Broken Boulder may we stay lost on our way home

we really need this thread even though @Lennon and I aren't caught up yet-- from this point forward, we are settled in Broken Boulder!
no posting order, will archive this in two weeks. posting at least once is mandatory, or your character will be assumed missing!
@Korei Julia @Lanawyn @Lily @Lainie @Xahi @Arnvarr (assuming recruitment has been done already -- I will get a backdated thread up for that soon)
alsooo the first date is clicky, click it

 

· 02/18 ·

It seemed since Alarian had entered the Teekon Wilds, life had not ceased its efforts to unbalance him. Despite his anchors, it had finally succeeded-- again. The boy was distant, faded; a paper cut-out of himself. He trailed after his companions without much enthusiasm or interaction.
The change had not been as overnight as it may have seemed. What was the boy's fragile mind to do but break under the pressure of recent events? At first it had been quiet cracks in the glass, but now he felt entirely shattered, and it seemed nothing could fix it.

A strange, restless energy took hold of him before long. He couldn't remain any longer. Ali had left in a hurry, without goodbyes or intentions of coming back because at the end of the day he was a coward. He was an outcast, too, by nature; even if he felt he fit in for a moment, surely that moment would not last. The boy didn't think he could stand another heartbreak, not when he was already breaking in so many ways.
The dead of night he had used to cloak his escape was erased into a brilliant orange and pink sunrise by the time he stopped, feeling he had gone far enough. At least to rest for a time. He did not let his thoughts drift to what he had left behind, knowing it would break his resolve. Instead, the boy explored the new territory. It was rocky and seemed exposed at first, but the thick forest behind it almost served as a barrier from behind. On the other sides, plains, stretching so far he was sure he'd see if anyone followed him in time to get away.
When Alarian found the first entrance to the dens, though, his carefully-placed walls collapsed with a single thought: This would make a good home for us. Us. Such a simple word, but he instantly knew what it meant. The realization came with a sense of dread, resignation, but relief as well. He did belong with his group-- his pack. Whether he liked it or not, whether it was a sad existence or a happy one, he was irrevocably bound to the companions he had unintentionally collected.
How could he run from Lanawyn? From Lainie? These thoughts alone caused a shamed heat to flush through his face and ears, but then he remembered the two who had started it all for him and suddenly he was sobbing. The boy took off blindly into the tunnel entrance.

Eventually his running calmed to sullen exploring, and his sobbing died to a quiet trickle of tears; he knew now he would return. He would always return.

· 02/20 ·
The boy had spoken nothing of his previous plans, of the feelings that still lingered. With a sudden and unusual burst of excitement that he only felt as if through a fog, he had gone to his lover with his discovery.
And now, the budding pack would have a home.

It had taken a day of scouting and discussion among the group, but soon they were on their way. Buzzing with excitement but still unwilling to engage most, the boy had been flitting between Lanawyn and Korei. The others went largely ignored; he meant no slight by it, but his battered mind took comfort only in the presence of the two most important girls in his life. Each time he looked at them, he was reminded of why he had turned back.
He couldn't even bear to look at Lennon.
At that thing around his neck, at his wounds-- Alarian felt somehow at fault for this misfortune. Surely it was his curse, something he had brought with him when he joined the group, and now it was following Lennon too. What if it killed him, one day? The boy couldn't bear the thought, and he didn't know what to do.

But these thoughts disappeared when they finally arrived. Ali bolted ahead without warning, eager to locate and show off the entrance to the dens he had found. His reluctance to stay had not been forgotten, but alongside it he had found a new determination to rid himself of these feelings. This is home, now, he told himself, no matter what.

Korei Julia still had how they had been trapped fresh in her mind. The night before she dreamed of being trapped down there again, all alone. Yet as they came to their new home, she felt comfort to know Alarian was there by her side still when he came close to her. He protected her, was always there for her. 

Then, he was off from the group. Charging ahead. Korei rushed ahead to catch up to him, wondering why he had suddenly gone ahead...then she could see. They had arrived.

*mobile*

     Xahi was finally exhausted. She had traveled with this pack so long, and was incredibly worried that there was no end in sight to this wandering. The young girl had just started her life, she wasn’t ready to become a weary vagrant. The thought of loss and misfortune shrouded her mind as they trudged on, and it seemed that things were only getting gloomier.
     
       It was then that Xahi was shaken from her incoherent mental rambling when Ali suddenly broke from the group, driving hard up in front of them, Korei following behind. Worrying that something was amiss, she sprinted towards them, coming to a haunt when she felt the mood hanging in the air. There was...hope. She gave a rattled sigh, touching her nose first to Alarian and then Korei. When Lennon arrived alongside them, she would do the same with him, but perhaps with a different meaning. This was it. This was home.

In his absence and series of unfortunate events following said leave, Lennon was a bit different. He had seen a world through new lenses, one unfamiliar; gloomy and cold. He wasn’t, for the time being, who he’d been but a little over a month ago. Everything seemed stale and brittle, his upbeat mien was a facade he played brilliantly for the others hence his return. Though, occasionally, the time where he would relieve his mind of reality and encompass himself in song had ceased. Instead, he was seen blankly staring off into an oblivion that was no melody.

The sudden news was breathtaking and finally he felt that tingle of light that had ran away. He couldn’t express his joy like the others, his wounds preventing any form of jumping around and yipping like a pup. Though, he did carol a sunny howl that perfectly portrayed his excitement.

Finally, after so much traveling, they had arrived.

With a relieved sigh, Lily sat back on her haunches, giving them all a soft, kind look. She had retreated a bit within herself, due to the dull exhaustion of mundane travel, but hopefully now, with a chance to rest, she'd be back to her old bubbly self in no time.

She took a moment to survey the territory in which they'd planted themselves. A small clearing in a tangled nest of woods, a big boulder with what she presumed were caves inside, just like their old home. It seemed quite all right to her, and she had faith in Ali and Lennon, anyway. She knew they wouldn't lead them to anywhere bad. . .right?

Lily's jaws gaped wide in a yawn. She kept close to Alarian, eager to find the new dens for a long, well-deserved nap.

even though the travel had drained her, she relent some other sort of restless energy that she could not shake. it was so mundane, so safe, and so very different from her travels alone, which had been stocked full of adventure and quick, dirty scraps that had her heart soar. she couldn't help but wish that some threat, some obstacle presented itself to the group; not only so that she may burn away the energy that itched beneath her pelt, but also that she may feel useful. it was clear by now that she was the odd one out, and the thought itched at her near constantly. 

quite suddenly alarian bolted, and she peered around as if there was something she'd missed. when she realized the others had tagged along behind him, she adopted a trot at the rear of the group, their excitement catching even through her tiredness. she brightened when she realized the significance of the place, though her mood was soured when she noticed just how close Lily stood to her uncle, the way they all seemed connected. and even though her isolation was somewhat self-imposed, and she'd gotten used to wallowing, she did little more than hang around the rear of the group and offer a wag of her tail.

lol oops sorry i've been awful

they were finally home, whatever that meant.

it had been a long time since lanawyn had found any place or person home, and it was true for this one as well.  but she could not help but be happy with her brother's budding excitement and the relief that they all felt with their arrival.

like lainie, she took up the rear of the group (as she had their entire travels) and although she was too weary to be happy like the rest of them, she was relieved to have a place to crash.