Nascha walked slowly along the edge of the mountains rising from the forest to the north. Twilight was gathering in the trees and seemed to expand from the shadows as the sun set in a brilliant display of color. The forest was alive with bird song as the little balls of feathers settled down for the night, safe with their families.
The black wolf paused to listen to the twittering and sighed in tired sadness. She was searching for a place to call home and wished she had already found it. She had been traveling for nearly two months and hoped the next pack she encountered would let her join their number.
A small breeze flitted across her path carrying a scent she was searching for. The young wolf picked up her pace sniffing out the fir tree adorned with wolf scents. It was the border to a pack’s land and Nascha could barely contain her excitement. She threw her head back and howled.
Nascha sat down to wait for someone come see who was at the border. She hoped, with her last bit of hope, that this pack would see that she might be good for something. She would do anything to belong to a family.
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Hello! 
She didn't know whether to be irritated by the pack to the North of them or not. Naniko had wandered to the Northwest of Anathema and had almost run right into their border, they were so close to the rear entrance of the caves. The vigilant female had gone to speak to Alaki about this so that she might get advice from him on what to do. She wasn't certain of who was running this pack or what their feelings were toward her own group of canines...she would have to send someone over to find out for her sooner or later.
Naniko was surprised to hear a howl so close to her, the sound reverberating down the tunnels of her cave home and into her ears. She'd been busy that afternoon caring for her month-old pups, and hadn't been out to the border since very early that morning. The shifted leader left the children in the care of her sister before taking off down the hall toward the back exit, where she guessed the stranger to be. The tunnels of Anathema were very twisty and wound deep beneath the surface of Halcyon, but there were a few that came up in convenient areas. These they had made into escape tunnels, or back exits.
The Angela emerged from the tunnel and started down the side of the mountain toward the border, her one long braid swinging along behind her as she went. Naniko was a fairly simple wolf, and liked to keep herself neat and somewhat tidy looking. She wore nothing that day other than a weapons-belt, a belt that carried three daggers on one side and a short axe on the other. She wasn't one for clothing, really - it only seemed to hinder her most of the time. "Hello?" She called as she neared the invisible line that was their pack's border, jade eyes searching the surrounding brush. A scent was growing stronger, but she still wasn't certain how far away the stranger was.
Table by Jenny! [/html]
OOC: Hello there! I think I made her too much like a little kid in a candy store XD
Darkness was falling swiftly as Nascha waited on the border. She was dozing recuperating from the long day of travel in the grass when a small snap of a twig and a “Hello?” alerted Nascha to someone’s approach. She jumped to her paws searching for the source of the noise. The young wolf was so excited it felt like her very skin was going to jump off her bones. Her ears strained forward and she barely restrained her whine. Her dwindling hope flared at the prospect of an audience with a venerated wolf of a pack.
“Over here!” she barked voice high with enthusiasm. What if they don’t want me? Nascha’s sudden thought made her droop in worry. It wasn’t like she really knew how to do much of importance, she couldn’t even hunt on a successful basis. Why, just the other day Nashca skidded on grass slicked with morning dew slamming headlong into a tree while chasing a rabbit. I’d like to learn though. That has to be good for something right? Anyway, if I can’t find a home here I can keep looking until I do find one! Her flagging determination reasserted itself and she once more waited excitedly.
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Lol! Naniko will be like :| Hahaha
She heard her voice echoing back through the valleys that surrounded her, then quiet. The insects that had fallen into silence when she had opened her mouth to speak now began their chorus again, chirping to one another. A nearby answer made them go silent again, Nascha's voice carrying back toward Naniko through the trees. She judged that she wasn't too far from the newcomer and stepped forward more, continuing to look around. She noticed that a fog was beginning to roll subtly in, settling around her calves, moving in wisps. As she came out of the treeline she saw the other canine clearly.
"Ah, there you are." The canine had howled for attention, revealing herself as someone who sought permission to enter, but this thought did not put the Angela completely at ease. She was still naturally suspicious of anyone who came to the borderline who she was not familiar with. "I am Naniko D'Angelo, the Angela of this pack. What is a stranger like you doing at my borderline?" Her tone was short and to the point. The shifted female observed the stranger's body language, trying to interpret her reason for being there.
Table by Jenny! [/html]
ooc: Sorry for the wait. Homework can be so evil yet so fun especially animal drawing/anatomy XD
A white shifted wolf came from the darkness of the trees in front of Nascha and she restrained the urge to yip in happiness. Instead she let the chirping crickets and sleepy birds make their noise as the white wolf appeared. Someone was really here! Right in front of her! The shifted wolf seemed cautious as she approached and the low lying fog drifted away from her as if it too was cautious of newcomers.
Nascha realized she was staring at a more dominate wolf when the other asked her a question in a short clipped tone and tried to school herself to the proper posture of submission, but she couldn’t help the small wag of her tail as she lowered her head. “I am Nascha and I would like to join your pack if that is possible,” the young black wolf said, trying her best to sound somewhat neutral and reign in her enthusiasm; she was not yet accepted and it wouldn’t do to be disrespectful and loose her chance for a pack and for a home. She just wanted to belong somewhere. Maybe her wishing so hard was what got her rejected before but she couldn’t help it.
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Hey, no worries ^^ I've been bogged down with homework lately too DX
She seemed very friendly, which was good and bad. Naniko wasn't certain how an overly friendly canine would fare with the rough-and-tumble members of Anathema, but she wouldn't turn someone away just because of their disposition. She was a leader who would give anyone a chance if they seemed willing to earn it - a canine who joined their pack would start at the bottom and would have to prove themselves to her before she would allow them to have a rank and move up in the pack. In some other packs, a very friendly canine would be welcomed with open arms. But Naniko knew that life in Anathema could be hard if one didn't learn how to get along with the rogues that dwelled within the dark caves and tunnels of the mountain. She looked the stranger over, noticing her wagging tail.
She thought about what way to address the other female for a second before replying. "You seem eager, young one." She said. Naniko wasn't certain of the female's age, but her disposition made her seem, in the older eyes of the Angela, to be quite a bit younger than her own five years. "Do you have any skills that might benefit our pack should I allow you entrance? You seem to have a lot of energy...which is always useful when completing tasks." Each rank had specific tasks to it that the canines of the pack were expected to do regularly, after all. With that kind of vigor and thirst for life, she could see Nascha flourishing in the pack. This thought made the leader feel a bit better, that the girl's energy might be the thing that really gave her a place there.
Table by Jenny! [/html]
Nascha’s ears and tail drooped a little at the mention of her eagerness. The older female seemed so calm and collected as she looked at Nascha. It made Nascha feel like she was a pup under the disapproving eye of Bongra again, the pup caretaker of her old pack, though she had not seen the irritable elder wolf for some time. But Naniko’s green eyes held none of the contempt and disapproval that Bongra, and the rest of her pack, seemed to hold for the young black wolf.
She looked down and wondered how she could answer the white wolf’s question. “I was not taught much in my birth pack,” Nascha said finally, being truthful of herself, “I know that’s probably not a good thing since I have no skills to bring into the pack but I would be willing to learn anything anyone can teach me. I can’t promise I’ll be the best at what I’m taught but I can promise that I will try my hardest.” She closed her mouth and wondered if she had said to much. She waited for the rejection or approval of her words hiding her worry or at least trying to.
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Here is a link to the AT den map Would Nascha take the fourth den? Naniko wants to keep her close. http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/phys...vlis/ATMAP6.png
The mother only worried for the younger canine's safety within the pack. There were those who would exploit or use a canine such as Nascha to do their bidding or try and trick her into doing things that she didn't want to do. Perhaps Naniko would need to take this young one under her wing and offer her advice as she settled into the pack - as the newest pack member Nascha would be the lowest on the totem pole, but Naniko did not mind taking such a unique soul into her care and watching over her. Everyone needed someone to care about them, even just a little. The Angela's response was straightforward.
"I will welcome you into Anathema and take you under my wing - If you would take the fourth den on our map, that would please me. It is nearby my own den, and I could watch over you as you learn your way in the pack. We have many options, many different skills that you could learn should you choose. Her words came with a heavy connotation; the ranks in her pack were somewhat different from others in their area. "However, there is one final ritual that we must do before I can allow you entrance. The Rite of Agares. It is a blood sharing ceremony between two canines who are unrelated. To truly become a member of our family, you must share blood with me through a cut on your paw and become one with the canines of Anathema." Naniko explained.
She reached for her ceremonial dagger slowly, feeling the little twists and turns on its hilt with her fingers as she pulled it from its sheath to show Nascha. "It would be a small incision that would heal over the next few days as you get settled. Do you agree to the Rite?" She asked. It was required for joining from everyone, even unrelated pups. Relatives were tied to each other through their blood, and any relative of a pack member did not have to go through this rite.
Table by Jenny! [/html]
ooc: Fourth den is fine Do they have anything in them or should I plan on adding things and getting/making furniture from somewhere?
At the older white wolf’s welcoming statement of acceptance, Nascha felt like she would burst with joy; her tail wagged freely belying her elation and she did not try to stay its wiggling. The young blue-eyed wolf would finally be a part of an unrelated family; a family who would be more accepting of her and her oddities then her last unfriendly home.
“Of course I would be willing to share the Rite of Agares and become a canine of Anathema!” She probably would have been willing to do anything the white wolf asked of her if the task would allow her to join a pack. Being cut a tiny bit on a paw did not seem all that bad. Eagerly, the black gangly wolf all but bounced forward towards the shifted female and nearly tripped over her own paws. She barely managed to regain her balance and right herself. Her near accident did not stop her for long as she sat and held a paw up for the ceremonial knife’s cut. This morning, Nascha had been a traveler without a place the young wolf could willingly call home. Tonight she would finally have a home and proudly be a wolf of the Anathema pack.
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Awesome ^.^ They’re unfurnished, but Nani will give her some furs to start with. Feel free to mention them entering the caves in your next post, if you wish. There are torches on the walls that burn and light the tunnels down to the hallway that the dens are in.
She didn’t know why she felt as if she should take the girl under her wing and teach her; perhaps it was because Naniko herself had been taken in in such a way in the past. An alpha had seen her, assessed her, and had decided to allow her into their pack. Being in a new and unfamiliar place would be stressful on the girl without someone to go to, someone who she knew. And maybe Naniko would find a use for Nascha In return; such a spunky and outgoing canine would do well interacting with pups, perhaps. With the many pregnant females of Anathema, there were sure to be plenty of those running around soon, along with Naniko’s own three young sons who resided in her den with her.
The younger female offered her a paw and she held it up, making a small cut on her paw-pad with the dagger before doing the same to her own padded hand. She then held the two together for a few moments. The blood was a small amount, and her own cut was already beginning to stop bleeding due to the pressure that was being put on it. ”It’s finished. Welcome to the pack, Nascha. You will start at the Zepar rank, the basic one given to those who have not yet proven themselves to the pack.” She said, releasing her grip on the darker canine’s paw. ”Follow me.” She began to walk back into the woods from which she had come, fog twining around her hind paws as she turned and slid her dagger back into its sheath. ”I can give you some furs, if you’d like – the dens are pretty rustic and unfinished, with canines coming and going as they do.”
Table by Jenny! [/html]
ooc: If I get anything wrong about the caves please let me know 
Nascha followed the white wolf into the swirling low lying fog and the dark gnarled trees that shadowed them from the pale crescent moon. The black wolf trotted along behind Naniko with a bouncing spring in her step, not even feeling the new cut in the pad of her paw. They came upon a small cave entrance in the side of a cliff and young wolf itched to run forward and explore, but followed behind the older white wolf as they crossed into the cave.
A faint glow emanated from up ahead and as they reached it, Nascha saw that it was a torch affixed to the cave wall that illuminated the pale golden color of the pocked cave walls. They passed several more of the torches until their passage emptied into a larger hall-like cave. The white wolf turned left and continued down the corridor. They past several openings into other room caves that held scents of other canines and finally the white wolf entered one that smelled of dirt and rock. It seemed that this one was empty. Nascha could not have been more happy. The room, with a little time, would be a place she could claim as her own and a place she could call home. She had a sudden thought and asked, “Will there be someone else living in this room as well?”
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Nope - looks good You're free to post anywhere now :] Definitely check out the Anathema Territory page on our website. Want to close this up?
She led the way down through one of the twisted back entrances, keeping to a pace that she thought the younger wolf could keep up with. A few licks to her hand and she was satisfied with its cleanliness; she would go down to the underground springs to wash it after she was finished showing Nascha to the den she would be staying in. They passed hole after hole in the wall. It was pure luck that this area had ended up looking this way, with holes lined up the way that they did. Each canine could have their own separate space. In the middle were dens for families, holes that were connected to each other that a family could live in together. Naniko and whatever sub-leaders that she got had their own separate dens nearer to the main entrance, dens much larger than these.
They reached the fourth den and Nascha asked her a question. She shook her head as she answered. "No, only you unless you choose to let someone else stay with you" Some canines had others who lived with them or even animal companions that kept them company in their dens. What someone did in their own den didn't really concern her. "I have my young pups and occasionally a friend or another adult child of mine in my den with me. It's up to you." She said. "I can bring you by the furs in a little bit...but for now I must go check on my puppies. I'll bring them over when I'm finished"
Table by Jenny! [/html]
ooc: Couple Qs Should the new post I put on the board be after you bring the furs/next day sort of thing and AW? If so could you be so kind as to tell me what kind of furs they are and how many? And yes we can close this now . Thanks!
Nascha was glad that this place would be her’s, not that she was jealous or possessive. She had never had anything that she could truly call her own. She would make this dirt floored and stone walled den a place to call home and she would find somewhere to fit in this new pack. At the mention of pups, the young black wolf’s ears perked up in interest. Fuzzy little puppies were cute to watch tumbling all over the place or sleeping contentedly in fluffy piles. She had only observed the pups in her old pack as the adults watched and was never allowed to stay alone with them. The others feared she would spread her oddness to the small ones.
The young wolf huffed at the thought of the glaring elders, they were no longer something she needed to worry about, and returned to listening to the white wolf. “I will see you in a little bit then,” the black wolf said. “And thank you Naniko,” Nascha said with absolutely sincere gratitude. She could not put into words how much the acceptance Naniko had shown her meant to her and hoped she conveyed it enough for the other to understand.
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