The Wildwood haec omnia, quae feci

Change was such a small and insignificant thing to her. She liked to think that wolf could change but she knew that the evil wolves would always be cold and bitter and detached with no hope for a reprieve from their wrongdoings. Aesire liked to think she was a just and fair wolf. She liked to believe that she did not possess the evil genes that others inherited and learned. The dappled woman liked to believe that she had a stronger will to resist such temptations if only for enough time to remove her from the situation. Aesire’s past suggested otherwise for her. It wasn’t her fault that she had snapped at him, truly it wasn’t. She had just been so angry by the arranged marriage that she took it out on the poor sap and in return was forced to leave the col she had called home since birth.

She remembered as her would-be in-laws demanded that her head be torn from her body in a violent rage by her own father. She was lucky that her father had always favored her because any other sibling, he would have done it. Banishment it had been and it had been quite a lonely banishment. Was there any other kind of banishment? Day after day of being cut off from her family was punishment enough but she started to hear voices of home calling out for her. She liked to believe they were real and she liked to believe she could run to them and embrace them as the Destine heir she had been but she knew she could not. She had royally screwed herself.

The mottled woman, coated in her earthy tones and hues, pushed forth while bitterly recounting all of her plights. She was surrounded by a giant river that would no doubt have icy cold water in it as a result of the late autumn weather. She approached it, her paws crunching against the leaves that gave scarce protection to her paws from the cold, hard ground. She gulped as she peered into the water, debating taking a drink as she examined the area. There were trees around but not many near the edge of the water. Fish danced underneath the surface as they raced by her and she couldn’t help but smile. Life continued on, even without her or her family. She tucked her head down, lapping up some of the cold water before turning away from the river and heading towards the forest again. Perhaps she could wrangle up some food while she was wandering. There was no point in dying if she could still be of some use. She wove her way through the reborn forest as she searched for some signs of prey.

There was one thing certain about this mysterious place that she noticed as she searched for the prey that was not there. This forest was bursting with a feeling of bliss. Everything worked together in a harmonic way. That was how she knew that she would be alright in the forest. She could afford to stay for a day or two before continuing on to another land. Hopefully she would wander to a close-by land next.

(This post was last modified: Nov 17, 2014, 03:04 PM by Serach.)

Love the table! Hope you dont mind if Roma joins in!:)

Roma had not been to this strange forest since the night she had spent telling ghost stories with Naia. That night, walking through the mist under a blood red moon, the forest had felt eerie. It hadn't felt all together unwelcoming, but there was a presence, an ancient presence, that was unnerving. Today, as Roma padded into the grove, she could still feel that ancient presence that seemed to seep from the ground and resonate in the air, but her reaction to it was different. After all that had happened since the last time she was here, this land seemed like home to her now and this place with all of its odd power was now a place of curiosity rather than intimidation. Now she wondered what gave this land its power and if, by chance, whoever had lived on this land first had also fought with her sister as it seemed everyone else had. Roma giggled at the thought. Whatever gave this land its power was far older than her, her sister, or even their father.

Roma was considering going to visit Naia as she crossed from the grove into the forest, but her wanderings were interrupted as she caught the distinct scent of an unfamiliar wolf. Roma wasn't necessarily surprised by this; this ground was unclaimed by any of the nearby packs and acted as a sort of neutral ground. Still, Roma's curiosity often got the best of her and she found herself following the scent of this new wolf. In the distance she could see a large she-wolf with a coat of varying shades of brown. To Roma's immense surprise the girl was slightly bigger than herself. It wasn't very often that Roma found wolves bigger than she, but they were almost always men. With a growing interest in this stranger, Roma decided to announce her presence. She let loose a quick bark just to get the woman's attention and then smiled. Her tail was partially raised and she held her head high, not willing to show submission to anyone but Athena, but not wanting to come across as threatening or aggressive. "Hello. My name is Andromache. What is yours?" With her deep voice it was hard to sound anything but assertive, but Roma tried to make her tone sound softer and more friendly, the way her friend Oliver always sounded when meeting someone new.

(This post was last modified: Nov 13, 2014, 04:12 PM by Andromache.)

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Thanks :) I made it myself

She had been very content with her search of prey. She had been following a herd of deer about even though she knew that she would not be able to catch one by herself. A bark caught her attention and changed her focus as her shaded head turned to face the other woman. There was a small smile present on Aesire's muzzle as she gave a short back back in acknowledgement that the other wolf was around. It was an interesting display that the other held. The girl held herself in a slightly dominant state and while Aesire normally had no problem with this, it irritated her the slightest bit. They had just met. Aesire raised her tail and puffed out her chest to mimic Roma in hopes of spreading the message of their equality.

Aesire had not realized how tensed up she had been during her wanderings so when she relaxed her posture, she felt a nice crack down her back. It was a good kind of crack like that of cracking knuckles or your neck when you are stretching. The other girl greeted Aesire and introduced herself as Andromache. It was a idiosyncratic name and one that the Destine heir would make an effort to remember. "It is nice to meet you Andromache. I am Aesire but you could shorten it up to Ase or Ire like most wolves take the habit of doing." She greeted with a small and barely noticable dip of her head. Her social pleasantries had been taught to her to the last movement of fur. The blood red moon above had gone unnoticed to the Destine girl.

Ase was not necessarily atheist, but she had no sense of high power and did not care to go stargazing for there was no true point to it. The dappled femme was simply trying to focus on the task (in this case a conversation) at her paws.

Roma smiled slightly as the darker woman puffed out her chest in a show of confidence. Immediately, Roma picked up on the woman's regality, a trait that Roma had found among several of the wolves she had met on her nomadic travelings before arriving in the Lore to find her sister. Roma let her tail lower and her body relax as the woman introduced herself as Aesire. Roma appreciated the girl providing a nickname and was happy to reciprocate the gesture now that she knew this wolf was not an immediate threat. "You may call me Roma." She dipped her head respectfully as she offered the nickname.

"So what brings you here on such a cold night, Ase?" Roma asked politely. She could smell the tempting scent of deer coming from nearby, and worried that she had interrupted Ase from a hunt. While scenting the air she also took note of the lack of pack scent coming form the girl. At the very least, she didnt smell of any of the packs from around here. "You don't carry the scent of any of the nearby packs." She mused aloud. Ase certainly seemed to have been raised with some kind of teaching in the matters of formality, so she couldnt have been a lone wolf for very long. She radiated confidence, addressed Roma politely, but held a measure of control in her voice and mannerisms. Roma respected this and couldn't deny that this was the disposition she often tried to mimic in her own presentation, though it was in her nature to let her emotions get the better of her from time to time. Still, with this kind of upbringing Roma was curious as to why the girl seemed to be alone now. Was Ase's story as tragic as her own?

Roma was the perfect nickname for her. It was relevant to her name and it flowed well off the tongue. Her smile grew a bit wider as she began to relax around the other femme. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Roma." She greeted with her continually controlled mannerisms and tone. She didn't acknowledge that she was controlling herself because it had become second nature to her. She never realized that she was doing it, she just did it. The marble girl tried to remain relaxed at all times since she knew what remaining tense all of the time did to her muscles and how much she would ache if she did so. She tried to form her next words when a question was asked. The obvious melancholy mood swing was evident as she was asked about a pack that she might belong to.

She tried to figure out how to explain it without piquing the other girl's interest. It had been too soon and she was not ready to talk about the events that had happened, especially to a stranger like Roma. "I am not in a pack. Not anymore at least." With those words she tried her luck at changing the subject. "What about you? Are you in a pack Miss Roma?" She asked, using a title before her name. The woman before her did not reek of one particular smell so Aesire found it safe to assume that the woman was both packless and without a significant other just like herself. It was perfectly possible that she (Aesire) could have had a significant other but it was not love and so Ire had rebelled against the actions.

Part of her wished she hadn't rebelled. She could have had an amazing life with her former best friend but instead she had ended his life in a violent rage that had turned into a murder scene. She gulped, doing her best to remain controlled and postured as she recanted all of these memories within her brain. She was smarter than this. She shouldn't recall such memories in the presence of another, much less a stranger.

Roma was pleased to see that providing a nickname had relaxed the girl and drawn out a wide smile. Since meeting Oliver, she had been working on her greetings. She knew that she often times came across as rude or domineering, and she very much admired Oliver's good nature whenever he met a new wolf. She had been trying, as of late, to mimic him or at least to appear more diplomatic in her greetings and was happy to see that she had succeeded this time. However, her pride deflated when she noted the obvious melancholy coming from the girl after the mention of a pack. Yes, this girl's story must be tragic as well, Roma thought sadly.

Ase asked Roma about her own status as a pack wolf or a loner and Roma considered the question. She was certainly a pack wolf, but Athena had still not officially claimed the territory. It would be easiest to explain this to Ase as honestly as possible, though it did reveal a weakness. A pack with no claimed land was an easy target. Coming out of her musing, Roma noticed that Ase's eyes seemed wrought with distress, though her posture showed little reaction to the inner turmoil. It was easy to identify that look because Roma had worn it for many years and she knew better than anybody that Ase certainly did not wish to talk about it. Empathetic to Ase's situation, Roma willingly assisted in changing the subject and attempted to take the woman's mind off of whatever horrible memories were plaguing her now.

"I do belong to a pack, one led by my sister, a very strong and determined woman named Athena. The two of us and two others have recently come together and have not claimed territory yet, though Athena is in the process of doing so." Roma paused and considered the woman in front of her. She was large, obviously raised with good etiquette, and seemed to be kind. She would make a wonderful new addition to their pack and Roma could see no reason why Athena would object. With a smile she said in a kind voice, "You seem like quite a capable woman and I am sure there is a place for you in our ranks. I could offer you a place to call home, or at the very least a place where you will be safe." Roma's icy gazy met Ase's emerald orbs and awaited a reaction. Roma would not be hurt if the girl refused the offer; she had spent four years trying to outrun her demons before finally finding a place where she could settle down.

The woman seemed to take the ruse in changing the subject and she started to talk about the divine sounding pack that she was to claim with her sister very soon. Aes understood how it had been described as it was the duty of a pack member, especially a royalty member, to make the pack sound as strong as possible when it wasn't truly a pack. A pack was truly a pack in Ire's mind when the lands had been claimed and the wolves had buckled down in one specific area. The girl went on to offer her a role in this pack and Aes was quick to shake her head to signal a no. "You know nothing about me... how could you offer me a place within your pack newly formed?" She asked out of curiosity as to what drove the woman to make such a compelling offer.

Under any other circumstances, Aesire would have weighed her options and made a neutral decision based on the information provided as she had been raised to do but these were not normal circumstances. Fresh into her banishment, she felt uncomfortable around wolves for fear of the anger she had possessed with Rainar that she did not believe she could contain herself in a pack without acting out and rebelling like she had done with her arranged marriage. "I am not ready for another pack. The banishment I went through recently is still too fresh--." That was when the bomb was dropped and that was when she realized that she had dropped it. Her maw fell agape as she realized what she had said, her eyes filling with a slight fear which was new to her but still coursed strong through her body. She'd said to much and now this wolf knew that she had done something wrong against her pack former. Her froze, tensed up as she debated running. Aesire was acting off, strange, and different compared to herself just a few months back.

New Table <3

Word of the day

As Aes shook her head to signal her inclination to decline the offer Roma nodded understandingly. When tragedy struck the first instinct of a wolf was always to run, to keep walking until the place of whatever spurred on the nightmares was left far behind. The darker woman asked Roma how she could make that offer when they had just met and Roma was more than happy to answer the question, but before she could Aes continued as if to explain herself.

"I am not ready for another pack. The banishment I went through recently is still too fresh--."

Roma's eyes widened. Banishment? Her face contorted in confusion but before she could gather her thoughts enough to form a questions she noticed that Ase's green eyes were now beginning to film over with fear. The woman might have even been having a horripilation. Then, Roma saw it. The guilt. Again this was something that she recognized because it was something she had worn on her own face for many years. The guilt of letting her father, Zeus, live, even after learning that he had murdered her mother. The guilt of running away and letting Zeus' evil carry on, an evil that would eventually bring much grief upon her sister. The guilt of loving her father despite his evil. Guilt was a familiar burden. Roma sighed and as she did her whole body relaxed, even letting her tail fall low. She did not move to approach Ase because she did not want the woman to run. Instead, she remained where she was but tried to let her relaxation provide Aes with some comfort.

Roma's deep voice took on a gentler note, one she rarely used, as she spoke to Aes now. "It's okay, you don't need to run and you have nothing to fear from me. I promise." Roma let her eyes meet Aes' and hoped that the woman would see the sincerity in her crystalline blue orbs. "I know what it's like to feel guilty and I wish I could tell you that whatever you did in your past wont follow you here but it will." Roma paused to let that sink in. That had been the hardest lesson for her to learn: you can't outrun your own feelings. "But you can take those feelings and those memories of what happened in the past and turn them into something new, something better." Roma paused to spare the woman an encouraging smile. "You asked me why I offered you a place within our pack. I will tell you. It's because I can see something in you that reminds me of myself, something strong and good. Whatever you did in the past hasn't changed that about you." Roma always trusted her gut instinct. She was very open minded and never rushed to judgements so when she did make a judgement about someone it was usually correct. This judgement was a little quick, but her instincts were telling her that Aes was good despite whatever she did, or thought she did, in the past. Above all else, Roma trusted her instincts and so when they told her to help Aes and to trust her, Roma did.

The benevolent wolf before her had been shocked with the words that Aesire had stupidly let fly from her own muzzle but that did not seem to change the behavior that Roma showed towards her. Aesire had been banished from her pack for murder (granted Roma didn't know that little detail) and she was treating her like she had been before? The idea that not all wolves were cold and heartless and judgmental was a new idea to her. If she had been in Roma's shoes, she'd be across the Lore by that point. Aesire gulped as the woman spoke calming words. Aesire was not a wolf of insecurity. She was, but she never showed these fears with the rest of the world and here she was, laying her heart out on her sleeve like some foolish pup who knew nothing.

The words that the other girl offered in condolences both comforted her and terrified the hell out of her. This killing will always follow me? Everywhere? It was something that she regretted from the bottom of her heart to the top. She had killed her best friend, fiance, and soon to be husband because she was scared of marrying him. She did not love him and she knew that her social orders demanded she marry to make family ties stronger but she had rebelled and it had cost him his life. The other wolf spoke of having similar situations and when their eyes met, Aesire could tell that it was true. She immediately regained her proper form before speaking again. "I apologize. I'm not usually this jumpy. I don't know what has gotten into me this night." Her proper tone and etiquette back as she restrengthened her walls. "I appreciate the offer and perhaps someday I will seek you out but I'd prefer to remain by myself for a little while longer." She would respectfully decline as she took hold of the scents in the air again. The deer were nearby but two wolves couldn't take down the overly healthy deer in the herd she had been stalking.