Fore dated to the 17th, after From these Shores I Sail.
Word Count → 597
Neela gave a satisfied grin as she manoeuvred the Meria Lea out of the river mouth and into the open sea, the ship catapulting out into the waves with the speed it had built up by travelling along the river flow. Neela let the ship travel blindly for a few moments, simply standing back and enjoying the salty air coupled with the spray of sea water on her face, before she corrected her course, heading towards her destination.
Surprisingly this wasn't a north-eastern path as Neela would normally take to loop around the blighted territories that lay to the east. Instead Neela sailed directly north to leave the bay before turning west, skimming along the coast. Neela had heard about the new pack that had settled to the west of then through rumours and passing conversation and she wished to have a look at the new pack, if for no reason other than go get their scent fixed in her mind.
Sailing close enough to the shore that she could catch the packs scent line along the beach was dangerous and difficult, but within Neela's abilities and she was some skimming along the coast, nose stuck out to the side and enjoying the felling of the boat beneath her.
It didn’t take long for the swift boat to cross the short distance between the two packs and all too soon her nose caught a whiff of a unfamiliar scent, strong and built of many wolves; the border. Somewhat unhappily Neela steered to boat to ground just outside the border. Neela swiftly made her way up the ship as it approached the shore grabbing two hooks attached to thick ropes and jumping off, timing her leap so that she missed the worst of the impact with the sand. Running quickly Neela made her way to two tree's that edged the beach and fastened the hooks to them before sprinting back to the ship, jumping up to tighten and lock the ropes taunt.
It wasn't perfect, but it should hold for the short time that Neela planned to be here so the collie turned away from the ship and to the border. Neela was an absolute mess, her fur matted and damp from the sea spray and her arm stinging where the salty water had soaked through her bandage but she honestly couldn’t care; that quick trip out into the sea had brought the listless collie back to life and it was with a greatly improved mood from the last few days that Neela strode up to the border.
As she approached a twinge of pain shot through her arms and she worriedly bent her head to check, but the wound didn't seem to be much worse than it was earlier. Her movements had opened the wound back up and it was visibly bleeding, the white bandages stained red in a line along the wound's location, but it wasn't bleeding any faster than earlier.
Approaching the border Neela took a deep noseful of the scents making up the scent line, staying a few metres away from the border itself as a precautionary measure. The scents were unfamiliar, as to be expected from a new pack, but deep within the myriad scents there was a faint hint of Ichika, evidently an Ichikan had left for this new pack; it seemed they had made it safely.
Giving a curious hum Neela began to follow the border inland at a leisurely pace, walking slowly up the beach to enjoy the feeling of sand beneath her toes that little bit longer.
.: OOC Eee! Titania's all mythical-talky and dreamy. x.x :: WC 812 :.
So much time Titania spent with her efforts focused inland. The pack's den was set away from the shore that they had claimed and far closer to the protective slate of the Halcyon Mountains, surrounded by a thickly wooded forest that could keep a wolf entertained for days with its lush foliage (even in this unforgiving winter) and abundance of game. It was there, within the treadable lands that they had to worry about intrusion, too, for it would be far more likely for someone to climb down into their territory from the mountains or to wander over from the forest or rolling hills than it would be for someone to just waltz up from the sea, right? Actually, wrong – as Titania was about to learn.
Her rounds near Avalon earlier that day were much like all the others, which is precisely what made her realize her folly. She rarely visited the beaches or checked for border breaches to the north, so instead of lurking about the haunted waters of the lake, she turned her snowy butt around and headed for the coast. Luckily, her pack was enthusiastic and diligent, and she could tell by the persistence of their scent that others hadn't neglected this place like she had. Bad Alphess.
So close to the water as their land was, much of New Dawn smelled of the briny deep, but often the mountain winds spirited the scent away. Now, as she neared the coast, she could smell the sea, powerful and strong, and soon the lullaby of the waves began to lull her senses. The trees gave way to a land strewn with pebbles, which then forfeited itself to the sand. The snow and ice crept up as far as it could reach here, but the waves kept it at bay, melting it with their constant assault before it could accumulate.
Spellbound by the waters, Titania stood within her realm, paws among the sand, and gazed out over the deep blue. She liked the way the waters foamed and fizzed after the waves broke. It was fun to watch, and something she had never enjoyed even when living within the bay-coastal land of d'Arte. She wondered what kind of fairies lived at sea. Did they swim like fish or did they fly among the waters like seabirds? Daydreams carried the time away, and she never would have noticed if it wasn't for a peculiar shape that now moved about the waves at the edge of her vision.
At first she thought she had just imagined it, but as one wave rolled down and she focused she realized she ship really was soaring over the waters – and it looked like it was headed straight for land! Shocked and excited, Titania took off down the shore, bounding exultingly toward the ship. She came upon some trouble, though, as she reached a grouping of sharp coast rocks – reef? - she began to speed over it, but her paws slipped on the slick surface. It was covered in ice! She had to be careful. Taking slow, calculated steps was a painstaking process, but at least by the time the land leveled out again she was alive and unharmed.
She paused at the edge of the rocks, peering down the shore. She had taken longer than she thought – the ship had docked (Is that what they called it? she wondered, knowing little about the human craft of sailing. There wasn't much of a 'dock' there...) and there seemed to be no life upon its deck now. Cocking her head, she looked out over the sand and caught sight of a russet colored werewolf pacing the windy shores.
For a moment she considered taking offense until she reexamined the area and realized they were now upon lands that New Dawn's paw had not touched. She glanced over her shoulder, at the rock and shore behind her tail, and then turned back toward the stranger. A quick decision made, she was soon trotting toward the collie woman.
“Moon bless, traveler,” she chimed above the rushing waves, a semi formal greeting she had developed thanks to her affection for the sky's ruler. She had every intent of making this chance meeting a pleasant one. “The seas have brought you to a place not tread by all. You know it?” Her paws skipped to a stop. She was blindingly aware that she had in fact stepped out of her borders, and if this person was not friendly then she did not have the advantage of being on her home turf. The waves might even eat up an emergency cry to her pack. Best to play it safe.
“I'm Titania Moonsong, of New Dawn,” her voice chimed in pleasant tones of amusement as she made her next statement. “You come at the moon's will.”
Neela practically jumped out of her skin when the voice sounded out from behind her. Neela hadn’t smelt the wolf coming at all which was worrying, while smelling scents over the tang of salt in the air at or near sea was difficult it was something that Neela had trained herself to do and the loss of the skill was worrying.
However Neela had little time to berate herself as her body had reacted instinctively to the presence, twisting so that she was facing the stranger, hey injured arm hunched up as she warily tried to assess who had come upon her. While Neela meant to offense or trespass she was aware that she was not a very intimidating figure at the moment; her ribs were still visible from her malnourishment of the past few weeks and with the bleeding beginning anew her injured arm was visible for the entire world to see. In short she was practically the definition of an easy target for an opportune wolf to take.
Fortunately the stranger seemed disinterested in confrontation, their strange greeting holding a tinge of friendliness within the tone of her voice and so Neela let her body relax, her muscles loosening and her injured arm being brought from its defensive posture, a sign of trust that she hoped would be well received by the stranger. Neela gave a minute bow along with the other signs of submission appropriate to a visitor in another packs lands, "Greetings, I am Neela Garcia" As Neela spoke she took the opportunity to examine the wolf she was talking to. While young the other moved with a certain confidence that was unmistakable, that of either an alpha or a high-ranking wolf patrolling their territory, it seemed that her submission had been a wise choice.
Neela straightened up just in time to hear the wolf's question and twitched an ear in response before expanding verbally, "Yes, I know the lands. I hail from Ichika no Hoen to the east. I was curious about the rumours of a new pack up here and, as you can see," Neela cast a hand towards her boat, "I am a sailor. I thought it prudent to get the measure of your borders, so that I may avoid them in the event of poor weather forcing me to land unexpectedly in the future." Hopefully that excuse, backed by the fact that it was actually true, would be enough to stave off any suspicion about her intent.
Neela gave a second bow, this time brief, bow as the other wolf introduced herself as Titania Moonsong, and her pack as New Dawn, "It is a pleasure to meet you Madame Titania." Neela was at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed. Typically one would offer a gift when visiting a pack for the first time but Neela hadn’t expected to encounter anybody. Her ship was loaded for the journey and aside from whiskey, which she doubted the pack would appreciate from what she had heard, she had little that was appropriate for a gift or that she could afford to part with, so instead she simply lapsed into a polite silence, her arms held loosely in-front of her.
.: OOC I suck for taking a while to reply. And yes, she is in Lupus form. So few threads have co-mingling forms! I wanted to!
:: WC 603 :.
The silvery wolfess rewarded the collie's ease by relaxing herself. It seemed she had managed to sneak up on the stranger, her scent and sounds being completely veiled by the swishing tide, so the woman bristled when she spoke and swung around defensively. It was purely defensive, though, Titania could see that, so she took no offense to it. Now she relaxed and let her arm down, and Titania smiled closed-mouth and lowered her haunches, sitting properly and peering up at the Optime. It was almost strange for her to be speaking to someone in this form. Once, she donned the form more often than not, but that was when she lived in Cercatori d'Arte and such a thing was more necessary. Her family had lived in a tree – of all preposterous things – and she needed to be able to adapt and exist alongside the pack, in their fashion. Now, she rarely visited the other form, though she did have an affinity for it still.
The interaction now was a little strange, too, because posturing was a bit different. With her so short as a wolf compared to Neela on two legs the woman couldn't help but be much taller than the New Dawn matriarch, yet they weren't exaclty in New Dawn and Neela couldn't help it, and made every effort to show respect, so Titania afforded her some understanding on that matter. As for the fact that they weren't technically in New Dawn... well, she was going to skip educating her on that fact, for now. It would be safer for Titania that way.
“The pleasure is all mine. Ichika no Ho-en are our friends and we hold your peace loving family in good esteem. I appreciate the precaution but I imagine with the weather, sometimes it might not be helped. So long as we are friendly neighbors, if it is the weather that forces you ashore don't be afraid of landing in New Dawn. I'd rather you be safe than at an end in a watery grave,” she cast her eyes towards the sea. “We just require that you call to us to let us know you have come ashore... so we may greet you and take you to safety until whatever weather there is passes.” And so they could keep an eye on the guest in their territory, but that was standard and not to be said during this polite encounter. True, New Dawn was not partial to let strangers wander around in their lands, but if something happened with one of their friends, they would have little problem in helping them see through their strife. “I'll let my pack know of the red one who rides the water, just in case.”
Her eyes shifted to peer at the boat when Neela gestured towards it, and despite herself she couldn't help but feel a deep curiosity set in. She cocked her head and stood up again, prancing a few steps towards the boat but stopping before she was far from Neela. “I've never really seen a ship before,” the wonder was clear in her voice. Even though her kind held contempt for human things, a construct that coasted over the water like that was fantastic and terribly fascinating. “Do you think I could see it closer?”
She peered over her shoulder and around her curled tail at Neela, a bit of childish excitement clear on her countenance. Intrigue won over practicality this time, and though she and Neela just met the woman did smell of Ichika so she trusted her, to a measure.
Neela smiled gratefully at Titania's words and dipped her muzzle in thanks; storms were difficult enough to deal with out at sea and having to worry about landing on another packs territory during one was another worry in a situation where it could well prove fatal."Thank you, storms are deadly enough without having to pass over shelter"
Neela was fairly surprised when Titania expressed an interest in seeing her boat; the rumours floating around had put New Dawn as rather opposed to human (Or in the Meria's case human-inspired) creations. Still Neela had no problem with this, the opposite in-fact. Neela enjoyed showing off the Meria to those who showed an interest and her tail began to wag at Titania's excitement. "Of course you can." Neela said, smiling as she started to walk over to the ship.
As Neela walked she examined Titania. It hadn’t been immediately obvious but it was rather surprising to the older woman just how young the New Dawn Alphess, her "my pack" comment seeming to indicate this was indeed Titania's place, was. The white and red wolf wasn't even a yearling if Neela's sense of smell was correct. Still even if the wolf herself was young she had the weight of an entire pack behind her so Neela's body language remained friendly, but polite.
As Neela reached the boat she began to talk, unable to resist sharing some information about her boat, gesturing up at the side of the boat where it's name was written, "The Meria Lea is Luperci made, designed her myself and oversaw the construction. She's based on a mix of some old human boat designs modified for canine use by myself; whatever faults they had they were good at building things." Neela ran a hand over the surface of the boat, walking around it to the ladder as she did so. "She's made of cedar mostly and measures 35 feet from bow to stern. Designed mainly for fishing but she can handle long journeys as well; got me here from way down south." Neela turned back to Titania here, a proud smile on her face.
"Err you can have a look onboard if you want but well…" At 35 feet long the Meria was fairly tall and required the use of a ladder to board in absence of a raised dock. Neela wasn't entirely sure how opposed to using Optime for might be but decided to venture it anyway, "You'll need to shift to use the ladder, I don’t have any timber long enough to make a ramp and from what I hear being hoisted on and off with the winch is rather painful" Neela grinned to show the last part as a joke, not mentioning that she had actually had to do that when somebody sailing with her had broken their leg during a storm.
"Erm that’s if you want to of course." Neela nervously backtracked, hoping that the Alphess wasn;t offended by the idea. "If you do want to I can go first and show you how? Its rather tricky." The Meria's "ladder" was far from standard. Consisting of a series of slats cut into the wood and surrounded by raised sections nailed on it was a hard ladder to use if you didn’t know about the hidden handholds and grips in the wood around it.
