Kingsfall the return of one brings the loss of another

RE: An ominous formation of undulatus asperatus seems to bode ill for the residents of Relic Lore. || @Inna only please. || 7/26, Afternoon, Fog, 53 ° F, 12 ° C

LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He was not emotionally attached to anyone here but that didn't mean he wasn't immune to losses or the feelings that surrounded others. Laike felt selfish for the desire that crept up within. He had spent the night wondering if he should slip off to spend some time with Adelyade. Yet he knew that would be so wrong of him. The last thing he could or should do was to run off and go see the Rye female. Even while he was here he didn't exactly feel here. As fog drifted through the forest a strange cloud like one he had never seen before hung above the canopy, he moved with them. Slipping out of the borders of Hearthwood but not daring to go too far. He had every intention of only being a call's length away.

The stocky male found himself near the roots of one of the grand trees. For no reason, in particular, he began to dig at it's roots. The soil was damp which made it easy work. Laike wished he had known why he was doing this but he had no real idea. Perhaps it was an instinctual thing to take his mind of things. Perhaps it was due to the strange cloud in the sky that seemed almost malicious with its shape. Regardless he kept going until he eventually had a shallow hole in the soil surrounding the tree's base.

Fiery eyes stared down at the mess he had created. He felt as the spot below him did. Empty, hollowed out, and a bit damp.

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She'd been wandering for a long time unsure of what to do since she had witnessed her mother's death. Lekalta was gone and Inna didn't know what had become if her sister. She'd hoped that by now she would have returned with news that the feline that had taken their mother had paid for it's crime. The ebony Baranski had wanted to run as far as she could from Hearthwood like she had done after her father's death but she could not. Oksana and Risa they would need her in the coming weeks and months, she had to remain strong for them. The night had been hers though, she'd seen to it her daughter was cared for before she'd disappeared into the forest.

Inna hadn't realized her paws had carried her to the border and for a moment she paused to look up into the sky. There she saw a cloud with shape that seemed so appropriate for what had happened in Hearthwood hours ago. With a sigh, her head and tail held low Inna stepped across the border and out into Kingsfall. She didn't know if traveling outside the border would help but she hoped that when she returned Lekalta would have too. She and her sister may have spent the better part of the last year away from each other but she needed her sister then.

Some faint sounds did manage to get the Baranski’s attention drawing her near one of the large trees that made up Kingsfall. As she came around it she found Laike and for the tiniest second she thought to turn and go back but she did not. “You haven't been here all night have you?” She asked coming around the tree.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2017, 02:30 AM by Inna.)

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He likely would have thought her to just be a shadow in the corner of his vision had she not spoken to him. Slowly his fiery gaze moved from the hole he had dug to the ebony female's face. "No." He answered in a voice that was just barely above a whisper. For a brief moment, his focus went back down to the empty hole before it returned to the more important presence. He felt like he should ask the raven something but nothing seem rather appropriate. So he came to a different conclusion.

"Care to walk?"

With the creeping cloud in the sky, the lingering mist, and the unknown desire to dig Laike thought he could use a bit of distraction and perhaps she could too. The large Artemieva wouldn't move until he was sure she would follow him. For all he knew she could only be checking up before slipping back into Hearthwood's borders. If she wanted to leave then he could find something else to do like dig another hole or try to track something down.

Fire-toned eyes looked to Inna with a softer edge to them than usual. Considering all things, she didn't need his gaze to be so firm and steely like usual. For the sake of everyone Laike was willing to be a bit more gentle than he normally was.

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She thought it a little strange to find Laike out in Kingsfall digging a hole it seemed as her eyes had fallen to the displaced dirt around his paws. She hadn't thought she was in the mood for company but now that she had found him and made herself known it might be what she needed.“Good, it's not safe out here,” she said almost absent-mindedly as her gaze drifted for a moment back toward the border. Was it safe in there either, how found they have missed the cougar in their midst? Her gaze came back to him as he spoke a simple question.

“I've been walking all night,” she admitted quietly, “But it is keeping me from running as far away as I can get. So I would like that.” She didn't know if the walking was helping or not but it was better than sitting still.

Inna moved toward him to walk beside him and for a few steps she didn't say anything unsure of what to say. She knew he didn't know her mother like she did but she wondered if he was grieving just as she was. “Are you doing okay?” She asked turning her head to look at him. The thought that the loss of her mother and what it could do to the pack. Losing Kisla was a great loss to them all and what made it worse was the Raven felt her mother was finally healing after her father's death.

Inna’s thoughts drifted to the Artemieva man and wondered why it was starting to seem like a pattern. He was there when she needed help and didn't know that she needed it.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2017, 03:09 AM by Inna.)

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There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

Laike didn't miss the words that fell from Inna and he didn't waste a beat in answering. "I would say that I can handle myself but I don't feel like pushing my luck." He admitted with a rather serious tone. Any other time the words might have been a light joke but now they were heavy and honest. If there was still savage wildlife roaming about then he'd rather be prepared in numbers than test out his luck by being alone when faced with such a danger.

His head turned and a frown threatened to pull at his rather neutral features. "I'd prefer you to walk with me than run off somewhere." The stocky River wolf admitted. He wasn't one to keep company around but if it meant keeping Inna from possibly disappearing into the fog than he'd keep her around for a good while.

He was content with that comfortable silence that seemed to settle between them for a few strides. The ebony female's next words caught him offguard slightly. "I think I am." His voice was gentle as his eyes focused on the forest ahead. Somewhere in the distance, a small family of deer seemed to bound through the fog and usually, he would have trailed after them but today that didn't feel like something he wanted to do. "And you? Oksana?" His head turned to look at his walking company. Laike hoped the younger Baranski could be shielded from what happened, even if only for a bit longer until she could perhaps better understand.

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As soon as she commented on the safety of Kingsfall he answered causing her to worry just a little more. Laike seemed a confident wolf and if he seemed worried then perhaps he felt the problem of the cougar hadn't passed. What did that mean for her sister, she shoved that thought from her mind. Lekalta was fine and she would be waiting for Inna when she returned. “I would prefer that you don't. I'm not sure Hearthwood can handle another loss so soon.” She knew that she couldn't handle losing anyone else after she'd lost her mother. She may not know Laike well but she did care about him and what happens to him.

She never planned to go too far from home because of Oksana but a place far from Hearthwood was a nice thought. She wouldn't have to face it everyday that her family was gone from the river pack. “I appreciate that Laike, I think I would prefer to have the company.” Walking on her own had provided her too much time to her thoughts. Perhaps Laike could provide her with a distraction from the reliving of her mother's death.

The Baranski was hurting more than she thought she could bare but she was still concerned with the pack. She couldn't just curl up in her den like she wanted to and not come out until she was ready. Like with Lorcan she would have to carry on and make sure they were all okay. So she'd asked him how he was which led to a troublesome response. “If you want to talk about it I am here and if not that's okay too,” she told him so that he would know. She wasn't surprised when he turned the question back on her but she didn't know how to answer it. She shook her head, “I don't think I'm doing well at all,” she told him honestly. As for Oksana, “She is safe until I return. I've asked she not be told, I will do so when I return to her. She needs to know her grandmother won't be around anymore.” A few more tears that Inna didn't know she had skid down her cheek as she spoke of her mother not being there.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2017, 04:20 AM by Inna.)

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He had to fight back the urge to respond with something rather dreadful and morbid. Laike wouldn't really be a loss. He likely wouldn't be mourned or missed by anyone, even his own brother. They would not weep and cry for him the way they might anyone else here. Everyone here had such strong bonds to another while he simply lived on the outskirts of their relations. He would have called himself a leech to Hearthwood River but he was a bit more productive than that title would suggest. So he merely nodded his head firmly to seem like he was siding with her words.

The stocky second was glad they had come to that agreement. He didn't want to harass her to stick around and it seemed he wouldn't have to. For now, they could simply enjoy the woods and company of each other. His eyes looked upwards to find that the mysterious cloud was still hanging above the Kingsfall canopy. What an odd ordeal.

His ear flicked softly at her kind words. Did he want to talk about? What would she think of him if he admitted that he didn't really feel anything right now? And not in the "oh this is so awful I've gone numb" kind of way. This was just him. He felt an emptiness that hadn't been brought on by grief, sadness, or sorrow. Don't get it wrong, though. Laike was fond of the older Baranski woman - Kisla. She had been the one to accept him into Hearthwood River and give him a chance at a new life. It was something that he could have likely never repaid before hand but most certainly couldn't now. He was taking cues from others on how to feel and act right now. That he should look sad or solemn. Laike was forced to wonder if there was something wrong with him. What a selfish thought to have with all the things going on around him.

"Thank you." He mumbled softly so Inna wouldn't be left with a cold shoulder.

He turned his head to better look at the ebony mother. While he was never great with these kinds of things, spending time with Adelayde had given him a bit of a foundation on what he should do. "If you need someone to listen or talk to I'm willing to be there." Adelayde's issues had never composed of death (that Laike was aware of currently). Very gently he bumped his nose against Inna's shoulder. It was a kind gesture. Far less than he would give to his own woman in the Rye fields but it was more than he would usually give to anyone else. "How do you think she'll take it?" His voice was soft, a bit unsure too.

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Hearthwood had already suffered one loss and not just any loss but that of their female lead, her mother. She didn't think she could handle another that night especially since she didn't even know the fate of her sister. The fact that Lekalta had yet to return left the Baranski unsettled. She'd lured the feline away but should have returned, it was everything she had not to think the worst had happened. What if it had and the cougar had returned and done the same to Laike. She wasn't close to him, not like Ayti and certainly not like Lorcan but he had showed her kindness. He'd been good to Oksana, more than she would ever ask of him while he didn't know the truth. She cared about him and what happened to him so the thought of something happening to him was a thought she didn't want to have. Many times she had considered telling him that he was Oksana's uncle and now that her mother was gone she considered it more. She could not without Lorcans blessing, she was sorry for that.

All night she'd been on her own, left in her own thoughts about what had happened what she was to do. Now she found she wanted company, someone to walk with her and help to take her mind off what had happened. A small reprieve before she would have to face it all once more. For now she wouldn't worry about any of it and just concentrate on this time walking with Laike. It was the break she needed from all of the thoughts that had been swirling inside her head since she'd left her mother's body. The morning would be the time when she would let the thoughts back in.

She'd been so consumed with what she'd been feeling all night and now that she'd come across one of her pack mates she felt she needed to check on him. It was what her mother would have wanted, to make sure the pack was doing okay after such a loss. Each of them would grieve the Matriarch in their own way but that didn't meant that she couldn't offer an ear if they needed to talk. Some would handle it better than others and in that moment her mind drifted to Lachesis. How was he taking the death of his friend and colleague lead? She didn't know but she felt she would need to check in on him too. She would not make the same mistake with him that she had with her mother.

“You're welcome,” she offered to the man. Inna didn't know if he would ever take her up in her offer but it would always stand.

For the first time since she had seen what had happened to her mother Inna smiled. It was small but it was there all the same when he offered to be there for her. “Thank you Laike it means a lot. If I do need to talk I will come find you.” When he bumped her shoulder her smile widened just a little. Laike's question was a good one, how would she take hearing that Kisla wouldn't be around anymore? She'd left her daughter in the capable paws of her father and knew he wouldn't say anything to their cub. She was safe for the night and Lorcan would get to spend some time with her after his return. Inna looked over to Laike when he asked his question. “I don't know, I'm not even sure how to tell her so that she can understand. It's my job as her mother to tell her and good or bad, as much as it might hurt I have to tell her.” It was one of the things that she would do in the morning. She took comfort in knowing that her daughter was with someone who cared about her just as much as she did if not more.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 27, 2017, 06:51 PM by Inna.)

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