she's quiet when she's down strangers from other towns
nowhere to be found on this side of the scene
Private for Vladislava Set in the Black River Reserve, forward dated to the 1st of October Sorry if it's a bit rambling WC:612
The sun hung low in the sky, it had only just begun it's lazy ascent into the sky, painting the clouds with hues of rose and gold as it did so; though it did little to dispel the Autumnal chill that clung in the air, all around the remaining blades of grass were dripping with dew. All around the air was filled with the dawn chorus, birds chirruping to one another in their gleeful awakening. The day seemed pleasant so far, but the clouds and the icy breeze that was blowing through the lands promised rain might have been on the way later on. All around pine trees bent and swayed as the wind buffeted them, though so many of them were bent over and broken, some even snapped in two, evidence that the hurricane hadn't spared the reserve from it's harsh ministrations. Even the lake had pieces of broken branches floating in it. Through all of this the sable female walked, stepping across the borders where New Dawn met the reserve, her long legs making short work of the distance from where she stood to the lake. She was in her Luperci form this morning, her new chest scars incredibly evident in this form; they ran from her right shoulder, right across her chest, finally finishing at the base of her ribs on her left hand side, four parallel scars in formation rows; the result of a fight with a bear, the wounds themselves had been nothing to worry about, only scratches in her flesh, unfortunately they had gotten infected and almost killed her, had they not then she probably would not have found herself with the scars. Still this morning was not a time to dwell upon this, it had been a good day so far, as usual the sable female had risen before the dawn, awaking when the sky was dark and there was still a chill in the air. She had managed her chores and was now taking some time for herself, she enjoyed exploring and wanted to know what had changed in the months that she had been gone.
As she approached the lake the birdsong stopped, clearly they had seen her and did not want to advertise their positions to a potential hunter. But the sable female had no interest in hunting birds this morning, having already sated herself on some rabbits she had caught the previous day, no this was simply a time to stroll and enjoy the day. Although the nagging worry that Deuce had gone missing was preying on her mind, where was her mate? Had she assumed that Soran was never coming back and left? Was it all the ebony pelted lady's fault that her alabaster lover was missing? Despite knowing how flighty her lover could be, disappearing for long periods of time, just as she herself did, but somehow she could not help but worry, where was the snowy furred female? Why had she left? Oh how the dark female missed her, she felt like she was missing a limb, a leaden weight where her heart had been. She could not shake the worry though, the nagging feeling that this might have been all her fault. With a deep breath she shook the thought from her mind, actually shaking her head as she did so, causing her mane and the feathers that adorned it to flutter in the breeze. Slowly she made her way to the lakeside and knelt beside it, cupping her hands together and scooping handfuls of water from the lake, lapping it up, smiling slightly as she did so, this morning perhaps would be a good one indeed.
The Russian had been to these parts some days before. It was before the hurricane surged through the land, though, so it wasn't all that surprising that the landscape had changed at the reserve. Some trees, though bowing to the breeze, were bent permanently, others were snapped in two. The lake's structure, Vlad was soon to learn, had also changed, as it had been ravaged somewhat. Other than the physical damage the squall had left in its wake, though, it had all but disappeared. The heavens were painted with streaks of rosy pink and yellow, and few clouds were dappled here and there. The sun was slowly rising into the sky, brightening the day further, and the cool morning winds were lazily blowing through her dark fur. It would be a pleasant day, she knew, but first she had to make it through the morning to meet the noon.
The thought of food did pass through her mind, as hunger faintly tugged at her mind, but for the most part Vladislava ignored it. Rather she redirected her focus to the damage the storm had left behind, and marveled over it morbidly. She had stayed in Sangi'lak during the hurricane, but regardless she still saw her fair share of devastation up there. It wasn't the same as it was here, of course, as the storm had affected every place different. The reserve had received hits to its trees and the lake, but other than a few tasseled patches of land here and there, that was all the damage it had gotten.
Onward the wolfess went, comfortably mounted upon her spotted stallion, her sea foamy green eyes sharp and curious as she glanced around. Dmitrii snorted as he trotted along, his destination the lake so the companions could stop and get a drink. As they neared the water the Kalashnikov heiress blinked. A new, foreign scent had drifted into her nose. She furrowed her brow at it, wondering if the canine some ways ahead was friendly or not. Preferably the other would be kind in at least one way, but Vlad held her breath on that. Though most people she had met before were polite, there were those with darker hearts in these lands, and she longed to steer clear of them.
As the lake came into view Vladislava saw the woman near the water, kneeling near it and lapping it up. Gradually the gray woman pulled her horse's reigns to slow him into a halt a good distance away from the other female, and softly she cleared her throat. It was a bit unintentionally dry, though, as being closer to the body of water made her ever more thirsty. "I... I trust the water is refreshing to the tongue, да?"she asked quietly, but loud enough for her to hear.
she's quiet when she's down strangers from other towns
nowhere to be found on this side of the scene
Thank you WC: 713
The ebony pelted female was desperately attempting to restore calm to herself as she lapped the water from her hands. So much had happened in the last few months, she had heard of her adoptive daughter dying, which had caused her to go on a crazed rampage of revenge. She had taken an axe and killed a bear, receiving the wounds on her chest for her efforts, they had gotten infected and she had collapsed, miles away from her home, she would have died had it not been for a strange circumstance. Somehow, despite her wish to get back to New Dawn, she had somehow managed to find herself near her former pack; her son had found her collapsed and had taken her back to the old pack to care for her. She had managed to spend time with her children and even her former mate, they seemed to have managed to form something of a tenuous friendship out of it as well. All these things she was so thankful for, along with returning home to find her adoptive son, Zalen alive and well, along with the rest of her pack, despite the apparent hurricane that had ravaged the lands, but still Deuce was missing, as was Titania, the good cheer was indeed tinged with sadness. Soran did not know what to do, if anything awful had happened to her Deuce then she would be savage, she would be cruel to whomever had hurt her, she was very rarely feral, but when it came to her family she could be filled with a blood lust that even frightened her. But the great grandmother did not want that, she wanted her pale mate to wander over the borders and straight into her arms, soon, she hoped more than anything that it would be soon... and of course that the snowy furred lady would be safe and well and happy to see her. She could only hope at the moment, but if this absence went on any longer she might have to seek her out, just to know that she was safe, even if she had left because she no longer wanted Soran the ebony lady just wanted her mate safe and loved and cared for.
Soran was almost completely lost in these thoughts, but not enough to miss the sounds behind her. A large animal was moving closer, velvety ears swiveled to catch the sound, the twin hoops in her left ear glinting in the sunlight as they did so. It sounded like a horse, Soran had not had many dealings with horses, save for Robin's mare Scarlett, whom she liked, she thought the pale mare was kindly and she assumed that this horse would be the same, in fact she had gained a trust of all horses. There was another scent mingled with that of the horse's though, a wolven scent, the sable female's shoulders stiffened and she listened more intently. She did not want a conflict today and so she simply had to hope that this wolf, female by the scent, was friendly. At that moment a voice reached the soft jet velvet of her ears, a pleasant voice with a Russian twang to it. The sable female turned to look at the owner of this voice and smiled broadly. It was indeed a female, younger than her nine years obviously, she had dark fur and seemed friendly enough. “Yes thank you, I am not intruding here am I? I thought this lake was unclaimed by a pack? I do not mind you joining me if you wish.” Soran replied, her tone warm and friendly, she had always liked Russian wolves, her former pack, Syemv, had been ruled over by some Russian sailors, they had been some of the kindest and most trustworthy wolves that she had ever known. She would have trusted them with her life, she had actually, more than once. As she spoke she gestured with a hand to the empty space beside her, inviting this female to join her beside the lake. "I am Soran Aatte by the way." Soran said, offering an introduction, hoping that this Russian stranger was in a speaking mood, a distraction from her thoughts would be most welcome at this point in time.
The equally dark woman before Vlad turned back to see her as she spoke, letting her get a good look of this female. Her eyes were a particularly refreshing green, but the long scar stretching from the top of her ear and across her face was more interesting. It looked brutal, no doubt, but every scar had a story behind it. It was like how the scars on her leg had a story to tell, though the heiress doubted how she got her scars were nearly as heroic compared to how the sable female got hers. Upon watching the woman a bit more she could see more scars littering her body, in particular the four deep slashes across her chest. They were most impressive, indeed, but just seeing them almost made the Russian cringe. She doubted the other woman had any fun at all getting that.
The scarred woman, however off-putting her appearance—her slightly feral look had made Vladi afraid she might've been crazy or something—had a cordial tone of voice, which was reassuring. "I was unaware it was occupied by a pack," Vladislava answered, a smile tugging at her muzzle, "so you are not intruding at all. Not my lands, for that matter, as I have no territory or pack to call my own." She hopped off of Dmitrii and took his reigns, leading him to the water, as she knelt down by the other woman. In turn the Clydesdale bent his neck to lap up the water, and she as well took some of the lake into her paws and drank. It was cool, pleasant water, of course, and the Kalashnikov felt rejuvenated once more.
An introduction was soon made—the raven-coated woman beside her was Soran Aatte. That was an interesting name to the gray she-wolf for reasons unknown—perhaps it had a nice ring to it or something of the like, but not even she was sure of that. "I am Vladislava Kalashnikov," she said airily, sea green eyes shining in a friendly matter. "My horse's name is Dmitrii. It is a pleasure to meet you." She gestured to her stallion, who was still drinking up the lake, and her grin widened upon hearing the dappled horse whicker softly. Her orbs lingered on Soran's for a moment before raising to the sky, blinking. "What a gorgeous morning this is turning out to be, hmm?" she asked the other wolfess, her eyes glancing back down to her.
she's quiet when she's down strangers from other towns
nowhere to be found on this side of the scene
I do apologise for my last post, I re-read it a moment ago and my comma use was appalling... This is why I shouldn't post at 4 in the morning XD WC: 641
The ebony pelted female watched as the younger female came closer, wondering for a moment if she had indeed managed to wander into someone else's lands, though they did not smell claimed and the green eyed lady swore by her sense of smell, she always had. Also that would be an alarming situation, considering how very close this lake was to New Dawn, two packs rubbing up against one another so very closely would be an awful thing; in Soran's years of experience she had found that two packs even marginally close together would eventually try and expand over one another, something which tended not to have good results, often resulting in wars and bloodshed, something that the green eyed lady would like to avoid if at all possible. But then her dark companion spoke, stating that she was unaware that the lands were claimed, this enabled Soran to relax, a smile tugging at the corners of her dark lips as she did so. The younger female then stated that either way they would not be her lands, that she had no lands of her own. That would make her a nomad, a wanderer like the sable female had often been herself, it was true that often the Aatte female had been a member of a pack, but she had a need to adventure and explore in her, a deep seated wanderlust that had led to her wandering off and being alone for months at a time, simply just so that she might see the world. Having pups tended to put a stop to that, but luckily for the sable female it seemed that her children had inherited this love of exploration, perhaps the need to wander was something that was genetic.
She smiled at the female as she came and knelt beside her, she had tended to her horse first though, something which impressed the dark female; she herself had never seen the point in owning a horse, but she respected that this female cared for the creature that she had taken as a companion was something that the ebony female respected greatly. It was something that suggested a kind nature, that was something that was important in Soran's eyes, compassion was a very underrated trait, but something that the New Dawner held in great regard. “You are a lone wolf then? I myself live in New Dawn, which is not far in that direction.” The female replied in return to what the female had said about not owning any lands herself; as she did so she gestured with a hand towards where the New Dawn borders would lay, somewhere to the East and in the distance. The female spoke again once she had sated her thirst, introducing herself as Vladislava Kalashnikov, it was quite a name, but one that Soran could not help but like, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips once again. The female also introduced the horse as well, stating that it was a pleasure to meet Soran. "It is very nice to meet you as well Vladislava." The jet pelted female replied, extending a hand to the Russian female in order to shake it, a human custom that the green eyed female had read about in books and had adopted many years ago, at least when she was in her Optime form, she liked the firmness of it, almost as if it were solidifying the meeting in some way. The female spoke about the niceness of the morning and the sable female nodded in reply, dipping her hands into the water once again and drinking deeply from them. "Your accent suggests to me that you are Russian, am I correct? How did you find yourself in these lands?" The sable female asked, a warm smile resting on her face as she did so.
The European saw Soran smile after she spoke, which was always a good sign. Vladi was sure that this ebony woman was pleasant and cordial just by the way she presented herself—you could learn a lot about a person just by watching the smallest details. Said details could often decide whether the person is villainous or benevolent, vicious or friendly. Though smiles and frowns were the most common pointers towards one's personality, just the way a person held himself up could tell if they had an overconfident demeanor about himself or perhaps low self-esteem—if his gait was long, proud, and arrogant, it would be the former, but if it was slouched over, slow, and they tripped over their own feet, it would more than likely be the latter. Vladislava herself paid close attention to these things especially, so when it came to deciding whether or not Soran was a friend to her, she could easily answer that question with confidence: yes, of course.
"Да," she responded, nodding. "I have been thinking about looking into pack that would best suit me, however... The name New Dawn sounds familiar. Would you mind terribly telling me more of it?" she asked, the pitch in her voice curious. She had heard the pack name before, maybe whilst still on the run from the harbors. Perhaps she had come close to the territory and caught the name from other wanderers? It didn't matter. The point still remained the same—she didn't know anything of it, and to satisfy her curiosity, she'd ask a New Dawner herself about it. She followed Soran's gesture towards the east and soon nodded once more. "I believe I might have brushed by it some time ago." She still wasn't really sure if it had been New Dawn, though, but it wouldn't affect anything.
She smiled warmly as Soran told her she was also pleased she had met the Russian, and glanced down at the dark hand extended towards her. She recognized the woman wished to shake her hand, and by no means was the heiress going to deny it. Vladislava took the older female's paw into her own and shook it vigorously, but not overly so. It was a firm handshake—not too soft, but not too harsh. It was close to a perfect handshake, and it was one of the human customs she had grown up with. Her father often shook the hands of those he worked closely with when they either greeted each other, closed a deal, or were bidding them goodbye. Vlad had picked up the manner and practiced it with her brother Nikolai while still in Moscow, and had improved her shake from just a sloppy sling of the wrist to a solid shake in time.
Soran agreed silently to Vlad's comment on how the day was turning out. She probably did so with no sound as soon after she took her fill of the water again, and the gray wolfess respected that. Some people were better with physical signs of communication that verbals ones, she knew, but of course this wasn't the case with the Aatte woman. She had spoken with her already, so the Russian was sure she was more verbal than silent. "Yes. That is correct," she affirmed. "Russia is a beautiful place. I would always be up for a trip back if the opportunity came up. I am certain you would love the scenery there. The architecture is gorgeous." Upon Soran's second question, she didn't feel nearly as inclined to avoid it as she had in the past. Upon being in association with more canines lately she had opened up more, and she didn't feel sorrowful when remembering her family. Rather she had thought about how life was still good for her and them, and that leaving was for the best on both sides of the spectrum. "I came to find a better life for myself. My life there, though it was luxurious at best, was not what I wanted for the rest of my days. I am glad I came here to Nova Scotia, too; it is a nice place, would not you say?"
she's quiet when she's down strangers from other towns
nowhere to be found on this side of the scene
I am enjoying this thread already by the way. Just as a warning Soran likes to mother everyone XD So if she mother's Vladi don't worry, she adopts wolves XD. Also, sorry that I got a little rambling here XD WC: 1030
The sable female liked this younger female, she reminded her of her daughter Rain, there was something about the dark female, perhaps it was the way she was so open and friendly, perhaps it was simply the dark pelt and the green eyes, but there was certainly something about this younger female that stirred the sable New Dawner's need to mother those around her. Vladislava asked about New Dawn and Soran gave a sigh, at the moment she felt that she was on some sort of a probation among the pack, she had not been given that feeling from Zalen, but then again she trusted the male implicitly; she knew he felt the same about her, in her eyes the male was her adopted son, she loved him just as much as she loved her blood children, he had been so pleased to see her. But still she had been the Beta before she had left, she had stolen away and simply left, Blind's death had been too much for her, she had had to seek out her murderer and exact her revenge, all she had wanted was to take the body of her adoptive daughter home and bury her, to place her within the lands so that no-one would ever forget the wonderful female. She had failed in that, she had found a body, but it had not been Blind's, she had tried to carry the corpse back to the lands, somehow thinking that burying one murdered soul in Blind's memory might ease the grief, give her some relief, but she had lost that as well; carrying the body and being so desperate to get back to New Dawn had caused her to ignore the injuries on her chest, they had gotten so infected that she had collapsed, she had almost died. Luckily for the sable female her son had found her, somehow the fates had been smiling upon her, her feet had taken her close enough to her old pack that Flavian (her youngest son) had been wandering and found his delirious, dehydrated, starved and half-mad mother laying there, sweating out the agonising fever that had been tearing through her body. Had he not found her she would have died and no-one would have known where she was even to bury her. But returning to the pack had made the female feel even more guilty, she had failed her pack when they needed her, there had been a hurricane and she had not been there for it.
With a wistful smile and a small smile the sable female looked the younger female in the eyes before she began to speak. “New Dawn is a good pack, I am sure that you would be welcome there, the Alpha is, well he is close enough to me to be my son. I see him that way and he calls me mother. But they would not allow Dmitri to be with you I am afraid, they are a pack that believe in the old ways, the way a pack was before we became more humanised, by we I mean the whole wolven community of course. They do not understand why wolves would need horses, they are very strict when it comes to the chain of command, they are close, all of us are a family.” Soran explained, she did not want to put Vladislava off of the idea of joining New Dawn, but it seemed that she was attached to the horse and she did not want her to have to lose him. Her tone was wistful as she spoke, she was not sure that she felt right in New Dawn anymore, she loved her pack dearly and it was her home, but it felt so much less like home without her pale lady, without her mate. Where was Deuce? The female returned her hand shake with gusto which made Soran smile, she shook Vladislava's hand back with equal enthusiasm, almost certain that she had made a new friend on the banks of this lake.
The girl spoke again and Soran listened intently, her ears pricked forward and her eyes focused on the younger female, she seemed to have a great love for her homeland, Soran wondered what it was like what it was like to care about one's birthplace, something that she had never had herself. "I belonged to a pack a long time ago, it was called Syemv, our Alpha had created the pack when he had sailed here from Russia with his family, they all used to speak about the country in the same way that you did there. With such affection, I think I would love to see it, perhaps I am too old. I cannot help but wonder what it is like to love where you were born." Soran spoke and then stopped abruptly, giving a small wistful smile, realising that she had revealed more than she had anticipated by saying what she had just done. The female then explained why she had left, again it seemed that she had a good relationship with her family, her parents, again something that the sable female was unfamiliar with herself. She nodded as the female spoke. "I see, that makes sense, I wish I had come here in similar circumstances, it is a wonderful place though isn't it? It is the first place I have ever felt has been home, when I was young..." Soran paused and chuckled, aware of the greying fur along her scar line and at the front of her mane, revealing her older age, "believe me, I was young once." Another chuckle, " I found myself here, the wolves I met were the first who accepted me for who I was, I did not have the nicest of childhoods you see. But then I came here and everyone was so very welcoming, I found a home, I am glad to see that this attitude has continued and that you feel at home here as well." Soran said, being open and honest, she felt that she could be such around this younger female, though she may have revealed too much about herself, only time would tell.
Set in the Black River Reserve, forward dated to the 1st of October 
