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+--- Thread: Duskfire Glacier A secret isn't a secret if I know (/showthread.php?tid=4258)
A secret isn't a secret if I know - Jace - August 27, 2014
Okay no killing Jace he's just curious :D would prefer @Tuwawi or @Njal though
Jace wound his way down the mountain, new scents drove him crazy and there had been faint smells criss crossing the valley for a few days. So he followed them. There were new wolves traipsing around the mountain, none had come near it and most were further away, but he limped towards them. Who was it? Were the Creek wolves going to go after them too, or would they let them in peace it would tick him off that was certain. It took him a couple days to make it to the official border.
He limped along the new borders of a new pack and sniffed here and there, it smelled like Tuwawi and Njal, but surely to God it wasn't them? They wouldn't be foolish enough to be so near the creek would they? Certainly not, for a moment it made Jace's heart sieze in his chest and he felt a panic attack coming on, he usually didn't suffer them, but the thought of a new pack lead by Njal and Tuwawi made him ill.
He stayed far away from the borders he didn't wish to get attacked for crossing the territory. Then with one last sniff he shrugged and turned to head back towards the mountain, not really wanting the answers to the questions he had. And he had a long walk home, at least 2 days worth of walking.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - RIP Njal - August 27, 2014
The pack is actually so, so far removed from the Creek and the Sunspire that I find it surprising that Jace got there in just a few hours. It should take at least two, maybe three days - and I doubt he'd have followed their scent all the way there on a hunch. Anyway! Just a heads up.
The small family had gotten busy as soon as they arrived in the fresh lands, with Tuwawi escorting their new allies and packmates deeper in to the territory itself. Njal had not been so close to the mountains before - he had seen them, but distantly during his hunt for Fox. With the glacier rising just beyond his vision, crowning the tops of two mighty peaks, he felt his spirits lift. They could do this. It wouldn't be the easiest of adventures, but it could be done. Together the pair could do anything.
So, with Tuwawi busying herself with their makeshift den, Njal took to scouting the edges of the known landscape. He trailed after Tuwawi's pre-laid scent and occasionally added his own; lifting a leg, scratching the ground, pressing against the various trees to leave tufts of fur, anything that would mix his scent with her own. The alpha had only been active for a couple of hours when another scent - a familiar scent at that - pricked at his nose. Njal veered off of his determined course, head raising and fur spiking with an instinctive indignation -
and then he caught sight of the retreating figure.
From a distance he could not determine exactly who it was, but the familiarity of the scent was enough to irritate the mountainous man; he halted in his stride and then began to pace along the border, hoping that the stranger would turn around again - test their luck against the agitated, protective father. When that didn't happen, Njal lifted his head and howled a warning: Stay away if you know what's good for you. Perhaps it would be enough.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - Jace - August 28, 2014
He didn't smell tuwawi and Njal until he got to the borders, but he smelled a scent trail leading that way and being curious and irritated as it were anyway he followed it...i did edit it so it took him more than a few hours sorry about that. Idk why i was thinking it was so close
Jace turned his head as he heard a howl lift up and rise in the air. He stopped standing still for a moment and turned one blue eye back towards the way he had just departed. What on earth did Njal think he was doing? Could he and tuwawi run a pack with such little ones...he was fairly certain the babies were still rather small. He shook his head none of his business, he just wanted to find why there was a swatch of scents going one way and not coming back.
He lifted muzzle to the sky and howled back that he wouldn't be coming back just curious and then he turned to continue on. If Njal wanted to challenge him or talk to him so be it, but he didn't know why he would want to do that. The father hated him at this point, and Jace had aligned himself with that sad but true reality.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - RIP Njal - August 29, 2014
No problem! Just thought I'd clear that up. :)
His howl died upon the air, but the sound was met by another voice - one that left no doubt in his mind about the stranger who had come so near. Njal would always be able to recognize the sound of Jace (although he was a bit annoyed at himself for not cluing in to the boy's smell sooner), and felt a new wave of irritation alight his spine with filigrees of pointed silver. He would not leave the pack's borders, but the Alpha did begin scrutinizing the edge of the land that they had claimed. Was it really so easy for the Sunspire fool to have come all this way? Could they get no peace at all from the threat that they posed? Njal dragged his paws across the soil as he launched in to a run, and then abandoned marking the edge for good - at least for the next little while. He wanted to track down Jace and get some answers.
The Alpha was oblivious to what Jace felt, just as the dark wolf was oblivious to Njal's inner feelings. He had no hatred for the foolish boy within him. Irritation, maybe. Frustration at the never-ending drama that always unfolded when the warrior was around, yes. But not hate; at least not the same kind of distaste that Bazi felt towards her old friend. Njal came to an abrupt stop with his roaming strides when the other wolf came in to view, but he did not advance upon him. Instead, Njal simply stood and watched him - keeping an eye on that dark silhouette if he dared to try his luck with the borders again. There was some distance between them still; an entire horizon of unexplored terrain.
Across the rolling field of green, Njal's voice bellowed just as sternly as his howl: "You'd better get back to your precious mountain, Jace. And never set foot near here again." It was a threat, a real threat, and Njal wasn't afraid to state it plainly. He wanted to keep his family safe so he had uprooted them and moved all the way in to the north - he felt no fear in bringing his anger out now, while Jace was alone and far from home. The mountain was no threat to them any longer.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - Jace - August 29, 2014
Jace did not want the drama that came to him like the plague. He didn't like upheaval and chaos. He was a neutral man child and he liked to stay that way. He couldn't help it that he held a sure fire temper, though he was working hard to tamper that down, for Leaf and if not leaf then someone else he could fall in love with later, after he got over the crushing heart break of his young life.
Jace turned and grimaced as he turned to quickly and agitated the wounds that lay beneath his breast. He hadn't realized that Njal had followed him, and though the male was yelling he was too close for comfort and Jace's ears fell flat to his head. He didn't want to start anything here and now, when he was far from home and all alone. He could hold his own against the male in front of him had done it before, but not as injured as he was. He yelled back keeping the distance and continuing to back up carefully, adding more distance. I did not come here to stir up trouble Njal. I was merely away from the mountain, getting some air and smelled scents going in one direction, but not returning. My curiosity got the best of me. I do not plan on coming this way again. And he wouldn't unless it was an absolute necessity, then he would, but he didn't see how there could be any need to go towards them or near their borders.
For a brief moment a longing worked its way into the youths chest a longing to ask Njal for his take on things on the mountain. He wanted some guidance, from a wolf who was not flailing with his emotions as Ferdie was at the moment. it happened to everyone at some point in time, but right now at this moment Jace really wanted the father figure back as a friend, but he bit down hard on his jaw to keep from saying anything, because he remembered he was not welcome near the male and neither were his woes.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - RIP Njal - August 29, 2014
The beast within him was awake. Something he had not felt in a long time - not since Kindred and his training in the pit. A spark of life that had begun upon seeing his beloved fire within the Teekon Wilds, and then grown with the birth of his children. It was nearly at full force now as Njal had assumed his rightful place as a real leader - and Jace, or the mountain pack of fools, were not going to jeopardize any of that. He scoffed at the boy as he rebuked him, but the mercurial creature was silent for some time. He paced idly as Jace spoke, and as the boy fell in to his own silence, Njal stopped his pacing.
My curiosity got the best of me. I do not plan on coming this way again.
Good. If I catch your scent - or any of your mountain dwelling allies anywhere near here, there will be hell to pay.His gaze lingered upon Jace, locking upon the boy's bright eyes, and the full force of his rage was unconcealed.
Get back to your brainless leader and tell him the same, if it suits you. If anyone from the Sunspire comes north, they will have to answer to me.There was no negotiation, no easing themselves through this conversation; Njal had said his piece, and when the silence enveloped them once more, he turned to stalk away.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - Jace - August 29, 2014
are you okay with it only being a few replies or do you want to try for 10 cause i can probably come up with something :)
Njal continued to pace and Jace continued to back up. He looked around swiftly watching to make sure he wasn't going to get ambushed and that he was clear to continue to back up. He just wanted to go home, he still had 3 days of travel ahead of him. He snorted gently to himself, his curiosity was going to kill him one day.
Jace tilted an ear and spoke loudly enough to be heard If someone traipses across your borders Njal as far as I'm concerned they will get what they deserve. There are boundaries and territory for a reason. he grew silent again he had not passed over the borders of pack lands it had been Fox and fox alone that had incurred their wrath.
Jace didn't even growl when Njal insulted Ferdie, because at the moment Ferdie was being brainless he was thinking with his male member rather than his mind. Brainless right. he grew quiet again and he went to say something else, but then he shut his jaw again instead he said quietly I wish you well Njal. he didn't know if the male would hear him or not and he didn't really care, because he did wish the warrior well, hoped he would prosper, if anyone deserved it his former friend did.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - RIP Njal - August 29, 2014
We can stretch it out! :D
Brainless, right.-- hm?
Njal stopped and turned his head with a lurch, catching the sounds of further conversation after Jace's baritone acceptance of the facts; and this, though he only barely heard it, made Njal curious. He doubled back a few steps, and was close enough to hear Jace mutter,
I wish you well, Njal.And the sentiment reflected in those words made Njal remember, barely, what it was like when Jace was still loyal to the creek. They had been wardens together - the old and the young. Somewhere in the fiasco their friendship had been tested and broken.
He recognized now that Jace was doubting himself. Or maybe not himself, but at the very least, his leader. Interesting that it took this long for the boy to realize what Njal and the other Swiftcurrent wolves had known for so long: that Ferdie was a lost cause.
Jace.Njal called out, and then carefully pulled himself closer; his aggressive predisposition had not entirely left, but he did trust the Beta to keep his word this time.
You once showed great promise as a warden of the creek. I do not know what possessed you to be led so far astray. But if you doubt Ferdie -Njal took a breath and directed a pointed look towards the boy. It was similar to the expression the Alpha held when addressing one of his misbehaving children: sharp, but not hostile. Curbing rebuttal.
-then you should leave him. There are so many other packs that could use your skills. Ferdie cost you your home and your family, do you not see that?Perhaps it was pointless of him to make these comments now; Jace had made his decisions. But this could be the last chance Njal had to talk sense to the boy, and he would take it. For the glacier's sake as well as the creek's.
He is the reason we've reached this point.And it was as if, by saying this aloud, Njal reached a conclusion. He could be as hostile as he wanted towards potential threats - such as the mountain pack - but Jace was never a threat. It had always, always been Ferdie as the root cause. Everything else was just bad luck.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - Jace - August 29, 2014
Jace was already turning, so he did not notice the lurch of the warden’s head or the way he double backed. He was far too lost in his own thoughts, trying his hardest to figure out what was going on. He trusted Ferdie, trusted him with his life. But lately the decisions being made were questionable at best, even some of Jace’s own decisions, so he wasn’t about to paint himself a saint and another a sinner, no that was not the case. He was still so very young, only a year and a half old, what was expected of him. Unlike Njal, even though Jace was not privy to the other’s thoughts, he had never forgotten what he had at the creek, and that is what had made it so hard to take the decisions and the hatred and the overall bile that everyone felt about him.
Jace wasn’t sure what he was doing, if he was doubting or just trying to make sense of everything, he had realized quickly once he had gotten injured that when he was alone with his thoughts they were dark things and dark places. He heard his name and ear twitching backward, he turned again grimacing, but keeping his footing and he perked his ears forward a little wary, but he was not about to attack another wolf, unless it was provoked, and he felt that Njal was the same way so he figured they would be okay at the moment.
Jace listened with his heart in his throat; he kept his gaze averted and his head down, not wanting to offend. Jace had not been led anywhere how many times did he have to tell everyone that, he had refused to kill another and then been kicked out, but he curbed his tongue keeping it to his self. He could argue until he was blue in the face, but no one would listen if they didn’t want too.
He laid ears back to his skull and spoke softly I do not know what I am doing or thinking anymore Njal. I’m adrift in a sea of thoughts and feelings that I can make neither hides nor tails of. I want to be loyal and trustworthy and I do my best and I try not to question, but what happens when you have more questions than answers? Where do you go from there? I cannot leave them right now, and I will not when my mind is in such turmoil, but that aside there are too many that rely on me at the moment my own sister, babies, but I will think on what you tell me. And I hope Njal that it is not too late for me whatever I decide. he grew quiet then he couldn’t make a decision, because he didn’t know how to. His thoughts were going round and around with no end in sight, his father had always told him to never make a decision until he had thought it through and he was doing his best and now Njal had just given him more to chew on.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - RIP Njal - August 29, 2014
As Jace began to respond, Njal steeled himself against the answer he assumed he would get: that he had been wrong, that Jace's loyalty to Ferdie outshone any inkling of intelligence that the Alpha thought he had. But nothing of that sort came from Jace. In fact, Njal felt a strange kinship with the boy; he was reminded of his far away home in the harsh north and situations such as this arising between his siblings and their father. It had been years since Njal had thought of his kin, and the sudden recollection left him feeling... Strangely empty.
I do my best and I try not to question, but what happens when you have more questions than answers? The boy spoke, and Njal recognized the doubt within him. It was hard to miss. Doubt and youth, which often went hand-in-hand. Njal had forgotten just how young the Beta was. How accomplished he had become, even if it was next to Ferdie. He suddenly felt very old standing before this youth who had surpassed everything his own abilities could muster.-And I hope Njal that it is not too late for me whatever I decide.
Njal was silent for a moment as the words sank in. When he spoke again, the deepness of his voice had taken on a sullen quality and lost the aggression he had been charged with earlier.
You will figure things out eventually.It was all he could say. Njal had no answers for the boy, even if he wanted to give them - and that brought a new thought to his mind. If he couldn't help Jace, how could he help any of his children? A sharp breath seemed to slap him out of his thoughts.
The beast was satiated, for now. He just wanted to return to the makeshift den and find consolation in his children.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - Jace - August 30, 2014
Jace was a loyal beast, he did not deny this, had never done so. However, he was also a smart brute, and often times his intelligence outweighed most of his other qualities. For a brief moment he wondered if he should have just stayed with his parents and became a hermit, living on the outskirts learning more and more as each day passed and helping the pack to hunt, but that was all. Perhaps, then he wouldn't be so torn now, but that was not the choices he made and he would stick by what his choices were despite consequences.
Jace lifted blue eyed gaze for a moment to study the older males face, but dropped his eyes quickly after. Not wanting to cause any issue, they were okay at the moment. He looked to the sky and then back down again and he realized he really had to go. A small breath of air left him and his voice soft and kind, I hope I do. Thank you Njal for this and well everything. I should be getting back I have a three day walk two days if I push myself, but i'll probably amble. Thank you again Njal. I wish you and your family the best and may your pack prosper. I will tell all on the mountain to stay away, and if they come near I will not save them, borders are there for a reason. Live well Njal. then he turned towards home and began to walk, slowly at first in case the other male had more to say.
RE: A secret isn't a secret if I know - RIP Njal - August 30, 2014
Exit Njal!
And so they would part ways. The boy thanked him with more grace than Njal could have expected, although his words were a bit long-winded as they often were, and the Alpha let him leave without another word. As Jace turned and slowly began to leave, Njal did the same thing - both males curious about the other, sluggish in their mannerisms in case there was further conversation to be had. Before long Jace was just a silhouette again, and Njal had faded in to the trees on his way back to his rounds upon the border; the fervor which had possessed him earlier had ebbed away, but he was content.