Thicket of Secrets ace of spades

magician's child, white queen's daughter;

TAIMA LYALL

a girl of schematics, the rebel, the plotter

December 29th; Late afternoon; Partly cloudy; 7ª F.

She knew she wasn't allowed to be here; it was possibly the one and only fact that made her presence among the crowded, snow-laden trees more enjoyable than it really should have been. Her tracks through the forest, leading out and away from the pack's everyday routes and highways, were easy to follow but she fancied the idea that maybe today no one would come looking for her. Her father, she was certain was busy scouting out more territory towards the eastern edges of their borders, elbow-deep in concern about why some coyotes and foxes were starting to find shelter within the Cedarwood. Her mother and brothers, on the other hand, she was somewhat confident they would at least give her some time alone. Humming a random song to break the silence that filled her ears, she dared to trek further into and behind the tall, ice-trimmed bushes.

With her head held low to the ground and her tail swaying to and fro behind her, she inhaled the wild scent of the Thicket, picking from memory the scents she could recognize. After some time her interest waned; and, suddenly, it did not matter who these random travelers were or where they had gone. Several meters into the woods and Taima was clearly on her own. With a keen eye, she scanned her surroundings, her mind conjuring up around her an imaginary pack of her own wherever there was space to spare between the gnarled trees and snow-covered vines underfoot. She smiled over her shoulder, pretending to exchange glances with a masked man whom she had appointed her pack Keeper. Though invisible to any other viewer who came upon the scene, this weathered man was tall, svelte, and extremely gentle. In her eyes, she watched as he silently came forth to brush his shoulder to her side.

This gentleman, she visualized, could just about size up to the men in her family. He was serious unlike Ryvet, modest unlike Renier, understanding unlike Borden, easy on the eyes unlike Kade, and familiar unlike Uncle Danton. Compared to them, this imaginary friend held a lofty position in Taima's mind. He let out a bark heard only in her ears and she let out a loud yip of her own in reply. Then, as though she had been spurred into action, she bounded to the closest tree trunk and dug her nails into the frozen bark before dragging herself downward. Proudly, she glanced her work, examining the long uneven marks with a critical eye. She stepped to the next tree and repeated the action on five other cedars and firs. As far as the young Lyall was concerned, this small glade now belonged to her and her make-believe prince.

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(This post was last modified: Apr 02, 2013, 01:33 AM by Borden.)

I've played this game before, and it's how I know you lose.
What are you looking for? He scolded himself, knowing there was nothing to find. His searches had never done any good. He never found anyone he looked for, and this time there were no trails to trace. No evidence to be found. He never could stop that ache in his heart, the want to continue to look. How many were missing now? Too many for him to want to count, remember their faces, and names. Dark ears bent, he prodded himself to keep moving. While others were throwing themselves up the mountain, he was pushing himself away from everything he knew. There were few places he had never walked, didn't hold a memory and in the end he tried to put distance in his steps. That was all the purpose he had.

There surely was some where he could collapse, get sickly thoughts, sickly scents from his head. The sun not quite straight above him no one would miss him if he disappeared. He should have felt still like a stitch in the tight knit family, the threads were unraveling just like his sanity. Like everything he thought he was, and he wanted no one to see him moping trying to take it away. It wouldn't work, and he was on the verge of snapping someone in the face and breaking down to see if his body would too.

Driving himself to move quicker in the shaded light, he followed water sources, and then lingered near the edge of the sweetly smelling forest that had tell signs to better keep away. Where should he go? Should he leave Relic Lore like the rest of his siblings, and become a memory to someone else? It was tempting in the moment just to lose himself, and not keep any promises, have any cares. When his paws reached the Thicket of Secrets he could feel his heart wanting it to be so. Triell knew better, he would not be free in outside the lands...he would never be.

A lazy trot, and lazy posture he was trying to find somewhere warm to lie down when he heard a rather high toned yelp. The large Tainn froze in his tracks, trying to decipher why it had been. There was no fear in this one, but it sounded young. Black nose began to twitch, and he meandered around till he caught her scent. A pup his niece's age, but tinted with Hollow scent was somewhere. Slowly padding, keeping his paws falling and rising with a sudden purpose he sought to find her. Soon the scrapes of a tree brought him to her, where he watched her do three more. Waited for the right moment, until he moved himself at the edge of the glade.

"Am I intruding on your lands?" He called out, his ears cupped forward, yet his tail slowly wagging at his hocks. He was a big black thing, with a patch of white, his eyes were friendly in his dark mask.

are you with me through it all?

Ripplefang was hidden beneath a moss, and snow shelter of fallen logs. She had been checking the area, finding it uninhabited until she had heard the girl. Without notice she had tucked herself away in the mud, and shade not ready to reveal herself. Rolling in nothing but dead remains, a coat of mismatched colors, she could blend in if she didn't move. The elder of the pack, she had spent time scoping the landscape, and avoiding the creatures here. Though, she could probably pull off being innocent, and on her own better than the others her lack of speed didn't suit her to spy, and take off. It was better to take a chance to see what she was getting into.

She had not encountered a lot on her own, and wanted to get her own feel for this place. The girl, young and innocent had her full attention. She must have playing some kind of game. Where was her home? Rip kept an eye out for hidden guards. There should be one near by, or was this child also unwatched? If she were to be found the lady already had a story conjured. Keeping an eye on the young one without scaring her. An old face made it easy to deceive with, especially when half of it was the truth. It was Slyscar to come upon her, well she would already be headed to the mountain. It made a sigh wind in her throat, pushing from her nose while she rested her head. She wasn't sure if this was the right one to take back, not yet.

When a dark fellow came forward, as if he might know the girl Ripplefang was happy to stay hidden, collect some information herself.

magician's child, white queen's daughter;

TAIMA LYALL

a girl of schematics, the rebel, the plotter

"Oh!" a startled gasp fled into her lungs as she whirled around to take in the figure of a wolf who did not belong to her pack. Once all four paws were back in the frost and mud, she took a step back and pressed herself against the tree she had just marked. In her eyes she watched as one-by-one, her make-believe followers, including her Dearest and her Keeper, disappeared in wisps of black smoke. She blinked rather stupidly, apparently taken aback at his sudden appearance. She might have sworn that her prince charming just might have manifested in living flesh and bone right before her. Well... her prince or Kade...

"I, uhhh," she stumbled over her words but she did manage to recompose herself, falling quiet just long enough to stand up straight and perk her ears up into their rightful places atop her mottled skull. She tried to recall how her mother and father carried themselves, how they might even respond to such a question. "Yeah," she declared, once she realized that the stranger's patch of white fur and fiery eyes set him apart from the Guard she had initially been expecting. "You are now..."

Her mind conjured up the phantasmic figure of her Keeper peering at her from somewhere just behind the stranger. He gave her a wink, which made a smug smile form along her jowls. "Might want to make yerself scarce," she suggested, an air of eminence fabricating itself in her tone and regained posture. "Or I will have to have my Guards show you the way out."

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I've played this game before, and it's how I know you lose.
Triell shouldn't want to grin, but the girl twirled around in shock he wasn't quite sure he could keep it from tainting his muzzle. Her eyes kept it in check, and reluctantly his ears pulled back. It was cruel to scare a child, but she was probably a young woman like Aiyana. Triell wondered if she was as stubborn. The black wolf stood, a twinkle in his fiery gaze awaiting her answer. She had been playing some kind of game. The looks of it, it had to have been ruler of this place.

"I thought I might have scented a border. I guess I should have seen your marks." His dark skull lowered like a submissive wolf, and he took a shuffling step forward. She was smiling, but he knew not for what. Then she was bold enough to threaten, if she really were the leader of these grounds. It wasn't for her body language, her bold eyes, he would have chuckled amused by it. Then he would break character. "Oh really? Who says I couldn't take them, and make you leave...claim this and you find home?" A coy smile curled his lips, and he took another step to the young Lyall. How brave was she? Brave enough to tell him off? That was the test, and he wanted her to pass. He couldn't exactly tell her of the dangerous things, he might enter this play and see if she had her own part right. If not he would surely find her real guardian.

are you with me through it all?

magician's child, white queen's daughter;

TAIMA LYALL

a girl of schematics, the rebel, the plotter

Taima, still caught up in her game and confidence, was oblivious to the presence of another aside from the rather cocky man. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as he revealed that he ought to have paid heed to the markers she had created. "Yeah," she scoffed, her pride flaring. her ears turned forward, listening attentively to him as he tested her. "Oh really?" he questioned. She glared at him now. "Who says I couldn't take them, and make you leave...claim this and you find home?"

Her tail rose and she squared her shoulders, her muzzle lifting just enough to show a hint of her sharp teeth. "ME!" she nearly roared, imitating directly from memory how fierce and choleric her father became whenever she managed to disobey and rebel against him and his never-ending list of rules. Though this man might have been quite an ideal playmate of sorts - seeing as he submitted to her authority at first - the fact that he almost immediately adopted a sort of superior and boastful persona had her railing against the idea. "Yer trespassing," she reminded him, a growl accenting her words.

Though the male stood much taller than her at the shoulder, she was barely intimidated. Her hackles lifted and her fur bristled along her back. "Leave us alone," she barked, taking utmost care to use and emphasize the word 'us' as to give the dark brute the impression that she was not alone. "You are not welcome here." In her mind, at her back, her pack reappeared, growling in unison, empowering her with every second that passed, "Now, GET OUT!"

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I've played this game before, and it's how I know you lose.
Why did one of his talents have to be pissing off young girls? Was this a Tainn thing? Did it just come natural? Was this why he didn't have a mate? He should switch sides?

This lady might be a good match for Aiyana in temper and spirit. Boy, did she let him have it. How easy it was to keep his ears folded, standing on the line of sneaking closer, and staying back. He was pretty damn sure she would bite him if he came close enough to that petite mouth full of sharp teeth. Pale golden eyes looked like they wanted to catch his skin on fire, cast him down to the dark pits of hell.

The Tainn found himself swallowing a laugh, and feeling his heart constrict when she yelled. Yelling,fighting, anger what triggers for him. Those things knocked him off balance, he almost forgot what he was trying to do. He was ready to drop down, roll on his back and tell her he was sorry, he would leave. How he couldn't stand another heart so angry at him. Yet...yes she needed to scare him off. A flick of mischief crept into his fiery eyes, and he rolled his shoulders, one ear shot up for her rough growl. "Yes, what are you going to do about it?" Then he stood up, his tail stiff, not yet towering above his haunches. Triell didn't really need to ask, she already a plan. He could see when she straightened herself in turn. The girl didn't look so little any more. He was reminded when he stood up to a stranger five times his size, ready to rip a chunk into that miserable bastard. Whoever's daughter she was she was brave, and her parents were lucky. He wasn't sure what made him think that, but they were.

But she didn't have to tell him twice. He feinted being struck with fear, and took a jerk back. Quickly black head dropped, and he let out a whine before shooting off into the Thickets. She had said us, but he was not convinced. Soon as he was from her sight he started following her trail, knowing someone needed to know she was out here.

{exit}

are you with me through it all?

Tut, tut. What was that boy doing? Ripplefang wasn't about to complain because it would make her work much easier. The girl wanted to be a leading lady, and the elder knew the perfect angle to take. The dark wolf had increased her chances of luring away the forest princess. She was not only beautiful, but lively. Ripplefang would bid her time until she was certain he had really gone, and the girl was alone. Quietly as the large wolf could she pulled herself from hiding, and worked out along the edge of the pup's "lands".

Slow, and steady was her gait, and her posture was lowered, respectuflly of the young, tawny lady. As if out of breath when she came to the entrance where the black wolf had been. "I'm glad you made him leave, so rude. I was about to rip into him myself if he didn't leave you alone," she said, with a scowl and shake of her brown head. A long, deep sigh fled her lips, and she reclined to her haunches, if she had spent too much energy already. "I was thinking this place is not worthy to be your kingdom. Would you like to rule on the tall mountain?" She asked, her umber eyes resting softly, but not staring directly into the golden set. "I am old, and my pack requires new blood, strong blood."

magician's child, white queen's daughter;

TAIMA LYALL

a girl of schematics, the rebel, the plotter

Another deep growl fled from her throat and upon being questioned yet again, she snapped her jaws with a couple of intimidating clicks. Feigned or truly afraid, Taima was glad to see the golden-eyed man fall back in fear, fleeing from her sight into the dense thickets. "An' STAY AWAY!" she barked after him, her chest swelling with pride. "Hmmph," the sound of impatience was followed by a haughty snort, her tail not yet relaxing from its place above her back. She gave her imaginary Guard an approving nod, as if to praise him for his impressive display of bared teeth and bristled fur.

She returned to her task of marking the area, raking her claws down the tree she had been working on before the sound of another intruder reacher her ears. A disappointed glare settled itself on her masked features, her hackles raising almost instantaneously. She looked sharply over her shoulder, her muzzle wrinkled upward, "I thought I told ya t--oh." "I'm glad you made him leave, so rude..." Taima held her tongue, bewilderment flashing across her face as her new companion, a woman, continued say that she wanted to rip into the imposing, black-furred scoundrel.

The lady effortlessly stroked the girl's ego, drawing her immediately in with the idea of ruling her own pack on not just any mountain but the mountain. Mount Dire - where her parents had first met, where her father had once sworn himself to serve an impressive mountain king, where Relic Lore could bow down beneath her should she take up her reign on its stony ledges and snow-capped peaks. Her tail began to wag. "Yeah!" she trilled, a tad too enthusiastically. "I was born to be a leader, I can help." An allured smile crept its way onto her face, "My father said that when I was old enough I would become one."

"I can help you," she repeated, eagerly approaching the tawny woman. "I'm strong enough. Take me with you..." The girl gaze eagerly up into her adoptive mentor's aged face, smiling as a means to confirm that she was willing to go with her. Unbeknownst to the young Lyall, her imaginary friends - her invisible pack with her loyal Guard and handsome Prince - began to shake their heads in protest behind her back.

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(This post was last modified: Mar 27, 2013, 09:49 PM by Fenru.)