no bones, no ghosts

Eris Eternity · 01-12-2012, 05:23 AM

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Her boss spoke his agreement to her idea, and the dark-hued woman smiled her thanks, displaying teeth that had once been blindingly white. Now, they were beginning to be tinged by the yellowing of age. She would be five years old come summer, and though Eris still felt very much a child, her body had begun to show signs and marks of its age. She was not yet haggard, but there were these small signs of growing years -- the slightly yellower hue of her teeth, perhaps a lightened hair here and there, fur which would become lighter and lighter with each molting. Eris might never be the patchy black of Larkspur, but she would not retain solid black hues through all her years, of course. Even the darkest-hued wolf eventually grew gray around the muzzle, and Eris was no exception.

Beyond this small exchange, Sirius did not speak. He mounted his horse silently, and upon their movement, he seemed to fall deep into introspection. Or perhaps it was less self-reflection and more practical thoughts -- Eris pondered, wishing she had a looking glass to peer directly into the mottled wolf's mind. What knowledge she could glean from him, then! Education through the traditional means, through hard work and persevering and learning, would be a slow chore compared to what she might pick up simply from watching his thought turn from one subject to the next. Eris would never have the same ability to analyze and think as Sirius and other intellectuals, but she might gain some small improvements if she could only see Sirius's thought processes.

For her part, the dark-hued woman was content to remain as quiet as her Boss, pondering in her simpler way the implications of this new group. Though she was excited to see these northern lands, her excitement had not completely blotted out the rise of this new group and what it might hold for Salsola in the future. They had claimed Drifter Bay in simpler times, it seemed. There had been few packs to these northlands -- they needed only contend with Inferni. Although Eris had not been pleased with the prospect of settling quite so close to the coyotes, she considered it might have been worse. With the change of guard in Inferni, too, it might also mean she would be less disliked: Ezekiel would not remember her as Gabriel would have, though there was no doubt in Eris's mind the poison Kaena had spewed. Leave it to the old witch to spoil whatever favor the new Inferni Aquila might have had for his half-aunt.

The gelding beneath her made his way around a particularly thick tangle of trees and brambles. Eris found their twisting branches and sharp thorns just bonny, reminding her immediately of their thistle kingdom. She guided the horse clumsily, and luckily for her, the old horse was quite used to inexperienced riders. His temperament was good for a rider such as herself, one completely uncomfortable on horseback. Despite her discomfort, Eris was determined to learn, and it was because of this the dark-hued woman had taken it upon herself to take Trader whenever possible. Unfortunately for her, it was his evenness of temperament which now proved her downfall: as he was quite adept at interpreting her clumsily executed commands, Eris was gaining no skill in riding, and would find a horse hotter of blood entirely foreign.

The dark woman cocked her head to the side, listening. She heard the ocean -- having lived by it most of her life, such sounds were unmistakable to her. The Pacific coast of Eterne was entirely different from these cold northerly waters, but the water had the same heart, she thought. The world maps of the humans said all the oceans touched one another, and perhaps most rivers and lakes, too. They emerged from the thickest trees and out onto a long, low beach. This beach was far sandier and less rocky than her Salsola coast, and the coyote peered upon it with surprise. Such sand and such dunes were rarely seen along the coasts she was familiar with; it was very much like they'd stepped into another world entirely, one that began where the pines ended.

The crash of the ocean was far more audible now without the barrier of pines to deaden the sound, and the woman breathed the salty scent of the air. Even this smelled different than the air she was used to within Salsola, as if the salt itself had taken on a different scent just for their pack. The waves roared against shadowy offshore lumps, surely islands. In the dark, the coyote could not see so far as to be certain, but if the coast here did bear any similarity to Drifter Bay, it would also possess a few small islands, barely large enough to be called such. "Rocks" seemed far more appropriate for most of the islands on the bay coast, Eris thought. Even their Borgata Mayate was not large enough to support more than birds, Eris thought. It was to be lamented -- Khirot could fish, but he still required land-meat from time to time.

Trader came to a slow stop at the shadow-furred woman's command, standing without so much of a twitch of his tail as he awaited his mistress's command. For her part, Eris remained primarily still in the saddle, surveying what she could see with a sharp eye. She would have liked to see this coast during the daylight hours, but she supposed it was too dangerous to come all this way with the new group occupying the territory nearby. Though the dark woman was not displeased with what she'd found, she turned to Sirius indifferently, half of a smile on her muzzle. I prefer our thistle coast, of course, she began, gesturing back toward Salsola with one hand. But this is not a terrible place, is it? she inquired, curious to know her Boss's opinion before offering her own. It would not do to disagree with him, after all.

Eris is by Alaine!

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