Tuktu Weir Perfect strangers

let me know if any of the Indra pp is not okay Lauren!

@Indra @Hiram

"Come on, we gotta go," Laurel had roused Indra from her sleep with when she found a moment where she could slip out and away. They couldn't keep watching them forever. Laurel wasn't sure what she would do if she found Reek; she just wanted to talk to him proper, without the silver creek wolves around. She had taken Indra, assuming that her sister would feel the same about meeting him.

Her sense of direction was not as good as she would have hoped though and by the time that darkness started to set in, the girls were hopelessly lost, never having made it out of the forest. After going in rounds for a while and the girls growing a little fearful in the darkness of the night that had fallen over them, finally they broke out of the forest.

"Wow!" Laurel called out as she looked out across the field they had come into, the forest next to the big lake they were following changing into grass. Laurel had never seen such wide open space before and it was with widened eyes that she stared out across it, sticking close to Indra all the while.

He lingered close to the creek, like a specter in the night. Spring and the rest of the Creek Wolves had made their hostile message perfectly clear, but still Hiram stayed close. Raas did not lead him here just to be turned away. He would not falter, nor would he admit defeat. Though the grotto called to him and he missed his home dearly, he would not leave without his daughters in tow behind him.

His home for now was made in a hollow tree, and there he waited for a sign from God. He returned to the drawing board, drafting new plans with every passing moment, but this was slowly becoming a waiting game more than anything. Nevertheless, Hiram would wait for all eternity if he had to.

And then, by some divine providence, he heard a voice. Not just any voice, but the voice of his daughter in the dead of night. For moment, he though his mind was playing tricks on him; taunting him into submission, but still he rose from his hollowed tree. It was not long until he found both of his daughters. From the other side of the clearing, Hiram looked upon them and chuffed. His heart hammered in his chest and he prayed that they were alone.

'noooo,' mumbled indra sleepily, her form slumped like a sodden hedge in the den. laurel was insistent -- too insistent -- indra's pink tongue curled in her mouth in a mighty yawn as she felt her sister batter her repeatedly. 'alright alright i'm up,' she hissed, stumbling in the dark towards laurel's rapidly retreating form.

she kept her distance from laurel, feeling a great sense of loss -- she was cold and she was tired and now they were in the woods and all she wanted was to sleep. she was just about to let laurel have a piece of her mind (which would have been laughable really, as indra was easily subdued) when she thought she heard something near them. she froze, feeling the fur on her nape run upright. 'l-laurel.' the red child blubbered, horror seeping her chest as a dark figure broke from the shadows.

Laurel had been close to admitting that she was lost moments ago, but seeing this beautiful open space and the lake which mirrored the stars and the frays of the trees as it emerged from the forest was beautiful and Laurel had never seen anything like it. To end up at a place like this, she decided, she couldn't possibly be lost! "Look In, it's so beau—" but that was when she saw Indra freeze, seeing her sister react to something but not sure what it was. She nosed Indra's shoulder and said, "Don't worry In, I'm here," hoping to make her feel a bit more at ease and then she turned to face what her sister'd been looking at.

Laurel's ears perked forward and she took a tentative step so that her shoulder was aligned with Indra's head protectively as she stood tall and called out: "Are you friendly?"

For a brief moment after grabbing the pups' attention, Hiram watched his two girls from afar -- gauging his chances on wether or not he could just snatch them up and take them to the grotto by force. However, he quickly shelved the idea, as it wasn't really his style. And even then, he would only be able to take one, not both. Driving yet another nail into the coffin of Hiram's initial plan was the fact that surely, the pup who was taken would most likely protest.

He soon realized that he would have to handle this incredibly delicately.

And so, he moved forward as the loud one, Laurel called out to him. Was he friendly? Of course he was, he thought. He was their father. "Yes," he answered, nodding his head. "I am. Have they told you otherwise?" The they in question was clearly the wolves of silver creek, who had most likely lied to the both of them.

The fear that chilled Indra's spine did not desist; she felt a raw burn well in her throat as she swallowed. Laurel stepped ahead protectively, and while the gesture was meant to assuage Indra's terror it only multiplied it --"careful!" the red child hissed, sinking back as Hiram's form pulled smoothly from the shadows. She felt a low quivering growl rumble in her throat, and for the first time in her life the growl was full of mistrust  and wildness.

Laurel growled, hackles raising as she called out towards their mystery guest. Yet when the figure came from the shadows and spoke, a smile broke across the angry growl that was on her face as she called out — "Reek!" She glanced back at Indra and nosed her sister's shoulder as she explained: "It's Reek. He's not bad, like Spring says. He's pretty nice, just misunderstood 'cause everyone's acting mean to him." From what little Laurel had seen from him, she was sure that Reek was no mean soul.

She took a step towards Reek and said: "D'you wanna hang out..?" She was dying to get to know her dad, the mysterious 'bad' wolf that Spring had painted but also the gentle soul that Shreya had said; the 'medium' wolf.

Indra, the more unfamiliar of Hiram's daughters, reacted with caution. This was understood, though he was her father -- she had only seen him once, and circumstance of that meeting had been less than favorable. However, Laurel was quick to jump to his defense, spurring a kind smile from the Cardinal. She knew -- she could see the inner light that Raas had planted in his soul.

"Of course I would!" He said, chomping at the bit to spend any amount of time with his daughters that he could. "What do you want to do?" He asked. Perhaps they could play a game... Or anything else to gain their trust.

indra was surprised by the growl that rumbled deep in her chest, having never heard such a fierce thing emanate from herself before. in a way, it scared her -- and as laurel tried to placate her fears it was clear indra was deeply unsettled. she looked to the stranger warily -- and while her muzzle was silenced her hackles remained aligned upright and visible.

as laurel, the braver of the two, stepped towards the strange male something in indra's heart blared with alarm. "h-hey!" she hissed quietly, trying to rein laurel back discretely. she couldn't imagine playing with him and even though laurel seemed unafraid indra could not shake the fear from her stomach.

Laurel didn't notice her sister's fearful behaviour, so engulfed was she in this new interesting stranger who she knew to be Reek. Spring said he was bad, Shreya said he was medium, but Laurel didn't care even if he was bad, 'cause bad was still adventurous and exciting in her mind. The world needed bad guys, too, and as long as you ended up on top it didn't matter if you were what others perceived as the bad guy, or whatever. She just wanted to be on top, where she belonged.

Only when Indra hissed out a 'hey' did Laurel look back to her sister. "It's okay, In, we can go home later," said Laurel. She then turned to Reek and asked curiously, "You'll bring us home later, right? Where's your home? Can we go see it? Is it nearby?" She didn't intend to stay away forever -- but she wanted to see where Reek lived, too. She wanted to see the whole world, if she had a chance to, and Reek was her door there.

If they came with him, all the way back to the grotto, could he bring them back to the creek? No, nor would he want to. However, he was prepared to tell his daughters whatever they wanted to hear -- once they got back, he could convince them to stay with him forever. They would see that Hiram was their real family, not some sham like the Creek had been. They would see the might of God and their hearts would be swayed. And so, he nodded his head and said, "Yeah, sure," sweeping the topic under the rug where it would hopefully stay.

Hiram was much more interested on answering his daughters other questions. He pointed his muzzle north. "I live waaaaaay up north," he answered, looking back to his daughters. "There's lake with a grotto nestled into a glacier -- I lead a pack there." Out of nowhere, he had an idea. A smile crossed his face. "That would make you -- both of you," he quickly added, looking to Indra. "Princesses."

"I'd certainly love to show you my kingdom," he continued. "If you want, I can take you there if we leave now." Unfortunately, there would be no time for tearful goodbyes.

indra's time on this earth had been short, but not so short that she didn't recognize an ulterior motive when she saw it. she sat there, vexed -- a deep trench of troubled thought furrowing her youthful brow. unfortunately, she was too young to connect the dots -- and instead of coming to a natural conclusion that it was a trap, she simply felt unsettled in the pit of her stomach.

with laurel besides her, indra begrudgingly would go wherever she went. it was simply the way things were -- the way things had always been. she nodded feebly as laurel said they could go home later -- in truth all she wanted at this moment was the little soft nook of dirt where they slept. not even being a princess chased the quiet alarm that consumed her. she would play for now, an unwitting pawn in reek's game -- and would never be the wiser to her father's intricate ploy.

Laurel wasn't sure how far it would be, but she was certain that it'd be a marvellous adventure. Sooner or later they'd return home and they'd have great stories to tell their family. With a cheerful smile, Laurel nodded when Reek invited them to come and see his home. "Yeah!" she said with cheer in her voice, and she nosed Indra, saying, "C'mon In!" before moving to follow Reek wherever he would lead.

maybe place for a fade? :)

she wasn't one to argue, especially if laurel showed interest. eagerly the russet child stepped behind the two, her gaits bright and animated. with excitement she leaped from leaf to leaf, rock to rock, and sometimes even her sister's bobbing tail fell prey to her pounces. eventually she would tire, and eventually, she would become cold -- but for now she followed the duo into the waning moonlight that sheathed the navy skies in a pale, cold alabaster glow.