Bramblepoint I'm turning to the rhythm of the night, I am alright

Dating pre-Saghani thread, which will be the most recent thread once its archived as it's so monumental >_>

 

Hydra worked upon her tracking skills. She had noted a herd skirting Moonspears borders, and alongside @Lyra and @Alya they struck out beyond the borders to follow it. As Alya was a scout Hydra knew she would memorize and know the uses of each land... and perhaps, more than that, know of the herds mentality on different terrain. Hydra simply assumed her sister did know these things; Alya, she felt, was quite bright and insightful. Lyra lurked on her left, behind her shoulder, and had a good nose for herbs and things the herd particularly liked to eat... which was useful. They found much of it missing, and the herd had moved on from where they had searched in the Altar of Twilight. 

Once they arrived to Bramblepoint, Hydra gestured in either direction. We'll split up and cover more ground that way. Double back when the moon is at its peak, which would be in some odd hours. They knew to call if they were needed. There was a concentration of other scents here, too, but none that bespoke a claim (yet). Still, just in case, Hydra skirted the edge of the woods, her glacial eyes peering into its depths as her nose hovered over the earth.

Though the group of misfits did not hold a proper claim over the berry brimmed woods, and though Rannoch did not feel particularly at home within the territory, there was still a sense of protectivness and entitlement that he felt. Whenever he was not solcializing with the others, Rannoch took the time to skirt the treeline out of sheer curiousity for whatever lingered just beyond the woods. When he was feeling up to it, and he was aching to stretch his legs, he'd go beyond the treeline and explore. But, on this night, Rannoch did not feel like exploring. Instead, he opted to stay close to home and walk along the borders. 

It was in the midst of his patrol that movement from the territory just beyond the bramble caught his attention. Perking, Rannoch halted his wandering in favor of watching the commotion, his eyes watching the shadows carefully as he felt himself tense. He would not act now and, instead, kept his attention to the field, watching the shadows dance in the moonlight.

She sniffed and sussed out what details she could. There was no tufts of fur upon the treeline to depict that this was claimed. There also was no stench of pee that displayed that this was someone's land. But the scents she noted were fresh, and more than one. And then, there was one scent in particular that caused her head to snap upward and her tail to wave behind her. Rian! Knowing this land was not claimed, and far too excited over the prospect of seeing Rian again, Hydra moved into the woods now, her trajectory right on course with Rannoch's present location. Her nose quivered as the winds shifted, but she sought, in particular, Rian's trail.

There was an inherent flicker from the depth of the breast as one of the shadows slipped from the field and into the woods. He tensed, watching for a moment or so, as she made her way deeper into the foliage. Had she have navigated away from him, Rannoch would have chased after her in hot pursuit in fear of her getting near his family. But, fortunately for the both of them, it seemed as though she was heading straight for him. 

Rannoch pushed forward a pace or two, picking himself up as he moved. He was unsure of what he could do, especially knowing that this wasn't necessarily his territory.  But even with this, he did have a duty to the wolves of his band, and his urge to protect them rose above any logic that had come to mind. 

A growl rippled in his throat as she came closer into sight and as her sapphire-like eyes became distinguishable from the dark canvas that was both her coat and her disguise. His own eyes were burning, his mane standing on end, and he braced himself as he bellowed his warning.

The wind had been in his favor, but there came a point when his silhouette could be seen through the thinning trees she moved through. His growl was heard first, and Hydra, ever mindful of herself, moved around to give him greater berth. The sound escalated as she came nearer, but Hydra simply thought to pass him and give him his space. Still, the way he glared at her gave her pause. Hydra noted the space between them—her size would allow her to outmaneuver him in this spot if he lunged for her for whatever reason. He seemed aggressive, but Hydra could not understand why. This close to him, Hydra detected that his scent was one of the many she had smelled. She even smelt Rian upon him. 

Hydra licked her chops. I know I'm not trespassing, her ears flicked atop her head, or is it your intent to claim these lands? Her head tilted, and her body language spoke that she was on the defense here with little desire to provoke or attack him. That wasn't why she had come. First it had been the herd, though admittedly Rian became priority when she recognized his odor. There was no doubt Hydra held herself in a bold manner—they were on neutral territory until he said otherwise, and her own instincts reared their head. By nature, Hydra was a dominant female. She was not so bothered by dominant male strangers as they were as good as equals in the Wilds, though she held no grand titles as of yet. Still, she wanted him to know that she was no meek thing to be bullied. Neither was she a fool—she did not stand there before him posturing in a manner that would challenge him or his pride.

Despite his protectiveness over his family, Rannoch was no fool. He would approach this young woman with scrutiny, yet, he would not use force unless it were necessary. Rannoch felt himself relax slightly as he read her posture, nothing that though it was dominant, it was not poised for malice. No, she was as guarded as he was and with good reason. 

"No, you're not," he replied, his muzzle motioning to the depths of the forest over his shoulder, "But, you are just a little bit too close to where my family has settled temporarily." Though they were not all related by blood, Rannoch felt responsible for their safety-- especially when they slept. He had not explicitly spoken of his intentions to settle elsewhere, but, he had expressed his concern about the brambles not feeling like home. He blinked, turning his head back to the shadow. "What are you doing here?" He asked, genuinely curious to see what interest she had in the woods.

Hydra's hackles melted when he seemed to calm, but she did not seek to close the distance between them. Her eyes followed the way his muzzle motioned, looking to the woods beyond them. He explained himself well enough, and Hydra understood. After all, she was fiercely protective over her own family—it did not matter that she knew they could fend for themselves just fine, it simply was. And then her thoughts began to whirl in her head at what he had just said, and she remembered the scent of Rian. 

I was tracking a herd with my sisters. We intended to cover the forest and see where they've headed, and, never one to shirk from the truth, she admitted to him, I was distracted by the scent of my friend, Rian. Is he going with you? Last she knew, which hadn't been too terribly long ago, Rian had been with Neverwinter. Was he leaving the Wilderness without a goodbye? Her heart twisted within her chest, and her eyes shifted from his brilliant turquoise back to the dark forest ahead.

The mention of deer caused Rannoch to draw his tongue over his chops as if momentarily fantasising about the taste of freshly slain meat. It has been long since he had eaten such a delicacy and hoped that with Tryp and the rest of the pack's help, that they could soon conquer a deer together. He was all too involved in these thoughts that he became somewhat idle, only to fully resurface when his cousin was mentioned. 

"Yeah, he's my brother," he offered with a wave of his tail. He was not aware of the connection that the stranger had with his jade-eyed sibling, but, he was now curious. "How do you know him?" His head tilted at this moment and his brows lifted as his gaze turned inquisitive.

Brother. Hydra rifled through her memories, searching for a name—in the moment, she could not remember the names of Rian's brothers... had he even given them to her? It was unlike her not to recall, though she supposed her frustration with him was getting in the way. She could not think much beyond that this instant, hearing that Rian was indeed leaving with them. And she knew that he was, as the burly male before her had just shared with her that their stay here was temporary. Finding the question fair, as Hydra would ask the same of any that had met her own sisters, Hydra answered: We met not too long ago. He ran with Neverwinter at the time. He helped me out, she informed with a fond smile. I got a little turned around and he helped me home to Moonspear, the pack in that mountain over there, she gestured to it, though through the cover of trees it could not be seen. 

Hydra shifted her weight. How long have you guys been hanging out here? And how long will you stay? She wondered if this was a recent development, and if Rian could be forgiven—and she also wondered how much time he would remain. It felt important to know this. Like giving Rian some sort of grace period, and deadline to meet. Hydra had all the dramatic flare of a teenage girl and plenty of gumption to deliver her annoyance to him, not even pondering about the justification. She was a girl with a crush, and had not thought it possible for any to just disappear this way on her. Hydra did not understand why she cared so much, but did not question it either.

Finding himself nodding in the act of active listening, Rannoch remained silent as she explained her connect with his burly relative. He smiled as she did, finding the appeal in the tale. Rain was a good man, there was no denying that, and Rannoch was pleased that he had been able to help her when she had needed it. When her story regarded her mountainside home, his eyes flickered to the looming landscape briefly before returning to her, catching the shifting of her weight before she turned around with a question of her own.

He blinked, unsure of just how to answer. "To be honest, I'm not sure when we're going to move on." It was his turn to shift, and he did so gently as if to silence his concerns on the matter. It had not been a topic that had come up just yet, but it was one that the sea-eyed man was slowly building the courage on bringing up. He didn't know how the others would respond, as some of them were newer additions into his life, but he knew that it had to be brought up sooner or later. 

"But, we haven't been here long," he said after a beat, realising that he had skipped over a part of her inquiry. "It was just Rain, our brother Cypress, and I, but, we've been joined by a few more." Rannoch was proud that they were becoming something much more than he had ever expected, and he wondered where their misadventures lead them next. "We're all around the same age and just kind of ... found each other." He was still perplexed how each of the members was so similar, yet so different; it was as if it were predetermined by fate.

So this will be before the Liffey-wolverine thread, 'cause Hydra "met" Cypress then ("met" cause I don't know how the thread will turn out!) x)

 

He wasn't sure. Which meant Hydra was not able to expect or anticipate much of anything by way of when Rian might, if ever, come to visit her. She debated just going to find him at some point, depending on how long they had been around for; it was just bad manners to disappear on a friend! He then informed her that they hadn't been there long. Hydra, hyper-observant to key words when she wanted to be (she was prone to having "selective hearing"), was disappointed that she hadn't anything concrete to work with. Too long could be a week, too long could be two days—that was dependant on perspective. And as he continued to speak, another name caught her attention, and her ears pricked forward. Cypress. Alya and Lyra's Cypress (although the girls shared a "whats mine is yours" system with one another, the possessive and dominant Hydra did not permit the others to swoon over Rian). Before thinking—a rarity for the stoic and pragmatic girl—Hydra blurted: Rian and Cypress are your brothers? 

There was no denying Rannoch was handsome himself, though Hydra's butterflies were at present reserved for the shy and sweet yet strong Rian—even despite her frustrations. If anything, her frustrations added about a dozen more to her irritation. One ear flicked. My sister met your brother Cypress, she supplied, They're friends, too. I haven't met him yet, she licked her chops. Are you as cool as your brothers? she quipped, decidedly comfortable with him for their "friend of my sister" "brother of my friend" thing they seemed to have going on. And as he explained his situation further, she tilted her head. So, the rest of the lot isn't from Neverwinter you mean? She had no idea that he himself had not been a part of Neverwinter for some time. Given that Cypress and Rian were known to be from there and were evidently brothers, it was (so she thought) safe to assume that he had been there all the while, too.

A smile rolled onto his dark lips, and he nodded, answering her blurted assumptions silently. Though admittedly, it had been odd at first to refer to his heavy-set cousin as more, Rannoch was growing more accustomed to it with every passing day. Rian was as important to the group as he and Cypress were-- a primary force in their wayward travels. Rannoch knew that without his earth-coated sibling, that the group wouldn't have evolved as quickly as it had. An explanation followed her comment that Cypress had met her sister and he perked curiously, his expression reading: "Oh?" As if prompting her to elaborate. It seemed as if both of his brothers had established some relationships in the area and Rannoch could not help but feel glad in this, feeling as though Cypress had not pined for him in his absence.  

When Rannoch was asked about if he were as cool as his brothers, his ears lowered in a suddenly hot flash of self-consciousness, as a gentle heat rose across the bridge of his nose. "I think, I am," He replied steadily after a moment of contemplation, his ears rising and a smile spreading across his lips. "But, I think you'd have to be the judge of that one." he paused, leaning in closer to her, "If I'm not, you wanna keep it between us?" he quipped with a wink, his eyes sparkling, "I've totally got my brothers convinced that I'm cool and it'd be a shame to let them down."  

He leaned back to full height as he was asked about the others and he nodded in response. "Yeah, they're from all over. It seems as though we were all in the same area." As if fated, he wanted to express, but his held his tongue in that sense, curious to know how she'd react.

Hydra couldn't read that he had felt anxious, though his averted eyes did allow her to know he had felt a moment of discomfort. As to that, Hydra did not feel guilty—she had only been kidding, after all. It seemed he got that, though, judging by his response. His good-natured acceptance of the playful question was rewarded with a winsome smile from Hydra, though his hesitance was met with a teasing snort. Think? You gotta be certain, or no one will think so, she said with a sage nod, her tone decisive as her eyes twinkled, feeling good about herself for sharing the words of wisdom. To demonstrate it, she held her head aloft. I know I'm cool; I don't need anyone to tell me what I am, she hummed proudly, drawing her foreleg toward her chest. And she was good at playing the part—after all, within her own family, Hydra was cool. So were Alya and Lyra. Korei... hit or miss. That depended on the day, really. As he leaned in toward her, Hydra blinked and placed her leg back on the ground. His inquiry was met with a thoughtful look. Knowing that this was all in jest, Hydra hummed a little, We'll see, her tail waving conspirationally. She would have to test him on his coolness this day, as this was obviously of importance to them. In the back of her mind she wondered, is he good enough for Lyra? and then, ...he seems good, genuinely good—that would be good, for Lyra, who is good...

The area being around here, she tilted her head. Hydra thought of she and her sisters, but had decided that they themselves would be going nowhere. Why should they? What would that even mean? Hydra's ambitions were not yet so far reaching as Rannoch's, but they were high. She wanted to protect Moonspear, help it grow and be better. Leaving it at present simply felt like abandoning it, and no wolf was so important as her own family was. Charon and Amekaze were of utmost importance to her, and her sisters too. The Ostrega girls were nothing if not loyal—to one another, to their family. How many are with you?

It was somewhere between Hydra's teasing and her sparkling eyes that Rannoch managed to smile, breaking his character. Attempting to re-step back into it, he offered the dark shadow a shrug of his shoulders and smirked. "Fine then," he assumed, taking on a much more confident facade to reply. "I am cool." There was a playful glint in his eye as he spoke. Though Rannoch did not feel fresh, nor did he truly know what being cool entitled, he attempted to emulate how Hydra was portraying herself. The gentle hum of her teasing reached to him, he threw back his head, eyeing her with mock shock. "Well, that would be a shame..." He began after a moment of thought, his tail swaying gently behind him as he lowered his head. "But if that happens, I'll just have to let everybody know that your coolness is a scam." He accompanied his words with a firm nod as if confirming that he meant business. 

Rannoch's slick front shifted as the conversation did, turning less silly as they discussed the others. He nodded to her first question, finding no need to elaborate at that moment. Instead, he focused on the issue at hand, recalling the ones that had joined. "Theres six of us," Rannoch confirmed after a pause, his head tilting as he looked to her. That the remark of all these questions lingered on the tip of his tongue, he stayed silent and allowed for his body language to do the speaking for him.

You can try to convince the others of that, she hummed, her ears cupping backward as she adopted a regal and cool mien, her eyes closing for a brief instant, but coolness cannot be pretended, and anyway, I don't think you're a liar, her eyes opened and flashed impishly at him. Her own tail waved and she smirked, feeling quite triumphant. What say ye? 

Six of them. Hydra nodded. What made you guys leave Neverwinter, anyway? Rarely was Hydra so inquisitive, but she did wonder about their origin story. Hydra was interested. Having no desire to leave Moonspear made her wonder what could possibly compel wolves to want to leave their home.

Hydra seemed to have nailed him, and he inked, unable to respond. Despite the confident facade he had had moments before, Hydra was able to tear down that confidence that he had built up.  Pressing forward a stifled smile and lowering his ears, Rannoch found himself unable to reply to that. She had won, it seemed, but the wide-set Frostfur felt no shame in this. 

The subject matter shifted from their back and forth to an inquiry of their finders story. Rannoch's expression darkened to this, and he sighed. "It's a long story, but, basically, a series of unfortunate events happened when I was younger. The final straw was when my parents were killed, and I ran away for a while to clear my mind and get away."  Rannoch had no intended to get into such detail about his upbringing, but, the words had come quickly, and he had obliged. "My parents were the leaders of Neverwinter Forest, my birthplace, and apparently without them, it's fallen apart. So when I came back to the valley to find Cypress and Rian, we all decided to go out on our own and make our own Neverwinter." Smiling, Rannoch shrugged. "As much as it all sucked, I like to think that everything happened for a reason." He ventured, attempting to keep it light;  shining example of his mother's sunny desposition that he had inherited.

Cypress had mentioned to Alya his broken background. The extent, the details, were now shared with her freely. Killed? Hydra's body was at attention, a loaded bullet ready to be flung into its fatal motion. Who killed them? Were they still within the Valley? Hydra bristled. That her parents could be killed in her lifetime somehow had never occurred to her. At least now she was big enough to combat whatever came at Moonspear, at her parents. Her protective streak increased, and she felt the itch to return to the mountain now. But these details were important. Rian's parents... but, he had not spoken of their death, had he...? 

She hadn't the mind to concoct a decent response for him, now. All that he spoke sounded all very... well, what? Noble? Hydra did not know. How come you guys did not just... take over Neverwinter? Maybe it reminded him of his parents, but was that a bad thing? Hydra could not imagine wanting to forget Amekaze or Charon. He wanted to make his own Neverwinter, so it sounded to her he did not hate the place. Though maybe she misunderstood.

Rannoch's ears fanned along the top of his crown as he was asked to explain his parent's death. He felt some long-repressed feelings begin to surface within his chest and as this occured, Rannoch's gaze flickered from Hydra and to the ground as he attempted to get a regin on his emotions "A bear did," he explain flatly, his expression indicating that he didn't want to explain further. 

With Hydra sticking her nose into the more sensative information in his life, Rannoch felt uncharactically defensive. Again, his tone short, Rannoch elaborated upon the questioned point: "Theres only bad memories there now." His eyes rose to meet hers, hard as if he had determined he was done speaking about it.

Hydra had yet to see a bear in her life, but she decided instantly that she did not like them. Though she put her parents upon a pedestal, Hydra was aware of their mortality now as she had never been before. Hydra was not one to read social cues, but even she could sense that the subject was a sore one. Why should it not be? Her ears swiveled. I hope its dead, she offered by way of grievance—she was not made for comforting others, but the effort there had been real. 

He was uncomfortable. Hydra understood why, and she shifted her weight. She could only hope no more bad would come to him in his life so that he would not have to flee from that, too. He had left when his parents passed, and he left Neverwinter due to bad memories... she recognized the weakness, but for once Hydra did not expose it. I upset you, she observed expertly. She had dredged up the less than pleasant aspects of his life and she hardly knew him—and so she sighed. She did not know his parents and so could not speak for them—that she was sure that they'd be proud of him. How the hell would she know? Her ears pricked. I guess I felt that Neverwinter was yours, no matter the memories there. But anything you want can be yours. You're making your own name, her tail waved a bit. Hydra, not jaded by any life experiences herself, could not relate to the weight of what surrounded him in his life. Then again, she was a bit detached from feeling much of anything, emotionally. so... that's good. I hope things continue to be good, she offered. Again, not good at the whole comforting thing—and she was uncomfortable, making the attempt, but at least the attempt was made. She did think Rannoch, at his core, was a good guy.

Hydra's attempts in trying to console him did not go unnoticed, and as she wished death upon the creature, his expression brightened. Though his sorrow was still noticeably present, the well-wishing did make Rannoch feel better. But even with her words, it would take Rannoch some time to recover from the reminder entirely. He shook himself in an attempt to shake the clinging feelings. 

Hydra went on in an attempt to right her wrongs, and Rannoch dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Thanks..." he trailed, realizing that they had yet to introduce each other. In the absence of her name, he introduced himself: "I'm Rannoch, by the way. Rannoch Frostfur." He seldom introduced himself with his full name, but, he felt the need to in this instance for reasons he couldn't even begin to explain.

Don't mention it, Hydra responded, looking as though she meant it. After he introduced himself, Hydra did so in turn. Hydra Ostrega. Nice meeting you, Rannoch. Anyway, I should get going. If you'll be hanging around here maybe we'll run into one another again. Good luck, otherwise, she nodded to him, waiting for him to say his own goodbyes before she turned to depeart.

"You as well," Rannoch renturned smoothly as he watched her turn from the conversation and out of sight. Once she had melted into the twilight, the turquoise-eyed man turned from where they had met and went on his own way, heading back towards his makeshift family.