Underground Sea cool the fire

[ after both children's death. pic of the caverns here ]

It was farther then she had traveled since the pack's group hunt, deep in the dead forest of the wildwood. Today, however, she did not follow the trail of deer, nor did she make plans to call for her pack to join her on her venture. Once more did her wondering heart call to her, and the fire in her heart simmered with uncontrollable rage. She was nothing a pack-mate would long to be around, with her hackles high, a scowl on her lips and her tail high in sign of dominance. Defensive, was her stance, though she was very much willing to go on offense.
As of late, the pack was in shambles; Aisling and Kiche had returned though the latter not to her liking, though she saw little of them and they had yet to prove their worth to her for their abandonment. Crux had gone and although they were gaining members, they were loosing them just as quickly. Borden, their alpha, had gone long ago and Elettra (and surely everyone else) had hoped he had taken his two sons with them. But nay. She had found Prosper, dead. Theo had drawn her attention once more, bitten by a venomous snake- dead. Elettra had always been determined she could do things on her own, that she could lead if she must, though it would seem without a male figure, without their father, the children were wild and their adults were loosing hope.
A snarl overcame her, clearly blaming Borden for his treasonous leave, for his abandonment of his children, his wife. And so she walked- and walked, if only to simmer the burning in her heart. It had been hours since her leave and not once did she bother looking back. She would travel south-east, down the length of the cedarwood forest and into the heart of the drooping willows. To her, the lands were still very lovely, a beautiful place of peace. She remembered her previous time here, in the company of Borden's brother. He had warned her and respectfully did she go against the rogue male, though it would seem his heeded warnings should have been heard by her. 'He's a tyrant!', Angier said, 'Cares only for himself!' And perhaps he had been right. Elettra Archer had not believed it before.
After a while of settling under the very same tree she had when she met Angier, did she lift, once more setting off on her journey to no where. East through the land of the drooping willows, did finally the land grow more rocky, did the forest begin to part. Still she moved on without hesitation, turning over the rocky lands and scaling them with an ease (she had lived in the foothills of mountains before). The day was quickly turning into night, with the stars shinning through the glow of the setting sun, the moon eager to take her place. With a gruff expression, was Elettra all too aware of her need for settlement in unknown lands during the night, and found herself seeking a placement for rest; a little knoll in the rocks, a small outcrop, a cave, a long forgotten den in the dirt.
In time, she would stumble upon this: Her pale gaze grew wide in wonder, her lips parting in awe. Through a sliver of opening in the rock, hoping it was a cave to sleep in, did an opening of an expense land lay before her. Large was the cavern and more beautiful then she had ever seen. Through what could have been water from the heartleaf creek, was a lack of water formed, centered in the cavern; still, vast, and so clearly blue. The cavern is alight, fed by the patchy rock ceiling which shined down rays of the moon and stars. It is serene and beautiful and Elettra would only take a moment more in her pause of wonder before going forth. Cool is the water on her footing and after a few more moments, she would enter the chilly water's, simmering finally, the fire in her heart.

With new eyes to look through, Aisling was taking advantage. There was no running commentary in her ears, no gray apparition to constantly hold her eyes in place and with its body language cause her stress. She was alone now, with nothing but the wind whistling past her ears and the whole world to look at. Cedarwood Forest and the Grizzly Hollow site were simply not enough, though. She wanted to explore, and with the energy to do so, the girl was off. Unfortunately, she had underestimated the time of day, and by the time she'd crossed the width of Relic Lore, the sun was mostly gone.

She'd be walking home in the dark. While she did have much of her pep back, she was still as meek and cautious as ever, and the very idea of having to travel home in the dark made her quite nervous. Which could explain why she followed Elettra to her hidden cove in the mountain. It had been most innocent, admittedly, her path tracing. But the darker female intimidated her, and Aisling thought she looked upset, so her willingness to request help was lacking. Instead, she merely followed Elettra, hoping that the higher ranking female would eventually stop, and perhaps noticed Aisling, and ask if she needed help.

But things hardly ever worked out that way.

Aisling trailed distantly behind Elettra, the distance growing as Aisling struggled to make her way up the mountainside at the pace that the second-in-command had taken up. But then the female disappeared. Aisling was alone again, nose pressed hard against the cold stone, searching for the scent of the female. It wasn't hard to pick up, but led to the most odd of locations. A mere crack in the stone that Aisling was hardly willing to slip into. But...If Elettra was in there...With a deep breath, Aisling slid through the space with ease, and found herself in the dimly lit cavern. She was frozen in place, though whether it was by fear or amazement was no clear upon the girl's face.

After a moment of standing there, Aisling finally remembered her goal, and looked about for Elettra, who was moving into a pool a distance away. The pale female took a lithe step forward, accidentally kicking a small rock as she did so, and watched in terror as it bounced away from her and landed with a echo-y plop in the crystal pool. Aisling recoiled, eyes locked upon the head of the black wolf, hoping that somehow she wouldn't notice. Aisling couldn't decide if walking home wouldn't have just been better at this point. <b style="color:#388d10">"speech."

The water was amazingly cool, glistening and sparkling in the dim lightly fed by the patchy ceiling, streams of moonlight and starlight filtering down upon her. She was still here, deep in thought and perhaps this was the reason why she had yet to notice Aisling following her trail. She was downwind, after all. Her thoughts of her home were forever fleeting, for the woman took much to trust and those who had wiggled their way in was far and few- Raigo, Jaysyek. But even Raigo was gone now, it seemed, Kiche distant (thankfully enough) and it seemed each member that joined was around for but a fleeting moment. Elettra was skeptical of those new in the pack and those who recently had returned, where trust was broken by their leave without word. She would wonder the day of Borden's return, surely with open arms by Jays and her children, though with scorn and hatred by Elettra Archer. She had trusted the man, which was hard to accomplish in the first place, only for him to break it. There would be little to no hope of his return, which caused the grim look over her features, as she would embrace a memory of their day together; her gathering shells through the river, and his determination and willingness to help her with the tedious job.
It was with a sigh, did she break the silence, mixed with that of a tumbling rock. Instantly her hackles would rise, her teeth baring in defense, silky black ears pinning back against her skull as her head might whip into the direction which the sound scurried before plopping into the pool not by far next to her. She froze a minute in place, eying Aisling in wonder and confusion, before she might relax, lips lowering however slowly, a hard brow upon her. "You followed me." She said simply. Little did other find their way following her when she had ventured on her own so far in these lands. It was usual that she found others, then others finding her. A single ear would perk, whilst the other lay flat in question. "Why?"

Aisling wondered nervously how she would explain her presence to the Second of the Hollow. It was silly and odd, and Aisling would surely anger her now. Oh, why had she followed her? Well, there was a reason, but now it just felt foolish and absurd. She'd never really spoken to Elettra before, however, and tried, if only for a fleeting moment, to look on the bright side of things, looking at this as a chance to get to know the female better, if such a thing was possible...Aisling was awkward, but tried to be social and she was certainly kind under the right circumstances. Right now though, she was both nervous and afraid, which was clear in her hunched posture.

Elettra had seen her, and Aisling withheld a whine, ears pinned back against her head as she searched the face of her superior for some kindness. She didn't see much of anything. But that was better than anger. <b style="color:#388d10">"It was...Dark," She began, sounding absolutely foolish, at least in her own opinion. <b style="color:#388d10">"I lost track of time and, um...Distance. I saw you, and hoped that you could help me home?" Before she had finished speaking, the girl had pulled her eyes away. It sounded so foolish spilling out of her mouth. But it was the truth. She had gotten lost, essentially, in the dark, and without a faithful voice to guide her home, she had thrown herself into a spiral of fear. Perhaps if she hadn't sunk straight into that emotion, it would have been easier for her to get home. <b style="color:#388d10">"speech."

It took the smaller, creamy lady in her state of fear and nervousness to speak, but Elettra, in her own position of hostility and dominance, would remain patient and silent as she waited. After all, though she might hold a hard exterior, there was no reason for Elettra to lash out on the woman, mainly a member of her pack that had done nothing really wrong- savor the fact that she had once before abandoned the pack for a short while, much as everyone else before her.

When she did then finally speak, did Elettra shift in the water, enough to where she still stood within the cool liquid to her elbows, but turned to where she might face Aisling at the water's edge, still safe and dry. "It's dark, and in the mountain range there are predators far more fierce then you, ...or I." The last part was offered with a grumbled tone, a light growl but not without a delicate smirk at her features. Had Aisling forgotten already, where Arlette and Theo had come from, and why the Midnight Plateau had fallen? Elettra Archer was not eager to mingle with the mountain lions in order to get home quickly.

The mere look of Aisling's superior caused the girl to shudder internally. She just looked so powerful and threatening. Was she supposed to feel so frightened? It made sense, she supposed, to feel dominated, but being frightened seemed like a step too far. Aisling kept her mouth shut however, forcing her body to stay planted to the ground instead as Elettra neared the water's edge. <b style="color:#388d10">"O-of course," Aisling dipped her head, and took a step back silently before she sat. A more visible shudder raked her as she thought about how far she had walked to get here and what could have gotten her in the process. <b style="color:#388d10">"I-I'll just wait then." Risking a glance up, she nodded briskly before lowering her belly to the ground to get comfortable and to keep her distance. <b style="color:#388d10">"speech."

Her words were a small mumble from her lips, hesitant as Elettra watched her, and although from a distance she would not see the shutter which came over the small, younger woman, El could quite literally smell the worry and fear upon her, so heavy to her being. It sent a small frown over Elettra, her body shifting through the water's delicately, as her toes would play at the hard, rocky ground below the water's surface. "Maybe a drink after your long venture? That water's rather cool..." Hypnotizing even, as is glowed with a shimmer from the dim moonlight which fed the cavern now. If they were going to spend the night together, the girl might as well at least relax.