Ankyra Sound Pepsi: We Created the Moon and We Will Eventually Destroy It

@Ali

It is hard to put Saarthal out of her mind completely. Max had left Drageda in search of her and she’d talked to Blixen already, hoping it’ll be a short trip and her friend returns soon. And if they have any luck, with their other friend in tow. Or, at the very least, word of… something.
 
Mallaidh trails the borders for a while until something catches her attention outside it and she trails off, scenting the ground every so often. She avoids the sound as best she can, trailing along the once marked borders until she reaches the forest on the other side. She’d begun her search here, some time ago, for her friend, and though some of the territory is familiar, she has a chance to learn without another duty at hand.
 
An older doe crosses up ahead and Mallaidh freezes, ears flipping back and a beat later, standing erect upon her head. Slowly, she creeps forward, attempting to a better look, but she disturbs something on the ground that makes enough sound to send a sharp look in her direction, and barely a second later it darts off into the thick of the forest.

196

the coldness that gripped her bones had become sort of a permanent companion and she was most definitely not happy about it. it was this exact problem that had forced her inland a small bit, still remaining near enough to the earth's edge to be able to get that salty tang in the back of your throat when you deeply inhaled the fresh air but moving deeper into slightly more sheltered land where she could escape the cruel breezes that the sea had been bringing in much more frequently. it was amongst the thinning shrubery that she'd managed to nestle down deep enough to sleep- skinny golden form curled tight to preserve as much body heat as she slept fitfully- waking every now and then to either her own coughs or because she thought she heard something nearby. 

she'd been dozing for a while without any disturbances when a large crashing sound tears her from her slumber. confused and groggy eyed it takes her a second to realise the sound was a startled deer literally seconds away from trampling her. "fucking hell!" she yells hoarsely, just managing to roll out of harms reach as the thing races past and off into the distance. slightly shaken she pushes herself to her paws- all spiky and bedraggled but quite pissed too, especially when she hears movement behind her and catches the scent of wolf on the breeze. "do you know that thing almost fucking killed m-" she turns as she growls out the accusation- quick to presume that the wolf had to be the reason the deer had been so scared. she cuts off mid sentence though when seeing the pretty girl around the same age as her. 

she's now pretty aware as to how stupid she'd must've looked in this situation especially as she stood there now with her golden fur a fuzzy mess and dead leaves sticking out here and there. her jaws clenches as she shakes herself out- glowering all the while but mutters a quiet "sorry for shouting at you" she then sets to very intensely studying the ground beneath her paws, skinny frame shivering slightly as another sharp breeze cuts through the trees and her short pelt.

The deer moves so quickly that Mallaidh doesn’t have time to react, still frozen in the position she’d been caught in. Her eyes follow it as it darts through the trees, back and forth and around them, so quick that she doesn’t see the wolf flail around on the ground in the distance. Pale green eyes follow the doe until she disappears entirely from view, ears swiveling in the direction the voice comes once she realize it’s her she’s shouting for. Just as stunned as she’d been from the fleeing deer, she is by the pretty girl with seafoam eyes. A little thin and rugged by it does not hide the underlying beauty. Her ears twitch a little on her head.
 
She apologizes and Mallaidh shakes her head. She isn’t entirely sure what’s said, having been lost a few seconds to register exactly what’s going on.
 
“Um, no, it’s—”
 
(My girl, you can do this.)
 
She stiffens awkwardly, jerky movements putting her foot back to the ground and trying to relax. It’s been a long time since she’s heard her mother, having thought she’d been gone for good. Mallaidh releases a heavy sigh and shakes her head again.
 
“It’s my fault. I startled it. I should apologize.”

208

if ali had thought her own actions had held a certain element of teen awkwardness to them then this was certainly something. her heart beat had began to settle and she was on the way to growing calmer. perhaps still a little flustered by the whole situation that she'd been awoken to but nevertheless the hot anger that had so quickly rushed in to consume her as strong as the waves that crashed relentlessly at the cliff's edge had also began to receed back into whatever cave it had burst from. this is what lets her finally raise teal eyes once more to focus on the other girl- confidence slowly growing stronger which each slower beat her heart took.

however her company seems so completely startled by ali's outburst as she stutters and stiffens. her own brows arch as she watches almost warily- not really sure what to expect. however after a few more moments of quite awkward silence - like the type that you could feel in the air pressing down on you - the girl seems to gather herself and this time when she speaks it's in a much more certain tone.

ali lifts her shoulders in an effortless shrug, muttering out a quiet "s'okay" which is followed by a few sharp coughs. she wasn't going to go patting her on the back assuring all was perfectly fine because well, it had almost fucking killed her! but she couldn't bring herself to be completely rude to the pretty girl either and she did seem pretty sorry...

she sniffs as another breeze whistles between the trunks around them, tilting her head to the side in a small bird-like movement. "so who are you?" she finally allows, voice not quite as friendly as it could be but there was no heat in it anymore- and curiosity dominated any annoyed tones.

The stranger brushes it off and Mallaidh offers a smile of appreciation. She’s okay and will be able to walk home in one piece and things could have been worse but they weren’t. The deer could have actually stepped on her, which leads to another subset of possibilities which cause a shiver to run up her spine.

Shut up, shut up, shut u—

…fuck, what did she say?

She’s leaned in close, sniffing, and Mallaidh awkwardly leans back before realizing the actual question. Oh my god, why are you like this?

“I’m Mallaidh, from Drageda. Who are you?” Trying to brush off any awkwardness, Mallaidh mimics her and sniffs the air for any indication but doesn’t find anything to note.

this one's....slightly odd she supposes is the best way to put it. her awkward pull back as if ali had snapped her jaws at her leaves the golden girl arching a brow skeptically. either this girl as pretty as she is has some real issues going on in there or she had really startled her with her outburst. she leans back on her haunches- tail swishing uncertainly behind her as teal eyes remain relentless as they press on the other. when she does finally answer it's spoken much calmer than expected and curiosity is quick to spark in the young girl's gaze at the mention of what she guessed must be a pack. however before pressing on that subject a small smile creeps along her maw whilst watching the girl -whom had introduced herself as..mallaidh yes- would then sniff at the air in what ali would like to say would be an effort to act casual after her previous stumbling but couldn't say it for certain.

nevertheless her gaze drops momentarily as if trying to hide the slight uptilt of her mouth. "so drageda...is that a pack?" she lets her eyes rise again as she speaks, smile still lingering but she'd managed to let its nature now appear much more casual- its not like it was uncommon for her to smile whilst conversing with another. "because like fuck i love the sea i don't wanna leave it" the tint to her gaze could be described as gleeful when she mentions the large expanse of water she felt so drawn to. "but-" her jaw remains opened for a couple seconds after uttering that single syllable before it snaps shut again and a slight frown is quick to crease her features. fuck she only just met this wolf no way was she going to start begging for a home right off the bat, she had to show some independance she was no stupid pup that couldn't care for herself! her long tail lashes across the earth as her jaw clences- bright happiness seeming to disperse as quick as it came. 

when she speaks again her tone finds a neutral compromise between the rush of emotions as she inhales deeply and completely ignores the 'but' she'd spoken beforehand. "what brings you away from home then?" she stretches out her long limbs afterwards, making an effort to appear as casual as ever although the slight twitch of her tail tip betrays some of her unease. "oh and i'm ali, nice to meet you mallaidh" she lets a smirk of sorts grace her features at that final statement as she finally takes off the pressure to gaze off into the forest. sure yea she had her issues but hell was she going to admit that even to herself? you already know the answer to that.

Questioning begins and Mallaidh lifts an eyebrow. Is her pack further inland, too far from the sea? Does she have a pack at all? The way she trails off sounds suspicious enough, perhaps she is looking for a new pack all together. Mallaidh has brought a wolf or two back to the borders but the experiences haven’t been that great. Rose has been the decline of her and Blixen’s relationship and she is still bitter about Arrille (she still, with great anger, wants to cross paths with him again). She has to relax the slight bristle of her fur.

“It’s my pack, yeah,” she answers, her tail sways a little behind her. “I love the ocean, too,” she adds, a little too eagerly but, god, what else does she and the pretty girl in common?

Her cheeks burns red and she’s thankful for her dark fur. She has enough embarrassing moments to earn her a place in the Embarrassing Moments Hall-of-Fame. And if that doesn’t exist, then she has enough embarrassing moments to start one.

“I’m not too far from home,” she says with a slight turn, pointing the way she’d come from. The sequoias block the view but, “the beach is that way and it's is on the other side.” The sound is essentially their backyard as the sandy coast ends where their cliffs behind. “If you saw the view, you’d probably never leave.”

something seems to frustrate the other and ali frowns whilst watching the paler fur along her back bristle slightly. had she offended her? she doesn't see how that's possible as she goes back over the words they'd exchanged. nope, nothing stands out to her like okay she'd shouted at her but that'd been agesss ago now like surely they'd moved on from that. her mouth is already opening- ready to question the reaction for of course it fails to cross her mind that of course the girl might not have actually been thinking of her in particular. however mallaidh is saved as a small coughing fit intrudes and ali is left spluttering for a few moments.

her ears lay back against her head when she straightens again- teal gaze instantly appearing sharp and defensive should her ability to look after herself be questioned. sure she had a bit of a cough, no big fucking deal. narrowed eyes drop to the ground as she rubs one creamy paw with another in a small sign of unease. okay it's not even that she means to act like such a bitch, from what she can tell she actually quite likes mallaidh so far but that's exactly the problem. she doesn't want to be thought of as weak, she didnt want the other girl to feel obliged to help or speak to her. the mere thought causes her jaw to clench as she continues to study the dark blades of grass tickling at her pads.

her eyes lift again to the pretty fae's dark face as she speaks, confirming that it is indeed her pack. for now it is easy enough to push back the confusing rush of emotion and slip back into the her she was comfortable with and her mouth turns upwards in an attempted grin as she expressed how she too loved the ocean. "it's breathtaking" she murmurs simply, smile lingering on her lips as she remembers clinging to the cliff's edge and allowing the sharp air to roll in off the waves and through her golden pelt. "i wonder is there more out there huh?" she wonders aloud, it was a thought that had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since finding the edge of the world and once again she felt that weird kick deep in her gut, an almost ache at the stark realisation as to how trapped they all were on what now seemed like a much smaller little universe. 

she shakes her head slightly, as if to clear it and focuses back in on mallaidh. she's speaking about her home again and ali follows her gaze to where she motions to. at the words the grin upon her maw gathers strength as eyes glitter with a hint of mischief. "wanna bet?" her tail wags slightly as she watches on, it was a good way to perhaps get closer to the pack without exactly asking to right? another breeze causes the branches overhead to sway and too brings a stronger scent of the girl to her. at that she blinks thoughtfully, hadn't she smelt that before? her head tilts slightly as she wracks her brain for it and oh of course! "i met a girl from your pack before" she blurts. what was the name again..."max! i mean her name was max yes" it hadn't been the longest of meetings but she could still recall the stormy night, especially considering how she had almost walked off a cliff. fucking hell like.

@Max , gonna presume her and ali would've exchanged names at some point during their interaction- hope that's okay and if not lemme know <3

Mallaidh holds her breath through the awkward tension. She doesn’t really know how to get out of it so she doesn’t say anything. Maybe she can ride it out, see what happens as they continue to talk. Ali hasn’t completely been scared off by anything she’s done and she clings to the hope it’ll pass eventually.

All too eagerly, she nods her head about the ocean. Many a night she’s been found looking at the ocean and wondering the same thing. It doesn’t have the same allure of expanse as the sky, which takes over most of what’s above her, but the concept of where the ocean touches is beyond her reach. “I don’t know,” she confesses and feels pulled to find the water to look at it and contemplate the unknown with her. She turns to look at Ali and smiles. Blixen judged her ideas when they sounded ridiculous, but she’s seen what she’s seen. “I like to think the ocean and sky come together and become one being,” she adds and glances down, worried she’ll be made with the same skepticism.

“I’d take that bet but I’d have to take you into pack territory and I can’t do that unless, um, you joined,” she explains but her ears cup forward at the mention of Max. Ali is at least a little familiar with Drageda and she feels a little more at ease. Surely, if something was wrong with this wolf, Max would have told her about it? Maybe. They aren’t as close as she’d like to believe. “Max isn’t here right now. One of our friends went missing and when we couldn’t find her nearby, she went to look a little farther out.”

gradually she begins to feel more at ease, those odd jittery feelings retreating somewhat that left her quite so wired and she allows herself to lean back onto her haunches in one smooth movement- tail swishing from side to side. yea she'd always been on the proud side hence the constant flare ups but for some inexplainable reason she'd felt an extra need to prove herself to this girl even though it wasn't like she was being challenging or anything. quite the opposite in fact. her nose wrinkles in thought- was it just because she was pretty? hardly though! plenty of wolves were pretty like even she herself wasn't the worst looking thing going either.

oh well, things just liked to be odd didn't they. teal eyes gleam as she smiles when mallaidh latches onto the ocean hype with an eager bob of her head. she has to yet to come across anyone with anything against the expanse of water she felt so drawn to and well she wasn't really suprised. (although the opinions may be slightly biased since it usually tended to be wolves residing by the sea she spoke to but that was besides the point.)  she focuses quite intensely on the other girl's pale gaze when listening to her speak, genuinely intrigued about her views on the sea. already nodding in agreement before the words even finish tumbling from her mouth, ali tilts her head to the side as the girl glances away upon finishing with her opinion. it reminds her of when she'd first watched the sun get swallowed whole by the water and had asked normasu did she think the sun slept in the depths of the sea. "i think that makes perfect sense" she states whole heartedly for maybe perhaps there was nothing else out there, simply just infinite space. thinking too deeply about it made her head hurt and she gave it a subconcious shake. "the sun does fall into it every night, i think it sleeps there. it really hurts my head if i try to make too much sense of it all, maybe we're not supposed to" her gaze shifts off to the general direction of the earth's edge, inhaling the salt tinged air deeply. maybe some force stopped them from trying to figure too much out lest they do and were suddenly no longer content to go about caring about such little things. it was a wild thought but she tucked it away somewhat protectively.

she's drawn back to the present conversation as the girl speaks again...joined? there it was, the word she'd been carefully skipping around. deep in her chest her heartbeat increased slightly with what...nerves? hardly, she was no coward so no way would something as simple as joining a pack be worth being scared about. nevertheless she had to bite back the urge to let out some kind of pissed remark, it wasn't mallaidh's fault her mouth grew dry at the thought of settling down. suddenly she remembered her conversation with the boy lucas, free spirit....the phrase had stayed with her and it comforted her now. that was all that was wrong, she was a free spirit her paws were built to roam and seek although what she sought not even she knew. she had told him she'd go for it and try out the pack life upon reminding herself it didn't have to be permanent. in fact she'd been thinking of max's pack when saying so which in turn was also mallaidh's so maybe it was a sign! "well maybe" the words seemed to lodge in her throat and she had to swallow somewhat frustratedly before continuing "maybe i could join...i mean like it's no big deal or anything i just could do with somewhere to stay i guess and if it's beside the ocean and i've met two nice girls from it i guess it can't be too bad." a gentle shrug of her shoulders and an easy smile to play off how much stress those words had actually caused her. sometimes it was almost too easy to play casual. 

her expression grows more serious at the next words. "oh really? damn that's shit i hope you's find her" a few more moments of silence before she quickly throws in "i mean i'd be happy to help if you want the help looking at any stage" truth was, ali was both lonely and bored and so the idea of helping the wolves find their friend was exciting although she had to remember that this was someone important to them and not act insensitive so her expression remained somber although the tip of her tail twitched slightly. maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

The tension between them slowly dissipates and by the time Ali agrees with her, it’s long forgotten. A smile forms on her face and she takes a careful step forward. Blixen would have thought the idea silly. “Yeah, you’re right,” she adds. She hadn’t put a lot of effort, having only herself to learn from and she can’t come up with anything on her own. If she had someone to bounce ideas off, maybe they’d come to some kind of answer because surely there’s more than meets the eye. “Still, doesn’t stop me from trying to find out.”

Mallaidh doesn’t expect Ali to nonchalantly take her up on the offer but is it so bad? She doesn’t have a great track record for her recruits, except for Rose, and that nearly tore her and Blixen into shreds. Things are different now, though… right?

“I am not sure she wants to be found,” she says and shrugs it off. She searched high and low for her and she expects Max to return, again, empty handed. If she returns at all. “But um, yeah, I can take you back and talk to a leader, if you really want?”

a pleased smile graces golden features as she murmurs "certainly no harm in that, maybe one day you'll figure it out and become famous" she shrugs, teal gaze glinting with that hint of mischief. fame, oh boy now wouldn't that be something. the mere thought of everyone knowing her name left her dreamy, it'd be fucking amazing. 

of course mallaidh would never have intended it for she didn't have enough knowledge on ali's own life to realise why her next words would leave the girl feeling perhaps a bit awkward. so their friend had ran away and didn't want to be found? didn't that sound familiar....her gaze drops to where she makes small absent minded circles with a creamy paw. had her parents searched for her? she supposed they would've, she'd never thought about it much before. she had quite the firm belief that there was absolutely no point in even glancing at the past- gotta just move forward. of course she would never even think to admit it to herself that perhaps cowardice fueled some of the opinion and if anyone would even hint at such a thing they'd end up really wishing they hadn't.

her tail twitches as she coughs lightly again- swallowing against the itchy feeling coating her rather dry throat. "that's a shame" is all that suceeds in getting mumbled out into the world for what else is there to say? it's not like she could judge or anything, sometimes the pull was just too strong to resist. "sometimes you just gotta do it, i'm sure she's doing okay" it kind of just tumbles out of her and she blinks in slight surprise, a slight need to defend the missing girl had surely blossomed as an excuse to reassure herself but she hadn't really intended to voice it. 

anyway there were other things to focus on and so she lets her attention slip back to the prospect of joining this pack. well no time to hesitate lest she start freaking out again and so she simply chirps "no time like the present right, let's do it" each limb is stretched out as she stands tall and alert, ready to follow the girl home.

Certain she’s made a new friend to talk about the stars, the ocean, and the Beyond, she feels okay enough putting a pin in the topic. If Ali does join, they can talk about it later and maybe Blixen won’t think it’s such a weird thing after all, that stars falling from the sky isn’t the craziest thing in the world. Just in case, she doesn’t bring it up with Ali yet, too worried maybe that’s too farfetched for her too.

Despite the feelings about Saarthal, she also puts them away. She offers a smile to her friend for the words of comfort but their goals change and she shoves it all away, leading Ali up to the border of Drageda, calling for @Blixen to get her through the process. She has a nervously unsettled stomach but, through all of it, the girl is allowed in and ranked as someone new in Drageda.