weather grew hotter Minka's newest litter's hearts grew more brave as they pushed the boundaries of their rules. The mother knew in her heart that the time had come long ago to call a meeting for the newest generation to begin their mentoring but it made her ache to think of Tokino missing his sons choice. The father should have been here to discuss with Kova what he would do, he should have been here to see the once small pup grow into a yearling and for the birth of their new litter. He should have been there for the first words and steps and the first time they opened their eyes, but he had been taken from them.

Even though it pained her to do so the Lagina woman could wait no longer, and as she sat before the round stone that marked their den she raised her muzzle to the sky and called. Her song was bittersweet as it rose into the air, speaking of promises and hope but not without a hint of sadness. It seemed to be how she felt about everything lately, seeing her children grow brought her such joy but dug thorns into her heart equally. Especially as she watched Kino morph from a small bundle of fur into a doppelganger of his late father. The mother had always made sure to mention Tokino as much as she could but knew that sooner rather than later she would have to tell the cubs the full tale of what had happened. She wanted to protect them, but she could only do so much and they would find out at some point, best it came from her.

Blinking away the distracting thoughts Minka waited for the arrival of her subordinates, now was not the time for her to get wrapped up in her grief. Today was supposed to be filled with joy as the new yearlings began their journey to becoming fully fledged members of the pack.

Little Marianna had not been far from the family den that day. As curious as her heart might be, the heat slowed down the pup more than she might admit otherwise. Her limbs seemed heavier, and her coat seemed to be thicker than she remembered (even if it was the same puppy fuzz she'd had only a few weeks ago). Despite the sun's blaze and the heat enveloping her, the child pushed on anyways, eager to see and smell and hear everything that Round Stone Crest had to offer. Small as she was, she'd yet to realize how much there was outside the pack borders – her world was still contained within the Stonewatch Timbers. Oh, the chaos that would begin once she realized how much there was to see in the world outside these trees. But for now, ears too large for the head they sat upon swiveled as a familiar call went up. "Momma!" the child mouthed to herself, turning blue-gray eyes in the direction of the sound. She hadn't any idea what Minka actually wanted, but it didn't matter too much. Today's adventure hadn't been horribly exciting, and with the sweltering heat, a return to the nice, cool comfort of the den didn't seem like a bad idea in the least. Breaking into an awkward, unsteady gait, the Lagina princess trotted back towards the gathering point, stumpy tail swaying as she approached the area. Her mother was greeted with a soft bark, the puppy quickly moving to sit next to the queen's legs as she leaned up to lick her. "Momma," she cooed happily. "S'happened?"

 

A wild dissertation appears!

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Kino was out exploring as usual, trailing along the foliage that was what he called home. He sniffed at holes the smelled of unknown animals and brushed against different kinds of plants he also knew not of. Every day he was amazed by how much was out there, and by how big their home was! Of course, he knew what a ‘border’ was because his mother had told him to never go past it. Truly it was the only real rule he hadn’t broken…yet. Each time he came upon the scent of his pack mates his gaze lingered at the other side, wondering what could be out there. Each time it was a bit harder for him to turn around and go back, today being one of those days. He might have even broken the rule if it hadn’t been for his mother’s voice ringing across the land. He paused, auds swiveling toward the sound with gaze staring longing at the land away from their borders before turning with a sigh. The young Lagina picked up his pace to a run, going across the land that even his young mind had come to know rather well in the past two months of his life. He came upon his mother and sibling, Ari reaching up to give her chin a lick. Kino moved forward to do the same, offering a smile and a bump to his sibling before settling at her feet. His head turned upwards, his expression showing the same question that his sibling had asked. What was this about?

TAG: ---  |  WORDS: ---  |  NOTE(S): ---  |  ?

The bittersweet melody of her leader's call rushed through the foliage to meet Raela's sensitive, now slightly damaged ears; jerking the subordinate's head to attention as she deciphered the call. The sound nearly made her jump before she realized that it was indeed Minka, and not Vitani or some other attacker. How jumpy she'd grown since the encounter. Quickly her paws returned to the task before them; burying her latest catch in a new cache. Earth and rocks swallowed the grouse whole; hopefully preserving it and covering its scent for some time to come. A meager catch, but any food was good. The woman's nose joined in; tamping down the soil along with her feet. All three points of her were now dirty and brown. A sneeze exploded from her chest to clear the stray earth, followed by a hurried toss of her head. Already the Crest wolf was becoming aware of what this meeting was most likely about.  Eager pads drummed against the forest floor; carrying her slender form up the great hill. Her ears twitched nervously as always while her mind concluded the truth. It was the yearling ceremony, of course! It was only a week or two ago that the golden Datura had come asking for her advice on choosing a specialty. She only hoped he'd reached some decision by now. It was time. More exciting was the prospect of her becoming a mentor for him or Kova. She could teach a few things, as she had told Minka, but it was up to the Alphess and Gent which specialties were taught – as well as their students. Her mind wandered among the leaves as she rounded a rocky bend and doubled back, carrying on diagonally up the slope. What was Kova interested in? The woman couldn't be sure. He seemed to have a decent ability to hunt as she recalled, but the boy was also very bright. He could choose any manner of things it seemed.  The crest of their mountain slowly came into view between the trees. Excitement put a little extra power into each trotting step as the agouti girl made her way to the den. Her golden eyes lit upon Minka first, smiling at the sight of her friend and matriarch. The shapes of Ari and Kino demanded her attention just as much; and the little ones received a warm smile as she neared. Now that Raela was free of the forest's grasp, she returned her attention to their mother. Being the respectful and grateful subordinate she was, the woman offered an informal dip of her dirt tinged muzzle; joined enthusiastically by a wagging tail practically electric with anticipation for the ceremony. Rae's head and body remained level while friendly words spilled from her tongue. “Hello Minka.” Sunshine eyes again regarded the curious tykes in quick succession as her pace slowed. “And hello you two.” It was natural then, for the female to take up her place on the sidelines. Others would be along soon; there was no doubt about it. The tip of her multicolored tail continued to sway happily as she reclined backward. The crest woman attempted to clean off a bit more of the soil on her face with a paw, smearing it there instead. Once some small improvement had been made, her eyes tipped up toward her superior with the intent of making casual conversation. “I expect your last one to be here any minute.” There was a smile on her face and a renewed twinkle in her eyes. Puppies could do that.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

Minka had told him about the yearling training thing. He had known since he got here that he would be expected to pick a profession, a role through which to serve the pack. And after a month of indecision and at least one attempt to talk it out with an adult, Octavius was going to have to make a fool out of himself and admit the truth. Minka would ask him what he wanted to be and he would have to tell her. He would have to tell them all. The weight of his choice was embarassing. Maybe he could just whisper it into her ear. Maybe he could ask her in private. Surely all his pack mates didn't need to know. As he arrived at the gathering and notice two of the puppies, he felt his stomach lurch into his throat.

The puppies too?

He had spent a lot of time obsessing about and simultaneously avoiding the puppies. They were all he was really interested in about this pack. The adults were nice enough — Raela was nice enough — but they did not seem to catch his interest in the way that the slowly developing world of the cub's did. He had been there not too long ago, but he had hardly been conscious about the changes occurring in his own mind and body until suddenly he felt like things had always been that way. But from the glimpses of the youngsters here and there he could see quite plainly that no, he had not always been that way. And truth be told, the cubs were just more his speed. He could not keep up with the life experience and cunning of the adults. The puppies would not judge him. Probably.


Or well, now they surely would.

Posting availability
9pm - 10:30pm EST weekdays
Weekends sporadically. 

THREAD SET FOR THE 1ST OF JULY

Anticipating the gathering that was to be held this day, Gent had managed to stay relatively close to the main den site throughout the hours. When the call finally rung out into the thick canopy above his head, then man promptly swerved round and headed toward the namesake boulder at an easy trot. His mind focused on the moment that would soon be at paw, and the possibilities it would present to both himself and his individual subordinates. When he arrived, not many others had yet arrived. There was Raela, whom he sent a warm and broad smile to, as well as the displaced yearling who he'd had an unfortunately limited amount of contact with, Datura. The boy received a smile as well, though not as bright as the one delivered to his close friend.

It was the children who received the most amiable of greetings. Draven had yet to hobble into sight, but Gent expected the boy to bound from the grass at any minutes as his nose told him the child was lurking close by. The man nuzzled Kino to say hello before running his tongue lovingly over Marianna's crown. Finally, he beamed a small grin at Minka before reclining at her side. His pale eyes searched for those who weren't present, and the first absence to be noticed was Lugh's. Impulse brought on by habit nearly pushed the leviathan to his paws once more as he thought perhaps he should seek the man out and assist him to the meeting. But Lugh's wounds were long healed, and he no longer was to be treated as a patient. The man would be dealing with the handicap of having only three legs the rest of his life, and thus it was necessary for him to practice getting around by himself.

When the tally was done, all that could be left to do was wait. His jaws remained clenched shut, as any words he could've offered were not truly necessary. This was Minka's tradition, appropriated from her own culture and thus very much her own to attend to without his interjection. He very much liked the idea itself, and was rapt to see how things would play out; most importantly, who would be appointed to Kova.

(This post was last modified: Oct 03, 2015, 09:44 PM by Gent.)

Heat was preferable to snow drifts, certainly, but in this weather, Cessair felt like she was baking. She had spent much of her day so far lounging about in the shade as the heat sapped her energy, but she eventually grew frustrated at her inactivity and set off on an impromptu border patrol. By the time the small woman reached the heavily-scented border, she had already captured and cached a squirrel. Now she was trotting along with the wall of scent to her left, checking for breaches, but she halted when a hauntingly beautiful wail echoing between the timbers reached her ears and sent a chill down her spine. The song was cautiously hopeful and quietly mournful, and it was definitely Minka's voice.

Though Cessair understood the importance of responding punctually to a summons, she had detected a suspiciously familiar scent ahead and wanted to finish investigating just in case. Another minute or so brought the fawn fae to the very spot where the scent's source had recently stood. Satisfied upon identifying the smell, Cessair sprinted as fast as the forest would allow back toward the center of the territory, simultaneously answering her queen's call and continuing to follow the errant scent.

Only a little time more had passed before the Crest second arrived panting at the gathering place. She noted with a twinge of guilt that despite her run she was still one of the last to arrive. Trying to calm her breathing so she could be comprehensible, Cessair trotted up to her sovereigns. "Greetings, Minka, Gent," she nodded. Then she passed by the royal children, nodding at them in turn but stopping before Kino with a knowing smile. ”I hope you weren't thinking about crossing that border.” She then continued on her way past her packmates, offering a friendly nod to Raela before taking a seat beside her. Looking back up to Minka, Cessair bore in her eyes a variation on the same question her queen's children were just asking as she waited for the meeting to begin.

Oh so very late was the yearling who sped along through trees and around large rock outcrops on his way to the pack meeting. A small perch hung flopping around under his mouth which gripped the fish's tail tightly. Sometimes the wet thing would bang against his chest as the young wolf ran with haste to his mothers call. He tripped on a tree root tumbling head over paws before beginning to roll down the mountain again. Luckily Kova got caught by a nearby tree and he didn't just roll all the way down the steep hill. After righting himself and glancing down the mountain in relief, Kova then begins loping up the side of the slope making sure not to full out run the rest of the way back. Kova really didn't want to be stabbed by tree branches while falling down the mountain again. 

Eventually he made it to the meeting dipping with sweat and heaving for breath. Running up hill was much harder than going down or even just running on flat land. It was much different than what the blackberry fields were like. Though Kova had to admit, their new home worked their bodies and made the wolves well muscled. The first he saw was Cessair, but the first wolf he went to greet was traditionally his mother Minka. Kova gripped the fish tightly before dipping his head butting her on the chest lightly. A playful and loving growl echoed from his muzzle as he greeted her. Then noting Gent's placement beside Minka Kova purposely let his body fall over rubbing against Gent's shoulder as he fell to the males paws. Kova then looked up at Gent with a happy smile before touching Gent's chin with his nose and unfortunately the wet fish. The gray boys tail wagged as he lay there for a moment greeting Gent in his own goofy way (which should show how much he respected him now) then got up and greeted his siblings.

To Marianna and Kino he gave a playful whine to greet them then finally let go of the fish in his mouth. It might as well be for them since he brought it all the way up here instead of eating it himself. Then he playfully pawed at Kino while his tail thrummed at the air, then he gave Marianna a tender look and a good lick to her crown placed in just the spot Gent had also licked her.

Next he growled playfully and nipped at Cessair's chin in greeting before bumping against her shoulder and side. Shortly after that he moved to greet Raela as amusingly as he had with Gent by flopping onto his back and wiggling his hind end. The youth reached upwards to lick Raela's chest before rolling back onto his belly and standing up again. Then he padded to Datura who seemed preoccupied looking at his brother and sister. “Hey what's up?” Kova asked quickly keeping his stance neutral but very softly touching his nose to Datura's shoulder in a small silent greeting. He looked for Astraeus but couldn't see the dark wolf anywhere. Lugh also was missing, and this had Kova rather worried about the healer. He might not have been extremely playful or friendly with Lugh, but he deeply cared for the male and looked up to the Whelan man who had been there since his birth.

Once greetings were over with Kova decided to plop himself down near but not too close to Gus, or Datura, as he knew him by. To his right was the golden red boy, and to his left was Cessair as Kova sat down and waited for the wolves later than himself to get there.

(This post was last modified: Aug 07, 2015, 08:44 PM by Kova.)

Draven ran as fast as he could back to the den. He knew he was probably late; Minka's call had completely silenced itself a long time ago, or at least it felt that way to him. He hadn't meant to be so late, honest he hadn't. He had been wandering again, exploring the growing world around him. There were a lot more trees than he'd thought there might be, and a lot more little crawling bugs (and a lot more little flying bugs, most of which annoyed him to no end because they all kept trying to land on his nose when he was napping, or else they buzzed around his ears when he went to get a drink of water...) It really wasn't his fault that he'd found a very fun hollowed out old log to scramble around in, just like it really wasn't his fault that that log had turned out to have a lizard hiding in it. And if that lizard had just sat still and let him paw at it, he wouldn't have had to chase it around and back out into the hot sunlight, where he had quickly gotten tired and sweaty and decided to give up in favor of plopping down under a shady tree. So it really wasn't his fault when he came skidding into the gathering just seconds after Kova settled down. And since he was late, it wasn't his fault that he was a little bit dusty from exploring, either. He hadn't had time to wash himself up, after all! Draven gave his head a shake, then trotted past the others in the pack to join Kino and Ari. His greeting to Minka was a little bit less enthusiastic. He was late, and if the whole pack was here, then he was probably late for something important. “Sorry, Momma,” he mumbled

(This post was last modified: Aug 13, 2015, 10:51 PM by Draven.)