Rising Sun Valley Into the Depths of Our Illusion

Set at Swiftcurrent Creek. Could be for his Outrider trade, but doesn't have to be. c:

The pack had been born strong and with large numbers, but it hadn't been too long after before it'd all started to crumble. Members had started to leave quicker than new ones came, and, eventually, they were left with few remaining members. A part of the ghost wished to claim responsibility for it, as he'd been far too preoccupied with his own life, rather than looking after the other members of the pack. At first, he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know of anyone looking for a pack, and he didn't have any friends who would be willing to leave their home just to join his—though that was probably due to the fact that many of his friends were within his old pack, Blackfeather. Never had he considered becoming an Outrider, as the trade could conflict with his Warden one, but it seemed he had no choice. It was his duty to keep the pack strong, and to do so they needed some more members. There was no telling what the warm months could bring, and he wanted to be prepared for anything. So, with a large amount of thoughts and ideas fresh in his mind, Kove had set off and out of the valley, intent on acquiring at least one or two wolves who had potential to be apart of Bearclaw.

Kove was unsure where he'd been going at first. He'd simply started walking without a destination in mind and hoped for the best. It wasn't long before a familiar scent greeted him, though. It was stale, leading him to believe the wolves it belonged to hadn't been around in quite some time, which meant that the territory was free to enter. Never had he visited the Creek before, so he was curious to see what the land was like. If it was decent enough, then perhaps some wolves without packs had started to occupy it, or at least used it as a shortcut to other places. He hoped for either, or both, because he would be left empty handed if 'neither' was actually the correct option. The pale king made his way through the area, ears perked and swiveling around every now and again in order to pick up on as many sounds as he could. If anyone was there, whether they be a loner or a member of the pack that previously laid claim to the land, he wanted to find them.

is it okay to press the date of this forward to present time due to Cicero's age and that he hasn't started exploring much until recently? :-) 

Cicero had gone out to explore on his own. His interest had been piqued by Swiftcurrent Creek because the territory was very picturesque and bright; while darkness had its uses, Cicero enjoyed seeing things that were different from Blackfeather Woods. He'd spent the night sleeping in a hollow log just big enough to fit all of him -- although Meldresi's children were nearly full-sized in height, Cicero remained small and thin -- and awoke when he heard the sounds of another wolf making his way through the territory.

Cicero's hackles rose in automatic response, and he peeked out of the log to see the white wolf. Cicero did not recognise him, and crawled out of the log. He kept his head low and body language neutral as he half-circled around the white wolf before making his presence known. "Hi white wolf." The Blackfeather youth waited for the wolf's response, his tail twitching nervously, for it was not often that he met a stranger in neutral territory and he had yet to find out whether most were hostile or friendly.

Yes, that's fine by me! :D

The man was uncertain of what he was looking to find, exactly. A lone wolf would be nice, but at this point it didn't really matter to him. The ranks of the pack were filling out quite nicely, and though they had room for more members, Bearclaw wasn't in desperate need of any at the moment. Though he did not know what he expected to find, he had believed he was sure of what he wouldn't find, an that was a Blackfeather wolf. His assumptions were proved wrong, however, as he caught the familiar scent of the pack he was once in, and was actually rather surprised when he saw who gave it off. Though the boy had grown significantly since he'd last seen him, there was no denying that he was still the same kid he'd played a game of hide-'n-seek with. Going by the way he held himself, and the way he greeted the elder, Kove was sure he must not remember him. A bit disheartening, but not overly so. It had been awhile, and the child had still been rather young back then. Even so, the man decided to at least try and jog his memory.

“Hello, Cicero,” he greeted in return, offering the younger male a hint of a smile. It was only then did he notice just how far the boy was from home, and couldn't help but be curious of that. He sniffed the air, but didn't catch the scent of any other Blackfeather wolves. It had been some time since the pups were born, and he should have realized that it would be normal for them to be traveling away and exploring by then. Hell, he'd started wandering away at an earlier age, so he waved the idea away. “You've traveled pretty far from the woods,” he noted, trying to make conversation. The Inuit was unsure what to talk about with the boy anymore, truthfully.

The white wolf greeted Cicero by name, which surprised Cicero, though he did not show it. He supposed it must be someone who had known his mother, or had seen him when he was young. Cicero remembered playing with many wolves, some of which were white, in his youth. However, the wolf did not presently smell of Blackfeather Woods, so he must have left at some point. "Who is white wolf?" Cicero asked, not eager to play games, least of all a game of memory he could not possibly win in light of not remembering much of his early youth.

Cicero nodded when the white wolf told him that he was far away from home. "Exploring. Cicero likes being alone, sometimes. Cicero has a lot to think about, and likes to learn the lay of new lands." Not that he would share it with practically a stranger, of course. Cicero glanced around at the peaceful surroundings and said, "This is peaceful. Cicero wonders why pack left it." There were signs that a pack had once lived here, and it had captivated Cicero's curiosity that they'd left when the territory itself seemed to be in decent enough state, not to mention picturesque and beautiful. He imagined it a sort of territory many wolves (albeit not many that lived in Blackfeather) would like.

The Inuit didn't mind that the younger didn't remember him by appearance, since it'd been so long since he'd last seen him. Not wanting to make the boy wait any longer for a name, he parted his mouth in order to speak. “I'm Kove,” he informed the patchwork child, sitting down as he did so. He knew the child and had no reason to be defensive or on edge, so mine as well relax some. The man couldn't help but grin a bit when he heard the boy was exploring. He loved hearing of young going out to learn more of the land by themselves, especially when it brought ones he knew—such as Cicero—closer to where he lived. “Do you explore often?” he inquired, both curious and looking to catch up on what the boy had been doing since he'd left the woods. Now that he thought of it, he realized he should have stopped in to meet with him, too, back when he'd traveled to see Damien.

Kove gave the area a glance of his own when the boy seemed curious of why the pack had gone away. He knew that it was the Creek wolves who once dwelled there, and assumed they'd wanted to put more space between the creek and the woods after the incident with Star. “Maybe they didn't want to risk having another pack mate stolen away,” he commented, though he wasn't too sure himself. It's not like he kept in contact with any of them, since the only one he actually knew was Star. “The pack that was here is the one whose pack member was held captive by Blackfeather, if you can remember that.” It was awhile ago, and the children had still been pretty young back then, but he hoped the boy at least had a faint memory of it. It could have worked as a good learning opportunity for them, so they could realize how sacred the boundaries of a pack was.

When the wolf said that he was Kove, a pang of recognition flit across Cicero's face. "Cicero knows Kove," he said in response. What coincidence for him to run into Scarlett, and then Kove, within a few days' time of each other. The adolescent smiled upon the memory of Kove, although it was hazy. He had not remembered what Kove looked like, but now he knew. Considering the thoughts that had occurred his mind when he had been in Scarlett's presence, many questions popped into Cicero's mind; first and foremost how and why a wolf like Kove had joined the Dark Brotherhood, for he seemed so soft, and perhaps that was why he was with Scarlett. Or perhaps, Cicero thought, Kove was only yet another wolf that seemed good to Cicero because he was too dark himself to split right from wrong.

"Yes, Cicero is going to be an Outrider," he said with a nod.

When Kove told Cicero of the captive, Cicero was surprised, although he chose not to show it on his face. He looked at Kove and shook his head. "Cicero did not know." Somehow, it seemed typical in the light of his conversation with Scarlett. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps Blackfeather Woods was a dark place. Cicero did remember that there had once been a wolf that had taken captives, but he had left the pack and Meldresi had not known of those captives, either. Was it the same wolf that had taken the wolf that had once belonged to Swiftcurrent Creek?

The ghost had caught what appeared to be recognition on the boy's face once he'd shared his name, and his suspicions were confirmed when the boy admitted to knowing him. It wasn't a surprise, since the older wolf already knew that they were aware of one another, but felt somewhat glad the boy had actually been able to remember him. Even if it was nothing more than a foggy memory of a name, he'd take it for the time being. "Glad you remember me, even if it's probably only a little," Kove stated. The memory of their game was still in his mind, and he wondered briefly if that was something the patchwork child could remember or not. Deciding it was unimportant for the time being, he brought his full attention back to the younger male, ears perking up slightly at what he said. "An Outrider, huh?" he said, tone signalling it was purely rhetorical. "I'm sure you'll make a great one." He had never been quite sure what he'd expected the children to grow into, since it didn't really concern him. He had been a member of the pack at the time, and was still a Dark Brother, but the lives of the Queen's children did not have any immediate effect on him. Sure, he would be interested to see what type of lives they ended up leading as adults, but he now had the futures of other children he would need to look out for—his own children. They weren't born yet, that was true, but he still had to prepare for when they arrived. Even still, though, he found himself looking forward to seeing how well of an Outrider Cicero became, and how great of a Warrior his brother became (Potema he wasn't too concerned about, because he didn't really know the girl).

Kove was actually shocked the boy didn't know of the Creek wolf the dark pack had held hostage, until realizing that there was no real reason the boy should have known. The three children had still been pretty young back then, and even if they had met Star by chance, it was highly unlikely any of them would remember her—or, at least, that was what he assumed. "Oh," he said simply, uncertain whether or not he should continue on with the topic. Seeing no reason to continue on with it, he said a rather bland sounding 'now you know', and then dropped the subject. The Inuit couldn't help but let his mind wander, though... If the boy was looking to become and Outrider, then perhaps he had business he needed to attend to? He couldn't quite tell. The boy always seemed to eccentrict, it was difficult to get an accurate read on him. "Did you need to come up North for a reason, like to meet with a member of another pack, or where you just looking to get away from home for a bit?"

Cicero was not very sensitive to compliments, but he smiled when Kove said that surely he would make a great Outrider. Not so much because he felt good about himself from being complimented, but more because he knew it would make the wolf handing the compliment acknowledge his acceptance of it.

When Kove asked if he was here to visit any packs, Cicero's ears cupped forward curiously. "Does Kove know if there are any packs near?" he asked. Maybe if there were any, Cicero would visit them. His intent was not necessarily to visit a pack, but more to explore in general. "Cicero was exploring to get a better view of the lands," said Cicero. "Cicero knows little of them yet, for Cicero lived most his life in Blackfeather and Mother thought him too young before." Now he was growing older and, mostly, bigger and stronger, so that he would be able to deal with adversity better when he was upon the road.

"Where did the wolves that lived here move?" asked Cicero, curious if they were still around somewhere. If they moved because of a dispute between the Creek and the Woods, then it was unlikely they lived anywhere nearby, however.

The man gave a nod of his head, since he did know of packs. Well, one, to be more precise. Though it'd been a bit since he'd moved to the valley, he still have explored the entirety of the surrounding area. He knew not of the nearby packs, or if there even were any. All he knew of was the valley, it's location, and ways to get to it and the dark forest. “The pack I am apart of now, they are nearby,” he answered, then. The valley and the woods were to have an alliance, of sorts, so it was only logical for the mismatched wolf to be told of the pack. “We live pretty close, actually, in a valley.” It was still odd, living in the valley. Then again, he'd secretly found the dark forest odd for a bit after joining. Each land was nothing like the last, he'd come to notice, each having their own sets of pros and cons. Each had been a home, though, and were remembered as such. The lands he'd explored before settling had been very different as well, and he hoped the young Outrider was getting to see everything of the sort. “You'll be learning more and more of the lands before you know it,” Kove commented, sure of his words. Though he'd yet to see everything, he'd still seen enough to know that the boy was in for all sorts of interesting things. Exploration was always full of such things, after all. That was what made it so great and, at times, addictive.

To his question, the Inuit gave a shrug. “No clue where they went,” he said, his own curiosity piquing ever so slightly. “I never looked into it. I just know they left, and haven't seen any sign of them since.” It was almost as if they had all vanished. If not for the faint scents that had once lingered, and the fact that he'd been there when one member was enslaved, one might have suspected that the Creek wolves never even existed. They did, though, and someday the man might look into where they'd gone. For now, however, the idea disinterested him.

my last post :)

When Kove mentioned the pack he was a part of now, Cicero nodded. He knew. He remembered Scarlett had mentioned it, and Damien had been aching to go there a while now. "Bearclaw Valley." Cicero remembered Scarlett's nearly pleading invitation to go. Cicero said he might go later, and he had considered going with Kove now, but he did not want to overstep the period of time he had told his mother he would be gone. Besides, Damien would be furious if he found out that Cicero had gone there alone, and even though Damien looked cute when he was furious, Cicero would rather stay on good standing with his dark brother.

Kove did not seem as interested in the wolves of Swiftcurrent Creek as Cicero was. Since they had all left, maybe they had moved to different territory, Cicero thought. He nodded and looked at Kove. Cicero then saw something that interested him in the distance, another detail of Swiftcurrent Creek's lands he had not noticed before. "Cicero will go explore more now. Cicero will visit Kove and Scarlett soon." With those words, Cicero nodded at Kove and then took off, trotting away without another word.

Further up ahead, he found the Creek that the territory was named after, and after taking a lap from its waters, Cicero crossed it and started to discover the rest of the territory before eventually heading home.