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+--- Thread: Stone Circle lookin' for a mind at work (/showthread.php?tid=24373)
lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - December 24, 2017
She patrolled often these days - they all did, with the threat of the distant war. Their land lay in relative peace, disrupted only by natural predators and the occasional lone wolf who stumbled upon - or across - their borders. Desna had made it clear that every wolf was expected to pick up extra work to ensure the security of Easthollow, and Nanook took to the task with diligent paws.
It was noon by the time she reached the division between Easthollow and Lost Creek, and she paused upon the cusp of the territory to squint at the sky. The winter sun cast long shadows familiar to the hour of its setting; the days would lengthen soon enough, but for now, they lasted only a short while before snuffing to the dark again.
She lowered her gaze and turned back to the well-trodden path before her paws. As well as she thrived in the silence, Nanook discovered that the longer she spent with the throng of pack, the more she noticed the loneliness when she went too long without them. On most days, the need was a quiet burn, but today her thoughts felt alone. So, with short consideration, the woman tilted her head and called for @Valette, her howl edged with an invitation for her sister to join her.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - December 26, 2017
Valette was eager to join her sister as she heard her howl calling for her. Valette was quite far away from her sister but that didn't stop her from starting the run towards her sister. It felt good to stretch her legs. She ran till she was close to her sister. She howled that she was close letting her sister know. Valette soon saw her and greeted her with her usual enthusiasm.
Her tail wagged and she licked her jaw. "Hi," she greeted her sister. She noticed that she was starting to rely more on her sister being around her. She was a great help at the borders and with her children. "Good to see you," she smiled in greeting. "So ready for a patrol then?," she hummed. Valette was really impressed with her pack members and how they picked up the extra patrols with the war that was happening on the other side of the mountains.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - December 26, 2017
Desna took some time to arrive, but Nanook settled against the icy snow with eyes turned to the forest, and an ear inclined for the sound of her sister's approach. In due time enough the crunch of footfalls rose to met her, and the Apaata turned around to greet the cheer of her sister with a subtler - though no less felt - display of affection.
Nanook returned her sister's welcoming kiss with a lick of her own across Desna's jaw, and withdrew with a firm nod of her head. "I've secured the borders from Fox's Glade to here," she said with a nod to the start of the treeline of Lost Creek Hollow. "So we'll keep hading along the forest Eastbound, toward Shadowwyn Moor." She didn't bother to point out direction - if anyone knew the lay of Easthollow like the fur on the back of their paw, it was her sister. "The morning's been quiet. Gave chase to a fox, but he ran off pretty quick. Nothing else to report."
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - December 26, 2017
Valette smiled as her sister greeted her. She was super pleased to hear from Nanook that everything was secure. From the borders till even over the borders and all of Fox's glade. It was good news. She bobbed her head in confirmation. "Yes, let's do that," she confirmed and quirked up her lips into a smile. She started a casual trot, expecting her sister to follow.
She noticed that Nanook had been rather serious about this all. "You are really good at this!," she complimented. Her skills were more with wildlife and gamekeeping. She was not good at the whole mercenary department. Nanook could really pull it off. She looked the part as well now she was not underweight anymore. "And I also hear all these good things from the kids," she added.
Valette smiled at her sister. "I am really happy that you are here helping me. I couldn't do it without you, Nookie," she grinned and bumped her hip against her in a friendly matter. Valette looked really genuine when saying it. "I really needed it after Steady died. You really pulled through. So thank you," she hummed, tail held high but wagging.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - December 26, 2017
Nanook fell into an easy pace at her sister's side, comfortable to roam beside her as an equal, even if her rank fell far beneath hers. When they were alone, they were leader and subordinate - they were sisters. She shifted beneath the praise, uncertain still how to accept her sister's glowing words.
When Desna offered her a hip bump, a soft smile touched the sterling woman's lips and she nudged her shoulder against her sister's in affectionate return. Though there remained a certain stiffness to her movements, her gesture held much more warmth, for Nanook wanted her sister to know the depth of heart for her, emotions she often struggled to express. "You're my sister," and though that hadn't seemed to mean much in terms of loyalty when Nanook had been a child, the expression held weight to it now, "I couldn't leave you alone again." No. Not again.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - December 26, 2017
Nanook brushed her compliments off like it was the most normal thing in the world. But before they rekindled it hadn't been the case. Valette saw the small smile on her sister's lips though. "I think it should be said," she spoke with a firm nod. It was almost motherly in the way she did it. The female couldn't help it as she had to juggle her motherly duties with leadership duties and on top of that a dash of a sibling relationship. Mostly the motherly side showed.
Nanook booked a lot of progress since coming here. Valette had noticed her efforts and was just glad that Nanook found her place in Easthollow. Her pups were also very fond of Auntie Nook. Valette was as well. "I am just very grateful to have my sister by my side and that I love you," she offered with a genuine smile. She liked that she was getting a real bond with Nanook. Valette wasn't sure if this was all too much expressed emotions. But she wanted it to be out there. Valette had always been more open with that, more so than Nanook. She didn't expect a reply. She was certain that if Nanook didn't feel the same way she would have left. "I guess you didn't know this but you really helped me with just being there when I didn't have Steady anymore."
Her kids were also a big factor but she realized she couldn't have done it alone. If she didn't have her sister to bring her meals, or be that extra set of eyes at the borders, or just being her sister Valette might not have made it. Or worse, one of her pups might not have made it.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - December 29, 2017
Nanook knew that she deserved none of what she had today - but while only a few short months ago, Desna's forward display would have sent the Apaata shrinking deep into a shell of guilt and self-loathing, her words now brought a bashful tuck of her head, and a stirring she had no real words to describe. I love you still proved a struggle to say, but she hoped Desna understood from her actions she loved her perhaps more than she knew, even without the words to say it.
Nanook turned a surprised and gentle eye on her sister. "I didn't know." She had never acted for praise, nor worked for a gain other than to see her family thrive. She had only done what had to be done, as she knew all the pack worked together to do. Desna and the kids - "You gave me a second chance. A third one, if you count Silvertip. But you and Easthollow - you've given me somewhere to belong. A home." Her lips quirked with an unpracticed smile, awkward and wily, and a touch of the old Nanook shone through - the fiery girl who'd tumbled around with Desna, Sesi, and Xan, before life had grown hard, and before the winds had scattered them apart. "A family, I guess."
But her sister's mention of Steady troubled the Apaata, and she furrowed her brow. "You know you're a good mother - a great one. But sometimes, I wonder how things would have been if they'd had Steady..." and she bit her tongue, considering Ezekiel, and uncertain how her sister would take her words. "Well, I wish they had a father."
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - December 29, 2017
Valette turned her head to the side to look at Nanook. It felt good to hear from her that Easthollow was her home, no, her family. Valette was almost beaming. She had always been far more expressive than Nanook, especially lately. Though with her unpracticed smile she did look like the younger Nanook. Valette couldn't be happier. "At Silvertip, I wasn't in the leadership rank. So I'd like to say that Easthollow was your second chance," she spoke, trying to keep it positive.
Valette's smile vanished slowly as Nanook started about the father of their pups. The darker sister let out a slow saddened sigh. "I know. I wish they had one as well. Steph has Murdock but Clary and Ezra. I really thought Ezekiel would step up his game. He was so excited and protective when I was pregnant, though after they were born he was just... absent," she spoke. She realized how much this was like her mom and Kove. He hadn't been there for her as well, that is what her mother had told her. Luckily she hadn't been romantically invested with Ezekiel anymore.
"With Steady, it would have been different. He would be a wonderful father. I know so. But," she sighed. "But I will never experience that," she finished. She glanced at Nanook again. "Don't worry. The pups helped me get over his death. I still miss him but I've accepted it. Perhaps a new male will come upon my path. Tall, Strong and Handsome," she smirked then at her sister. Though what she wasn't saying was that she already had a male wolf in mind that fit that picture. "Oh. And then I can have more babies. Nanook, wouldn't that be wonderful?," she hummed, her eyes glazing over a bit as she daydreamed out loud.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - December 29, 2017
She listened quietly to her sister, and her heart turned - with pain, with longing, with anger. For everything Desna had gone through, she deserved someone good, someone worthy. Someone Steady had seemed to be - and someone Nanook was beginning to believe Ezekiel was not. Whoever came after him would have to be someone better. A pointed grunt puffed through her nostrils to express her frustration.
But her sister had a habit of spinning her head around to rabbit trails she wouldn't have followed on her own, and quickly, the pent-up anger turned to an uncertainty as to what she was supposed to say to Desna's very girly wishes. "But we're not even finished with these ones yet," she said and slicked her ears at a nervous angle, "and for pups to happen by spring, wouldn't you need someone, you know... showing you advances... already?" She was no expert on love, but having watched the going ons of many, the process didn't seem like one to traipse into all willy-nilly. "I just don't want you jumping in with the next guy you see just because you want more kids."
She wondered if her words would come off as too harsh, but decided against retracting her statement. Nanook didn't want her sister hurting herself again like she had when she'd leapt in with Ezekiel. The outcome was bittersweet, and she probably would have let Valette do it again if it was the only way to get Clary, Steph, and Ezra into their lives, but the situation was one she hoped her sister would learn from, and wouldn't have to face again.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - January 02, 2018
Valette chuckled softly at Nanook's blunt comment. The female didn't mind that her sister made such comments. They were very different and sometimes Valette realized she was too much with her head in the clouds. She didn't need to have another litter this year, but it would be nice if she could. "Well I am sort of done. They are mostly independent and they don't need nursing," she pointed out with a smile. "With kids, you are never done, when they are adults you will still see them as your kids," Valette shrugged.
Valette chuckled and slowly nodded. 'Well, yeah. I mean I don't need to have more pups this spring but it would be nice," she muttered. She had one male in mind that she was starting to like. Valette slowly nodded. "I agree. I would want to have pups with a mate. Someone who is there for me. Not another random male, no," she was very strict about that. Valette realized that her window was rather short.
"I just need to find another tall dark and handsome male to be at my side," she spoke jokingly. Though there was some truth in it. She wondered if tall dark and handsome was her type because of Steady or if it always had been her type. Valette didn't want to think about that. "What do you like Nanook?," she then asked with a smile. "Someone big? Someone smart? Someone super tough?," she suggested. She spoke of 'someone' for a reason if she wasn't sure her sister would like males or females.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - January 02, 2018
Valette received her well, and though the way she chuckled at her concern ruffled the Apaata in a way, the fact she so willingly accepted her blunt rebuke brought surprise to her eyes. She had never counted her words to mean much more than noise, so she considered this instance a fluke. But the fact her sister agreed did a wonder on her in the moment, and she felt taller, almost. Stronger.
But above all, she felt relieved her sister shared her sentiments - that she, too, saw and realized she needed a man who was willing to commit to this pup-thing with her, in more than just providing the other parts necessary for that pup-thing to happen. Their pack had many nice guys, but when Nanook rifled through the list, none stood on level ground with her sister. Whoever Valette chose would have to be someone outstanding - if only because Nanook called for no one less.
Tall, dark, and handsome - yeah, she supposed there were plenty of those here, too - but hang on. Her brow pinched - wait a minute -
Her rabbit-trail of thought suddenly derailed with Valette's probe against her, and she blinked with a flurried, "No." But that really wasn't much of an answer. "I mean, it's never crossed my mind." Well, that was a lie. Her ears burned, and if a wolf could blush, Nanook would have turned a shade as bright as the copper of her eyes. Thankfully her fur concealed her skin with a thick layer of grey, though the slant of her ears probably gave her away. "It's just, I've always had more important things to think about."
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - January 02, 2018
Valette watched Nanook. It seemed like she was flustered by that question. Valette tried not to laugh. She was very open about her love life but Nanook was quite the opposite. Valette wanted to know more about her in that department. "Never crossed your mind? I don't believe that! You never found someone very attractive?," she asked curiously. If her sister really didn't want to talk about it then she would stop pressing the matter.
She remembered how Nanook looked when the reunited. She was really skinny and almost a bit wild in her whole demeanor. Valette slowly nodded in agreement. "But I do think that perhaps you can think of it now!," she grinned. Then it faltered a bit. "Unless you don't want to! That is fine with me. As long as you are happy that is all I want," she smiled again. Valette couldn't really see when Nanook was really happy. She just assumed that Nanook was otherwise she wouldn't stay.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - January 07, 2018
She felt a growing agitation - not at her sister, but at the novel idea that maybe she should have found someone by now, or at least, someone to pursue. There had been one initial interest, though nothing of the romantic sort - just enough to get her curious, but fleeting enough for her to forget him until their conversation now. Nanook hadn’t even caught his name - in fact, she reasoned he had probably been a mute. But she remembered the intrigue he had sparked as they’d fallen into uncanny, yet strangely familiar rhythm, as they had raced for shelter against one of the Valley’s storms.
She hadn’t met anyone quite like him since, but didn’t dwell on the fact she didn’t think she ever would. But Valette seemed all too eager to delve into her cold and vacant love life, and Nanook didn’t see much harm in catering to her fancy just this once, no matter how stupid it felt.
She shrugged. “I guess it’s less important what he looks like, and more who he is.” Someone who didn’t mind her oddities. Someone patient like that.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - January 08, 2018
Valette quirked up her lips into a smile as Nanook seemed to think about it. She didn't say that she wasn't interested. She just cared about the person instead of the looks. Valette nodded. "That is true. If they are tall, dark and handsome but have a shitty personality I wouldn't want them as my mate either," Valette admitted. She then nudged her nose against Nanook's shoulder.
"Hey, no pressure or anything. It is just some silly girl talk," she hummed and wagged her tail a bit. She smiled at her sister. Valette herself also wouldn't mind if her next possible future mate wasn't dark in color. As long as they would be a match with their personalities.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - January 12, 2018
At that, Nanook couldn’t help but quirk a grin. Good to know her sister was on the same page - and her less than eloquent way of phrasing summed up Nanook’s thoughts better than she believed she could. Yes, if Nanook ever chose anyone - or rather, if anyone ever chose her - she would make sure he was a good man first. And she would make sure the same was true for anyone who chose her sister.
“I’ve never been very good at girl things.” She had always been a rough-and-tumble sort of gal, and that was one thing about her which hadn't changed. But Desna seemed to like this talk and well, they were sisters, and she was a girl, so she imagined it couldn't be too hard to try. "So, um, how do you even know if you are interested in someone? And what do you do once you know you are?" She imagined that could get awkward, especially if the other wolf had no interest in return. Did you hold off on showing signs until you knew for sure? Or was the risk of rejection a risk you simply had to take?
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - January 15, 2018
Valette chuckled softly in good nature to her sister. She could understand her sister wouldn't be good at girl talk if she had been alone and on the run for most of her life. Nanook was already doing so much better. Valette slowly smiled good-naturedly when her sister asked her how she would be able to tell she would like someone.
"Well, umm. You would want to hang out with them more often. And when you see them you are really happy sometimes even tingles in your belly from the excitement of seeing them," she spoke with a nod. She had that with Steady especially. 'Well you can try and start to flirt with him, or just tease him a bit, make him laugh. Those types of things. Usually you can tell a guy likes you as well because they would want to hang out with you all the time as well," she spoke with a nod.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - January 18, 2018
She listened like they were preparing for war. Really, she simply didn’t know how else to listen. Up until spring, she’d only known life as a fight for survival, a steady run of increasing intensity. Easthollow has shown her there was another side to living, and Desna... well, Desna seemed to know what balance meant. She’d obviously been able to juggle a pack, a mate, and kids, but then, this was Desna. Between maintaining her friendship with Desna, her responsibilities with the pups and at the borders, and her relations as a pack mate, Nanook had enough to juggle; every way she turned the picture, she saw no room for someone who would want to take her away from all those hours she poured toward the pack.
Yet this conversation was all very hypothetical - the ice queen had to remind herself that - and she tried to play along. “Flirting.” She said, and turned her head. It all felt stiff and awkward and downright silly, but a slant of mischief crooked her mouth. “Like that thing you do with your eyes sometimes.” And she gave her sister her first and probably last most seductive look she’d ever given anyone, battering her lashes like she thought she’d seen someone do a time or two somewhere on her travels - obviously exaggerated, and over acted. “Flirting like this?”
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - January 19, 2018
Valette chuckled when Nanook battered her eyes at her. It was a rather seductive smile. Who knew that Nanook could be so good at this! Valette laughed because she was having fun. "What I do with my eyes sometimes?," she let out with a giggle. "Now you make me sound like an old flirt," she laughed. She could have that. Perhaps it was even a bit the truth. Not that she flirted with everyone but it could help sometimes.
"The thing is, I know how to do it, but when I liked Steady I was to shy to flirt until I realized he liked me back," she admitted. "But yes, the eyes are pretty good!," she grinned. Valette then showed her flirty eyes as well, along with a cute tail wag. She fell into laughter again. This was really silly. "But flirting is also teasing each other and making compliments," she then spoke more seriously. "Now you have just the look but the talking and the flirting back verbally is important as well, otherwise men would stop doing it thinking you are not interested," she spoke with a nod.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - February 05, 2018
At Valette’s reaction, Nanook couldn’t help but laugh - soft, and with her own unpractised bent - but genuine. She had the feeling this was how things should have been between them from the start - but for once she let the past fade to the present pleasure of enjoying this now.
Her sister was much better at the art than she, but of course, Desna’d had plenty of practice. Nanook’s company in her months of absence had been first herself, then a creaky old Northerner and her ancient bird. Hardly the duo to teach the finesse of romance, and the thought of them trying brought a grin to her lips.
The instruction to talk would take just as much effort as the physical seduction, and Nanook decided again that this whole thing probably wasn’t worth the effort. Not that she would say that to her sister’s face. Men and mateship and puppies seemed of obvious importance to her. Instead she huffed and expressed her exasperation with a more playful tease. “You’d think we were training for war.” Though, tending after pups was arguably the same. “Okay, okay, so say I get a mate. What’s the point of them then? They just sound like a distraction to me.” She was genuinely curious, though, if they had any purpose besides making kids, and gluing themselves to her side.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - February 06, 2018
I love Nanook so much, haha. This is amazing.
Valette loved to hear Nanook's own laugh. It was always like a nice gift. It made the day better when she heard Nanook laugh. Valette laughed at Nanook's comment. Well, having pups was like a war. She could tell that. But soon the pain was forgotten and you would get wonderful little things for it in return. Then Nanook dared to comment that mates were just a distraction. The darker sister gasped and shook her head. "Your mate is someone you can always go you when you need them and they will be there for you. So, when I thought I had no family anymore I had Steady. He was my friend and someone who cared for me. Looked out for me," she explained. Now she missed him again.
"And you can be there for them, make them feel good. There is also more practical stuff, like curling up together at night and well, raising pups." Valette never raised her own with Steady but she did raise Nikai and Keoni. "But those pups are only extra. To have a mate is to never be alone, to have someone love you even though you do something stupid. Or help you when you can't do things alone," she continued to babble. She was just describing Steady now. "Though, not all mates are like that. I guess," she mumbled. "In your case, Nanook. You should only have a mate if you want to be with them," she spoke with a nod. "When you feel good being with that one wolf. Where you can both sit in silence and it is okay." Valette hoped that aspect might appeal to Nanook.
Valette then felt some heat rise to her cheeks as she thought of something else. "And um.. Sometimes they can make you feel good as well. Like... physically. All tingly and stuff like that. Intimate stuff without getting the pups. It feels nice as well," she spoke with a shy grin and a quick shrug. Now she might have scared Nanook or given her a light trauma by talking about such intimate things.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - Nanook - February 12, 2018
Desna, of course, was well versed in this, yet the more her sister spoke of mates, and their duties, and their functions, she kept thinking, more and more, of all the wolves she currently had who fulfilled those roles already. No one, of course, to provide her with pups, but she hardly needed kids of her own, for her nieces and nephew - well, they had more or less become her own. She had no one, really, to sit in silence with, but her musings kept her company enough. And if she needed a chattering company, noise to fill the void, or warmth to fight the cold, she had Desna.
The only thing she didn't have was a wolf who gave the utmost pleasure of experiencing whatever her sister tacked on, and frankly, she didn't think she was missing much. Tingly and intimate weren't necessarily things she matched with good, and the thought of them made her innards squirm with a strange discomfort. The Apaata rolled her shoulders and shook herself. Enough of that. "You know what also feels nice? This," and with a sudden swing of her crown, she tapped her sister's shoulder with the lightest touch, keen to do something different that would shake the oddity from her legs. "You're it." And at that, she tore away at a sprint, with only the twist of a devious smile and a glance enough to see that her sister gave chase.
RE: lookin' for a mind at work - RIP Valette - February 13, 2018
Valette laughed when her sister avoided the continuation of the topic quite smoothly. Valette was quite impressed by it. The female laughed and instantly chased after her sister. It was nice to talk about boys but it seemed Nanook had enough of it. Valette could understand that. Maybe she shouldn't have started about this whole pleasure thing. She chased after her sister laughing. She would try and tag Nanook back, letting the tension that might have been, be released through play.
- end -