Iskata had been venturing out in the barnyard quite a bit lately. Her own cottage was just around the corner from the central farmstead that their livestock resided at and from her own front porch she could watch the mellow creatures grazing in the fields. She'd been exploring the barn and the pens around there, any day now she'd set out to capture the piglets from their den out in the woods. She had cleared out an old pen with shade in the barn and open roaming space out in the sunlight as well. One old apple tree's branches covered a large corner of the pen, giving shade and food for the pigs she planned on placing there. Everything was almost in place now.
Her eyes twinkled as she climbed up into the barn's loft and out of sight from the world for a moment. She soon found the swinging doors that exposed the sun to the old dried out hay in the building. She was surprised that the barn had stood so well in the times but she couldn't complain. The hay wasn't really salvageable but she'd learned how to dry out the grasses and store them for future use and she had no problem working. With a grin she threw out piles upon piles of old musty hay down to the edge of the meadow below, knowing soon enough the animals there would trample it into the ground if they didn't try and eat it first.
The cattle were already shambling her way as she was ridding the barn of the last few pitches of decaying matter. The sparkles of dried whisps of hay danced in the sunlight like little stars, making her smile at the sight. She shook the hay from her hair and perched on the edge of the loft's massive access doorway, looking down from world above to the beasts below. She felt at peace for the first time in a long time, this was home.
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thanks for starting!
Dirt flew through the air as she brushed her two hands against each other, hoping that she could rid herself of the soil. Her continued to her knees, and then down her legs. Though threw her persistence she could only clean herself so much. At least the few flowers that she had transplanted against the fence line. It made the entrance to the barn more welcoming.
Since taking the pledge to be a productive Phoenix Valley member, Anu felt as if she was obligated to spruce up the pack lands. She had worked hard to find the color coordinated flowers, and then had to transport them from a few different places, for not a single species of flower could always be found in a single place.
Anu stood back, and looked at her work, giving her a small smile of approval. When she was finished looking at her small masterpiece she began again, looking for another place that need to be prettied, but before she could there was a sudden disturbance in the continuous calm.
She took a step backwards as the cattle’s hooves made the earth tremble. The beast moved with a lumbering gate that suited them so well that after she watched for a moment or two it almost became graceful. But how graceful could they be when she compared them to a deer and elk she was used to watching gallop away.
Another thing began to rise in her as well. She fought the urge chase after them, rip the weakest cow’s throat out and feast with the rest of her family. Thankfully she had enough self-control that she was able walk calmly toward the barn that held the cattle’s attention. Blue eyes watched the falling straw, and she wondered who was casting it out of the barn’s loft.
Maybe it was Hel? The only member of her pack that she was very familiar with, Anu moved more quickly excited to see her friend or to meet another one. She entered the barn, looking up at the loft before placing a paw on the ladder, something that she had never used. With all the trees she had climbed she never needed any assistance. She scaled it easily, taking her time at the very top to poke her head over the edge to look at the wofless that stood in the loft.
”Hello?”
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ooc-Anu's profile piccie matches the pack colors. XD
Iskata had been so intent on studying the fall of the dust motes in the sky that she hadn't even noticed the lady working about in the yard. She gave a slight startle when she heard someone call out, but when she turned about and saw the sight of the smaller female peering at her from the top of the old wood ladder she smiled and felt suddenly foolish. Motioning for the stranger to come join her Iskata wondered for a moment who she was, then remembered Hel saying something about having accepted their first member from outside the small group that had gathered on her porch.
Her eyes shimmered and shone at the idea of their pack growing but soon the light faded away as she reembered that she had a guest who was joining her in the old barn loft. "Come on up, I don't bite." she said with a bit of cheer as the breeze began to blow through the opening before her. The feel of the warm currents on her damp fur made her shiver slightly but she didn't care, the view from the barn loft was worth it. Just like her cottage's back porch she could see all the way to the beach. Her cottage had a lower view, more personal, but the view she held now was still breathtaking. She loved it because she could see all the actions of the packlands in this area, from the meadows to the beach and the ol' dirt road that ran between the farm stead and her own cottage. It really was worth it, even all the work that was required, it was worth it in the end.
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pack pride!
Blue eyes peered over the ledge at the soft red-coated female. She hoped that she wasn’t interrupting her work, but the loft looked just about empty. The other’s greeting encouraged her to climb over the edge and join her. She wanted to meet all the members of her new pack.
Anu gave a happy smile, responding to the females joyful mood. The silver colored wolfess needed only to look out the wall sized window to see what brought such pleasure to her packmate. It took only a moment for Anu to take in the view, but a little bit longer to catch her breath.
Their home was laid out in front of them, a platter of open fields, tree tops and coast line. She spotted more structure, all smaller then they one they stood in but more intimate. It was that instant she knew that she had made the right choice to stay here.
A smile crept across her face, and once she had gathered herself she turned to the female that was no doubt looking at her and wondering what was going on in her head. “I’m Anu.” She spoke softly as if she would disturb the peace that fell over the farm and the feeding cattle.
“This must be the most beautiful view in the whole world.” She looked from the outside back to her packmate.
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Iskata sat back relaxing as she studied the lady who was coming to join her. Smiling as she actually accepted the leader's invitation and moved across the empty loft to sit in the open frame Iskata stopped in studying the slight woman as she turned her eyes back to the view before them. Glad that someone else had discovered the secret that she'd found before the pack had ever really come to exist. The silver and gold lady knew that the pack was taking quite a bit of time to get use to her new strange notions of lifestock and these human ideas she'd dragged out into the open. No one had yet really bucked at any of it, but then again she wasn't forcing it upon them, it was open, just like she was.
When the smile creeped upon the speckled lass' face Iskata knew that she'd been right about the place they'd settled in. The name that fell from the other's lips was greeted upon eager ears as Iskata nodded and turned her head slightly to admit. "I know.. Hel spoke with me." She smiled again and offered her own to the newcomer to their home. "I'm Iskata.." She didn't offer her last name, but it didn't matter either. The lady's eyes dove back into the view before them as Iskata sighed happily.
The awe in the lady's voice made her laugh softly as she turned her sun shot sky eyes to gaze at Anu. Shaking her head she admitted. "You're right, but don't let the whole world know. We might have a war on our paws if it gets out." She grinned as she teased the woman, knowing that no one would probably care for their simple pleasures that the Phoenix Valley pack seemed to love so much.
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She settled at the edge of the loft, getting as close to the view as possible. The land stretched out wide before them, breaking suddenly at the oceans large mouth. The white crests could barely be seen, but Anu had them in her thoughts, imagining the mist of the waves, the salty sent and soft sands between her toes.
Eyes looked downward to watch the cattle, eyeing their positions and instinctively looking for the weakest, the smallest in the herd, it was hard to do with the well kept and fed beasts. She snapped back to reality when the alpha spoke. Anu scolded herself for picturing the pack’s livestock in such a manner. The female was honestly unsure why they had cows, if for food or for pets, but she wasn’t about to test any theory.
She smiled, blue eyes on Iskata with attentive features and perked ears. She was curious to know who she was, as a leader and just as a wolf. Of course Hel would have told her, being part of this council that made the leading head of their pack. It all made Anu wonder where she fit into the growing pack.
Her next words made Anu smile wider and laugh softly. “Of course, but its so hard not to brag.” She watched the warm colored fey as she idly picked a stay piece of hay from the wooden floor. Picking it apart she added, “Of course when they hear we have a feast just sitting here, we will definitely have a problem.”
Though it was a serious concern that the pack would have to be aware of she wanted to keep their conversation light, “but then again no one would mess with tough ladies like ourselves.” She smirked at Iskata, knowing that in truth Hel would be blazing past them in any fight.
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Iskata watched the newcomer out of the corner of her eye as she examined this new world she'd accepted into her life. She smiled slightly when she noticed that the lady's sight was trailing to the beasts below. Iskata had seen the reaction of the others in their pack but after a while everyone had grown use to the idea and some even grew to find uses for the beasts before wintertime's approach. Iskata chuckled and spoke up. "We keep them for leaner times. It's not always easy to feed a whole pack come winter bare, so we decided to bring the prey to ourselves. They have their other uses too." She let her eyes trail down to the beasts herself before raising them up to the view of meadow and back to the lady before her.
The soft laughter of the lass made her smile as well as she spoke of bragging rights. She knew their pack did indeed have rights to that, but she knew the awe of the secret to, and she let Anu know that. "Yes, but keeping the secret is even more rewarding I'd think.." The concerns that Anu boast about their herd made the scarred up silver and gold lady chuckle as she turned back to the herd, raising a hand to point out the massive bull sitting off to the side while the rest peacefully dined. "We'll have to fight for them.. but we've got a mutual warrior in the herd. You'd get one hell of a surprise if you forgot about him. He's given me a run or two while I was checking on the lot of them.." Her eyes shined with the humor of it all, a grown wolf being chased by her own dinner. She's got over it by now, but it was still an amusing thought after the scare.
She turned her gaze back to Anu at the mention of the tough ladies that resided in the lands. She almost wanted to chuckle at it. She herself looked like she'd been through hell, the brilliant pink of new scars and the soft shell tone of the old that flashed through her fur. She knew she was a sight with a tattered ear and all, but she let the lady have her tease. Hel was their Warrior, not Iskata, and she smiled and let Anu know. "Hel's the one with skills. I know how to save my skin or anothers, but just enough for that. I'd probably never come out on top, but as long as the pack lives another day that's fine by me." She turned her eyes away a moment before explaining. "Hel probably explained the council to you, but the ranks aren't just for show. Hel's the Warrior because she knows her skills, she can protect herself and others, without the risk of her life, atleast moreso than I could. Deuce is our Shaman because she's a skilled apothocary, she knows her herbs and healing." she smiled a moment as she thought of Deuce, who was also know for her drinking and other habits, but the world didn't need to know her personal life.
She looked back to the smaller lass and opened her hands as she admitted. "I'm just the Matriarch, this pack is my family and friends.." She really didn't know how to explain who she was or why she was really their leader. They meant everything to her, and she would give her life for them, then agian any of the leaders would have done the same, in her own eyes she really wasn't that special, she was just a mother protecting those she knew and loved.
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So sorry for the delay!
It all made so much sense, incase the pack, her family, needed them when the land could no longer provide for them. Anu grew slightly disappointed in the earth that she had been so dependent on, the ground that had given her life for so many years. It was what she worshiped, if asked to claim a deity. But it was a hard and unforgiving god, one that taught more lessons that she believed a beast needed. She was glad that Iskata knew all about the reliance that they had in the earth, and that at times it just could not grant them enough to survive.
The female brought blue eyes to the large bull that laid outside of the main group of cattle. Large horns sat on his broad head, sharper and more deadly then any hoofed animal Anu had ever encountered. Though the rack of a large elk was impressive, they did not hold the deadly spears that the large bull held. He played the part of shepherd, and Anu was happy she was no longer tempted challenge his position.
Iskata spoke again, her voice was soft but filled with determination and held a hard undertone. It was the acquired tone of experience, and at times Anu held the same voice, though rarely. It was the type that did not demand respect, but asked so kindly that one gave it heartedly almost instinctively. Anu grew more and more at ease and confident with her as the Matriarch.
Her head nodded slightly when she commented on Hel, and it was the first time that Anu looked passed her bright eyes and smile to see the scars that lined her features. Any beast with a bit of age held the badge of battle, Anu almost felt the large scar that painted the outside of her thigh burn at the memory.
With all the talk of roles, Anu was unsure where she would fit in this new family. She wanted to have grand skill that would benefit this pack, but she just weren’t sure what they were yet. Slightly pressured to be able to give Iskata something that would impress and help everyone, her words were lost for a moment.
“I hope that I will be able to contribute too, help where I can.” She wanted badly to be there for her packmates, but just didn’t know how she could. “This land seems so new, as if many packs have just begun to form.” She wandered aloud, hoping that Iskata would now more then she did.
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Iskata sat there watching the world before them a moment before she settling in picking hay from the floor of the loft, a distant smile on her lips as she watched the shephard before them. He was the master of the meadow and he let the world know that. Iskata wasn't about to challenge him to that, knowing that he did indeed rule the fields, though the council ruled the pack. She learned from watching the beast, though she wasn't crazy enough to speak to another of how she learned from her prey. Anyone could respect the food the mother earth gave them but few really cared beyond that, maybe she was weak for doing thus but she didn't care.
The silver and gold lady didn't meant to push the roles of the packmembers on the newcomer, just to show her all the differences in skills and knowledge of the others. She smiled as she turned back to Anu, the words of the lady filling her with joy at the fact that she wanted to be of help to the family. She nodded and asked. "What would you like to do, Anu?" she asked as she heard the lowing of the cattle below.
Turning her eyes to the beasts she sighed and and admitted to the newest packmember. "Yes. Once we lived across the mountains but a fire drove the packs here. Not one of the original packs stayed true to their roots.. I only hope that we can remember that we're more than just a pack.. we're family." She wasn't trying to lecture the lady but Iskata had been a little hurt to come across the mountains and learn that her pack was no more and spread across the new world was no real home left for her. She had to make her own but atleast in the end it had been worth it.
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If Anu had known any better she would remember that her past home had been beyond the mountains she spoke of. But to the small fey, the world was all turned around, and she could not even recall traveling over them. She hoped that there had been few losses in the great fire but deep in her gut she knew that it was a false hope.
“Of course they will remember. Then, everyone will wonder how they could forget such a thing.” She smiled, hoping to easy any worry from the lady’s shoulders. She and Anu had certainly remembered that they were all more then just comrades, but linked in a relation that second only to blood. Their common goal had brought them to the same place, and it was the love they all wanted to give and shared that would keep them here.
Now that she fulfilled her need to comfort Iskata, Anu moved to change the mood that had settled between them. “I think that I would be a good Pup-sitter. I feel as if I have done that often in the past.” She smiled, wishing that for once she would be the one in need of such help. But those were thoughts for another time, most likely one of self-reflection.
“Despite my size, I can hunt pretty well.” She boasted a bit her chest raising a fraction of an inch. “I think I’m best at the coordination, being the lead and getting the most out of my speed.” She could hang onto a moose’s nose for hour, well almost, but the moose could also run with her dangling for the same amount of time.
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Iskata smiled softly as she shook her head at the words Anu said. She knew the truth of it, there was protection in numbers and the members of the old packs couldn't just hang around in lands they didn't know trying to gather each and every member of their pack back to where they once began. She just turned her head towards the mountain and sighed softly. "I just wonder what it would be like, if we'd been able to stay together... but I won't let their memories die. We'll remember them in stories, in writing.. anyway we can." Ideas had rolled around in the back of her mind as she smiled that distant smile once more before giving in and turning back to the real conversation at hand. She knew she couldn't just fade away into memories with Anu there, unknown to the world Iskata dreamed of.
The silver and gold lady's eyes danced at the words that Anu spoke of, she chuckled softly as she admitted. "Hopefully we'll have a need of those skills soon... It'd be nice to see some pups again." She missed her own children, all now grown and making their own in other packs and other lands. She turned those blue orbs to meet Anu's as her voice carried over the field below. "We call the pup sitter a Parere here.. I'll discuss it with Deuce and Hel, but I'm sure they wouldn't have any issues with rewarding you the rank once you've been here a little bit and have taken some time to get to know the lands and the packs." She knew it wouldn't take time at all for the smaller lass to become welcome into the pack and begin to know wolves from the other packs as well.
Iskata didn't miss the small sudden pride that seemed to spark from the girl as she spoke of her hunting skills, a small smile played upon Iskata's lips as she nodded and watched the small pieces of hay trail down to the ground below as she rid the area around her of any stray bits of old fodder. "Well, atleast you're honest, if you weren't you'd have given it away just then." she teased as she raised her feet from over the ledge of the breezeway and stood up.
A grin played across her maw as she offered a paw to Anu and spoke on. "If you think we've got a great view from this high, then follow me." After helping the girl to her feet the Matriarch padded across the now empty barnloft and to the opposite side of the building. Opening up a much smaller door that stood over another small set of steps she squeezed through the passage, her feet thundering on the tar coated tin roofing as she walked back and forth across the lower half of the roof, waiting for Anu to join her.
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Anu was a simple wolf, and did not go searching for glory. The Parere rank would suit her well, and give her all the authority that she needed to be content. If there was one thing that she was good at, it was keeping young minds busy. Never actually having any pups of her own, while part of all her past packs she had become very experienced in taking care of others children, and enjoyed every moment of it.
She would love to be the wolf that brought pups into their pack’s world, but Anu had a good feeling that such a fortune belong to another. All she could think of was Hel, and her mateship. Anu would be there for the warrior when she ever needed a break from crying pups.
A smile returned when Iskata spoke of her hunting skills. An image of herself clinging to the side of a doe as she casually grazed in a picturesque meadow, completely unaware of Anu dangling from her flank passed through her mind. A small giggle left her mouth when the thought was complete.
Iskata broke her concentration, her sudden change of subject and her actions made it impossible for Anu to stop following her. In an instant she was on her feet and exiting the loft. Anu poked her head out of the trap door, and she clamored to get onto the roof. With ease she stood on the metal roof, blue eyes never leaving the view. She clung to it as if would disappear if she moved to suddenly or if she spoke to loud.
To weak to keep it from passing her lips she let a quiet, “Wow.” slip by.
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ooc: end here? fade to black or something? Hit me up for a thread anytime you want.. XD
Iskata had tried to push the newest packmember's comments from her mind as she wanted to avoid thinking of puppies at the moment. She had grown to love each and every one of her children though they were all so different that it was hard to believe that they had all once started as dreams inside her womb. Out on the open roof she sighed as the breeze ruffled her bangs as she let it trail over her as the view stole the last thoughts of a past spent from her life.
When Anu finally made her way up to join her Iskata was quiet for quite some time while Anu spoke softly, that one word. There was really no other response to it and Iskata wasn't going to press on. She leaned back against the upper roof and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and shook the last stray bits of straw from her fur. Turning her eyes back to the other finally she just smile and let her take in the scene before admitting. "It's a great place.. when you just need some time for yourself.." or with another she thought, but she didn't speak those words aloud. There was no sense in it. She hardly knew the new packmember and she herself sure didn't have another to bring up to the barn's loft or roof for the views of the heaven.
Sighing softly she spoke wistfully. "It's even more wonderous underneith the stars.." and the silence slipped between them once more.
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