Fireweed Rise Recrudescence

ooc - I'm going to post twice each for Amaris and Nayeli, then it's AW!

The morning was bright and clear as Amaris topped the rise, glancing back at the elder woman who followed not far behind. Red blooms carpeted the small knoll, reaching up to the yearling girl's chest and swaying gently in the breeze. She looked forward once more, her eyes scanning the gently rolling meadows below and her nose testing the air. "Do you think we're getting close?" she asked brightly, gaze still sweeping along and taking in all she could see.

Some might complain of the arduous journey between the coast and this region, but Amaris had relished every new sight, smell and sound as an adventure. Youthful energy made the days go by lightly, despite sore feet and the lack of a full belly. It had been hard, saying her goodbyes to everyone back at home - mother and father, her brothers and sisters - but she knew that they were all cheering her on in her journey. If she ever went back, she wanted to be able to tell them of her experiences, of everything she had accomplished. It wasn't much just yet, but....

Her thoughts wandered until she realized her aunt now stood beside her, taking in the lay of the land with silent scrutiny. Amaris waited, knowing that Nayeli would speak when she was ready to. The starred woman was polite and straightforward enough, but she had thwarted Amaris's attempts to learn much about her history in this land they were journeying to at every turn. She knew her aunt had lived in the region for some few years, even helping to lead a pack alongside her mate, before leaving once more, driven out by something she preferred not to speak of. And now, after all this time, she as returning. Every awnser just brought more questions, but that only made Amaris more eager to reach their destination.

Nayeli reached her young companion's side and came to a halt, silver eyes taking in the vista beyond, but she didn't need to see the mountains in the distance or smell the flowers to know. She could feel it in the earth beneath her feet, in her bones. "Look sharp. We're within the Lore now." If was a simple enough statement, but it resounded within her as she said it. 

"Are you sure you don't want to split up now? You might have an easier time finding your way here without my old bones to drag you down." She eyed the girl, wondering what she would have to say. Amaris's father, Kantos, had suggested that the two journey together in the first place, and Nayeli suspected that he wanted her to look after Amaris, though he hadn't quite come out and said it. Still, the girl was capable, and clever. She could do great things if she played her cards right. It wasn't like she needed an old woman weighed down by regret to look out for her.

Amaris blinked in surprise, no hesitation in her reply.

"Of course I'll stick with you! We're family!" She laughed off the weight the question carried with it. Nayeli had been a stranger not too long ago, but they shared the Stormwright name and blood, and beyond that, they had travelled together for miles and miles. The long silences were well worn and comfortable now, even to one as social and talkative as Amaris.

She looked back to the lands, unfolding before them. So, this was it. The mysterious land of Relic Lore that her aunt had been so driven to return to. It didn't really look like all that much, though the flowers were nice enough. Still, though, there seemed to be something on the wind that smelled of promise. Or maybe she was just being the foolish optimist again, like her brother always accused her of being. At any rate, there had definitely been other wolves here recently. She wondered who they might meet here.

"Besides, don't you still plan on seeking out your old pack?" She went on. Nayeli hadn't shared too much, but she'd been forward enough with that goal. "I was kind of looking forward to meeting them...." Some of them could even be her relations too, even if they'd never met before. Or perhaps just future friends. She didn't really feel as if they had reached their destination, not yet, not properly. If she were to go off on her own, it would not be until she made sure Nayeli had safely made her way home first.

In the distance there is a large pack of coyotes howling.

ooc - open for posting now, all welcome!

Nayeli nodded. There was no need to press the point any further, Amaris had no obligation to travel with her except those that might originate within the girl's own head. She had wanted to make sure the girl knew that. Still, Nayeli was glad for the company, albeit a little surprised that her yearling niece seemed to feel the same. She would have thought the energetic youth would grow tired of her slow, methodical pace or her taciturn silences. But she was an open-hearted girl, perhaps too much so, and Nayeli had become fond of her quickly. She felt equal pulls to protect the girl and to try and help her toughen up, but had settled with a mostly hands-off approach. What right had she to try and shape anyone else, especially at this point?

"Yes, but as I've warned you before, I'm not sure what we'll find, or what kind of welcome we'll receive. It's been a long time." With a flick of her tail, she started forward, wading down the slope of blood-red blooms. It was a warning she had delivered before, and she did not expect to change her niece's mind now. If she wanted to go off on her own, it would be her own decision - until then, they would travel together as they had been. 

Looking forward, she lead the way, he steps lighter than they had been in months. She still felt the aches and pains of age and travel, but being so near now was invigorating. She keenly remembered the first time she had traveled these lands, that winter long ago, and fleeing back across them years later.  "To find them, we'll need to cross that," She stated, tipping her greyed muzzle upwards toward the mountain pass in the distance, still streaked white with snow despite the summer heat. "This last leg of the journey is likely to be the most difficult. We'll rest here and try to hunt before we begin the climb."


-

They hadn't gone far when something caused her to stop again, ears flicking and hackles crawling on her back. Coyotes, and it sounded like a lot of them. "That isn't good. Stay close and keep your guard up." There was a clear tension in her voice now - by the sound of it, they were definitely outnumbered. This wasn't what she'd hoped to find at all.

Summiter
look what you made me do

Still trying to pull his weight for his pack, he decided a stroll upon the rise was in order. It'd been easier hunting down here, and who didn't need a change a view. Besides he'd be lying if he said he didn't wish to see Ravenna again. She was interesting lady to say the least. He was a bit tiresome of babysitting, and the same old same old.

It wasn't Ravenna he saw. Two shadows among the red caught his eye. For a moment he hoped for a deer. Focusing upon it he found it was a pair of dark wolves. From the distance he could not tell the definite age difference. Where had they come from and where were they going? Were these new Ridge recruits? He had stuck to the mountain too long to know. Well there was only one way to find out. Hoping to have his best friendly face, he made to trot toward them. Once a chorus of coyotes filled the air, there was urgency in his stride, and blue gaze.

"'Lo there!" He called, while his paws ate up the distance. "Might want to keep moving, the coyotes round here mean business." He hollered, half wishing to turn around himself. Instead, he came closer, gauging to see if he should just leave them alone or not. On closer inspection he could see one was about Revon's age, and the other quite considerably older than Greer. Maybe mother and daughter? His nose told him clearly they were not from the Ridge, or any pack he'd met. They didn't look as rough as some loners. His tail offered a friendly wave as he stopped a few wolf lengths from them. But his eyes were unable to remain still, as he kept checking for vermin. Obviously worried.

She knew they should go, but still she  lingered a moment longer in silent hesitation, her gaze clinging to the sight of the mountain spine in the distance.  The sun glinted off of streaks of snow that had receded to the very summit of the peak; it was by far the best time of year to cross the rugged pass. What was more, she was eager to give up these endless days of journeying, to reach… home. It rankled her to be deterred by coyotes this soon after finally reaching the Lore. Her lip curled.

It was coyotes she expected to see; she could hear their raucous, ear-grating cries growing closer.  The first figure to appear was, however, no lower form of canine, but a fellow wolf. He called out a greeting, making his way hastily toward them, and Nayeli gave a single bark in response as he drew nearer, stepping instinctively between him and her young companion. Two pairs of cool silver eyes flashed over him, the elder tipping one ear to catch the impending songs as he spoke, and giving him a single nod. Her posture was stiff, but polite. Finally, a crack, and the old woman gave the stranger a half smile.

“You don’t need to tell us twice.” She cast a glance at Amaris, before returning to look at this male - she didn’t recognize him, nor see the familiarity of any bloodline she knew lingering in his features, and it was hard to tell if he belonged to a pack or not by his scent. Still, he was here in the Lore - she wanted badly to let a flood of questions spill out at him, but this was not the time, and so she spared the man all but one, for now at least. “Do you know anywhere close by that a pair of travelers might find some respite?” She asked him, her ears still tipped toward the advancing vermin. The coyotes sounded as if they were making their way up the other flank of the rise; there was no time to waste if they were going to go, and she was not keen to stay here and fight over nothing. 

Her gaze shifted to the other two wolves, the stranger and her niece, and with a flick of her tail she turned without further word and began to lope off down-slope, away from the cries of the coyote pack, wading deeper into the waving red blooms. They could move and talk at the same time, if he did not simply go his own way here and now. She hoped she could at least pose another question or two to him - too many burned away at her - but the coyotes were drawing near and there was no time to stand around and make such an exchange at the moment.

(This post was last modified: Aug 13, 2018, 11:43 PM by Nayeli. Edit Reason: weird formatting )

"Oh, no."

The cries broke out, ringing across the landscape, and Amaris stood stiff-legged, looking to her aunt. She hated coyotes, and this sounded like a particularly large pack. She would have preferred to stand their grown and fight, despite her fear, but she knew that was probably unwise. They had no stake in this moment other than to get out unscathed and continue with their goals without getting too far off track. That meant they should retreat, she knew. Still she looked to her elder, who had not yet turned tail. Nayeli seemed to have noticed something else.

Amaris' gaze followed hers to the approaching stranger. Her tail swayed with enthusiasm and she smiled easily at him, barely managing to hold her silence until it her elder had spoken. She peered at him around her aunt's shoulder, stepping forward, and for a moment she forgot her fear, her urgency to get out of here. This was the first fellow wolf they had met up close in weeks, and a wolf of the Lore, no less! He must be, right?

"I'm Amaris Stormwright, and this is my aunt, Nayeli," she offered a bright, breathless introduction even as the elder she-wolf began to move off. "We're seeking her old pack, on the other side of the mountains," she went on hurriedly. Her paws itched to go, and she knew they should - Nayeli's icy eyes were glancing back over her shoulder now, gaze flicking between the girl and the newcomer, but saying nothing. Nothing needed to be said, she knew they had to go, whether that meant parting ways with this man or not. With an exasperated sigh, Amaris leapt into a run to catch up with her aunt. "Sorry we had to meet you like this, sir!"

@Nayeli I suck :X

Summiter
look what you made me do

He took careful note as the eldest kept herself in front of the other. He might have cracked a joke in mock offense, but didn't find one dancing on the tip of his tongue. In fact he could only think good idea. He would have been doing the same. An idea that caused a smile to twitch upon his lip. At least she really seemed to think he wanted to help. "Yes, if you can hike up those rocks,"he gestured to Riddle Heights. He honestly wasn't sure if Greer would appreciate him bringing strangers, but he wasn't afraid to find out. They really just needed the safety of the border till the coyotes passed. "They are least smart enough to avoid pack lands." Speaking of coyotes they were definitely getting closer. The older woman shifted, suddenly heading off the slope, but his eyes were upon the youngest. Despite the impending danger, he nodded in acknowledgement, setting pace with her. Trying to take in what she had just told him, while also listening for their pursuers. "I'm Summit. It could always be worse right?"

He couldn't exactly think how but it wasn't the time. From the corner of his eye he spotted a yellow-silver coat. He really had avoided confrontation with them, but wondered if he'd get scoff free today."Head straight all right? You might come across my earlier trail!" He shouted, not entirely sure what he was going to do. As the coyote only got closer, his silver hair spiked, and he didn't hesitate to snap at it in warning. Maybe the girls could get a head start.

(This post was last modified: Sep 13, 2018, 02:47 AM by Summiter.)