Aurora Heights Crawl and beg and plead, sing

Backdated to not long after his joining of AH.

Elias wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice in coming here.

If he was brutally honest, it wasn't quite what he'd hoped it would be. The air was crisp and clear, which was nice, he liked that very much but...Aside from it being high up there was very little it shared in common with his homeland. Which was okay, there was no use in trying to recreate his home somewhere else, after all nothing would ever be quite as good, but it did little to soothe the homesickness that ate him from the inside out.

He liked the company, those he'd met seemed nice so far, but again it wasn't the same.

Would Raina brand him as a traitor? Would she think he'd abandoned them in their time of need? What was he even doing here anyway, chasing a dream that didn't even belong to him? A whine passed his lips. The taste of ruined hope was bitter on his tongue, like a heavy coat of soot and ash. If he'd been smarter, stronger or faster he would have found @Thuban by now. Or better yet, he wouldn't have sent him off on a fools errand in the first place.

What he been thinking? He was so stupid, so blind and hopeful and ignorant. A little boy in all but appearance. Perhaps the others were right, maybe he was an annoyance, a pest. He'd tried so hard to please them, to fit in but look where it had gotten him. He wasn't alone, he was a member of a pack, he belonged, and yet in all of his years he'd never felt so lonely.

Her body positively buzzed at the arrival of a new wolf in the heights. She had grown dull of the same faces (aside from her parents, of course) and was over the moon at the thought of having a new playmate. Which was why she tracked the pale newcomer down, her mountain legs working swiftly to maneuver her lithe body over the snow-covered terrain. There were certain areas she no longer visited, due to the abundance of snow, which left the scarlet Archer feeling rather restless. She thrived on adventure and hated being hindered by the weather. She still accompanied her parents on most of their patrols, as she liked familiarizing herself with the land. Everything looked so different with the snow. It was like living in a different place.

It did not take her long to find the newcomer. His scent was easy to spot out among the others, for it had not mingled enough with the Aurora scent. And he had peculiar tracks. One of his paws looked as though it was missing a few toes, which made following him in the snow much easier. She approached hesitantly at first, her mahogany banner waving frantically behind him as she offered him a wide smile. Why the long face? She called out, her maw tipped to the side as she studied him. He sure didn’t look happy to be here, which was absolutely preposterous. Aurora was the best place to live, by far! Much better than the dark, dismal forests below.

Elias hadn't been expecting company, but he supposed he should have seen it coming. He lived in a pack now, was part of a family unit,he was bound to see them if he remained atop the Heights.Whilst he'd never met the fiery kid before it wasn't difficult to figure out who she was. She had her Mother's looks and her Father's build.

"Hey."He responded, his tail swishing from side to side, as was his habit.

Her question was spot on, he must have looked a right state, all glum and worried. His first instinct was to deny it, to brush off her question with a shrug and a smile. But Elias was no liar, and what was the use? He doubted the shrewd girl would buy it anyway.

"A little homesick, but it's okay. I like this place too, lots to see and do. Just getting used to the lay of the land, I don't suppose you'd want to give me a quick tour? I bet no one knows the Heights like you."

Perhaps a quick tour would help lift his mood, make him feel as though this was more than just a hiding spot, a place for him to bury his head in the sand. The wolves here deserved so much more than that, Elias had so much to offer and yet...

"I never introduced myself anyway, sorry Miss. My name is Elias Selwyn."

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Her paws shuffled uncomfortably beneath the older male’s scrutinizing gaze but her fiery gaze did not waver. She liked meeting the newcomers, testing them out, to make sure they were up to Aurora standards. If she didn’t feel like they fit into the pack she would promptly report her findings to her parents, to see what their opinions were.

The pale male did not hesitate to respond, announcing that he was homesick. Huh. Revon did not know what that felt like, nor would she as long as she lived atop the heights. Fortunately she did not plan on leaving the heights—not now, or ever—which meant she would never experience this homesickness that Elias felt. Good. It looked miserable.

A tour, however, was right up the girl’s alley. That she definitely had experience with. She gave an excited nod in response to his question, a wide grin tugging at her dark lips. I suppose I could clear my schedule, she mused in response, her pointed maw angling to the side as she studied the blue-eyed newcomer. The only thing she had planned for the day was pestering him and patrolling the borders. And kicking a few rocks. The usual. But the Selwyn was right—no one knew the heights as well as Revon. She was an expert at exploring and finding all the hidden spots on the mountain.

Revon Archer, she introduced with a sweeping wag of her tail as she stepped toward him, motioning over her shoulder with a flick of her nose. An indication for the newcomer to follow him. If it was a tour he wanted it was a tour he was going to get.

Elias couldn't help the hopeful little wag of his tail. He wanted her to like him, to deem him a worthy member of her parents pack. Gaining a child's approval wouldn't effect him all that much in the grand scheme of things but...to put it simply, Elias was a praise-whore. He lived for it, needed it in any shape or form. Validation was his drug, and each and every kind word he received was his fix. Stranger or friend, it didn't matter who said what, approval and acceptance was all he ever wanted.And he'd do damn near anything to get it, the needy thing he was.

"I'd mean a whole lot to me if you did!"He beamed, not knowing that the little fox didn't actually have a whole lot to do. Another fault of his, he always took everyone's word as gospel. It rarely occurred to him that they could be telling fibs, or worse yet, lies."Pleasure to meet you Revon."He told her, his butt wiggling in emphasis.""I've said this before but...it feels like I've met all of the Archers by now. I know Adeltra, Morganna and Ravenna. Oh and your parents too. Small world, huh?"

Padding after her, Elias wondered just what she had in store for him, what sort of nooks and crannies she had mapped away in her mind. He didn't think he'd fit in anywhere too small, but he'd have a look and a sniff and that was enough to make him happy.

"So what is first on the agenda?"

His quick response earned a bright grin from the scarlet fox, her features immediately softening as she observed the pale-eyed boy. They were kind eyes; soft and welcoming, not an ounce of malice or wickedness beneath his slate irises. Unless he was just a really good actor, which was also completely plausible. A keener looking to impress to alphas’ daughter so she could report only good things. Her ears twitched at the thought. No—he was not one of those. It was evident he was nothing but good, otherwise his demeanour would have given it away. The words that tumbled off his tongue were genuine, along with his mannerisms. So he was one of those. She almost rolled her eyes at the thought. There sure is a lot of us, she hummed in response as she mentally ticked off all the names the newcomer had recited. Morganna was her favourite of the three—and one of her father’s, too. She had a haughty, demanding presence about her, but it was not led by arrogance. She was mostly humble, and it appeared something was always ticking inside her head. As though she was constantly thinking—planning. Revon liked that. There used to be more, too. But most had disappeared from the south, forging their own paths or returning to the lands where it all began. Torbine. A name her father and Morganna had mentioned before. She continued forward with quick steps, her fiery gaze sweeping the heights as she searched for hertheir destination. If I told you I’d have to toss you off the mountain, she hummed in response, her words being tossed carelessly over her shoulder in Elias’ direction. Duh. She was seeking out the highest point in the heights—a crooked point not far from where the pack denned. Her favourite vantage point.

AlanCrazy @DA & Dawnthieves.de

"I think my family is like yours in a lot of ways. Where I come from they are-were a lot of us. Everyone was related, somehow, just one big happy family."Like the Archers seemed to be.

Elias wouldn't change the past for a thing but...if the Archers had fallen instead of the Selwyns would the world be a better place? Would their be more or less suffering? Was this how it was truly supposed to be? Had God, somewhere down the line made a big mistake? One even he couldn't fix.

Elias paused, stunned by the dark turn his thoughts had taken. That wasn't right at all. For one, they Selwyns hadn't fallen....Or at least they weren't down and out. They'd taken a massive hit, for sure. Lost almost all sense of stability, the foundation of their culture had crumbled from within, their leader, a great great man had unjustly lost his life, as had so many others but...It wasn't the end. They were rebuilding still and once Elias found Thuban they'd return and help the case. As it was supposed to be.

To wish that sort of suffering upon another family was evil. He ought to be ashamed. And oh, how he was. Dipping his head, Elias stared at his bird-foot, only to glance up when Revon threatened to toss him off the mountain. What? No! Why?!

It then dawned on him that she was kidding-probably- and he broke out into a sheepish smile. Whoops. his bad. He hurried after her, awkwardly trotting along with all the grace of a moose.

"Well...if you told me I wouldn't tell a soul. Unless I was under duress...but maybe not even then, I'm pretty tough."

One big happy family? The corners of her mouth twisted at this. She didn’t know if the Archer family was necessarily happy, but they sure were big. There was still a lot of family members she had either not yet met, or was unaware of their existence. To Revon it did not make sense as to why the Archer’s were split up into three packs. Why couldn’t they just all join one super pack and rule the lands together? What a sight that would be! Nobody would dare mess with the Archer’s, not with a whole army of them! Perhaps this was something she needed to discuss with her father, as being separated made zero sense to the girl. Morganna had mentioned not wanting to stick around the mountain but that didn’t mean the Aurora wolves couldn’t migrate west. Sure, Revon would miss the mountains, but the adventure would be worth it. And being closer to her family. Is your family all separated too? She asked, her nose turning to her pale companion as she spoke. It had to be, otherwise why would he seek refuge atop the mountain? Unless he was cast out from his family. Or something… probably something boring. Like he wanted to see the world. Whatever. His reaction earned a cheeky grin from the scarlet Archer, her tail swaying happily behind her. Umm, she mused aloud, her fiery gaze fixated on the stone as she continued forward, I guess I could tell you. She shrugged. Gonna show you anyway, might as well tell you, she added, her sonars cupped forward  as she spoke half to herself and half to her blue-eyed packmate. Going to the highest point on the heights. You can see everything from it. Much easier to give a tour from there than show him everything. She was a loner at heart—she did not want to spend all day with the newcomer.

AlanCrazy @DA & Dawnthieves.de

"Oh...Yes, things have...changed a lot for us."He admitted, clearly struggling to put it into words.

He hadn't seen his Mother in years, nor could he even really recall where he had been born or the faces of his maternal family. His Father was just that, he'd never met him nor did he even know what he looked like. Heck, he didn't even know his name. He was just a nameless, faceless figure who had done his part to bring him into the world and ditched. Or at least that's the impression Elias had...he wasn't entirely sure how procreation worked but he knew it involved a man and a woman.

Then there was the Selwyns.

That was a mess and a half, a topic he didn't want to touch right now. Even if he did, he wasn't sure how to explain it all without delving too deep into the past. In hindsight, he knew that all hadn't been well for quite some time. He'd been blind really, unwilling to see it until it was all too late, till there was nothing but blood, death and decay. So he left it at that and shrugged, hoping she wouldn't get too frustrated with his flimsy response.

"But I uh...hope one day we'll all be together again. What's left of us anyway."

As to whether that was in Heaven on or Earth, he could only hope for the latter.

Elias was eager to change the topic, he latched onto the prospect of the tour like a squirrel to the trunk of a tree. His tail swished behind him as he broke out into a grin, the highest point? That sounded exciting, he wondered what sort of things he would be able to see from the highest point of the Heights!

"Come on then, is it this way?" He asked, pointing with his shapely muzzle.