Nomads Pass Everything changes in the blink of an eye

You were the thunder, I was the rain

Treyah Tainn

Each step magnified the sinking feeling in her stomach. At first it had been pure defiance that stopped her from going after Naira to herd her home again, then distraction as she tried to stop her siblings from killing each other over their latest argument. A whole day had been and gone before she remembered the old wolf was missing and the trail was well and truly cold.

She was heading north.

The branches of the Ghastly Wood raked through her fur as if trying to hold her back from what lay ahead, or maybe they just wanted to wrap her up and hold her until all that was left were her bones to be broken underfoot of the next wolf foolish enough to wander this way. Regardless, it did little to improve her mood as she continued on, only knowing of the Pass from her mother's stories but finding the trail with ease. Up, up and up it went, and her paws seemed rooted to the ground.

Surely she hadn't gone all the way up there?

But, then again, she would, wouldn't she?

With a defeated sigh the girl stepped forward, already certain of what she would find, but needing the closure all the same.

Someone should be there to say goodbye, and storm clouds were gathering in the east.

I could put a little stardust in your eyes

Odin Archer

He never meant to come this far south, skirting around their southern neighbors with little concern, but not expecting to treat them with the same disregard if they came so far north and he happened to be in the area (the boy was asking for an ass whooping). He regarded the upward slope and the recent trail that seemed to go up, towards the storm... He wasn't the fastest wolf around but he was accustomed to climbing, and if the path the stranger had picked was any indication, they were not. Oh, he wanted to turn around and go home, but there was another smaller part of him that almost felt sorry for whoever it was.

With an exasperated sigh at himself and a chastising groan for being so soft he went after the stranger, tail waving steadily behind him as he considered just what sort of lunatic he'd find himself up against on losing ground with foul weather on the way. Just as he had convinced himself to turn around, there was movement ahead, and he warned of his approach with a bark. "Yer not used ter climbin', are yer?" He might have been a flat-lander compared to those that lived south of the tree line, but very few had the vertical experience he did, having been born at the Monadnock.

You were the thunder, I was the rain

Treyah Tainn

Muttering and cursing under her breath might have been a waste of breath but it was one she was willing to make if there was a chance her mother would hear even a word of the turmoil she was putting her daughter through with this latest escapade. She didn't even start at the bark behind her, the heat of the climb under her pelt only adding to the rage that had been slowly building over months of dealing with shit that should have been none of her concern. "An' whatsittoyeranyway?" She snapped with a flash of teeth. She would think it would be perfectly obvious that nobody would be up here, with that weather rolling in without a damn good reason.

She huffed a sigh an bit her tongue. "My mother wandered off, she's not right in the head. She's used to mountains, I'm not. She used to lead a pack here somewhere. I dunno where she's gotten to." It was the closest she could bring herself to actually asking for help. She didn't want to be indebted to the giant cyclops that seemed to swan right up the damn mountain while she was left heaving for breath, the crisp mountain air burning her damn lungs. Her eyes only narrowed as the silence stretch on, an obvious So? etched on her features. "You here to help or just come for a laugh?"

(This post was last modified: Sep 09, 2017, 04:23 AM by Treyah.)

I could put a little stardust in your eyes

Odin Archer

He listened to the girl's tirade, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. It was the sort of chewing out he'd expect from his sister or mother, not some stranger on the side of a mountain with thunder in the distance. It was all he could do not to laugh at the expecting stare she was giving him, her last snap actually eliciting a sharp bark of laughter from his jaws. He was almost mesmerized for a moment... just a moment. "Love, darlin'..." he stepped closer with a lop sided smirk, "Yer best bet is ter find somewhere ter bunker down for th' storm then go home. I'm sure yer ma can look after herself. I got a pack ter get back to an' from th' smell o' it, so do you." He could all but feel the pressure building as she threatened to blow, if it hadn't been for Kara, he never would have known what buttons to push.

Swiftly pushing past the girl, he motioned with a tip of his head, "But even I can see yer won' give up that easy. Yer got a name, or will I just call yer Sweetheart?" It was a good thing he had to watch where he was stepping, otherwise, she might have seen just how close he was to bursting into a fit of laughter.

(This post was last modified: Sep 01, 2017, 11:56 PM by Odin.)

You were the thunder, I was the rain

Treyah Tainn

Somehow he had managed to gain the upper ground, otherwise, she would have kicked out and sent him tumbling down the fucking mountain? Just who the hell did he think he was?! Her teeth groaned from the pressure of her clenched jaw, her already screaming muscles felt ready to burst as he continued and the pressure built inside. She was about to give him a good serving when he started to move away and she was so suddenly stunned that her rage was extinguished... and then he made the sweetheart comment.

The prickle alone was enough to have her squinting after him again, a grumble evident in her tone as she snapped back "Treyah, Tainn. I live in the wildwood," not that she expected him to know where that was, or to remember, or to ever decide on a whim to come and visit her, after all, he smelled nothing like any wolf she had ever encountered before. "But you're not from south of here, so you must be from the north. What do I call you? Blockhead? or maybe Dungheap?" She had picked up her pace enough to be able to nip him on the ass if he riled her up again. Perhaps she was being too harsh, he was helping her after all.

I could put a little stardust in your eyes

Odin Archer

"Oh-hoho, she's got a bark!" He joked over his shoulder, skipping forward a few steps as she took aim at his rump, "An' apparently bite too, if only she wasn' so slow..." like he was one to talk... Chances were high that if she'd had a decent sleep at all in the last week and a meal to boot she'd outpace him without breaking her breath, but that didn't mean he wouldn't make the most of this fortuitous encounter while he had her on the back foot. Finally he answered, his voice more serious than it had been their entire encounter so far, "Odin, Archer, I was born at Whitestone Monadnock, out on the tundra, it's impossible to miss."

The next few hours passed with little of note, barbs were thrown from both sides and even a few nips that quickly turned from testing to playful. The pair spent most of their time trying to one up the other with no clear winner at the end of their journey. Finally, the earth began to slope downward again and Odin allowed his steps to slow. Stretched out beneath them was a wide pass. Cliffs rose up on either side and even he found himself holding his breath as he let it all sink in. "Yer said there used ter be a pack here?" It was even colder than the tundra, and perhaps it was the impending storm, or maybe just the hint of Autumn in the air, but the first fat drops of water began to fall from the sky. "We better find some cover."

You were the thunder, i was the rain

Treyah Tainn

Amber eyes scoured the pass that stretched out before her. It was her first time actually setting foot in the place, but it all felt so familiar from her mother's stories alone. She couldn't lay eyes on the caves that were supposed to line the cliffs, but then again that had always been the point. Drops of rain so cold they burned the spots where her fur wasn't thick enough to repel them began to fall from the sky and as much as it pained her to agree with the dark male, she knew he was right about them needing to find shelter. "Over there." She gestured to the gnarled old tree. If it was the tree from her mother's stories, if they were indeed, in the right place, then there should be a den at its base.

She didn't wait for confirmation from her companion before she began to pick her way down the stony path. There was a familiar scent in the air and an impending sense of dread as she drew closer to the tree, and for a moment it felt like her mother was walking alongside her, with the same steady aura she had held before she got so unwell. The girl paused with a troubled expression, looking over her shoulder to see if the boy was coming with her, and letting it sink in that her mother was nowhere in sight. He was bigger than she was and she wondered if they would both fit, but with the rain steadily increasing, the time to question the decision was gone.

I could put a little stardust in your eyes

Odin Archer

Following off the girls left shoulder as they moved to the tree, he couldn't bite back his sigh of irritation as she hesitated at the entrance to the abandoned den. He shouldered past, lowering down to his elbows to check the den was, in fact, empty, and threw a questioning glance over his shoulder, wondering just what her hold up was. Someone else had been here recently, maybe two someones, though it was hard to discern the scents over both his own and his companions. It was going to be cramped for sure and so he scooted as far back as he could manage, hopefully leaving enough room that his companions rump wouldn't continue to cop the worst of the rain.

When she finally joined him it was obvious she had noted the recent use as well, although her eyes showed more familiarity with the scents. He bit his tongue, resting his chin across his paws with a low grumble, anticipating that at least some part of her was going to be pressed up against him in such close quarters. He trusted she'd speak when she was ready, but he was also tired from the long climb and somewhat dreading the journey back to the Monadnock. She opened her mouth, here it comes.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

you were the thunder, I was the rain

Treyah Tainn

"She's been here." It was a quiet admission, she wasn't even sure the boy beside her was listening. They were both rather sizeable and in the cramped space beneath the tree they were pressed flank to flank. It wasn't unpleasant and helped to stave off the cold that was threatening to chill them through the den entrance. "My brother was here too." She finally added with a contemplative look in her eye. There was no point racing home, she would have to explore the Pass once the rain had passed, and she didn't expect him to stick around and help her beyond the passing of the storm. "We should rest up, we've both got a long trip home once this is over, right?"