Big Salmon Lake Icarus

Caeli is Ridir's traveling companion and will be joining this...I ask for her player to be able to post first! After that anyone is welcome to jump in at any time! This is their joining thread technically =D PARDON MY DUST!


---Big Salmon Lake---



"Now see," started a voice from the shaded path, "had I actually stopped and asked for directions like you'd told me to we would've missed this-"

He broke off and started thoughtfully at the graveyard of tiny fish bones sprawling around the receded banks of the lake. "This quaint fish cemetery," he concluded with a wry smile picking at the corners of his lips.

Ridir glanced over his shoulder at his companion as she picked her way across the drier footholds and made a delicate approach...his own path was marked by sharp trenches cut into the mud. What were previous sandy paws were now chocolate brown boots; clearly (and thankfully) Caelie was the more feminine of the pair. "I hope it's not haunted," he added dryly as one of his feet lifted and made a feeble attempt to shake off the muck. "You'd run and leave me to die for sure."

Her face was wrinkled in a mask of mild dislike she picked her way delicately over the muck and toward the male that moved before her.  She paused as he flung mud carelessly from covered paw, wincing as a gob landed upon her pristine white leg. Ugh, she thought with an inward sigh, closing her eyes momentarily as she took a deep breath.  She felts like she had one of these fish stuck in her throat she surveyed the area before them with critical green eyes.

I’m so glad we left home for this… this paradise, she quipped, silver tail waving contemplatively behind her. If you get eaten by ghost fish, it’s your own fault. She glanced at Ridir with a smile twisting her mouth, just to make sure that he knew she was joking.  Obviously she wouldn’t really leave him behind.  Though she really was not so sure that they should ever have left home in the first place.

Now what do we do, oh mighty navigator? I don't think I want to settle here in Fish Smell Fields. There had been signs of wolves in the area for quite a while, but they had not yet crossed paths with any.  Of course, at some point they did need to find others, for two young wolves had no business in strange lands as winter approached.  But when they did find others, what would she say? Spirits above, she just might throw up.

" You don't want to be Madame Fish Stick?" he implored as his plume gave a little flick and slapped against her pale shoulder. They'd known each other since their baby blues both turned baby green and had been reared as companions; though their personalities were fundamentally different he felt closer to Caeli than most and chided her the same as he would his siblings. " I can be your partner, Lord Tartar Sauce."

Sage eyes glittered bemusedly as they slipped along the fine details of his friend's face. His tone was always ambiguous with her...it was difficult to pin down exactly what facet of his nature fueled  the little quips between them. Was it affection? Or benign flirtation? Ridir himself wasn't at all certain when it came to Caeli. He loved her, and admitted it without resentment, but the molecular level of his love was yet unknown.

His ears tipped back as his words fell into the silence of the territory between them. Caeli was a more fragile animal than him and he studied the mild laboring of her breath. Surely it had not been an easy task to follow him the hundreds of miles that separated them  from their home. "Are you tired?" he asked sincerely.

Emerald eyes rolled to the sky as she gave an amused shake of her silver head. I always knew we were destined for greatness. Such a kingdom it shall be. 

Caeli herself shied away from making comments that linked the pair together. It was simply too awkward, though she didn't mind when the earthen male teased. Maybe she even liked it. They'd been born near the same time (though Ridir wasn't likely to let her forget that he was several weeks older), and their families had ties that went back for generations. She had always liked him, though perhaps what drew them together was not immediately apparent. In any case, the moment was stored away for later contemplation, and with a heavy exhale, she lowered to peppered haunches.

Never been more tired,  she answered honestly, laying her ears flat for a moment. It had been a very long journey - exciting and interesting, but also full of challenges. But I'm ok. I've got muscles I never even knew I had. A laugh. A pause. Then seriousness. I think we're gonna have to stop soon. Find someone to talk into letting us stay? We've done pretty well, but it's getting colder everyday. Is this the place, or do we keep moving? She hoped he would agree to stop, but Caeli was not one to force her opinions on others.

The she wolf's absence of retort toward his flirty quip was without surprise. He nodded in agreement even with though her beginning sentiment was void of actual seriousness. "I'll be a King someday you know," he declared smilingly. "Grandpa Fao said so."

Though he was entirely aware she was tired the verbal confirmation of such made his heart pang a bit. She'd been a whiny little thing during their early childhood but she'd refrained from complaining almost the entire trip thus far...and he felt himself wishing she'd allow herself to fret a bit like the old days. "Mhmm," he sounded in agreement as his gaze wandered skyward. Their campaign had begun in the peak of summer several weeks ago; a spontaneous choice of departure that hadn't left either wolf much time to consider neither a destination nor a timeline. The blame was entirely upon him of course, since Caeli was more or less a tagalong, but despite the risk of their inexperience together they'd assembled their talents and created one functioning entity.

The elders back home would be proud, he was certain.

"We'll rest here for a few days," he decided...asserting his vote on the femme's behalf. "We can fish here and rest. Look our best for the audition." He spoke as the thoughts came to him so that the words came out halting if not a bit choppy. But the blood of savvy leadership, of Erom, flowed in his veins. Despite his greenness he generally made good choices.

He moved forward then and trotted a short distance away to drier land. The shallow slopes of the bank were pocked with nooks made naturally by the earth but he set to work on one whose particular shape he liked best; soil went flying on either side of him as he began scratching out a makeshift den for the two of them.

"Now don't-" he panted as he dug, "-go falling in love with - my manliness right - now!"

The mention of Faolan sent a pang of heartsickness through the silver tipped female. It was a longing for home and the familiar. Would she ever see the grands views from Morning Star again? Her family? She did not regret her decision to depart with Ridir - it was an opportunity to prove herself and see the world - but that did not mean she might not lapse into nostalgia already. Well if anyone would know, it would be him, she murmured softly, privately thinking that her friend did rather remind her of his kingly grandfather. 

Their trip had come with short notice - a fact that would usually have prevented the long-thinking young wolfess from making it at all. But two factors worked in its favor. One, that Ridir had asked her if she wanted to go. The very fact that he wanted her along weighed volumes. And two, when she's taken a few days to consider it, her sister had told her she wouldn't do it. That she wasn't the adventuring type. Fine. She'd just have to prove that she was every bit as capable as the many other wolves in her line that had made long journeys. She's grown up hearing the tales like legends. 


But down to the business at hand. Ridir's practical approach to the situation made her accept his decisions, though from someone else she may have begrudged the lack of collaboration. From this wolf though- she trusted his judgement and his belief in her abilities. They wouldn't have made it this far otherwise.

As he moved to begins temporary shelter, she had every intention of joining in to help. But his comment gave her pause. Cocking her brow, she considered him for a moment, then with deliberate movements, eased herself down to lounge on the (unfortunately muddy) ground, tongue lolling out. And purposefully looked the other direction. 

I'll just take a break and enjoy the view then. 

Lesser friendships likely would have found themselves strained by the constant back and forth Ridir was confident in the strength and his and Caeli's bond. They were not on 'lover' level (they shared a sort of purgatory status in that sense) and yet were bound with more significance than mere buddies. A laugh fled him as she so sassily shot down his declaration; he was not bitter toward her lack of cooperation. He'd been a big enough boy to smart off to her and he was a big enough boy to accept the consequences. He toiled on, laboring for a half hour or so, before retreating from their newly created shack and shaking himself off to rid his tufty pelt of the earth that had rained on him during the excavation.

"There!" he declared triumphantly. He took a step back and observed his handiwork with a slight cant of his head. "And because I'm so generous," added the male with a chortle barely contained in the back of his throat, "I even made room for your giant lady hips." He didn't dare look her way after his bold statement...convinced that if he did his bemusement would spill forth in uproarious laughter.

With a touch of stubbornness, a dash of guilt, and a heavy dose of genuine tiredness, Caeli dozed for a bit while Ridir worked, wishing that the overcast day would spare a few rays of warming sun. After a bit, she rose and gingerly gathered a few of the less malodorous fish more preserved by  cool mud. The grey peppered female returned just long enough to settle before Ridir had completed his building project. 

Her mouth opened with ready praise, but snapped shut again as he spoke first. 

Giant...lady hips, she repeated haltingly, twisting her head back to peer thoughtfully at the parts in question as she made her rear paws dance just slightly from side to side. I'm not even sure if that's an insult or a compliment, she concluded after a moment, turning back to regard him dryly. Clearly he thought himself hilarious. Boys. Suddenly she heard her mother's voice in her head telling her that even the good ones might take ages to grow up. 

If she wasn't quite sure that her hips were slender as the rest of her was, his offhanded joke might have genuinely hurt her feelings, though she knew he wouldn't mean to. As long as they'll fit in there with your ego, we're good. 

Huffing air through her nose in a quiet laugh of mild exasperation, Caeli strode past him to peer into the mouth of their makeshift shelter. He'd done a nice job. Thank you, she said with simple sincerity, laying jokes aside. 

Food's waitin' over by that tree if you still hungry. But you should rest. I know you may be stronger than me, but you've come just as far. Yes, she had a mothering side too. As my grandfather Roche used to say she quoted with the hint of a French accent, "Rest is not idleness."

Story prompt time =D

---

So entertained by himself was he that his shoulders trembled with the force necessary to curb his mirth. It was fortunate indeed that his gaze resisted from looking upon his companion; had he seen evidence of her contemplative sashay all regulation of his boyish beguilement would have been lost. "I should build an extension then," he retorted with only a weak quiver of laughter in his voice as he summoned his inner calm.

A soot-colored nose reached out and touched her shoulder at the presentation of her praise. "You're welcome," he said with a warm smile. He was surprisingly obedient to her maternal decree and abstained from any further teasing...though it was with a typical streak of stubbornness that he did not permit a gimp to show in his steps as he approached the humble feast she'd prepared. Ridir was more worn from the trip than he'd thought apparently and was surprised by the soreness of his shoulders following the day's work.

"Remember how Auntie Ariadne used to talk about all the adventures they had?" he asked as he tenderly laid himself down and began delicately plucking the fish meat away from its bones. It'd been a while since he'd referred the matriarch as an aunt figure. Back when he and Caeli had been but babes he'd seen the beta alongside his own grandmother and had thought her quite beautiful. Emboldened by his youth, the fledgling wolf believed her beauty to be an asset of youth...and aside from verbally comparing her to his own mother he also began referring to her as 'auntie'. The elders had kindly snickered about it to themselves only when he was out of earshot; once the secret of her age came out Ridir had been so embarrassed that he'd actually avoided her for several weeks before making amends.

But his wounded pride had since healed and he'd recently dusted the old nickname off. It helped that he could sense Caeli's loneliness for her family...and he hoped that perhaps sharing stories would ease the hurt in her heart. He grinned and looked at his friend while quipping, "Like that time they ran into the family of skunks!"

All the delays :\

-IC- Ridir's comment about enlarging the space struck her as humorous enough that she released a breathy laugh, shaking her head slightly with eyes to the sky.  He did have a gift for making her laugh, despite herself. It was one of the things she liked best about him. But she was pleased to see that he put bravado aside and settled down for a rest as he should. Yes, maybe he was bigger and stronger, but a long trip through the unknown was enough to weary the body and mind of the best.  Not that they were the best.  Well, ok, they were pretty awesome.

Caeli was taken off guard at the mention of her grandmother, and her silver ears folded for a moment as a pang of bittersweet memory overtook her.  Her grandmother had indeed been a striking figure with her golden coat and forever youthful figure. When she was young, Caeli had thought of the Asteri wolfess as the sun, and Ridir's grandmother Evren as the stars.  Quite a pair of women to live up to. And their adventures? Oh yes, the adventures! There was no lack of stories, nor storytellers in their pack, and the youth had grown up reliving the tales of their family, asking to hear them time and again.

"She certainly did have a way with words", she mused with a wistful smile catching at the corner of her mouth.  "She said she got that talent from her own mother, who she said knew more stories than there were leaves on the trees". Yes, the legend of Artemis Asteri lived on.  

The skunks?  Oh that was a good one!  She loved the way that her grandmother would imitate the great chocolate bear that was her grandfather, during that story, including his fancy accent.  "No Ari, de UD-THER flowers!," Caeli called in a paniced tone, lowering her head and arching her back in an imitation of an imitation.  That line never got old to her, and she and her siblings and friends had used it among themselves as a joke for ages. It seemed that during their travels, Roche had been out scouting away from the group and had stumbled upon a small field of his mate's favorite blooms. Ever one to make a romantic gesture to his beloved bride, Roche had howled a message for Ariadne to meet him among the orange poppies. Let's just say that a distracted female, a wrong turn with the wrong wind, and a startled set of skunks of their two babies had not led to a pretty scene.  How (and why) they all had then managed to make friends with the skunks was still beyond her.  Still hilarious.

"How about the one with the rocks and the raindrops?"