craobh bhròin
#1
[html]
cypress


The leaves were almost gone. Their fire and earthen hues were now subject to the wind's whim. Eyes like water watched as they fell at even the least arrogant of gusts. Mere whispers of a breeze. She felt the season changing right before her, and Anu hoped to be able to change along side of it.

The elder wolfess sat among the knotted and crooked apple trees. A blanket wrapped around her thing shoulders, a branch seated beside her as her walking staff. It was made of the same wood that she sat beneath, but had long lost it's green core.

She was not confident leaving the walls of the manor, unsteady on her foot-paws but the wolfess had made it to her most favorite spots in her beloved orchard. She could see down the long lone if trees, and if she tilted her maw towards the sun she could see the towering red leafed trees that bordered the Manor's grounds. She could smell the waters of the lake, and just hear the sound of the pack's home.

A fragile finger moved upwards, through the fur of her shoulder and towards the bare line that curved along her neck. She felt the skin, where fur should have been, and pulled away quickly. The fright of the memories were enough to make her to scared to even touch the still healing wound. She wished to change, yet the marks of her past would linger.

[/html]
#2
[html]

Ever since Anu had come home Cypress had been devoted to his mother. Hunting regularly throughout the day for the both of him and doting on his mother’s every need. Finally giving the young man the sense of purpose he had been needing for so long. In the first few days after he had found her and carried her home he had hardly left her bedside. Save for when she had bid him to or when he had gone off to hunt. As the days and weeks had passed and the shadow of war had receded, Cyp had given her more and more time to herself and for the others that wished to visit the Praetor.

Still, the young man worried for his mother. She had been returned to them, and for that he was thankful, but Anu had not come back to them unchanged. The scars her captivity had left behind ran deeper than the skin and Cypress had seen the change in the depths of her eyes during the moments when such memories haunted her mind.

Worry had filled his chest when he had returned from a patrol around the borders to find that she was not in the manor. Having checked the common rooms before he had head upstairs to find her bed empty. His four padded feet had quickly lead him back out of the manor and around the grounds, checking the garden beds for the tawny woman that tended to them with such gentle, loving hands. Relief flooded over him instantly as he found her setting in the orchard. The sight of her there making his fleeting fears seeming so foolish.

Walking up and settling himself next to the still frail looking woman, Cypress gave his mother a gentle nuzzle and a lick to her cheek. ”Are you warm enough out here, Momma?” He asked her, his voice gentle and quite with a slight touch of worry. If she wished it he would run right back to the manor to bring her another blanket. Whatever she needed to be comfortable.

<style type="text/css">
.cypfreeb03 b {font-weight:bold; color:#bda87c; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #f9f2e7; }
.cypfreeb03-ooc {font-style:italic; padding:0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; text-align:center;}
.cypfreeb03 p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.cypfreeb03 {margin:0 auto; width:460px; background-color:#f9f2e7; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/ ... reeb03.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #5b574d; padding: 160px 0px 10px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; letter-spacing:.3px; word-spacing:.8px; line-height:12px; text-align:justify;}
.cypfreeb03-border1 {width:462px; border:2px solid #f9f2e7; margin:0 auto;}
.cypfreeb03-line1 {width:430px; border-bottom:1px dotted #e4dbc1; margin:0 auto 3px auto;}
</style>
300+
[/html]
#3
[html]

Her fingers curled into a fist, eyes closed momentarily. Fighting off the memories and the residual fear, she pushed it down hard. The things that she saw there were unlike anything the gentle and fragile wolfess had ever seen in her long lifetime. They stayed with her, her kindness and her faith had made her weak. Not strong as some other devotions might. She thought of Gabriel, and how strong his belief had made him. It brought him power, while Anu felt helpless in her own beliefs.

She looked towards the brightness of the Sun; and it blinded her. A reminder of how in what she believed was not powerless. Where was Gabriel's reminder? Where was the wolf at all? Anu forced the fears down as well as the longing to know the whereabouts and well being of her friend. His life would not cross hers, they were two paths very much separated. Hardly in the same woods...

A voice similar to the ghost in her thoughts caused her eyes to open. And for a moment he was here, though as her gaze cleared it was Cypress that blue eyes fell upon. Anu leaned into his touch. A smile came to her lips, though saw some worry in his features and nodded at the question. Yes. The Sun is warm today. Cypress had been with her since he had recovered her at the borders, hunting and providing for her. She had not seen the anger she knew he was capable of in all the weeks she had been back, his demeanor was consistent and pleasurable. He had grown and Anu was proud of him.

How are you, my son? She asked, hoping that he was taking some time for himself. He was young, and yet not a pup any longer. He was coming into his own and she had always wondered if he would pick up a specialty or if he would find a special wolf among the pack mates... Such were the thoughts of a mother.

[/html]
#4
[html]

well if she didn't know she does now xD couldn't resist


A soft, easy smile replace the slightly worried look as Anu said she was fine. Cypress had been ready to bound off and fetch her another blanket, all she had to do was say so. As he sat next to her in the sun he could feel the warmth of the it's rays warm the dark hues of his back and face despite the cool air as if to prove the point.

He had missed such simple moments as the one they shared now. He had not realized just how precious they were until he feared there might be no more; though he had always kept hope that Anu would return to them. She had to, her sons would have been lost without her. She guided them just as the sun guided her.

"Doing well." He replied simply, as he looked over as his tawny mother with a soft smile, blue eyes pulling away from the orchard that stretched out before them. He was glad Alder had gone back to his home in the Court finally. There was still a bitterness there that Cypress refused to let go of and he had done his best to avoid his masked brother as best he could while he had once again stayed with the Dreamers.

It was several moments before Cypress felt compelled to speak again. Though he felt his nerves bundle in his stomach as he thought upon the words, worried that she might show the same anger Alder had, but it was time she knew. "After they.." He paused, the words refusing to come for with them came the vision of his mother being dragged away by the large, dark wolf.  "After the raid, I went to Inferni, to see Father." He could not look at her, afraid to see the disappoint on her face that he had not listened to her words to stay away. Still it felt better to have it known than to feel like he was hiding something from her.




<style type="text/css">
.cypfreeb03 b {font-weight:bold; color:#bda87c; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #f9f2e7; }
.cypfreeb03-ooc {font-style:italic; padding:0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; text-align:center;}
.cypfreeb03 p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.cypfreeb03 {margin:0 auto; width:460px; background-color:#f9f2e7; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/ ... reeb03.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #5b574d; padding: 160px 0px 10px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; letter-spacing:.3px; word-spacing:.8px; line-height:12px; text-align:justify;}
.cypfreeb03-border1 {width:462px; border:2px solid #f9f2e7; margin:0 auto;}
.cypfreeb03-line1 {width:430px; border-bottom:1px dotted #e4dbc1; margin:0 auto 3px auto;}
</style>
300+
[/html]
#5
[html]


Anu looked at his face, waiting to read it as he answered her. She wore a small smile, hoping that his news would be pleasant and that he would give a small insight to how his life was at this time. She wished the best for all, but like any mother her children would always be something special. She would always want more for them. Everyday.


His answer pleased her, as did his expression. They had all been rocked by the war, their lives were turned upside down and when it had finally been turn right again she was glad that he was fairing well after the disruption. It had surprised her slightly that he had stayed by her side so much. But the mother appreciated his diligence and his help. Anu didn't think she would have been able to manage without him. Alder was back to the Court as she had asked, Oak was distant as he always had been since growing mature, and Mati needed to tend to her mate. Cypress had been her saving grace.


Cypress spoke once more, but there was hesitation in his tone now. Anu looked at him curiously. Unsure what to expect. And when he said it, that he had gone to Inferni to see Gabriel, Anu was saddened. He had been disappointed, she feared as she had always feared. From the very beginning she had pledged that they would know she as their parent. And no one else. No more. But, that was a dream. She had hoped and that had failed her, for he had gone looking for his sire the moment she had gone missing.


You are old enough to know what kind of wolf your father truly is, outside these borders. I fear you are disappointed. She spoke honestly. Was he disappointed in her as well? For picking a beast so rough to be her's for a brief moment in time.

[/html]
#6
[html]

The young man had expected that his Mother would chastise him for the actions she had taken in her absence; like Alder had. Cypress had always planned that he would go to the land of his father one day. As fate would have once he had finally worked up such a courage the world as he had known it had shattered around him. Instead he was met with a reaction he had not quite expected, though her gentle understanding came as no surprise. It was the slight tinge of worry, if not regret, that worried him. ”No.” He said quickly, firmly as he tried to dissuade her fears. Still he felt it was true, he had not truly been disappointed even if Gabriel and Inferni had not lived up to his childish fantasy of expectations. ”I did not find what I expected, but you had already warned me of that.” His tone had grown softer. Anu had shared enough of the truth of what Inferni was that he had left the land of the Dreams with his childhood image of the distant pack already tainted.

He could see what Anu had only told them what she had chosen too, yet she had not lied to them and Cypress had found his father to be the man she had always said he was. Even if she had left out the darker aspects. ”I just needed to know for myself and not just from the words of another. I thought maybe if I could get to know him a little bit perhaps I could start to know myself as well.” And he felt that maybe, finally, he was. A soft smile spread on his lips. ”After he came to visit us, when we were still pups, I thought I wanted to grow up to be just like him.” Perhaps it had been the look in his mother’s eye as she had looked that the then Inferni leader. ”But now I know that I need to find my own path.” Still he felt that he did not know in which direction he should go, but he felt that now all paths were open to him. He need only to choose.


<style type="text/css">
.cypfreeb03 b {font-weight:bold; color:#bda87c; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #f9f2e7; }
.cypfreeb03-ooc {font-style:italic; padding:0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; text-align:center;}
.cypfreeb03 p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.cypfreeb03 {margin:0 auto; width:460px; background-color:#f9f2e7; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/ ... reeb03.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #5b574d; padding: 160px 0px 10px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; letter-spacing:.3px; word-spacing:.8px; line-height:12px; text-align:justify;}
.cypfreeb03-border1 {width:462px; border:2px solid #f9f2e7; margin:0 auto;}
.cypfreeb03-line1 {width:430px; border-bottom:1px dotted #e4dbc1; margin:0 auto 3px auto;}
</style>
300+
[/html]
#7
[html]


The mother waited for her son's response. But Anu was a patient soul. She could wait for her release from the AniWayan prison, and so she could endure the silence that came before the black and tan wolf responded. It was a quick single words, yet she felt the seconds it took for them to reach her ears. And when he spoke, she felt the weight off her shoulders lift.


The grayed fey was silent as he expressed himself, allowing him to give the feelings that always well inside him. Cypress held it in, allowing it to become anger. Anything would be able to spark those small bits of embers if he could not release them. Anu nodded, the proud feeling that was so often poured into her heart returning with his explanation.


Her face turned from the frown that had weighed her lips down, lightening and smiling softly. Her eyes were soft as well, filled with understanding. He was not the same wolf that he had been before she had been taken away. He had changed, and Anu felt it was in a positive maturing direction. That is always what I hoped for you, we each have our own path. No one could follow the shadow of their dam or sire. Anu did not believe that it was the way life should be lived.


What direction do you want your path to go in? She asked.

[/html]
#8
[html]

wrap up and maybe we can have anothern while I'm on break?

It felt as if a great burden had been lifted off of him as a soft smile spread across his mother’s face and her eyes filled with the gentle understanding that seemed to define the woman. Yet it was her words that brought him the greatest comfort. He had always worried of disappointing Mother. He would never be her favorite, he accepted that, but he still wanted to make her proud. Even if he never could meet his own expectations.

While he had gained some insight on himself, Cypress still felt lost. Especially now that there were even more possible paths in front of him now. "Oh, I don't really know." He said, obviously a little overwhelmed at the possibilities his mind drew nothing but a blank at the question. But what does he really want and enjoy?

Focusing on just those questions helped to at least bring some direction to mind. "I do know that I want to help you with your gardens in the spring." He said as he looked at her with a soft smile. He had always enjoyed the flower beds she had kept around the manor. "And maybe when the leaves come on you could teach me more of the trees too." He wanted to know their names and learn to recognize the various species.

<style type="text/css">
.cypfreeb03 b {font-weight:bold; color:#bda87c; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #f9f2e7; }
.cypfreeb03-ooc {font-style:italic; padding:0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; text-align:center;}
.cypfreeb03 p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.cypfreeb03 {margin:0 auto; width:460px; background-color:#f9f2e7; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/ ... reeb03.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #5b574d; padding: 160px 0px 10px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#5b574d; letter-spacing:.3px; word-spacing:.8px; line-height:12px; text-align:justify;}
.cypfreeb03-border1 {width:462px; border:2px solid #f9f2e7; margin:0 auto;}
.cypfreeb03-line1 {width:430px; border-bottom:1px dotted #e4dbc1; margin:0 auto 3px auto;}
</style>
#00+
[/html]
#9
[html]yes please!


It natural to be unsure, when the possibilities were vast and the results unknown. Anu would have thought that Cypress might be a scout, or a hunter. He did not seem to be a fighter, she saw a fire in him but there was such a yearn to chill it. But she did not expect that he would wish to learn her craft. Anu nodded, I will teach you all I know. She said with a soft yet joyful tone. Pride, eagerness for the Spring to arrive and still slightly surprised filled her thoughts, and Anu felt that perhaps she needed to return to her room for rest.

[/html]


Forum Jump: