Big Salmon Lake 'cause it's home, but it's gone

For @Mato! Set before this thread: http://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=21441

 

In Rannoch's attempt of recognizing the range of his companions, the wide-set male had found himself slipping from the protective canopy of the forest and into the open as he followed the scent trail of his brother, Cypress. Though he knew that his raven-haired sibling was interested in migrating, Rannoch found himself sidetracked by his sibling, finding himself all the more curious to see what Cypress had been up to since he had proposed the move. He knew that he'd get on track in due time, but, for now, Rannoch would now explore with the intentions of seeking his brother, his previous ambitions slowly succumbing to the importance of checking in on his sulphuric-eyed sibling. 

Cypress' trail lead him to the vast expanse of Big Salmon Lake, and as he stepped into the barren lands, Rannoch paused in an attempt to get used to the harsh lighting. It was mid-day, the sun sitting on its apex in the sky, and Rannoch was not used to just how bright the sun was. When he felt somewhat used to the drastic shift in lighting, the turquoise eyed man pressed forward once more, following Cypress' trail to the lake's shore.

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The mid-day sun is warm upon the starlight imperial’s night spilled cape as it’s harsh but never the less bright rays reach down to touch upon all that it can. The druid is not a beast that minds the day but his favorite time is dusk when the sun finishes it’s descent into the horizon and night begins to swallow the sky whole as it turns opaque except for the break of starlight as they litter the velveteen dark; but he thinks that of course dusk and night would be his favorite times: he is an aspiring astronomer and without them he would be without a honing skill. The empyrean lingers close to the lake, standing partially upon it’s bank and partially with his front paws in it’s shallows. He has just finished lapping at the water, droplets still falling freely from his chin as his head rises, ears perk and alert atop his skull at the sound of footfalls. A glimpse over svelte shoulder puts name and a slight sense of familiarity to the stalwart figure that approaches. Rannoch. Leader of their juvenile gang. Salmon pink tongue swipes across his jowls to catch the last droplets from his chin before they, too, can give into gravity and splash upon the pelage of his chest. “Rannoch,” The druid greets the other male with a bow of his crown in acknowledgement of the older boy’s position among their not entirely established hierarchy.

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The discovery of Mato on the lake's shore further separated Rannoch from his former ambitions, and soon enough, such tasks have been entirely forgotten. Picking himself up, Rannoch redirects himself in the star-splashed male's direction, his eyes shining as he looked upon the newest recruit. "Mato," he greeted with a wave of his tail, coming to a halt before the prince of the Fen once he reached him. 

Though Mato's time within the ranks of the band had been short, Rannoch felt as thought Mato would be an essential member. He was respectful, well spoken-- everything that the turquoise man could have ever asked for in a pack mate. "How are you be settling in?" Rannoch was genuinely interested to see how Mato had been faring since his joining.

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Rannoch comes to halt before him and Mato’s verdant gaze takes in the stalwart leader with muted inquisitiveness and thinks to himself that he and Cypress are so very disparate. The wild furred raven is brooding and austere but Rannoch is not; or if he is Mato has yet to see him be so. Thus the empyrean is left to compare them to night and day. Despite Cypress’ despondency Mato finds that there is a seedling of fondness within him for Cypress beneath the comradeship forged between them by the nexus that was the juvenile gang and the pack they were to become. Mato hears the authenticity in Rannoch’s question, truly wishing to know how he settles. The druid takes a moment of consideration to think his answer through despite that it did not come unexpected. There were makings of familiarity in their loose structure but as they are not yet formed he has yet to see how it will unfold. Despite this uncertainty, he is auspicious. The tree is solid — it only needs a place to lay it’s roots so they can settle in deep without unwanted intrusions. “I am settling in well, thank you.” The druid replies candidly. He misses his family, it is true, and the first night spent away from them was particularly arduous but each night that comes is measurably easier than the first. He misses them but he is not home sick. Going with these other juveniles feels right and Mato listens to his intuition, recognizing that it is by far the strongest sense he has.

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Rannoch feels relief in the other's statement, and such emotions bring a smile upon his strong jaw. He is more than pleased to hear of the boy's settling and with that burning concern recognized, Rannoch feels as though he now has a chance to get the know the newest recruit. Seizing the opportunity, Rannoch begins with Mato's passion: being a Naturalist. Though the wide-set man had only once found himself all too interested in the wonders of the earth, he finds merit within the other's interests and knows that his knowledge could be of real use to the pack. 

"So, how long have you been interested in being a Naturalist?" he asked casually, looking upon the shorter wolf as his genuine expression lingered. Seeing no use to stand, Rannoch sits then, inviting Mato to do the same by motioning to the ground with a gentle stroke of his snout.

lmao, mato got carried away. :p

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The next question that spills from Rannoch’s lips capitalizes upon Mato’s sole interest in all he knows to be the entire world. The druid is not a beast made for conversations of silence — nor it’s accompanying discomfort — and idle pleasantries. His temperament and attention span, much like an imperial house cat’s, will not linger in those situations. It oft gives the impression that he is imperious (and perhaps in that, it is not entirely wrong). He does not respond right away, as with before, he gives it careful consideration because in this case the druid does need to think back to the point he realized he was bewitched by the stars and further that he felt a connection with the earth. The latter is more easy to pinpoint than the first, admittedly. “I have always liked the stars, I suppose,” As far back as he can remember, anyway. Whether that was expressly true or not he couldn’t say with absolute certainty for he was a child and his interests were so fickle and fleeting. “searching for constellations for fun became a dedication when I realized that you can navigate by them if you know how to map them.” The Wilds were a lot bigger than he ever realized and there were so many places he had yet to venture within them, thus he imagines it is easy to get lost in which case a navigator would no doubt be useful, or so he thinks anyway. “I suppose in a way it comes from my father who taught me about the cycle of life and death and rebirth. He taught me that as the earth nurtures and protects us we, too, must nurture and protect her. I drew the conclusion that by ensuring that the earth is cared for that we become her Guardians.” Sebastian had lain the foundations out before Mato and the druid had taken to it with rampant vigor. It was much more than Rannoch has asked for (as it was the druid could have settled for the beginning: for as long as I can remember) but he is easily carried away by his passions and is eager to share his view of things knowing, now, how very unique it seems to be to the view of others. Cypress helped to put that into a clearer view for Mato. While the empyrean saw strength, wisdom, a gift in a tree the austere raven had simply seen a tree.

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He's the cutest! <3

 

Though Rannoch was initially met with silence, soon enough he was brought to the other's vivid perspective on the matter. He listened closely, listening to the sentiments with both an open mind and heart. "You know, I never considered that," he mused after a long pause, looking to his packmate with a smile. Though he was aware that the earth was delicate in his stability, Rannoch had never considered himself a guardian for the protection of their mother's wellbeing. "I like it," he added, his tone thoughtful. Feeling intrigued about the subject matter, he felt compelled to learn more about what Mato had been taught. 

"Can you teach me about the cycle of life, death, and rebirth?" He asked, pulling himself to the ground so that he could lay.

thanks! :D

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If the older boy is exasperated by Mato’s verbose tangent in detail that he had not asked for, Rannoch hid it well. Such is the druid’s way though. His passions easily become the sun which he eagerly gravitates around pulling him closer with no resistance from him. It was easy to lose Mato in these situations. His trades and his devotion towards them command his attention on a very singular level, as unfortunate (for others) as that can, at times, be. Easily, he can forget he has company at all, the spell only breaking when they speak. There is unbidden surprise that takes shape on the empyrean’s face as Rannoch declares that he likes it and then one ups himself by asking to be taught about the natural occurrence of the world. It’s true balance. Life, death and rebirth. The starlight druid cannot help the slightly incredulous look he gives Rannoch, for he is older and Mato expects him to know about such things — especially considering Cypress’ story about their parents. “It started with sorting out rotted meat from one of our caches,” The druid speaks, to set the context of his coming information for Rannoch. “my father explained to me that the rotted meat is removed and buried separate so it does not taint our fresh meat but also so that it can feed the earth. It makes the soil fertile and allow grass to grow. Grass, in turn, nurtures our prey and from our prey we are nurtured. And when we die our bodies decompose to continue the cycle, to continue to nurture earth as she will nurture our children, grandchildren and our many generations to come.” His acceptance of this cycle, of death, its easy because it has yet to touch him. On this subject he is truly innocent and naíve. He has not felt the crushing weight and pain that death leaves in it’s wake and does not realize that it is not as simple as he thinks it is.

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Rannoch had never looked at life as a cycle and instead saw it in more of a "point A to point B" scenario. From his understanding, death was a final sentence, one which death makes one useless. But, with Mato's perspective, that didn't seem to be the case. With the lesson that had been given, Rannoch felt a new sense of comfort in regards to his parent's passing and felt that their deaths hadn't been entirely in vain. No, they had returned to the earth and continued the cycle to maintain the delicate balance of life further. 

Not wanting to bring up his parents, Rannoch paused before remarking on the story. "That's a beautiful way to look at life," he noted, his tone thoughtful. It was all the blue-eyed man could say without bringing up the subject of his parents. Curious, and eager to get to another lesson, he decided to pick the child's brain more: "What other lessons do you have?" 

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It is a strange thing to Mato to think that not everyone else is exposed to that same type of thinking when it comes to life — that it is a never-ending cycle of life and death and rebirth but he knows that he is an outlier in it. He is suddenly filled with a great gratitude towards his father for sharing it with him. Perhaps, he thinks, if he does nothing else as Naturalist he can offer his view to others in the hopes that if they do not believe it themselves then it will, at least, perhaps offer some sort of comfort to have been given the perspective. The empyrean’s ears taper and flutter back against his skull in unspoken gratitude, unpretentious when Rannoch offers that it is a beautiful way to think of it. Mato can only take credit for taking that simple lesson of life and turning it towards his passion. As the ambal colored male deigns to pick his brain for more lessons Mato’s cheeks creep with a flush of heat that he is glad his star-kissed fur hides from view. He is not sure he has any more lessons to share but there is a swell of hurt pride beneath his breast at the thought of having to admit that. He is young and though he speaks well and is knowledgable on what he knows he is still learning. Still a istyar. “I am still an istyar — a student. There is still much I don’t know.” The druid humbles himself before his soon-to-be leader regardless of the smart of the words. Mato does not think he has anything else to offer Rannoch and worries that it will lessen the older boy’s opinion of him.

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Though he is disappointed by Mato's response, he hides it while keeping a grin upon his chops. "That's fine," assured Rannoch, keeping things lighthearted for the newest recruit. After all, Rannoch knew that all the wolves that had gathered in his ranks were learning, just as Rannoch was as well. "I guess I'm a bit of a.." he hesitated momentarily, attempting recalling the word that Mato had used, but eventually he settled for what he knew: "...student, too." Thoughtfully, the leader added: "I think we all are, you know?"  Rannoch noticed that they all were in different stages of their learning, too. But, despite that, they all had the common and knowing this made Rannoch feel a little less alone in the whole learning process.

tiny, poor quality wrap up post, ahoy!

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There is a nod of agreement from Mato as Rannoch speaks that they’re all students. The druid expects that much to be true despite the uncertainties of it all. Thus far, the wolves that Rannoch and his brothers have recruited all appear to be within a similar age range. Young adults. It would be rare to find a master among their ranks — though, he admits, not impossible. Not a single one of them had all the answers for everything …and that was ok. The empyrean’s ears twitch slightly and he gives his weight a small shift. The pair exchange conversation for a little while longer before they part ways.

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