Thicket of Secrets Flesh Into Gear

@Miccah @Nina

The evening had come, and the sun was beginning to make its descent. Pakuna had grown tired from her travels; her paws were sore and her stomach bothering her for food yet again. The rabbit she had managed to catch an hour ago didn't seem to provide much energy for her. With a sigh, she scents the air, aware of a strong pack odor. It was time to find a new family. She reels her head in and carefully paces through the thicket. Greenery was beginning to return, but it would be awhile until the Lore was once more in full bloom. With a twitch of her cold black nose, Una stops in her tracks. Her green eyes focus ahead- the pack borders. Pakuna shivers slightly in excitement before continuing to walk forth.

Ahh, finally... She halts feet away from the border of the pack. Una blinks slowly before she angles her head toward the heavens. She parts her jaws now, allowing herself to release a long, beckoning howl. Afterward, her head slowly lowers and she closes her jaws tightly together. Her ears perk as she listens for any signs of movement. Una would remain patient until a figure entered her field of vision. As she stands, her limbs begin to ache. The woman grumbles, wanting to seat herself but remains standing to be polite.

She wouldn't want to be caught sitting- it wouldn't be a very good first impression. As the wind blows, Una can pick up the faint odor of territorial markings from one of the pack members. She scrunches her nose and continues to stand vigilant.

(This post was last modified: Apr 10, 2014, 08:21 PM by Pakuna.)

He had been settling into his role well, though he continued to carry on with the duties he always had before he became alpha. Though now, he had to worry about the pack's well being, a stress he could admit he could live without. But it was all part of the package, and he had come to accept that. As usual, the large male had lost himself in his thoughts while busily keeping the borders well marked as a warning to strangers that a pack was near. Miccah loved guarding the borders and had been well on working for the role when that god awful blizzard had come and destroyed the very fabric of their lives. Though his sudden rise to King had shaken him, Miccah rose up to the challenge. He knew he had a hard path in front of him. He had to gain the trust of his packmates as their new leader, and not only that, but his current partner's as well. But a little hard work never hurt anyone, and Miccah was not known to back away from a challenge that he knew would be rewarding in the future.

A howl broke through his thoughts. From the tone, he would assume it was a loner wanting to gain acceptance into the pack. The large wolf gradually quickened his pace as he weaved through the thickets, for he was a good distance away from where he percieved the howl had come from. As he made his appearance, his eyes landed on an older woman. There was something about the air around her...she seemed wise, like she had lived through experiences and perservered. A kind smile tugged at his muzzle as he lifted his black banner, showing her that he was one of the two who could provide her acceptance if she so wished.

"Ma'am," he greeted with a nod in his polite baritone. He had been raised to respect his elders, and Miccah saw this as no exception, even if this woman was a loner. "What is your buisness on my borders?," he questioned. His tone was kind, for which other way could he greet her? She had given him no reason to be wary. But even though he was being kind, his gaurd was still up. She had given him no reason to be wary, yes, but it was too soon to tell of her intentions.

It wasn't long until a wolf had appeared. He was difficult to see with the fading light. Squinting her grassy colored eyes, she is able to make out his form. His coat is the color of a raven's plumage, his eyes blue like the sea. His tail raises; he is most definitely an alpha. Immediately, the elder woman dips her head respectively toward him. At his words, she replies "'Ello, sir. I be Pakuna." Her head tilts up and she looks at his face "I be searchin' for a new home. I be old but I still have a fire in me, I tell ya." A witty grin suddenly appears across her muzzle, and she nods her head to her next words-

"Aye, an Advisor I could be." Her heart throbs in her chest at the longing of being apart of a pack again. She missed Copper Rock Creek dearly, and she had not a clue that Nina now resided in this pack. At the splitting of CRC, Pakuna had decided to take her leave outside of the Lore. Not much had done her good out there, and so she returned to start over. Her breathing is light as her ears erect themselves to listen to the man's next words.

Her legs are sore, but she stands. It seemed to help her aching bones when she was active rather than lying about. She refused to give in to her body slowing down. She was young at heart and wanted to remain that way.

(This post was last modified: Apr 10, 2014, 11:05 PM by Pakuna.)

She nodded respectfully, and he took that as a sign of submission to him. Glad that she had manners, the coal colored man waited for her to answer to his patient inquiries. When she started to speak and introduced herself, her accent surprised him. He had never heard someone that spoke with a tongue like that. His brows rose briefly before they settled and a smile appeared on his kind face. Pakuna. A unique name that matched her one of a kind accent. Pakuna continued to fight her case, speaking that she was well suited to be an Advisor. He didn't doubt that notion, for there was something about the elder that made her words ring with truth. She seemed like she would be a welcoming asset to Secret Woodlands, but Miccah wasn't about to make such a brash decision in the course of just meeting her. He needed to know more about her before he granted her acceptance.

Miccah opened his maw and words came forth. "You seem like you would be a valuable asset to my pack, Pakuna. But first, I must know more about you. Of course, that goes both ways." His tail swished gently above him as he continued. "My name is Miccah Athesila, alpha of Secret Woodlands. I wonder, where do you hail from? Your accent is...uniquely different," he spoke with a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. "What brought you to my borders?, he continued to question. Did she just stumble upon them, needing a home? Patiently awaiting Pakuna's answer, Miccah's eyes roved across the thicket. He was a Guardian at heart, and the protection of his pack was always his first priority.

Posting order @Nina > @Miccah > @Pakuna now?

[quote='Pakuna' pid='340985' dateline='1397171067']

The tawny woman keeps her stance slightly lowered, but she could not go any lower. Her limbs would ache attempting to hold such a position for minutes. It had seemed that her long days of traveling had caught up to her; she was disappointed, of course, but thus was life. She keeps her tail lowered as she speaks. "Honored to meet ye, Miccah." The woman does not realize her gaze that drops to the ground for a moment. She was suddenly immersed in the thoughts of her past. She would fill him in as much as she could without talking his ears off.

Looking back up, the gruff woman speaks "I be from far, far South o' here, I do. I be travelin' for years." She pauses now, taking in a breath before continuing "Me very first pack- me birth pack- split. Dunno de reason, no, I don't." She keeps speaking after a small shake of her head "Then I came 'ere. Lived in a pack, I tell ye the name...Copper Rock Creek. Werked me tail off I did. Me second family...split."

Her heart goes uneasy as she thinks of her packmates. She had just started to form a bond with Ruiko... and Nina- Nina was a great friend of hers. Pakuna sighs now, shrugging her shoulders as she does so. "Then I left, wanderin' 'gain. Can't stay 'way from here. Too nice..." At this point, she would just be blabbering. She moves onto the other wolf's question, "I wan' to live here 'gain. Need a new family, I do. Not much to ask for, in me own thoughts." She smiles kindly and curtly lowers her head.

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2014, 11:23 PM by Pakuna.)

Thinks were getting all the more stressful for Nina, and the woman found herself constantly trying to keep her hormones in check. Now that she was with children again, she was trying to participate in pack activities but also tended to stray away from her members when her presence was not needed. If she had no reason to be in the area with them, then Nina found no point. She had been taking care of the borders every once and awhile, but was mostly finding a new place to birth her new children. As of yet, she had no clue what she was going to be doing when they were born. Their father was gone, not having returned, and Nina knew that it was going to be hard on her children. She knew that they needed a father figure and Nina trust many of the males within the pack aside from Kashikoi and Mirren...but Mirren was so young and Nina didn't want to put that responsibility on him, but sometimes she felt like she didn't have any other choice. Iopah, her loyal second, still remained and Nina knew she could count on the girl when she had to.

It was when an all too familiar call echoed from her borders that Nina stopped, her golden head swiveling in the direction of the voice. No, it couldn't be. Perhaps she were just hallucinating, but Nina turned on her heel and calmly started towards where the voice had called. She had never expected to see this voice again, and when she came upon the scent of Miccah trailing in the same direction, the woman immediately increased her pace, careful of her step so that she wouldn't step on any thorns. Lifting herself higher than Miccah, she gracefully stepped forward, her single emerald eye seeking out the familiar eyes of her old friend, Pakuna. Feeling her heart speed up involuntarily, she stepped forward, confident that this woman was no threat to her, and certainly not her pack. Comforted by the familiar presence of her friend, she spoke calmly, ”Pakuna...it is always good to see an old friend.” She wagged her tail high above her back as she watched the woman, who had become much older in the year that they had been separated ever since that dreadful day. None the less, she was here now, and Nina focused on that.

He watched as Pakuna's gaze lowered, wondering what she was thinking. He hoped he hadn't saddened her with his questions of her past, for that hadn't been his intention at all. As she spoke, telling him her story he made no sound, for the information genuinely interested him and he didn't want to interrupt her. As she finished, he opened his maw, ready to reply. A familiar scent caught his muzzle's attention, and it wasn't long before Nina made her appearance. His eyes roamed her figure as she lifted herself higher than he, but he didn't make his frustration clear. When would she realize that they were now equals? When would she let him in? As she walked over to Pakuna, his brows rose in surprise as she opened her maw. So they knew each other? How? Had Nina been part of this 'Copper Rock Creek' that Pakuna had spoken of? Or had they meant in a whole different situation?

Schooling his features back to normal, Miccah's orbs watched at the familiarity that exuded from Nina as she stood feet from Pakuna. His gaze went from both women, wondering which one would fill him in. This was obviously important information, for Nina's friend was his friend as well. Secret Woodlands was a family, a single unit. No matter how many times the Fates tried to throw tragedy at them, they always persevered. His gaze finally settled onto Pakuna. He needed to say nothing, for his face showed it all. He wanted to know how they knew each other. This woman stood in front of him, wanting to join his family, when it looked like she was already part of it. It seemed the Fates wanted to bless them this time around, for they had sent Nina a friend. With the pups coming soon, she would need all the help she could get from people she trusted. And if the Fates forged him a lucky path, he would hopefully become one of those few in time.

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2014, 11:47 PM by Miccah.)

A fight broke out between two male mountain goats. Hunt Opportunity

[quote='Pakuna' pid='340985' dateline='1397171067']

As she stands, the wind begins to shift. A familiar scent tickles her nostrils as she awaits the word of the man before her. Before he could speak, though, another bracken colored female enters her vision. Was that who she thought it was? The now approaching wolf lifts her tail and speaks to the Atea woman. Immediately, Pakuna's tail begins to wag furiously. She wanted to jump for joy, but in doing so she'd likely hurt herself, sadly. Instead, she projects a gleaming ear-to-ear grin. "Aye, Nina, seems de stars aligned in our favor, eh? It be wonderful to see ye again." Her gruff voice coos as her tail continues to wag.

Nina seemed to be in great condition after this harsh winter.... but something was different. The odor coming off of her was highly hormonal. Finally, it dawned on Pakuna. Her nose wrinkles as she releases a chortle "Ye be expectin'! Awe, Nina... good on ye!" Her gleeful grin remains as her gaze turns to Miccah. She lowers her head slightly, parting her jaws and speaking toward the man "Miccah... Nina and I be friends for awhile. Used to live in Copper'ock Creek together." Her emerald eyes look to Nina before she continues "Was like a family, I say. 'Den it split. Jus' like me birth pack." Her face suddenly grows deadpan before she shrugs her shoulders.

"But I be damned with this stroke of luck. Aye, I be lucky I e'en lived through de winter!" With a light nod of her head, she gets back to business, though she was very excited to see her old friend. "Nina, Miccah. I says before- I be lookin' for a new family. I b'lieve I'd make a good Advisor, I do. Me legs may be old but me heart isn't, nor me mind."

(This post was last modified: Apr 18, 2014, 01:29 AM by Pakuna.)

There was no denying the happy glint that sparkled in the mother's single emerald eye. An old friend, she never would have thought! Even though Pakuna was old, it was still quite obvious that she was healthy enough Wagging her tail quickly above her back, the golden woman listened to what the other bracken woman had to say, Nina lips breaking into a wide grin. She needed a familiar face around here now that everything was coming into place, she would need someone she trusted when as her pregnancy progressed and the pups were born. It pleased her greatly to hear that Pakuna wanted to be an Adviser to her and Nina knew that this woman in front of her would have to do nothing to prove herself to Nina. Pakuna had once said that when she was ready, she would return, and here she was. The Hervok could easily accept this, considering that the older woman hadn't given her any time frame...and she hadn't even committed herself to Nina's new pack when it had been in its founding stages.

Taking much effort to turn her excited gaze to look for his nod of acceptance, she waited, muscles tense as she looked at her new....partner. She knew that now that Hollow was gone she would need to start trusting the other wolf more. He had after all, taken care of Ashanti, and after everything that had happened, the mother should have taken the male under her wings and into her tender heart, but instead she had beat him down every time that he had attempted to help her. She flicked her ears towards him, her gaze questioning. She was trying to make progress, and she knew one of the only reasons she had been so hard on the other man was merrily due to the fact that Ashanti had indeed left, and Nina had viewed the girl as her own daughter. She had nurtured and taught her, and her leaving had made a nasty mark on Nina's heart. She knew she couldn't blame Miccah, and she was pleased that she was finally acknowledging her progress as she waited for Miccah's agreement.