The work was hard and the voyage was long

Ambrose Llywelyn · 01-02-2011, 06:00 PM

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Anybody feel free to greet him, he's just here to ask some questions. ... I'm starting to regret naming threads with sea shanty lyrics, because I keep getting the songs stuck in my head.

When he arrived near the Dahlia de Mai border, the sky was already dark, although by his internal clock, the evening was only just beginning. He had made good time coming through the forest, and now he could scent that he had arrived near his destination. Admittedly, much of his speed was due to having traveled a long distance the night before, but when he disregarded the distance covered during the night he felt rather proud of the amount of time it had taken him to reach Dahlia de Mai. Not wanting to seem like he was trespassing, he made certain to stop a short distance from the pack borders and sat down with a large stick he had picked up in the forest. After the trek he had taken to get to the pack borders, he realized that a walking stick would greatly expedite his journey, and so he had found a suitable branch to make one out of. He pulled out his dagger - shaped like a falcata but too short to be considered a true sword - and began to trim away spare branches, whittling the irregular branch into a nice pole shape.

Saul Stormbringer · 01-03-2011, 10:21 AM

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ooc;; hello deary!

He was no longer a simple pup anymore. It seemed that within the past month he had been promted from Lerhling to Spaher and then within the past two days he had been boosted once more to the rank of Jager. It appeared that he had been held back at the starting line and now that he had been set free he was off and up the heirarchy like a shotgun. Conor had told him that his position of Jager was shared with three others, one of which was Saluce, to the young mans delight. Saluce had returned from his walk about not long ago and Saul had been overjoyed to see the grey man. He'd managed to read through the books on bow making with little difficulty and he had attempted to make a small one but it had snapped because the wood had been too brittle. The next time he saw Saluce he was sure he would have something to show for the reading he had done.

It was almost time for him to start building his house. In the grey mans absence he had managed to gather up a whole room full of nails and screws and any other amount of metal spikes that would serve to hold his house together. He had managed to scavenge around twenty planks of dark wood and although they were very large they were not enough to build a whole house with. There was a small wood in Dahlia, but the wood was young and Saul was loathe to chop down a growing tree. So he had decided to make his way out past Flanders Field and Overgrowth Sunrise to the Ethereal Eclipse. He had brought one of Saluce's saw and intended on cutting a tree down today.

He had just managed to find a good dead tree when the whittling of wood came to his ears. He was thrown back into a day not too long ago when he had come to find Skye. He'd met Shawchert instead and the older male had taught Saul some simple wood carving. The youth had gotten better than his first attempt but he was in no way a pro. He knew he needed more practise but learning to make a bow and wrapping his head around building a house had taken up most of his spare time. Green eyes flashed softly however as a strange figure came into view. Also in his optime form, the creature looked almost nothing like a wolf, but smelled weaker and stupider by far. Of course Saul was never one to judge. So instead of turning his nose up the young Jager walked forward, ears pricked and tail high behind him. Laying the saw flat on the ground, he fixed the loner with a stare for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Good evening sir. You are nearing the eastern borders of Dahlia de Mai."

Saul informed him with a firm but friendly voice. Saul was never described as threatening and now was no exception. He wondered if, in the failing light, the creature might like to help him fell a tree.

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Ambrose Llywelyn · 01-03-2011, 06:27 PM

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Hello! This should be fun; I like Saul. Smile Is the saw a two-person saw or a one-person saw, by the way?

Ambrose caught the sound of someone moving towards him through the wood, and his ears perked up to listen. Turning his head towards the sound, he continued to work on his walking stick as another figure came into view - a wolf, of course. This land seemed to be full of them. Of course, that was no problem... Ambrose had worked with wolves before, and he found them to be trustworthy companions, even if they were a bit obsessed with rank and hierarchy. This wolf had his tail and ears perked up as a reinforcement of this, as the dog would have expected, seeing how close he was to pack borders. However, his speaking voice was friendly. Ambrose put his work down and gave the wolf a friendly smile, although he did not yet stand up.

"Hello there. My name's Ambrose Llywelyn. I'm a traveler just newly arrived, and I'm visiting different packs to see if I might find a nice place to retire in. I heard this pack had some coastline, so I thought I would investigate..." Sheathing his blade, he stood up and offered a hand to the new wolf. "I made sure I didn't come to close though. I didn't want to accidentally step over any borders... You're from Dahlia de Mai, right? Is it all right if I ask you some questions?"

Saul Stormbringer · 01-04-2011, 07:50 AM

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ooc;; aww thank you! shall we go with two-man? ^^ I am on a role today!

Though there was quite obviously something funny looking about the man he had just met, Saul was never one to judge through physical appearance. Of course, if everyone judged by physical appearance he probably would be on his own by now. He'd arrived at Dahlia de Mai's borders three months ago starving and exhausted. Anyone could have mistaken him for a beggar or a run that wasn't worth the hassle. Saul was glad that Bris had found him and taken him in almost straight away. There had been something so beautiful about his aunt in that moment that he would never forget. Of course, she had her own daughter to think about now and although Saul visited the two often he felt as though he were being pushed out by his own family. It was one of the reasons he had decided to move out.

Green eyes caught the sight of the dog's hands, whittling away at the wood of a long stick. A walking stick immediatly popped into Saul's mind but the man could easily have been making something else. Cinnamon backed ears perked up and cupped the words that came from the gruff man- it was more obvious now that he was an older gentleman. Saul allowed his tail to drop, though his ears and eyes remained alert and watchful. Just because he was an old man and appeared to come in peace, didnt mean he wasn't capable of bad things. He had offered his hand to the other side of the two-man saw and Saul placed the other side in the dogs hands. Moving over to the deadened tree, Saul placed it at a reasonable spoke and began to cut, hoping the other man would follow his lead.

"Ambrose... An interesting name. My name is Saul Stormbringer. A traveller eh?"

Saul commented before listening to the rest of what the dog had to say. Though Dahlia had a steady population, there were wolves coming and going all the time. It was simply the laws of nature that tbere was always someone there to replace the person who had left. And therefore they had a steady population. Still, he didnt think there was anyone older than Conor or Saluce- it was quite a young pack. To have a golden oldy would be interesting, to say the very least. A smile crept over his lips as he cast another look at the dog.

"Dahlia is a nice place to live, thats for sure. Conor is a kind and just leader and we live in times of peace."

He offered, sounding wise and older at the same time. Though only nearly ten months old Saul had recently excellerated through the ranks and ended up as Jager, which had surprised the man. But he was considered a man now, despite not yet getting past his first actual birthday. Ears had picked up what the old man had said about a coastline and Saul smiled. There were so many things that Dahlia had it was hard to describe. They were so large- one of the largest in Nova Scotia, that their borders encompassed two entire towns, one and a quarter forests (the quarter of which the two men were meeting now), cemetaries and vineyards and rivers leading to the sea. Saul could see no reason why the dog did not follow him home right there and then.

"We have much more than just a coastline, Ambrose. The coastline has a harbor still as well as two stretches of beach. There is a small island just off the coast that we have claimed. We have two towns, a church and cemetary, a hospital, vineywards and rivers leading to the ocean."

He explained briefly while pulling through a heavily knotted piece of the trunk. His ears had also caught the mans reassurance that he had not come too close to the borders and Saul nodded his approval at the man. Although much younger, Saul still had a higher rank than he did. A small smile escaped his determine-set lips as the dog asked him whether he could ask some questions. He nodded before opening his mouth once more.

"Of course- go ahead."

Came his honeyed reply. They were about a quarter of the way through the trunk now and Saul paused for a moment to survey their handiwork. He could build at least three outside walls with this amount of wood at his disposal. A grin came to his lips as he waited for the questions to begin.

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Ambrose Llywelyn · 01-04-2011, 11:57 AM

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My biblical analysis is probably a little off. But Ambrose isn't exactly the religious type, so it works.

Although he lacked the dexterity of his younger self, Ambrose had only recently left a lifetime of hauling sails and cargo, and he still had much of his old strength. Rolling up his sleeves, he started to help the young man with the work, taking the other end of the saw and falling into rhythm with him.

"It comes from the Greek, I think," he said, in answer to the comment about his name. "And your name is Saul, eh? Like the Biblical king. Can't say he was a very good king, but at least he was a fine warrior... And of, course, he did pave the way for David, the slayer of giants. So all in all, not a bad name at all. Although, Stormbringer..." He winked at the younger wolf. "With a name like that, just count yourself lucky you live on land. Mind if I ask your profession, mister Stormbringer?"

Ambrose listened to the rest of Saul's description of the land of Dahlia de Mai and nodded when he heard something that interested him. It seemed that much of the human settlements were still intact here, which made the old dog feel optimistic about the quality of life in the pack's lands. And the hint of an island was just mysterious enough that he felt inclined to imagine sailing to it, at least for a day trip.

"An island, eh? How do you get to it? Are there perhaps boats left in the harbours that you can use? There wouldn't perhaps be any sailors in Dahlia, would there?" This long stream of questions came, thankfully, during the rest period Saul initiated. He would have felt a bit guilty if he did not give the wolf time to reply to his inquiries. "And you say that there is a vineyard? Do you cultivate wine there?"

Giving time for Saul to answer all his questions, he examined the work they had done so far on the tree. A few more inches, and they would probably be ready to tip it. Although the tree was not extraordinarily large, it was still enough where the dog was considering offering his help bringing it back to Saul's home. He had a bit of rope somewhere in his bag which he could at the very least offer the young man to use in hauling the wood back with him, as he reasoned that he was probably not very welcome within the pack's borders. "What are you using this wood for, if I may ask?"

Saul Stormbringer · 01-08-2011, 10:41 AM

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ooc;; sorry for the wait dear!

A small smile curved his lips as the older male grasped the other side of the saw and began helping him. It was a testimant to their nature that, despite the fact that they barely knew anything about each other, or where they came from or what they were like, they were still helping one another. Saul was an optimistic male and the fact that this stranger would offer his help without so much of a battered eyelid gave the young Stormbringer hope that the hostilities he had often felt pressing in around him were something that was changing. He was a happy young man and he didnt often get himself into situations where he felt threatened. But there were times. He allowed his mind to cast back to a few days ago when he'd found his niece with a strange puppy who had been lost. His mother had found him, but not before kicking off at Saul in the first place.

Cinnamon ears twitched as the mans accented voice came to him. Saul had no idea where his name had come from, but it appeared this dog did. Saul was no warrior, despite his name meaning what it did. He'd trained with Saluce for a while but he'd ended up enjoying the workshop and working metal more than actually training with his dagger. So they'd given up after a while and Saluce was happy to have the little neat freak working around him, making sure the shop was clean and well organised. He had forgotten to mention the blacksmith when outlining the main features of Dahlia- a full working blacksmith was surely something mentionable. The dog went on to analyse his last name and Saul gave a chuckle with his words.

"Well thank you for enlightening me in the meaning of my name. I had no idea about it. Luckily I've never been on a ship, so there will be no disasters for me."

His last words made Saul stop for a moment. Though he had recently been promoted to Jager, which meant he was to provide for the pack as a hunter, he wasn't sure that was his true calling. When he'd been lost for months after the storm he'd managed to survive on herbs and from that the young man felt a certain affinity for the plants. He liked the way they could help with everything in life and he wanted to know how to heal with them at some point. But all those months ago Ascher had mentioned that he wanted to carve the same path for himself, that he wished to become a doctor. It had thrown the young Stormbringer off and he was as yet lost in the world of things he could do. Therefore he had surronded himself in skills that would help him decide what he wanted to be. Green eyes glanced over at the dog and he grinned.

"Right now I serve Dahlia as a hunter. But I wouldnt say thats my true calling. I haven't found it yet. And what about you Ambrose? What had you done all your life?"

He retaliated but was silenced as the stream of questioned bubbled in the dogs mouth. Perching on a tree stump Saul thought about what he was asking. The island was so close to the shore of Whisper Beach that one could swim quite easily on a ten minute journey. There really wasnt any point in sailing, as it would be a waisted journey. However Saul had seen one of two boats in the harbour when he'd visited. They looked very run down and a few only hung by threads in the water. The boughs were bent and ruined and the wood rotted in too many places to count. There was no way they would work, or sail in fact, but perhaps this dog knew boats. A smile cast over at the man as they rested together.

"Ovyind Island is very close to the shore, so its very easy to swim to. I have seen some boats in the harbour but they're all ruined and im not sure they're repairable. As for sailors, I havent heard or met one. But there's always a first time for everything!"

The dog shot another question at him and Saul allowed a jovial laugh to escape him. For a dog he was very curious. Memory threw at him the early days when he'd returned and he'd been out in the vineyard. He'd filled himself to the brim with ripe berries and then Lolita and her daughters had found him. She had warned him not to eat too many, lest he be sick. But there had been so many berries on the vines that it didnt exactly look as though anyone picked them. Thinking about the questions this dog asked Saul realised how under developed the resources they had in Dahlia were. Shaking his head to start speaking, Saul offered;

"As of yet, the vineyards just grow their grapes and someone might eat a few here and there. But no, I wouldnt say they were cultivated. What can you make out of grapes?"

He askedm curious now. Maybe he could do something with the grapes if the dog told him what he could make. Glancing over at the tree he noticed that it was almost ready to be tipped. Standing and stretching out his back so he didnt hurt himself Saul looked to Ambrose for help before he pushed against the bough. It was hard going, especially since it was dead wood, but after a few shoves it began to swing. Using the momentum Saul pushed harder until he heard a definite crack. Ears perked as the dog asked him what he was using it for. A smile graced his lips again and he explained.

"I'm building a house... a cabin really. And I needed some more wood."

He explained simply, waiting for the wood to fall completely to the ground. He would need some help dragging it back into the heart of Dahlia. The dog seemed trustworthy, perhaps he would help.

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