Lost Creek Hollow if the stars could claim me

There was never a dull moment for Flynn before the wait for the sun to kiss the earth goodnight. If she could have her way, she would let the stars claim her as their own. She would sit beneath them, cry only to them, look only to them, and love only them. They were the only things that had not harmed her. With all darkness she had seen, the fire of day being put out was nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly nothing she couldn't handle. 

With her recent engagement into the Lost Creek Hollow pack, Flynn's surrounding have been unclear to herself. It had been too long since the she-wolf had trusted a soul outside of family. But it was because of family that she sought new trust and with that the possibility of a brighter future. Whether to trust or to defend, to love or to live alone without fear or fault. Before it seemed the stars knew all the answer, but now they grew silent and cold and ever far. She stared at them longingly, the one things that had never before changed now seemed to twist and fade. 

Was she really ready to give all of that familiarity away to chance?

Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.

The white coated female stood to her four feet, turning around abruptly, fangs showing. A typical response to one who had lived their life alone. "Who is there?" She snarled, her ears back and lowered herself to the ground in a defensive position. "Show yourself!"

The sun had begun to set in the horizon, painting the skyline in a myriad of fiery colors, casting a golden glow to everything that the sun's defiant rays touched as it began it's ascension beneath the earth. The light snow that had begun falling the day before had not ceased and while this was not exactly something that the dragon overly minded he did notice (for it was rather hard not to) that he rather stuck out like a sore thumb with his fur of smoky black against the white washed landscape where the snow stuck to the tree limbs and the ground. Though the shadows of the night could camouflage him more than adequately enough Lagon didn't put much stock in landscape camouflage. During the day he would usually stick out to prey anyway, lest he found a place well shadowed but it was irrelevant simply because he wasn't hunting currently. 

In fact, he was still trying to make a mental map of the Hollow's claimed territory — this time putting much more effort into paying attention than he had previously when he'd met Lost Creek Hollow's alpha male Mordecai. Gaze of mahogany red took in his path as his steps slowed to a stop, tail brushing against his back haunches as he considered which way he could go. He could continue straight and likely end up at one of the Hollow's borders again, or he could differ to a different direction. Black, leathery nostrils flared as he sniffed at the air, detecting a scent on the chillingly crisp winter wind, a scent that held the scent of the pack but, like him, also spoke of a newcomer to the Hollow pack. Curiosity won over and he adjusted his course to take him towards his fellow newbie. 

Under the weight of the snow that had fallen and accumulated a small branch had fallen to the floor, and while he hadn't actually had the intention of being stealthy he had no doubt warned her of his approach when he stepped on it — not once but twice, the cracks and snaps of it under his weight unbearably loud in the otherwise silent(ish) landscape. Lagon winced visibly, sort of prancing through the area (despite that the damage had already been done), shoulders braced and ears slicked back to his skull. “Aw man,” Lagon muttered to himself (this was why he wasn't a hunter by trade, mind) only to let out a soft snarl of defense when he found his fellow newbie and was greeted with what he took to be hostility. “Woah, hey, calm down!” The dragon demanded in his own defense, noting her low posture in defense. “I'm sorry I startled you, trust me it startled me as well,” He wasn't skittish but he hadn't exactly meant to make such a loud entrance. “but you can't go around looking like you're about to attack your pack-mates.” In the dragon's mind she was lucky it was just him and not one of the leaders. If he were a leader he would not have taken too kindly to her current display whether it was a natural defense or not; however, he wasn't a leader so how he would react wasn't really relevant to anything.

With a quick sniff of the air around male before her, Flynn quickly neutralized her posture. Her ears tucked back against her head and she lowered her gaze shamefully. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn't even noticed anything approaching her from behind. Not only that, but she had threatened a pack mate with hostility, granted it was unintentional. 

"I'm...sorry." She faced him, her eyes dodging his, but giving him her full attention. "I'm not quite used to the scents of the pack yet." Her voice was soft and unconfrontational, filled with colors of sincerity. It was true she had not quite picked up all of their scents, but it was also because she was very skeptical in nature. She did not know this area well enough to let anything and everything approach her without caution.

"You are from the Hollow..." she said, confirming to herself. She picked up the scent of the forest buried within his fur. It was fresh, but not as fresh as hers. Flynn suspected she smelled almost completely foreign, another reason she was on edge.

Her hostility appeared to dissipate as she sniffed him, giving Lagon the impression that she was discerning if he was apart of the Hollow. It seemed a little ridiculous to him, given that waltzing through claimed land was basically a suicide mission (or pretty darn close to it) for wolves that were not apart of said pack. She apologized, avoiding his gaze. His chastising behavior tended to clash with his natural amiable disposition and for a second he had a brief flashback from the numerous (so many in fact he lost count) that he would chide his siblings for doing things (never mind that they were only a few hours younger than him). Except this woman was not one of his “younger” siblings; nor by any means of the word a child. In fact, if he had to guess she was probably older than him. Her apology was sincere and in the next few seconds a sort of guilt had begun to fester within the dragon's chest. The fact that he was younger and held a higher rank — albeit very likely not that much higher than her own — was probably weird and sometimes his stance in the hierarchy tended to bring out his brat complex even if it was unintentional (a fact in which his siblings would vehemently agree to).

“It's ok,” The dragon accepted in a cheery tone, not wanting her to look so dejected (and thus make his small stabs of guilt go away); even if he thought he'd been in the right for rebuking her. He was silent for a few moments as he studied her, chewing on his bottom lip as he contemplated why she  had initially reacted with hostility. His hastily drawn conclusions made him wonder what kind of life she'd led before joining up with the Hollow — it was almost as if it'd been a while since she'd been apart of a pack at all. “I can assure you that you're safe here. I mean it's unlikely that you'll find anyone that's not apart of the Hollow in these pack lands. Swaggering through claimed territory that doesn't belong to you as apart of said pack is basically suicide.” That wasn't to say it couldn't happen but Lagon was pretty confident it wasn't the most likely.

“Well not originally but yeah, I've been here a few days, so I'm new too.” Lagon informed her, plopping down on his haunches, tail wagging against the earth for a few seconds. “I'm Ancalagon, but you can call me Lagon, everyone does.” Lest she felt up for the challenge of remembering how to pronounce it. His Japanese name was probably the easiest but Lagon just couldn't make himself give it out freely — especially considering his parents only addressed him with Takehiko when he was about to get reprimanded, or in trouble for something.

She felt silly now, almost childish for not thinking about where she was. Living her life as a loner has truly imprinted on her natural responses to certain situations. She was born in an area much farther south of Teekon, and she still lacked in knowledge of their territorial customs. She was born where claimed areas had been settled for generations, almost unchanging. She was aware of these borders; where she could go or not go (or where she could sneak unknowingly). Teekon's territories were new to her. How she had not been killed for trespassing already baffled her. "You seem to know more about this whole pack thing than I do."

That's right...Milo...Flynn was reminded of her brother. His darker gray fur burned an image of him in her mind.

Flynn freely admitted her lack of experience on the subject. "You see I haven't been a part of a pack before, and I always just followed the footsteps of my elder brother. I trusted him with my life, and he did well." She often wondered if not asking questions was her own mistake. The knowledge she lacked now affected her daily. She felt as if she knew these things. As if they were once told to her long ago in some sketchy dream. She had lived under the wing of her brother.

Shaking it off, she gave a quick wag of her tail. Someone who was in a similar position to her?! It made her jump inside. When she first encountered the Alpha of the Hollow, she wasn't sure if joining a pack was even the right thing to do, but she needed the protection and needed the knowledge if she ever wished to get around safely.

"Ancalagon..Lagon... what an interesting name," she barked playfully. She pranced a bit and then stuck her head and muzzle up. "I'm Flynn." The she-wolf paused and cocked her head. "Is this..." another pause, "Is this your first pack?"

It was a sort of shock to hear that she wasn't knowledgeable on pack customs though this perplexity was borne of his ignorant assumption that all wolves were born to a pack. He had never considered that there were children born to vagabond wolves, calling no where and everywhere home. Being a loner had always been romanticized by his older, half siblings until Lagon had gotten out and lived as a lone wolf for how much time had passed between leaving Naga Veil Forest and joining with Lost Creek Hollow. It wasn't as fantastic as they'd all made it sound; and despite the anarchic freedom it provided it really wasn't all it'd been cracked up to be. To the dragon it was kind of bleak and depressing ...but then again he was an extremely sociable creature and he needed social interactions. Without company, or the structure of a pack Lagon had found himself feeling lost. Governing himself had sounded great until he'd actually been out on his lonesome and did it for real. It was one thing to pretend and scurry back home to a meal your mom had waiting for you and a whole other spectrum to actually being on your own. 

The short and low of it was easy: Lagon didn't enjoy his time spent as a loner. 

“Wait so...it was just you and your older brother?” That kind of trust was inspiring, but at the same time it sounded extremely lonely to Lagon whom had always had so much more than just his siblings. He had two very doting parents and a whole pack. To imagine a life without them, to put himself in her paws prints he felt a chilling shiver ripple down his svelte albeit strong spine. For the sake of not wanting to be rude and pry he didn't ask her about her parents but assumed that they either left or died and both were not nice assumptions to make.

He could not focus long upon what she'd previously spoken, more intent upon the fact that she was loosening up the longer he kept up the conversation. All of her previous hostility was gone and in it's wake a playful demeanor that the dragon found himself liking much better. “Me and my sister were named after dragons,” He wasn't sure what the twins were named after, just that they didn't have the honor of being named after dragons. A soft laugh left the young dragon's lips as his mahogany red gaze followed her prancing. “Nice to meetcha, Flynn,” Lagon offered, though he remained seated. Yes he liked this much better than hostility. “No. I was born in a pack called Naga Veil Forest to it's alpha female and beta male.” A pairing which had been quite the scandal among the ranks of the Forest for the elder Redleaf-DiSarinno had not been Seoul's mate. Ronin (Seoul's mate) had, understandably, been furious when he'd found out that Seoul's children were not his own. “but Lost Creek Hollow is my first pack I joined on my own. Totally different than being born into one.” Though Lagon enjoyed the challenge.

"Well, not at first. My brother and I set out on our own after our father decided to travel on his own."

Warmth filled the she-wolf's heart as she thought about her family, but an ache also began to settle. "Have you met a wolf named Milo?" Her face lit up and concern filled her voice. "H-he's a tad bit darker than I, and-and brown eyes, large cougar scar down his haunch?" Her words slipped in her excitement. Flynn had been searching desperately for her brother ever since they were separated after attempting to cross a river. She had had no luck, but if she ever ran into a friendly wolf she was quick to ask. She knew the likelihood of another having seen Milo were low, but she had to take the chance if it meant they could be together again.

She wondered how  Milo would feel about her joining a pack. Flynn honestly couldn't decide whether he would join with her or leave again. The thought of him leaving hurt her, but she had had no other choice.

The she-wolf's face lit up and the mention of dragons. She had heard few tales of the majestic creatures as a pup, but she was told they were both the most terrifying and most beautiful beings to have ever taken the skies.

She cocked her head slightly. She knew others could be born into packs and that it was more common than being born to wanderers, but she had never really taken it into account. Was it really so strange that she had never been a part of another pack?

"Your sister...what dragon is she named after?" 

From the sounds of it, it appeared as if Flynn's father had left his children at some point, which was a very weird concept to Lagon. Neither Sveinx or Ronin (despite his disgust of his “step kids”) had ever left him; rather it had been quite the opposite. With the Veil Forest it was custom for the children to leave and find their own paths in life. That wasn't to say that leaving the Forest was mandatory because it wasn't, but they were encouraged to strike out their own when they came of age, as opposed to having their parents leave them behind. Lagon didn't really know what to say to that except for that's really weird but for the sake of not wanting to be rude or insensitive opted instead for a contemplative silence.

Flynn had lived a vastly different life than the spoiled dragon that was for sure. He bet, in comparison, that his life had been posh and luxurious. In a way, learning her story served to put some things into a perspective he would not have considered before — and that wasn't a bad thing.

“No, I'm sorry. I've only met you and the alpha pair Mordecai and Harlyn.” And if she had meant perhaps during his travels the sad truth was the young dragon had been quite lonely during the time between Naga Veil Forest and Lost Creek Hollow. The topic of conversation then switched to Lagon's sister, for some reason also named after a dragon though their twin brothers were not, strangely enough. “Her name is Scatha; if I remember correctly it just means worm, I think.” And he was, aptly as it turned out, named after the dragon also known as “the black”. “My father thought it was ironic to name two of his four children after creatures that my mother's mate worships.” Lagon explained with a simple roll of his shoulders. To him, belonging to a man that was not his mother's mate was all he knew, though he was aware that such a thing was frowned upon and not overly common. It had harbored enough rumors and whispers in the Forest to fuel the gossip for the next decade, surely.

Soooo sorry for the late post :( Lots going on. It's also not much of a reply. My muse is very low at the moment =/. I should catch it back soon I hope.

Flynn's muzzle lowered in disappointment, her ears folding against her skull as she sulked momentarily. She was damned and determined she would find her brother, even if it took her entire life to do so.

Her mood lightened at the mention of dragons. Although Milo meant a lot to the she-wolf, she often times did her best to not let her feelings of longing get to her. She knew inside that she would find him some day, but letting it affect her present would do her little good. She pranced lightly on her paws, kicking up a bit of snow as she danced. "That's such a beautiful name!" she barked happily. The stories of the mystical creatures filled her and she longed to go back to those days and listen to them as though she were a pup again. The days where he brother and her snuggled next to her in the night air. "You parents must have been amazing! Are any of your family with the Hallow?"

It's ok! <3 It happens to all of us. c:

It was hard for Lagon to miss her disappointment but he stayed silent because he wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't really do anything for her, but he did understand in a way. Scatha had opted to stay behind in Naga Veil Forest. It wasn't the same thing, Lagon had not depended upon his sister as it seemed Flynn had depended upon her brother but he understood what it was like to miss a sibling. Particularity a sibling you were close to. As horrible as it no doubt was, he didn't really miss the twins though the rift had been created by their respective father's...and allowed to nurture had split the four into two teams of two against the other.

“I'm sure she'd love to hear someone say that to her. I used to call her “worm” when we were little,” Because it was easier to say than “Scatha” and it had been, according to Sveinx, what her name meant. A laugh that almost border-lined on outright disbelief left Lagon's lips when Flynn gushed that his parents must have been amazing. “Sorry,” Really, he hadn't been trying to be rude but his parents: the scandal of the Veil Forest hadn't really been amazing. “I think you might have gotten the wrong idea about my parents. I mean they were good to me and Scatha...well our biological father was; but my mother's mate and the alpha male hated her and I. He favored our brothers — his children — over us. It created a very complicated sort of life.” So no, he didn't really agree with “amazing parents”. They were parents, but parents who had put their own, forbidden love above the well being of their children.

“No,” Lagon responded with a shake of his head. “I struck out on my own.” And he kind of enjoyed the peace and quiet that the Hollow had to offer him.