Grizzly Hollow every last cedar

time to give the ball a nudge and get it rolling! @Rook
set a couple weeks following Rowan's arrival to GH

Something was afoot...

He had searched the whole forest. The whole damn forest, every last cedar. It had taken him two weeks to canvas the area piece by piece, stick his nose in every dirty pit and wet crevace, and there was no sign of Maksim - nor any other pack - anywhere.

The Baranski himself had told him, once long before when he had come upon the borders of Willow Ridge, that Cut Rock River - the pack he lead - resided within this forest. And Rook had said to him that Maksim was still around, not too long ago when he'd first set food in the lands of Grizzly Hollow. How was it then that these wolves disappeared without a trace?

Well, the traces were there. He'd scoured the flat rocks himself, followed the shallow river among the rolling hills and even discovered a den probable enough to have once belonged to a pack, or perhaps just the breeding pair. But it was free of any scents. No parent nor child had been there this spring.

His gut twisted to recall the last time such a thing had happened, a flood that erased his family and his den and his pack land as if they'd never even been there at all. But that could not have happened here... the river which gave Maksim's pack their name was not even close to the roaring rapids which had lulled him to sleep as a boy.

Two things became urgent to the Attaya male - one, that his plans had changed. Rowan still intended to speak to Maksim, but the swarthy male was no longer a neighbor to whom a visit would be easy to procure; and two, that the impression that Cut Rock River existed within this forest was a long expired notion, which needed to be known. By one wolf, in particular.

"Rook," Rowan barked with no shortage of urgency as he loped toward the den where he might be. "I need to speak with you."

(This post was last modified: Sep 28, 2015, 08:24 AM by Rook. Edit Reason: missed a div! )

adopt thea?

After much persistence and, perhaps a bit of help from @Titan and, later, @Veho, Borden was asleep. Rook, looking a little worse for wear after the energy it had taken to get his father down, had been resting with his side to the older Lyall's back. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady, nearly matching that of his parent's until a voice stirred him from the black behind his eyelids. "Rook," it was Rowan. The Leader's head lifted as he blinked himself back into the waking world where the Attaya had come into their midst. "I need to speak with you."

Rook gave a silent nod, carefully lifting himself with his forelimbs at first then standing on all four feet. His eyes never left his old man's face, even as his warmth left Borden's spine. For several seconds, he waited for that moment when Borden might flinch, aware that his current companion had stood up. It never came. Rook gave a small smile to Rowan, then with the lightest tap of his nose to his father's ear, he drew away from the den and to his brother-in-law's side. He did not stop, however, advancing forward a few steps towards the place where he assumed the swarthy man had come from.

A glance over his shoulder assured him that Borden could very well be groggy and fast asleep for the rest of the day. Someone was bound to make sure he was still all right in due time while his son was gone. With a gesture of his nose pointing to the left to suggest that they keep walking into the wood, it was clear that he agreed to having a private chat; but, first they would need to walk a little further. Just enough to give Borden some space yet keep Rook within distance and sight should he wake up with start.

"Rowan," he greeted with a whisper when he had finally come to a stop and angled himself towards the subordinate. Immediately, he looked worried, too certain that something dire had happened. By now he knew by experience to always anticipate the worst. "What's wrong?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Realizing that he'd been shouting where the original patriarch of Grizzly Hollow was attempting to rest instantly humbled the wolf, regret pulling his ears down as his tail hung apologetically low. He was aware of Borden's condition and did plan to visit the man some time - but he'd been so caught up in the Attaya of it all (and now this) that the opportunities were falling like stars between the cracks in his attention span. He felt worse that his only contribution to Borden so far was yelling practically in his ear, so the ink-legged male was quick to nod his approval of Rook's silent suggestion to move the conversation somewhere quiet.

Light on his feet (as though that were the noise that might bother the sleeping Lyall in the den) he followed Rook through the trees until his leader determined an appropriate distance and stopped. He stopped as well, acknowledging his own name with a sheepish smile, which grew more guilty in response to the worry that wrinkled the Lyall's brow. He attempted to rectify the situation. "Well, nothing's wrong - or I don't think anything is. But it's @Maksim "

He turned his head over his shoulder as though he could see Cut Rock River territory from where they were, quickly returning his gaze toward Rook. "His pack lands are completely abandoned. There is no Cut Rock River in this forest any more -- I looked everywhere, trust me. And from the smell of it, they haven't been here this entire summer." A frown relayed his perplexity. There hadn't been signs of struggle, no smell of blood or tufts of fur to remark a battle. They had simply up and vanished for reasons unknown. This bothered the Attaya male - but he didn't mention it yet, preferring instead to deflect to the opinion of his leader.

Silver-stroked shoulders gave a bit of an awkward shrug, perhaps too colloquial for the information he was relaying. "I thought you ought to know."

adopt thea?

Rowan was quick to tell him that nothing was wrong. To this, Rook managed the smallest of smile, though it did not remain for long. "...it's Maksim." The Leader's brow came down in a skeptical sort of frown. Both of his ears, mirror images of one another now, turned to cup forward; he was listening. "His pack lands are completely abandoned. There is no Cut Rock River in this forest any more --" Rook's gaze grew distant, trying to count how many moons - for the lack of any other measurement of time - it had been since he had been chased away. A group of muscles and nerves in his shoulder, neck and cheek flashed with remembered pain,  the memory of the Baranski's teeth sinking into him a harsh reminder of just who he had become. The mask on his face hardened into a stony glare as he regarded the rest of Rowan's report, the Attaya's own frown met with a tight-lipped scoff.

"I thought you ought to know."

"Thank you, Rowan," he lent, his tone conveying both relief and a sense of triumph. It would seem that Cedarwood Forest had once again belonged to only them. Good, this meant that the stretch of wetlands - Whisper Marsh - would only be shared between Grizzly Hollow and their allies, the wolves of Whisper Caverns. "This is good news." He didn't waste his breath or even wait for his brother-in-law's reaction. He had to continue on his train of thought, lest he allowed Rowan to believe that he had harbored only loathing for the Baranski clan - which was not entirely true. "They were supposed to be our allies," he revealed. "They didn't understand. I served them, I helped feed their children, I guarded their borders... in exchange to come and go as I pleased throughout the forest while remaining as a member of their pack. I went to retrieve your sister from Willow Ridge, we were going to ask for Maksim's blessing. I was attacked - by Willow Ridge and by Maksim himself."

"They didn't understand," he let out a tired sigh as he looked through the trees towards the old half-tree. He couldn't see his father's head anymore, but a limp tail just visible from behind a tree proved that the older Lyall had just repositioned himself in slumber. "They couldn't see Grizzly Hollow for what it could be but for what it was. Relics of a forgotten time, an empire left behind, only to be abandoned again. They couldn't see... but Quil did. She did when no one else could." Rook quietly looked upon Rowan's feet before lifting his gaze to meet those amber eyes with his own. "I respect @Maksim for his decision and @Elettra for hers, I escaped with my hide and I brought your sisters to safety. It was all I could have asked for."

"I put myself in danger for her," he admitted. "Elettra's son Skoll could have put me to death but Elettra spared me. The Baranski's believed I had done something stupid. I told them I would leave Cut Rock River to spare them Willow Ridge's wrath. They sent me away. Left me for dead if Skoll came back for me."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Rook listened intently but was quick in his response - and good that he was, because the frown that pulled down Rowan's brow when the Lyall remarked the good news was absolutely instantaneous. He was thankful that he did not have to ask for clarification, only repaid his Leader's favor in listening and listening well. So the story of Grizzly Hollow grew in detail, that Rook had actually been part of Cut Rock River, though not at the same time as his sisters. After Skoll's attack on Rook (he recalled) endangering Quil and Cinder and banishing them from Willow Ridge, they had returned to Maksim, revealed his intentions, and was then denied an alliance.

Heaviness sat in his stomach. That didn't sound like the stalwart knight he recalled the Baranski to be. Even if Maksim could not share in Rook's vision for Grizzly Hollow, surely the male understood the nature of how a pack formed. Rook and Quil were to be a family... as long as he'd been informed... didn't that make sense? Wasn't that the way it was? Frustrated by his naivety he could only muster a half of a smile when Rook remarked his respect for the leaders who had shunned him - left him for dead. It was admirable to retain that level of decency. It hadn't happened to him, but he was hurt by the actions of the wolves who had called the Attayas friends. It angered him, it disappointed him, it saddened him. It called him to action.

"I admire you," he spoke honestly, "to respect Maksim and Elettra and the decisions they made for their own. This pack is the fruit of your labor." And what a labor he was learning it had been. Rowan paused a moment, considering the torment of feelings that had begun to cloud his mind. Grizzly Hollow was something of a newfound sanctuary for the male, and he disliked that there was any ill will to be harbored toward his family. "But I don't think we should settle for those... relationships. Can we rectify it? At all? With Elettra, or Maksim?" He was unaware of Ryvet's offering of peace to the Ridge wolves, but the topic interested him. The question wasn't so much if they could, but whether Rook would allow it - or even want it. Grizzly Hollow was the product of his devotion, and Rowan was always hesitant to step out of his place - but he had sprung an idea in his head, and he wanted to gauge the reaction before letting it slip.

adopt thea?

"I admire you," the sentiment called for Rook to regard Rowan in a different kind of light, "to respect Maksim and Elettra and the decisions they made for their own. This pack is the fruit of your labor." There was a fleeting feeling of kinship there as he comprehended what had just been said. For once, it wasn't that certain - phileo - kind of love that he felt for Quil, nor that lustful sort - eros - that had sparked in Veho's wake, but the kind that was between family - storge. The fact that Rook seemed to be someone to Rowan made him feel so much more... It was the first time in which he felt more like a Leader, something of a shadow of a role model than an average, headstrong age mate like how most others did. It was a welcome change.

Then came an opinion, one that reached out to him now that this newfound relationship had been clearly defined. "Can we rectify it? At all? With Elettra, or Maksim?" he asked. Rook fell quiet, that faraway look flickering over his face again; the only sign that he was actually thinking was the small twitch at the end of his left ear.

"I don't know," he said after sometime. "But, I hope so." A sigh fled from his lungs, "Maybe one day." There was a hint of hopelessness in his tone; with his luck, if he himself attempted to strike up another shot at an alliance, he could have easily been subject to the worst case of any scenario. On @Maksim's part, he assumed he would be put to shame for his recklessness, injured as to never find his way back home; with his Aunt @Elettra, he might as well have been sentenced to death by his own cousin and Quil would have become Skoll's for good. Rook gave his head a brief shake, "I couldn't tell you how many times I've pondered how to go about fixing it. I promised @Cinder I would. With Tomen and Quil and Borden, I just haven't been able to find the time or the means to do it... risk it all again. For them... Their safety."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Rowan held a metaphorical breath as the Lyall's mismatched eyes seemed to search the distance for a response. The Attaya gave his brother-in-law the space for it, slowly letting his gaze wander so that he might not put any pressure on his leader. It was easy for him to forget that he and Rook were actually age-mates, for one seemed to contain so much more gall than the other. Rook was a founder, a leader, a father - accomplishments he couldn't even come close to. So as quickly as Rowan desired an answer, he only waited.

When the answer came, it was not definitive - uncertain, perhaps not as hopeful as he wanted it to be.  His tail gave a small wag to know Cinder returned the sentiment, a desire to make right, but the wag stopped short as Rook continued honestly. It was fantasy to think Rook was able to travel, even for diplomacy, with all that was needed below his own roof.

"You have a lot under your paw here. I could not ask it of you," he agreed. The pack had enough numbers to help - two wolves capable of tending to Borden and Cinder, who was a dutiful aunt to Tomen and sister to Quil. It was not in Grizzly Hollow's best interest to spare bodies... and yet Rowan could not shake an idea. Because their safety was precisely the shared interest between himself and his leader. The difference was that Rook was necessary in the Cedarwood, unable to disroot. Rowan, on the other hand, was still mobile yet. His dull gold gaze slid toward the Lyall's mask, careful with his request. "But you could ask it of me. I don't like this business with Maksim... it does not sit well with me. At all. I would speak with him, see if this issue could be settled. With your permission, only."

adopt thea?

"You have a lot under your paw here. I could not ask it of you," Rowan then said. Rook averted his gaze, breathing out audibly without an inkling about what he could do about Grizzly Hollow's predicament with the former Cut Rock River pack and their kin. "But you could ask it of me." The Leader met Rowan's gaze again, listening closely to every word that came thereafter. Again that chord had been struck, that connection between them becoming more fortified than before. Not only did they have the sort of relationship their fathers had had, but Rowan and Rook both shared the want and need to make right the connections they had with @Maksim Baranski.

The Lord of Cedarwood Forest gave a solemn nod, "You have my permission. Whenever you choose to make your leave, I offer my best wishes on the family's behalf. Put an end to it. Let them know that Grizzly Hollow had meant no harm or ill will as to force them from the forest. If they won't have anything of an alliance with us, they can suit themselves... wherever they've run off to."

One of his rounded ears swiveled towards Borden but he neither said nor did anything as to show any concern over leaving his father to rest by the den alone. Rowan still had a good grip on him, "Return when you are able. Quil and I only ask that you return safe and sound at the end of it all... Whenever that may be." Tried as he might in attempting to keep a stiff upper lip, he eventually nodded twice to confirm Rowan's plans to set out to the wilderness beyond Grizzly Hollow. "Peace be with you, Leo. May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and rains fall soft upon your fields. Until we meet again..."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

With baited breath Rowan waited on those silent moments, pregnant with the weight of his request, before Rook Lyall's head delivered a single nod that relived, excited, and frightened him. The possibility had just become real, and in that moment Rowan Attaya changed. He was no longer just the washed up brother who had arrived at the Hollow's front stoop, but a man with a purpose, and better yet - a man with the trust of his own leader.

So he abided closely to the Lyall king's words, noting the instructions exactly as he would carry them out. Despite all he had been told, he still failed to imagine anger in Maksim's eyes when he would offer them peace. Not looking at Rowan, how could that be? Soon he'd wonder no longer, soon he would know. The Lore could only be so big, and he would over turn every root until he found the River wolves again. His thoughts echoed Rook's words; Whenever that may be. "I'll do everything I can," he assured his agouti companion.

With every well wish from Rook Rowan was beginning to understand the meaning of a pack in his adult life. The support, the warmth, the love was reason to live rather than survive. It wasn't the same as when he had been a child - his leaders were his mother and father, and he was duty bound to them by blood. Rook had been a stranger not even too long ago, but he conjured such an inspiration in the Attaya, even without their inlaw kinship. Come whatever road or rain or wind or shine, he was determined not only to take the journey and to make it right, but to come home in the end. He said it as a promise. "Until we meet again."

With a polite nod the Attaya excused himself, turning toward the thick of the woods to disappear into planning and let Rook return to his father. All he needed to do now was pick a direction and say a few goodbyes... and then, whatever may be.

exit

adopt thea?

"Until we meet again," Rook offered in parting, watching with an anxious eyes as Quil's brother nodded and turned around to allow the Leader and his father some more time alone. He took in ragged breath and exhaled deeply as he finally turned his eyes over to where Borden still laid asleep. For several moments he stood still with an ear turned to where Rowan had disappeared into the forest beyond the proximity of the old half-tree den. He could still hear the man's footsteps as they carried him over the pine needles and through the spaces between the evergreens.

His head bowed down and when he realized he was holding his breath, straining his eardrums to hear if his brother-in-law had finally taken his leave, he had to give himself an all-over shake. He was supposed to minding Borden. Wearily, he took a step, moving about until he could let his half-lidded eyes fall upon the pile of faded mottled fur that was his aging parent. A stretch of his hind legs and a circle around the den site assured him that all was as it had been just moments before Rowan's request.

Rook edged up against Borden's side, gently resting his head against one side of a bony ribcage. It wasn't the most comfortable of places to nestle his head but it brought him great comfort just to hear that old heart beat in an even rhythm against his ear. More than once, his golden eye cracked open to survey his surroundings from where he laid but time and time again he found that nothing ever came to pull him away. As his eyes came to remain closed in slumber, both father and son dozed the daylight hours away, and when the evening had come, Rook pressed a kiss into the elder's temple before finally pulling himself away. After checking on Quil and Tomen he was going to traverse the borders and see for himself if Grizzly Hollow's aspiring Scout had finally embarked on his mission.

(Fade.)

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.