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 Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:27 pm
 For some time now, Balios had always been intrigued by the two male pups in his pack -- two pups transplanted from Antianeira, he was aware, and that was precisely what intrigued him. They kept to themselves, mostly, and Balios had never before built up the courage to go and say hello -- but all of that was ending today.
After all, if he was going to be a great diplomat, he needed to practice meeting and mingling with all sorts of wolves. And what better opportunity than to befriend a wolf that never talked to anybody? What stories he must have to tell!
Also, Balios was burningly curious about his mother's pack. His conversations with Guinevere and even, briefly, his mother, had only piqued his appetite, not succeeded in painting a full picture. And much to his annoyance, he had so far never managed to visit the pack that intrigued him so much.
Well, two birds with one stone, then. Never mind that Lichen was very young when he arrived and probably remembered nothing. Balios was on a mission!
Head and tail held cheerfully aloft, the wild-dog marked teen happily trotted toward the den and let out a yelp of greetings.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 4:20 pm
 Today had been a quite day so far for the teen. Father was out on a patrol or something for the pack and Bracken...well he wasn't here either which left Lichen alone, curled up in the den. It was really all he ever wanted, was to either be left alone or to be with his father and brother. Lichen was far from social, preferring to hide about in his den or do his best to avoid contact with the other members of the pack. It wasn't that he was trying to be anti-social it's just that he didn't talk much, if at all, and a lot of wolves found that awkward to be around. So he kept to himself, and on those odd occasions he did talk it was often in a whisper and only a few words before he would fall silent again.
He had been half asleep when he heard the yelp outside the den. Was that Bracken returning from wherever he had gone off to. Letting out a yawn and stretching his muscles Lichen got to his feet and slowly slunk towards the den entrance. His head cautiously peeked out of the entrance, ears plastered against his skull, only to see not his brother or father but another one of the pack wolves. This was one of the Terreis and Derecho's boys and a shudder ran through his entire body when he thought about that scary splotchy female and how she had come from the same pack that his mother was from. Perhaps he should just return to the safety of his den and pretend that no one was here. But no that plan wouldn't work as he noticed the teen was already aware of his presence.
Taking a deep breath Lichen crawled out of the den, head low, ears still pulled back against his skull a position that seemed to be permanent for them, tail tucked between his legs. He said nothing to the teen only stood there looking at his with weary eyes. What did he want?
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:02 pm
"Oh, hello!" Balios smiled a big, wide smile, his tail giving a low wag behind him. It occurred to him -- too late now -- that he should have brought something. A gift, some small game animal perhaps. Kicking himself inwardly for making such an obvious mistake, he shook himself and took a bold, friendly step forward.
"Forgive my intrusion," he tried to remember his name -- and which of the brother she was. "...Lichen, right?" His tail wagged again eagerly. "I've just been thinking, today, that we've lived together in this pack all of our lives and I've never had the occasion to introduce myself. So I thought it would be prudent to make your formal acquaintance, and see if you needed anything."
Balios's pompous nature had certainly not lifted in his age, and his vocabulary had improved. Where was he even learning all of this? Not from his parents, certainly. Maybe Grandpa Adonai was rubbing off on him.
Hoping that it hadn't sounded rehearsed (although it was), he gave an expectant look to his potential new friend.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:39 pm
Balios' step forward only sent Lichen moving back two steps himself. What did this male want? Lichen wasn't exactly scared of him, no he just had no real wish to have anyone strange close to him. How could he trust this wolf? His ears perked forward ever so slightly but remained for the most part flat against his skull. He wanted to see if he needed anything? Lichen wasn't sure what to make of it.
He could have said something. Said that he was fine and didn't need anything but he chose not to. Where was Bracken when he needed him? If his brother were here he could answer any questions that this other wolf had and acted as a translator for the non-speaking wolf. Eyes glanced about but there was no sign of his brother or father anywhere. There was nothing for him to do but stand there like he had when he first exited the den and wait to see what this other had to say.
However, instead of standing Lichen opted to sit. It would be easier to endure whatever was to come if he was comfortable - for the most part.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:50 am
If Balios was off-put by the other's silence, he didn't show it. Rather, he pressed on heroically, fully optimistic. "My brother doesn't talk much, either," he said, referring to Tantalus, "And he spends a lot of time by himself in the den, too." He paused, then, a little uneasily, not sure if that was the right thing to bring up, but shrugged it off. "He's kind of a sourpuss though, I bet you're much nicer to be around."
Hopefully Tantalus didn't hear that.
"Are you hungry? I was thinking we could go out on a hunt, if you wanted. The others are taking us on the last hunt of the season soon and I kind of want to get some practice in before then..." he trailed off, not quite wanting to let the other know how nervous he really was about the notion. "But, anyway. You don't have to if you don't want."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 4:09 pm
While not entirely open to the friendly male Lichen did at least nod at the mention of Balios' brother. He had seen the gruff male around the pack here and there and did his best to avoid him as he didn't seem to be the friendly type in the slightest. And while he didn't know a whole lot about Tantalus he was fairly certain he was nicer that him, even if he himself was a bit anti-social. Balios' next words threw Lichen off. He wanted to know if he was hungry? Well Lichen had to admit that he was a bit hungry, but father should be home later and he would bring something to eat surely.
Then his eyes widened a bit at the offer to go on a small hunt with Balios. Lichen didn't hunt, at least not without his father at his side he didn't. Hunting was dangerous and Lichen just hadn't picked up on the finer details that were needed to be successful in not only catching ones prey but also avoiding the prey should it decide to fight you off. He shook his head repeatedly at the offer. "No." Lichen finally managed to say, though his voice was not much louder than a whisper. He liked it here, at the dens where it was safe, or at least as safe as one could get really.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 6:14 pm
"Oh." Balios looked a little crestfallen. Well, this was awkward.
It didn't last long, though, before his eyes lit up and a big, broad smile replaced the look of consternation upon his maw. Balios was completely incorrigible.
"That's fine, if you don't want to go. I can bring you back something, if you want?" His brow furrowed. This wasn't going well at all. But he'd make it happen. He had faith! The people that needed friends the most were the ones that rejected them, he was sure of it.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 4:13 pm
Ears perked forward at Balios' offer to bring something back for him. Well he was kind of hungry and there was no telling when father would return from his patrols and other pack duties. His eyes light up a bit, the first sign of happiness since him meeting the other male and he bobbed his head in a nod. Maybe he could make friends without the need to talk or leaving the safety of the dens. As long as Balios didn't expect him to do much but sit here and listen this might actually work out.
But now that he had accepted the offer Lichen wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't want to talk, well no that wasn't entirely true, it's just that he really didn't have anything to say. What could one talk about when all they did was lay around the den all day long? Oh! Maybe he could show Balios that shiny rock father brought back to him the other day. Standing Lichen quickly slipped into the den and returned a moment later with the rock held in his maw. He came to a stop in front of Balios and then set it down, then he used his paw to motion to the rock, then to himself in a silent way of saying that the rock was his and smiled ever so slightly.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 7:13 pm
"Okay," he said, and grinned. This was progress!
He was about to set off to do some hunting, but was interrupted by Lichen's sudden disappearance into the den. He blinked, not sure what that was about, and then saw the other wolf return with...what was that, precisely? He tilted his head, waiting for the pup to place it before his paws. "This is yours?" he asked, looking up for confirmation before looking back down to it. It was terribly shiny. "That's awesome," he said, and maybe exuded a bit more enthusiasm than he felt -- but not too much. "I've never seen a rock quite like that, before. Where'd you get it?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 9:42 pm
Lichen nodded relatively enthusiastically to acknowledge that yes the rock was indeed his. It was his special treasure. Father had brought back several interesting things for him and his brother over the time that they had been here, but this was among his favorite of his possessions. It seemed to always glitter in a different way each time he looked like it, almost as if it was a different rock each day. He wasn't sure why it did that however, but wasn't going to question such an interesting piece.
The question of where he got it made him pause to think. Well father had found it in the river, but he couldn't remember being told exactly where it had been found. "The...river." He managed to force his voice to work for a moment, and then because he was either feeling more relaxed around Balios or because he knew another question would be thrown his way about the rock he continued. "F-father brought it for me...from...from the river." His head lowered a bit, almost embarrassed to talk. In fact not including when he spoke to his brother or father that was the most Lichen had said to a pack member since joining the pack many months ago.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 10:23 pm
"It's really cool," he said. He noticed how Lichen seemed to be warming up to him, and it made him happy. He might make a friend yet! And besides, everybody needed a friend. He wondered if he'd get along with Corinth. Corinth needed more friends, too. Hmm.
Well, one thing at a time.
"I've been to the river tons of times, but all I ever see are fish and mud. Never shiny rocks, like that." His eyes lit up a little. "We could go look for some, sometime, if you want. But only if you want to," he added, quickly, and then -- so he wouldn't feel awkward -- shifted gears. "That's cool, too, that your father brings you things like this. My dad plays spoils us a little, to make up for mother not loving us, but he's never given me a present I couldn't eat." This he said rather matter-of-factly, as though being unloved by your mother was just a fact of life.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:46 pm
Lichen felt almost special that Balios had taken an interest in his rock, though now that the other teen was interested in it, that fear of things being taken away from him kicked in slightly. Using his left paw Lichen slid the rock closer to him, leaving it safely tucked between his paws. As Balios went on about going to the river and the things he had seen there Lichen could only sit quietly and listen. He rarely went to the river to do more than get a drink, the idea of staying there and looking for something interesting was never on his mind as he was always in a hurry to return to the safety of the den. But Balios had offered to take him to the river sometime, and maybe he might take him up on that, though not right now of course, he wasn't comfortable enough with the other male to go on any type of adventure just yet.
The change of subject to Balios father made Lichen lift his head a bit. His own dad spoiled him to make up for many things, but the mention of Terreis and her lack of love reminded Lichen that she was from the same pack that his mother resided in. It reminded him how much hatred his mother had shown him and his brother in the beginning and how she had abandoned him here with Bracken. It also made him think of Nightshade, his other brother who was forced to stay behind in that horrible pack for some reason and had not seen him since. Ears flattened against his skull and a soft whine escaped him.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:11 pm
Balios's ears caught the whine from his new friend, and they flattened to his skull. Oh, oops. He'd said something very dumb just now, hadn't he?
"I met my uncle," he said, not sure if this would help at all. "Uncle Iosef. From that pack our moms are from. He seemed pretty happy."
He took a step back from Lichen, to show that he had no intention of stealing his rock.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:53 pm
Though his head remained low, Lichen's eyes lifted up slightly at the mention of Balios' uncle. His uncle lived in that horrible pack? Lichen felt a bit sorry for him, as he knew all too well of the ill treatment his mother put upon any and all males. But how could his uncle be happy in a place like that? It didn't make any sense. "I...I...don't l-like that pack." He whispered, more to his rock than Balios. He never wanted to go anywhere near that place ever again. It was scary enough having Terreis in this pack. The only member of that pack that he ever cared for was Penthesila, she had treated him and his brother well in the short time he had been there and occasionally came to visit them as well.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 7:10 pm
"I've never been there," he said, and shrugged. "But I kind of want to visit. Uncle Iosef would be happy to see me, I think. Mom really likes him, which doesn't make much sense since he's a boy. But then, she likes Father too. Most of the time." His brow furrowed. This whole family situation was a little too complicated. He reined conversation back to something a bit more comfortable. "But I like it here, better. I think it's the best pack anywhere. But I don't know for sure because I haven't been to any other packs, really. I'd like to, though."
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