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I figured we should have a birthday party for Storm! Everyone is welcome! And, I think I got my facts straight... if not, let me know. :]
_____ The sky overhead remained steel blue throughout the day, yet the clouds to the west threatened something new – snow. With the winter dusting that was bound to occur within an hour or so, it was no question that winter was going to make a scheduled, if not early, arrival this year. There was still over a month before it officially started, but the temperature made it seem as if it could possibly start premature this year.
_____ From Yawrah ran a creek that divided Storm’s girth, while a creek from Acheron Peak came together to form a V in the land. There both Pilot and Dierdre, as well as Phoenix and Iskata, had decided to house their dens. It was here near here then, where Pilot stood under the nearly cloudless sky as the sun began to fall behind the horizon. Today was the 11th of November. And from what he had learned from Skolly, it was somebody’s birthday.
_____ He called for the others – everyone in Storm – to all come together to share some time that evening. Although he had only been in Storm for less than a year, this was Pilot’s home and he knew it deserved the proper merriment on this joyful day. Storm was six years old now and the oldest of all in Bleeding Souls. There was bound to be celebrations once they all came together.
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[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position:bottom center;">Celebration was the furthest thing from the haunted alpha’s mind. Every since his daughter had been kidnapped Phoenix had been appropriately miserable, though he tried not to let it show around his family or packmates. They still needed a bold figurehead to keep their spirits aloft, but… there was something different about Phoenix already. He still went about his duties, but with new purpose and ulterior motives; border patrol was, in his mind, more of a chance to troll the area for any signs that Firefly had returned. Any time he saw a pack-mate he tried to pry any information he could out of them about the day she had disappeared, in the vain hope that they’d seen something significant without realizing it. Now, a slight slouch marred his posture, as if he’d been broken. How could he lead a pack when he couldn’t even protect his own child?
Even the weather couldn’t lift his spirits. Winter was Phoenix’s favorite season, despite the hardships of the season. He had looked forward to playing with his pups in the snow—Firefly especially, considering her rascal nature. Now the snows would only reminded him that he was missing his daughter’s childhood, assuming she was still alive out there. Granted, he still had his other children… and he was still grateful for them… but already, the “perfect” family he had been building was missing two of its members, and Phoenix feared that more would follow. They always did.
He was already out and about, making his final rounds fro the day when he heard the call. Automatically Phoenix diverted his path to the direction of the call, shifting to optime form as he walked. Now, what could this be about? As much as would have liked to learn, Phoenix had never run into anyone who could teach him much about his history of his own pack, and that was something he’d truly regretted. As a youngster he’d been too busy just trying to carve himself a home and by the time he was settled in, all of the older members were gone. When he saw Pilot in the clearing he didn’t hesitate to embrace the smaller male and give him a short, manly squeeze. And why not? They were family now. Even though he was now officially Phoenix’s son-in-law, the brunneous male had been coming to look upon Pilot as a younger-brother-type-figure anyway. So, whatever he was, he was part of Phoenix’s family. He just hoped he never lost him either. | [/html]
[html] Tamerlane stretched the muscles of his back over the rough bark of the tree on which he was leaning, and yawned fiercely into the sky, his dagger white teeth glinting in the sunlight. He had fallen asleep here, sitting against the bark of this tree, for the last four hours. Despite this sleep being during the day, it was all he had had for twenty four hours – and it was all he felt he needed. The tall Luperci dipped his hand into the freezing cold stream and lapped down a few mouthfuls of sweet autumn water, before getting spryly to his feel and feeling refreshed. Before he had a chance to even begin to use up the rest of the day – no doubt with travelling, perhaps to the deep south of Bleeding Souls this time – a summoning call sliced through the air.
He approached leisurely, and the first he saw there was Storm’s Alpha drawing back from a swift embrace with Pilot Haddon (the male Tamerlane had met a few days ago). Tamerlane touched his hand to his own rugged chest briefly and dipped his head to the Alpha. Afternoon Phoenix; Pilot. What’s the occasion?
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[html]  It was confusing, everything that was happening, and young Ember wasn't at all sure what to think or do. Firefly was gone suddenly, missing from the way everyone talked about it, and it really didn't seem like she was going to come back. The child was heartbroken, of course, and even more so because she often saw the sadness that the whole thing had caused in her parents. She hated when they were sad, especially her father, and it was always her goal to try and make them smile. He'd gone out to run the borders again, she was certain, he'd been doing that quite a lot recently, and Ember stayed in like the obedient child that she was. Extreme curiosity could hardly be held back though, and when the call from Vegetarian Shark rang out through the lands, Ember was peeking out of the den entrance.
It didn't take her long to decide to go, knowing that the call had been meant for everyone. Her father, the devoted Omega that he was, would most certainly be there. Out and away from the den she want, small paws taking her in a quick scamper through the chilly lands. She could smell them and since she was learning more and more, she also knew how to follow where the sound had come from. Before very long, though the raven child was panting, she arrived to where a few had gathered, her father being one of them. Tail wagging and happy face prevailing, Ember approached her father and the other two with a chipper bark. "Papa!" Paws danced across the ground as she came to a stop, turning to grin at Vegetarian Shark. They were like family, basically, and thus she regarded him as such.
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_____ Icarus had known that Firefly had stopped loving them before she had officially disappeared. Something had been different about her demeanor in her last few days _home and he could judge that something was bound to change soon. Though she had been spending time with a _wolf from _Clouded Tears, Icarus knew nothing of this. The small whelp knew only that his rambunctious sister spent less and less time terrorizing his siblings and himself, and more time out ‘adventuring’. Little did he know, this so thought ‘adventuring’ would lead to her desertion.
_____ Staying close to the den became more important to him with the disappearance of his sister, for he didn’t want to end up like her. Icarus, on the other hand, loved his family and wanted to stay right here in _Storm. Obviously, his sister didn’t share the same opinions.
_____ As Ember got up and ran out the entrance of their den, Icarus’ small ears perked up on the top of his head. Instinctively he got up and ran after her, for he wasn’t about to let his other sister run away from the family too. As soon as he neared the entrance, Ember took off and Icarus stopped to frown. Had she stopped loving them too? Icarus shook his head and wouldn’t accept that as an answer. And so he commenced hot pursuit.
_____ When he finally figured out just what she was doing, a wave of relief crashed over the miniature Phoenix and Icarus stopped many yards away from them all. He made a mental note to remember the scene so that he could always remember what Ember looked like in case she too really did decide to run off. It scared Icarus that he was already starting to forget Firefly’s giggle.
_____ "Daddy!" Icarus cried too, hurrying up after his sister and racing to close the yards that separated them. When he reached them, the whelp almost collided with his father’s feet as he tried to cling to him. He cast an accusing glance towards Ember, "And don’t you leaf us too!"
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Going to continue on with this, though obviously others are still welcome.
_____It was no surprise to Vegetarian Shark to see Phoenix arrive first at his call. As time passed, he found himself feeling closer to the male in the same way he felt about his own brother. It had been almost a year now since Vegetarian Shark had seen Aiden or his mother, but they were never too far from his heart. As Phoenix embraced him, Vegetarian Shark was quick to return the gesture. He owed Phoenix more than he could even imagine, and he repaid him in his loyalty. Phoenix was truly a good friend and mentor, let alone a leader.
_____"Good day, Tamerlane! I’ve called us all together on the count of it being a holiday today. I was hoping that we could have a celebration of sorts." As Vegetarian Shark finished his last few words, he saw a familiar dark colored whelp racing towards them. Instantly he flagged her as Ember, and returned the smile she flashed at him as she made her way towards her father. "Hello, Ember." Vegetarian Shark looked up then added, "and Icarus," as the other offspring of Phoenix came running after his sister.
_____"Well, this definitely isn’t everybody, but allow me to let you all know why I’ve gathered you here. When I first came to the Place of Lightning and Thunder I spoke with a coyote named Skoll. He just so happened to tell me a bit of the history of our very pack. And it just so happens that today is the anniversary of _Storm’s founding!" A grin instantly spread across his face as he relayed this news to his fellow pack mates. Sure, he had only lived here a year, but he treasured this place just as much as the next coyote.
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[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">One year ago, Phoenix had nothing. He had still been reeling from the loss of the previous Ember, his attempt at starting a relationship with Phasma had ended before it even began, and Iskata was just some strange wolf that he’d met at Inferni’s borders. Today, he had a family: a mate he loved, five (out of seven) of his children were with him and healthy. And he had an unlikely best friend in Pilot. He knew he could trust the white male with his life, and didn’t feel shy to show his affection. He even had some of Phoenix’s own blood in his veins now, the closest thing he would ever get to having a real brother.
Despite himself, Phoenix felt his mood already begin to lighten, and the appearance of two of his children practically made him beam with pride. Bending down, he gave them each a smile and an affectionate pat on the shoulders. The last time the pack had gathered together, they had been little more than squirming bundles of fur, too small and defenseless to leave the safety of the den and join the rest of the pack. They had made such great strides in so small a time. And someday, who knew? they may even replace him and the others in the pack. They were the future of Storm, and that fact alone brought him greater pride than his supreme rank.
He returned his attention to his lead hunter when Phoenix explained the reason for bringing them together. Was that really today? He didn’t let it show, but inwardly the chocolate-colored male was disappointed with himself. This was something that he as alpha should have known and prepared for. Yet he didn’t follow the calendar set forth by the humans. Still, this was just as much his home as it was Pilot’s and any other member of Storm, so obviously they needed to do something special to commemorate the day their forerunners established this fine pack. “Perhaps t’night we should start a fire,” he spoke up. “We could do a little singin’ an’ dancin’, if anybody knows how. Tamerlane, can you play any human instruments?” It was a long shot, but if anybody had the skill Phoenix suspected it would be their well-traveled packmate. | [/html]
[html] As Phoenix's bonny little children dove into the scene, Tamerlane took a few elegant steps back and leaned against a tall oak tree, his long hands resting behind back. He was, of course, sorely left out here -- all but him were family, and he did indeed feel highly unwelcome. This was, however, irrational, seeing as none of the happy creatures had expressed any disapproval in his presence. He recognised both Icarus and Ember (the latter of whom he had met twice), both of which he recognised mostly from his conversation with Iskata, which had been some time ago now. They had indeed grown; and attractively too, flourishing skywards. He turned his grey-black eyes to Pilot and listened with interest. Ah, so that was the occasion -- stories surrounding it would certainly prove to be of great fascination to Tamerlane.
Turning a gracious gaze from his pale companion to the strapping Alpha, Tamerlane smiled faintly. I'm afraid not, he replied softly. I have a good few stories to tell, but if I want to hear any story tonight, he continued, turning his gaze to Pilot, I'd love to hear tales of what Storm was like in the old days.
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[html] The young Phoenix child hadn't a clue in the world that her brother had been trailing her the whole time, or even that he might have thought that she was running off, so when his voice came she was suddenly caught by surprise. Scooting to the side just a bit, she made sure to get out of her speeding brother's path, inching away just seconds before he nearly knocked into her. Her good natured mood didn't last for long though, as words were directed toward her in an accusing sort of fashion. She frowned then, nose wrinkled and brows furrowed, shaking her head with vigor. "Ah no leafin'!" She practically squealed, almost offended that he would think such a thing. She loved her family with everything that made up her tiny body and there wasn't a chance in hell that she would leave them willingly.
All was suddenly forgotten when Pilot began to speak again, explaining to the few who had gathered why he had called to them in the first place. Somewhat interested, moreso in the fact that the whole thing sounded like it was supposed to be fun, Ember grinned and turned her head from one adult to the next as they spoke back and forth. There would be no music, it seemed, which was slightly disappointing to the onyx girl, but as soon as the prospect of hearing a story came up she was suddenly much more interested. "Say ah s'ory Papa!" She chirped in loudly, quite suddenly, and in a bashful manner she slunk back against her father's legs. His stories were always most interesting. |
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indent Icarus listened to the elders as they spoke about today being some sort of holiday or whatnot. Icarus wasn’t entirely sure the nature of the celebration, but he heard something about a big fire and stories and that was all he needed to hear. Even if Firefly wasn’t around to play with them, Icarus was just as satisfied with spending the night playing with his other sister by the fire. Perhaps daddy would even let them play with sparkling sticks! Pilot had shown him how to do it before – running with a small stick in his muzzle – and Icarus had been dumbstruck by the glowing trails that the glowing embers on the stick’s end made as the white male moved about.
indent The small tail wagged behind Icarus as he chirped in with his sister, "Yeah!! Tell uh story, sumone! Com’on!" He was so excited for the night’s festivities that he could hardly sit still. He hoped that after a story or two that it would be dark enough for the fire. And then maybe they would all have a big dinner together and fall asleep under the stars. Icarus was afraid of the dark, but it wouldn’t be so bad with the big fire and daddy around. After all, he had the three big wolves to protect him.
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Sorry for making everyone wait!
_____ "Well, perhaps we won’t be having any music, but a fire is still a very real possibility." He looked towards his trusted friend and alpha with the hint of a small grin before asking, "Would you like the honors of telling the first story? I know history of Storm, though I’m not familiar with a whole lot. After all, I’ve only been here for about a year now." He had turned his gaze from the pups to Tamerlane, whom had addressed Pilot in his request for some history. He knew some names and things from Skoll, though he wasn’t sure exactly what life was like in Storm in the days passed.
_____ It wasn’t exactly what he had had in mind when he decided to call together the members of Storm for a celebration. He had hoped for more to show up, but this number would be fine. After all, he had one of his closest friends here with him, along with his children whom Pilot treated as if they were his own, and Tamerlane whom Pilot had finally met a few days prior. It was good. Quaint, but enjoyable nonetheless.
_____ "If you have a story in mind, you could start that while I’ll collect some fire wood. If not, I’ll be happy to divulge what I know of Storm," he offered as his gaze fell to the two eager puppies at Phoenix’s side.
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[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Sorry for the wait all, and for the subpar post to add insult to injury. Perhaps we should just end the thread after this round? It is getting a bit out-of-date and there aren’t many members here. And that way if they wanted to, players can claim their characters joined in anyway after the fade-to-black.
Oh, by the way, what do you gals think about the pack’s new theme song (assuming, of course, that you’ve been able to load it)?
He would have turned down the request for a story if his children hadn’t given him their looks. Each pup had a different Look, but they all meant the same thing: “We love you, we trust you, won’t you do this for us?” All they needed was to flash him a look and his heart was melted. He wasn’t confident in his speaking skills to narrate a whole story to a group for their sakes, he would try. “How ‘bout you take Icarus an’ Ember t’help? he suggested to Pilot. It wouldn’t be fair for him to miss out on anything. “Tamerlane, why don’t we go an’ see if he can catch somethin’ for dinner? Then we can all meet back here right ‘fore th’sun goes down an’ have a real occasion.” Hopefully that would also give them time to find more participants for Pilot’s party."Then when we come back, I guess I could tell 'bout th'time me an' Gibraltar hunted down a cougar."
Phoenix surveyed the assembled members of his pack. Even though he was not close to Tamerlane he was grateful for the newer member’s loyalty. Of course, he hadn’t been around during Gibraltar’s reign so the braided wolf was the only alpha of this pack he knew. He knew he did not yet measure up to the example Gibraltar had set but he was trying his hardest every day. Thankfully Storm was a pack of competent, intelligent wolves who virtually helped him lead them. He knew he could not have become their leader without their faith in him. It gave him Peace of Mind to know that he had so many friends and family members backing him up. | [/html]
OOC – fade to black sounds good. I still enjoyed this thread, though. ^^
The theme tune doesn't load for me. (And I ain't a gal.  But no matter, any name will do)
IC –
[html] Tamerlane blinked down at the youngsters as they retained their gentle exhilaration, and he remained where he was, tucking his long hands into the pockets of his jeans. The young traveller still felt quite out-of-place; he wasn't family here, and although he considered Phoenix and Pilot his friends, they were not yet the closest. So he watched with a sense of quiet contentment and nonchalance, preferring to take a back seat. As his Alpha addressed him, Tamerlane agreed with a faint smile to help him catch a fine dinner for them all to share. He stood up straight with something of a sinuous flourish, hands still in his pockets, and turned his dark eyes to the tasks before the main festivities. And so the night continued.
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I'm just going to go ahead and close this thread now. It's way out of date, as Phoenix said, so we can all just assume they had a grand ol' time and fade to black here. Thanks for the participation everyone!
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