Riddle Heights too many hours in this midnight

<i>Stood on the corner for a while to wait for the wind to blow down on me. Hoping it takes with it my old ways and brings some brand new luck upon me. Oh, it's taken so long; I could be wrong, I could be ready. Oh, but if I take my heart's advice, I should assume it's still unsteady. I am in repair. I am in repair...</i>
John Mayer - <i>In Repair</i>

<blockquote><i>September 12th; Morning; Current Temperature: 40º F/ 4º C</i>

<i>Running.</i> It had occurred to Angier that he was always running... Running away from comparisons to his brother, from his past, from responsibility, from worry, from his faults, from taking responsibility, from the futures he had taken time to dream up. He wasn't a marked man nor someone of importance, so it baffled him for the past few days why the instinct in him to run had woken up like it had been on fire. He hadn't particularly betrayed Swift River and he hadn't particularly sworn himself to Willow Ridge, so what had driven the young Tainn to send him away was entirely unclear, apart from the fact that the Lyall had neglected his duties for a certain amount of time. What would have happened if he had admitted to being unable to track game? Or meet his personal quota for filling caches? Would things have been different if he had made up a lie to assure the Swift River yearling that he was still truly devoted to the pack?

Everything made his head spin. Or, rather, the hunger and the seven sleepless nights he had endured since being discharged of his duties. On four wobbly legs the tawny brute clambered his way up steep, rocky ledges. <i>Up here,</i> he told himself. <i>Up here, I can think... Get away from it all.</i> Panting, he found refuge beside a diagonal tree, not even fazed by the fact that it was growing up at an awkward angle on the side of Riddle Heights. Leaning his face into the rough bark, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, just to collect himself.

<i>"How am I to believe in anything? Anything said could be as prettily painted of a lie as the venom that spewed from his jaws. I won't be trapped again. I won't get hurt like that again..." "I...can't fail again. I just can't." "I've come t' repay a more tangible part of our deal... just for kicks." "Since when is it that you care so much about little ol' me?" "I've never met anyone else who was so sure of everything, so loyal an' more than bold enough to stand up to a rogue like me." "I'm here to strike a deal." "LYALL!" "What were you doing there?! SPEAK!" "Forgive me." "I hereby relieve you of your duty and whatever charges you have owed Swift River." "I will not choose between you or my pack-mates." "...the timing is not yet right." "Leave." "We'll make this work, you and I... I promise." "I can't sit here and say I don't love you.. That I don't ...want to be with you."</i>

The voices, his own woven between those whom he had only spoken to in the past few months, repeated and overlapped one another. Everything that was said and done. Everything made him <i>dizzy</i>.

Angier Lyall was a <i>liar</i>. A compulsive one at that. it had occurred to him that at one point or another what he had said was the truth, be it a little twisted half the time, but the other half was consistently genuine through and through. Now, he didn't know what he wanted. Vlarindara was gone and Elettra laid in wait among the Willows. Swift River had outlawed him and Grizzly Hollow was off-boundaries while Willow Ridge, in his mind, cried out for his allegiance should he be willing to provide it. Defeatedly, he hung his head, silently trying to will himself to make up his mind. To pick up the pieces - his promises and half-truths - and discover, once again, the path that was meant to be laid out for him alone.</blockquote>

Are you watching closely?
Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

Our first thread together! <3

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/AthenaTable.png);background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 200px;padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">The mountains called for her. The wind that swept through the rocky ridges whispered in her ears, daring her to enter once again. After the landslide, she deliberately avoided the mountain, slightly afraid she’d get caught up in another calamity. She couldn’t get hurt again. Her leg was still sore from the landslide, but after a week, she deemed it functional again. So, once again, the mountain called to her, and Athena answered.

Black claws dug into the rocky surface as the white woman climbed her way up the ridge. The rough wind blew her cloak of white everywhere, but Athena’s strong pace wasn’t faltered. However, the constantly shifting wind prevented her from detecting any useable traces of others, so when she passed the diagonal tree, she didn’t see or smell the Lyall lying on the other side. This put her in a vulnerable spot and being vulnerable didn’t go well with Athena.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

<i>wo0t!</i>

<blockquote>The sound of clawed paws scraping on the rough rock nearby made Angier's eyes flash open. Someone was coming. He panicked for a moment but as soon as his eyes fell upon an ivory lady his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. <i>Jaysyek, Amélie, Vlarindara...?</i> A shake of his head made everything right again and he held his breath to suppress the longing feelings that were bubbling up in his chest. This woman was not one he was familiar with. His brows rose upward and he tilted his head as he looked her over from where she stood.

His ears lowered but as soon as he gathered up the courage to speak, they went back to their normal, upright positions atop his skull. Not recognizing the scent of her pack, forgetting how far away he was from the peak of the Mountain of Dire, as well as failing to take notice that she looked well-off and well-looked after, he said the first thing that came to mind. <b>"If you're looking for the pack on th' mountain, Alexander is gone. I'd go back if I were you, the mountain lions here are ruthless."</b>

The Lyall shivered at the thought of the memory and averted his gaze. Maybe he had come all the way up here to test himself. To see if he was ready to die. To be taken away by some ravenous force without any thought about what life had yet to offer him. He slowly returned his eyes to her figure, especially her face, to fully assess her features and make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, <b>"I'm sorry. You jus'... You remind me of someone."</b></blockquote>

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Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

Sorry to butt in but couldn't resist...

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/caved.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> The need to protect pushed her onwards each day. She was constantly on the lookout for anything that could be danger, and today she had scented something not of the mountain. A loner...? The wind whipped the scent away again and she lowered her head to inspect the scent closer. There was something familiar to it. Brows knit together as she searched her memories. It was so long ago, and yet, not that long at all. She had never been one to let her curiosity be. She made no effort to hide her approach. Nothing told her of danger in this scent although it did warrant caution. Which could only mean she had met this wolf in one place. River wolf? but the scent was long gone if he truly was... It certainly was not pale Ice, nor was it the tank of a guardian Marsh. It certainly wasn’t Triell... Then who could it be? As the wind picked up again, she could scent Athena and picked up her feet a little, just in case another was needed... Something told her it wouldn’t be the case, but she wanted to show she was there none the less... She caught the males words and the memory came crashing down. Why didn’t she remember it before they left the River? “The mountain has a habit of taking mothers...” she joked a little darkly, her approach neutral, stopping a short distance away. She saw the white leader and lowered her head a little as she moved about to stand closer to her, but not quite at her side. She didn’t want to push her luck just yet. “We have met before...” she said almost to herself as she searched for the name. It was there, just out of reach, and then it came to her. “Angier wasn’t it?”

code by bryony