ass that’s so vast i could block out the sun

@Chusi or someone who knows her ♥ North of Firefly Ravine, near Grimnismal but not trespassing. Keeping this post somewhat vague as I am not sure what will happen in the thread with Mallaidh. I am also not sure what will happen in this thread.

Eirlys couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much on her mind — but she knew if she wanted to find her way back to her family, she’d better buckle down and focus. With considerable effort, she quieted her noisy psyche and padded westward, still tense and wary and glancing surreptitiously at the sky. She had so much she wanted to talk to Ceallach about! Even more so than Hemlock, their only remaining parental figure, he was her rock and her confidant. Her travels had taught her that the world was full of different options as to where they could go and what they could do, but she knew one thing for sure: she didn’t want to do it without Ceallach.

She was toying with one idea in particular when her feet slipped out from under her and she careened down a slight incline, sliding on her belly on a patch of ice. Scrambling to right herself, Eirlys realized she was too close for comfort to the second pack territory, but she’d twisted a forepaw in the fall and was slow to rise. “Owww,” she complained in a quiet whine, beginning to limp away again — but the ice patch was wider than she’d thought and she ended up backtracking slightly, trying to skirt around it before she was discovered. Though she made certain not to cross into the unfamiliar territory, she knew instinctually that she was still at the mercy of the seaside pack by being as close as she was.

The butterfly fluttered over Grimnismal's borders with grace, a happy smile on her face. She wasn't counting days or anything, but Ingram and her had been together for at least a week now. She wondered if she should get him something special, something she had hunted herself or so, but her plans seemed to change a lot. That was certainly the case when a ball of bumbling fur came sliding down the mountain side, nearly landing right on their doorstep. Chusi's brows rose in surprise and somewhat in concern as she made her way to the other.

Hiya, ya okay there? She asked. She lingered close, having never been protective of their land to seemingly friendly wolves before. Besides, this very much looked like one big accident, no reason to get aggressive over. Wylla might have disagreed with that though... But, there was a sense of... recognition, that Chusi couldn't place well.

Ceallach knew that Täti would worry over them. Especially with them both gone, but, he'd gone tracking after Eirlys because someone had to keep things together and keep an eye on them. Usually he spent his time after Tapat but the older boy was staying with Hemlock and the babies and that was just fine by him. It meant that he got a chance to stretch his legs, something that he and Eirlys both seemed to have inherited from their mother - that itchy sensation when his paws were tired of the ground they stood on. This was different though and Eirlys hadn't said anything - just wandered off - and Ceallach couldn't have that. He was a sheepdog with a very finicky flock and he had a job to do. That job involved keeping them safe and keeping them together and damned if he'd fail anymore at his job. 

He'd been so careful to keep out of her sight because he didn't want to stifle her either, Eirlys had certainly earned her own freedoms after all. Well. To a certain extent. Was that bad? Ceallach actually stopped in his tracks to consider that - he was overbearing in a regard and he was stifling his sister by not trusting her but he did trust her but he just....everything came to a grinding halt in his head as he watched her tumble, apparently their northern blood wasn't generous enough to make them impervious to ice. Ceallach was trying to find a safe way down without falling himself so he could help Eiri when another figure approached and asked if she was alright. 

His hackles lifted and Ceallach found his head pounding - the dark pattern she cut with only the hint of white at her breast, her voice - he had a good memory. Maybe too good. The last time he'd encountered her scent he'd lost his father after his mother was barely cold in the ground. Now, there was no way he'd let her take his sister, too. 

Eirlys IS trespassing at this point, just to be clear. ^^
I rolled a ten in Discord just now, per the pack forum information.

“Hiya, ya okay there?”

That voice! Something about that voice and that accent — Eirlys froze initially, but once she turned and spotted that familiar dark face and its bright ocher eyes, she catapulted forward like a rollercoaster car without functioning brakes. “Chusi!” she yelped, forgetting entirely that she was upset and maybe even a little angry that her big sister had never come home. She was lost in the euphoria that this time was going to be different — she mistakenly believed that Chusi had recognized her immediately! — and she ran right into pack territory, crowding the taller girl’s space with desperately loving whimpers and whines. “Chusi,” she wheezed breathlessly, excitement warring with the lupine equivalent of exercise induced asthma. “How come?” Her question probably sounded inane, but she plowed on regardless: “How come you didn’t come home again? Mama — and papa — oh, Chusi, and äiti — ” Quite hysterical, she stepped a few paces away to collect herself — and unfortunately for Eirlys, “away” meant further in forbidden territory.

"trespassing scenarios are non-consent, meaning damage will be done to your character without your permission" - Chusi won't hurt her, but I will assume Chusi is indeed pushing her <3.

Chusi froze, floofy tail high in the air as her eyes widened. To say that she was surprised to see the female rushing toward her like she was the greatest thing on earth was a huge understatement. She was completely baffled and unsure and hardly concerned about her border work anymore. Had she met this gi-... and that was when it clicked. Who else but her own lost family would react so lovingly to simply spotting her? E-Eirlys? She asked, not knowing how the first white ball of fluff had turned into a mocha-chocolate dessert.

She suddenly felt really bad about not having recognized her immediately. She had been thinking of them, but to find them so close to her current home was... Miraculous, she would say. I-uh-whut-I did wanna, but... Her eyes shot from side to side, back to her sister, and then she turned to look behind her. They were IN Grimnismal. Wylla would not be happy about this if she found out. We needa getcha outta 'ere 'fur they see ya. She said, turning to nose Eirlys towards the border. Questions could come later, but she'd not let her sister be caught on pack lands.

Wylla will hurt her. ^_^; For now she's only going to worry her muzzle so if she leaves right now it'll be just a minor muzzle bite.

Wylla was too lazy for border work, but the number of trespasses and near trespasses the small coastal pack had endured forced her to do it even though she hated it. She would rather have a pack of complicit followers who did this scut work for her, but she wasn't about to force that on her brothers, Caiaphas would put a hex on her if she demanded it from her, and everyone else was a blank face in a crowd as far as she was concerned. She'd met most, or all, of them, but if anyone asked her exactly why they were part of Grimnismal, she wouldn't have a clue.

Chusi was one of those individuals, so when Wylla spotted her on her winding course along the forest borders, she at first thought she would make half an effort to get to know her. After all, she didn't feel immaturely threatened by the strangely droopy she-wolf's appearance the way she did with Nyx, though she also didn't know about her relationship with Ingram. She knew nothing much at all about Chusi, and was in a good enough mood to try to learn more, but that whole plan went flying out the window when she drew nearer and saw another wolf.

A wolf who was not Grimnismal at all. In their forest. Again.

Mistaking Chusi's shoving for attempted aggression toward the trespasser—rightful aggression, she might add—Wylla lurched into a canter and then a full-on run. This brought her bounding through the trees on fleet rabbits' feet until she was within feet of Eirlys, whom she lunged for with an intolerant snarl and hooked her fangs across the bridge of the younger wolf's muzzle.

He carried after the trail Wylla left in a lazy lope, his strides light and efficient across the frozen ground. He had meant to tell Wylla his good news about Chusi -- all those plans were startlingly interrupted as he came upon the scent of several wolves. He pressed on quickly and as he broke the cover of the forest he spied Chusi - like Wylla, he mistook her body language for aggression.

Terrified that his new girlfriend was possibly in danger, Ingram bullrushed the stranger blindly -- he did not commit the courtesy of announcing his intent with a snarl. Instead, he flew towards her like a sinister wraith -- teeth parted to sunder anything they could come in contact with. With Wylla's life and his girlfriend's life on the line, Ingram was not playing.

 

Ceallach let out a sharp growl as Eirlys got too frantic and ended up going the wrong direction. He should have stopped her before this point but it was too late for that. Chusi set into her, trying to shove Eirlys. Ceallach got more defensive, letting out a snarl as he started working his way towards the pair. "Let go of my sister!" He shouted loudly, a cold ice filling his veins as two more wolves descended upon his sweet sister. She hadn't meant it - Chusi had set her off, it had been their abandoning adopted sibling. She just couldn't stop hurting the family, could she? 

"She slid on the ice and fell!" Ceallach called out, trying to make sure that he too, didn't fall. If they did continue to react aggressively and moved to do more damage to Eirlys - a thought that brought a sharp pounding to his head with a dark rumble like roar only Ceallach could hear - he would need to be able to get her out of there. "Let me take her out of here, we'll never return to these shores.." He didn't know if they would listen to his shouted plea but whatever it took, Ceallach would do. 

Thank you for the thread! I am gonna chuck Eirlys out of here, but if you want a private thread in neutral territory that takes directly after this, @Chusi, can you please tag me in your post and I’ll start one for the siblings? ^^ @Ingram, I made Eirlys literally butthurt per my roll in the Discord [I rolled odd, so no death].

If anything needs to be changed, please tag or message me on Discord!

Just as Mallaidh had, Chusi eventually recognized Eirlys — but her reaction to the snowdrop was baffling. First came surprise, which Eiri now knew to expect; but then there was a furtive darting of ocher eyes and a quickly muttered statement. Was Chusi in danger? “Who’s — ” was all she managed to get out before Chusi was guiding her back toward the borders. Though she was bewildered and overwhelmed, Eirlys allowed her big sister to push her where she would. Eirlys was all fluff and chub while her sister had matured into a slender, steely-muscled woman.

“Are you going to come home now, Chu — ”

Whatever Eirlys was going to say, it went clear out of her head when, seemingly out of nowhere, a grayscale female hooked her fangs across the bridge of her muzzle. The pain and the fear this brutal lesson engendered were so great that for a moment the snowdrop scarcely remembered to breathe — but as another wolf came barreling forward to sink his teeth into the caudal aspect of her right thigh, she remembered how — and screamed. Struggling wildly, she attempted to break free — and if the territorial siblings would allow it, because there was no question here who was in control of the situation, would take off blindly running toward Ceallach’s voice. “Chusi, run!” she screamed, believing now that Chusi was being held prisoner and that must have been why her big sister greeted her with nervousness instead of open arms, “Run away!”

As for Eirlys, she set her eyes on Ceallach — and whenever she could, she took off running on three legs toward him, intent on putting as much distance between herself and the coast as possible. Chusi, she wholeheartedly believed, would be only a few steps behind them.

@Eirlys - I would love one after what I see what this thread becomes! Chusi can go after her if that's what you mean :)

She nosed and nosed harder to get her dear sister out of their lands as quick as possible. Her ears flicked at what she assumed was going to be a question about home. Home? was there home still where she had left it? Then what the hell were Eirlys and... did she spot that right... Ceallach(?!) doing all the way out here. There was little time to think about that though as the thundering of paws on sand approached.

No! She shrieked as Wylla came rushing to her "aid". When her teeth hooked on Eirlys muzzle was when she tried to wurm herself between the two. In the corner of her eye did she see the advancing form of her boyfriend (yes! Perhaps he would help her!) but it quickly turned grimmer for the two Fearghal sisters. Stop it! Please! She yelled at the two.

THAT'S MAH DARNED SISTAH YA LUNATICS!! She shouted louder, hoping to put an end to their attack. Her ears flicked when Eirlys called for her, but hesitated to follow. She frowned at her sister with a slight shake of her head whenever she would turn to look, dropping to the floor without a pardon - bum on the cold sand.

A lot happened at once. Wylla's teeth found purchase on Eirlys' muzzle and she yanked it, mostly harmlessly, because a part of her understood this was just some stupid-ass kid with no respect for the rules; Ingram appeared alongside her and did far more in the form of sinking his fangs into Eirlys' fluffy butt; someone was shouting from beyond the treeline, sending Wylla's anger and aggression spiking to the sky even as she released Eirlys' face; and then Chusi, intervening as Wylla lunged for the fleeing trespasser's shoulder and ultimately missed.

Ba-dump. Wylla recalled the trespasser from the sea, more than neck deep in their woods, like she had a right to be there.

Ba-dump. Wylla thought of Rose and Caiaphas fighting on the strand, and the sea witch taking down the other she-wolf in a violent display of prowess.

Ba-dump. She thought of Witchbaby on the borders, flaunting, disrespecting everyone there without an ounce of formality.

Ba-dump. She remembered Caiaphas in the grotto, etched in blue, telling her she would feel defeat's teeth when she took her place.

Ba-dump. She imagined her brothers limping across the strand, injured, telling her they had been set upon by the wolves on the cliff.

Ba-dump. She thought of Chusi, standing alongside Arrille, defying her authority.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. YA LUNATICS. Snap.

Wylla turned fiercely upon Chusi then, snarling with spittle flying, redirecting all her pent up rage, aggression and stress onto the Fearghal. That was it. She'd had it. Wylla had never done anything great worthy of a leader's respect, but she was the leader nonetheless, and she expected it. She hadn't done anything to deserve the amount of disrespect, defiance and now this insult, either. She felt she was doing her duty. She didn't care if Eirlys was flown in on the wings of a giant eagle without a say in the matter. Wylla believed the bitch should have been running the second her feet hit pack territory, but she hadn't been leaving when Wylla found her, and that was proof of disrespect to her. That Wylla was feeling scorned time and again was partly because she chose to take it personally, but it was mostly a legitimate feeling for the young Alpha, and all of it came pouring out as she lunged for Chusi and screamed, "GET OUT OF MY PACK!"

ingram's ambush landed him directly in front of the interloper, and as he pulled away from her haunch he felt blood on his tongue. the wolf was already running - good, he thought vehemently. he was so tired of playing guard dog to grimnismal all the time.

but then chusi screamed - ingram spun upon her in horror, half expecting her to be harmed. his ears cupped abruptly atop his thin head and he looked to her in confusion -- and then terror -- as he saw wylla befall her.

his sister's expression was unmistakable - a keen mix of fevered fury and overwrought intensity. the crowd before the ball drop. the settling silence before the impact of a pin. the pale face of a sinner before the gallow's door.

shit.

the stranger was all but forgotten as he watched the events catastrophically cannonball out of his control: stuck between chusi and wylla, his choices were clear -- but it was a choice that would pain him greatly to make.

"w-what?" he fumbled, trying to gently take his sister's attention, even though she looked mad as a mare denied her bran mash. "wait.. wylla! no!"


he looked upon chusi then, hoping against anything she would plead, beg, say sorry -- anything to secure her safety with his family. but it was not her -- it was not his girlfriend's way to be a sycophant.

he felt his stomach flutter into sickening descent and he watched crestfallen for chusi's reaction.

 

Okay, last one for Ceallach in this thread - thank you guys for my mostly cameo additions! I'll be watching eagerly for the outcome to this!

So many things happened and Ceallach wished in a way he was closer. It might escalate more however, and while Eirlys wasn't much of a fighter (even as infants, Roarke was the most battle-ready of them all) Ceallach didn't think he ranked that much incredibly higher. He would have given his own life however if it meant his sister was safe. He could faintly smell blood mingled with the bitter smell of the sea, his stomach rolling a bit. There was no doubt that it was Eirlys'. The screaming of his sister instructing them both to run set him on edge and once he finally saw her he pointed his head out towards the open plane. "Let's get the hell out of here," He said gruffly and barely turned back to see if Chusi was coming. 

He didn't care. He hoped she wasn't. 

Unaware at that exact moment her garbled words had landed her in even more trouble with her Alpha Ceallach was focused entirely on getting Eirlys to safety which meant much further away from the shore and the pack that inhabited it. Once they had more land between them Ceallach would feel better. Leaving the shore and the pack behind them, Ceallach gently nudged his sister's shoulder. "We'll get Täti to clean you up." He said softly. 

Chusi had always been a defiant girl - that became very apparent when she had simply left her mother somewhere to go with a man that wasn't even her father. When it came to wrong and right, Chusi always thought she knew which was which. Wylla attacking her sister without question as she was handling the situation perfectly fine on her own, was wrong, but defending the pack was right. Chusi defending her friend from a beating he didn't completely deserve was right, but so was being hard on your members when they had done something you weren't pleased about. Wylla and Chusi both had good reasons for doing the things they did, and one could argue whether one was more right for doing it than the other, but it mostly came down to an individual to decide themselves.

What Chusi hadn't expected was for Wylla to be so merciless as to kick her out. Chusi had been as much of a provider as the rest, knew their lands and beyond, had a lovely relationship with her brother (did she know that yet? Had Ingram told her?) and had generally been rather nice to the alpha when there wasn't a shitstorm brewing.

With a dangerous growl did the bigger female defend herself, making her way toward the border slowly as soon as she could. This situation wasn't worth it. She had found her family, had their scents to follow, and surely... surely Ingram wanted to come with her too. Even now he seemed hurt to see her leave, so what was keeping him from standing up for her with an heroic "If she goes, I go too"?

Ingram... come with meh - please? She nearly pleaded, still making her way as far as possible from Wylla. She drooped, ears flattening over her finely-crafted skull, eyes sparkling with hope that he would simply follow her and start anew somewhere else. The best sister in the world wouldn't just kick out your girlfriend, after all... Even Arturo hadn't been that hard on her, and she had been but a child.

Assuming you meant for Chusi to defend against Wylla's lunge, lemme know if that's wrong.

Wylla's screech quieted to a loud snarl as she clashed briefly with Chusi, who growled back and defended herself, solidifying Wylla's decision to kick her ass out once and for all. This woman had defied her authority and undermined her in front of the entire pack with a small but significant action. This woman had allowed a trespasser to breach their claim without immediate action, which only weakened their reputation. This woman had called her a lunatic, and now she dare to turn fang upon a pack leader. The sole reason that Wylla didn't bowl Chusi over and physically force her out of the territory with unfettered violence was Ingram's sadness, which told her she was a friend of his, but that made no difference. Chusi had made her choice twice over.

When the other she-wolf offered a plea to Ingram, Wylla's snarl drowned the tail end of her words. She flung her tail high over her back and shouldered roughly forward, barring Chusi from turning back to Grimnismal entirely. She levelled a fierce gaze on her former subordinate, a woman she hardly even knew, and coldly proclaimed, "you aren't his family. You're barely anyone. He's not a lunatic." She knew nothing about their relationship; she felt wholly confident in what Ingram would do because she had no idea that there was any other option. Still, what he chose to do wouldn't change her decree, and Wylla bristled and snapped her jaws and commanded, "get out NOW or you're dead."

Because, after all, she believed she had Ingram on her side and ready to back her up, and she believed Chusi had no one at all, not even the wolf she'd claimed was her sister.

ingram's house of cards had come down tumbling before he had even finished the foundation. all the carefully arranged pieces -- his reunion with lycaon, the discovery of chusi -- the long awaited return of wylla -- these pieces fell about him in shards, irrevocably broken.

he was wide-eyed as he watched the two jostle - oil and water, earth and fire; the two were irreconcilable -- two halves of an irredeemable whole. for the first time in his life, he struggled with what to do. he looked between wylla and chusi with a dark blight of hurt across his features; how could either of them do this? why?

could they not put aside their differences?

he guessed not, and in the end, blood was thicker than water. as chusi turned back to speak to him, a fracture seemed to splinter through him, and he sunk visibly as he weighed his options. go with the girl, his girlfriend -- the girl that had lightened his life --- or go with family, blood, duty.

"i... i can't." he cried, lip curled back in a pitiful choke -- he could not bring himself to meet chusi's gaze. she didn't deserve him.

and he knew it.

With a dignified stance did she sadly look upon the boy she loved so dearly she had even stayed with him in a place that had only recently felt like home. Grimnismal was a magnet for trouble it seemed, while she had always been lucky. She couldn't stay here, especially not with the sister of her boy that she had treated as a friend the first time they had met. Without Chusi, who knows how long that tentacle had been embarrassingly attached to her face. She should have never helped her - should have never stuck around. Ingram and Arrille (and perhaps Nyx and Kierkegaard a bit) were the only reasons she was still doubting if she'd rather stay.

But Grimnismal would fall. Even if Chusi had to make sure of it. She had only ever felt such rage towards the Blackfeather wolves who had come and stolen her life away from her. After that encountered, everything had went to shit. Ya're right. She spat back. But he is mah boyfriend. Her nose wrinkled up a bit at this. She would have chosen Ingram over Eirlys or Ceallach any day, as sad as that may sound. He couldn't even choose her over his violent sister that was nothing but a hotheaded lunatic.

But that was his decision. She believed... No, she knew she could be happy without him in the end. With a glare directed at both of them, she turned and ran as fast as her long legs could carry her, over the border and towards what she could only hope to be was a better future. That was not before she, somewhat triumphantically, called over her shoulder; Ya said ya were gonna be mah boyfriend forevur! Guilt-tripping it was, yes, but somehow it made her feel the slightest bit better to know that he had broken the promise, not her.

 

Wylla surged forward, snapping her jaws and narrowly missing as Chusi engaged her brain and finally fled. She stalked after the droopy-furred woman on stiff, stick-thin legs, bristling from head to toe and snarling menacingly, but she didn't follow beyond the borders. Even seeing red as she was, the crazed she-wolf was still too lazy to expend more energy than absolutely necessary.

With Chusi gone, she turned her frowny face on her brother, smoothing out her pelt in the process. She wasn't happy with him—mostly for making a girlfriend out of someone with no respect for his family, as she saw it—but she couldn't be too angry. He hadn't left with her. He hadn't broken her heart, or Lycaon's. Of course, she didn't know about that little problem, either. "What was that all about?" she asked in a tightly strained voice with flattened ears.

ingram could see the sudden change in chusi's disposition; an ire that rivaled his sister's descended her features, and suddenly, her ochre eyes weren't so warm anymore. he was cowed by it, and turned his head away in shame.

wylla came shortly after, snarling and bristling as she chased the girl from their land. ingram was at a loss, gloom sinking his heart -- he was crestfallen as he dejectedly followed after his sister. he wanted to stop the both of them, to smack sense into both of their bullish heads -- to make them get along so he could be happy -- but it simply was not fate for him to be happy.

chusi's parting words speared through him cleaner than any talon ever would. he looked at her sadly, calling after rather sorrowfully: "DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE BREAKING UP WITH ME?"

but already her figure was gone, and his words bounded back to him in the still woods. he turned to wylla and frustration welled in him. refusing to meet her gaze as well he fumbled a quiet "nothing.", hastily turning from her at a desperate lope.

Wylla's nose wrinkled as echoed voices bounced back across the tops of the trees. At the end of the day, she didn't really care about their personal drama besides how it affected her brother's health. Far as the young Alpha was concerned, that girl was nowhere near good enough for him anyway, and with her seeming belief that Ingram should abandon his family for her, she selfishly thought it was better that they were separated sooner rather than later. It would inflict less pain that way. As Ingram slunk off with an unconvincing mutter, Wylla snorted and along the borders, leaving him to mope while she ensured that both trespasser and traitor were well away from her home.