Ghastly Woods In delirium -- no! In a swoon -- no!

[Combining the random events :) @Aponi and Karpos - You two are walking through the woods, you hear some strange noises...]

Karpos had been making his way back towards Pitch Pine Trail, his legs all worn out. He pondered stopping for the night, he knew the two of the wolves to have left Spectral Woods already [at least away from his den, yes, his den] but that would lose all the progress he had made to move forward. Out of a sudden panic and worry, he froze. What was that he heard whispering in his ear? Could his ears be deceiving him or had he heard a voice.... not just any voice, but had he heard what he thought he heard? No, the woods he stood in he knew to be haunted with nothing more than fake ghosts that had scared him once or twice as a small pup, but nevermore.

Next, he did freeze once more, was that a cackle he heard? Or was it just the leaves bustling along in the wind the way to make it sound like such? For that he would still have to figure out. His eyes had nothing involving an emotion known as fear inside him, he had grown up accustomed to the tricks of the forest. Just for precaution, he let out a small whisper of a voice to anyone who dared to go near him. "If I'm not crazy, and some wolf is out there, show yourself to the prince." He had begun to embrace the word prince, after all, whom was he to change who he was born to be? He was indeed the prince of Pitch Pine Trail.... Forevermore.

The princess did her best to ignore the strange whispering that seemed to seep through the trees all around her, though no one was to be seen when icy blue eyes flashed to check. The woods were eeiry, much stranger than the woods at the base of her mountain, the ghastly woods were just full of dead trees and rotting wood, but mist seemed to constantly hang over this place and there was a constant hush. The adventure had been spontaneous and daring, the perfect cure for the rebellion Aponi felt swelling inside her at all times. Don't go too far, stay in the borders, take your sister with you, don't go far without an adult, be a perfect princess, don't break any rules, don't talk to strangers. There were so many rules she was expected to follow, and frankly she didn't give a hoot about a single one of them.

Oh yes, she was sure to get in trouble from her dad when she returned home, if she returned home, maybe that's how she would show them she wasn't a baby. Run off and create a life for herself somewhere else, where she could be queen and make her own rules and nobody would treat her like an incompetent child. In truth she wasn't treated unfairly for a five month old pup, her Dad loved her and she was often able to wander over the borders as long as she didn't go too far. Nonetheless Aponi craved something more, something more than rocks under her feet and the comfort of home, she wanted her own adventure, one like the wolves in the stories her father had always told her at night when she refused to sleep.

This was how she had found herself leaving the borders and not looking back and next thing she knew six days had passed, the longest she had ever disappeared for and she was lost in these creepy woods. Paws had covered stone for the majority of her travels but somehow the princess had found herself losing altitude and then her path let her down into the woods which in daylight had seemed much less foggy and more navigational. The constant rainfall over the past weeks added to the mist in erasing her scent quickly and now the trees all appeared the same, like monsters that clawed towards her, looming closer and tugging at her silvery fur.

The girl had unknowingly wandered practically upon the boys den, his scent hidden by the rotting leaves and musky scent of the mud. the whisper froze Aponi in her tracks and immediately a small growl built in her throat, always a fighter never a lover. Yet the princess was sly, she couldn't let him know how badly he had frightened her or he would have the upper hand, and this was unacceptable. A chuckle slipped from her throat and the princess walked into view, a humorous glimmer in her eye, "Could be both you know, I'm here....but you could still be crazy." The mist rolled around them, glazing the hole night like a frosted glass at a fancy dinner party. Silver tail flicked almost flirtatiously as the glimmer returned to her eye, for some reason this boy seemed....different than Mercy he made her feel different.

(This post was last modified: Oct 22, 2013, 04:21 AM by Aponi.)

3 days from Serpents Pass to the Vale, +2 because Aponi is a pup and coming from NP at the top of the map to the middle, +1 for mountains not exactly being easy to cross. She’s 5 months old. Mumma is cranky to say the least! XD

Anyone who isn't us

• NAIRA AQUILA •

is an enemy

A day had passed, and then two with no sign of the silvery princess. At first the mother had been filled with concern when she noticed her missing child - memories of the panic that filled her at @Datura’s disappearance coming back all too easily. She had been quick to confer with @Mapplethorpe before setting out along the serpent, nose to the ground amd tail held high, searching high and low for any sign of her missing child.

By the time the mother caught the scent of the wayward princess her worry had long since morphed to anger, which only increased more and more the further from home her daughter had strayed. There were only so many time a child could be told and the cantankerous queen was ready to wall her daughter off in the back of their den with a chaperone day and night until she had her second birthday. As the scent grew stronger and the final destination of her child more apparent, she no longer attempted to disguise her approach. Howling to her mate that she was on the trail her pace increased to match her determination.

Higher pitched voices drifted to the mother’s ears and her lips peeled back from her teeth. Her body stiffened and her hackles rose as she slowed her approach. She momentarily sneered as the word prince drifted to her ears and she was quick to answer with a low growl from the cover of night and of the trees. She held back when her daughter responded, glaring daggers into the darkness.

For now she would wait.

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Karpos turned suddenly to the sound of another high pitched voice, a small sigh of relief. "Hehe, it could be that too I guess. My dad always said that I heard things that I didn’t while I had been growing up here. It’s nice to meet you milady. Is it already if I call you milady? That’s what my uncle calls everyone, says it is a proper way to greet all the princesses, queens and other faes of the world." Rambling, which was what he, was doing, rambling. He had a small smile forming on his muzzle, a slight wave of heat going up his spine. She was like Adsi, a girl who was his age, but the difference between the two was Adsi was his best friend and his sister. But this fae just made him feel weird and different. He kind of liked it.

Karpos had yet to notice that there was another wolf among them, listening to every word that they said. "My name is Karpos Slayer, I’m the prince of Pitch Pine Trail… but I don’t know that I can truthfully call it home anymore." He looked at his feet, talking about home was painful. But all that pain faded out and he froze again, listening around, and there it was again, a cackle off in the distance. That wasn’t a coincidence was it? He refused to show fear in front of a lady, which was one thing that his dad taught him before he passed away. If you show fear in front of a lady, then let them call you weak and scorn your name. He began to unfreeze from having his ears perked up. "Alright, I think I might be crazy then miss, I keep hearing these noises, but they are different than the ones that normally lurk in this forest. Normally it’s the forest playing tricks on the wolf’s ears and eyes. But something is different… I’ve never heard this before, and I spent a good amount of time here." He said, in a bit more informing of the surrounding, but still not words of fear laced his tongue.

He had pondered the thought that there was another wolf in the distance making those noises, but they sounded like they were getting closer. Surely it couldn’t be… unless… maybe it was the headless wolf. It was a story that Aeolus had told to him before bed one time, and Karp regretted asking his Uncle Aeolus for a scary story right before bed. It was really his own fault…. His mind snapped back to focus on the lady before him. "Pardon me milady, but why are you out here all alone? I can tell you’re not from around here. Most of the wolves around here are scary; one even went and threatened to steal my sister and I from our den before we moved south!!!" He added in that tidbit so that the beautiful fae in front of him was prepared for anything that might happen, he knew however that all those threats had been empty words. He kinda looked at his feet and then back to her and repeated this waiting for her to speak.

(This post was last modified: Nov 11, 2013, 01:25 AM by Karpos.)

Aponi giggled at the boys ramblings, unsure of why her cheeks suddenly felt so hot when his eyes looked at her, luckily it was dark enough to hide her blush. Making herself more comfortable the princess flopped her rump upon the ground, she had no plans of going anywhere fast, even if the woods were creepy. Smiling a toothy wolf grin the girl answered, "You can call me milday if you want, nobody has ever called me that before." She liked it, it made her feel all grown up, like this boy, what did he say his name was? Karpos Slayer saw her as an adult, and not like the child she was treated like at home. If she had been home and this had been @Mercy Aponi wold have been bossing him around mercilessly, forcing him to do whatever it was she wanted to while he took it because she was the princess. This boy though made her feel strangely shy, like she needed him to like her, which was odd, she knew everyone liked her even when she didn't try.

One silvery ear flicked towards the sound of her mother's paws absentmindedly, Aponi was much to enthralled with the conversation to pay much attention to it. Huge mistake, if she had known her mother was present maybe she would have run, or hid, or....did something instead of just sitting there out in the open waiting to be dragged back to the mountain where she would be locked away. The tallest room in the tallest tower oh yes she would be locked away like in a fairy tale, only Aponi was a damsel in distress, a role she didn't play well.

Blue eyes looked in shock when the boy said he had no home anymore, "My name is Aponi Aquila, princess of the pass, and if you don't have a home you can come back to mine! My mom let this other boy Mercy stay even though he isn't my brother I'm sure she won't mind." The girl trailed off, she didn't really know what her mom would do, she hardly ever saw her except at pack meetings, Aponi was much closer with her father @Mapplethorpe than she had ever been with her mother. The princess thought little of it though, in her mind that's just how things were, Queens were busy ruling and princesses just got in the way with their silly games. Suddenly she blushed once more, and unsure of what came over her or why she did it Aponi moved closer to the boy, much closer, in fact she was sitting so close her shoulder pressed against his, "Don't worry, we'll be safe while we're together." The words were said with confidence, as if she could never imagine not being safe, and she couldn't she had always been safe way atop her mountain.

Blue eyes watched as the boy stared at his feet and the princess looked at her own in response, digging absentmindedly in the leaves and dirt below them. Why had she left her home? Silver brow furrowed as Aponi wondered the question, yes she had been bored and needed to explore, but it had been more than that, or else she would have turned back before nightfall like she always did. The bedtime stories once more flashed across her mind, blushing the girl looked down to her feet, "My dad used to tell me these stories when I wouldn't go to sleep. Of wolves that did these great things and had these great adventures and......well.....I wanted one I guess....." The voice trailed off, unsure as to whether or not these was an adequate enough answer for Karpos.

Although Mapplethorpe had been kept busy and on his toes with the near-constant rainstorm and having to relocate or refurbish the pack's caches, the Queen's equal had eventually found a reason to stop his four-hour-long-and-counting endeavor and shift his mindset. It had occurred to the grizzled man that something was amiss. Not only had the other seasons seemingly shortchanged the autumn months with the chilly downpour of an early winter, but the Consort was starting to suspect that he had overlooked something rather important. Something along the lines of checking in with someone or something...

It was by luck alone that the mottled man had found Naira's trail and in following her path made haste as to come upon her figure from behind. Her back was turned to him and he was quick to notice that she was either spying on someone or perhaps lost in thought. It must have been the former for as soon as Mapplethorpe stepped off to the left and joined his beloved's side, his ears picked up a familiar girlish voice. Of course it had to be Aponi, but... who was she talking to?

Barely exchanging glances with Naira as he positioned himself at her side, he muzzle wrinkled, suspicions quickly rising as his eyes fixated on the ground while he strained his ears. He waited. They waited... By the look that had already been on Naira's face, Mapplethorpe assumed the worst and readily reflected her bearings. His tail came up off the ground from where he crouched and his ears came forward as the fur along his shoulders bristled. The Princess of the Pass told her companion not to worry just then and soon after mentioned that she had been told stories that sparked her desire for adventure.

His gold-ringed pupils went to Naira's face, still listening... and anticipating the kind of voice that would answer or comment about what Aponi's conversation tangent had just touched upon. Sure, Aponi and Nova weren't his biological daughters, but that didn't mean he wasn't fiercely protective of them. As far as he was concerned, the girls knew him as their father, and that fact alone spurred his paternal instincts to kick into gear.

Anyone who isn't us

• NAIRA AQUILA •

is an enemy

Slayer. Not a name she recognised. Pitch Pine Trail. Not a pack she had heard of - but one that would no doubt soon be catching the brunt of her wrath. There were no other adults in sight or scent range. How careless were this boys parents to let him wander alone? If they were truly nearby, and the Queen with her Consort had travelled from the far ends of the mountain ranges - there was next to no excuse for such an oversight. Pups were precious - they were the future and if someone didn’t intervene soon, perhaps this particular spark would end up snuffed out, at her own jaws, or someone elses.

One even went and threatened to steal my sister and I from our den before we moved south! Well that settled it. She still remembered the broken body of the tawny child well and she could only wonder if the wolf that made these threats was the one that had caused such harm to the child. Before she could step forward, Aponi chimed in again. If you don't have a home you can come back to mine! At the mention of Mercy, Naira threw a quick, questioning glance at @Mapplethorpe. She should have known it would come back to haunt her. But would it be such a bad thing?

Stories were one thing but to travel so far? It was a miracle she hadn’t been picked off by a pair of coyotes or a mountain lion. Naira had finally heard enough. A low growl left her chest as she stalked forward stiffly, golden eyes glaring daggers at the boy as her lips pulled back to reveal sharp teeth - drawing herself up to appear as imposing as possible to any other onlookers who might think to intervene. “Aponi Aquila!” Naira barked at her daughter while still watching the strange boy... this Karpos Slayer. “Just what do you think you are doing so far from home?”

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Karpos listened to the fae as she told him her name, Aponi, it was an amazing name in his opinion, and the fact that she was a princess made him smile, she was a princess just like Adsi, but in a different pack. Some place called the pass. It sounded like a nice place, and when Aponi mentioned that she had a home he could stay at, he had honestly thought about it. But he knew he couldn’t just up and leave his technical home without an explanation. With a small sign of sadness, he started to speak. "I really love your offer milady Aponi, but I can’t leave my sister or my aunts and uncles without a goodbye. It would make them worry and come looking for me, plus I could never leave my sister without anyone left. My da, he was killed about a month ago, and my ma left when I was barely a month old maybe." He explained, thought he honestly really wanted to get out of dodge, and follow the charming princess, he couldn’t. @Adsila needed him, and though he knew it, he would never admit it to any other wolf, Karpos needed Adsi.

He had been ensnared in the conversation, but not enough to have the feeling that they were being watched. Well, he had always felt like he was being watched, and knowing his luck it was some wolf from Pitch Pine Trail. If they dared to jump out at him then he would be in trouble. But he subtly reminded himself that she was out here alone to, so it could be some wolf from the pass. He let his nose raise a little like his dad had taught him, and he sniffed for any sign of any wolf that was stalking them. Maybe it was Adsila? No, from what Karpos could tell there was no one, maybe it was just his imagination. Or maybe he just couldn’t tell. The forest always had a fog to it that seemed to block scents from his nose, but maybe it was just a mental block since he didn’t know of anything that could block out his nose. He said nothing to Aponi about it, didn’t want to freak her out.

From the sounds of things, she was out here without the permission of the mother and father she had mentioned earlier. "My father just told me stories of his past, but he had gone on some great adventures. One time he told me that he was up in the mountains and had come across a female, he never got her name I think, but if he did, he never told me. Despite the fact that he didn’t know her well, they hunted, but in the end she ended up snapping at him. But it was fine because there had been plenty of prey in the caches of his older pack. Oh, and there was this one time he went and fought through two wolves, before he came near the Lore, he fought off two wolves at once because they had tried to hurt a fae in the area! They’re probably not as good of stories as yours though. I guess I just miss my da, his old alpha attacked him because he had left and had me and my sister. He died after he got back home, but I can never forget her name. Elettra." He had told his stories, and now she knew, he had lost his da to a lady named Elettra and he had lost his ma because she left him, abandoned him. "So this Mercy wolf has no parents either? It was really nice of your ma to let him in then, from what I’ve learned through Uncle Ace and my da, and every wolf I’ve talked to really, wolves who had pups don’t tend to leave on purpose unless drawn out by another source." He said, though he didn’t really know what it meant. He then promptly placed his rump on the ground as Aponi had. She was different, and he liked her a lot. She was already a good friend of his, kinda like his Auntie Pella or Auntie Silver, but she wasn’t related to him. His eyes had the feeling that he had not had in a whole, something that he tended to treasure when it reached him. It was happiness. He was happy here, meeting this other pup, and learning that there were others without parents too, this Mercy wolf that he had heard about made him feel less like some messed up wolves from the slums of the universe.

Karp had suddenly leapt out of his fur as a familiar fur color came into view. The gray fur reminded him of the wolf who had threatened to steal him. But the difference was that this wolf was a girl and she was yelling at Aponi in a motherly tone. Instinct told him to take many steps back, practically tripping over his paws, his tail instantly lowering to flat against the belly of his stomach. "H-H-he-hell-hello milady, y-you m-u-must be Princess A-Aponi's m-mot-moth-mother." The words were stuttered out, his sudden confidence had faded as soon as the adult had come into view.

(This post was last modified: Nov 13, 2013, 11:38 PM by Karpos.)

The girl could tell before Karpos even spoke that his answer was no, the sigh gave it all away and for some reason there was a pang of disappointment in her gut. Aponi had just met this boy and had no reason to be disappointed that he wouldn't return with her, other than maybe having someone to talk to on the long journey home. Silver brow furrowed at his answer, she had left her sister and family behind without telling them, wasn't that the same thing? The princess opened her jaws to protest but closed them again when he started talking, This boy is coming home with me....whether he knows it or not. The gears in her head already began turning, plotting to find a way that would convince Karpos to follow her home, he would be much happier there she was sure.

Aponi listened intently to the boys recap of the stories he had been told, silver ears cocked forwards and blue eyes focused right upon him, it was as if she had been in a trance. At the mention of the mountain her tail began to wag in the dirt, "That's where I live! On the mountain, oh you would love it there, you can see everywhere but no one can see you, plus nobody will threaten to steal you because not many strangers go up there." The stories the princess had been told were never about her father, in fact she knew practically nothing of her parent's histories, who they had been when they were pups, how they came to the lore, how either of them ended up leaders of the mountain. Her stories were often full of things like the yeth hound, or other mythical beasts, or great fearless wolves who travelled for miles to protect princesses like herself. Aponi nudged Karpos sadly at the end of his story, for once at a loss for words, she had never met anyone but Mercy who didn't have parents and from what she could tell he never seemed sad about it. Shaking her head quickly she responded, happy to change the topic, "Nope....well kinda, this other wolf in our pack named Sagacity adopted him, so she is kind of like his Ma, but he doesn't have any real parents." The princess didn't really understand what Karpos meant by drawn out by other sources so she chose to ignore it, no way she was going to ask him to explain and look dumb.

At the sounds of pawsteps behind them the princess whipped around, hackles rose and a growl ripped from her throat as she instinctively fell into a defensive position. That was, until the sight of her mother standing there sent her tail between her legs and her head hanging low. Blue eyes glanced up and saw that her mother's gaze was focused solely on Karpos and not on herself, raising her head slightly her tail relaxed behind her. Quickly the girl answered, "I got lost, I wandered too far from home and couldn't get back, this is Karpos Slayer, he has no family and nobody to protect him so I think he should come home with us." The princess had no idea that he mother had been eavesdropping the whole time, that she knew that Aponi had in fact not gotten lost and so a lie seemed like the best answer to get her out of trouble.

Trailing after Naira so far from the Pass had been a good idea he decided once his Queen exchanged glances with him. Leaving Chulyin temporarily in charge in his absence had been an even better idea, but regardless of how quickly this situation would be handled he knew better than to get too engrossed in it all. He still had matters to attend to back at home and if Aponi had not wandered off, all three of them would have been in the den by nightfall - where they really should have been instead of here in these unknown woodlands. The fur along his spine finally came up but Naira had already sprung through the underbrush, a terrible bark reverberating through their immediate surroundings in the form of Aponi's name. Reacting as though he had been attached to her, Mapplethorpe's frame unfolded, making him lurch forward just enough for the left half of his body to come into view.

Naira had already thoroughly scared the boy, that was certain, and the Nomadic Lord felt no need to support her further unless she demanded him to show himself. He took a moment to let both of his goldenrod eyes to fall upon the silver-touched princess. She had disobeyed the rules and requests he and Naira had asked of her - staying within the pack borders, minding her curfew, and not talking to strangers without having an adult present. The Karpos Slayer that had accompanied her, he resolved, would or could be dealt with later, just as he had always done things in his administration. The sooner they all returned to the Pass, the better... and the sooner he could discipline his wayward daughter.

Withdrawing his gaze from Aponi, he shifted to the right and took three steps in the direction he had come from. His muzzle dipped downward as his ears swiveled back to where he had left them. Though his muzzle remained wrinkled and his hackles had yet to relax, he continued to idly wait nearby, anticipating the sound of shuffling paws that signaled Naira, Aponi, and Karpos' departures.