[html] http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/p ... rtxela.jpg); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Set immediately after the land's claiming thread. Open for anyone.
Settling a few meters away from one of the streams, Pilot suddenly felt his heart weigh in his chest. Would he ever overcome his past? Sure, he figured it would take time, but he just couldn’t go on living like this. He tried to put up a content front when really he felt as if his chest was burning, often feeling the urge to let tears slip over his cheeks. He had decided to build his den here (he liked being close to water), but it brought back memories of the empty den he had been left with when Dierdre had gone. He asked himself countless times, where had he gone wrong?
The ground sloped up a small hill, and that’s where he figured he would start the entrance. He began his work, using his front paws to rake the ground away from the hillside. He knew that the humans had developed tools for such a task and at the moment, he wished that he had had one of those shovel things. Instead, he would have to used brawn and patience to dig out a new place to sleep.
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Shall we assume that Skoll already told him about Phoenix (he carried him out but Phoenix can't join anybody until he knows what happened to his kids), or should we roleplay that now?
Skoll had seen Pilot from far off...his vantage point on the mountain granted him a wide field of view, far superior to the hill he had presided over back in Storm. He had been reflecting on that place...the home that he had found and lived in for so long. The things he'd done there, the things he'd thought about and stories he'd recited. The slow but steady progress he was making with his carving, trying to stay true to everything Gale had taught him; the self-training and practice he had engaged in throughout his stay here. The night of his greatest, most spectacular victory. It had been a dark night, stained with the blood of innocents sacrificed for some unseen deity of the shadow-worshipers. Still...if he went down in song or tale after his death, it would be for that, he felt sure.
Traveling down the mountain side, he approached the place that Pilot had selected to make his den. It was odd seeing a familiar face in this unfamiliar place. Everything smelled different, and the scent of long-established wolf society was gone...it would take him some time to get used to the scent of untouched wild, and then more to get used to the smell of wolf society again once this place was well established. Approaching Pilot, he looked down at his progress, and then to the white wolf covered in the dirt of his efforts.
"How are you holding up, Pilot?"
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/p ... rtxela.jpg); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> How about we roleplay that out in the claiming thread, so he'll already know about it here.
It was hard to get going at first, but slowly it became easier and the dirt began to fly. He would close his eyes and forget about everything, focus entirely on digging, and he would start to gain speed. But after a few moments of this, thoughts would return and he would slow the intensity with which he was digging. Even before the voice sounded, Pilot knew Skoll was there. He sighed, letting himself recline to his haunches while his stone colored eyes examined the progress he had made.
"Things are good," he lied, as he looked up to the yellow hued warrior. He wondered if he was having just as difficult a time as Pilot was. "I just wish we didn’t have to start completely over", he told him, glancing back to the spot where his den would eventually sit. He hoped to make it something like his old one, with skins lining the floor and a place to build a fire just outside its door. At the same time he was afraid it would remind him too much of Dierdre.
"How about you?" He asked then, turning his gaze back towards him, finding a bit of comfort in the familiar scarred face and the half missing ear.
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Skoll nodded at Pilot's words. It was understandable that he would be feeling sadness at this, even if he put on a brave front. They had all just left everything behind, and Skoll had no doubt that some of them had lost more than just the lands, people had been left behind as well. The idea that Storm no longer existed was particularly disturbing to Skoll. He knew that Stone Tree, the pack which he had been born in, was at least twenty years old. It was strange to think that the packs here, who ran larger than StoneTree, would be snuffed out after so short a time. He had heard Gabriel's threat, knew that Inferni still maintained cohesion. He believed this to be a product of their hate and a chip on the shoulder of the coyotes involved. Social forces were required to keep groups together. StoneTree had the harshness of its environment to hold it together, Inferni had its hate and the myriad enemies it had made to keep its members fearful of departing the protection of the group. It would seem that Storm had lacked something comparable. It was a sad day.
"I have been a member of Storm, either in body or in spirit, for the last three and a half years. That's half my life. It's hard for me to let it all go." He looked up at the mountain he'd just descended, imagining the lands behind that peak as he had once known them. "But we don't have to start over completely. You and I live, Phoenix lives. Tayui lives, and most of the wolves from all the other packs. Even the damnable coyotes and their bloodthirsty coward of a leader survived. Much remains as it was...even if it feels like our entire past was burned away. Everything from before has traveled over the mountains, and lives on in the minds of the survivors. This new beginning isn't so complete, I don't think." He spared a slight smile. He wasn't sure how good it was, if he viewed things this way, but their past certainly was not lost. Not in his mind, anyway.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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Skoll was right. Pilot offered a thin smile and a nod, looking back to the freshly dug dirt and wishing that he could somehow finish it before the day crept into its latest hours. That, however, was being unrealistic. He shook his body, trying to free his coat from the stray dirt that had found itself there. He let his grey gaze trail up to his old friend, before he took a few steps toward him. "I suppose you’re right. Once everything calms down a bit, I’m sure everyone will fall back into their old steps." He nodded to himself mostly, trying to reassure himself that Dierdre hadn’t been lost to the fire.
"How about we head back towards the others? It’s getting late." He took a few steps, leading them back in the direction where Tayui and the others were. They had all found a place where they could crash for the night so that in the morning they could explore further. Maybe with a bit of sleep, Pilot would find some renewed energy and could finish his den.
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Really sorry about this, Pilot. Times have been crazy between allergies and three midterms, and I forgot about this.
Skoll nodded, following Pilot's lead to begin the walk back to the common area where they could all catch some shut-eye. Generally he preferred to go to sleep and wake up early, but because of recent events, that had proven extremely difficult. They would function as a unit for now, and he could fall into his old routines later on. His routine was a source of comfort for him. It was something that he had picked up early on, from his father in the cold reaches of the north, where you had to plan several steps ahead, and live your life ahead of whatever the environment might throw at you. That still wasn't always enough, there were times when wolves simply did not possess the means to survive in a given landscape, but it had kept the StoneTree pack alive for twenty years now, and would hopefully continue to do so in the future. He had been banished from his birthpack almost six years ago, now; he had no idea why he still felt belonging and pride in the memory of that place.
"I'll accompany you. There are still some canines milling about, and we all heard the foolhardy call from the coyote queen's whelp. I'll feel more comfortable keeping guard through the night, then I'll sleep first thing in the morning." There were only five of them, and he wasn't sure how many Infernians had regrouped. If their numbers were large, the only point of his lookout might be to give the others a chance to escape in case of foul play. He knew that Inferni was not above sneak attacks without provocation, and that it encouraged its members to slaughter children if the chance presented itself. It was fortunate that they didn't have any children in their land. He still pitied Noah, who had seen the honorless hybrid Kaena killing Aremys children for her pleasure.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[No problem at all!]
Pilot found comfort in Skoll’s loyalty and offered a sincere nod in his direction. He knew of the threat that Inferni posed and had even faced the coyote queen's whelp himself. That had been when Pilot was still naïve about living as a true wolf, and he had escaped without harm. He knew, though, that the threat was very real. Thinking back, he couldn’t believe that he had escaped so easily.
"That’s probably a good idea," he told him, as they rounded a curve in the trees and came upon the others. "We wouldn’t want to see anything happen, especially since we haven’t had much time to establish things." He hoped that sooner or later Shadowed Sun would become strong and known, and most of all, a family.
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