Silverlight Terrace taunani

meant to be a short thread where she passes through; will archive in 2 days if no one replies! tt wolves welcome, as ever, in all my threads at any point.

 

With her wolves behind her, they make their way down from the mountain and arrive at the hilly landscape of the terrace. She had considered continuing to the neighboring mountain, but packscent and the odor of young deterred her. Her course shifted, and beneath the cover of the night, Ikkalrok moved in ground-eating strides to pass through. She had no inclination to pause; she had observed from the heights of the Crag where she would like to go. 

But she remembered her mission and slowed, stopping once she was atop a hill. She lifted her head to call for any who might know to come upon the sound of this particular aria, her brethren joining her.  It was not the sound of a claim, it was the sound of a search. One had been found this way—Ikkuma. She had been sent away, to another branch; another test. Ikkalrok had faith that those that truly wanted to become would hear the call and find her here, where she would wait for a brief amount of time before forging ahead.

more and more, arcturus grew restless. his limbs carried him to many places, revisiting many haunts. yet moonspear was small, and soon all of the territory was subjected to his presence - until at last there were very few new discoveries. he was not feeling particularly playful today, and in an effort to steal away from the attention of his ever present family, the boy slipped off towards the borders and was gone.

for a while he combed silverlight's flat terrace, enjoying the view it afforded him and the isolation it offered. his solitude was not unbroken; a howl had rung out through the eaves of the world, and arcturus turned his ears towards it in curiosity.

he felt compelled to investigate it; a defensive part of him (no doubt groomed and ushered by none other than hydra) seemed to instruct him to do so, yet a sliver of self preservation insisted he hang back. crouched between tall spires of summer grass, arcturus peered onto a wolf that he was sure was a bear - it did not move or look like the bear he had met before, but its stature was imposing and downright dangerous. naturally, the boy stupidly stared on, unwitting to any danger he might be putting himself into.

The wind was not in Ikkalrok's favor, and the yellow-eyed Moonspear juveniles step was well-practiced enough where she had not immediately heard his approach. Still, she was here to conduct a brief search, and her eyes drifted to her comrades. They began to move, and Ikkalrok's gaze landed to where the boy lay in wait without seeing him. He blended well with the shadows in the moment, and was obscured from the moons light where his eyes did not reflect its light with the green-glow that foretold that someone was watching. 

Descending at a fast, lumbering clip, Ikkalrok would not waste time in beginning to inspect the cover he lay in, and had he not moved upon noting her impending arrival it would not be long before Ikkalrok saw him there and reacted in violent accordance, a blatant response to the way she felt about being watched.

As they travelled, he kept his gaze upon the spine of mountains in the distance, dark eyes unwavering in their focus. There was their destination, there was where familiarity would return to him memories of his childhood; the mountain his mother had laid claim to so long ago. He longed to tread once again where she and his father had years before — to retake their home.

However, they had a task they needed to see through first. They had collected one, only to then turn the wayward Anneriwok to the wilderness, to a branch that would appraise her talents. If others would respond to the call remained to be seen, but for now, Anuniaq was content with silently following Ikkalrok, lending his voice to the summons whenever she did so.

Their chorus echoed throughout the valley before fading into the quiet, summer night, and the boy wandered forwards a few steps, alert. Their call was met with silence, though it had caught the attention of a nearby youth. Anuniaq tested the air, snorting as he breathed in the scent, before swinging his large head to see his company dive towards where he assumed the perpetuator lay. As if on cue, the male quickly followed after her, rounding the area she was focused on in an attempt to block the unfortunate cub from retreating the way he had come.

watchful and timid the lone cub was, as the black-fringed bear descended on him swift as a virago. he shrunk back as her shadow passed his frame, as her sharp eyes lanced him - he felt a prickle of alarm, some forgotten instinct perhaps, that bade him to run.

arcturus' throat bobbed in a fearful swallow, but he stepped forward none-the-less from the heather as another wolf rounded them. arcturus' gaze cast to the companion doubtfully, but he fought the urge to run. his ears had folded back, and his tail clamped tight to his clenched stomach. these wolves were not of his kin, and he was slow to realize his mistake in approaching them.

It was Anuniaq's purposeful stride that led her to believe there was something here, and she uncovered it without much difficulty; the yellow-eyed male knew he was found and made no further effort to conceal himself. It was this that prevented Ikkalrok from attacking him outright, and as he stepped out of the cover the foliage had offered him Ikkalrok observed his tense and frightened body language. 

Fear. A powerful motivator. It made fools of wise men, and as Ikkalrok looked upon him she recognized that this was no man. To be sure, he was no small cub—but there was more of him to come, evidenced by his paws and his coltish physique. Even worse. 

Why do you hide, came her baleful voice, the words a demand. She was a wolf who had forgotten the curiosity that came with youth, and as a cub, she had not had the luxury to explore such a thing. What Ikkalrok had been taught was to trust her instinct, and that any could be the enemy no matter how soft they presented themselves. Ikkalrok did not enjoy to be watched from the shadows; it was the way of the skulking fox, or the lowly coyote, and was unbecoming in those of their breed. Those of that sort might have their use and their value, but Ikkalrok, a woman without wit or intelligence, did not think of such things.  

Their assumptions were correct, and as the two giants came upon the heather bush, the one who was skulking about rose to reveal himself. Anuniaq let out a soft rumble that could be read as either approval or a threat, though he was pleased the youth was smart enough to step forward out of the brush. He blended into the scenery with his dark coat, but it was important for the young to learn the right time to give up their games. Crushing the plant beneath giant paws, Anuniaq came to stand behind the boy as Ikkalrok queried him, watching and judging in silence.

It was much a learning experience for himself as it was the cub. The last time Anuniaq had found himself in the Wilds, he had stopped one of his own from making a meal of a lost pup — and that decision (and the subsequent splintering of their band), haunted him. What Ikkalrok did here, her companion would be sure to take on board.

the dark cub felt the oppressing gaze of the ursine-like female; he knew his hour was likely spent, and so, studied the disturbed earth in remorse. the baleful, blameful voice of his elder caused him to shudder, and the rumble that came from the hulking she-wolf's companion seemed friendly in comparison.

arcturus could not bring himself to meet their gaze; nor could he, as a cub whose tongue had been atrophied by silence, muster up an answer. he struggled laboriously, and painfully evidently, against the mulish inaction of his tongue -- until at last, defeated by his inability to conjure speech, he simply gave a timid shrug and collapsed to the ground; let their fangs find him, if they may -- he would not run.

Were this the mountain Ikkalrok sought to claim, there was no question as to how she would react. What withheld her from such a violent reprimand was that alone, for the moment. He labored over inconsequential things, and his tongue failed him. He slumped against the earth in defeat, and his averted gaze afforded him his good health. 

But not his personal space. 

The Tartok beast hovered over his form, one foreleg stepping easily over his back in a display of her acknowledging his fearfully submissive response. Body language and scent revealed the painful truth of what he presently endured, and with it his inexperience, but to be certain Ikkalrok lowered her own mighty head, her nose working its way up his spine as she searched his furs for evidence of an enemy. Those were scents she could never forget. Where she could not place faces or names from sight, scent was one thing she would always know. 

And there was none upon him that meant he was her enemy today. Lifting her head and snorting loudly, Ikkalrok's stern gaze shifted to Anuniaq. Lingering above the quiet boy for a moment longer to assert her authority, she mutely looked in the direction she imagined he might have come from. He was young, which meant others might seek him. Walking over him entirely now, Ikkalrok moved to leave, electing to avoid the path he had taken to her. Her ears cupped backward to listen for Anuniaq, as well as the stranger.

The boy scarcely even looked up, much less answered Ikkalrok, and Anuniaq's ears twisted forward as he gazed down at the child. He was frozen with fear, that much was obvious. His defence came in the form of a meek shrug before he suddenly
fell into a pile of limbs and dark fur, seemingly putting himself at their mercy with nary a second thought. His gaze flicked up to his bearish companion in silent judgement, watching as she stepped over the crumpled form and inspected him like he was a slain hare.

When she swung her muzzle towards the direction it was assumed the boy had travelled, Anuniaq followed her gaze, committing the sight of the tall, distant mountain to memory. She then began to move off, as if bored with the child, but the male's curiousity had gotten the better of him, and he stalked towards the cub with a predatory gaze. Slowly, Anuniaq went to nose a bony shoulder, snorting as he drew in its scent before suddenly he made to ram the much smaller wolf headfirst — for no other reason than simply a brutish show of force.

it was no contest who was of the superior order. arcturus felt a shiver rifle down his spine as her breath coiled between his ridged fur, his eyes downcast, his heart hammering.

and like a shade, she lifted -- as if she had been chased by the sun or ushered along by the jovial sprint of wind. he shakily looked up, disbelieving - his eyes filling with doubt as her companion's shadow fell across him like the unyielding hammer of doom.

he had no time to react; he had adverted his gaze and in the next moment he was headbutted at what felt like full force. a yelp escaped unbidden from him, and his besieged skull felt a sharpness he neither liked nor enjoyed.  he landed like a crumpled rag, his squeal ended by the clamp of gritted teeth -- he would not cry and he scowled between his paws, stifling the whimper of injustice that bubbled in his throat.

Although she heard the events that transpired, Ikkalrok did not move to intervene. The yellow-eyed boy had made the mistake of watching wolves who were unforgiving when it suited them. To kill him would likely take little energy, she knew as she heard his clipped cry. But killing him would do nothing for her this day. He had appeased her baser instincts when discovered and had heard nothing of consequence. Ikkalrok was no teacher; she did not think of the impression an attack might give, such as, do not watch me. In fact, she hardly thought much of anything. If Arcturus tried his luck with her once more, he would find that his luck had run out—she did not believe in coincidence. 

She continued to move onward, the dark figure of Savik drawing alongside her. If Anuniaq wanted to bring an end to the cub, so be it—the truth of it was that Ikkalrok did not care one way or the other. These things happened, and she was not the protector of the innocent and naive. Disobedience often meant death in their world, but all wolves were reared in such a way from the start. Those that forgot such a lesson did not last long, she had found.

arcturus remained close to the ground, flashing the two beasts' backside an indignant scowl. he was a proud wolf, and the dark she-wolf's rough handling had gravely wounded his sense of importance. he envisioned terrible things befalling the duo as they strode away, but his ill-will was short-lived. as soon as they disappeared into the bramble the boy rose to his feet and scampered off for home, his dour mood gradually lifting with each step that pulled him closer to his family.