Iskata had somehow got another silly human notion all wrapped up in her pretty little head once more. She'd found some strange books in the library at the homestead and along with age old yarn and needles the silver and gold matriarch had found a little hobby to occupy her time in the late stages of her pregnacy. Deuce was more than happy by the fact that the lady wasn't out running the borders and worrying about every little thing, but Iskata had still decided to sneak out of the lands and find herself in the city of Halifax.
There actually had been some reason behind the journey, and though she was tired and worn from the short trip from her cottage down the road to the city she'd found a few stores that had interested her but her main search had yet to be found. The woman was on a mission for more yarn and cabling to work on knitting some blankets and scarfs for the children of the pack. She knew that Tal was almost too old for a blanket or anything but she'd been thinking of the human holidays they the world once celebrated and she thought that perhaps the pack should do something just the same.
She really didn't have any idea of what type of building would bring about the prize she was looking for but she wasn't going to give up until she'd found what she needed. A yawn broke across her muzzle as she shook off the weariness and treaded on. She'd find it, though it was probably gonna be in the last place she looked. Running her hands over her swelling belly she shook her head at the terror inside that seemed to kick and twist about inside her like a fighter. She could tell the small one was already going to be a handful.
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Ehno thought it would be good for himself to get away from the packlands for a bit. Since Crimson Dreams' formation, the chocolate-hued wolf had spent much of his time examining the packlands and partrolling its border, determined to protect it from any ill-wishing intruders. But Ehno knew that he would just wear himself out if he continued this trend. So he decided to take a little trip out east to blow off some steam.
The Italian boy shifted into his seldom-used optime form and slung his travel bag over his shoulder as he left the packlands, just in case he found anything interesting on his trip to bring back with him. He wasn't sure what might lay to the east, but he was eager to find out. He hadn't expected that, after a bit of a journey, he would stumble into an old human city. It was an awe-insiring sight to him after going so long without seeing such a large cluster of old human buildings. Walking along the cracked streets, he examined the crumbling buildings and noting that nature was slowly creeping its way into the city.
He was so caught up in his sight-seeing, he nearly ran into another wolf. He noticed her almost too late, but managed to stumble to the side before they collided. Regaining his balance, he turned to face her and began to babble an apology. "Sono spiacente, dunque spiacente! Non ero--" He cut himself off when he realized he had begun speaking in Italian. He shook his head and began again. "I'm sorry, miss. I wasn't paying any attention to where I was headed."
She had been so busy off in her own little world that she hadn't even noticed the male approaching her until it was too late. From the corner of her eye she saw the blur of color and startled, backpedalling at the same moment that the male swirved away from her. She stood there braced for a moment, her hand on her bulging tummy as she stared at the male with wide eyes at the words he'd spoken. She had no clue what in the world he'd just said or who in the world the male was but he was right beofre her right now.
She pinned her ears back as suddenly it seemed that the male had discovered he'd been blundering in the wrong language. When english found it's way back into the order of things she shook her head softly at his words. "No harm.. It's fine.." She doubted that much would have happened had he ran into her, he'd probably been the one to suffer as round as she was now. A soft smile lit her lips as she asked, "What had your attention so, if you don't mind me asking..." She hadn't even told him who she was.. but she was rather curious as to what had fixed his attention so.. of course there could have been a million things. She knew that quite well.
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Ehno watched as the she-wolf went from startled to calm. He was even more relieved to find out that he hadn’t collided with her when he spotted her hand resting on her large, round belly. He found himself smiling softly at the mother-to-be. Briefly the Italian boy’s thoughts fluttered toward his own mother, but he pushed the bittersweet thoughts away as the she-wolf before him asked him a question.
His amber eyes glanced around at the buildings surrounding them for a moment as he thought up his reply. “Just the city itself…” he said, turning his attention back toward the lady. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a human city. It’s just so interesting.” He had explored a few of them back in Europe, both alone and with groups of local Luperci. Once he had even passed through a city many wolves were in the process of restoring and using as their own. The best thing about these ruins, in Ehno’s opinion, was that there is always something around for everyone to take interest in. “How about you? Something interesting caught your eye around here?”
Iskata use to visit the human cities all the time when she lived off across the mountain.. this new world she lived in seemed to have dulled her curiousity a bit to the old world of ruins. They'd placed their packlands close to the human world because they still had a bit of wonderlust inside them all. The last time Iskata had been this far into the city was when she'd made the choice that had ended her looking as she did today, with a mind filled with silly dreams for pups that didn't exist yet and a heart filled with strange emotions about going at this alone again... yet this time there was no fear, no broken heart.. just the wonders of what will happen next.
When the male spoke of why he'd been exploring the streets she smiled, once she too had found the city to be of interest and filled with wonderous things, maybe in time she'd find that comfort in the streets again, but right now she had other things on her mind. Shaking her head at his question she laughed softly. "It's rather silly.. " she admitted as she began to walk along the street. "I came looking for string.. well, yarn to be exact."" She doubted the male would understand, but it was obvious by his accent and foreign language that these lands weren't his first home, maybe he would.
The silver and gold woman offered him a paw as she introduced herself. "I'm Iskata Sadira, from Phoenix Valley." she said with a smile before asking. "And who might you be?" She was rather curious where the male with the accent was from but it wasn't like there were many choices nowadays.
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“Yarn, huh?” Ehno was vaguely familiar with the stuff. A small Luperci town outside of what used to be Spain had some of the soft material lying about. Those wolves had used it to make some of those strange clothing items, but Ehno hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out how they did it. The male gave her a quick smile and glanced around for a moment. “It’s not silly at all. I’m sure there’s bound to be some in at least one of these buildings. I could help you search, if you’d like.”
Ehno accepted the paw she offered with her greeting, shaking as he had been taught months ago. It still felt strange to him, greeting this way, after growing up in only his natural form. “I’m Ehno Marino of Crimson Dreams. It’s a pleasure, Iskata.” When his hand was resting at his side once again, he realized that her name was rather familiar. “Sadira, you say? Any relation to Kansas Sadira?”
She chuckled as he seemed to question the item she was after. The soft smile stayed light on her lips as he tried to reassure her that it wasn't some silly little venture. She glanced into the window as he offered his help in her search, her eyes flickering to gaze at him as she joked. "You sure you want to be caught out and about with a pregnant woman, we're not very quick on our feet or graceful at all I've heard." She grinned slyly as she teased the male. She couldn't really think of many that would actually wander around helping anyone look for such a silly little item but then again she hadn't been out much lately and often books had been her subject of interest and there had almost always been someone else searching for the same. Paws pressed to the window she peered back inside and wondered. "Where to start though.. I've never seen yarn before in any building I've looked through before." Oddly enough for the girl she had sheep aplenty at the farmstead to make yarn from, but that was a lengthy process and she'd have to figure that out another day.
After they'd exchanged their pleasent greetings she'd began to move a little way down the sidewalk to peer into the next building as a name caught her attention from the male. She turned her sun shot blue orbs back to him as she grinned. "Kansas? I highly doubt the boy's in trouble now, it was always his twin that could have been blamed for their mischief.." Shaking her head at old memories she closed her eyes slightly as she admitted. "Yes, you could say we're related. He's my son." She smiled at the thought of her kind sweet boy, always the gentle and sensitive one.. She missed him so but she'd been the one to tell him to find a place of his own and she could live with the heartache.
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He grinned at the lady's teasing, shifting his bag from one shoulder to the other. "Oh, I think I'll survive. Besides, I might just have enough grace for the both of us." He returned her tease, sticking his tongue out playfully. Some of his seriousness returned as Iskata glanced into the window, wondering out loud where they might find her quarry. It was a good question, one Ehno didn't know the answer to. "The only time I've seen any, it was in a small storehouse in a Luperci village. Doesn't look like there'd be anything like that around here... Maybe we'll get lucky and find some nearby." He could be hopeful, couldn't he? Though he couldn't even be sure that there would be any yarn lying around the city.
Ehno fell into step with her as she began to make her way down the sidewalk. He listened intently as Iskata revealed that she was related to the Sadira boy, mentioning that she was in fact his mother. And he had a twin sister? He stored the tidbit of information away in his brain, remotely wondering how many Sadiras were around these lands. The Italian boy smiled at the other as a thought dawned on him. "I guess in a way that'd make us like family, since Kansas intends to ask my sister to be his mate." It didn't occur to him that Kansas might have wanted to share this news with his mother himself. But that probably wouldn't have stopped him anyway.
A soft smile lit her lips as the male decided that he could survive wandering with the pregnant woman. She chuckled softly at his little return on the tease. The began to make their way down the path as she scanned the stores for just what she was looking for, not exactly finding anything in the windows that might actually give way to hinting at what she wished for but still the stroll was enough at the moment. "Well.. since it can be used to make these clothes humans use to wear.. maybe if we find cloth not yet made into things?" She suggested, though she herself was questioning the very words she'd spoken. She laughed slightly and admitted. "I have no clue where we're going.."
Their steps seemed to just be an echo in the empty world about them as she suddenly stopped when the male had presented her with a little bit of a surprise. It should really have surprised her, her children were old enough to find loves of their own and there were many younger wolves out there. She smiled at the male as she shook her head. "If you're considering the Sadira's family now, you might as well consider almost everyone about here as family.." She was teasing the male once more, but the words she said were actually truthful. Through mateship and adoption it seemed like the whole of the territory was related now, atleast along one branch or another now. She smirked thinking of it, wondering just who wasn't related now.
Her eyes trailed to the male, "He'll treat her right, he's always been a gentle soul." Incase the male needed some kind of knowledge of the boy, but she doubted it, Kansas never seemed to step out of line and the world seemed drawn to her ghostly hued babe.
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His eyes darted from building to building as they continued their little search. Some structures were in better shape than others, but the majority of the old places were still standing fine. A boarding up building near the end of the street pulled at his curiosity, because unlike all of the others, each window and doorway was nailed shut. Amber eyes wandered back to the lady beside him as she voiced her thoughts. Ehno chuckled a little at her words. “You may have something there. Though, I admit, I’m just as clueless as you here. But it’ll make things more interesting. Who knows what we’ll end up finding.” Ah, the never ending call of adventure.
Ehno stopped a moment after Iskata’s own pause. Her surprise at the news was a bit expected, though he had to admit that he didn’t know what her reaction would be. And then, it was his turn to be surprised at her words. His eyes widened a bit as he imagined this large family. “The family is really that extensive? The area seems so big…” Ehno had only explored a small portion of the lands. He was used to his small family unit with his mother and sisters, and recently, the family of Crimson Dreams. But to be pulled into such a large family was a rather strange prospect.
He found himself nodding in agreement as Iskata described her son. “Oh, I believe it. He seems like a very good man.” Ehno trusted him. He could tell that he would take good care of Savina. “If all the Sadiras are as good natured as he is, I’d be glad to be a part of the family.” His words were honest, though that teasing smile was back on his muzzle. If only everyone could be good natured. But Ehno knew as well as anyone else that just because someone was family didn’t make them inherently good.
Iskata grinned again as he agreed with her on their situation. Though she really would like to find the yarn today finding a stranger who was slowly becoming family it seemed was even better. "Perhaps we'll find treasures even more aluring than string.." she joked as she let her eyes move to the building he had been eyeballing previously. Laughing softly her eyes darted towards the male for a second as they seemed to dare him to challege that curiousity that was playing at his mind. "Think there's reason for all the secrecy?" she asked..
She moved on again down towards the almost creepy building that was so inticing as well, the draw of her family wasn't as impressive to her as it was to him, after all it had been her family since the day she was born. She stopped a moment, one hand trailing along a store window as she confirmed his questions. "Some move on and away.. but it seems we all return together in the end.. or atleast for a while. I think almost every pack in these lands holds one relative or another.." she stated as though it was a normal everyday fact.. which in their family it really was. Not every relative got along and not everyone wanted to admit they were related.. but they were and that was just the truth of the matter.
The silver and gold lady had drawn to a stop again at the comment made by the male at her family. She couldn't help but laugh at his goodnatured tease as she raised a brow in protest. "There's always a few bad apples to every tree.. but we're fair enough. Fair warning though, the women tend to be stubborn, fiery and highly independant." She smiled back at the male as she shook her head. "Well, welcome to the family then Ehno." she said softly, hoping that he would be able to hand how crazy and downright strange the Sadira clan could be at time.
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Whether or not Ehno found anything too interesting around here, didn't matter much to him. As long as he was able to enjoy a bit of adventure and sight seeing, he would be content. Already he had found more than he expected to by running into a new extended family member. If he were to find anything else, he would hope that it would be the yarn Iskata was hunting for at least. But that didn't mean he would complain if any other old trinkets were discovered. His eyes darted back to the boarded up building for a moment, curiosity dancing behind his gaze. "There must be something important in there. Or at least something interesting. What do you say we take a quick look?"
He continued down the street by her side, amber gaze diverted from the strangely enticing building as she spoke. He raised an eyebrow at the thought of all the packs around the area having one family member or another. "I might just have to make it a goal to find all of these family members. Might be a life-long one, from the sounds of it, but it should be fun. Like a scavenger hunt." He smiled and chuckled a little, imagining himself scouring the lands for Sadiras. Ehno found himself grinning at her words about the Sadira women. "Well, thank you," he said with a smile, adding, "And thanks for the warning. May just come in handy one day."
She was content just moving along with company by her side. It had been forever since the woman had spent so much time outside her pack, and time with someone who wasn't a packmate as well. Her ears flicked back and forth, catching the soft sounds of the world around them as they padded along their way. She turned towards Ehno as he spoke of the locked away building where it seemed no light could even touch. Her eyes sparkled as she smirked, "There's always interesting subjects behind locked doors!" she said excitedly as their tracks brought them closer and closer to the closed up shop.
Iskata smiled again as he spoke of tracking down the long lost family. She couldn't help but laugh at the idea but she just shook her head. "Have fun with that, there's a lot that won't make it easy for you." she said. She knew for a fact that many wouldn't even admit being related to the clan, somehow along the lines the family had seemingly started their own clan feud, yet not with the de le Poers or the Lykois or any other family.. but with their own kin and blood.
The mother to be dropped to a stop before the abandoned building as the thanks for the warning fell on her ears. She nodded and smiled as she looked up at the slightly creepy building before them as she asked. "Well.. ?" Was the adventure about to begin?
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Kick me, for I am incredibly late! D:
His eyes were locked on the boarded up building now, curiousity peaking at the thought of what secrets may lay hidden behind those doors. He smirked at Iskata's final comment about her family as the pair drew closer to the building. "I'm always up for a challenge." He seriously doubted that he would ever find too many of the Sadiras wandering about, considering how much land there was out here, but it was a fun thing to imagine, nonetheless.
And then the pair had finally arrived before the building. Ehno took a step toward it on the cracked concrete, peering through a tiny gap in the boards on one of the windows. All that he could see was black. He looked over his shoulder at Iskata. "Let's do this," he said, that adventurous grin appearing on his features. Stepping toward the door, amber eyes examined the wooden planks for any loose spots. A corner of one board was slightly raised near the middle of the doorframe. He reached for it, attempting to get a good grip on the plank before giving it a good tug, the old rusted nails beginning to free themselves from the building. But before he could free the entire plank it snapped in the middle, causing him to loose his balance for a moment. He caught himself quickly, looking down at the half of the plank he held. "Whoops."
She grinned back as she teased the male, "It's a good thing too.." she said as they finally pulled before the building, her words were first meant towards the family but when they stood staring at the closed up shop they turned out to be a remark on the challege before them. She wasn't even sure where to start and it was so strange that the place was the one and only that the ghosts of the past had taken the effort to make hard to get into. She would have sat there scratching her head at it all if Ehno hadn't gone forth and plunged into the battle ahead as she laughed.
Her eyes scanned the building as Ehno was working on the entrance. Suddenly her ears flicked back against her skull at the sudden crack as Ehno said there a bit surprised as he presented Iskata with half a plank. She clapped her hands together as she chuckled. "Yes, a challege!" a soft sigh escaped her lips as she peered through the hole Ehno had made in the boarding. "Let's hope it's worth it!" she said excitedly as she worried at the other half of the board he'd managed to snap in half. Slowly the nail he'd started to pull out began to give way fully and she too soon held half a plank as she smiled up at her partner in crime.
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