The Auld Woods

[Cwmfen nic Graine]

[html]

Deep within Ethereal Eclipse...

500+




The august light faded at last, and the earth turned with the sun, unleashing the soothe twilight and the night that followed. White orbs beheld the turning of the worlds, the waxing and waning of light reflected in glassy, empty orbs. She seemed to be watching the heavens, the place where the golden orb died, yet they saw past the apparent, finding a place farther and deeper than the sky and the earth, transcending the physical. The she-wolf observed the sundown from atop a roof, the edifice beneath being potent enough to support her added weight.


A sigh escaped the discontented entity. The black female had grown content and comfortable in the lands of Dahlia de Mai, the lands that had accepted her. While initially she had been timid, for her nature was naturally so, the discomfort that accompanied the timidity instilled by novelty had finally worn off. The lands were more familiar, as were the scents and members. But, now that such comfort had been obtained, the restlessness of her underlying belligerent nature had begun to return. And thus she found herself returned to the boarders where she had entered this new life. It was indeed a comfort to find shelter from the crow-wolf, but the auld ways did not change, even for this youth...


With the light having died, the woad-marked fae averted her gaze, which fell ultimately upon the boarder below. It was not far, with two bounds she would cross it... Indeed, the entirety of these lands were still new to the Corean-Caledonian female, and, she admitted, to pass beyond the boarders was tempting. What was stopping her? She was not yet sure of the ceremonies of the pack. Yet, she had seen many members crossing the boarders, and other wolves coming in—DaVinci, though unknown by most, had come into Dahlia de Mai in such a way. Perhaps she would be too...


And then, like a shadow, with the power of an ancient warrior, the blue-marked female had leapt from the roof. She landed with the grace that seemed to transcend her form, yet she was not silent; a whisper of a passing she did leave, but silence was not her end. As the rear paws touched the earth, she propelled her body, crossing the boarder of her pack and falling into the lands of Ethereal Eclipse.


The woods here were older, denser, and the cool, damp air threatened to penetrate through her thick black coat, especially in the autumn night. The heavens above were obscured, but night vision had taken over, and she took on a brusque trot. Here, there was no hint of passing save for a shadowed movement and a relinquished scent. The tenebrous atmosphere was strange to her, yet its newness was pleasant, and her maw met the plants here and there in greeting. Here, the darkness was a song she heard. So indulged was she in her adventure that she nearly fell over the precipice that opened with gaping jaws. With a curt bark, she leapt at the last moment over the trench to safety. The air of the trench was disturbing to her, for it moved languidly and with a gelid quality that crept into the bones. Shaking the feeling off, the lone female moved on.


She found in the air the song of a small stream. Finding that there was a thirst that needed quenching, the black female pursued the call, finding it with ease. Pausing in her travels, she lowered her barred maw to the cool waters, lapping quietly. Banded ears swiveled back at the sound of approach, but she otherwise did not react, maintaining a calm, level composure.

[/html]

[Garnet Massacre]

[html]

OoC: IC: Garnet sniffed the damp air of the forest, so different from the scent of open plains. Here, leaf mold and other green smells were thick around her, and out in Inferni there had been little to smell besides dry grass. That all by itself had helped Inferni be so secure; if something or someone was suddenly there, you could smell them for relatively far off. Here, everything was so much ‘stuffier’. ’You don’t belong to Inferni anymore, silly, so just get used to the way the rest of the world smells.’ The young black female scratched behind her ear with one hand as she thought. It seemed to her that she was doing an awful lot of thinking lately, as well as an awful lot of wandering. But, at least now, she was a loner, a rogue, so it was natural for her to wander. ’You don’t have to be..’ Garnet paused as she chewed on that thought for a few seconds before she began walking again. Jazper had offered her a place to stay in Crimson Dreams, and it wasn’t like she hated him. Quiet the contrary; he was very attractive and smart. A smile crept onto her face as the coyote thought of the young black male. She was fortunate to have found someone like that, a wolf like that, one who didn’t hold prejudice against a coyote hybrid like she was. Garnet came across a stream and looked down at her reflection in the shifting waters. Her eyes were red, an unusual color, and her face held most of the features of a coyote; long muzzle and ears. She was black all over save for three white speckles under her right eye. Except for her unusually long legs, the female looked like a normal black coyote. She was practically a carbon copy of her mother, Asphyxia. Garnet wandered back into the forest and moved down the stream a bit, around a bend, and saw another creature near the water. The other female’s ears were tilted towards Garnet, so the coyote knew that the other had already sensed her. So, there was no use hiding or just walking away from the other dark female. ”Nice weather we’re having.” She stated in an almost joking manner.

[/html]

[Cwmfen nic Graine]

[html]

500+




Her mind was already troubled, and the source of such coercion was left unknown. It plagued her mind like some pestiferous thing, festering in the darkest corner like an old wound. It lay submerged there, threatening to engulf her mind in an aggravated solitude—but not yet...


The one who approached only aggravated her usually light-hearted nature. It was a black female with eyes the colour of blood. But it was not a wolf entirely—she could smell it in the air: a scent akin to DaVinci’s. Hybrid. She had learned with DaVinci that not all things related to coyotes were despicable, but she couldn’t help herself. It was like a disease of the mind, and the tenebrous mood of the wood itself only lent to her tried temper. The marked female’s mane bristled with the approach. As the red-eyed female neared, the blue-marked female found the appearance to be very coyote-esque, and this too, irrationally so, did not sit well with the female. Perhaps it was because she was because this was her first time out of the Dahlia de Mai territory since she joined that the temperament of her fear-driven past was beginning to return. Yet, it was clear that such an explanation could not warrant her current, unacceptable behaviour.


“Indeed,” the customary melodious tones were marred, clawing angrily at the air. She was not intimidated, nor was the other threatening, yet, there was something about her behaviour that seemed out of place. “What do you need?” The words were not curt, but almost seemed to be drawn out, searing the air with their hostility.


She took a deliberate step forward, the marked paw falling boisterously into the water of the stream, but she went no further. The white orbs held a wildness, and there was a lucid glow from the half-light of the moon. The graceful tail waved once—twice precariously behind her. Her pose was not one of dominance, but of pure hostility. With the bristled mane and the ears pressed forward, there was no doubting her mood. Only her slender maw remained unmarred, though the soft skin above her nose drew up once or twice in the startings of a snarl. A low growl sounded from her throat, though it was more of a brooding nature than of a threatening nature.


“I don’t need to make time for you right now; is there anything you need?” The last bit, a repetition of the words before, nearly held a sneer to it, but there was not enough heart in the sound for it to be properly called a sneer. Of course, at the moment, Cwmfen had all the time in the world, but her mind robbed her of time, and she was suddenly in a rush. There was no where to go from her, save for deeper into the woods. “Well?” She demanded an answer from this female. Perhaps her belligerent nature was ready to start a row, but she new nothing of the opponent, nor whether the other female would take up this opportunity. She wondered if she even truly wanted a spar at the moment, especially when she was so out of practice. Of course, that was the thrill of it, wasn’t it? There would be no time for regret later—regret of a lost opportunity, or regret of a fight too eagerly demanded.

[/html]

[Garnet Massacre]

[html]

OoC: D8 Yours are so long.... IC: Garnet huffed at the other female and flattened her ears back defensively. She regarded the other who seemed to just want her to leave, and for a second, the coyote hybrid considered doing just that. However, her pride wouldn’t let her just back down from this other, that would be like showing a weakness. Garnet raised her tail slightly before speaking. ”I don’t want anything; no need to get your fur in a twist.” She snorted and stamped a foot as if that made her point. The coyote lowered her tail back to neutral and let her ears relax. She didn’t want to start a fight if there was no need to fight; it would only waste energy. Garnet wasn’t trying to make enemies with anyone, especially with someone from, she sniffed, Dahlia de Mai. While she hadn’t been directly involved with the war, she knew that there was no doubt still tension between the two groups. But, that wasn’t her problem. If this other female wanted a fight, Garnet would defend herself, no doubt about that. Still, she could avoid any possibility of a fight and simply walk away. That was all she had to do; turn and walk away. But, the coyote’s unusually long legs remained firmly planted on the ground near the stream. She wasn’t planning on going anywhere, at least right now. The black female let out a small sigh. ”Look, I understand if you hate my guts or whatever. I don’t want to fight you. If you have a problem with talking to a coyote, I’ll leave.” There, she had put it out into the open. Now it was up to the wolf as to what happened.

[/html]

[Cwmfen nic Graine]

[html]

Sorry for the wait!

500+




“Who’s got their fur in a twist?” Cwmfen curtly retorted. She did not fully understand the idiom that the hybrid had thrown at her, for her father’s culture, which had played a key role in her raising, did not in their language harbor many such idioms. She took a step forward as if seriously considering the attack, but the red-eyed female relinquished her defensive posture, thus causing the white-eyed wolf to pause. She stepped back once, for now that the other was not receiving her hostility, it would not become her to attack. A frown crossed the woad-marked face, and there was disappointment at the unattained fight. Yet, there was still time to play with the idea, for the hybrid female did not leave.


The woad-banded maw sampled the air between them. Inferni. It was the only other pack scent that she had learned to recognize. Immediately, she became wary. Indeed, she had heard that the strife between Inferni and Dahlia de Mai had ended, but one could never be certain whether animosity was held by bold individuals. Moreover, the Bluet was still unknowledgeable of the affairs between the pack, and so was uncertain in that respect as well. The banded aurals remained flattened upon her head, but now with suspicion. Though belligerent, the female now was unwilling to ignite another flame of animosity with this pack, for she herself could not be that one bold individual willing to risk everything for a mere fight. Having reasoned through this in a brief moment, the she-wolf pulled back, reclining upon her once-ready haunches, making clear her own relinquishment of her belligerent desires.


The fact that the other was a coyote did set her off, though she did not strongly feel hate towards the smaller creatures. Indeed, DaVinci was one such hybrid, and his conversation was welcoming. It was simply that this black hybrid had approached her at the wrong time.


Cwmfen nic Graine considered the other. Indeed, if the other did not wish to fight, she could not be considered that bold and irrational individual. The waves of hostility that emanated from the Bluet subsided. With her answer, the wolf ignored directly answering the coyote. “What are you doing so far from Inferni lands?” The silver tones of the Caledonian-Korean female picked the air with tentative claws. Was such an answer even for her to know? She wondered at herself then: why had she become so hostile so quickly? Her dark mood did not lighten as she brooded on the matter. The strange white orbs peered at the other, strangely shy for her hostility. The woad-painted female realized that the red-eyed hybrid was young, and while the wolf did not favor puppies, the coyote hybrid was old enough to be considered seriously. “Why did you approach me in the first place?” So many questions. It seemed that with each encounter, all she did was question the other. Bluet was not a high rank after all, and so she had no authority over the other, none save for age and experience. But rank would surpass all such factors in a diplomatic situation.

[/html]