Pookastone Scowle I hear the cops showed up right after

Anybody can watch from the sidelines, as long as they're fine with being skipped! @Niles Here we go! Please let me know if anything needs to be changed! Also, were we doing rolls?

In life, Celandine supposed that there was no right time for anything. She could wait until things were more settled, or until Niles finished mourning his loss. She could wait until the pink scars along Maeve's maw darkened, or until their problems with the Ridge blew over, but there would always be a reason not to. She was sick of finding those reasons. So it was with confidence that she made her way towards the heart of their territory, following the freshly laid trail that Niles had left.

As pale eyes fell upon the alpha's dark form, Celandine felt her tail raise to curl over her back. She offered him a chuff to make her presence known, before her lips curled back to display the canines behind them. No words need be said, for her posture conveyed her intentions rather clearly. She would be the one to stand beside Morganna.

Without another thought the woman lurched foreward, planning to grab a hold of his muzzle.

Without Skoll to keep him busy and without much else to mind when the pack had begun to settle down, Niles found himself aimless and empty. Most of the time, he was prone to missing Castel and during the nights, he made all attempts to stop missing her. He had to move on. He had no choice now; he had physically moved and now there was no reason why he would be stuck in the past. And, yet, it was times like these when the air seemed too still and the Scowle urged him to slow to a crawl, that Niles came to realize that he was merely a creature of needs.

He needed water.
He needed food (whenever his stomach growled back every so often).
He needed air.
He needed family.
He needed to remember.

The dark Leader's head came down, touching his nose to the earth as he stood at the heart of the pack lands. For a moment he dared to think that his beloved's spirit lingered in these woods, that he had possibly summoned her to come with him to the west. He even wondered now if she was even there at all - maybe his parents were keeping her occupied while she waited for him to crossover into the Life After and he shouldn't have had any means to miss her.

His head came up when he saw her at the corner of his eye and, instinctively, he fully turned his face to look at her straight on. He shouldn't have. Before his body could even turn to look at Celandine, she was upon him with her teeth bared and her eyes wild. He wasn't prepared.

The woman seized his muzzle and his lumbering form staggered, muscle memory from years past putting him into motion. Niles' eyes closed as she made contact, the rest of him shaking as half of him burned to melt into the snow underfoot while the other half struggled to maintain his pride. He should have known better than to attempt to shake his head and withdraw from her; he was his father's son. Women would always have the upper hand with him.

Celandine attacks. Success; teeth contact with muzzle.
Niles attempts to defend. No counter-attack.

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Pete is observing, but is not happy.

A nice walk through the territory had been the plan to start the day, but Pietro supposed that things never really went the way they were planned anyway. He normally wouldn’t have thought too much about scenting two of their packmates together, but this felt... off. Off in a way that Pete couldn’t ignore.

He got there in time, fortunately, but the sight infuriated him. Celandine was... rough around the edges, and Pete had suspected she had her ambitions, but he had not thought that she would be so cruel about them.

Oh, no. This was not going to fly.

”This pack is doomed,” he muttered under his breath, small body poised to intervene at any moment.

baby i'm back now, feeling how i used to feel

Morganna Archer

Morganna knew it was coming, it had always been the original intention, and she was surprised that the Argyris had stayed her paw time and time again out of consideration for her brother. But things were changing at a rapid fire rate, they were no longer among the aspen trees, they were here, in the place that they had chosen and it was her time to shine. She bought herself along side Pietro in time to catch his words, her own stance neutral as she observed. "If tha's how yer feel yer can leave anytime. This was always meant ter be, an' it's not like she's out fer blood." Her voice was soft, eyes trained on the exchange before them. She wasn't about to tolerate any dissent over something as trivial as a rank challenge.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

He’d been up early in hopes of getting something done that day before maybe hearing out to do some more scouting. The dark Agouti man had caught a hare that he was in his way to take to the cache when he heard voices. He also smelled the scents of four of his packmates mingling. He thought that a little odd so decided to check it out.

Taking the hare with him he changed course and soon found Celandine grasping Niles muzzle and Pietro watching with Morganna. Tikhon didn't need to be told what was going on, he already knew. He also had a feeling of how things would turn out. It wouldn't be good for the grieving man.

He decided to stay and see if things played out the way he thought. Coming to sit on Morganna's other side he kept his thoughts to himself for the time being. He didn't want to say a bad word against Niles but he also felt the man was in no condition to lead at this time.

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

Maeve had followed along behind Celandine, just as she said she would. Her dear friend had been talking about a rank challenge for quite some time now, but had seemingly always carried an abundance of excuses for delay along with her. What was the big hold up? Cella had always deserved to lead a pack, she was practically born to carry out that task! So.. Why for all things had she been so kind to wait this one out so long? Nevertheless; today would finally be the day, and the scarred fae could only hope that the outcome would make her Queen just that, a true monarch.

She'd tried her best to stay out of sight for the most part, not wanting to distract the woman from the task at hand. Though regardless, time brought in a bystander, and boy did they have some interesting words to share. Luckily enough, Morganna arrived before Maeve could step in and attempt to rip the subordinate limb from limb (She'd lost her last fight miserably, the fae knew now what it took to win.), and saved the pack the extra drama. Soon after Morg, Tikhon, and at that point it felt awkward staying so behind-the-scenes. She trotted up next to the creamy-coated male, finding her spot for the show. "Did I hear sumfin' bout Pietro leavin'? Shame, th' pack's 'bout to get so much better." The fae held no ill-regard for Niles, however she couldn't help but feel a strong bias toward Celandine in all of this. Then again, she supposed she wasn't in love with Niles.

Skoll had yet to find a decent sleeping place of his own. Some of the time he slept beside Morganna (or at least close enough to her, since Renier rightly held that privilege for that spot); other times, when he had the energy to stay up past nightfall, he had to curl up next to Niles, whose sleep was often riddled with restless dreams. Skoll, himself, had been there before; he knew what it was like to sleep by himself when there should have been a loved one cuddled up against his ribs and side. Most of the time, however, he sought out a spot some distance between his brother and sister; and, each time, it had been a random nook in the forest floor. Thus far none of the places were suitable for a large-bodied, lanky-legged Archer.

The spot he had been sleeping in had been... unconventional. Where the roots of one old tree had formed a "V" kind of shape, Skoll had wedged himself against the trunk, his chest and rump cradled by the roots. His head and long neck draped over the gnarled bark and his tongue hung down from his open mouth. He was tired, still catching up on the sleep he missed on the long trip from the Vale to here.

It wasn't until he heard a bit of scuffling that he opened an eye. There was the sound of footsteps trailing to a certain spot in the Scowle, then another set... and another set. His other eye blinked open. Something was up.

His joints popped and his muscles were stiff as he gathered all four of his limbs beneath him and stood up, but it only took a number of facial muscles to form his face into a glare. It wasn't like they were making too much of a ruckus but if Morganna wasn't aware of whatever was going on, it made sense for him to take a look for himself.

He skulked through the forest, nose picking up on Celandine and Maeve's trail before their path merged with Niles. Had he been aware of Celandine's desires, warning flags or an SOS might have flared up in his head, but curiosity came up first. Pietro and Morganna's voices came up from somewhere on his right and in the clearing before him, there was Niles, his snout locked in the Argyris' woman's maw. He seemed to be trying to shake her off, but Skoll knew from experience that it would take more than that.

He egged his baby brother on from his place at the base of a frost-covered boulder, "Get 'er Niles! Bite back!"

What a disappointment.

(This post was last modified: Feb 15, 2018, 07:42 PM by Skoll.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

let’s admit the world don’t turn around us

Celandine Argyris

Adrenaline rushed through Celandine's veins as her teeth made contact with @Niles muzzle. She expected him to respond with aggression, to come at her with an attack of his own. She had been ready for that, but instead he simply tried to shake himself free. Instinctively, she made an attempt at tightening her jaws, unwilling to relinquish the hold she had on him. From there she planned to guide him down into a more... submissive position. 

A pale ear swiveled backwards to listen to the gathering crowd. It would seem that this challenge wasn't the only hurdle in her immediate future, but all of that could be dealt with later. Once the outcome of the challenge was clear, and she had a chance to speak to Niles. There were more important things to do at the moment.

(This post was last modified: Feb 28, 2018, 07:05 AM by Celandine.)

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

Where Niles lacked in weight, Celandine gained control. Where she lacked in length, she used to her advantage. Upon willowy legs and guarding a chest with a heavy heart, the Lyall's body reacted to her countermeasure. She did not let up her grip and her own movements wrangled his neck in such a way that the whole of his body fell limp on one side; his left flank made contact in the snow as he sat. There might not have been much difference between them in height, but with the way he was starting to present himself to her and the rest of the pack who had come to spy, he looked small.

He tried to bow his head as his large ears fell back. For a moment, he wondered what he did wrong; the only other wolves who had ever done this to him were his parents. Whenever Ravenna and Isolde had done it in the past, it had been for play and the action alone crowned them as victors of the puppy fight. Skoll's proclamation should have come through to him, but Niles wasn't listening. He was too wound up as he looked his opponent square in the face, his eyes near-slits when he finally averted them. He had to admit it: she was stronger. Even if he had had the bulk and the motivation, he wasn't even sure he could manage.

There was no Castel to fight for...

A pitiful whine left his snout and he jerked away one last time in attempt to relinquish the woman's grasp. Please, let me go...

Celandine counter-attacks. Success; attempts to make Niles "fold."
Niles makes an attempt to move away.

(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2018, 07:55 PM by Niles.)

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!