Sleeping Dragon Summoning the Kraken

@Lily

Tilting her head back and scrunching her nose, she peered up into the sky from where the rumbling had come. Quiet but threatening still, like the growl from an overprotective parent, the sound had gently shaken the ground and a soft puff of cloud emerged lazily from the top of the peak. The smell was unpleasant, but intruguing; Niamh had never seen a volcano before and didn’t quite know what to make of it. 

She moved on, head down, surprised that despite the odd smell, there was a strong scent of deer, which interested her quite a bit- especially when she could make out the scent of afterbirth in the area...Hopefully, if she could spook the herd from the region, she wound find a fawn nestled somewhere nearby. They certainly weren’t tough to track down.

She saw them first licking the salt from stones which again, was a new sight to her. She saw no fawns standing, but several does with large bellies. The grass stood just high enough to make her feel she’d judged well- so with a bark, she charged the deer and with a snort, they fled. She zig zagged this way and that, scaring them clear of the area before she began to investigate- and found what she was looking for.

The evening sunlight was warm on her back as she lay down to feast on the fawn that had been hiding in the tall grass, abandoned by its terrified mother.

thanks for starting :)

The mountain at the edge of the field had always intrigued her. They had passed it by on their way, sticking to open ground, and it lurked, an ever-present shadow, in the field of her vision as she stared out from Broken Boulder, as if beckoning for her to come. Come, and explore.

The Sunspires had given her an insatiable curiosity for crags, so Lily set off one early evening, ebony pelt in stark contrast against the barren ground. She was a little afraid to explore by herself, but perhaps if she was back by nightfall, it would be all right. And she told Ali and Korei where she was going before striking out, so if something were to happen. . .

She shook off the thought with a shiver. No need to ponder such things, now.

It was a loud mountain, a grumbly mountain, something she'd never seen before. It smelled acrid and smoky, and, intrigued, Lily meandered up its side, keeping her pumpkin eyes peeled for any signs of danger. Wolves did not make this mountain their home, but deer did--quite a lot of them, in fact.

Almost as soon as Lily had made up a plan to hunt one down--fat chance of that, she thought self-deprecatingly--she almost missed the young wolf feasting on the fawn. It was the scent of blood that alerted her, and she took hasty steps back, avoiding the claws and fangs that were soon to follow. She knew strangers were territorial of their food, and for good reason.

With a low chuff, Lily tried to assure the girl that everything was fine. . .that she meant no harm, that she was not a thief.

Foolishly confident, Niamh let the sunshine warm her haunches as she fed out in the open. She ate quickly, tugging and pulling roughly at sinews and swallowing them down as soon as they were loosened- so if someone did decide to intimidate her out of her meal, at least it’d already be half gone. She’d have to take it easy later to allow her body the time to digest the food she was scarfing down, but she didn’t care. It was warm, fresh and good- and it was hers.

Her meal was interrupted by a dark female wolf, who didn’t seem to see her until a few moments later- but by then Niamh had written her off as being harmless. She continued eating until she was noticed, and an almost apologetic chuff was given. With her mouth full, Niamh shook her head deftly, then tilted it back to swallow a large mouthful of meat so she could talk. 

What came out first was a gurgled mess, so she cleared her throat, and swallowed again. ”Sorry,” She croaked, laughing slightly. ”Hoof in throat or something. ‘Chew first!’ My mother always said. Din’ work, obviously.” She shrugged, and tilted her head in a greeting. ”Niamh.” She said, before cracking back into the scant remnants of her meal.

She started slightly as the girl cast her eyes upon her, and gave a nervous titter in turn at her laughter, still keeping her distance. Lily waited for her to introduce herself, which she did without hesitation, before beginning to eat again. She stood awkwardly, tail swishing behind her.

"Pleasure to meet you," she responded, her voice soft in a shyness that was most unlike her. This stranger had caught her off-guard. She had gotten so comfortable at Broken Boulder that she had almost forgotten there were wolves outside her little family group. "I'm Lily."

Her eyes drifted here and there as she tried to avoid directly staring at the girl and her meal; it was impolite to stare, after all, especially when someone was eating. "Erm, do you live here?" she asked, making a feeble attempt at a conversation. She seemed friendly enough, just. . .hungry. Which she understood; she felt rather than heard the gurgle in her stomach as her nose caught the scent of fresh flesh.

There was something different about the way the small, darkl female spoke- not simply because she seemed a bit sheepish and shy, but there was something about the pronunciation of her words that made Niamh perk her ears. She uttered a muffled noise of approval, finding Lily's voice pleasant, but it didn't effect her too much. She knew the look the smaller female had about her- she was doing her best to avoid watching Niamh eat, and Niamh wasn't exactly going to wait to finish what little she had left, or offer any to the stranger. She'd lived on her own long enough- or so she thought, naively- and knew that meals weren't to be shared unless they'd been earned. 

There wasn't much left, anyway; the fawn's bones were too small to contain much marrow or be of much nutritional value. So all that remained was the last bit of skeleton and a bit of meat on one leg, which was stripped and eaten while Lily introduced herself and asked her if she lived there. Licking her lips and sitting up, Niamh bobbed her head side to side indecisively. "I live wherever." She said. "Just kinda on my own. You?" She asked, figuring that Lily was in a similar sort of position.

She was relieved when Niamh finished eating and straightened up to look at her. The girl's answer took her slightly off guard, and she blinked at her, surprised. . .and impressed. "You just live on your own, without any family or friends?" Lily asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth without much thought. "Wow, that's really brave of you!" Her voice was bubbly, but incredibly sincere.

She gestured with her head down the mountain, to the north. "I live at the edge of that forest with my friends," she explained, looking back at Niamh. "We're kind of a pack now. Everyone's really nice. Before that, I lived with my parents on the prairie." The twinge of homesickness in her belly when mentioning her family, though small, was still there.

"How long have you been out on your own?" she queried, tilting her head to one side in curiosity. Lily had barely lasted half a moon; she couldn't imagine being solo long-term. No wonder this girl was wolfing--no pun intended, the writer insists--down her meals.

"Brave?" Niamh asked, surprised that Lily might think that. She laughed slightly- a soft, humble laugh, and shook her head. The journey hadn't been easy, and she'd only just split up with her brother, so she hadn't had to experience anything terribly tough along the way- but she was well aware that anything could go wrong at any given moment. "Nah. Probably a bit foolish. But luck's been on my side this far," She said, much more willing to give credit to luck than bravery or skill. 

It sounded like Lily'd joined a pack that was just in the first few steps of forming- a cluster of wolves sussing out a heirarchy and territory, agreeing on how big the pack land should be and the roles of the wolves in it. Lily'd seen small groups like that before- her brother had joined one, because he figured he could waltz in and take over as alpha using charm more than anything else. "That's nice," she commented, missing the tinge of sorrow in Lily's voice as she was distracted by her own thoughts. 

To the question, she leaned back on her haunches and thought for a moment. She ended up shrugging. "My brother and I left when it was still fairly winter-ish," She said. "Guess we were a few months shy of being a year old? Maybe only one or two. I don't know; the days kind of blend together." She said, with an apologetic smile.

Lily nodded fervently, eyes glowing like twin tongues of fire as she looked at Niamh. "It is brave," she confirmed, smiling. "To leave everything you've ever known behind, for a world you know nothing about. . .that takes courage. Even if it is foolish." She laughed at that last bit. "I think that sometimes foolishness and bravery go paw-in-paw."

She listened intently to Niamh's story, giving wordless murmurs of understanding as she spoke. Lily felt another pang as she thought of Freddie. She'd tried to convince him to come with her, but he'd resisted--he was much happier back home, where he could sing and flirt without a care in the world. He'd begged her not to leave. . .but she had anyway, with only a few glances back.

She thought that Freddie would like Bracken Sanctuary, though. He'd likely have a crush on the pretty Alarian, and probably his sister, as well. Not to mention Xahi, with her ethereal beauty. Hell, Freddie'd have everyone in his good graces--and he'd be a welcome reminder of home.

God, she missed him.

"Where's your brother now?" Lily blurted, not thinking soon enough of the potential terrible answers that could result from that question. She clamped her jaws shut, flushing with embarrassed heat, though waiting with bated breath for Niamh's response.

So maybe Lily was right- she seemed to insist that Niamh had been brave for leaving her family, which was actually kind of sweet of her. It was flattering, having someone insist you were brave, so she smiled- an honest, caring smile- and bowed her head in thanks. ”You’re really sweet, Lily,” She said, ”And you’re probably right; it takes bravery to be foolish, and foolishness to be brave,” She said. 

She was then asked about her brother, and she shrugged. ”We met a bunch if guys who were thinking of starting a pack together, but didn’t have a great plan put together yet, so he figured he’d join them.” She said. ”They were about a week and a half’s journey here- dunno where they are now.” She admitted.

Realizing she’d mostly been talking about herself, she nodded to Lily. ”So what’s your new pack like?” She asked.

"Thanks!" Lily chirped. "You are, too!" She nodded in agreement with Niamh's sentiment, then heard her out, giving the girl a sympathetic glance as she told a tale where her brother, too, was somewhere else but here. She was just glad Niamh hadn't taken her question personally.

"Oh, it's very nice," she insisted, casting a glance down the mountain toward Broken Boulder. "Everyone is friendly, and welcoming. We started out in the south and then moved from there. You should come visit!" She tempered her enthusiasm a bit, flushing. "If you want to, of course."

Lily invited her to come visit the pack, and she was glad that she'd been invited to visit, not join. Lily was nice and all, but joining a pack...She'd have to have a solid reason to join a pack- some sort of undeniable loyalty or something- whatever it was that her brother had felt when he'd joined up with that group of yearlings. "Sure! Whereabouts exactly is it?" she asked, given that she had actually no clue where any packs were in the area, at the moment. "Does it have a name?" She asked. 

From her own memories of being in a pack, she recalled that she had enjoyed it- she loved her family and her friends, but it just hadn't been the place for her- perhaps too many family members, and she had a biological need to branch out and find her own place in life, away from her family. The majority of the members in the pack were siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins, anyway- so naturally, the younger generations had begun to leave the nest in search of their own adventures.

She pointed her nose once more down the mountain, to the north. "Down there, at the edge of the woods," Lily explained, looking back at Niamh. "We call it Bracken Sanctuary. It's a home for anyone who needs it."

It was beginning to get rather dark, and with it, her nerves were increasing. She didn't think there was anything too ferocious on this mountain, but you never could be quite sure--and she had wanted to be back by nightfall. She blinked apologetically at her new friend, giving a shrug of her shoulders as she spoke again.

"Well, I should be getting back," Lily said, smiling. "It was nice to meet you, Niamh!" She began to bound off, but then stop, throwing over her shoulder, "Bracken Sanctuary, at the edge of the woods. Big pile of rocks--can't miss it. I hope you come visit!" With a final shake of her tail, she was off, happy to have met someone other than the usual gang.

She loved them, but they got quite boring, sometimes.

Lily gestured, and Niamh, who generally had good bearings about her, nodded and tried to remember the general whereabouts, so that she could visit. It sounded like Lily was pretty well set up, and the more alliances she made while out on her own, the better. It didn't necessarily mean she needed to join a pack- but just in case a loner made things tangly, it was always good to have packs nearby that at least knew of her and thought she was a decent wolf. 

Lily seemed keen to get back home, so she smiled and bowed her head to her new friend. "See you later, Lily! I'll come visit sometime!" She said, waiting a moment to watch Lily bound off before she went on her own way.