Outrider thread
Ever since a mysterious sickness had crawled upon her Queen, Cara had spent less time at the Ouroboros. She loved the place, and it held a special spot in her heart because after all she had been part of the discovery. She missed the white female that had so bravely led them into battle with the Isle wolves, an even if a piece of her heart had hopes she would return to her former self, her mind told her she wouldn't.
Nor would the Ouroboros. The once tight knit pack that had united against the traitor and her spouse was beginning to show fractures along it's members. Seeing Jinx act as a basket case had been a hard blow for Lecter, her mate. And the relationship between the members of the upper tier wasn't the best.
Allowing her feet to take her, she climbed through the rocky paths of the mountain, until she found herself at a lush and green place at the top. A place called Northstar Vale. Cara ignored the fact that there had once been a pack reigning over these lands. She sniffed around curiously, though her mind was really on her dear queen.
ohey, I'm thinking of having Vienna shoot for that also, mind if I join?
Vienna was expanding her horizons. She had pretty thoroughly covered the spire on which her pack lived. Now she wanted to know the equally beautiful outlying lands. Besides that, such activities always pushed her comfort zone. The chance of running into strangers was pretty high.
One such as she who stood before her in the Vale. Well, she was all for overcoming her own problems. Luckily her shyness was easily put down. With small steps she approached Cara. Both were on neutral ground and this neither had cause to be agressive. Still, she remained wary. One never knew. "
Hello stranger," she greeted Cara pleasantly but not overly so. She wasn't sure of this other wolf's demeanor just yet.
not at all :)
With quick and careless steps Cara inspected the haven that had fathered the Vale pack. Not a trace of them remained now. The yearling prodded at some bushes and stuck her face in some others. This place made her think of Silvertip, the past reign of the Ouroboros wolves.
Just as Cara had decided this place would require further exploration a voice that was not the one of her mind pulled her away from her thoughts. She turned to face the female, her eyes running across the strangers face and her nose sniffing curiously in her direction. When she greeted her, not a trace of hostility lingered in her voice, Cara was not usually very nice to strangers but the girl in front seemed harmless, plus honestly the pale yearling was far too tired to be nasty.
"So this place isn't desolated after all.. " she mused out loud, keeping her body posture neutral. "Are you a loner?" she asked, aside from thei archi-nemesis from the Isle and the pack on the plateu, the girl didn't know any other packs in the area.
Thank heavens, this stranger was friendly! Pleased, Vienna once again put some of her focus on their surroundings, though she still watched her newfound acquaintance in periphery. At Cara's question, however, full attention was once more returned. Vienna always had a hard time focusing in new surroundings.
"Not quite," she said with a smile, "and not really. I guess you could say I am a part of the Sunspire pack." She wondered at that a bit... Part of her had been expecting to leave. She wasn't sure when that had changed to this certainty that she was home. Jace had something to do with it, but even more than that, it was as if the mountain itself had laid claim to her heart.
The pale yearling couldn't help but admire the different hues of brown and grey that adorned the female's face. Despite being vain and stuck up, Cara knew beauty when she saw it and the girl standing in front of her was filled with it. She ran her eyes down the different features of the girl's face, something about her delicate facial details screamed bird at her. But not in the way Tyrande had insulted her the first time they met.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the girl opened her mouth to speak. Her voice was as soft and sweet. Yep she was definitely a bird. The yearling returned the smile, feeling like she could use a well deserved break of the somber frown that she had been wearing since Jinx got ill.
Cara's ears cupped in Vienna's direction when she mentioned a pack she had never heard of. "The Sunspire, where is that?", she asked sweetly, though her voice was not even one third as beautiful as Vienna's. This knowledge would serve for future scouting trips.
If Vienna had known the other female's thoughts, she would have disagreed wholeheartedly. True, she loved her colors, and her voice was sweet as a birds, but Cara looked much more birdlike in her eyes. She had a lithe grace that Vienna with her larger size couldn't hope to emulate. Despite Vienna's feminine fluidity she had nothing on this woman.
Not the type to be jealous, though, nor to dwell on appearance, Vienna focused instead on her question. Though she hadn't been there long enough to learn much about her new home, she willingly and cheerfully obliged to her best ability. "The Sunspire is a pack that makes it's home on the peak of that mountain." She indicated the pack's namesake, clearly in view and rising above them. "It's a beautiful place. Our Alpha, Ferdie Von Pelt, founded it. He is fantastic." She smiled, then looked curiously at Cara. She could scent a strange pack on her as well, but did not know enough about these lands to give it a name.
"What about you? Which lands do you come from?" She knew that exchanging information with outsiders could be seen as a bad thing sometimes, but such innocuous questions as these could hardly do any damage.
Cara continued to admire the female's physical beauty, although she also had to applaud to the great spirit she seemed to have. While speaking of her pack, Vienna spoke with security and conviction which made the pale Ouroboros girl nod her head with approaval. She spoke as if she were trying to sell Cara a spot in the Sunspire, that facility to speak to others and sell ideas was what Cara lacked when going on scouting trips. She'd be a bad recruiter for the Ouroboros.
Cara commited the pack name along with it's Alpha's name to memory. Ferdie Von Pelt's Sunspire was now archived in some place inside the girl's brain. Recieving information made her more comfortable than giving it. She didn't want to leak the secret that the pack's Alpha had taken a nasty blow to her health. Clearing her throat, Cara looked into the female's eyes, she was trying to convince the female with her relax demeanor and unpreocupied voice.
"From the Ouroboros, it's surrounded by a spine of peaks and mountains, it's heaven really. And it's tucked between Neverwinter and the Heartwood." she described, giving subtle hints that were really worthless for someone who may not be familiar with the territory.
If Vienna didn't know that'd be better, since the last thing the Ouroboros needed was to have mountain wolves sticking their noses around their precious Spine.
Though Vienna had no idea what Cara was talking about, the image that painted in her mind at the words was a glorious one. "It sounds beautiful," she responded, somewhat wistfully. She would love to be able to run everywhere and see everything, but not only was that physically impossible but also widely unacceptable. Entering another pack's lands was a huge breach of etiquette and grounds for an attack. She was aware of this and would never seek to intrude.
"Seems we are both mountain dwellers. Are your plants much different there?" Vienna was curious. She loved flowers and herbs of any sort, their uses somewhat irrelevant. It was their beauty that captivated her. She enjoyed collecting them for the sole pleasure of being witness to such wonders. The fact that some also held healing powers was a very happy bonus. She wasn't sure if Cara knew the area around here well but she figured it was worth a shot.
When Vienna mentioned how beautiful it sounded without even knowing the place Cara's smile widened. She was no poet but it seemed she had managed to paint a masterpiece with her sole words. Her head bobbed up and down to agree with. It was really beautiful, more than any land she had ever laid eyes on.
Even the magnificent tunnels and slopes of Silvertip looked dull next to the outstanding beauty of the Spine. Again the pale female nodded her head to the femme's observation, even if not all the Ouroboros wolves were settled over the mountains she thought the spine of peaks and mountains were the cherry on top of the cake.
Cara wanted to fish more information out of the girl but before she could shoot out her question the girl threw one of her own, that in reality caught her completely off guard. Out of the million topics she could've asked about she chose the one she was least expirienced in. Herbs, plants and nature had never been one of her interests, and though she had grown to learn the knowledge of such was vital she had never been moved by the topic.
"Erm, I suppose they are", she babbled while giving a brusque shrug of her shoulders. Cara did not like to admit her ignorance towards the topic.
Sensing that her question had put the other femme ill at ease, Vienna hurriedly explained. "I guess you could call me an aspiring Naturalist. I'm trying to learn the types of plants in each of the lands and how they are helpful. I know I couldn't set foot near your lands," at this she gave a little nod of assurance, "but I figured maybe the unclaimed lands around you might hold some of the same types." She grinned. "S'pose I will find out eventually, though, if I keep exploring. This outriding is fun stuff, so much to see!"
Her head cocked curiously. "So if you don't like plants, if you don't mind me asking, what is your favorite thing to do?" Vienna couldn't imagine anything holding more wonder than the natural world but she loved hearing others speak of their passions. It was one of her favorite pastimes. Hearing a wolf get so caught up in what they were talking about... their happiness made her happy.
Lecter would've liked to chat with her, he was all up on medicine and weird rituals that could've interested the female's mind. Like when Jinx had taken the pale yearling to sneak a peek at what would become their reign maybe this pretty female would've enjoyed having a mentor. Lecter wasn't an easy man to deal with, he had aged bones that ached and bitterness stored in his insides -- but overall he had earned Cara's respect; and that wasn't an easy task. As she left her home after her father's passing she had become very skittish and cautious almost always using sarcasm as a shield against the strangers.
But this strong wall of bricks that separated her from the outside had begun to cave in as the days rolled by. Now as an important member of the Ouroboros she valued the few close friends she had. And though the great mistrust towards strangers remained she would mind adding a few outsiders to her acquaintance list.
She listened intendly as the girl gushed about her love for nature that even if she couldn't really comprehend she still found important. Her eras cupped in her direction as she briefly mentioned outriding and asked about her own interests. "Outriding is my passion right now" she barked while giving her tail a light wag. "And hunting, though I'm better at silent ambushing" she continued, not niticing that as the words rolled off her tongue the light of the sunrays seeped into her pale yellow eyes.
omg I couldn't imagine if Vienna had met up with Lecter... I don't even know how that would have gone! Polar opposites
Vienna was aware that most wolves, unlike she, weren't so keen on listening to others go on and on about their interests when said topics didn't line up with their own passions. Thus, she tried not to go on too long, hoping not to bore Cara too much. It seemed, though, that Cara's top two interests were in fact the same as some of her own, and she wagged her tail in return, happy to have something in common with the beautiful stranger.
"
I'm a big fan of hunting myself, though I go more for the chase." She loved a good test of skill when it came to speed.
Vienna could tell that Cara was somewhat guarded, but she had enjoyed this meetup considerably. "
How long have you been Outriding? Have you been anywhere amazing? I'm new to it myself." Perhaps she could give Vienna some pointers if she had been at it longer. She was flying blind, her natural friendliness getting her by but it would be nice to have some actual direction.
i miss lecter fml
This whole socializing thing was not as bad as she had thought. Ever since she had joined Silvertip she had been taught to hate the outsiders and chase away those who wandered to close; all of those who weren't among the ranks of Jinx's pack were nothing but enemies or threats. Her mind had learned to view them as filthy food-thieves and liers, she had forgotten that once she had been one of them too.
But this conversation with the pretty wolfess had opened her eyes and allowed her to see more colors in the picture, not every wolf was a dirty bastard like she had thought. There were wonderful wolves out there too, Vienna being one of them. At that moment a desire to give the girl the title of friend flooded into her body --just like she had decided to befriend Vectra, Vienna had also become a target for the pale girl.
As she began to speak of things she could more easily relate to, Cara gave the Sunspire femme a wide smile. She wagged her tail when the light grey girl touched the subject of Outriding. "Ouroboros is an amazing place on it's own" she barked, not being able to control the words that slid off her tongue next, "You should come some time" she blabbered.
Ugh.
With all the chaos at the Spine it was not suitable for the girl to visit inmidiately, but the offer had been made and besides deep inside Cara didn't mind showing her newly acquired friend the wonders of the Spine..."Just howl for me at the border first" she barked with a more serious tone; she'd understand her precaution right? The Spine wolves were fierce and territorial, if she didn't take heed of her words she could run into the wrong wolf..
Having always lived without Caras armor, Vienna already fully accepted the other female as a friend. It mattered little the other's opinion on the matter. This would often be the case, and she was going to be making lots of new friends in her role as outrider. She did not see this as a problem or being in conflict with her loyalty to the Sunspire. Rather the opposite actually. Their pack could only thrive from these new friendships, after all!
"It sounds so! I would absolutely love to see it," she answered happily, eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Wouldn't dream of trespassing without escort though." She couldn't imagine it... It would just be asking for conflict, something she very rarely did.
"I will definitely come by sometime! Same goes for you, if you would ever like to see our mountain." She grinned. "I should probably be getting back, but it was great meeting you Cara!" And with a final enthusiastic wave of her tail she was off, bounding back home.
last one from me! Feel free to close or just archive! Thanks a ton =D