Whitestone Monadnock silence gives you space

dated for November 19 @Adeltra | slight PP, let me know if it's not okay! entrance to cave & inside of cave

To say he was excited to have an age-mate atop the monadnock with him was an understatement. He never minded spending time with his parents or his packmates. Being around them made him feel more grown up, but it was refreshing to have a younger face around. One who shared similar excitements and wouldn’t spill about his secret spots.

As soon as the morning sun rolled around Cyril slipped away from the den he shared with his parents, his oversized paws scrambling over the stone. The day had just begun and he wanted to direct her to his favourite spot—the one he had shared with Everly. C’mon! He whispered, hurriedly, to the ebony girl as he prodded her awake with a gentle poke from his nose. And a second poke. I wanna show you something! He urged once they left the confinements of the shared den, his gangly body moving swiftly over the rocky terrain. They had to be quick, otherwise the adults would disturb them, and Cyril didn’t want them finding out about his hidden cave.

Guiding her over the rocks the ebony cub paused atop a large, flat rock, the entrance to the cave tucked beneath their perch. He waited, turning toward her as his tail wagged excitedly behind him. You can’t tell nobody, got it? His yellow eyes narrowed into slits, a small frown tugging at his lips as he waited for her response. He wouldn’t move until she promised to keep his secret, just like Everly had. 

Adeltra had been snoozing away when she was suddenly prodded awake by a nose. It had been such a long time since that had happened to her that she acted on instinct. Her paw stretched out, batting at the muzzle. “Rom, ‘s too early. Go back t’ sleep,” she grumbled, flopping her paw back over her muzzle. Then, a bit of real consciousness ebbed into her mind, her eyes popped open and she was rolling to her paws. “Sorry! Sorry, Cy,” she mumbled, giving a small sheepish smile.

He seemed to excited about something and she was quick to shake off her sleep and follow along. “I wanna show you something!” he barked and her grin grew wider. They scaled the rocks, the forest-bred girl much less graceful on this terrain than back home. It took her a bit longer to navigate but she did her best to keep up a good pace. Whatever it was, it had to be great!

Once they got to their assumed destination they stopped and her playmate suddenly got a serious look on his face. Her brows rose as he demanded that she keep it a secret. Her own expression morphed into a very serious one, brows drawn and lips firm. A paw came up to press against her chin and keep her jaws from opening, a firm nod bobbing her head as if to say “my lips are sealed”. Now, what was this great thing she was about to be shown?

(This post was last modified: Nov 30, 2017, 03:15 AM by Adeltra.)

He kind of felt bad for waking her up so early, but the boy didn’t know how long it would take for her to get stronger and he wanted to fill the days they had together with as much adventure as possible. Perhaps later, or the following day, they could pester Everly to teach them both something. Oh, oh! Maybe they could even go hunting! His rump nearly wiggled in excitement at the thought but he remained composed, his yellow gaze fixated on the girl as he wanted for her response.

The ebony girl’s own expression drew serious as she gave a sharp nod, her lips drawn tight. Okay. Cyril knew he could trust her. He was the reason she was on the monadnock, after all. The boy could quickly change that if she decided to the spill the beans… Dismissing the thought he nodded in return, a wide grin breaking across his maw as he leapt down from the rock. He was much bigger than he had been since the last time he ventured into his hidden cave, but Everly had managed to squeeze through the entrance just fine… He squinted at the hole in the rock, his tail twitching with excitement before he launched himself forward, using his forepaws to hoist himself into the hole. Adopting a wolfy-army crawl the boy shuffled forward through the tunnel, nearly bursting with excitement. Now that he was bigger it didn’t take long to get to the secluded gave and he flopped into the opening with a soft oof!

With a grin still pulling at his face Cyril turned to the entrance, waiting for Adeltra’s dark shape to appear…

As soon as she agreed he turned and leapt from view, almost seemingly leaping off the edge of a cliff. Her auds flew forward in alarm and she ran forward, peering down in time to see his black tail disappear into a hole. Breathing a sigh of relief she herself leapt down, turning and peering into the darkness. There wasn’t much to see from the outside, but she couldn’t delay much longer without surely getting a call from her companion to hurry herself up. Thus, she began worming her way into the hole.

It was much easier for her as she was still perhaps a third of the size she was supposed to be and even at this age it was becoming clear she would never be a large wolf. In fact, she would barely even reach medium height. Little grunts came from her jaws as she wriggled her way before slipped in with a small yip of surprised, rising to her paws and giving her pelt a good shake. The dark Archer looked around, looking out at the view that the opening provided. She turned toward Cyril, her tail wagging quickly behind her small frame “This is so cool! How’d you find it?” she asked.

(This post was last modified: Dec 01, 2017, 12:26 AM by Adeltra.)

The girl was not far behind him, wriggling through the tunnel he had crawled through. Her expression made the early wake up so worth it. His tail wagged frantically behind him, his yellow gaze trailing away from her dark figure and the scene below them. The morning sun had begun to kiss the lowlands, illuminating the landmarks he had gotten acquainted with in his six months of life. Landmarks that would never get old, no matter how many times the little Kael visited them. And landmarks that he hoped to take Adeltra to before they had to return her to the willows.

Found it one day, he started with an excited chirp as he bumped her shoulder, motioning for her to follow him toward the edge with a flick of his nose. While I was exploring. Been coming here since I was real small. He plopped his hindquarters down against the cool stone, his features relaxing as he surveyed the sun kissed tundra. It’s my favourite spot on the monadnock. And you’re only the second wolf I’ve shown. He flashed her a cheeky grin, turning away from the viewpoint for a split second. She wasn’t staying permanently, so the lost princess was the perfect wolf to show his secret hiding spot. There was no one for her to tell. Unless she decided to tell Piety or Wraith and ruin his secret… buuut he didn’t think that would happen. He hoped.

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

She followed him as he spoke, mentioning that he’d just found it one day. Man, maybe the monadnock was more interesting than back home. Well, maybe just for cool hiding places. To her the willows were still the best. She loved the way that the trees swayed back and forth, the way they sounded and smelled. How the forest was just the right size, not too dense and not too big. The dark Archer princess liked to play among the roots, finding burrows in the ground and chasing birds from the bushes or branches. And, when the sun was just right, it would spray light through the branches and make great spots for napping. 

But, this was still pretty cool.

When he mentioned being real small she tried to imagine it in her mind, a little Cyril with chubby legs and a lolling tongue coming from his mouth, stumbling as he was trying to make his way up to this place. Still, she imagined he was probably big even then. Of course she knew big wolves, after all her cousin @Sven was a giant! She wondered how big her dark friend would get, as he was already several inches bigger than her. It was becoming apparent that she would never be very big in stature, but she had no problem with that. What she lacked in size she made up in spirit! “Well, I’m honored,” she replied with a bright grin when he mentioned that she was the second one he had shown it to. A little secret between him, her and another wolf. Her tag wagged a little harder. “We don’t have places like this back home. We have willow trees, which are really pretty, but nothing with a view like this,” she commented, looking out across the tundra.

(This post was last modified: Dec 11, 2017, 02:05 AM by Adeltra.)

He could not imagine living anywhere but the tundra, or atop the monadnock. The coffee-coloured boy could see everything from the rock (or, mostly everything). By visiting his secret cave, or perching atop another vantage point, Cyril could plan his route for the day. He could observe particular points of interest from the massive rock and figure out how to get there. He still struggled a bit with distance, but he was getting better at it, and soon he would become an expert. Perhaps he would even pursue the role of scout once he was big enough, for he was persistent on learning more than any of his packmates.

Willow trees. His ears twitched at the name, his maw turning to his dark companion. Living in a forest had never intrigued the boy. He couldn’t fathom the idea of not being being able to see the sky. What are they like? He asked, his curiosity expelling the words from his chest. He was curious as to why the lost princess was so fond of her home. How could anyone prefer a forest to the openness of the tundra… it didn’t make any sense!

Cyril asked what the willows were like and she hummed in response as she thought on how to explain them. Of course they were magical, but they were also something that had blended into the background for her all her life until she got lost. Now, when she thought back on them she got a nostalgic feeling. “Well, they’re really skinny at the bottom but then at the top they span out to cover everything. Their branches look like waterfalls, or that’s how they were explained to me. I’ve never seen a waterfall,” she admitted. “When I was little and it was dark they used to scare me because the shadows looked like monsters coming to get us,” but that had been back when she was really young. She’d bark and growl until she was satisfied that the monsters weren’t coming to hurt her family then, all tuckered out from expending energy being a hero, she’d take a nice nap. “They make this nice rustling sound that’s really calming when it’s windy and napping under them in easy. I used to lie on my back and watched the clouds float by through the branches. The Ridge is completely surrounded by them, so you kind of had to find ways to make them fun,” she laughed, affection in her voice. Man, she missed it.

He waited patiently for her response, his yellow orbs not once wavering from her small, ebony frame. As she described the trees Cyril struggled to paint a picture in his head, as he was sure it was all wrong. Waterfall branches. Huh. The description brought a small, lopsided smile to his dark features. But—she had never seen a waterfall before? How preposterous! There was a small one, south of the lowlands, closer to the Rye territory. Cheedo had taken him. Perhaps he would have to show Adeltra the tumbling water one day… before his mother took her home, to the south.

Sounds pretty neat, he hummed in response as he leaned back on his hindlegs, his front paws snapping together. There weren’t any kind of trees like that in the north. Just scraggly evergreens and towering cedars… oh! And the weird, golden grass to the south, where the Fields wolves lived. You excited to go home? He asked suddenly, his nose tipping to the side as his tone grew more serious.