The leaves were now falling in droves all around the lands, the wind that blew across the pack's home pulling the golden and red leaves from the twisted branches of the trees that surrounded the lands. The wind gathered them up and placed them in piles against the tree trunks and the sides of the buildings that were dotted across the lands. The day was a cool one, there were very few clouds in the sky, the sun being obvious in the carpet of blue. But alas the sun was not strong enough to warm the lands properly, the sun not shining very brightly it seemed, the breeze that blew through the lands was cold and harsh, the green grasses of the lands were being rustled by it. Here and there the birds that had remained for the winter were fluttering here and there, twittering as they caught the zephyrs and flew using them. Here and there small animals snuffled around in the lands, hunting for morsels of food that they could store for the upcoming cold months. In the midst of this a small female was stalking across the lands, her tail was wagging hard as she moved. The young patchwork squire was in her four legged form today, it seemed to be the best form for today's activities. The young female was wandering the lands, looking for a new game to play. She was looking this way and that, looking for something, anything that could be utilised into something to play with. Then the sudden inspiration came to her, the small female grinned, she looked at a large pile of leaves by the base of a tree, oh yes, they would be something fun to play with. The small girl grinned and her tail began to wag furiously, oh yes, this would be fun indeed.
Robin braced herself, taking a big breath, she scampered across the land, charging at the largest pile of leaves that she could see. She giggled as she ran, jumping into the pile of leaves with a little cry of delight, brightly coloured leaves flew everywhere as she plunged into the depths of the pile. She giggled as she pounced here and there, scattering leaves this way and that as she pounced and jumped around in the leaves. She laughed with delight, her playful nature had not been curbed yet, despite the fact that she was now getting a little older, it was around the time that children began to turn into moody teenagers, but the carefree girl was not quite ready to give up her playful childhood yet. She giggled as she clambered into the pile of leaves, hiding among them, the brightly patterned leaves hiding her almost completely. Her patchwork patterned fur matching the colours of the fallen leaves almost exactly. She sat there and peered out, hiding in her new place, wondering if anyone would see her if they came along, she was well camouflaged after all. Oh what fun this would be, what a surprise someone would have when they came along!
.: OOC :. Sorry for the delay! Midterms+power outage (still….-_-) do not a quick post make! Should be faster next time. BTW, for clarification, he’s standing basically right next to Robin. If she jumps out to scare him, feel free to GM him jumping like three feet in the air. xD .: WC :. 600+
The dream had felt so real.
Shandom, having just awoken, had decided to go for a stroll through his pack lands. They were lovely, but he was having distinct trouble thinking of it as his new home. The wolves he saw were almost constantly in their two legged form; today, the alabaster male had chosen to roam in the way customary to these Cours des Miracles wolves. As he strode through the lands without much purpose, hands clasped behind his back, he thought of the dream and the wonderful feelings that had accompanied it.
It had been a simple dream, really. There had been no action, no grave and bloody fight atop winged unicorns. Instead, it had been him and a handsome grey and brown mottled female. She bore a scar identical to his and a smile that made his heart stop. Together, curled in their den beneath the ground, they had whispered to each other for hours, lost in conversation. This female had made Shandom truly laugh, a rich baritone sound he had made since he lost his Linquilea. But, in this dream, this striking female made him forget that he had ever been in love with someone besides her. The emotions were vivid and clear: this female, this unknown dream female, was his heart and his soul.
At the end of the dream, a gaggle of puppies had staggered into the den, tripping over each other and making far too much noise. Shandom and the female had bestowed upon them loving, glowing smiles before she separated herself from his body to nurse. In the dream, he could not tear his eyes from the children who were apparently his, especially a silver and cream female who looked at him as if he were her entire world. “I love you, Daddy,” she had spoken to him before suckling at her mother’s swollen nipples. Shandom could not remember being more proud than he was in that moment. His female, his lovely mate, turned her head to him, and whispered in the most perfect of voices “Forever, Shandom”.
The dream ended all too soon, and the male had risen with a deep, heavy aching in his heart. It felt like a life he could have lead in a world that should have existed; it felt like a lost chance. Rarely had he ever considered the possibility of loving someone besides his darling Lea-Belle. But this female, this wonderful, mind created, nonexistent female, and the small puppies who tumbled around them, had felt so real for the several hours in which he dreamt of them. Thus was the plague of all dreams, he supposed. To tantalize the soul, to remind of a troubled heart of what it did not have: family. Shandom had realized in the past several days that he missed Odin desperately. He felt neglectful and shameful for not giving his brother much consideration in the past several years.
As he walked atop his two strange legs in the mid-fall sun, Shandom knew he had missed his chance. Little as he thought of them, the alabaster male once had a chance to have a family. The three squirming puppies born by Keliyya were his blood, and he had done grave wrong by them when he fled in the night. Halaki, Zeneca, and Twensu: the names even felt strange on his tongue. With a start, he realized his daughter, Zeneca, probably resembled the little puppy in the dream, though he knew it was not her. Shandom wondered what Keli told them about him as they grew older. He wondered if she told them wonderful stories, or the hateful past he’d reluctantly shared with her.
Shandom came to a halt near a large pile of leaves and turned his face to the sky. Perhaps the dream was an omen. Perhaps there was life after Lea.
No problem about the wait, I have to apologise now, we lost our internet connection for a few days, it's all been a little hectic, I'm sorry. WC: 590
The young patchwork girl was not the kind of creature to know a lot about love, well not at least romantic love; she loved her parents and her siblings dearly and every time she looked at Liam she got a funny squiggly feeling in her stomach, but up until now she was not sure what romantic love was supposed to feel like. She was too young and naive to have anyone to fall in love with her, or vice versa, nor had she felt the pain of losing someone that she had loved. She was still in the happy bubble of childhood, feeling nothing more serious than happiness and mild sadness, everything still had a rosy glow about it, one of the more wonderful moments of youth. The young female could not help but think about Liam as she sat hiding in the pile of leaves though, she could not place a finger upon why she was thinking about him; sure she enjoyed his company, his friendship, why on earth that did she get that funny warmth in her stomach whenever she thought about him? She had no idea what it was, she had wondered if she was ill at first, she had once had a stomach upset which had started with a funny fluttering in her stomach, but the feeling had never developed into being poorly and it did not feel the same as when she was ill; so what on earth could it be? She had never felt that way about another wolf; she loved her brother, her sister, her parents and her uncle, she loved Scarlett, her horse and she did love Liam, but just in a friendly way, right? The little female wrinkled her dark nose as she thought about this, she did not like being confused; the small female had always been calm and in control over situations, in her playful adventures she was always the leader, she did not like feeling something that she could not explain, that made no sense to her in the slightest, no she did not like that at all.
The small girl was happy to suddenly have the distraction of a male coming into view, a pale pelted male, her tail began to wag a little and the grin spread across her face, so wide that it almost split her face in two. He seemed to be deep in thought, that was even better, that meant that he was not going to notice her crouched in the leaves not far away from him at all. As he got closer the small female caught his scent, it was obvious that he was a member of the pack, this made Robin feel even more at ease, she was a happy and trusting creature by nature, but since all of the issues with the war she was becoming a little less trusting; she had almost been kidnapped after all and she had had to help fight off two guardians to defend the borders. The wolves of the pack could not be too careful at this time, that could let someone unfriendly into the lands. The small female grinned though, this was a member of the pack and a distracted one at that, her tail began to wag as she geared up to jump out at him. She leapt out with a loud cry of “Boo!” Grinning as the male jumped into the air. "Hi there, I'm Robin, who're you?" She asked in her usual friendly tone, her tail wagging as she spoke.
Truth be told, he’d felt no rush of emotion or excitement when his three (known) blood children were born. Certainly, he’d feigned it for Keli - as he had done for most of their relationship – but he had known no joy, experienced no life changing rearrangement of priorities. It had simply been an arrival of new life, and Shandom had accepted it as fact and moved on with his day. The children, in his eyes, were no more than a brutal reminder of what he’d lost, what he would never be able to have again. Days that stretched into weeks that morphed into months just made him all the more bitter towards the brown and white mottled pups; he supposed, in retrospect, they noticed as they grew older and more coherent of their surroundings. If not for the dream, Shandom would not lend much consideration to the three Qi’Vaex children that he supposed were alive somewhere. It was unusual he thought of them.
Naturally, his pondering was ruined and he was given a viable heart attack by a child leaping out of a pile of leaves. In a most undignified fashion, the Optime male leapt about seventy feet in the air (or so it felt like), making a most undignified yelping sound as he did so. Fur bristled, hackles raised, Shandom whirled towards the source of the “BOO!”, prepared to fight if at all necessary. Of course, this was all for naught, as the sudden jumping apparition took the form of a young girl, obviously not even quite at the yearling point. Her face was glowing with excitement, and the nervous male tried to still the racing of his nervous heart in order to not alienate his young packmate. Nevertheless, he could not help but feel that running into a child was karma for thinking…not ill, but not well… about his own children. Still, he plastered a nervous, appeasing smile on his face and raised a paw to his heart. You frightened me, little one! he exclaimed. I did not see you in those leaves.
The female would be lovely when she grew older, but the innocent aura of youth still glowed around her. Her fur was a motley assortment of many colors, and she seemed easy going enough; Shandom assumed she meant no harm. Still, when he looked at children, he could not help but be brought back to awful memories he did not wish to recall. Blood, staining the forest ground… Screams, piercing the morning air before they were permenantly stifled… All this reminded him of what he created that fateful morning. This little girl, this little definition of childhood innocence, reminded him of everything he lost; everything he could never had. It took all of his mostly good nature not to despise her on the spot and run her off. Inhaling deeply, the man widened his smile; he hoped it was friendly. Little Miss Robin, my name is Shandom Qi’Vaex-Nightslayer. I am a relative newcomer here, and I was simply enjoying my morning stroll before you interrupted it. Was surprising an unsuspecting wanderer your intention, my dear? His voice was easy and relaxed the more he spoke, and Shandom relaxed a bit. Still, though… Too many thoughts of Kora. Too many thoughts of Xyvi.
