Umbra Copse where the shivering dog rests

for @Taima
dated on the same day as {t_4046}
Overcast — Current Temperature: 32° F/0° C
i'm going to say they start out right before the lake and... discover it for a subterritory? y/y?some minor pp's but mreh. tell me if you've got a problem with them.here is a map of their travel i kinda threw together?

oh you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet

• DATURA AQUILA •

and hold the earth in place

How long they wandered down that trail, Datura couldn't say. For longest time he maintained an unshakable feeling that this path was just a mirage, just an image conjured up by the fog to entice them closer. But what they were being drawn closer too was harder to say. The damp air grew ever thicker, burdened with dark intentions. It felt almost as if some uncanny hand was running through his fur, pulling and tugging him downwards with the weight of water. He was glad of Taima's company, because he didn't know what kind of state in if it weren't for her conversation. They chattered amiably for some time, drawing strength from each other's forced confidence until maybe what they had was truly courage.

Onward they walked, dragged by the sluggish current of mist, until they reached a stream. Here the mist was the thickest, hanging low over the frigid water that trickled underneath a frozen, but thawing sheet of ice. Uncertainly, he looked at Taima, "I think we should follow the stream. I dislike that path." Besides, the path, which appeared once more on the other side of the stream, wove off in a different direction... or, well, it was hard to see if it was a different direction for all the fog. But looking downstream, the mists look thinner. That was promising. He wondered if she would resent him for making the choice for her, but decided it didn't matter. If she disagreed with him she was welcome to take the path back into the fog laden woods. Not looking back to see if she was following, but trusting that she was, Datura continued onwards.

Gradually, his spirits seemed to lift as the mist faded away, as if a death grip on his heart had been loosened and now he could breath. A light smile came to his face and he looked back at Taima encouragingly. They were going to make it out of this place. But while the mists had given way, he found that something else much more terrifying took its place. Trees. Terrible, looming trees that cast terrible darkness over everything. He bit back a whine, wondering if he would ever see the sun again. Was it daylight? Were there zombies here? "I don't like trees, Taima," he was forced to finally admit.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

(This post was last modified: Mar 30, 2013, 03:37 AM by Datura.)

Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow.

miss taima lyall

Fear cuts deeper than swords.

Under every branch, past every low-lying plant, and stepping into every pockmark left in the forest floor, Taima followed Datura through the ghost-filled woodlands. When he uttered something that slightly hinted at his trepidation, she responded with something that fortified him again; when she revealed any dread that sprung up within her, he was quick to stamp it out with words she was grateful to hear. Small talk. Snippets of memories and acts of bravery. Admissions about what they missed about their homes... Such little things, Taima was surprised to discover, was so much when one only had so much. Especially when one was so far from home.

She did her best to keep her head up, to keep her ears forward and alert, and keep her eyes peeled. Most importantly, she kept a majority of her focus trained on him, his every move and every word. When their path brought them to the edge of a creek, she instantly sought his gaze and he met her eyes. He directly told her that they should follow the body of water and that he did not like the path they had initially taken until this point. She looked upstream and took a step in that direction to feel the air between her and her companion shift away.

The girl opened her mouth to speak, to question his decision, but she noticed what he had observed. Where he was heading off to, the fog seemed to be less dense and visibility in that area was even slightly clearer than the haze they had traveled through. He didn't look back and made no motion or sound to even confirm that she was still just off to his side. Taima cast one last glance to the woods in the opposite direction and when she returned her gaze to the boy, he offered her a smile. The expression wordlessly called to her, made her skitter back to her place at Datura's right flank. She had only seen this young man on one other occasion but the longer she accompanied him, the more appealing and familiar he became. In this feral sort of wilderness, the heiress of cedars and grizzly bears was intent of keeping Datura close until she felt safe enough to make her own way (and, she was beginning to be quite sure that it would take a while to detach herself from him).

Datura's path brought her deeper and deeper into a different type of forest; and, compared to her firs, cedars, and other evergreens, these trees were unsettling. Their bark seemed much darker against the still-lingering mists, their branches much too thin, and their foliage too strange in shape from what she could see of them.

"I don't like trees, Taima."

His voice brought her gaze back down to his face and she shivered involuntarily. "I don't blame you," she murmured. "These trees are nothing like the ones who used to look after me."

template base formed by GINNYSAURUS.

don't forget to make one last post in the other thread so we can archive and what not :3

oh you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet

• DATURA AQUILA •

and hold the earth in place

"I don't blame you, These trees are nothing like the ones who used to look after me."

The implied animism was a little disconcerting to the boy. Trees couldn't really look after someone, could they? From somewhere deeper in the forest there was a shrill bird call and he nearly jumped, his head veering sharply to his left. Was this forest watching them? His head snapped to the left. It surely felt like it. But while Taima might believed in the benevolence of the Cedarwood, these trees did not seem so friendly. They watched, yes, but they did not welcome. He gulped.

"Taima," he whispered quite suddenly, "Why did you kiss me... that day in the marsh?" He wasn't really sure if it was proper to bring it up now, but he needed a distraction. Anything would have done, but this thing in particular was on his mind. She could have shown him her thanks in any number of ways, and yet she had chosen that way.

Above them, the trees creaked testily in the wind that stirred their canopies so far above the chidren's heads that they could not be seen. Somewhere beyond that there a sun shining. Right?

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

(This post was last modified: Mar 31, 2013, 03:04 AM by Datura.)

Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow.

miss taima lyall

Fear cuts deeper than swords.

"Taima," her name whispered from his lips made her gaze come back from staring too intently at a shadowy boulder to her right. The question that followed caught her by surprise. After all this time she had thought he had known why she had given him a kiss as a token of her gratitude. Now, she was struggling to find words that covered up the truth.

"I, um," she started, whispering back uncertainly. "Well, Datura... I..." Her ears drew upward then back down again in abashment, much like how they had done that fateful day when he had saved her from a skunk. "We were younger then; surely, you didn't think more of it other than just a kiss?" She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth. What type of answer was that? She sighed, blinking once, twice, before smiling shyly and looking back at him after scanning their surroundings in thought. She couldn't truly hide from the affirmation that she genuinely liked the heir of crags and peaks and valleys.

Her tail beat at the air behind her quietly. "I liked you," she explained, choking back an airy giggle. "Well, I still do like you. You aren't like anyone I've ever met. My... My brothers can't even compare to you, and you at least tolerate me..." Her muzzle wrinkled, thinking back on how @Renier and @Ryvet often excluded them from their "no-girls-allowed" adventures.

"My brothers... they don't... they don't accomodate me like you do," she further explained. "So... thank you." She hoped it was enough to bring him from the topic of this kiss to a different tangent, but she found herself reverting back to it, her own curiosity getting the best of her, "Why do you ask?"

template base formed by GINNYSAURUS.

LKJDFKLSDJFSDLJF ALL THE FEELS IN THE WHOLE WORLD

oh you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet

• DATURA AQUILA •

and hold the earth in place

He probably shouldn't have asked.

As he watched her struggling to answer, suddenly flustered, he realized he was quite afraid of whatever he was going to say. On one hand he was down right terrified that he kiss had meant something more, because feelings were gross and he was still pretty sure that he didn't want to touch her in that way again. On the other hand... the idea that someone might actually like him, like him in that sort of way, like him best of all, made his ego swell dangerously. Datura couldn't really be sure which was the truth he liked best, and he was unsure if he could give either of them up. And that was why he was afraid of her answer: it meant facing reality.

But if he could braved these unknown lands and if he could survive zombie attacks then maybe he could face whatever Taima had to say to him.

"We were younger then; surely, you didn't think more of it other than just a kiss?"

"Oh," he said lamely, not answering her, "Oh, okay." As he looked down at her smiling apprehensively up at him he managed to twitch the corners of his mouth up in response. Suddenly he found himself disappointed. She was right, they had just been a few seasons old back then... and they had only just met. Why should she feel that way about him? But you SAVED her he told himself bitterly, You saved her from that evil monster and you lead her about and you let her holy your tail!. And suddenly it was if she was still in debt to him, like she owed him something. Herself, maybe?

"I liked you"

The golden boy jumped as if he had been smacked. The sudden change in what she was saying confused the less intelligent Aquila brother who could not pick up on little conversational nuances so quickly. He started unashamedly back at her, his eyes hard and hungry as she continued, Well, I still do like you. You aren't like anyone I've ever met. My... My brothers can't even compare to you, and you at least tolerate me..." And all at once he found himself wanting more of these compliments... and yet he was deeply afraid of what they meant. Because they meant that he couldn't just... reject her now, that would hurt her feelings. As her hero it was his duty to keep her happy. Besides, if he just dismissed her... then what? They would continue on in some very awkward silence indefinitely. Shit.

"Why do you ask?"

Quickly, he looked away from her and stared out into the trees, unsure of how to answer her. "Well.... " But before he could answer, his eyes caught upon a sliver of shimmering blue that the trees could not completely block from site. "Taima!" he barked abruptly, his head snapping back to her for a moment to grace her with a winning smile, "Taima I think I see a lake! This stream must empty into it..." Golden eyes flicked back to the blue catching on the sunlight. Sunlight. Oh, how good it would be to stand out in the sun again. "COME ON!"

And he took off without answering her.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

LOLSECONDED.

Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow.

miss taima lyall

Fear cuts deeper than swords.

His reaction, his being jolted by mere words, turned her simple grin into a smirk and her eyebrows rose in anticipation of an answer from the golden boy. Well? she seemed to wordlessly prompt him further. "Well..." he began. Her heart fluttered about in her chest, joining the congregation of butterflies in her stomach. Instead of an answer, however, he exclaimed about something else.

Had it not been for Datura's likable smile, Taima might have felt let down, prone to storming after him for his response with her tail held proudly over the small of her back. He had noticed a body of water, a lake, and it had immediately piqued her interest in turn. Datura, the heir of his packlands, she found, was also promising explorer and navigator. Her damp tail wagged as he coaxed her along with an urgent "COME ON!" "Hey!" she called after him, a mischievous and lighthearted note returning to her voice. "Wait up!"

She bounded after him, her eyes taking in the beams of sunshine that filtered through the gray skies. She exhaled, relishing what little warmth soaked into the dark blotches of her pelt. Her dull citrine eyes sought his after she momentarily closed them. It felt like days since she had last seen the sun, felt it warm her and comfort her. A rather curt realization occurred to her however as she remembered where she was, where they were. Out here, by the lake, in the sun, they were exposed. It startled her and she hastily shuffled back to where the tendrils of mist covered her.

With her knight, her prince and heir, she was supposed to feel safe... and another sudden thought about the old woman and her accomplice coming up behind her made her skedaddle back to Datura's auburn side. She came just close enough to feel the tufts of fur on her shoulder mingle with his then drew away. "Let's keep moving," she whispered. "Anyone could easily see us out here..."

template base formed by GINNYSAURUS.

more adkfjasdlfkja

oh you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet

• DATURA AQUILA •

and hold the earth in place

If Datura had been capable of knowing what beauty was, his heart might have burst as he stumbled on this placid, sleeping beauty of the lake. The trees, so towering and imposing, did not ward off trespassers without reason, and perhaps they had been planted long ago with the intention of protecting this gem, this crystal, this mirror of the sky. For quite some time now she had been frozen over with the winter, but finally she was beginning to wake and open her eyes and stretch herself in the warmth of the afternoon sun that seemed to have eyes for this lake only, for the trees were too humble to accept any of the sun's favor. It was for this lake alone.

But Datura was broken, incomplete in some way.

When at last he shoved through the final tree that guarded it's child the lake, he did not see something pristine, something untainted. He saw only water, water and open space and the sun. For a moment his eyes closed in ecstasy as the light and heat of the sun embraced him like a loving father. To look at him now, basking in radiance that brought out the luster of his golden coat, his pride, he looked very much like the Sun God's sun.

"Let's keep moving. Anyone could easily see us out here..."

He felt her fur brushing up against him for a moment and he immediately stepped aside, whirling to face her. "Why?" he said, some sort of darkness blooming on his face. "I don't think anyone is out here." Datura saw nothing wrong with being out in the open. His whole life had thus been spent exposed on a cliff face. And besides he very much hated the idea of having to go back into the darkness once again. It was too cold, to unwelcoming there. "Anyway, I'm not afraid. Not of them or anyone else." The sun had apparently warmed more than his fur.

"Wouldn't you rather explore a bit than cower in the shadows?" Though there was an inviting smile written on his face, there was a harshness to his question, like he refused to be crossed. He would cling to this lake with his whole being if he had to.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

brbmaybedyingggg

Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow.

miss taima lyall

Fear cuts deeper than swords.

"Why?" The sudden query paired with the expression on his face made her gasp, and in that moment, she was not with Datura... Reflected in the depths of his pupils she saw them - Borden angrily forbidding her from leaving the territory, Renier mocking her cowardice, Ryvet teasing her "girly" hits. It provoked her own brand of turbulence to make itself present in her mask-framed eyes.

"I don't think anyone is out here," he retorted and it made her jaws open wide in a stunned manner. "How do you know?!" she challenged, stepping closer to him so her nose came within inches of his. "Anyway, I'm not afraid. Not of them or anyone else. Wouldn't you rather explore a bit than cower in the shadows?" His cocky smile went unnoticed, everything about the tone of his voice demanding her to prove herself.

"I AM NOT COWERING!" she hollered, her muzzle wrinkling. A spark momentarily lit up her irises and she openly looked daggers at him. "Ya wanna be found out here and taken back into the forest. Then FINE!" The Lyall girl withdrew from his personal space, turned about and lifted her paws. Her footfalls fell heavily on the shore beneath her, one in front of the other.

She managed to march a few paces away before looking over her shoulder and past her plume-like tail, ready to storm away from him without even a second thought. "I'm going over there. If you want to come along, be my guest! But I'm not going to wait for them to take me away again."

template base formed by GINNYSAURUS.

(This post was last modified: Apr 03, 2013, 06:43 AM by Taima.)

eeeeeep. he's yelling at her D:

oh you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet

• DATURA AQUILA •

and hold the earth in place

And then suddenly she was making a scene like some uncouth child. Shoving her face into his and challenging him like no one had ever dared before. A snarl creased on his features as he fought to withhold the growl that was beginning to hum in the depths of his chest. Clearly, she had forgotten who he was: the heir to a throne of piled rocks, the heir to Nomad's Pass. And she had forgotten who she was, too, it seemed, because this was not the acceptable way for an heiress to behave, especially to her hero, to the man she liked. Honestly he could not understand what had gotten into her.

"I AM NOT COWERING!" she roared in his face "Ya wanna be found out here and taken back into the forest. Then FINE!"

He couldn't resist.

"Oh, we're supposed to be afraid they're coming to find us, are we? WELL LET'S JUST SHOUT SOME MORE. THEY'RE BOUND TO FIND US THEN!" His tone was full of condescension and poison, but already she was turning away from him. Datura liked being ignored just about as much as he liked being told he was stupid — which was, of course, to say that he hated nothing more. He couldn't stand it anymore, he couldn't hold back the white hot frustration that wafted from him as he stood rigid. He let out a soft, deep growl.

"And if you want to run off by yourself then FINE. I'm sure that's just what they want! They know we don't stand a chance on our own!" And then suddenly he was very frightened that Taima might really leave him, and his voice lost it's edge and trailed off into silence. He couldn't take back anything he said, but he longed for her to know he was sorry... that he was behaving monstrously, too.

"Don't go," he whispered.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

(This post was last modified: Apr 03, 2013, 08:17 PM by Datura.)

*can already hear Taima barking all huffy-puffy, "well, he startededed ittttt, Grey. he started it fiiiirst!"* :x

Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow.

miss taima lyall

Fear cuts deeper than swords.

"Oh, we're supposed to be afraid they're coming to find us, are we? WELL LET'S JUST SHOUT SOME MORE. THEY'RE BOUND TO FIND US THEN!" Sure, the girl had possibly drawn even more attention to their location (if anyone was indeed nearby), but she just rolled her eyes. Her ears flicked back irritably then resumed their forward positions at the sound of his growl.

He seemed absolutely tolerant of her desire to leave until he additionally hollered that the strange wolves were anticipating them to separate from one another. It was what they wanted, and only then could the elder reclaim her as Datura's captor could find him again. The girl held onto her pride, still rooted to the spot. She took a moment to truly consider what is was that she wanted...

In all actuality, and all logical answers in her mind, he was right, but she was too arrogant to admit it. She tried not to grind her molars against one another and tensed her jaw, the rest of her muscles following suit. A piece of her was still wholly convinced that she was behaving as required. She was not completely afraid, but rather cautious, high-strung and simply anxious to keep moving away from the copse.

She barely heard his whisper, the two words coming to her selectively-deaf ears like the wind against her eardrums. "Wellllll," she shrugged, moving forward a step without looking at him. She glared at the landscape ahead. "If you don't wanna be left behind, then you're coming along." A wave of her lofty tail and a second affirmation of "I'm leaving," and the girl was off, bent on finding refuge elsewhere.

template base formed by GINNYSAURUS.

(This post was last modified: Apr 04, 2013, 07:10 AM by Taima.)