Quaking Vale The Story of Tonight

This is the pack claiming thread @Sahalie @Draven @Castel @Niles @Larkspur I was thinking 3 rounds, one for entrances, second for info and orders, third for exits. Please get to this as quickly as possible c:

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

Their journey had finally come to a close. He looked around at their home, the place they had chosen to set their roots and make a life. Perhaps for the moment it looked like a bunch of skeletons but he suspected that in the summer it would be the perfect haven. They had plenty of room to move compared to the denser forest that encased the area. It provided the cover they wanted but also with the openness he craved. Perfect. It was perfect.

His head turned to Hal and he gave a bright grin, his tail thumping heavily on the ground. She was pretty much back to normal now too, less likely to bite his head off which made him all the happier. Life for the man had never been better and the dark woman next to him was precisely the reason why. Forever she would have his loyalty, that he knew for sure. Now he was ready to do the only thing he knew how to repay her with; lead beside her and help her make the home she longed for. He would learn how to do it for her and hopefully find a way to make her happy in the process. He leaned his head down and gave her a bump to the cheek, a bright glint to his topaz gaze before he lifted his head and called for the rest to come from whatever cracks they were in. It was time to form their pack.

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume

(This post was last modified: Apr 18, 2017, 10:05 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: added thread prefix )

It was a big change for the dark Leigh. He had grown up on the mountain of the Crest, which paled in comparison to the mountain he had spent the last year upon. Now within the forest of spindly trees his paws were still becoming accustomed to earth beneath them instead of stone. It wasn't only the terrain that had changed, after so long without any blood family he found himself in daily contact with his brother Alastor. The pale man was practically attached at the hip to the short chubby woman Sahalie was, far from what he had pictured. But despite all the changes, things were good for him here. There were no demons to hide form, no secrets locked away inside that ate at him. Things were good.

When they had first arrived Draven had made short work of busying himself digging out a den big enough to be used as an infirmary. They had only been in the territory a short few days but he was finally beginning to be satisfied with its size, big enough for three wolves, four if they were small. Now he could only wait for spring to really come so the herbs would begin sprouting again. It seemed far from now given the freezing fog that hung within the trees today but within a month of so the world would be green again.

Lifting his dark head to the sound of his brother's call Draven abandoned his task from within the earthy walls. Loping into Alastor's eyesight he nodded his head silently to the pair that stood together, this is what he had come for.

a million apologies for the wait. minor awkward powerplays? @Larkspur @Castel @Niles

Somehow this place felt so long ago, even if like everything else it had only been a few months. It was long enough that Sahalie had forgotten about the way the sunlight broke through the naked, rattling, bone trees in the midst of the darkest woods she knew. She had forgotten the way it had made her feel: surprised to have found such a contradiction in umbra copse, yet comforted by the spindly trees that nodded reassuringly with every breeze. This was the light in the darkness. The girl hadn't even see the leaves yet, but she knew suddenly when their scouting party had stumbled upon the area again that this was where she wanted to be. How could she have forgotten? This was the place that she and Alastor had named together, even if she had named many places before it. Even if she was a foggy-forest girl at heart this place spoke to her and spoke about her in ways that Spectral Woods could not. It would be here. She hoped that the others would feel it too, or liked it any better than the places they had found.

"This is Quaking Vale," she said, addressing everyone as they slowly filtered in. "Does... does this seem alright, to everyone?" It wasn't a decision she wanted to make alone, even if this should have been her first moment to really test her leadership. "It's not as dark as the rest of the forest," which she had known, from living in Oak Tree Bend, was not for everyone, "and there's a stream not far south of here. I just... I love the trees." The trees moved awkwardly once again, as if to shyly acknowledge her compliments to them, "They're so different. I want to live in a place that's different."

Larkspur had not strayed from their little group again. He had done his part - ish, anyways, and mostly wanted Sahalie and Alastor to figure out where they'd end up settling. It felt like ages that they'd traveled, and nothing ever quite being good enough. He didn't mind this so much, more feeling as if he was just along for the ride. He focused on the now, which did little to settle his busy mind. There was little time for napping, as it felt like they were moving often, and Lark often found himself lagging behind. He napped when he could, doing his best to keep up with his much younger and much more spry packmates.

Alastor's howl startled the man awake, and although he was off to a slow start, at the very least he was starting at all. He eyed the boy and nodded in greeting, while also pushing away the urge to sit down between his two alphas. The others he had mostly ignored, as he'd done during their little adventure. When Sahalie spoke, he bit down on his tongue. He wanted to tell her to speak confidently, to not ask permission of those that were beneath her. But Sahalie was a different leader, and this pack would be so much unlike his old home.

"Quaking Vale..." although he gave no other acknowledgement of his approval, the silence should have been enough. It would be unlike him to actually admit to liking something. He looked around, breathing in the cool spring breeze that welcomed them. "It won't be so different after a while," Larkspur mused, "but it'll be home all the same."

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

This is the second round. Keep up the good posts guys, once we've gotten these posts out we can post exits then make it official!

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

His brother was the first to arrive and Kino gave him a cheeky grin, returning the nod. Kino had been greatly surprised to find that his sibling had taken up healing. He himself had never had a knack for it finding all the different names and what they did confusing. No, he was a straight forward guy. He liked to be physical and while he was far from stupid he was no intellectual. But they certainly needed a healer and he was glad that Draven had found a role within the pack to take up, especially such an important one. He knew it had to be hard for the dark Leigh to leave what he did but he was glad he was there all the same.

After that came Larkspur acting normal as usual. He was even surprised that he hadn’t come to squeeze himself between the pair, but this time was different and he knew that. Once this meeting was over they would officially be a pack, this would be their home, and the man would be beneath him. Due to his age, he’d likely be his second and he wondered how that would mull over with Draven. That situation could certainly prove interesting.

The others filtered in and his auds swiveled to catch Hal’s words as she spoke. Meek, nothing that spoke of her new place as a leader and he almost sighed. But he knew that if she had been assertive that would have been very out of character. As usual they balanced each other out; she was the calm, caring, and thoughtful one while he was the muscle, the one hardest to please, and likely the one that any new members would need to prove themselves too. He wasn’t a pushover to anyone...except her. “It’s great, much better than those open planes and hidden away. I don’t think anyone’s gonna want to go through the copse looking for trouble, it’s too much work,” he commented with a flick of his ear.

Topaz gaze scanned those in front of him before he cleared his throat. “Obviously we’ve already talked about what’s going to happen. If anyone finds a good place for a communal den give a howl but you’re obviously not required to stay in it when we do find one. All that’s left for us to do is set up borders and maybe get a few caches in place. After that we’re all Quaking Vale wolves. This’ll be our home. No more wandering no, no more wondering where our next meal is, this is it. I wouldn’t want to settle this with any other wolves,” he said, his voice affirmative but a friendly smirk settled onto his silvered maw. His attention turned to Hal to signal her to add what she wanted.

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume

-awkwardly throws Cas in late-

The traveling was almost too much for the silver-dusted girl to take, but this was worth it. She was limping most of the way, and she knew it. She wasn't even trying to conceal it anymore - they were all tired, and for all she cared, they could know everything if they wanted. She hadn't explicitly told them, of course, but she suspected they already knew that she wasn't the healthiest. She'd lost weight on the journey, and her fur was embarrassingly dull, patchy, and ruffled. All-in-all, she was aware that she looked miserable. She felt miserable. She'd made sure to keep an upbeat disposition the entire trip there, and now... now she was just ready to go the hell to sleep.

Preferably cuddled with Niles or Sahalie.

Alastor's call rang out, and Cas got up from her prone position in the snow to follow the noise. It was no wonder it took her longer than everyone else to reach them, her body impossibly stiff and achy. The blue-eyed girl winced as she put weight on her legs, but shook off the ache and padded toward where Al had howled.

She limped heavily the entire way, up until she reached the clearing that the others were in. Then she gave her pelt a few, quick, useless licks before straightening into a more mensch position and heading over to her new family.

"Sorry I'm late," she called, wincing a little when her step hitched, but continuing on anyway. "I was a ways off." She surveyed the landscape, perking her ears in excitement. "I think this place is beautiful." And she really meant it.

She paused, listening to Al's orders, and smiled before flicking her tail. "You got it, boss. I'll keep an eye out for sleeping places," she replied, padding over to brush against Sahalie in an affectionate greeting.

(This post was last modified: Apr 11, 2017, 03:27 AM by Castel.)

Sahalie was different than he had expected. Not only in appearance but in personality as well, somehow when Alastor had described her wanting to lead he had come up with a different image. Something similar to how their mother had been, how Namid had been. Their presence demanding respect with grace and ease, stern but kind and loving as well. Sahalie was, well she was much more relaxed than any other kind of leader he had ever met. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, but it was an adjustment.

She addressed everyone, announcing the name of their new home; Quaking Vale. It suited the trees that shivered and shimmied around them as if they were nervous to be surrounded by a group of wolves. She followed up the announcement with a question and the green eyes found her face in surprise, before flitting to the silver boy- er man by her side to see how he thought of her lack of commitment. She claimed she wanted to live here yet she also seemed ready to move on if the pack didn't agree.

The pale Larkspur spoke up and following that his brother also gave his piece, this much at least Draven was expecting. This was the strong presence that he was so familiar with leaders having, a trait Alastor had clearly inherited from their mother. The dark man said nothing but give a firm nod in response to the alpha's words while his green eyes watched Castel limp into the meeting. He would have to find a way to gently prod her into the infirmary so he could take a closer look at her.

This was his home now, and he knew that he had made the right choice despite all of the surprises. The only thing he could hope for was that Neha would decide to join them.

@Larkspur and @Niles ? (grey if you want you can just do an ooc join after the pack is up, if you're busy. come up with whatever IC excuse you'd like)

Maybe everyone was willing to give in because they were so tired. Looking over at Larkspur as he wandered in, he seemed thoroughly done with it. And poor Castel, she noted, moved with a permanent limp. Sahalie struggled to consider, over the course of their long journey, that others might not be as healthy as she was--old or young--and she didn't necessarily know what to do about it. But where the Tainn daughter lacked confidence her silvered companion, thankfully, was strong. Alastor had come so far in these last few months, when she thought back to how often the boy had deferred entirely to her judgement back in Oak Tree Bend or before they arrived in Whitestone Monadnock. He knew how hard she could be shaken now, he knew that sometimes he needed to take the lead--she didn't always want it. Sahalie Tainn was a born leader, but being a leader was a job and not her whole personality or her whole life. 


No one had anything negative to say, and she had to wonder if it was because they genuinely liked this place more than any other or they were done looking. There was a pair of unsettling green eyes watching her, and her ears fluttered. They hadn't formally met yet, Draven and Sahalie, since the boy had only arrived the other night. Searching for the family resemblance was futile: Alastor and Draven were day and night. Uncertainly, she smiled back at him.

Was there anything left to say? There was no script written for this event. If there were rules or procedures she didn't know them. "I just... I want to thank you all for putting your trust in me. And for coming all this way. It means the whole world to me." Castel had barely known her when she had signed up to throw her life to the other side of the mountain. Draven didn't know Sahalie at all. And Larkspur was Larkspur. "I want this to be a sanctuary--for us and for any others that we might encounter. I want to help others to heal, be it physically, mentally, emotionally, however they need it. Because so many of us need it." Alastor, Larkspur, Castel, Draven, they all had needed guidance and support to get to where they were now: a better place. And so had she.

(This post was last modified: Apr 11, 2017, 10:10 PM by Sahalie.)

In came a limping Castel, and of course Larkspur had to shoot her a disapproving look. Shortly after Alastor spoke, Larkspur gave himself the job of starting a cache. Maybe after they could find something bigger to take down, as it had felt like years since he'd joined in an actual group hunt. Truth be told, the past year Larkspur hadn't been that great of an addition to any pack. He hunted, sure, but what had he done to really help out his past packs? More importantly... would this time be different? It would. Or at least he'd try. Alastor had asked him to be an advisor, a role that suited him, and maybe if he could behave just a little bit (which he thought he had been doing pretty well, all things considered), things could be better. If he could just let it, Quaking Vale could maybe even be better than his own pack had. Sahalie had a better cause, after all. None (er, most) of these wolves were related. This was not a pack formed simply by family, but more by a want for something better. "That settles it, then, doesn't it?" new home, new orders, new life. Larkspur was feeling surprisingly positive about the whole thing.