the gnashin' teeth and criminal tongues

*Ciervo* · December 18, 2014, 08:45 PM

all welcome :)

my heart's in atrophy

Days at the Teekon Wilds went by painfully slowly for the fast-paced Ostrega, whose greatest entretainment upon setting foot on the vast terrains of the Wilds had been the day he had ambushed an old fox to force him out of the comfort of his own home so he did not have to stand in the cold. It was a despicable act that he didn't exactly take pride in, but if given the option to undo he most certaintly wouldn't. Though the walls were tight and the place reeked of the previous tenant's tangy odour, Ciervo was content to have a place to take refuge in, even if it had meant making another creature homeless.

The rules that reigned over Ciervo's morals were perhaps as twisted and matted as the hairs over his chest, making sense to no one other than him,
But like verses in a bible they were the rules he had chosen to adhere to.

Now, for instance, would've been a good time to stick by his newly obtained safe house instead of following his grumbling stomach into the unforgiving cold that lingered in the air, this time in the form of light raindrops that fell onto his back and weaved through his tousled fur, making the impatient Ostrega curse under his breath as he paced the snow covered floor of the (oh what irony!) Neverwinter Forest.

Andalusia · December 22, 2014, 05:45 PM

Hello brother (:

Contrary to her initial plan, Andalusia had remained in Neverwinter Forest after her brisk encounter with the monarchial lynx. Though the heavy fog that had greeted her the morning of her arrival never returned to the land, the dawn still held an unshakable haze, and the evening a chilling darkness that made the Ostrega wonder why she chose to wait here so long. The branches of the overgrown undergrowth suffocated her, and the trees' towering boughs oppressed the woman with an unsettled itch to leave this place as quick as she'd come. If it hadn't been for the steady habit of prey in these parts and her need to rest, she'd have left the day she arrived and never looked back.

When she'd woken this morning, the usual mist presented itself as a light rain dappling against a fresh cover of snow. She passed her gaze along the ground, taking in the first sign that true winter had come. A stillness passed through the air and, for a drawing moment, Andalusia followed its cue. Then, with a chuff, the woman pulled herself from the thicket that had marked her den for the past three nights and bid it a swift farewell. She had wasted enough time here. The time had come to move along. Andalusia had no direction, but she had grown used to that by now. The Ostrega only aimed to leave the forest a different way than she had entered, unaware an unexpected face now padded through the woods she pressed on to leave.

*Ciervo* · December 25, 2014, 05:37 PM

sisterrrrrrr!<3
imma keep this super vague since I still don't know the outcome of Ciervo's thread with BDP wolves

my heart's in atrophy

Swifly, yet delicately Ciervo made his way across the snow rug that stretched across the forest floor, his nose always pressed to the floor as he went on. It should've been then that the eldest of the original quartet picked Andalusia's familiar scent from the air, but as he continued to weave his way aimlessly between the tall trees it could be safe to say his nose had betrayed him.
Had he already forgotten how her own sister smelled like?
Had all memories of his family disappeared from his mind?

Of course not.
Ciervo Ostrega could be a proud and arrogant dickhead that treated those he met with negligence and indifference, but when it came to family, to blood, he suddenly turned into a charming prince. Even if during the quartet's growing years, and their transition to their foster family, Ciervo had not been the most tactful or comforting, he was still a fierce protector that instead of using cuddles (as Chehlia might have done) used his usual uncalled advice to try to keep them together like glue.

With his nose still hovering over the snow-coated floor he went on, his inner compass unknowingly pulling his closer to his lost sister with every step he took.

Andalusia · December 30, 2014, 01:38 PM

She wandered as aimlessly as her brother did across the snow laden ground, but her direction did not depend on the scent trails crisscrossing the forest floor. Rather, sheer instinct was her guide, and her paws followed an inexplicable pull toward what she hoped would be her way out.

One could say her nose betrayed her, too, but the same could not be said about Andalusia’s eyes. Even before she smelled him, she saw the fresh tracks in the ground. But it was only when she prepared to pass them by that their familiar aroma drifted more presently to her nose. Breath catching in her throat, Andalusia paused and furrowed her brows in bemusement at the tang that filled the crisp air. She inhaled deeper, and what she found again was enough to convince her she was not the only Ostrega who wandered these woods.

Eyes closing for a moment, she let herself rest in the familiar aroma of Ciervo’s scent, letting his presence take hold of her thoughts. Then, she turned herself and set her face in the direction of his path. Andalusia had little doubt it was he she scented here, for no matter the miles between them she would never forget the smell of family. To find Ciervo here tightened the woman’s chest and the Ostrega took off on swift paws, falling into her brother’s tracks and tracing them like she had as a pup so many seasons ago.

*Ciervo* · January 01, 2015, 07:37 PM

my heart's in atrophy

Like two magnets placed near each other the Ostrega siblings began to cut through the gloomy atmosphere of the forest, each step placing them closer to one another as they each advanced. And while a more optimistic wolf might have attributed this to an out worldly force such as destiny or fate, Ciervo was more of a cynic that believed in none of the above.
But fuck that.
Divine intervention or simple coincidence the point was Ciervo was no longer alone.

As his lonely sister tried to follow his tracks, the eldest Ostrega son steered off his initial route to relieve his bladder at a nearby bush, only making the bait that was his scent stronger for his sister to identify and follow. Many times he had wondered where his siblings had ended up, but never had he imagined that he'd be able to find out. It had been a rhetorical question that weighed upon him during the most lonesome nights, only to be gone in the morning. And it was not that he didn't care, because he did, but as easily as his feeling could be described as pure and true they were also invisible to the naked eye, always concealed within his heart.

Ciervo was a secretive man that liked keeping his secrets almost as much as he liked fishing them out of others. But today he would get to do neither. While during his first encounters as a loner he had not revealed much about him other than his name and last name at most, it would be now that his bottled up past would come to bite him in the ass -- or greet him at least as a good sister should.
With his nose scrunching incredulously at the strengthening aroma of one of his own, more specifically one of his few loved ones, he turned back to look at the horizon, his eyes narrowing into thin slits of gold that scanned the land for the smallest sign of movement.

Andalusia · (This post was last modified: January 03, 2015, 07:00 PM by Andalusia.)

Andalusia retained a steady pace, keen to save herself from any collision with her wayward kin, and intent on risking no chance of straying off-course from Ciervo's trail. He had quite a way of wandering, and from his sharp and sudden turns she deduced he either did not catch her scent in the forest, or knew very well she resided here and was purposefully leading her on a wild goose chase just to ruffle her fur.

Still, her heart quickened when she passed a cluster of bushes which bore her brother's scent stronger than his freshly laid tracks. Refusing to linger, she pressed on, weaving through the undergrowth and around the massive trunks that obscured her from seeing her brother forthright. If only she'd have found him on an open plain. But she proceeded with patience, unwilling to surrender her pursuit and ready to follow his trail until the stars fell from the sky.

Whether or not her brother wanted to be found had crossed her mind, if only to be silenced by her stubborn will. He had left, after all, which either meant he had gone looking for her and Sumayl like Chehlia had, or he wished to leave his own mark on the world without the looming shadow of his siblings to contend with. But either reason mattered little to Andalusia, at least with her brother so near. Ciervo would get her, whether he liked it or not.

After what felt like ages, Andalusia caught a different motion through the trees, a flash of earthen fur, and the Ostrega knew she had found the one she tracked. She considered for a moment a grand entrance, perhaps a sneak attack or a witty one-liner to make their reunion one to be remembered. But she dismissed the thought with an inner chuckle and simply drew closer, letting herself be seen by her brother without gimmicks or ploys. Though her heart twisted with excitement, her face remained static, save for the glimmer in her silvery eyes. "Hey Bambi."

*Ciervo* · January 07, 2015, 07:37 PM

my heart's in atrophy

As the minutes ticked by, Ciervo could feel his body tensing up. Again the familiar aroma of his sister wafted into his nose, making the incredulous Ostrega begin to question the power of his own mind. Had the long months of complete solitude taken a toll in his mind? Was his subconcious playing tricks on him or was his mind bordering the edges of dementia?
The answer was not as evident at it might seem.

With his golden gaze still fixated into the distance he waited for the haunting creature that retraced steps to reveal its identity. He knew who it was though. He'd recognize her scent anywhere in the world, but being a man trusted his eyes more than his nose he could not yet determine how to feel about it.
For Ciervo, seeing was believing.

And now, after what had also seemed like an eternity to him, he finally became a believer. The second his golden eyes merged with the silver of her own was a magic one. In spite of the absence of the other two, Ciervo was more than delighted to see one of her siblings scouting the same lands as him; and even if he did not show it with shrieks or screams of any kind he was certain that she could tell. The silent exchange between their eyes and the use of his affectionate childhood nickname was enough -- he did not need fanfares and she did not need him to smother her with the act of 'older protective brother' (a role that had not even been his).
"Hey sis"he barked softly as he began to carry himself closer to her, the edges of his lips curving into a wide grin. Despite her seemingly dull greeting, the man was not dicouraged to approach his littermate with the intention of holding her in a wolfish embrace clear in his golden eyes.

"That was pretty lame considering we haven't seen each other in months" he teased lightly as he proceeded to press his cold nose against the plush fur of her neck. Though Ciervo had not been (and probably would never be) the most loving and clingy of the litter he still enjoyed giving his family his little displays of affection.

Andalusia · (This post was last modified: January 10, 2015, 12:42 PM by Andalusia.)

Andalusia did not know what to expect when Ciervo turned his eyes upon her. It seemed strange to wonder if she would be accepted by her brother now, or if her presence would be seen as an inconvenience to the independence she assumed he pursued. If not for the boldness that kept her from shrinking, this apprehension would have held her back. Yet her fears stilled the moment she met her brother's gaze. From their golden depths rose every unspoken word, and she felt the urge to rush toward him now and never let him go.

Yet she made no move, instead letting him make his way toward her, her lips twitching into a shy grin not nearly as bold as her brother's, but just as genuine. His intentions were clear, they were written on his face, and Andalusia did not resist. Allowing herself to cover the final steps, she fell into his wolfish embrace, the touch of his wet nose against her sending comfort through her golden frame. A gentle laugh escaped her maw when she pressed her muzzle against her brother's shoulder. "Tsk. I knew I should've gone with those cheerleading squirrels." The warmth had finally spread to her face, and she did not want to leave his embrace. It had been so long since she'd been so close to another, and she felt the bitter sting of homesickness every second now. And yet she did not want that sensation to fade, for it was what drove her forward, and it was what led her to Ciervo in the first place. Breathing in again, her words muffled against his fur. "I didn't think I'd find you." She had never been the feeling type, per se (for that was more Chehlia's forte), but she gave herself this. It simply felt right.

*Ciervo* · (This post was last modified: February 12, 2015, 04:46 PM by Ciervo.)

sorry this took forever sister ;___;

[size=medium]"sell your soul not your whole self"[/size]

[size=small]The indifference that lied in her silver eyes was soon melted by the warmth of the golden-eyed male's affection. The siblings, despite of having lost their own mother to the flames, still mantained the fire characteristic of the Ostrega lineage alive in their heart.
With his own tail wagging behind him in an exaggerate manner and small whimpers, he would later feel ashamed of, escaping from his lips he held on to his sister; keeping his nose simply pressed against the crown of her head as she took the took of speaking -- first responding with a joke, something so characteristic between them, and then changing unexpectedly to a more sentimental phrase that inevitably made the apathetic male blink in surprise.
Had she wanted to find him all along?
And more importantly, had he wanted to be found?
"Were you looking for me?" he asked, the laughter that had risen from her past joke already dead. While he too had felt a sort of magical comfort from seeing her and holding her, he could not admit in all sincerity that this encounter was what he had been after. In the list of motives that had lured him out into the world, the names of his siblings were absent.
Wanderlust had primed in his heart, but now, as his sister, his blood, stood in front of him he felt the tides unconciously begin shift.
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Andalusia · January 25, 2015, 01:16 AM

And I am sorry too, brother D:

But quite apparently, what felt right to her was the wrong thing to say. The smile that had curled across her lips at the sound of her brother's laugh faded at the edges, and her tail, which had picked a pace in rhythm with his own, slowed to a meager sway. She let herself rest in his embrace for a moment longer, but withdrew when she realized the spark had faded, and only an ember remained - if even that.

"I'm not going to lie and say no," she said, pausing while she assessed her brother through narrowed eyes. She couldn't read him, and wondered if she was projecting into him what she thought he'd inflicted in his question. As far as she knew, he'd willingly left, just like Sumayl and herself. Andalusia hadn't thought much what this meant for their relationship, but she wasn't about to stick around if she wasn't wanted where he planned to go from here. "When I left, only Sumayl had gone, and when I came back they told me you and Chehlia had left, too. I wasn't going to seek you out - figured you'd want to see the world without your little sister hanging around - but they said Chehlia was looking for us, so I left to find her. So in a way I was looking for you, indirectly as I looked for Chehlia who was - and probably is - looking for you," She paused, watching still through calculating eyes, before she finished with, "If that makes you feel any better."

*Ciervo* · (This post was last modified: February 12, 2015, 04:44 PM by Ciervo.)

[size=medium]"sell your soul not your whole self"[/size]

[size=small]Though unexpected, her presence would never be unwelcomed.
Despite he was the quartet's eldest, her maturity had most probably already surpassed his own, for she was not ashamed to say what was on her mind. Still, while for Ciervo the line between rights and wrongs was (in most aspects) was considerably blurred it was understandable for his sister to be taken back by his reaction, or therefore lack of.
Emotions were proved to move mountains and bind hearts together.
Sadly, Ciervo was not a mountain and his heart was made of a non-sticky material.

Again, eyes of gold melted into her silver orbs, a cold, yet natural expression reflecting at his sister as she continued to scruntinize him carefully as she tended to do. "Why did you go back?" he interjected, wanting to know if perhaps the world he so anxiously wanted to discover had been a disappointment to his dear sister. His question however was lost in Andalusia's explanation and forgotten within seconds as the name of his other sister, his baby sister, was brought up. Of course it would be Chehlia the one to try to mend the pieces.
An inexplicable pang of guilt suddenly flowed through the Ostrega's veins as he blinked thoughtfully at his littermate's last confession.

Not only had he taken his siblings for granted as he set out to quench his own thrist of wanderlust but he had also underestimated them, especially his sisters. For Sumayl, despite having a great affection stored deeply under the bottom, he didn't feel concern. He was fine -- he always was.

"I'm going to say the truth and admit that it does" he quipped altering her own introduction to begin with his speech. "Where were you going next?" he asked, his eyes softening as he allowed his tail to sway from side to side softly. "I settled somewhere near here but you know what, its a smelly bachelor den and I doubt you would want to see it --" he added then, subtly hinting that after this, there would be more of them being together. Despite his natural desire to run at his own pace he was determined to step on the brakes for his sister.
Together they could rule the world, or together they could get lost in it.
Whichever happened first.
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Andalusia · February 08, 2015, 08:05 PM

The world did not disappoint her, and Andalusia was convinced as long as she lived, it never would. The moment her parents had let her paws strike the ground beyond the pack border, she'd found herself smitten with the wonders of the vast and dangerous world that quickly unfolded before her. She'd taken the arrow of wanderlust with arms stretched wide, many times over, and that was enough to earn her the name of an Ostrega. Yet for every ounce of desire she held for the art of travel, Andalusia had taken the arrow of kinship all the same. There was a vigour in the life of an outrider far beyond anything she'd felt at home, but there was also an inexplicable loneliness. Where one could curl up under the night sky, surrounded by the shimmering bodies in the sea of space, and still feel the emptiness that came with longing, and one would simply miss. She'd given solo life a chance, but in the end that longing had guided her home, and when she found her quarry had departed, that longing had guided her here. If at least one of her siblings was looking for her, then she was intent to find them.

The calculation in her gaze never wavered, but she let herself soften with Ciervo's shifting mood, and she turned her head. She found him a tricky one to navigate - she always had - but she liked to think she'd learned him enough to understand his unspoken implications. Now was no exception. Though his words suggested she move on from here, there seemed a subtle want for her to stay, and Andalusia seized this with every ounce of brazen in her claws. "I hadn't decided. Thought I'd continue my search North." Unable to help herself, she quirked her mouth into a crooked grin, and her eyes lighted again. "Don't think you can loose me that fast. I'd stay forever for my dear Bambi, stinky bachelor den and all," she teased, and butted her head against his shoulder in jest. She wanted to stay, maybe not forever, but as long as he would let her. To feel the warmth of a familiar body beside her own, the kinship of a brother: the life of a loner was no life for a wolf. "And if you don't want me anymore, you can keep me as an air freshener. You know I've always smelt better than you." She rolled her shoulders, as if her mud caked paws and dirty fur were a testimony to that.

*Ciervo* · February 12, 2015, 04:44 PM

her avatar <3

[size=medium]"sell your soul not your whole self"[/size]

[size=small]Not really knowing the many other wolves that wore the same last name with the same pride as him, Ciervo didn't think of anyone outside the small circle of siblings (three of which weren't biological) and his foster parents as important. His mother, was nothing but a vague image in the rotting bottom of his mind, an entity he could not attribute a face and therefore could not attribute a feeling towards. His father, in the same way, had began to gather dust in the back of his mind, their names being the only proof the young Ostrega had of their existence.
Dhani & Celia.

Yet, he had never felt like an orphan truly, even after the flames of hell itself had licked away the quartet's parents, the burn of loosing both of his parents at once had been smothered quickly after he was introduced into the tight-knit family unit he learnt to call, his own. This was why, despite the pride he wore attached to his last name, he did not consider bonds to be strictly limited to an arragement of words or even blood; they were of choice.
And Ciervo, being one who favoured his mind over his feelings, was very selective over those he agreed to approach to and more importantly bond with.
Currently, the list had remained untouched. All of his siblings, biological or not, were remembered with affection and endearment, just like his forster parents.

With his ears turning sharply to her and his eyes of champagne slipping past her face to the tall trees that towered around them he hummed at her response to go North. Though he had kept himself at bay of the packs that lurked the area of below the Heartwood (the Spine and the Caldera) one of his recent exploration had led him to find another pack; one that against all odds had managed to pique his interest in commitment.
"There's a up pack there; in the Plateu -- and they're not a complete piece of shit" he sommented after a bit of silent reflection. While he had not seen more than one pack aside from the Plateau in comparison, it was this same one which took the price. In his humble opinion, and finnicky criticism, he had determined -- from what he'd learnt and heard of its members-- that despite not scoring a perfect 10/10 in his standards, the Plateu's charms skyrocketed through the roof, while the Caldera's..never became airborne.
Blacktail Deer Plateu wasn't a complete piece of shit, and that was a hell of a compliment from Ciervo's mouth.

Still, he was undecisive, and by the vagueness in her response and the fact she had not yet mentioned a pack of any sorts, he assumed she too was too tangled in the feral lifestyle to let it go so easily. He parted his lips once more, this time to ask clear the air and ask her views on the subject but before he could emit a sound she interjected with a joking woof. "Oh really?" he queried, the little whiskers in his muzzle twitching with amusement. "There might be room for ya -- but not for any of your one-night flings sis" he barked, his lungs rattling with teasing laughter that quickly unraveled into a loud cackling.
As if he would let some random bastard fuck his sister.
Him fucking a random stranger wasn't such a distorted idea, but he still doubted Andalusia was of the sort to conquer and dispose, and that in the case she was she'd do it on under their to-be shared roof.

"Please, I bathe regularly -- twice a year, duh" he joked with an exaggerate roll of his eyes and a huff. Then, as if this could be a fact that could be easily certified he twisted his head, and without further ado, tucked his muzzle underneath his armpit in demonstration of this.
If only he smelled as good as he looked.

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Andalusia · (This post was last modified: February 15, 2015, 09:19 PM by Andalusia.)

The expression was too priceless to not use <3

"A pack." she said, her brows twitching with surprise. "One that actually impressed you." Well, if she'd had any reservations on travelling North, Ciervo's words just about doused them dry. Though she'd come across many packs on her travels, Andalusia had given little thought toward joining one. Her goal had not been one of forging new allegiances, after all, but of recovering the bonds she had lost. She had set her nose toward Chehlia, and Ciervo and Sumayl as an extension of that, and nothing more. But Ciervo, who had left for reasons far from tracking the trail of a wandering sister, pursued just that, and the golden Ostrega tipped her head thoughtfully to the side when he mentioned the Plateau. A pack had managed to gain her brother's approval, and this was enough to make her pause for consideration.

Her own thoughts stilled at the quip that followed, and her mouth pulled into a grin of taut amusement. The chuckle that rolled from her throat did not compete with Ciervo's rumbling laughter, which drowned the noise of the forest and dissolved into the heavy boughs of the evergreens. He was right to laugh, for she had never engaged in a one-night fling, nor anything deeper than that. When young she'd had her share of crushes, and thoughts of creating a family of her own, but she'd let those daydreams fall when she'd come to maturity. It was easier to dispose of such fantasies for more reasons than one. Life was simply easier if she didn't tempt romance, and not only for herself. She gave her heart to adventure and to her family, and that was enough to fill her, or so she had herself convinced.

But her laughter turned to a snort, and she crinkled her nose when her brother bent to get a whiff of himself, as if he thought the the life of a loner would make him smell like roses. Andalusia turned her head away in mock disgust and her tongue stuck through the crooked grin that twitched full across her face. "Tsk. And here I thought I found you because of my impeccable tracking skills." She paused and diverted her gaze from him, knowing the mischief that would surely shine through her silvery eyes. Then with a swift arc she turned and threw her body toward him, attempting to tackle her brother into the bathtub of snow that covered the ground.

*Ciervo* · February 22, 2015, 09:25 PM

[size=medium]"sell your soul not your whole self"[/size]

[size=small]While his mind still stood at a limbo regarding the subject of packs, he held no shame to admit that the pack of the Plateu had called his attention. Of the two members he had met, they had both left an impression, whether it had been good or bad it didn't matter, it had been an impression nonetheless. Unlike the Caldera wolves who had easily fallen off his mind like petty specks of dust the minute after they were gone from his sight.
Still, the way in which her sister commented on his mention of the pack made the first born's lip quiver thoughtfully. Had they impressed him?
No. Just interested him.
"They're not as bad as other I've encountered" he barked with an ungraceful shrug of his shoulders and a roll of his champagne eyes.

He was then tempted to ask her if she had found a non-scummy pack in her journey but abstained as he saw the small tilt of her head. Would she eve consider joining a pack at all? After all, she had just revealed that she had scouted the area for Chehlia and for the rest of the quartet, but did that mean she would go on until she found them all?
What if.. there was no one else to be found?
Or if the missing pieces of the puzzles did not want to fit again?

While Ciervo, personally, had no intentions to leave Andalusia's side unless she explicitly asked him to, the same could not be say for the other two missing Ostregas, especifically his brother. Sumayl, was not one to sit around and let others boss his around. Despite being the third born, he had been the first to launch himself out of the wedged space as middle sibling, but from what Ciervo rememberd him as, he was most probably the last to want to go back to that status.

If he had left, it was because he wanted to be gone,wasn't it?
Or what that the reason he had tried to follow until the memoirs that flooded in with his sister's presence washed it away?
"Would you consider a pack -- regardless if its the Plateu one or not?" he asked suddenly, his eyes holding the genuine interest he lacked most of the time. He wanted to know if the possibility of her joining him would be a reality, or if she was in fact, just a passerby.
That if.. he would let her be a passerby.
Would he?

Before any answers could be weighed in his mind it was the weight of his own sister what broke him of his thoughts and the (relative)seriousness of their discussion. As soon as her body collided with his own he felt himself out of breath -- not only because of the impact itself but because of the million memories of his childhood that suddenly attacked his mind with the same force she pushed him to the floor.

Inmediatey he tried to push her off, his forepaws attempting to serve as a catapult to throw her away from him as they continued to wrestle in the floor, like the immature children they had last seen each other as.
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