Gyrfalcon's Keep don't panic

For Finn!

He had been keeping close to the coast after his meeting with the Stavanger Bay Alpha, not too keen to explore deeper within the new lands just yet. He was also still curious about the Bay, planning to seek it out later and haphazardly make his way there. For the time being, though, he had been investigating the forest that stood before a smaller mountain and had found a particularly rocky path that led to a vantage point at the base of it. The ocean spread before the boy but his attention was elsewhere - towards the sky, in fact.

Atreyu's bright eyes were trained on the ever-darkening expanse, staring intently on the light that brought about daytime. A sliver of darkness was slowly covering it, looking almost like a half moon. Was...was the night eating daytime? A mixture of panic and curiosity rose within the boy and his ear tips began to quiver. What did it mean? Was this land cursed? Although he had been told stories of demons and otherworldly creatures by his parents, he scarcely believed them or found himself scoffing at how truly frightening they were made out to be. But, here he was, staring at a phenomenon that could have come straight from one of his parent's tales.

Turtle eggs were a delicacy Finn coudn't refuse. After a long morning of chilling by the beach, Finn had grown hungry. Of course there was plenty to choose from near the coast, he didn't bother going into the water as he hated the smell seawater would leave on his fur--not to mention the taste. Because of that he kept on scavenging along the beach, his nose hovering above the sand to pick up any trace of the turtle nests, like a pirate searching for his loot.

As the young male jogged across the coastline, a sudden change in the sky made him stop. He had though a big storm was coming, so he'd have to get away from the sea but to his surprise only a few clouds rolled across the sky. He gave a thoughtful hmm and decided to take cover just as a precaution, but when he was nearing the path he had used to get to the beach he caught the scent of another wolf and later saw him standing in the rocks with his gaze glued to the sky.

"Don't stare too hard" he warned the boy with a sharp bark, "You'll be blind if you do" he continued as he padded over to him, his ears pricked with curiosity.

From what the boy could tell, the darkness covering the sun was moving - slowly, ever so slowly. His heart rate rose as a small knot of fear began in his stomach. When night fell, the sun disappeared behind the ocean and mountains, that was how it usually went, right? But it wasn't time for night just yet. Maybe it was some sort of weird storm or a giant creature. Atreyu didn't even want to think of what sort of animal could block out the sun.

A rough voice suddenly snapped him out of his trance, causing him to whip his head around with a startled growl. "Wha...o-oh," he stammered. He assumed whatever had just made that sound would be another wolf but, instead, Atreyu was greeted with a green splotch covering half his vision. He stared at whatever stood behind the splotch, blinking as it quickly began to fade and reveal a dark wolf-shaped form. "What?" he tried again, blinking a few times more and squinting, trying to return his vision back to normal so he could properly see just who was reprimanding him.

The young silver male didn't dare to cast his eyes to the spectacle above, unlike his father he found little interest in the unfolding duet of sun and moon, he thought of it as a weird occurrence that was meant to signify the end if something though he couldn't really explain what. The less questions asked the better, that's what he thought.

He was an ignorant young boy, hot-headed and stubborn, like any typical young male would be..hopefully he'd grow out of his stupidity before it stuck forever in his brain. Another thing he hoped he'd outgrow was his lack of delicacy when addressing new wolves, that way he could have a larger friend list and get rid of his never ending list of nemesis. That's why he decided to befriend this male. Starting with one wolf at a time seemed like a good game plan for Finn.

"Yeaaa-ooo" he barked imitating his slip up, then he shot a wide grin and waved his tail in a friendly motion. "Just don't stare too long or you'll be in trouble" he repeated, "The same thing applies to women.." He added with a malicious wink. Ah of course the immature side of him couldn't hold it in, typical.

Slowly, Atreyu's vision returned, lending him a proper view of the stranger. He was a quintessential grey wolf - with a fit build and monochromatic fur that shone in the sunlight. The youth would have spent a longer time admiring his coat, too (as he himself sported one that would not lay flat no matter how hard his mother had tried), however, he wrinkled his nose at the other after his mocking bark. Atreyu was a prideful youth, not appreciating strangers just sneaking up like that (which wasn't hard to do when it came to Atreyu) and then taunting him.

However, quick as his sour mood had come, it fled, the male's repeated warning seizing his attention. Ears flicking forward, the boy raised his chin defiantly, "I can look wherever I please." Even so, he wouldn't be looking at the weird phenomenon in the sky again. Thankfully, he had learned his lesson on that one. The grey stranger's added statement confused the boy, though. Why would one get in trouble for staring at a woman? Why was he staring at women? "Gross," Atreyu responded quietly. At nearly eight months old, the boy still found girls to be utterly gross, unable to see them in that way just yet.

A faint smile drew itself upon his lips, he enjoyed to see him fuss over his little jokes, with his teeth showing in a friendly manner he flicked his tail and allowed a chuckle to slip from his insides. He knew how the tiniest details could get under the youngsters skin, he was a young wolf himself though he had learned to counterattack with irony and sarcasm when others picked on him. But he had been victim of many teasings before.

"Alright little man, just a warning" he barked between laughter, "it be a shame to lose your sight at your age. At any age dammit-- I wouldn't be able to stand it" he barked with a. Ore serious tone, he really couldn't imagine. Or being able to see the world around him. All his wanderlust would be left to waste.

At the boy's other response Finn couldn't contain himself any more. He erupted with an up roaring laughter that filled the silence,,"You've got a lot to learn little man" he barked while shaking his head. Women were a guilty pleasure Finn couldn't imagine giving up. The day he'd settle for one lady only was still far away in his mind.

Sorry for the late reply! D:

As flippantly as he had reacted, the boy still took heed of the stranger's warning. It would indeed be a shame to lose his sight, especially as his hearing was already impaired. Even though he was young, he knew that a deaf and blind wolf would not last long in the wilds, even in a pack. And to imagine, not being able to see the world! Atreyu would rather be eaten by a shark.

At the other's roaring laughter, the boy's tail twitched indignantly, brow furrowing. "Like what?" he snorted. A lot to learn about girls? He already knew enough about them - they were weird and moody and obsessed with cleaning their fur. At least, his sister was. In truth, Atreyu hadn't met any females outside his own pack, much less ones his own age. But he assumed they were all like that. Well, except for his mother, of course.

no worries :) glad you're back

Like a scolded pup, the younger male turned his eyes from the burning ring that the sun and moon had painted in the sky. Finn still smiled at the boy, the gesture forever stuck to his face like a tattoo. He liked this guy, he was fussy and young, malleable and in a way cute -- though Finn would never say such thing out loud.

Again the young boy's whines reached Finn's ears. The boy didn't have a clue about girls, oh! poor ignorant. Finn was delighted by his question, or challenge rather. With his eyes bugging and his jaw falling open like who-knows-what had atrocity had left Atreyu's mouth. Didn't you know Finn was a skilled actor who prided himself in his theatrics?

"Tsk, tsk. You've never had a girlfriend am I right?", he asked with his brows rising in a questioning manner. "Gilrs are not just less smelly wolves who magically bring babies to the world you know? They are all women but each of them is different, they like different things and whine a lot. " he began his lecture, understanding tha not all women would be charmed by the same tricks or amused by the same jokes was crucial. Flirting with a female could be like playing chess with a demon. Unpredictable and dangerous.

<3

A girlfriend? As in a friend who was a girl? Atreytu's brow furrowed further as the stranger's own rose, his confusion apparent. Technically, no, he had not ever had a girlfriend - he had not even ever had a friend. So caught up in his adventurous nature, Atreyu wasn't exactly one to make long-lasting friendships, his stubborness and childish arrogance also making it quite difficult.

His expression turned to one of disgust and horror as the grey stranger went on to explain girls in detail. He stole a quick, almost desperate glance back up at the sky and almost completey blotted out sun, wishing they could go back to talking about interesting things and get away from the current subject. It made him uncomfortable. Especially when the other mentioned...wait, what?

Girls make babies by magic? While Atreyu agreed they whine a lot (going by his exstensive knowledge of his sister), he had to question this man's knowledge on this particular fact. "No, babies come from the ocean. My father said so," he pointed out matter-of-factly. It made sense, of course, and who was he to go against his father's wisdom?

Girlfriend.
In all honesty, Finn hadn't had an official girlfriend. He had special friends thought when you think of it it's the same thing, the only real difference is that both parties are completely independent. There's no whining and drama when it's time to part ways. Yes, special friends were the best kind. And Finn was a very friendly wolf.

Finn was not blind to the boy's discomfort at the subject at hand. He could see his squirming, even his eyes yelled for him to drop the subject. But the silver boy felt he could give just another piece of advice. "Complimenting them works like a charm , but don't over do it they become dependent on your sweet words and the day you forget to tell them they're pretty you'll be doomed" he barked while shaking his head slightly. "Oh! And
the 'do I look fat?' question is a trap, there's no right answer" he warned with a light smile on his face.

With his duties as an older brother/advice giver fulfilled, he took a couple of steps to get closer to the boy.His tail wagging in a friendly manner, "From the ocean eh?" he asked, admiring the innocence of the child.

The well-meaning stranger's advice on wooing ladies went through one ear and out the other - Atreyu had no intentions on ever complimenting a girl or calling one pretty (the only thing he found pretty were the crashing ocean waves and colourful sea shells). But, the boy silently acknowledged the other's words with a twitch of his ear, shooting a reluctant, awkward grin back in response to his light-hearted warning.

He snapped back to his usual narrow-eyed expression though as the grey male echoed his statement with a wave of his tail. Atreyu took it as a dubious question and prepared himself to correct the stranger. For someone who was apparently so knowledgable about girls he was woefully ill-informed about where they came from. "Yeah, all wolves come from it," he said, raising his chin again as the other stepped closer. "He said the ocean blessed them with a litter...or something."

He would wish he'd listened when a lady of his interest crossed his path, Finn just knew it. He chuckled when the white kid turned at him with an awkward yet relieved grin on his teenage face. Because he had never had an older brother or father to teach him these things, Finn thought he was doing the kid a big favour.

He stood with his chest puffed, pride swelling under his skin. He then turned his head to the boy, his eyes settling on the boys own pair of orbs. He didn't want to ruin the boy's fantasy, he seemed so convinced on what his father had told him that it felt like a crime to rip him from his innocence. "Well, how about that! One does really learn something new everyday eh?" he barked not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"What's your name little dude?" he asked with a ghost of a smile in his face.

To be honest, as steadfast as he was in believing his father's words, Atreyu had no idea exactly how the ocean blessed one with a litter. He assumed a would-be mother would simply wade out into the sea and then a few months later would have their own children - that explanation seemed plausible enough to the youth. He had never inquired about the actual details of it (nor would he have wanted to, if he was ever told how puppies were actually made).

As the jovial stranger accepted this new knowledge with a cheerful bark of a reply, Atreyu let the smallest of grins spread across his face, his ego satiated. "My name's Atreyu," he replied with a flick of his tail, head then tilting to the side in an inquiring manner, awaiting the other's own name. After it was given (assuming Finn would apologies for the power play), the boy briefly looked back up at sun, now almost completely covered by darkness.

The land itself seem to quieten, the roar of the ocean and chattering of birds overhead falling silent as darkness began to envelope the area. Although unsettled, Atreyu felt a little more at ease with the stranger than he would have if he had been witnessing the eclipse alone. Shifting on one paw, the boy turned to Finn again. "Is this some sort of storm?" he asked, though it was more of a thought said aloud than a question.

Finn had begun to notice too how the dark circle in the sky engulfed the last bit of the sun, it was something frightnening really. Even if he knew there was no harm in these supernatural event, the strangeness of the whole situation was enough to make his fur stand on end. He looked at the boy's face, he could see he was as nervous as he was, though Finn tried hard not to show his preocupation.

"I hope it's just that", he muttered while he scanned the various clouds that rolled near the dark circle in the sky. He too, was glad he didn't have to stand under the darkness alone, though for the silver male it be harder to admit. Unconciously he took a step closer to the younger boy, his olive eyes shifting from cloud to cloud.

As it turned out, Finn had not even needed to warn Atreyu of the dangers of staring at the sun as, even if the boy had wanted to, he found he could not bear to look at it longer than a few seconds. The burning ring around the void of darkness in the sky seemed to penetrate and burn his eyes, causing the juvenile to squint and shake his head, turning away almost involuntarily. Thankfully, he quickly adjusted to the darkness that now blanketed the area they were standing in, looking to Finn again as he spoke.

Not finding any comfort in his answer, Atreyu frowned and resisted looking up at the sky again, instead staring out over the barely visible ocean. "Maybe it's the end of the world," he said with a mock forlorn tone, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. "You'll never be able to compliment a pretty girl again."

Calling it the end of the world was a bit of an exaggeration. Of course the whole spectacle where the lights of the sunrays were killed by shadows and the sun was eaten alive by a circle that hovered over the sky, but something in Finn's heart told him that the sun would revive somehow. The final flame of the sun had been murdered and all there was left was an ominous oscurity that made the silver boy's tail rise in alert.

He searched Atreyu's eyes and when he saw the wide smile painted on the boy's face, one of his own crawled to his lips. "That's horrible and painful ending", he joked. Catching the ladies' eyes was something he enjoyed, but if his days as a player were to end he would still be able to breathe. They would be painful breaths but he'd live.

Of course, Atreyu had only been joking about his end-of-the-world comment, he didn't truly believe the sun's odd disappearance meant the world they knew would cease to be. At least, he hoped not. He had only just begun exploring these new lands, he loathed to think that the chance of adventure was to be ripped from his grasp this early. At his words, Finn had turned to him in response with an equally matched grin. Horrible and painful for him, perhaps. Atreyu still could not see the use in complimenting girls but accepted it for the time being. Whatever, adults were weird.

The darkness that had been thrown over the area like a blanket almost made Atreyu want to head into a rocky cove somewhere and sleep - that or hunt, he was not sure. It was an odd experience. Words escaping him, the boy simply glanced once back at his companion before peering at the sky again, waiting with bated breath, hoping the sun would return.

Since they had begun their conversation they had not even asked about each other's home. Finn assumed Atreyu belogned to a pack, the conviction he had on his origins of the ocean and his clueless attitude towards girls told him he was only a child. Who had not yet said goodbye to his lively imagination and innocence.

"Do you have a pack Atreyu?", he asked, expecting the boy to begin describing an imaginary home in the ocean. He wouldn't be surprised if he did not have a pack. Finn didn't have one either..

At the unexpected question, Atreyu looked up to Finn with a cocky smile and shake of his head. He prided himself on being without a pack — he felt it made him seem more independent and strong. However, a large majority of wolves would most likely scoff at the thought, finding it senseless being a loner, especially still being an underling. Wolves were pack animals, of course. That didn't stop Atreyu from giving a nonchalant shrug, though, as he answered Finn's question. "Nah. I used to live in a tribe with my parents but I wanna explore, man," he said, unknowingly adopting the grey-furred male's more casual, laid-back demeanour.

In Atreyu's mind, being in a pack meant you had to stay with that pack, sworn to them for eternity. In truth, he had no idea about pack life — at least, not one where the pack lived on claimed a land. He was used to being a wanderer and was not about to give that up. "What about you? You don't have other smells on you," the boy commented, taking a breath as he breathed in Finn's scent.

whipping an ending on this [mate]

Finn's ragged lips twisted into a smile as he listened to the boy, who according to his words shared the same desires that he did --except for the ladies. It seemed that instead of knowing and conquering women, Atreyu wanted to conquer land.

Finn knew what he meant though. After all it was that same wanderust that burned inside the young one's eyes what had driven Finn to abandon his mother and his birth pack in the first place. He had left with a corageous heart, fueled by the desire to see the world beyond the mountains that had contained him from the world.

That was why he did not offer the boy advice about abandoning the life of a vagabond, he was a faithful believer of it too. You're right, I don't have a pack either.. nor I want one he barked while his smile became a little more crooked, But what I do have, is a painful desire to rest, so in case the weird things going between the sun and moon signify the end of the world as we know it.. it was nice to know you Atreyu. Remeber my advice boy, it will help you out, he barked, not being able to stop himself from yawning at the end of the sentence.

Take care, little man, he barked at last turning to leave but keeping his ears pricked in case the young boy had any last words of wisdom for him.

Yeah, it was getting a little outdated, haha, thanks for the thread <3

Atreyu's grin widened at Finn's reply, stating that he did not belong to any pack, either. The were alike, then, it seemed — of course, apart from the obvious differences towards the female gender. Perhaps in time, Finn's charming nature would rub off on the younger boy who desperately needed to learn some social skills, especially around girls. However, the grey male decided to cut short their meeting, causing Atreyu's ears to fall, a small frown replacing his grin. He was sad that Finn wanted to head off but he wouldn't pressure him to stay — wanderers gotta wander, after all. As he turned to leave, the boy gave a bark after him, followed by a laugh, "I will. Good luck with your, uh, lady endeavours."

Turning back to the sky once Finn had disappeared down the path, Atreyu watched as the sun began to peep through the black circle again, a flood of relief washing over the youth as he realised the sun would indeed reappear. Whatever this phenomenon was, he hoped it wasn't a common occurrence in this land. Keeping his new friend's advice in mind, though, he didn't stare at the sky for too long. Instead, he got to his feet and trailed after Finn, eventually turning off the path and heading into the grassy fields surrounding the mountain.