They were busying themselves with this search for a mountain. Something about it being in the blood. He wasn't certain, but he could easily understand the desire for something less open. His own birthplace was Veldaris Peak, the stony spire that rose like the back of a great god from the flat grassland surrounding it. The thought of the verdant heights sent a twinge of sadness through him, and he ignored it with a restless flick of his ear.
Alshain broke off from the group as they began to mill about and disperse, and entered the woodlands in search of something to occupy his mind until the call to move on went out. He walked slowly through the woods with each step as heavy as the last. His singular eye hooded with exhaustion as he followed the distant din of a roaring river to the source.
When his paws hit the granite shelf, he hopped up onto a ledge and emerged from the thicket to find an aquamarine torrent speeding down a narrow passage to a misty precipice not five-hundred yards off. Alshain scowled, and almost turned around until he spotted a small pool carved into the rock. It was shallow, stale, but not filthy at least. He dipped a paw in; sunwarmed.
The one-eyed wolf sighs as he lies down on his side and submerges his torso in the lukewarm water. This will do. Yes.
He'd never say he was getting too old to do this kind of shit anymore, but honestly. His expression was putrid as the group moved forward, keeping a lazy eye on his son to make sure Suinnak wasn't dragging his ass along the ground. He'd thought about giving the boy something to make his tongue swell so he couldn't talk, but so far things hadn't been that bad (well, for the others, maybe). Ukiuk rolled his eyes at his inner monologue. If he had given something to Suzie, lord only knows the boy would be bumbling about with complaints tha thoun lie thith about his tongue and the traveling.
It was then he did a small headcount, narrowing his eyes as he noticed their straggler had disappeared. His lip lifted in a snarl and he let out a grunt to alert the girls, coming to a halt and turning side-ways to get a better view of behind them. He watched the foliage but didn't see the man emerge. A long, heavy sigh escaped him as the corner of his lips curved downward. Seriously, he thought to himself, staring the way they had come with distaste. They were busy trying to find a home, right? He shifted a small wrapped parcel he had been carrying and turned to view the females at the head of their Tartok band. If they were stopping for any small amount of time, he was going to forage for more plants. As an alchemist, he was always keen on the opportunity to collect new things.
It seemed the others were also settling in to a break, and he let out another grunt; this was not productive, but he'd take the moment to have a look around at the plants. He set down his growing collection thus far and rummaged about nearby before the sound of water caught his ear. The grass was always greener by the water, right? He nosed through the ferns looking for mushrooms or other smaller flowers before looking up and finding the black wolf submerged in water. Part of Ukiuk wanted to join him, knowing the warm water would feel good on his aching joints, but he was still far too reserved to get that close to the wolf yet. When they were official Tartok brothers, things would be different, but for now the alchemist had his reservations and his reasons. The one-eyed man didn't even sleep near them yet.
Ukiuk went back to foraging, sniffing around the plants not too far from the pool. Curiosity kept him here near the new blood, not the foliage.
Whatever had lead me from the sordid and bloodstained soil of Abendrot wasn't about to stop me right in my tracks and turn me around. Was there something that drove me from one group to the next? Wanderlust? It was as hazy as a wintry morning by the sea, for I had found myself within the company of new wolves.
My eyes, parched of color, were soaking up the healthy surroundings of pine-trimmed ridges and rocky terraces. They could spot my new acquaintences who padded in a silent single file through the valley, their pelts dappled by the swaying of ash and birch trees that arched above to the blue sky. I could only extrapolate the need for a new home was the reason that these wolves were trekking into the mountainous terrain- I had only received the formal greeting into the group. And I was no fighter; for my pelt was unscathed in any sort of battle bruise. Those ahead of me were a vibrant bunch, and with only my senses to deduce who was who- from the black female taking point to the elder who smelled strongly of thistle and cedar, a sign of a herbalist.
They had come across a source of water that lay nestled, an egg surrounded by granite wings and toppled with vegetation. The quiet band had fanned out, and I had come to a stop with bated breath. There was a sense of expectancy in the air, the silence diffused with tension. My pools highlighted the older creature who had stepped away to root around in the forest floor, my spirit naturally drawn to his obvious passion of herbs. He had carried a small package the entire walk, and it was only then that he attended to it. Even if my true calling wasn't to the art of medicine, there was much to deduce just by the appearance of one of my kind. I wasn't the kind to poke and prod at his activities, only drawing closer with outwardly turned ears, a sign of dissention.
Looking for something?
No sooner did the thought pass between his ears did Ivev emerge from the woodland. Alshain wrinkles his nose, and shifts so that his back is completely to them. Neither one of them had the gall to approach, so he merely lay petulantly in the pool like the brooding beast he was. He lifts his paw, watching the water drip from his claws, before submerging it in a deeper bit of water.
One ear cocks back at Ivev's voice, but he does not give them the pleasure of his full attention.
There didn't seem to be a whole lot of interesting things near the pool, but he rummaged about anyway to try and spy on the new kid some more. A voice caught his attention and he perked up, head lifting to see the small, quiet girl who had joined them recently. It took him a moment to register what she had asked, and he shrugged. "Poisons," he said simply, turning to eye the boy in the pool. The black male had turned his back to Ukiuk and this displeased the alchemist. The older man narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin. "Are you pouting?" he asked with a sneer, having never seen such behavior from anyone other than his own, worthless son. Maybe the two would get along! Ukiuk laughed at the idea in his head, until a darkness clouded his very amusement.
What if they got along so well, that they became aokkatti? The thought horrified him. There's no way his son would ever be blood-kin to anyone. Thinking of that roused the memory of his own aokkatti. His ears slipped back for a moment, having recently lost his blood-brother in the war. There was a great deal of guilt that weighed upon his shoulders, and it only made him an angier, older man. But they had won that war and he avenged his aokkatti. They would prevail. They were Tartok.
"What was your name?" he asked of the pale girl, turning to look at her with a raised brow. In truth, he had forgotten, but he had only heard it once or twice. Really, he just wanted to engage her in conversation to see just how far he could push the one-eye'd rogue that lay in the pool.
The tall stone walls that wrapped around the gulch acted as a buffer for wind, settling cool air at the bottom that flowed in small eddies from the trickling waterfall. When I lifted my eyes to the canopy above, yellow light flowed to touch the water, filtered by the acorn-shaped leaves that populated the branches. It was cool and fragrant in this hidden crevice, the quiet chirping of birds a remarkable sound versus the steady winds of the flatlands.
I tilted my head, watching as the figure in the water slumped further, his back towards the recent path. The older wolf, known as Ukiuk, had focused his eyes on me as I stepped out from the brush, but I was still studying the wolf who lay prostrate in the water. I couldn't discern any sort of reason for his nonchalant behavior. It was sullen and defiant pose, and I knew enough higher-ranked wolves who would've taken personal affront at the ebony brute's disdainful turn of his back.
I glanced over at the elder, whose explanation for his search was defined by.. poison. His answer sparked vague interest and I continued to examine his movements with interest, as he had turned his attentions to Alshain. Perhaps his search for harmful plants were his reply to the black wolf's moody and stand-offish behavior. are you pouting?
A quiet, petite smile curled my lips no matter my attempts to halt its advance. It helped me to untense and shuffle forward a bit, my nostrils sweeping the mulch and unfamiliar flora. Perhaps these two had known of each other before and had something to hash out, but at least emotions were being actively displayed versus a male's visage so stoic it was hard to differentiate between him and the cool evening ice. Ukiuk had spoken up again, posing a question to me. My clear eyes remained downcast and away from his face, instead taking great interest in a flat yellow fungi that grew at the base of a tree.
It's Ivev. You're Ukiuk, right?