Drooping Willows heads on a science apart

Only fitting that something from "The Scientist" would headline Isolde's thread, so... *cough* here we are. Not mandatory but anyone who can show up will be appreciated; Angier needs any help he can get. :c

Nobody said it was easy

January 31st; Mid-morning; Sunny; 11 ° F, -12 ° C

After having risen for the day and had done his best to stay put and stick to the paths close to the pack den, Angier had had enough. Using both Elettra's and Ravenna's scent trails for guidance, he meandered about wherever their paws had stepped and maintained the highways that snaked through the willows. Something within him stirred however and it was markedly laced with something akin to intuition and a pressing need to explore a little bit. A part of him was entirely certain that someone - Elettra, Niles, Ravenna, or even Morganna - might come looking for him if he went too far.

For a time he traveled along Ravenna's pathways, imagining in his mind how she might have graced them with her snow-white paws, head high and shoulders back... like her mother. In the autumn months, when the sun had been shining, he might have been able to still make out the blurred outlines of the trees and picked out the silhouettes of creatures and his fellow pack mates; but, now, in the last weeks of winter, his eyesight had descended into darkness and all he was able to "see" now was an eternal night. No stars, no moon, not even a comet...

His nose began to lead him through the snow where it had been untouched, and his ears were rotating now to and fro as he slowly and unknowingly made his way over Willow Ridge's borders. Depending on where his paws stepped - sometimes he would nearly lose his footing on a root beneath the snow or a fallen branch that had been lost beneath the frost - he adjusted his path. Once or twice, as expected, he struck his nose upon a willow vine or clipped his shoulder along a hedge; but, something soon after made him stop. He had brushed his paws along something frozen in the snow. His brow furrowed; it was... spiky.... or furry.

Angier's unseeing eyes stared down at the heap of snow before him while his paws desperately tried to uncover what he had found. If it were food - a deer, moose, a boar, a pronghorn - then he would need to summon the others to help him bring it back. With his right forepaw, he pressed his pads along the small creature's left shoulder, following it along her back and down her rump. It was slender and lean, he found, trying hard to imagine what the creature had once been. By just how little fat and muscle there was left on it from the hardships of winter, it seemed more fawn-like until he got to the head and swept his paw pads over what was a large triangular ear, an elongated snout, a gently sloping forehead, and an iced-over nose.

For minutes the patriarch struggled, caressing his paw over the fragile thing's forehead until he finally thought of how else to assess the situation. Swooping over the body, he sniffed, ruffling the fur in places until he poked a tuft of down behind the ear. His heart sank. "No," he whimpered, eyes stinging as he stared through the darkness at what should have been his beloved daughter's face. The aroma of the Ridge willows had been long gone from her pelt; only the distinct markers of her own scent gave her identity to the father that could not see her.

"Isolde?" he whimpered, leaning down with an anguished cry to press his nose to hers. "Issi?" He reached out his paw to give her shoulder a shake, as if that alone would jolt her back to life. "Isolde... Isolde!" he tried again, loud enough to startle the birds from the surroundings trees. With his back and shoulders aching from how he was poised, he collapsed into the snow, tempted to bury his face into the child that he had lost. His eyes closed and his ears folded back, sniffling as he kissed the girl's ear and temple, wishing he could see her so that he could properly pull her close to him.

"You're okay," he whispered, his heart trembling in his chest. "You're home. I'm here. I'm sorry. You were so close an' I couldn't find you. I couldn't see you. I am so sorry, my girl." How long she had been there, he couldn't tell, but the frost and icy temperatures had preserved her to a certain degree and only then did his nostrils pick up on the trace of death that accompanied her identifying musk. Beginning to be consumed in his grief he fought to take a few deep breaths until he offered the chilled winter air a song that summoned for his mate or for any pack member who happened to be within earshot to help him with his youngest's body.

OOC: ;~; amg I might be crying a little bit. </3

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It was by chance that Wraith had been in the area on patrol. The large wolf flinched when birds took sudden flight and his ears strained to find the source of their fright. He held stiff, ears swiveling for any sound when he heard a familiar name drenched in sorrow. Before he'd even joined the pack, @Craw had mentioned her missing status and how he'd been up all night looking for her prior to one of their hunts together.

At the time, the story had filled Wraith with a sense of sorrow as he couldn't imagine a young pup surviving on her own in the midst of Winter. Of course, he'd assured his friend that she was fine. Maybe she'd found herself a pack of her own or was simply out in the world finding herself. He doubted Craw believed the pretty thought anymore than Wraith had.

And now, here was the heartbreaking truth of it. The black male felt out of place; an interloper. While he was pack, he hadn't known the broken little snow that lay frozen in the snow. For all that it mattered, he was a stranger. An unwelcome witness to grief.

Even still, he stepped closer, heart hurting for the suffering of his packmate. The muted colors of his superior's face framed a pain he could understand all too well. His song was haunting as it broke through the morning air. Wraith approached slowly, but scuffed his paws through the snow so as not to startle the wolf. Risking any lashing out that may come of it, the dark male dipped his head mournfully and touched his muzzle to his packmate's shoulder to convey his condolences. He had no words that could be of comfort, but hoped to serve as simply a comforting presence until someone who mattered could arrive to ease the suffering of Isolde's loss with more success than he likely could.

(This post was last modified: Feb 01, 2016, 08:56 AM by Wraith.)

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

</3

His little sister had been missing for quite some time. While he often distanced himself from his family, it did not mean he didn’t care for them. On the contrary, he was quite fond of the Archer army his mother had built and would do anything for his own flesh and blood. Since he had been spending so much time exploring the neighbouring territories, Greer also used that time to search for little Issi. Her littermates, and Greer’s younger siblings, were besides themselves with her absence—as was Greer. Just because he wanted to depart from Willow Ridge didn’t man that the rest of his family could follow suit. This was their home; just not his at the moment.

However, once the call sounded from his father on this sunny morning, Greer knew there would be no more searching for little Isolde. A lump formed instantly in his throat as his stomach churned… no. No, no, no, no! It couldn’t be… not Issi.

Pure adrenaline launched his body into action, pushing him forward through the willows. Luckily he had not been too far away from where his father called from. With the help of his unnecessarily long legs, Greer closed in on his father within moments.

Greer was pleased to see that he was not the first person to arrive; however, he was confused as to why Wraith, the wolf he had encountered a few weeks ago, was present. The shadow prince dismissed the thought and stalked forward, closing the distance between himself and his father. While they had never really gotten much of a chance to bond properly, due to Greer’s constant absence, Angier was still his father. And little Issi… A wet warmth threatened to drop from his mercury pools as he studied his father’s pained expression, not knowing what to do; what to say… There was nothing to say. Nothing would reverse what had happened; nothing was going to bring his little sister back. Refusing to glance down at his sister’s frozen body the shadow did what he did best: he remained silent as he made his way to Angier’s side. Leaning against the male’s tawny body, the boy offered his presence as comfort while he silently wished that this was all just a terrible dream. 

Ugh, the tears are real

It was the sudden echo of ruffled feathers taking off into the sky in mass abundance and beating the crisp morning air with the beating of their wings off the icy ground below that awoke the patchy woman with a jolt from her futile attempts at acquiring at least a couple hours of sleep after having spent majority of the night 'guarding' the communal den. During that incident, though, she had come to converse with Skoll formally for the first time since swearing her loyalty to his mother, Elettra. The conversation was casual at first before quickly growing dreary in her mind as the mentioning of Isolde popped up. Unbeknownst to Enoki the answer to the dreaded question 'Where was Isolde?' was about to be answered.

Awake now thanks to the fleeing flock of petrified birds and no sooner did an ear flick, did a howl all too familiar cry out in such deep sorrow throughout the expanse of the winter barren willows beckoning others. Instantaneously the two toned woman was scrambling to her feet, body rigid in alarm. Angier. With the quickness of lightning striking the earth her ebony limbs struck repeatedly at the frozen terra firma beneath her dull nails, crossing the distance between her and the former patriarch as swift as her body would allow. What Enoki came to find once spotting the fallen tawny male and those gathered would shatter her heart into a million pieces.

The atmosphere surrounding the trio of Ridge wolves was strong enough to steal the air from her lungs, a sharp twinge of pain resonating deep within her chest. There nestled under snow and ice before Angier lay the frozen corpse of Isolde Archer-Lyall, the very faintly traceable perfume infused with the odor of death from the distance she stood all the Ashrelle woman needed to confirm the pack's worst fear. She was gone. Ears splayed back in bereavement, a grief-stricken whimper broke past ink-lined lips as her body sank to the ground to army crawl forward to offer what little relief of sorrow she could for the mourning father by resting her chin atop his head, eyes squinting shut tightly to keep the salty liquid at bay from forming along her tear-ducts. This was a hard blow for Willow Ridge.

Nobody said it was easy

His call was swiftly answered, but not by someone he personally knew, and yet, he felt that nudge to his shoulder. Sympathy... or impatience. Angier couldn't know without looking at the other's face, but there was no growl nor second touch to his neck or ribs to signal that he keep moving. He whined as he stared up at the stranger, his cloudy eyes darting from Wraith's nose to his ears to where he believed he could be staring straight into the other man's own gaze.

"Please," the patriarch begged. "Look at 'er." He was actually startled when his older son arrived, the sudden warmth of the yearling's body sending a jolt up his aching spine. The shock was instantaneously wiped away when the youth's scent hit him though and Angier's attention shifted. "Greer... Greer what 'appened to 'er?" His teeth clattered against one another as he shivered, Enoki's additional presence doing little to calm his shaking. "Was she 'urt?"

He managed to stifle a majority of his cries but he whimpered as his train of thought turned to Skoll and all that his step-son had done since the beginning of his life. "Is there blood? Broken bones? Her chest?" His tone bordered on a sort of hysteria now and the way he almost demanded the trio before him to answer begged for him to be removed from the scene, "What 'appened to my daught'r?!"

Are you watching closely?
Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

Though Wraith doubted his elder could see him through such clouded lenses, he felt him looking straight into his heart as he begged for his daughter's sake. The dark male's ears turned to catch the sound of Greer's approach and felt immense relief to not be on his own in this. His presence was nugatory in the face of blooded pack mates and the brute could only feel grateful that the grieving male had others to turn to that may offer better support.

"I see her," he murmured softly. And her form was naught but fur and bones; a sad sight indeed to see any wolf in such a state, but it was all the worse to see one so young without the light of life in her eyes that should have been there instead of glazed death.

As others arrived, Wraith could feel hysterics rising in the broken-hearted wolf. Again, Wraith reminded himself it wasn't his place to interject. A father had a right to grieve over his daughter. And yet, standing by idly, uselessly, felt even more wrong. He hesitated, struggling for words until he licked his superior's cheek in comfort. "She's not suffering. Wherever she is, it's not here," he said gently. Not in the frail, broken little body at his feet. The brute lowered his head, sharing in his pack mate's grief and only hoping no offense was taken to his words.

nother had arrived—a female made of obsidian with a white coat drenched over her back. The yearling had seen her before, around camp and at pack functions, though he had never gotten a chance to properly meet her. Now was not the time… now wasn’t the time for anything but comforting his distraught father—and himself. It had only been a few days ago that he had promised his little brother that why would find Issi together and now… Greer swallowed hard, unable to grasp the situation. He was grateful that Niles had not (yet) arrived. It was already difficult dealing with his father, he wouldn’t be able to handle his little brother at the same time.

Blinking slowly, he glanced at his sister’s frozen body as his father stammered out a series of questions, his hysteria only increasing the longer they stood huddled over her body. “Not hurt,” he uttered, his voice low and shaking. She had simply wandered too far and froze to death… a fate that certainly would have been the result of Greer’s disappearance last winter if he had not been found by his brother and a former member of the pack. He didn’t know what else to say; how to lessen his father’s pain… there was nothing he could do but allow his father to mourn. There was an unfamiliar tightness in his chest and his eyes felt hot and heavy. The shadow prince wasn’t sure how to handle so much emotion all at once. It hurt, so much, but he couldn’t be sad; he had to be there for his father. There would be time for him to mourn the death of his sister later—he needed to be there for Angier.

“F—Frozen…” he murmured in response, his mercury eyes focused on the space between his paws. It was the only thing he could muster; his tongue was dry and felt unfamiliar as he clucked around his mouth. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, his breaths uneven as he continued to lean against his father, unsure at this point if it was his father he was supporting, or himself.

Ravenna Lyall had not been far off when Enoki went zooming by her, compelled by the call of Angier. Ravenna's own ears perked, a sharp bark coming over her which was directed to her mother whom was still yet stirring off the tiredness in her eyes. When Elettra was awake she was a strong and alert as she had ever been though age and the cold season made sure that she woke up later in the day then she once had a year prior when everything began to hit. As quickly as Angier's mournful call registered in Elettra's ears, the pair- mother and daughter, were off, hot on Enoki's trail which easily lead them in the direction of Angier.

As the scene came about, everything was a blur to Elettra. Their was a ringing in her ears and she stops so suddenly she nearly falls over, catching herself instead and sitting quickly on the cold earth. She can do nothing but watch her daughter rush forward. Ravenna's panic overwhelms her, finding herself leaning close near Greer whom in turn kept close to their father. Tears streamed down Ravenna's cheeks as she gasps for breath, sobbing at the frozen form of her litter sister. It had been months since she had seen her and now comparatively she was so frail, so small... "Dad..." It was the only word she could mumble from her lips, reaching over to brush her nose over his cheek. The pain left her shaking, her tears still yet streams over her silver cheeks.

Elettra had all but shut down by now. She remained back from the group, just at the tree line where she had fallen into her sit. There was no words, no tears. The world was still yet a blur. She could not think, could not see, could not speak- not at she stared at the hard, sunken form of her lost daughter. Her youngest little girl. So much pride had come upon her when she had birthed not only one daughter, but two. It was a blessing she would have never expected. Never before since coming here to the Lore had she felt what it was like to loose a child to winter's cruel kiss. Every one had survived, every one prevailed - except for Isolde. As her mind began to twist, stiffen and frozen in her placement, she began to ponder exactly what she had done wrong. Was it because Angier had begun loosing his sight and she had injured her limb that she had not watched her closely enough? Had she neglected Isolde whilst Ravenna clung to her side and Niles clung to his fathers? Had their not been enough food, because this year (unlike all the others) their had been four children instead of three? Elettra shutters, a slow, deep growl rumbling out from parted, bared lips.

(This post was last modified: Feb 07, 2016, 07:45 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: y'forgot your tags, dear )

Cold claws ran down her spine with the whisper of a howl summoning any who would listen to come to Angier's side. She was so far away, with her nose to the ground her hopes of finding Sven or Niles, to entice the youngsters into a hunt all but dashed as she pivoted back towards the call. No doubt others would beat her there, but she would be damned if she didn't at least try.

She took in the familiar scents, her head pounding louder than her heart as she drew near. Greer and Enoki were wrapped around Angier, Ravenna had moved to the huddle too. It was @Elettra Morganna pressed her flank against, her nose brushing against her mothers anguished cheek, fully prepared for the potential a grieving mother held to lash out, her ears folded flat against her skull as a precaution. She tried to meet @Wraith's eyes to convey her thanks. It could not be easy for him, having never met the youngest daughter of the ridge.

What little of her sister she could see around the huddle was enough. Not wanting to rush the process, but also wanting to do something constructive she parted her lips and then thought better of it. They had just got her back. They probably weren't ready to bury her yet but digging frozen earth was never an easy task. She would stay by her mothers side until the shock subsided and then she would make her way to Skana's grave. She took some solace in the thought their Nona was watching over their little sister now.