Ravensblood Forest in a cave on a failed bit of terraforming

@Arturo

The southlands were so very, very different from what he was accustomed to. The clouds had yet to even think about clotting through the sky, let alone having their innards dump snow anywhere! He'd never seen a place so devoid of the white and the cold; there was plenty more to keep Nassim entertained as he travelled the coast, but this was the primary thing that inspired such awe within him. It wasn't like he'd never seen a forest filled to the brim with fire-leaves before. But up in the north, where things were cold and blustery and always abysmally blank, it was rare to see much color. As Nassim lurked, he observed. There were piles of leaves on the ground and still many more waiting, waving, ready to fall. A few managed to get caught on the breeze - they snapped free and floated above his head, as if to welcome him, and he joyously reared up to try and catch them. Why would anyone want to go all the way back up to the frozen north when everything around here was so bright? So beautiful? He was thoroughly enamored by every inch of territory he spied — so caught up in it, in fact, he failed to notice the very well marked borders (the doofus).

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Patrols had never been the gangster's favorite parts of being a leader. He hadn't missed the tedious job of walking the urine marked lines that he and his Family had established to lay their claim but nevertheless it was a necessary evil. Arturo always believed that a leader's presence needed to be strong upon it's borders. Sometimes he pulled Chusi along with him, although pulled was a bit of an overstatement, admittedly, Chusi (thus far) had never been unwilling to join him on patrols (not that he gave her much choice). If she wanted to be a Mercenary she would have to be a presence as a Guardian as well as a Warrior. Lucky for him his daughter was eager enough to step up to the expectations that he, as both her father and mentor held for her. It would help her in the near future, he considered.

He had been near when he heard the sound of footfalls gaining on the borders and a shrug through the thick underbrush, rounding the corner of a massive seqouia Arturo's fiery, red-orange gaze burned as he caught sight of a male about to cross into Teaghlaigh's borders. It took Arturo a second of collection to realize it was not malicious intent at all ...the man (boy?) wasn't appearing to be paying any attention and this soothed the Ceannasach's more merciless ire (for the moment). “Oi!” The gangster shouted to him, hackles bristled, tail risen above the strong curve of his spine. “You're a few steps away from crossing into our borders,” The gangster warned, ensuring that his voice carried as to garner the stranger's attention. “I'm in a good mood and I don't want blood on my forest floor,” Arturo's good mood was the only thing that spared the stranger from his merciless nature. By all rights he should have chased him out, teeth prepared to tear into flesh and bone. “So what do you say you back up and we talk like men, yeah?” The gangster offered as a olive branch of peace. If refused, he was prepared to take the necessary precautions but he was trying to be civil today and didn't, particularity, want his buoyant mood spoiled.

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He snapped at one fluttering leaf, then another, and then turned when he heard more crackling so as to grab at the falling leaves he predicted would be there - and instead there was an angry face. A stranger's face. The boy stutter-stepped and reared back a bit, eyes wide and ears pivoting forwards, then backwards, in quick succession. The ruddy red of his scruff had spiked when he heard the voice, and it took a second before Nassim understood what was happening. He breathed deeply; releasing the tension and anxiety caused by the sudden appearance, and finding the scent of the forest quite soothing.

Dude! I'm so sorry, he blurted as he backed up, looking more like a startled colt than a wolf (he would've been rewarded greatly in a dressage ring for his ability to reign back). When his butt bumped a tree trunk, he stopped. That good? The last thing Nassim wanted was to make anyone angry, especially at himself. In an effort to appease the stranger, Nassim boldly declared: You chose an amazing place to make your home!

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Arturo's lips curled back in a silent snarl that he did not give voice to, his burning gaze following the stranger's backwards prance until he bumped, literally, into a tree. The word dude elicited a cringe from the gangster. He was aware of it's meaning, knew that it was not meant to be insulting for while he had the vernacular of a bygone era his children ensured that he was up to date on the newest slang. Though not one of them would have ever dared to call him dude. In fact, this was the first time that Arturo could recall that he'd been called “dude” in the place of “sir”. “I'm not a dude,” He amended the younger male, his smoky, deep, accented voice beholding his quiet authority. “I'm a sir.” Because Arturo abruptly realized he abhorred the word “dude”.

“It will suffice,” Arturo responded with a curt nod to the younger man's question of if he found the distance satisfactory. “We did.” Arturo murmured in agreement to the stranger's bold declaration. The truth was: Ravensblood Forest was more than just a beautiful forest as which he settled his Family. It was well fortified, cradled betwixt two mountain ranges and it was close to Stavanger Bay which meant the Blackrock Depth wolves were just a quick jaunt away. Not to mention the legends that came from it's very heart that were spun to scare away the locals. To Arturo, it's tactical value was much more important than it's aesthetic value. Arturo studied the younger male for a moment, contemplative, face impassive as he drew his silent judgments. He lingered. Easily, the younger male could have made a bee line for the nearest exit out of Arturo's sight but he lingered. So, did he want something? Was he looking for an opportunity or did he truly just want to stare at the dark beauty of Ravensblood?

“This is Teaghlaigh. Translated to the common tongue it means The Family. So, is your interest to join us or stare at the scenery of our home?” The gangster inquired, a small hint of humor to the smoky reticence of his voice before it vanished as if it had never been.

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Judging from the way the guy's face scrunched, and well, everything, Nassim had done something socially unacceptable, and he would have to remedy this. The correction was swift and matter-of-fact from the opposite beast, earning a mild gap-mawed stare, then a sharp nod of understanding; Nassim hadn't meant to offend at all. The guy didn't look old enough to be a sir to Nassim, but he wasn't exactly one to judge. 

And the more he listened, the more intrigued he became. Teaghlaigh. What a strange sounding word! It couldn't have been the common tongue - and Nassim wasn't versed in much besides the most common, banal things. His family was a beffudlement in and of itself, and aside from a few true northerners (who spoke with thick accents, and thus he made sure to avoid them), everyone was pretty similar to him. In other words, Nassim completely lacked culture, which made sense. Everyone was a dude to him. 

Join you? The concept seemed so foreign, more-so than the actual name of the place, and Nassim spoke with such a mystified tone that... Well, it could've been misconstrued as quite rude, like a subtle refusal. His eyes were wide one second and then, minding his manners, he smiled sheepishly and gave the dude -- sir -- a shrug. Honestly the trees caught my attention the most. And I have a family already. Its... Far away... And I'm all alone... But I have one. 

He seemed to be really good at saying the wrong thing every dang time.

But! I mean, if you need a hunter or something -- winter is coming after all. I could uh, stick around if you're in need. No problemo, sir. His dark tail raised and swayed with cautious optimism at his hocks, and Nassim wondered if anything he had just said made any sense; he felt a pang of longing for home at this point, but kept his stupid mouth shut so he could avoid alienating the nice man further.

nassim is so cute. <3

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The idea of joining Teaghlaigh seemed to be a source of perplexity to the younger man. “That's usually what loners lingering at my borders are after, isn't it? Becoming one of us.” At least the kid was honest and Arturo admired it. The trees had caught his attention and he already had a family. An amused expression crossed the gangster's expression for a few moments before it morphed back into the look he typically used for business. “We all have a family, but Teaghlaigh is Family of the pack.” Different and yet he supposed in some ways it was the same as a blood family. His general experience with Teaghlaigh had always been very different from his experience with his actual family and even the wolves of his natal pack. Then again, he was a half breed in the most common derogatory term he'd heard (though there had been many and some much more creative). Arturo had found that others either cared or they didn't with no area of grey inbetween.

The young man amended his words, adding that he was a hunter or something and that he could stick around for the winter if he (arturo) needed. For a moment the melanistic coywolf was sorely tempted to inquire what a or something was but let it drop. Admittedly, another hunter would be good for them — it would give Palisander someone to help with bigger game that didn't require the entire pack to take down ...but Teaghlaigh wasn't the kind of pack you joined just for the winter. He supposed that the rank of Comhlach would be fitting for that in a pinch but there was no opportunity to advance in the hierarchy as a simple associate of The Family. As an ambitious beast himself, Arturo did not like the idea of being kept entirely in the dark about the going-on's of pack life. To live among them but be an outsider. Comhlach was not meant to be a permanent rank for anyone — merely a transitional rank. A place to hold them until they earned the trust of the family and completed the task that he set for them.

“I appreciate your honesty,” Arturo began, getting that out of the way. It was a compliment, rare from the gangster but truth nevertheless. “If you're looking for a place to stay the winter months the Comhlach rank might work,” He took a brief pause before he continued, “but as a Comhlach you'll be kept in the dark of the inner going-on's of Teaghlaigh. You won't know anything vital about the pack. You know what any loner who as heard about us will know which is, essentially, nothing. It's meant to be a transitional rank, see? It's held while it's occupant earns our trust and completes the task I assign for them to complete. When they've completed those things they are welcomed into The Family. Teaghlaigh doesn't operate like your typical pack.” Arturo informed him, giving pause here to allow for inquiries and to gauge the stranger's reaction. So, if this kid was just looking for a place to crash for the winter perhaps The Family was not the best suited for him.

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There seemed to be a lingering doubt within the stranger, which was alright. Nassim could recall only a few stragglers to his natal pack's own borders, and while they had been accepted readily, he knew it was not a common practice to harbor everyone. Every family was different. He did, however, bask in the praise he received from the other wolf; being honest was one thing he couldn't avoid, sometimes to the point of being pointedly rude (which Nassim always apologized profusely for). His father had once tried to teach him to "speak only when you have something important to say" and somehow that translated in Nassim's mind to, "speak openly". It was no always so easy to be so open, but he tried.

I get it, you don't want me to run off as soon as spring hits, and he could understand that. Nassim had no intention of abandoning the place if he managed to make a name for himself; he knew that passing wolves flaunted their abilities before the guards back home in order to gain access to the pack, and that's what he had tried to do. All he could do was hunt. Hakon had been adamant that at least one of his children become a proficient tracker, stalker, and provider. The pressure had been placed chiefly upon Nassim (which could've been why he ran off at the first inclination). I swear, sir, as he spoke Nassim took on a regal pose, lifting his head as if to challenge Arturo, but it was a jest; he was trying to imitate the harsh, stern, always serious Hakon: If you can use me, I'm all yours. I'll earn your trust and show you that I'll be a decent addition to the cum-late.

Oh, Nas.

i laughed so hard at "cum-late" xD

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In some ways, yes, Arturo mentally concurred: he did not want the young man to run off, especially given that they'd lost one ...one of the actual Family as she'd ran off to be with her real family, but it was more than that. He was reluctant to let anyone into the Family that he did not ensure would stay. Paths diverged sometimes: it happened. Typically, he followed along with the tradition of “once apart of The Family always apart of The Family” but Arturo didn't like surprises and he didn't like not having a say or trying to come up with possible alternatives first. Children were different. Adult wolves decided to be apart of Teaghlaigh and children were born into it. They would always be presented with the chance to leave The Family: to make the choice. Arturo winced slightly at the butchering of the rank as it fell from the young man's lips. “Calm-litch,” Arturo pronounced it slowly for the younger man, unwilling to let him run around calling it cum-late. “Just call it Associate if it's too hard to say.” Arturo encouraged. Even the common tongue word would be better then cum-late.

“There are two rules you, even as a Comhlach are expected to obey and enforce. The Ceannasach's word is Law and The Family before Everything Else. If you can do that, you're welcome to the associate rank for the winter,” Arturo drew in a breath and let it out. “If at any point you decide you want to become apart of The Family's ranks you come see me and I'll assign you a task that when completed will see you as an official apart of Teaghlaigh. If you decide to just ride out the winter as an associate then it's your choice.” Arturo wasn't going to make it for him and he wasn't going to force him one way or another. That wasn't what The Family was about.

“I am Arturo. What do I call you?” The gangster inquired, ears cupped forward in anticipation of a name.

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The correction didn't really settle in Nassim's head; he thought he'd said the same word. Even when repeated by the broody sir, it seemed like he was just parroting it back at him. Oh well. Nassim could always settle with calling himself an associate; it sounded more silly, more serious. He could be serious for the duration of this contract! He could be all business, all the time. Although it seemed like Arturo had everything covered there.

Nassim listened all the same, because he was being given a buttload of information and his tiny brain often had a hard time with spoken instructions. It wasn't that he was stupid, but rather, he learned much faster and much more thoroughly when actually applying the lesson in the real world. Listening to the coywolf now sort of reminded Nassim of the tirades his father would go off on. He could be obedient and he could listen, but whether the information stuck - that was the trick.

I'm Nassim! He finally spoke up, given the chance to answer. His tail batted to-and-fro childishly, but after a few beats he controlled himself, and tried to emulate his father s'more, because he was in serious business company and so he had to be very serious. And I promise to be the very best associate, like no-one ever was! Cue cheesy grin very serious face.

seemed like a good place to wrap this up. :-) feel free to either post once more or archive as is! <3

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Nassim. He was an over-eager kid but Arturo reminded himself that it was not necessarily a bad thing. He couldn't help but think that Chusi would probably like Nassim and contemplated the headache that might provide for him as a father (because he assumed that Chusi would develop a crush on him as well). He would cross that bridge if and when he got there. Nevertheless, Arturo offered a sage nod to the boy when he he proclaimed he would be the the best associate The Family had. “We'll hold you to that,” Arturo offered with a ghost of a smile before he beckoned the male into the borders with a gesture of his muzzle so that he could rub his scent upon Nassim so that Teaghlaigh wolves would not mistake him for a trespasser (which he had almost been). “Come on, I'll give a tour of the forest.” Arturo gestured before he turned and began to head towards the heart of their home, expecting Nassim to follow though Arturo reminded himself to continuously check back to make sure he hadn't accidentally lost him to the marvel that was the beauty of Ravensblood Forest throughout the tour.

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