The Sentinels hollow coves

@Viinturuth

 

Ashenvale...

Velen had picked a good name for the burned remains of the woodland. Of course, when that time came, Ford would allow any of his wolves in the bay. Once they had gathered the numbers needed, then they could branch out and claim the wild wood. He trusted his brother to rule there without issue. There was a pricking feeling that rode on the coattails of that thought. The titan wondered just how many of his members would abandon the bay in order to walk alongside Velen in the vale. The idea of them abandoning the sea made him bitter, so he did what he could to put that aside.

Lengthy limbs carried him through the forest. His mismatched gaze roamed the charred bases of the trees that still stood. Their life had long since been extinguished, but they still watched over their terrain like sentinel ghosts. Ford thought the place could still provide a good home for those who would settle there; even in its dismal state. There was something romantic about the remains of a torched home.

They'd happened across him in the snow, weak and entirely alone - too inexperienced to survive the cold season without the support of his kin. Young Viinturuth's initial plan was to move on again when the weather permitted, but he was swift to find comfort among his new companions. It was a quiet place with no hostility between its wolves, no raised lips or curled tails. Instead, the family provided exactly what Swiftcurrent Creek no longer could: stability, and an opportunity to thrive.

This sense of belonging was short-lived with the arrival of his mother at the territory outskirts, and her mere presence resurfaced an anxiety he'd thought was gone. Durnehviir could not accept his desire for distance and privacy, instead lurking beyond his new home for days following his rejection of her with the hope that he might change his mind. The dragoness' proximity roused uncertainty among the ranks and, as its leaders gathered to prepare for her disposal, Viinturuth took it upon himself to make his point perfectly clear with his own fangs - only to spare her.

She took her leave, finally. As the pack returned to its ways, the young Frostfur-Mayfair couldn't quite shed the bitter taste of his dam's blood on his tongue. He withdrew from his companions, driven from them not only by guilt but by fear that Durnehviir might send a more able-bodied messenger to retrieve him or, worse, seek to slay him for his attack.

Burgundy gaze looked out over a vast, endless water. The tang of sea salt on the air was somewhat familiar to him, rekindling a memory of infancy that he couldn't quite place, and he found himself wondering if Swiftcurrent Creek might've led him to this place if he'd followed the current. He stared from the shore for a short time before he turned to move away, a quiet ghost slipping through the marred foliage of what (unknowingly) should've been his father's birthright. He had not anticipated the presence of another and, with a prick of an alabaster lobe, he paused in his tracks to silently observe the stranger's stride. Only when he was sure that the other male was of no threat did Viinturuth offer a friendly sweep of his feathered tail.

It was almost difficult to imagine what the forest had looked like before the fire. He had never seen it in what had been its prime. The warhound had only known the wild wood through the stories that his mother had shared with him. It seemed almost a fantasy compared to what the wood actually looked like after the fire. The titan was sure that Deirdre had not lied to him, but that she had exaggerated the beauty of the place in all of her recounting. Of course, he would never know what his mother's home was like before he had arrived there. He could only imagine, and his mind was not entirely capable of including all of the magic that had existed in his mother's stories.

No matter his inability, the skeletal titan still found a peculiar attachment to the idea. He wandered the ashen wood with hope that he might actually find a way to see what she had. Every time, he was faced with the harsh reality that the world had taken away something that had once inspired those who lived in it and around it. All that was left was the aftermath of a natural disaster. It would likely remain that way for a very long time.

The scent of a stranger met him, and the warhound drew his crown upward to gaze through the fluttering flakes of ash. There, in the midst of it, was a beast he had never encountered before. They stood at a distance for a moment before the other man demonstrated a soft wave of his tail. Ford returned the gesture and offered a ghostly smile in turn. “I don't typically see wanderers come through this way,” the titan remarked in a smoky baritone. He looked to the stranger with a curious expression on his face. The mismatched tones of his eyes remained hollow and lacking of any emotion.

The stranger paused, and lifted his proud crown to inspect him quietly from a distance. Viinturuth felt the muscles of his shoulders tighten in preparation to flee should the need arise, as the sudden scrutiny of the brute's unusual mismatched gaze was something quite unsettling for him. At once and without thought, he submissively dipped his pallid muzzle and swept his ears back against his silvered nape.

The two-toned beast spoke to him, and Viin regarded his words with a curious twitch of a whisker. He hadn't really considered that the land had nothing to offer the creatures of the wild, for he himself was merely passing through. "Sorry," he offered gently, "just following the coast, never smelt any markers. Hope I'm not... interrupting?"

The pale boy apologized before explaining that he had only ventured along the coast a short ways – that he did not scent any markers that would suggest the land had been claimed by anyone. The titan peered at him intently before offering a small smile and shaking his head slowly. “You haven’t interrupted anything,” the warhound remarked in a tone that simmered with good humor in spite of the cold glint of light in his mismatched gaze. “My claim is through the wood there. You’re still on free land,” Ford then offered quietly, gesturing with his muzzle toward where the bay was nestled.
 
Overhead, a dark bird released a single cry into the chilly winter air before the sound of its wings could be heard taking flight. Odds were that the ashen forest was not appealing to many of the creatures living in that area – even the fowl. “Do you live nearby, or are you scouting?” the skeletal brute then inquired of the younger man. Typically, those who were found on the shore belonged to the sea. At least, that was what he had found in his time there.

The stranger's words brought some small assurance, but Viinturuth remained a little on edge and maintained the distance between them. Announcement of a claim nearby did little to settle his budding anxieties and although sure that he hadn't strayed too close to cause upset, he didn't like the idea of pissing off the coastal wolves when he himself was in such a vulnerable position as a lone wanderer.

"I live nowhere," was the pale youth's response, and he fell silent as he momentarily flit his burgundy eyes in the direction of a bird as it took flight. Somehow, he didn't feel it would be wise to give away the valuable information that he travelled with no one else, for surely he would be safer should the other believe that he might share the company of others? Their species was a social one, and a rogue could easily be seen as a nuisance. "I was born further inland, but it wasn't much of a home to me."

Ford was not foolish enough to invade the space that the stranger had made for himself. He wanted the other man to feel as comfortable as he possibly could, so he remained in his place and provided his company with as many physical signs of friendliness that he knew. His tail wavered softly between his hocks. He did not hold his crown too high, no matter his pride. The titan was well versed in his ability to speak to others. He was keen to pick up on body language faster than most. It was the only thing that had saved him from becoming a secluded psychopath.
 
The boy remarked that he lived nowhere. Ford smiled softly at the comment. It was not a sentiment that he could truly relate to. He wondered if he was at a disadvantage for such a conversation. Still, the stranger continued on to say that he was born in the area, but further inland. He explained that his birth home was not truly a home to him. The swarthy titan nodded his head in understanding. That was something he could relate to with more ease. Then, as though he thought it was important to ask the question, the warhound latched his sights with the boy and canted his skull ever to slightly to the left.
 
“Are you searching for one?”

Are you searching for one?

The boy blinked. Truthfully, he wasn't entirely sure what it was that he sought. A place to be safe, of course, but a permanent one? He wasn't sure he could ever truly settle, considering how swiftly the dragoness had found him. Durnehviir had surely reported back to his father, who the pale youth was certain might seek retaliation for what had happened to his mate.

Could his parents even consider themselves as such any longer? Viinturuth felt his shoulders tense with the memory of his mother's promise when last he saw her: that they'd be complete again if he would simply go home. He'd been too stubborn to believe her, but the niggle remained. If their bond was severed, could it really be his fault by defying his dam?

He looked up into the titan's patterned features, burgundy eyes searching for his own mismatched stare for any sign that he might be attempting to lure him into some kind of trap. "I..." Viinturuth paused, and swallowed. "I might. Are you... offering?"

The pale boy blinked in response, holding his answer behind ivory teeth as silence passed between them. It took a great deal to pledge one’s self to a pack, he realized. Even more so to someone that had only just been met. Ford did not know the doubts that plagued the other man. He did not know what in his past had led him to the seaside, or why he might have sought to stay. It was only an inquiry, after all. It could grow into something more if that was permitted.
 
“Stormrift would appreciate your strength,” Ford responded with a small shrug. “We will always accept members who are seeking to grow.” That was true, after all. The titan would not have turned someone away if they believed the rift would assist them in flourishing. He knew that there would be those who would pass through without having learned much, but he hoped that they were few and far between.