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 Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 1:29 am
 Participants: Vervain, Bloodroot, Strychnine, Strychnos
Location: The Northern Wood
Time: 05:30 am
Weather Overcast, 58°How he hated mornings.
The night had been a long one, traveling through these unfamiliar evergreen trees. He was not exactly paranoid, but when his band was a mere fraction of the power he controlled, he could not help but be too careful. It had resulted in them pressing on into the latest hours of the evening, their progress halted only when the Oracle had requested so, to rest for the evening. Their descent south meant that it was unlikely for them to come across any enemies, but Cocklebur had made a name for himself, and a name for his wolves. How many pups had been stolen, and how many more units scattered and killed, he could not say, but "Aeternum" was a name that could cause them strife, should they happen upon any survivors. Such was Father's legacy, and such was his cause of death; poisoned by a coward with a thirst for vengeance.
And so, Hyacinthe donned that wolf's skull. A warning, as it were.
His emerald eyes flickered open, blinking rapidly as he stifled a soft groan of discontent. There was entirely too much birdsong going on right now, and much as he would have liked to rest his head once more, he knew he could not afford the precious time. He dragged himself to his feet, shaking the earth from his pelt, and allowed himself a moment to fully join the world of the wakeful, to push past the sound of cardinals, and bluejays, and titmouse birds. They had stopped at an old fallen tree, one that was ancient, if it's size was anything to go by, and had taken refuge in its rotting trunk. It was not the nicest place to bed down, but the smell of mildew, mold, and decaying wood would hopefully help to mask the scent of interlopers. Behind him, he could make out the sounds of wolves sleeping, and at his feet, Bloodroot shifted. Strychnos and Strychnine, twins who were so strikingly similar, it was a wonder he didn't confuse them, lay in the midground, and just beyond them, the Oracle, at the narrowest part of the trunk.
He frowned; he should have taken more. When his pack began to fall ill and die, he had suspected another attack, until word of other packs suffering the same fate. Irradiated prey beasts had migrated in from more heavily charged lands, and it had wiped out quite a few of the surrounding family units. He supposed he was lucky; Hyacinthe would tell him he was blessed. It became clear that the only option was to leave their city of dilapidated buildings and fallen freeways to seek healthier prey. Few were well enough to make the journey, and some needed to stay behind, to ensure the safety of those who needed care. Still, Hellebore and Foxglove could have been useful.
He could not dwell on it now.
Vervain leaned down, shoving Bloodroot with his nose and grunting once he was sure he was awake, before stepping over him to check the entrance of their makeshift den. The others could sleep for a time, yet; the light betrayed that it was barely past dawn, and he had pushed them hard the night before. They could make quick work of scouting the surrounding area and securing it if they started now, and by the time the others woke, he could organize a hunt. He was hoping that Hyacinthe might be in the mood to give him more direction, today, instead of telling him to trust the winds and himself. "The heart of gold knows the way," she kept saying, and it was causing him a great deal of frustration. He really just wanted to find something that could be easily defended and was well stocked with prey so he could send for the rest of the pack who were able bodied enough to travel in.
At some point, he felt Bloodroot at his shoulder. "Let's go," he murmured, and strode beyond the hanging, gnarled roots towards the forest.
672 :Word Count
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Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:04 pm
Nine had barely slept this night, she was always on edge when they traveled but more than that she was on edge that she was sleeping in the same den as her beloved Vervain, she was so struck by the alpha she did anything she could to make sure that he saw her at her best. If she fell asleep she could very well snore enough to wake him up, she couldn't ever do that. The smaller female lay with her head on her paws, watching everything around her. From Bloodroot snoozing on the ground to her brother, he was rolled over on his back passed out in this puppy like state of bliss. Nine huffed at the male as he slept, how could he just sleep like that, his leg twitched a tiny bit with his dreams and she rolled her eyes. She was debating on biting him just so that if anyone woke up they wouldn't think that she might sleep like that. They looked almost like the same wolf but they were miles different.
Strychnine, let her eyes slip over the other's who were sleeping. Hyacinthe was sleeping as well, she was the only reason they'd stopped. While the tan female was thankful to rest her weary paws, they were no where near as tired as they had been before with one of their scouting missions but she had decided she was tired and wanted to just relax. If that's what you'd call it with her worry that she would do something less than admirable in front of the alpha. Once again her eyes fell on Vervain, He moved a bit in his sleep and she slid her eyes shut. The last thing she wanted was him finding her staring at him, she hadn't realized how long her eyes would linger on him. Especially now when she could hear the even breathing of the other's asleep. Her large ears caught sounds so easily, it is what made her a better hunter. Made her very fit for her job.
She let her soft blue orbs open to look at the male again, he was so handsome in her opinion. The way his dark fur looked next to his striking red war paint, He was in Strychnine's opinion the most perfect male she had ever met. No one stood up to him, the thought that she would soon be paired with a male to bring pups into thee pack worried her. What if she only wanted Vervain's pups, what if she wouldn't accept just anyone giving her children. She wanted strong pups, and he was the strongest male she knew. He was starting to wake up, maybe he could feel her eyes on him. The female rolled a little bit onto her side into her idiot brother and closed her eyes, pretending that she was sleeping so that no one caught her staring at the male as if she was a crazy stalker. She hoped he never realized her actions, once again that would leave her with a less than reputable standing with him, that made her shudder in he sleep.
The small female could hear the male rustling around, soon he was up and moving around. Soon she heard him speak to someone, obviously not her, another wolf starting to stir, the female was trying to smell the air but still seem asleep. Who else was awake, she was always so curious as to what was going on around her. Hearing both sets of paws leave the den she opened her eyes and looked around. Of course he took Bloodroot, Nine huffed a little bit before she stretched and stood up. Leaning down she shoved her nose into her brother's side, "Hey." She was half whispering, she didn't want to wake anyone else, " Hey.... Oh fine." Her brother didn't budge, he barely realized that she even said anything to him.
" Bye." She didn't know where she was going she just knew she was following her nose, Vervain and Blood root were going somewhere, that meant she had go too. Her brother could stay here and protect Hyacinthe, There was no way that the pair would leave the pack alone in a random den in the middle of no where, their alpha was smarter than leaving them alone like that. With that she stretched again and headed out of the den. {WC:738}
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Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 6:22 pm
The idea to leave their old homeland had been an experiance that wracked Bloodroot from the inside. So long he'd felt chained to their territory. So much so that with each step they had taken away from the ruins and crumbling buildings, the ever tighten sensation around his heart finally loosened. Even as they traveled as a small extension of Aeternum, it was almost as if the heavy burden his pack placed on him to fit into his certain mold fell away. As soon as that heavy shackle around his neck fell away, he found his body alight with excitement. Something he hadn't been able to feel since he was a young pup. It was that same excitement and adrenaline that pushed him well past the point of exhaustion the prior night. Even after Hyacinthe requested they stop and rest, he had stayed away. His steady gaze fixated on the wood outside of the tree they had rested in. He was unsure how late he had stayed awake staring at the outside world, or when exactly he slipped off into a heavy slumber. Only that his body fully welcomed the embrace of sleep.
The knock to his shoulder on the other paw has been a wholly unwelcome one, and had it been any other wolf it would have been an action met with the cold snap of his jaws and a deep growl. Instead he remained silent, his eyes still closed and dead to the world around him as he tried to shut the other out. It was only when a second, somewhat harsher jab to his shoulder shook his form that his drowsy mind sharpened and with a deep breath he finally registered where and with who they were. Had they been alone he would have protested, or simply ignored Vervain, but they had an image to uphold. So, while his body urged him to fall back into the deep embrace of sleep, he instead shifted his weight off his hip and eventually rose to his large paws. A motion that caused his joints to crack in protest, but with a quick shake of his long fur they were soon forgotten as he moved to the alpha's side.
Though as Vervain strode off with a curt command, Bloodroot hung back a step. His head turning subtly to peer back at the slumbering group with his good eye. It still confused him as to why, out of all the members of the pack Vervain could have chosen, he picked them. The twins. They were always so strange to him, though giving it a second thought that was the case for most of the members he suffered through. Gaze lingering on the smaller of the twins, he let out a heavy breath when he caught sight of her twitching nose. Yet he didn't bother giving her a second thought as he turned and in a brisk trot moved to catch up with Vervain.
It was only when he fell into step beside the other male that he spoke. His voice low in the early morning. "What's the plan?" He would have glanced towards the other if he was able, but his attention was fixated on the forest around them. His good eye and ears scanning the area around them for any sign of life even as he spoke.
"Has Hyacinthe given you any kind of information yet? Or is the she-wolf still spouting riddles?"
There was a slight rumble to his tone as he mentioned their 'Mother'. Though whether it was an intentional slip or not even he couldn't know. For even after everything he couldn't say whether he held any anger towards the one who had raised him. It was simply left over fury for him. Cocklebur and the rest of the dead. For all the things that had happened that he could never get revenge on should he wish it. A thought that hadn't been able to leave his mind since the news of the prior Alpha's poisoning. He would forever feel wronged. Brows furrowing as he drew in a deep breath to clear his mind, Bloodroot for the first time in a long time missed the slight rustling of the underbrush a distance behind them.
Word Count | 707
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:27 pm
These woods were quiet, and green. It was the late end of summer, and far warmer than he could ever recall experiencing, even this early. North, beyond the evergreen trees and the earth covered in pine needles, where the ground was made of cracked concrete and asphalt, it was rare that he felt anything above forty degrees.There, permafrost stained glass and metal, leaving fingerprints of each horrid winter across the land, as if one might forget that she controlled the world around them. Each winter, they lost one or two pups to either stupidity or weakness - it was a blessing, Cocklebur had always said, ridding the pack of filth too feeble to be of any true use. Here, he realized, winters would be warmer. Marginally so, perhaps, but enough that she would not pick off the sickly and the senseless. They would likely need to take care of such things themselves. Perhaps Hyacinthe would fashion a trial...
Still, the warmth also (hopefully) meant that prey would be more plentiful, and more active. He dared to hope it meant larger beasts, as well, so that he could stop feeding his pack on gristle and bone, and put a good meal in himself as well. Carefully, he glanced to his side, only just realizing he had to catch up, having hung back a moment, though Vervain did not question why, and eyed Bloodroot's more slender frame. As he did, he considered giving the heart and liver to the other male instead. The shortage of food had been hard on all of them, but most so those of the pack who were... less likely to fight for it. He tried to share what he had, as often as he could, but when meals were a free for all scrap and he couldn't justify taking anything back to his den, it had become difficult to sneak anything his way.
Vervain frowned a moment - this really was a last ditch effort to save the only family he had ever known.
Bloodroot's voice cut through his thoughts, and he lifted his gaze to find the purple eye of his friend, considering. "Right now, we need to secure the area, he murmured, matching the tone of his second. "This is new territory, and I'd rather we not walk into an ambush this early in the morning. We need to make sure there's enough food here to feed the rest of the pack when we send for them, and I still need to figure out where the ******** Hyacinthe wants me to go." He almost snapped the last portion, and he quickly shut his eyes, exhaling forcefully, to calm himself down. A simple cardinal direction seemed beyond her, and he wasn't sure if she was slowly losing her mind, or if this was supposed to be some sort of test. Father's death had taken a toll on her, he knew, but surely, this could not be the result of that? Did he, too, have to deal with idiotic puzzles and frustrating bullshit? If so, he certainly made it seem a lot easier than it was.
"Of course not," he half-snarled, his head sinking enough that it was in line with his shoulders. His pose quickly took on that of a stalking one, his irritation plain. "Why would I be told just exactly WHERE she wants me to go? At best, I have another ******** enigma, like I'm supposed to be able to decipher her damn ravings and suddenly have the answer to all our problems." Truly, he loved Hyacinthe; she was his mother, or as close to it as she could get. Nevertheless, she was driving him insane. He calmed himself once more, taking a moment to stop, fully, this time, and breathe deep. The wood around them smelled alive, and as the morning pressed on, he could hear the late rising birds above them and smell the damp earth mixed with pine needles and sap. "This place doesn't seem bad," he remarked, looking around more carefully. His biggest complaint was the wide open spacing between the trunks of the trees, really - hardly something easy to defend. He took another deep breath, tasting the air, and then paused. His hackles lifted ever so slightly as he took another, then another, slowly turning to glance over his shoulder, brilliant green eyes piercing.
"Give me a ******** sign, Strichnine - I could have killed you," he nearly barked, lips curling in mild irritation. Damn hunters and their sneaking...
747 :Word Count
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:02 pm
Bloodroot had waited while Vervain spoke, his pace keeping time with the other males, and though he didn't bother to glance his way or give any indication he was listening. His attention never wavered, something that was barely hinted at by the inward turn of his scarred brows as they furrowed together ever so slightly. Every time Vervain paused, closing off each sentence with a frustrated huff or snap, Bloodroot's jaws parted as if to speak. Only to close once more when his friend chose instead to continue on. The irritation in his tone sharpening with each word. It was only when he physically paused. Falling still in the small path they'd been carving through the underbrush that he himself stilled. He could feel the frustration and tension radiating from the other male, and turning to face him, Bloodroot paused as he lifted his head to look just past Vervain's hunched form. His gaze just catching sight of a faint flash of gold followed by Vervain calling out a certain hunter. Just like that, his good mood; however slight it had been, soured.
"Have you ever though that maybe, just maybe, Hyacinthe is sending you on a wild goose chase? After what happened in in our old territory, it honestly doesn't seem like her visions are holding up anymore, Vervain." Voice remaining in that low, hushed tone, Bloodroot coolly turned his attention away from whatever Strychnine choose to do and instead focused the entirety of his gaze on his companion. "Perhaps it's time to put aside what she says and rely instead on yourself. You say this place doesn't seem so bad. Maybe this is where we are meant to settle?" He gave a slight tilt of his head at his own words, his expression turning slightly curious instead before a vague smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "If we find any damn food that is."
Word Count | 318
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 1:23 pm
Damn, she didn't want to get caught, she almost hadn't but Vervain had obviously heard or smelt the female. She had been creeping around the area, surveying it, trying to pick up any smells that she might like. Her stomach was beginning to grumble and she was starting to get hungry. Everyone else must have been starved and she was the only hunter on this trip. She let her tan ears flatten to her skull as she stood up and walked towards the males. "I'm sorry... I can't help that I'm quiet." She was a tiny wolf and it had been ingrained in her to have silent footsteps as long as she could remember.
Her tail swung a tad as she nodded a small hello to Bloodroot, He was obviously ignoring her as he spoke to the alpha. She sat silently waiting for the male to finish speaking before she nodded at him. Oh yeah, once again she was reminded that she wasn't able to do her only job, her head in other places as of recently. She didn't think she was supposed to hear Bloodroot but with her large ears and keen hearing, she couldn't help but overhear a lot " I guess that means I should probably go look for some food huh?" She seemed childish asking but she kind of felt scorn by the others at the moment. In Strychnine's mind she's been failing the pack recently, she didn't even know if she was meant to be here right now. It was part of what was making the female antsy as of late, she was very easy to anger. It was probably because she was hungry.... and that meant everyone was hungry. She ate last, it was part of who she was and as of now, times were lean.
Once again her ears fell flat towards her head, thoughts of her current and ultimate uselessness running through her head as she watched the other's for a moment. She hadn't had a successful hunt in a while, at least not that wasn't tainted in one way or another. She was starting to feel the weight of her accidental actions. Had she known the meat was tainted to begin with she never would have brought it home, Strychnine wouldn't have ever fed any of the pack something that would have killed so many. While she was heartless, she wasn't that heartless. Not when it came to the pack, it was all she knew at this point in her life, what else did she have? She inhaled a deep breath before finding her feet. She felt like an idiot at the moment, she shook all of the thoughts that she was having out, her fur shaking out with it, large ears standing up and flicking forwards. " I will find something." She had to clear her head, If she didn't she wouldn't be able to hunt well. What was her problem?
Now she felt like she was possibly intruding on something that she shouldn't, stretching her petite frame she exhaled the crisp air she had just inhaled, " Excuse me?" It was half a question, half excusing herself to go find food... or something to prove her worth. {wc: 543}
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:56 am
He would have been a fool to miss the tension in his companion.
Often, in a pack such as theirs, personalities clashed. Fighting among themselves was common, though the rules always stayed the same, and he never felt the need to interfere. The killing of brothers was strictly prohibited, no matter the insult, no matter the crime, and punishment was swift to those who took their disputes too far. Nevertheless, they were not without their inner quarrels, and for the most part, squabbles that ended in a scar or two and wounded pride were entirely within the realm of acceptable, provided no one was injured so severely as to impede upon their duties to the pack. Bloodroot, especially, had always received his fair share of ridicule and taunting since the... incident, and as he grew outwardly more cold and distant, it became worse. Before his ascendance, there was little he could do to redirect the jeers of his brethren, and now, he did what he could without appearing biased. It was a fine line to walk. Hyacinthe often scolded him for it.
He was sure the others noticed.
Quietly, he straightened himself, returning his attention to the brown male as he spoke once again. His lips grew tight as he considered his words, and it wasn't long before he frowned, his eyes growing distant. He stared past Bloodroot for a moment, thinking. Hyacinthe had warned him of the sickness. She had warned him of the journey. She had warned him of many things, and he had been too dense to decipher their meanings quickly enough to avoid disaster after disaster. He could only imagine her disappointment when, two weeks after her vision of ravens and carrion, they suffered their first loss. He could not even swallow the failure himself, let alone discuss it with his pack mates, and the thought that he could fail again ate at him from the inside. He blinked, rapidly, his green eyes finding those of his friend once more before he sighed, shrugging. "Maybe. I don't know how much damage The Fall did to her..." Cocklebur had not been her mate, so to speak; as far as he knew, the male had never sired any offspring of his own, nor had Hyacinthe ever given birth. Her ferocity of affection towards pups made him wonder, but it had never been something she'd discussed, and he doubted she ever would, willingly. It was not his place to ask. Even so, she had been close to Father, and while she did not show it often, she had clearly been affected. "We can't defend this easily," he huffed, glancing around them as he spoke. "There's not enough ground cover, and the trees are too wide. I haven't seen anything worth the effort to build a den site down here, yet. The last thing we need is to choose something too quickly and end up regretting it when someone comes knocking over a pup or two."
As Strychnine began to slink out of the underbrush, looking like a guilty child, he almost snorted. "Well, that's kind of what I pay you for," he snarked. Briefly, Vervain wondered whether Strychnos was also with his sister, and grew agitated at the thought. He could not smell him, and really, he doubted that the war hound would leave the oracle unattended, but the frustration of this trip was starting to grate on him. The longer he took to understand Hyacinthe's word puzzles, the longer he would need to hold off on bringing the rest of the pack south into (what he hoped) would be their new territory, and it was not doing his mood any favors. The longer they waited, the more died. "Nevermind," he grumbled, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He need not take his frustrations out on those around him; not today. He'd done it in the past, of course, but he needed full cooperation and communication, and being a salty old dog was not going to help this situation any.
The male took a deep breath as he attempted to reign his temper in. She had little business following them, but he supposed he could not blame her for her eagerness. "Yes, that would be a wise decision. I hate to send you out alone, but I can't have Hyacinthe wandering off blindly following the raven and getting herself captured, so Strychnos will have to watch her, at least until we've secured the surrounding area. You know what to do if you get caught, right?" Always lead away from the pack; never admit affiliation. There were rules in place to safeguard the location of their dens, their hunting grounds, their traditions, and rituals. If she ******** up, she was on her own until she shook whatever was on her tail. It wasn't ideal, but back in the city, there was very little option. He could not be certain that they could be lenient here, and while it pained him to think they could lose their best hunter, they could not afford to starve or to give their location away so early. "Trust thought and memory, Strychnine," he parroted, the phrase of warding that had always been a parting warning, and dismissed her, returning his attention to Bloodroot.
"I need walls," he said, turning and beginning to walk on once more. They could talk and scout at the same time. "I need something at our backs, something easy to defend, something manageable until we get the force of Aeternum down here. We're very limited in number, right now, and we will continue to be until the sick can make the trip or until we bring up new blood to take their place. It's grim, I know, but I don't have a lot of options here." He was going to have even fewer options if they didn't figure this out soon; a quarter of the pack had become ill or had simply perished by the time they had left for the southern lands.
There were only so many grains of sand in an hourglass.
1,014 :Word Count
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