When Trouble Comes Knocking

Dated 12-6-2013

So they dug your graveAnd the masquerade

Aeolus Argyris

Will come calling outAt the mess you've made

Aeolus Argyris had failed once more, that did not bode well with him.

He had failed to protect Pitch Pine Trail; he failed to stop the empire from falling into disbandment. He had no idea what he could do but go on and try to support another empire. The proud gray man had refused to go to his brother for a home, not after he called him what he had. Instead he made his way over the mountains, slowly conserving his energy for when he would really need it. He had crossed the mountains at a slow pace, finding no interruptions from whatever might live up there. He had crossed a waterfall, frozen over by the cold and brutal winter. Over ‘the river’ and through the woods to a pack lands. A pack he was unfamiliar with.

Curiously, he raised his muzzle and requested a pack leader. His heart felt broken. Perhaps he should be a loner because every pack he went to ended up dying out. But he was too far into the howl to break it off. He slowly let it die and he sat in wait. He was, if nothing else, curious as to what this pack was. There was a familiar scent however, one he knew from when he joined Pitch Pine Trail. "@Anastasia." He told himself rather self-consciously. He had not seen her since he joined Pitch Pine Trail, and he had heard she had left. He guessed that if he thought about it, she was partially to blame. But she could not have known that it would happen.

Most importantly, he understood why she left.

hope you don't mind me jumping in! :)

The pack was nearly completely settled into their new home — behaviour was becoming more routine as the wolves grew comfortable with the foreign territory. Lachesis had busied himself with ensuring that his inventory was well-stocked before the weather worsened. As the snow continued to fall it became more and more difficult for the deer-legged healer to gather herbs as they became buried under the frigid blanket. He did not want to be unprepared if an accident was to happen — the youth desperately wanted to make a name for himself within the pack, and pursuing the role of healer was precisely the way to do it. The yearling already had to deal with one incident, as the mute member of the pack — Taras — had a run in with an irritated lynx. Luckily only a few hours had passed after the shadow wolf had received his injuries, allowing XIX to get to work quickly on patching up the lacerations.

Long, thin legs moved gracefully over the snow, his brows furrowed softly as he observed the snow-dusted surroundings. The warm, refreshing scent of the cedars offered solace to the troubled youth, as things always seemed to go wrong around him. His former leader had passed away, despite his best efforts to save him, and the prince of Pitch Pine detested him. After leaving the pack with his blue-eyed companion, Anastasia, tragedy had struck their new pack — a furious flood rampaged the territory of Darkwater Rapids, leaving the area unlivable. However, since arriving in Cut Rock River things seemed to look up — pack affairs were running smoothly and although prey was starting to become scarce the wolves were not yet feeling the angry claws of hunger.

Suddenly a call broke through his thoughts, alerting him of the presence of another. Turning his nose in the direction of the stranger Lachesis bounded forward, his lanky legs carrying him quickly over the layer of snow that covered the ground. The Arctic was built for this weather — he thrived in it. His coat had thickened, making the gangly teenager appear much larger than he was. Closing in on the loner a familiar scent hit his damp nostrils — the smell of pine trees and former packmates. Hope surged through his body, and he quickened his pace as though someone had lit a flame behind his rear. However, once the scent became more clear and the agouti-coloured male came into view disappoint licked at his stomach. It was not the dark prince that XIX hoped to see — instead it was a wolf that had arrived just before he and Anastasia had left. Slowing his movements the youth approached the male cautiously, pear eyes not once wavering from the Pitch Pine wolf. Why was he here, so far away from the shadows of the deep forest? Perplexed he stopped several tail's lengths away from him, curiosity burning feverishly through his veins. "Can I help you with something?"

stick with those who stick with you

Look Out!

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

So they dug your graveAnd the masquerade

Aeolus Argyris

Will come calling outAt the mess you've made

It was not long before a member of the pack made themselves know. But he appeared to be a yearling, and therefore he was not the alpha. He felt familiar, though Aeo was not sure how. "I'm Aeolus, I'm looking for Anastasia... it has to do with Pitch Pine Trail. A-and also I came to offer my skills as a member." He said rather awkwardly. How was he going to tell the former Pitch Pine Alpha that he had failed, that the pack had faded away into nothing? He couldn't live with the torture. Then he knew where he had seen him, he had seen this wolf on Pitch Pine Trail.

He remembered hearing that Anastasia left with another named Lachesis. He thought it was Silver who had told him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you because I had never formally met you. I remember Silver and Ace had told me about you though. You must be Lachesis?" He said after his sudden realization. This man had looked at him {Aeo} like he knew him and that was what made Aeo realize who he was. "Pitch Pine Trail... others left after you and it fell apart. I-It is no more. I was one of the last to leave. I just needed to let Anastasia know that Karpos is with another adult... we lost track of Adsila though. I think she may have left with Ace...." It was really hard for him to say it all. His eyes filled with pain. It had been a rough week for him. "I tried." It was all he could manage to say after his explanation. He caught a faint scent of deer on the horizon.

im not the fastest replier right now but i'll do my best!

The petite woman, as always, had followed the trail of her friend as it had begun to disappear towards the borders. Although she recognized that he needed alone time sometimes but usually, she had found him wandering about elsewhere for herbs but it seemed that his steps had taken a whole different direction than usual. It was slightly more straight forward and as she neared his scent, she caught another but it had the lingering scent of their former home—a place that could not be so easily forgotten and for that she was thankful even if it had not been on the most pleasant of terms. However, as she neared their vicinity she recognized a voice of a member she had met briefly before leaving and one that was now wishing to pledge his allegiance elsewhere. He was already turning his back on the Trail so soon? It baffled her, but she continued to listen. Her ears picked up the tidbits of introductions and the smooth velvet voice of her comrade before hearing that others had left and thus was no more. “What!” she screeched, coming out from the tree lines with an expression of deep concern as she looked to Aeolus. The only question that pressed her mind was that of Karpos and Adsila, considering that they were the ones she had had the most honest relationship with (and a horrible break with, unfortunately) but she still wished for their safety. Luckily, he was quick to mention that Karpos had left with another adult and that Adsila had not been found but assumed to have followed Ace. “Who?” she asked firmly, as if coming out of nowhere was not a big deal, “who did Karpos follow?”

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KIRA U SHADOW POSTER U <333333333333

His curiosity was fed as soon as the fiery-eyed stranger began to speak, announcing that he had hoped to meet with Anastasia... and to join the pack? Perplexed the boy remained silent as he awaited further explanation, his pear eyes remaining focused on Aeolus. Before the wolf dove into his story XIX knew something was wrong; why else would he be so far away from the pack? Lachesis' first thought was that someone had died — more specifically. Anger bubbled within his chest at the thought, mainly directed at himself for abandoning the troubled youth. He should have been there for the fragile child, not thinking selfishly.

Giving his head a mental shake the yearling redirected his attention back to Aeo as he spoke once more, words struggling to drop off his tongue. He responded with a quick, short nod as the wolf addressed him by 'Lachesis' while his lips remained glued shut. The ghost's worried were laid to rest when Aeolus announced that Pitch Pine fell apart, its members slowly disappear after he and Anastasia had left. While Lachesis felt partly responsible for the disbandment of the pack he stood by his decision to leave — Cut Rock River was his home now, there was no going back.

Just as the male announced that Karpos had left with another adult Anastasia's voice shouted from the trees as she approached the pair. Nineteen barely had time to register the news of Karpos' whereabouts as his companion's voice cut through the silence once more, demanding to know who it was that the shadow prince had left with. Turning his pear gaze back to the agouti male his brows narrowed, a frown forming over his lips as he struggled to digest Aeolus' news. "Answer her," he demanded, unable to mute the anger that bubbled inside of him. "How could they lose the children?!"

stick with those who stick with you

Over the last few weeks, Astra had come to embrace her title of Leader. That didn't mean she still had her own thoughts on the matter. Truthfully, she would rather be a notch or two below her current position, as she did not yet have all of the skills and experience to run a pack successfully. For now, she was trying though. She was just headed back to the main den site, the limp body of a hare hanging in her jaws. She had planned on offering it to Quil and Cinder, well aware that the girls could not afford to be underfed during the winter. If her luck turned out to be that neither of the siblings were around, she would tuck it away in the cache for later. Just as she had begun to reach the halfway point back to the center of the territory, a voice demanded her attention. The howl of an outsider announced that someone was at their borders. Cut Rock River seemed to be attracting some interest lately. Not a big surprise, since the pack was fairly new. Dropping the tattered body of the rabbit off in a nook of a tree, Astra redirected her course, heading straight for the borders. A sweep of her tongue licked away any remaining traces of blood that stained her pale muzzle, dark eyes alert and watchful as she scanned the horizon. Reaching her final destination, two familiar scents were recognized. Lachesis and Anastasia had arrived first. Pressing her ears back, she drew her lips in a thin line, reminding herself that she really should work on her timing. Neither of them were in a position to accept a loner into their ranks. Voices filled her ears, ones of surprise, worry and even anger. What had this wolf done to instill these emotions on her pack mates? As she drew near, the outsider came into view. An agouti male with burning orange eyes. He spoke of leaving a pack called Pitch Pine Trail in search of Anastasia. Of how it fell apart, losing members. But more concerning, was the absence of two pups. So then, why wasn't he still with them to look after the youngest members of the failing pack? Anastasia was visibly upset and Lachesis seemed to be struggling to keep his emotions in check. This was Astra's first time interacting with them up close and personal and the circumstances weren't exactly ideal. Nonetheless, she asserted herself appropriately, head held high, tail aloft, eyes pinned on the loner. "Calm down. Let him explain." She addressed the pale subordinates firmly, not bothering to turn to face them. "Now tell us, what happened to the children. And what has brought you to our borders?"

So they dug your graveAnd the masquerade

Aeolus Argyris

Will come calling outAt the mess you've made

There was a panic attack when Anastasia burst out from somewhere he had not seen her, demanding to know where Karpos was and Lachesis wanted to know how they could lose the children. "Karpos left with Capella. She was taking him to the mountains, he was friends with someone from a pack up here." He said calmly, it was his job be be calm in rather unstable positions like he was now. "I've never met Adsila, but I do know that she is with an adult and I'm pretty sure its Ace." He said with a wide eyed expression. The pups themselves have gone through enough, they shouldn't have had to go through their childhood by losing their mother, everyone abandoning them, losing their father to death. He scolded himself slightly for not being able to try and figure out how to keep Pitch Pine Trail together.

"Everything was so hectic, I had met Silver and Naia in the pack den when I figured out that Pitch Pine Trail had disbanded. We couldn't find anyone else, but I ran into Karpos and Capella when I was crossing the mountains." He tried to explain further. His eyes filled with the grief of leaving who he knew now as family. "I tried to get Karpos to come with me, but he refused and Capella backed him up. I wasn't going to force him to come here." He continued part of his jostled and disheveled explanation. He had jumped all over. He gave a respectful bow to the female who had come up while Anastasia had her freak attack on him. "I wish to join."

In the moment that she had arrived nothing but Karpos and Adsila mattered, as her own heart had begun to pound wildly in her chest. It was uncontrollable, less Aeolus tell her what had happened to them. It was the arrival of Astra that caused a crease in her heartbeat—irritation that this woman did not even begin to know what it felt like to lose these children again and for her to simply ask them to calm down. How Rude! Later… she was going to have a word with Astra but for now, Ana was too focused on the present topic of missing children. “You’re pretty sure she went with Ace?” Ana asked, a little more calmly than before for Astra’s sake though it might have a little bit of spite in it, it was normal. “So you don’t know for sure that she’s safe with someone we can trust?” Addy had never gotten along completely with Ana but it certainly did not mean that Ana didn’t love her any less. “No, no. Capella will keep him safe.” She knew this, though it was surprising to hear that the girl had returned and it was also unknown as to whether Lachesis and seen her yet so that was something to talk about. “We know her. As for joining, that’s up to her.” Her muzzle pointed to Astra but inside her mind was a snid comment wishing to come out, that’s up to her, for now.

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looking for friends, potential love interests and role-inspired threads!

From the moment she had arrived, Astra could tell there was a certain tension in the air. Anastasia and Lachesis were already worked up enough due to the news Aeolus had given them. Sure, she could see why anyone would be upset upon finding out some pups they were attached to had gone missing. From the looks of things though, it at least they were with an adult. However, Astra was the type of wolf who usually kept herself calm and collected, even in the most stressful of situations. There was no need to go biting Aeolus's head off. He was simply serving as a messenger and nothing more. Despite having little to no interaction between Anastasia and Lachesis, Astra couldn't help but feel stiff around them. They seemed so...close. Inseparable almost. Just what was their plan? Had they been going behind her back planning to team up on her? She didn't trust them...not quite. As her paranoia began to take over, her irritability increased by the second. She had caught the little note of spite in Anastasia's voice, but on the outside, remained unphased. Here in front of a lone wolf seeking entry into the pack, was not the time or place to reveal her emotions. She had been named as the lead female, and thus had a right to take charge of the situation. The paler female was simply a subordinate in the chain of command, obliged to heed her advice. It only added to her sour mood that the former Trail wolf didn't even seem to acknowledge her presence. Not directly at least. Astra struggled to fight back the urge to raise her hackles, a clear display of her displeasure. The tensing and untensing of the muscles in her legs and neck though, couldn't be helped. She just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, to get away from the feeling that she was being judged. Satisfied that she had heard enough, of a situation in which she was completely uninvolved, she turned her attention towards why Aeolus was interested in joining. "I am sorry that the pack you once belonged to has disbanded." She spoke nothing more of the children, having no desire to aggravate a situation just put to rest. On their own time, Anastasia and Lachesis could speak with this male about it in more detail. Adjusting her stance slightly, Astra looked upon the homeless wolf thoughtfully. "What is it you can offer Cut Rock River? We are a tightly knit group and we need wolves who can pull their weight." She informed him before falling silent listen patiently for his reply. Below her calm exterior, she smirked bitterly, pleased with herself in that she had this opportunity to show Anastasia she was perfectly capable of running a pack smoothly. She might be a rookie, but she was doing a damn good job so far.