Thicket of Secrets Secret toasts to the king

@Nina since Hollow is no longer RPed here?

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karpos had just needed to get outside of the borders with all that was going on in Hollowheart Keep. He hadn't realized the extent of his travels until he reached the borders of another pack. Had he gone south? No, this was the pack where his Auntie Silver had been. He had a small smile on his muzzle, the boy looked at the borders, reflecting the looks of his father. While the pup was not necessarily fully grown, he was getting there and he was proud. The chocolate fallen prince wondered if he should call for his aunt within the pack, assuming she was still there. Karpos knew wolves had the tenancy to slip away from packs. That was what his ma had done, his da in other ways, his uncle Lach. They had all seemed to just fade away.

Stop being such a worrier. He told himself as he reminded himself why he was even there. It was because Aponi and Mercy had gone missing. Karpos was worried sick because he really liked Aponi and Mercy was one of his 'bros'. It made Karp wonder if they were both thinking about him and the rest of Hollowheart Keep. Were they talking behind his back even? What if Aponi and Mercy had a thing and Mercy's whole 'Aponi was rough' was trying to scare Karp away!!?!? The conspiricies had been whispers in his ears in the woods and so he had left and found himself at the base of where a large thicket seemed to be starting. He howled for his aunt because they had much to talk about.

But what if she did not want to see him? What if she sent someone to scare him off? He wasn't sure how much power she had within this new pack but he had hope she did not have the power to send anyone. Karpos took a deep breathe as he placed his little rump in the snow and waited. The weather was warming and that was good, it meant that winter would {hopefully soon} be over soon. He waited, wondering what could happen to him for being here. What if Mrs. Naira and Sir Mapplethorpe were mad that he had gone on this little venture? No, they would be fine. He would be gone for two days at most.

(This post was last modified: Mar 27, 2014, 08:39 PM by Karpos.)

She was uneasy.

The weather was improving. Throughout the past season spring had seemed to be nothing more than a cruel dream, but it was nearly here. She could smell the thicket thawing. Mud was a glorious smell at the end of winter. She was recovering from her miserable cold, making her capable of border runs again. And with the elk she had helped bring down almost two weeks ago everyone would make it to see spring transform the thicket. Even the additional snow dropped by the unexpected snowstorm a few days had started to melt off. It was almost as if it had never happened. Almost. There was one wolf missing. Her border runs were mostly spent looking for a black wolf on the horizon. Hollow being missing was much different than Danica being missing. With Danica it had been a question of desire and ability to return. Hollow had said this was his home. And it had been a very long time since Iopah had doubted Hollow's words. Each day her uneasiness turned more into foreboding.

Her eyes briefly fluttered shut, sunlight dancing on her closed lids. It was tempting to try to lose herself, and temporarily muffle, her worries in sleep. But sleep would be no escape from the current situation. A dream would simply plant her in front of those she had abandoned in turn. Her mother was just as disapproving in a dream as she was in real life. She was too restless for sleep anyways.

She listened to Karpos' howl with sharp attention. It was not meant for her, but she rose tirelessly to her feet anyways. Whoever was at the border would have to make do with her until Nina arrived. Certainly Nina had more pressing matters right now than a possible new-comer. Her path was well-traveled and in a short amount of time she was at the border. He was politely waiting and Iopah merely looked him over as she approached. Taking in his familiar scent and growing limbs. She recognized him, brows arching over her gold eyes in puzzlement.

"Something tells me you are not here asking for acceptance," she murmured. He belonged to Sage's pack and she was surprised that a Keep wolf had ventured so close to their borders. They seemed a reclusive bunch. Whatever had drawn him here must be important to the black pelted child. He was young and polite and Iopah was inclined towards patience.

Lightning PMed me saying she won't be joining in the thread.

valar dohaeris.

karpos slayer

all men must serve.

The chocolate guardian-in-training had waited patiently at the borders until a wolf had shown up. It had not been his adoptive aunt or one of the alphas. It had been a wolf from the hunt. Karpos took a deep breath as she spoke and asked what he was going at the borders in a sense. "I didn’t. M-my aunt said that she was here. She said she was in the pack an-and I wanted to talk to her..." He explained with a soft look in his eyes. He did not know his aunt Silver to be a liar and so he desperately hoped for the truth. Was she well? Was she fitting in? Karpos feared the worst for Aponi and Adsila and so he had made an effort to attempt a visit to all his aunts and uncles to make sure they were well. That was all the visits were.

He took another breath and hoped that this wolf could bring his Aunt Silver to him so they could talk. He was worried about them all and he secretly hoped one of them knew where Aponi was. "Her name is Silver Shadow. S-She used to be of Pitch Pine Trail but when the pack disbanded she came here." He further explained the vigilant wolf who had answered his call. He hoped the lady from the hunt would be able to bring her to him. Karp was curious as to who the pack was. He had only interacted with Secret Woodlands during the two hunts. Were they a lot like Cut Rock River? Were they friends or would they be another enemy?

If Karpos had been expecting someone beside her he gave no indication. Likewise Iopah gave no indication there was somewhere else she needed to be. She stood with her pale feet firmly planted. The snow was beginning to melt and she could feel the dampness against her toe pads. For her family she hunted and protected alike. This was where she needed to be. Tending to the borders and deterring any who lingered too close. Her tail drifted lazily behind, elevated in pride and confidence, not defensiveness. Iopah did not consider Karpos a threat. But he was here, just beyond the line, calling for them. Iopah would remain until his curiosity had been satisfied. That's what Iopah had expected to lure him so close. What else could have pulled him from home and across the empty expanse of the fields?

Her gaze rose from his figure to trace his solitary path from the horizon. The wind brought no trace of another male and Iopah dropped her eyes back to the youth in disappointment. Karpos was not the black wolf she was hoping to see approach. He was speaking now and her right ear angled forward to catch his words. Her left flicked about lightly, listening to the land behind her. He was looking for someone and Iopah had to bounce the name around before she could recall the wolf it went along with. Silver. Her eyes narrowed. Yes, she remembered her. Another who had left them.

"She left us," She growled out shortly, teeth flashing quickly. Silver's stay here had been brief, she was made memorable only in her abandonment of them. Iopah would not mince her words. If Karpos wanted the truth he would get it. "I hope you did not have important news for her."

She was eager to get off the topic of Silver. Her shoulders rolled, gray coat shifting softly over muscle. A movement meant to disperse tension. It would be best if Karpos did not leave disgusted with the blunt wolves of the thicket. Iopah was sure now that the Keep wolves lived close by. Their cooperation might be needed again. The name of the pack had piqued her interest. "I have never heard of Pine Pitch Trail. Were they near the cedars to the west?"

This natural selection picked me out to be

Karpos Slayer

A dark horse running in a fantasy

She had left the pack? What had driven her away? So many questions filled his thought process when he heard the news. "She just said if I ever needed to talk to visit her... it was nothing important." He brushed off the topic he was going to bring to his aunt as he was asked about Pitch Pine Trail. "It was to the south east. Over the mountains on the direct other side of the Lore. It collapsed after my father's passing I'm sad to say." He informed her with a small frown, recalling the memories of his father's death. His chocolate brown rump found a place to settle down as he cocked his head to the side. He was slightly curious. "Who are you?" He asked rather softly.

He wanted to know about the pack his aunt had been staying in, however he wanted to know who he was talking to first. His chocolate brown eyes hid his pain of not knowing where his aunt was as he waited for her to respond with hopefully a name. His thoughts had drifted out into space where he thought about his duties back in Hollowheart Keep. He had finished his patrol before traveling out towards his aunt and they would probably be expecting him back soon. It wasn't too far, just through the field and into the forest on the other side, but it would still take some time if he was going to walk and think. He drew a deep breathe and held it for a while.

@Karpos
-----
Her question about the pack was a dead end. The pack had disbanded and there was no conversation Iopah could pull from that topic. Not that she really minded, the conversation had been pulled onto neutral ground, which had been Iopah intention all along. At Karpos' sad admission her questing ears turned their full attention onto him. He was very young for so much to have happened to him already. She looked on him and grimaced in sympathy. A more sociable wolf might have gone on about the unfairness of it, asking sadly about his father. But Iopah had been sadness too, and more importantly she was a private wolf. But not heartless, "Sorry to hear that.", she murmured quietly.

At Karpos' own question she gave a quiet snort of amusement, leaning back to ease herself into the snow. She had been wondering how much of her conversation at the hunt he'd overhead. That and she wondered how far information would spread over there. Sagacity knew her name and how to reach her, and she was relieved to see that Sagacity had kept her word on both accounts. "Iopah. I'm the second here. Like you, I've come a very long way from home." She said this simply, without any sort of inflection.

"And what about you? You lot are a very secretive bunch." She jerked her head toward the field, the direction he had come from. She hadn't even managed to pry his packs name from Sagacity, that was the most casual way she had of asking that question. Despite Sagacity's respect of her home, Iopah couldn't help but feel a little curiosity.

(This post was last modified: Jul 06, 2014, 02:38 AM by Iopah.)

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