Mountain of Dire Like I do

RE:Lenae, you witness a pair of fox cubs enjoying a sunny day by playing outside their den.
All welcome!
...Her hips will seem slightly wider or "fuller" as her pelvic ligaments will relax so that the puppies have enough room to pass through. By instinct, the future mother will seek out a quiet place or her chosen birthing den to make her nest and will seem on edge.

Any day now. On one paw she wanted it all to be over, she couldn't deal with how large and ungainly she was. Nor was she enjoying how drained she felt these days, as though no matter how much she rested it would never be enough. But on the other... it was a whole new chapter of her life, one she was entirely sure if she was ready to face yet. Lenae had come to terms with her condition a while ago, she was no longer in denial-because how could she be? But that didn't mean her fear had dissipated, like early morning mist. It lingered in the forefront of her mind, constant and steady like the beating of her heart in her chest. What if something went wrong? What if Cheedo was right, what if they all died and it was her fault?

Venturing away from the Tarn was foolish,  she could hardly move about as she used to and with the birth of her little drawing ever closer it just made sense to stick near her den. But try as she might, no matter how much she paced back and forth outside of her little den she just couldn't settle, her mind would not be put at ease. Once more she trundled over the border and clambered over rocks, she didn't plan to be gone for long, just a little so that she could cast her worries off the mountain top. Or as high as she would dare to get anyway, Lenae wasn't really fit to be a mountaineer these days.

Packs of coyotes still roamed the mountain but Lenae took care to move quickly and quietly-or at least as much as her round form would allow. She wasn't out to question their claim over the mountain- that was someone else's job- she just wanted some fresh air and some time to herself, was that too much to ask for?

Probably.

Clambering over the rock, Lenae's sides heaved as her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth. It was warm out, but not uncomfortably so, maybe she could- her ears flicked back against her skull as the sound of yipping reached her. For a dreadful long moment she feared that they had found her, that in mere moments she would be surrounded by a never ending hoard of coyotes. What would she do? Lenae couldn't fight at the best of times, how was she supposed to fend them off now? She could try to run, but these days it could hardly be called that. More like...thumping? She wasn't too far away from the Tarn, but she knew she wasn't close enough to get back home in one long gallop. She'd have to stop and start at least a handful of times, and with an army of coyotes on her tail that just wasn't going to happen.

Perhaps, she wondered as she shrunk down, trying to blend into the rocks, they hadn't noticed her. Those sounds didn't sound overly aggressive, if anything they were playful, joyous. Slowly, hesitant, she peeked over the rock and-oh. Not coyotes, but foxes, baby ones too. They leapt and bound over the rocky terrain, tails swishing as they charged forward and collided in a pile of fluffy orange, tails wiggling all the while.

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2018, 01:19 PM by Lenae.)

Darkmoon slipped on a loose stone, but caught himself before he fell. He peered precariously over the edge of the rocky path he was on, watching as the pebbles clattered down the mountain side. He realised he had been holding his breath, and swallowing he edged away from the brink. This was dangerous. Very dangerous. Stupid, stupid, he thought to himself, regretting his decision to climb the mountain. Why had he even done it? He could not even answer that question for himself. He must have felt adventurous or curious or bored. Qualities he would not normally attribute to himself. Yet, without a pack or even someone he could really call an 'acquaintance', what was there to do? It was at times like these he wished he was not such a failure at forging relationships, but it was something that could not be helped.
    Mustering up whatever courage he could find, he continued walking along the route he had chosen. It was fairly smooth, but here and there he had to scale a boulder or jump over a small ravine. It was fairly lifeless this high up, with little vegetation beyond moss and scraggly shrubs - and yet, the signs of life were there to be found, the droppings of a mountain goat here and a tuft of mink fur there. Still, it was a surprise when Darkmoon heard a yipping sound not far off. It was definitely the sound of something young or small, and it piqued his interest. He may not be able to take much prey down on his own, but juvenile animals did not pose a great challenge.
    Darkmoon followed the direction of the sound, but upon getting closer he realised he was not the only one to have heard the sounds. He had come up behind a wolf - a female, who appeared rather large - and her strong, maternal smell hit his nose almost instantly. He felt a strange sense of confidence as he stood there, knowing she was so vulnerable. Normally, he was smaller, weaker and less skilled at physical confrontation than other wolves; here, though, he felt he had an obvious advantage. Sauntering towards her, tail held high, he spoke up in a gruff tone. "Back off - they're mine."

(This post was last modified: May 27, 2018, 04:23 AM by Darkmoon.)

For foxes they were rather...adorable, weren't they? The adult ones were sort of annoying, pests and thieves but when they were like this, all small and vulnerable? Lenae had no intentions of hurting them. Why? What would be the point? She would hardly want to eat them, bring them back to the pack's caches. She couldn't help but wonder if her own litter would be so playful, so happy to be alive. She certainly hoped so, she intended to do whatever she could to provide to give them a childhood that was similar to her own-so joyous and wholesome. But it wasn't going to be as easy as that, was it? The road to hell was paved with good intentions, right? Or at least one of the Selwyn Elders had told her so, many years ago.

Lenae flinched-hard- as a stranger's voice reached her ears. She near jumped out of her skin as she wheeled about, her tail curled between her legs as she hunched forward, still low to the ground. Back off - they're mine.

"No! Lenae found herself yelping. They weren't his, he had only just appeared on the scene he couldn't- he couldn't do this! "They're only cubs."

They weren't even of the same species but Lenae felt compelled to protect them, not that she could do much in the state she was in but...Perhaps he could be dissuaded or...if push came to shove she could call for help. Someone usually roamed the mountains, surely they wouldn't be far...Besides, he wasn't too big, surely one of the other's could squish the stranger if they really tried.

"Just because you think something is yours, doesn't mean it is.She shot him her sternest look, which was rather undermined by her shaky legs and averted gaze. She wasn't very good at this conflict milarky, if anything she wanted to run back home. But not before she knew the fox cubs were safe.

(This post was last modified: May 28, 2018, 03:12 PM by Lenae. Edit Reason: feck )

Darkmoon winced at her outcry, afraid she would blow their cover. "Quiet!" he hissed, eyes bright with anger and hunger. "They'll hear us," he added in a hushed tone, eyes furtively glancing towards the cubs to make sure they were still unaware of their presence. At this altitude, and even at this time of the year, there was not much in the way of food, except for a few pickings here and there, mostly unfortunate individuals who did not survive the winter.
    Only cubs? What did that matter? They were not wolf cubs, not even of his or her pack, and therefore there was no reason to protect them. He looked at her strangely, unsure how to react."What are you - I don't understand," he started, trying to find the right words to decipher her behaviour. "I eat the young of the deer and the rabbit. I raid the nests of birds. What is different here?" Darkmoon had no concept of the effect pregnancy could have on the female, and he was unlikely to be able to understand it in any case because he had never cared for wolf cubs either. Besides, food was food. All he could think of in that moment was the hunger in his stomach, and the easy meal that frolicked metres away.
    "They're not yours either," he shot back, growing impatient with the situation. "This is not pack land. They're anyone's picking, and I'm hungry." He could feel himself salivating at the thought of a meal, and took a step towards the female and the cubs.

Vaken Svart Vaken let his paw dangle off the boulder, eavesdropping on the conversation below. He was far enough to not be spotted right away, but he wasn’t hiding. He was sunbathing in the middle of the mountain, perched up on a rock. They were disrupting his peace. When the female and male communicated, he opened his eyes a little and watched. She was clearly pregnant, well-fed and healthy. The other wolf looked less lively, probably a lone wolf. He snorted, then closed his eyes again. It was none of his business what was going on down there, but he couldn’t ignore it completely. When the energy turned more tense, Vaken felt it. He let out a frustrated sigh and slipped off the rock onto his paws. He loitered over, keeping his head down. He balanced well, trotting over at a comfortable pace. He was in no rush. When he reached the two wolves, he glanced at the baby foxes a bit away and snorted. He wasn’t hungry. He didn’t care much about hunting them, but he knew it was upsetting the pregnant wolf. Rightfully so, her motherly instincts were probably making it tougher for her to stand the innocent slaughter. It annoyed him to see another wolf purposely annoy her. The hunting male should have just left and waited for her to leave and then killed them. Making this big of a scene out of nothing was frustrating, especially since it was interrupting his relaxation. “If you want them so badly, “ he muttered to the dark brown wolf. “You’re going to have to fight for them.” He looked at the pregnant wolf and took a seat. “Cleary you can’t fight her about it, but if it matters so much,” he used his head to gesture to himself. “Fight me and waste your energy. Coyotes will probably get to them before you can get me pinned.”   I feel numb, born with a weak heart I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Jun 26, 2018, 08:05 PM by Vaken.)

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

Lenae didn't know what to do. She didn't understand, couldn't comprehend what was going through the dark strangers mind. He hissed at her, ordered her to be silent, as though she was in the wrong-like she wasn't supposed to voice her opinion...Nonetheless, her ears flicked back against her skull as she winced, hard, as though he'd just struck her.

His bombardment of questions did nothing to displace her confusion, or the blood curdling concern that had rooted itself in her mind, like a century old tree. Loner or no what sort of wolf ate foxes? Eating a fellow predator seemed...unnatural, as though it went against an unspoken code. Cats didn't go around eating fellow meat eaters, nor did bears or coyotes. It just wasn't done.

Without a care the loner dismissed her worries, callous and cruel. Like the sort of men Lenae feared the most. And yet she remained, quivering and quaking, the cubs last line of defence. Would she fight for them, would it come down to that?

Another dark loner entered the scene, this one was less...Perhaps he understood where she was coming from? Maybe not. She swallowed thickly as her tail curled between her legs, a nervous, cagey arch. She'd never been fond of conflict, and was even less so since she'd arrived in Relic Lore. Why couldn't they just leave the little one's be? Why wasn't that an option? Why couldn't they all just go on their merry way?

"I don't- please don't hurt them."Was all she could muster.

S is for swears

had a one way ticket to the place where all the demons go

Odin Archer

The Archer had been worried when Lenae's scent crossed the border, a deep anxious writhing in the pit of his stomach. There were coyotes everywhere and she was due any day and what if she was in trouble and he hadn't been there to look after? Hadn't he said something to that effect? That he'd look after her? Fuck.

He allowed his strides to lengthen, mindful of the rocky terrain, and as her scent grew closer, the sound of hushed voices drifted on the breeze. He didn't like this one bit. When he saw the scene laid out before him, he liked it even less. His fur bristled, single eye narrowing in a threatening manner while his tail flew like a banner over his back. He wasn't going to waste time on words, his low growl probably enough to send the cubs skittering back for the cover of the den, if they hadn't done so already. He hadn't even seen them, didn't know what the argument was about. To him it seemed as though two lone males were trying to pick on a pregnant female. One that just happened to be carrying his cubs (though he probably would have reacted the same had it been any other pregnant female).

He only paused long enough to hear one offer to fight for Lenae, well that changed things some. "Tha' won't be necessary." He moved up to rest his flank along hers, eye still narrowed towards the other men. Hell, they could be Archers, the smaller one even bared a stricking resemblance to his younger sister. He regarded that one with less contempt than the other, but he was still an unknown. Odin knew Lenae would be upset, and when she muttered something about not hurting them, it finally registered that the vermin scent on the breeze was fox, not coyote. Well that was going to make things difficult. Best outcome here was obviously to disperse - the mother fox would return from wherever she was and smell wolves and hopefully relocate her brood, but he didn't trust that that would happen unless he hung around to make sure of it himself, and he didn't want Lenae wandering off on her own especially with strangers about. Unless someone decided to turn this into a scrap (two, or really three against one weren't great odds), then it would seem they had reached an impasse.

(This post was last modified: Jun 27, 2018, 01:18 AM by Odin.)