Cold Water Creek the boys are back in town

For @Sceral and possibly @Borlla. Others welcome!

Light snow — Current Temperature: 28° F/-2° C; Early Afternoon

Serach's tail was where it normally could be found - waving obnoxiously above his back like a beacon. It's owner, however, was not where he was normally found.

The six-month old cub had left the comfort of his mother's side and ventured out into the forest. His large, awkward paws sank in the snow as he walked, but that didn't bother him. Admittedly, he had initially been frightened of the big, fluffy flakes that fell from the sky. But then he had discovered that they didn't hurt as much as raindrops did, and he quite liked the burning sensation they left when he opened his mouth to catch them on his tongue. His mother had laughed at him, and no doubt Sceral had mocked him, but the three of them had frolicked together quite happily after that.

Today, though, he was on the hunt. As the older of the two cubs, he had been disgraced that Sceral had returned home one afternoon, proudly pronouncing that he had successfully hunted his first prey. That had been a while ago, and much to his dismay, Serach had been unable to match his brother's feat. A mouse here or there, but nothing compared to the big bird that he had watched his brother dig up from his cache. Jealousy had reared its ugly head, and had harbored within the cub's heart ever since. He would get his revenge today, though.

His creme coat helping him blend into the snow, the cub had done his best to conceal his presence from both his watching family and any potential prey that were lurking about. But excitement and the thrill of adventure got the better of him and soon enough, Serach was meandering along, bum wagging from side to side as he eagerly investigated snow banks for any tell-tale signs of food. Not that he really knew what he was looking for, but that was besides the point. Unsuccessful inside the pack's territory, he spared only a moment to guilt over breaking @Kisla's rule of never leaving without an adult. His jealousy was strong and his pride was at stake, surely Kisla would understand.

So away he went, headed further north with every paw step, until before long, he was well away from home and thoroughly in unexplored territory. Emboldened with the hopes of success, though, the Oak Tree Bend cub continued on his way, a zigzag trail through the snow as he went.

CCRRRAAACCCKKK!

Serach went stock still, his ears and tail standing straight up. His dull green eyes grew wide, and instinctively he bared his teeth. Still a long way from a fully sized adult, Serach was more leg than anything else, but if he could look ferocious, then maybe it didn't matter. So he looked around, ready to face his attacker, all the while wishing dealing that he had not wandered so far and wanting nothing more than to clepe for his mother.

White blankets made from tiny flakes had engulfed his home and Sceral was thoroughly confused about what it was the first time he saw it drift from the sky like falling, tiny stars. Corinna, his mother, had been quick to explain to her children that this was, in fact, snow and that it was frozen rain drops. Sceral had confirmed this himself by chomping a whole mouthful of it up in his mouth, similar to when he ate grass that one time (but never again). Much to his delight, it was water and therefore he concluded it was fine to shove into his gob.

Other than snacking on the white power, Sceral’s first experience of snow was an interesting and fun one. The Aesir brothers and their mother had romped around in the fluffy blanket together, playing and fooling aroud. Whilst Serach seemed to enjoy sticking his tongue out and catching the flakes of cold, Sceral liked to jump along, leaving a twisting trail of deep paw prints behind him wherever he went. After that, he’d hop through his own trail, fitting paw into print as best as possible. In fact, it was this very activity that had alerted him to the fact his brother was going on an adventure somewhere. Curiosity got the best of the youngest Aesir and he crept after his brother, watched as the paler, older son trotted along.

It seemed that neither of the boys had really realised how far they’d ventured for the safety of Oak Tree Bend’s borders. Sceral was occupied with sneaking after his brother, pretending he was hunting—he’d bragged an awful lot about “his” pheasant kill—and Serach was his prey of choice. His brother was too big and fat to be a bird, though, and he didn’t have those flappy arms. Preoccupied with wondering what kind of fat, leggy animal Serach would be, the younger boy stepped on a rotting branch and a terrifyingly loud CRACK shattered the silence of crunchy snow beneath large paws.

Wild eyed, Sceral quickly lifted his paw away from the branch, jumping a little as it had given him quite the fright. He looked down to the visibly snapped wood before returning his gaze to Serach, who was currently all bristle and no bite with his lip raised. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">“Hey! ‘S only me, dumb butt.” Sceral grinned rather cheekily at his brother before ungracefully bounding closer. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">“What’re ya’ doin’? Ha?” The younger pup tilted his head to the side, brows quizzically raised as he looked over his paler sibling. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">

Serach looked more cat than wolf, with the hair along his spine standing straight up. He would claim that it was because he wanted to make himself look scarier, but the truth was that it had more to do with fear. His eyes darted around, trying to identify the source of the noise. It was only as he was doing so that he realized just how unfamiliar these woods looked-who knew that trees could look familiar!-to the ones back home. But as he looked around, his quivering lips turned upwards into a smile and his tail wagged instinctively. Not even Sceral's name calling would damper his brother's relief. He had very limited life experience so far, but he did know that there were a lot more terrifying things that it could have been.

Sceral bounded towards him, and slowly Serach began to relax. His fur laid back down, and he pranced in the snow to loosen him up. He raised one foreleg and batted playfully in his brother's direction, his teeth all grin and no bite. "Me? How bout you!? You's followin me!" The cub responded indignantly, but his serious tone gave way to giggles and he turned in a half circle to look around. His motivation had been to hunt his own prize that would help him outshine his brother, but that pheasant had been big, so maybe it would be better if they worked together. Mom loved them both, surely she could be equally as proud of them?

Convinced that the two of them could be successful if they worked together, Serach grinned and leaned forward with a conspiratorial air. "I goin huntin. Wanna help?" The older Aesir brother's grin grew, if that was possible, trying to win over his younger sibling to his cause. "We can share, take it to momma!" Surely Sceral wouldn't turn him down; now that Serach realized how strange this place was, he wanted his brother's familiar company.

Serach’s bat was met with a bounce on Sceral’s part, a hop forwards to allow him a chance to prod at his older brother’s cheek with his nose. As much as sibling rivalry may occur, the younger Aesir loved his brother dearly and enjoyed spending time with him racing around and tussling every now and then. Such was growing up and he would do so with a grin on his face as long as Ser was by his side. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">“Mhm, was followin’ you. Wanted to see wha’ you were doin’!” A toothy grin was the younger cub’s response to his older brother’s giggles, his butt wiggling side to side as his tail whipped around like the blade of a helicopter. He still looked more than a little daft as his rump swayed with the whooshing tail, but at least the shaking wasn’t making him topple over clumsily anymore.

Hunting, huh? That was exciting! And fun! Something Sceral could definitely get behind and his older brother’s words only helped in causing the younger of the two’s desire to do things and be good at them to explode. Especially at the mention of taking it back to mother. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">“Yeah! I wanna help!” Sceral’s favourite pastime, after all, was receiving praise for doing things well and whilst he’d already “hunted”, he had an idea of what it entailed. He’d definitely how Serach how to do it so he wouldn’t be a silly nincompoop when it came to birds anymore.

<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">“Wha’ you wanna get?” With a tilt of his head, Sceral eyed his brother. He’d already done pheasant and that’d been easy enough (disregarding the pokey ouchies he’d received from its pointy mouth) so maybe they could try another thing. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">“A hair?” Of course he meant hare, but what difference did it make in the end. They were going to try and get something for Corinna and she would be proud regardless … right? Now that he thought about it, they were an awful long way from home.<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#5e8022;">

Mind if I drop in?

There was little difference between being a leader and being a pack lacky as it turned out. He spent his days wandering the borders, searching for something to do, avoiding the pack for the moment until he found himself in better condition; when he wasn't eating or resting, he was walking around the edges, using the thickening snow as a way to boost his muscles. The pack cache had been a lifeline and already he felt his energy returning and his muscle strength on the mend. He had a long road to full recovery, but at least he felt the changes, as little as they were. His alter-ego had so far gotten him by and he had mostly kept in character; posing as a quiet family wolf called Caleb, rather than announcing himself as the badass he believed he was. He had yet to really meet the rest of the pack. Their scents were everywhere, including on his skin but he hadn't really bothered to seek them out when a fresh scent crossed his path. He supposed he would have to mingle soon, but the thought made him feel irked - he didn't want to be nice to anyone.

His paws sank beneath the snow. It had yet to stop and in the distance the mountain which had once been his home was slowly turning white. He hoped that his former mate did not freeze to death up there, he wanted the honour of killing her to himself and would feel robbed if the cold took her instead. Spring felt so very far away, but he would return there as soon as he was able, take her out and move on. One thing he was sure of however, was that he was never setting up camp on a damn mountain again. The grass beneath his paws might be burried under the snow, but the trees around him and the softer terrain just felt right to him; no more cutting himself on jagged rocks or scaling rock faces just to get home. He preferred having his paws firmly on the ground and when the time came that he would start his next pack, because he was Rhysis and would never be happy until he was King, he would certainly setup in a forest somewhere.

His musings were silent, in his head as he paced the borders. There was nothing about. Food was scarce and the snow made it harder to track. Not that he was hungry, but he was pretty bored and other then plotting he had little more to do. That is, he didn't have much to do until the whiff of a wolf or two caught his attention. Curious, he followed the trail until he found the young males talking amongst themselves. They were not old, this years litter and of the same age his own children whom he had never met would be. Including the son he recently found out he had fathered with a wolf who was not his mate. The guy had kids popping up like daisys. A smirk crossed his lips at the sight of them- perhaps they could cure his bordem.

Of course now he was Caleb; a pack wolf, an upstanding member of the community, a silent stranger who was good at heart and he would not cause them harm. He had to keep his place in the pack until the spring and his condition had improved and generally most wolves didn't care for pup maiming for sport. A pity, but such was life. No, instead he could play some mind games or get information about their pack for future references. It didn't hurt to scout out your competition after all. They clearly were not from around here but their scents were obviously of another pack, one he had never smelt before yet there was an under current of familiarity. It was intriguing.

"Oi, you two." he said as he stepped forwards, his head high in dominance due to his age rather than his pack position. His body language was neutral, tail at an even keel as he moved towards the boys. "You're nearing pack borders. Got a reason for being so close?" he asked with a calm yet stern composure.

(This post was last modified: Dec 04, 2013, 06:02 PM by Rhysis.)

Serach's brow furrowed as Sceral confessed to following him. But his frown quickly turned into a smile and his own rump began to sway eagerly from side to side as his brother agreed to help him out. Turning his head, the older brother looked around at the snowy woods around them. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. He was beginning to learn much, at least. Sceral suggested that they get a hair, and Serach shook his head. "Nahhh, maybe a rabbit!" His ignorance shown through proudly, but he had no idea. He just knew that there were fuzzy animals that were bigger than squirrels that he had been given as a snack before and had been called a rabbit.

Either way, they weren't going to find anything just standing here. "Let's go!" Trotting around in a semi-circle, Serach left clumsy footprints in the snow. He made to set off blindly, with no real regards to direction, but was stopped when an unfamiliar voice called out to them. Halting in his tracks, one paw raised above the ground, he turned again to see the stranger. He was big - much bigger than Serach or Sceral were at this point in their adolescent lives. Maybe not as big as dad, but Serach guessed that he was probably bigger than mom too. Uncertain, he took a step backwards, rump brushing against his brother's side as he moved to stand even with him. Glancing nervously at Sceral, he licked his lips and tried to speak. "Um...well...we were huntin. Didn't know anybody lived here," he stammered out, his eyes focused on the big black stranger in front of them. Serach had never met a wolf who was not from Oak Tree Bend, and while he understood that his family grouping was a pack, it hadn't occurred to him that there were other packs out there as well.

hit me for taking so long! @Serach @Rhysis
EDIT: lmao! look at that. "there are several fresh rabbit tracks in the snow" ;)

Sceral tilted his head at his brother's mention of a rabbit. “Ain't they the same thing?” He inquired, a little confused. Why did everything have to have different names?! It made it a whole lot harder to remember! But they were both still young and had a lot of growing to do still; with time, they would learn what was called what. His brother boldly exclaimed it was time to move and Sceral happily bounded after his brother, aiming to fit his paws into the wobbly prints Serach left wherever he went. As always, it was the youngest's desire to make everything into some kind of a game so that it may be enjoyed to the fullest. A gleeful grin found its way to his face, though it was quickly wiped away as a strange voice called out to them—a voice Sceral had never heard before.

The Aesir brother's stared at the big, dark coated man. He was covered with weird pinkish marks, like fur hadn't grown, and looked kind of scary in Sceral's eyes. Serach bumped up against his side and the brown eyed brother stole a glance at his brother who looked equally as nervous as he did. The eldest of the two siblings explained that they were hunting, not realising other wolves lived around these parts. “For our ma,” Sceral added, pressing up against his older brother in an attempt to summon up some courage. “We wanted to … to get her a hair … or a rabbit,” he explained, stumbling over his words.

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2014, 02:10 AM by Sceral.)

Look Out!

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the snow. Hunt Opportunity

Aha. SOW is just too clever for us to comprehend!

They were nervous. It made him want to giggle inside for scaring them. You wouldn't think that he was a father himself, though his children did not know he even existed so perhaps he had never been able to step into that parental role. Scaring children seemed far more fun then playing with them. After all, behaviour was learnt and his father had hardly been nominated for any parent of the year awards. On some level he missed his chlidren; Adonis was the only one to learn who he was but he had not seen his son since the day he had been kidnapped. Datura was oblivious to his identity, Belladonna was dead to him and Lilly... well, she was just dead. He had Mercy, a son he had not known about until recently but as he was warned to stay away from his former kingdom he did not consider him as anything more than another stranger. He had no idea he had two daughters living with Naira or that they had moved away from the mountain. He was going to be in for a huge surprise when the spring came.

Looking down at the two youngsters he raised a brow; it appeared they had missed the rabbit trail altogether so far, the scent of a small group lingered in the air and in the thickets around them, there were footprints in the snow. It must have been their first hunt to have missed such an obvious trail; one he wasn't going to point out and would investigate himself and take the spoils he found alone.
He had to wonder what they were thinking. Hunting near pack lands, when food was so scarce? Clearly they inherited the trait of idiocy from their parents. He wondered then, just who they belonged to. There was only one other pack he knew of in the area and but he knew nothing about them. This was the perfect oppertunity to find out more. "Hmm. What's your mother's name?" he enquired with a quirk of a brow. He took a step forward to assert his bully status and that he was not even slightly bothered by their bond as they touched shoulders. He was the adult here and in his mind, he was undefeatable wherever he went. He had nothing to fear. Ever.

*cough* oops. >.> @Sceral & @Rhysis - With no more Cori, I should be able to give Serach the attention he deserves.

There was a rather peculiar fear rolling off the two Aesir boys, though at the time, Serach would not have been able to say what it was. As he grew, though, he would come to recognize the scent as fear and uncertainty. While he couldn't smell it, he certainly could feel it. The pounding of his heart in his ears was deafening, and the fur along his spine had risen up in a subconscious attempt to make him look bigger and more threatening. Awkward and lanky looking, Serach wasn't exactly an imposing figure - he still had growing to do. But his body reacted to the black furred beast who seemed so effortlessly in charge here, though he stopped short of whining and whimpering like he would have once upon a time.

Oblivious to the trail of their prey all around him, Serach could only listen as his brother backed him up. It was a good thing they were doing, bringing home a present for their mother. As a cub, he had yet to learn fear, and he had yet to learn displeasure - it was unfathomable to his young mind that the adult before him could ever mean him harm. So with that in mind, he piped up immediately in response to the question and asked one of his own, "Corinna. We wanted to surprise her. Can you help us?" The cub tried to smile, though the wariness and fear he had felt earlier prevented much more than upturned lips. But the beast stepped towards them, his large figure domineering and assertive, and Serach couldn't help but shirk backwards, his ears pressing against his skull and the tip of his tail curling under his legs. He wanted to look at Sceral for reassurance, but didn't want to take his eyes away from this stranger who was so unlike every other adult Serach had ever known. "P..P...Pll.Pllease?"