From Dawn Till Dusk
#1
[html] all welcome, for the thread prompt. Smile

The earth was warming; winter’s hold was easing each day. The female knew that the season’s hold on their lands had been weak since the falling of the tree’s leaves. She was grateful for the fortune, a blessing while they recovered from the war. Their pack had suffered so, and their numbers and dwindling morale spoke for it. But, the second in command would not allow life to stop, she would not end the cycle of their world simply because some lay in hibernation. It was time for the orchard to be tended to, and there was no one more suited for the task then the pack’s horticulturist.


The female sat in her habit, the garb shielding her from the passing wind, and raked the stone across the blade swiftly and methodically. Her eyes watched as she passed it over the sheers again and again. Their bounty would be great, the summer’s harvest one that the whole pack would need to help bring forth. But it began now, at the end of winter and before the buds of future fruit could grow. The female hummed as she sharpened the pruning scissors, and thoughts wandering though her eyes focused.


The pack had not gathered since that meeting of loyalty. She wished for them to celebrate, and thought that once the branches she was to cull dried a great fire and feast would be in order. Anu frowned as she thought of the beast that had left them on that day, Mars. The multi-hued father had chosen his fate, brash and inconsiderate of their leader. Disrespect, it ran deep in his chosen tone and words and Anu was eased knowing that they no longer held bad blood within the veins that were the Dreaming ranks.


The gray woman rose, the long handles held in her paws. The blades were monstrous, but she wielded them masterfully. Shoulders lifted them skyward, arms balancing their weight. Skillfully she began with the first tree and began to prune the excess branches from its limbs.

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#2
May i join?

Kota had been out exploring once more in the early hours of the morning, he had been here in this pack awhile and still he had not explored every inch of the land to his satisfaction. This particular morning he found himself in what appeared to be an orchard of some kind of fruit tree's. With his interest tickled at what type fruit these tree's may bare Kota ventured onward into the heart of the grove. He continued slowly untill his ears picked up the scrape, scrape, scrape of rock on metal; this sound both worried him and made him wonder who it could be. It wasn't long however before he found out, the scraping had stopped but now he could see who had been making it.

Kota stood and watched the figure a moment before it struck him just where he had seen this wolf before! it had been at the pack meeting; she had sat at the head at a position just lower then the one whom he vowed his unwavering loyalty to. Kota flushed at that thought; maybe he had gone to far in making such a scene infront of the whole pack, but at least his feelings were made clear. Now with hesitant steps; the black wolf approched the second in command and with a voice strong but respectfull; called out. "Hello!" before the other could even turn good Kota was down upon one knee with his head bowed respectfully to her.

This style of showing respect to a higher rank had been taught to him in his old pack where they were close to the old kings and queens of centuries past. Kota spoke not another word but waited to be greeted in return; another sign of respect...at least in his eyes. Kota didn't know the others name but as he bowed there with the slight breeze blowing the cloak of black cloth; he coudn't help but admire her beauty; it was truely a pleasure to see that Crimson Dreams held so many attractive wolves, and not just female. Durring the meet he had seen some handsome males to, to Kota beauty wasn't a thing to attract a mate; to him beauty was art. Beauty was....was....well it just was and he was happy about that. Then as he gazed still at her from slightly hidden eyes he realised! this was the second in command! Oak had mentioned that his mother held that position; maybe this was his new friends mother.
#3
[html] thanks for joining!


The branch snapped from the pressure and the sharpness of the shears. Anu exhaled as she closed them, using her arms as well as her lungs to do the work. She had been a pup when she first saw her father work the orchard and tend to the pruning of the branches. Indeed he had admitted he was late in the work, spring was almost into summer. But, his excuse was that he had four growing pups to tend to rather then the fields. His efforts had gone to hunting. Such a thing saddened her to think about. Her father had passed into the afterlife long ago, yet his lessons remained with her as she picked the branches that would be culled.


A voice came to her, deep and masculine in tone. Anu slowly turned to see the face of a male she recognized from the pack’s meeting. Her features turned soft and genuine, happy to see that he still remained with them despite the loss of another member. But she remembered his words well, he was loyal. Kota. Anu spoke, his name coming to her surprisingly quick. He bowed deeply before her, a trait not expected or lavished in Crimson Dreams. Anu gave a nod, accepting his respect and smiling all the more. He was a kind beast, it seemed. His submission and respect were appreciated.


The long pruning utensils had moved down, so the lethal point faced the ground. We have not formally met, I am Anu.

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#4
Kota stayed in that bowing position untill the introductions were completed "my name is Kota...as you know ma'am, i am honored to be in your presence" it sounded as if she had summoned him instea dof him chancing upon her. He stood up but his stance obviously submissive to her "may i ask...why do you cut the branchs from these tree's? it would stand to believe the more branchs then the more fruit, right?" his smile a inquisitive one.

He risked a step closer to the second in command; wanting to close the gap to that of a friendly distence wthout causing offense at the sametime. His cloak blew slowly in the wind and made him look almost like a dark spector from another plane of exsistence; Death maybe. BUt those gentle blue eyes were not those of Death who claimed millions of souls each day but those of a young man; passionate in everything he does.
#5
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Anu gave an appreciative nod to the young wolf. He was certainly enthusiastic in his speech, something that Anu could honor. It was the sort of new blood that the pack needed, and she was glad that he chose to be a Dreamer. The formality was something she could only figure had been necessary in his past, perhaps a pack that held the alpha on a far higher pedestal then they held theirs. It could be tradition, and while some might find it humorous or odd Anu took it stride and smile as his gestures.


The question was not far fetched, and she turned to the tree she worked on. Oh, you would think that. She spoke, her finger pointed at the nearest tree branch as she did so. I hope for a plentiful harvest come Summer’s end. But the apple tree is a wild thing, it’s body twisted and unruly. her tone was less fragile and a bit more energized. Anu took a few steps towards a portion where the branches intertwined and grew without care of one another’s space.


It is my job to form the tree, keep it’s branches strong and shape it so that the fruit will grow on branches thick enough to hold its weight. Anu turned back to the dark wolf, a question on her tongue, Do you enjoy the taste of fruit?

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#6
A smile spread over his lips as he listend to her speak about the tree as if it were a young pup that needed her guidence. He came up beside her and with an at first hesitant hand; he touched the tree and listend with his eyes closed. The wind blew through its branchs and its leaves rustled; Kota smiles happily at what apparently only he can hear. "The tree...she thanks you and is happy...she feels lighter and more free" of course the tree did not actually speak in a way that most could understand but if you knew how to listen; the trees said a lot.

It was not some mystical voodoo shaman stunt Kota had done but only listend to how the leaves rustled in the wind; how the wind blew through the branchs and felt how the tree moved under his hand. "oh yes! i do enjoy fruite quite a bit actually; those of the peach family are my favorite but i love them all." He felt at ease with Anu; a strange kind of calmness that most of the time he could only find when he was along deep in the woods. He smiled to her.
#7
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There was something in Kota that made Anu at ease. She could sense the energy of another easily. Anger came off much differently then happiness or even confidence. She gained a sense of calm, a feeling of peace as he studied the tree. Anu knew such a technique, taking in the world around her by simple listening and being open to the energy that filtered through every creature. She smiled, finding a sort of kinship with the male as may be like she in her desire to be close to the trees around her. She had of course named her sons after common species.


I wish we had a grove of peach trees . Perhaps another pack has some. She thought idly, I have transplanted trees before, grown them from a cutting of the mother tree. It was tasking work, for once the branch was severed from the tree it needed to be tended to like a pup, nurses and watered. It had left the one that gave it roots, and she would have to be it’s nurse maid till it grew it’s own.



There is another pair of shears, if you wish to learn. Anu added. She had hoped another would come along to keep her company, and she had come prepared in case one was able to help in the pruning. She pointed gently to the pair laying beside where she had sat.

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#8
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I love this table! Big Grin


Kota smiled at the Praetor, he too felt a calmness around the woman that not many in his experience had. When she expressed her desire for a grove of peach tree's Kota set his mind to working! he would vist each pack and respectfull ask their leaders if they have peachs. If they did then he would ask if he may have a few or take a clipping from the tree. He wanted to do this for her as he and her son were planning on redoing the old windmill for the pack.

Kota noticed the second set of shears when she pointed to them; he walked over and oicked them up "as long as you are my teacher M'am then i am more then happy to learn." At first Kota didn't even bother raising the shears but carefully watched which type of branches the Praetor snipped away. Then with hesitantence in his movements Kota raised the shears and snipped away a branch simular to those that she had.

The poor guy didn't want to hurt the tree and he knew one wrong cut would do just that. His progress was slow and many times he would stop with the blades poised on a branch as if second guessing himself. A few times he removed the blades and then others he would follow through with the shears and cut them away. He so desperately hoped that he was doing it right.

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#9
[html] yay!

When she moved, it was with a calm fluidity. She saw the shape in which the tree should look, and the female cut the branches that obscured that vision. They were twisted arms, curling around their neighbor and they were the smaller thin fingers that would bend and break under the weight of the summer’s fruit. Anu clipped one, then a second branch before turning and watching Kota. He was hesitant, and she expected such from one that had not practiced the technique before. They all needed a small dose of encouragement and repetition.


Have you settled in the Manor? Anu questioned, her voice ringing lightly through the brisk air. He did not smell of the house, the clouded scent of many wolves was distinctly hanging from her own pelt. But she formed the words in a way as to not be assuming. A conversation would keep him form thinking too deeply on the work, and allow his hands to form the tree themselves.

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#10
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Thank you sooooooo much <3 ^^


Kota was getting a bit more brave with his cuts but still he skittish on cutting the wrong branch; he wanted the tree to be happy and not hurt from his foolish inexperience. He paused only a moment to set the shears down and remove the black cloth cloak from around his body which left him in a loin cloth and a sword in a brown gold scabbarb. His hands then went back to work in forming the tree yet he did it a bit differently then her; where she had the vision of what it should look like. Kota had been listening to the tree itself; to the branchs that rubbed to painfully against each other or the ones that shook to violently in small winds.

At the question Kota paused again in his work and gave a nervous chuckle "no..i haven't, though i don't mind living in a building. Its just i would perfer to live more to myself. The old windmill if i can get it fixed up...me and oak that is. i may live in the top and run some kind of service to the pack from the bottom." He so hoped that being the second in command that she would like his idea but he wasn't sure how she wuld like the fact that Oak may help him. He went back to trimming instead to keep his mind at least a little off the worry of what her reaction may be.

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#11
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Her interest was perked a bit at the sound of her son’s name. She was glad that he was gaining friend within the pack, and collaborating with pack mates on constructive activities. It was a true sign that he was growing up. Kota’s idea was a good one. Anu was very much aware of the packs surrounding them. She knew that many had and trained horses, as her other son Alder did in Cour des Miracles. But they needed feed and gains for those beasts to eat. If the windmill could work, and they could harvest fields it may bring trade to their borders.


That is very good. Anu commented. She worked slowly, her thoughts distracting her ever so slightly. The pack needs ways to connect with the groups that neighbor us. We need to think of things that we can trade and produce. She paused for a moment to cut another wild branch. Anu took a step back and allowed it to fall. I hope that others will come to trade for these apples. They could earn protection, horses of their own or other livestock. It was not the way of years ago, but they could no swim against the current.

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#12
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Kota hadn't thought of making the meal and gains for trade with other packs but that seem a very good idea. And if Oak wanted to help; maybe they could build a fence and shelter behind the mill to house horses. But that was all still in the future, a future to far away to clearly see it at that moment. Kota stepped away the tree he had been clipping on and gazed at it for a moment; he was just about to announce his completion of it when a slight breeze directed his attention to one last stray limb. He clipped it away carefully then stepped back once more to examine it.

"How is that miss Anu?" Kota asked while he lowered the shears to his side. There were many aspects in this pack that could beckon him, he could follow with his idea with the windmill or along with Anu in taking take of the groves. He could learn metal or wood working and lend his services there; or as a warrior. Maybe he would go for two; warrior and his idea for the mill. Kota looked over at the beautiful older female for her advice on his work on the tree and couldn't help but to admire how she looked; he didn't know how old she really was but whatever her age; she carried herself and indeed stll held the beauty of a younger wolf and it made him happy.

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#13
[html]wanna close this up? maybe we could plot something out Smile

Progress, all the packs had made it. Anu felt that the war had stunted their growth, caused them to dwindle slowly and Anu could hardly bare the thought that in time they could come to nothing. A wolf pack needed new blood. They needed the growth that pups brought and she feared that there were no litters in their near future. She could not give the pack another trio of sons, her time had passed. It was not that she did not think her body could carry them, but the trials of love were beyond her now. They needed to develop and become more so that the pack would flourish as it had in the past.


His words broke her thoughts, and Anu turned to examine his work. The tree looked balanced, the weight even on each side. The gray wolfess nodded, You have an eye for this. She spoke softly, giving the large dark male a pat on the shoulder. Though he had never done it before, he could certainly shape a tree.

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#14
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Sure, i really enjoy plotting with you Miss Alli


Kota smiled at the praise given by the older more experienced wolfess, he enjoyed it but did not allow it to go to his head. He laid the shears down and stepped back away the tree further "thank you ma'am. I would love to shape trees with you as often as you should need my assistence." Kota smiled to her; a certain glint in his eye spoke of happiness that he has a home now and friends.

Kota wanted to shape another tree and yet another but his arms ached from the experience of doing something new for such a prolonged time. He rubbed them slowly and tentively; trying to work the soreness out of the mucles. he was indeed proud of what he had done and it made him feel even more a part of the pack.

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