Bearclaw Valley And you pray with your knees on the ground

AW!

She sat still atop a rise in the land, oceanic gaze trained upon the twilight sky that faded to black and the bright stars that were beginning to sparkle within. A canopy of pale dots swirled and danced along the canvas of blue that stretched much too far into the distance for a wolf such as herself to see, but it mattered little. The moon casted an etheral light upon this girl's delicate features, scars masked by the thick coat of white that hid any sight of imperfection - she seemed mystical, almost supernatural, in these beams of light. She followed the colour until the line where it met the land far in the distance - black shadows rose in the shapes of far away trees, rises and dips shaping the earth in a peculiar way. She was not a naturalist, but indeed the way this nature worked was intruiging and she studied it with quiet enthusiasm.

She found herself longing, perhaps, to be among those glittering stars for they seemed as free as one could be. Of course, when the sun rose and an orange glow enveloped the sky, the stars were swallowed and caged until the moon battled away the day once more. This, however, did not cease her desire to flee from this land that weighed her down, wishing more than anything to be able to halt the pain and sorrows just to dance among the ocean of black and escape the nightmares that plagued her every step.

Please take me away, moon, accept me into your silent embrace so I can twirl with your etheral angels and worry not about the struggles of this bitter life.

the crunch of snow alerted her to the presence of another, though it was hardly hours into the day when indra came across her. fleetingly she assessed the stranger, who bore a thick coat that rivaled xan's and deep, midnight blue eyes. indra did not know this wolf, but when she scented the air it was evident she was part of the fold.

had indra known of the female's affinity for the stars perhaps she would have been warmer in her greetng. instead she simply stopped in her tracks and cast gwen a long and dolorous stare. "who are you?"

The great luminous pearl on the curtain of black across the sky shone powerful yet delicate beams of silver upon the land, such a beautiful sight to behold that the ghost observing from a rise in the land did not notice the scent that drifted by on the wind. The approach of the other was met with silence, the view too mystical for Gwen to peer away from, until a voice reached her ears. With a startled puff of air releasing from her nostrils and creating a small frosted cloud, the pale woman turned to glance at the newcomer. 

The question came perhaps not as entirely rude, but... certainly not warm either. Out of habit, Gwen began to chew at the inside of her cheek, a compulsion born of anxiety. This orange-hued woman seemed at the very least cold to strangers, a wolf untrusting of newcomers to their home. Of course, the dove did not mind that, it was reasonable, but surely she should be given a chance before judgement was made?

"Ah... hello. I'm Gwen." Her tail wasn't going to be bitten off for that, right?

indra watched as the woman pulled her gaze from the sky and looked upon her with a slight breath of surprise. indra's somewhat mistrustful gaze settled on the woman, noticing the faint suck of flesh along her slender cheek. she knew it to be a nervous habit, but it did not soften the coldness in her gaze.

she drew to a stop, lifting her muzzle ever so slightly as she addressed her. "indra." she proferred the name coolly, flicking her gaze around as if to assure they were alone. "how'd you get here?"

You get Gwen's 300th post :p

There was a coldness in the red woman's gaze that the ghost had instantly picked up on, and it caused her paws to shift in place, though it was likely the small movement went unnoticed amongst the darkness. "Nice to meet you, Indra." Well, was it? Certainly the meeting was not going spectacularly, but then again she knew it to be only fair that this wolfess did not yet trust her. Perhaps in the future they could develop some kind of friendship - then again, perhaps not. Only time would tell. For now, the Eruna simply comitted the name to memory.

"I joined a few days ago." Was her response, explanation falling softly from her lips though with no hesitation this time around. She could not reveal the inner turmoil that followed her every breath, the knives that pierced her heart at every step she took. Her time was running thin (sometimes it became too much to bear), and the thought alone made every second feel like the prolonged ticking of a clock. It was incredibly tedious.

oo congrats on 300th post! good milestone :D

already, so much had happened in the valley -- and indra's trust in others had been whittled down to a small and brittle stub. gwen hadn't done much to deserve the girl's scrutiny -- but then again, indra hadn't done very much to deserve many of the iniquities the world had bestowed upon her.

she knew gwen was aware of the coollness of her reception, but she didn't know how to fix it. truth be told, indra wasn't sure if she wanted to fix it. if she remained unapproachable, perhaps she would never have wolves like ithrik or the mute wolf mess with her again. perhaps the secret to surviving in this world was making yourself as uninviting a victim as possible.

"oh, well.. welcome to the valley." she said at length, a very brief lift of her lips almost like a smile appearing.  she began to walk off, but not before calling "cache is that way, if you're hungry."

Thanks for the thread :)

The ghost caught a glimpse of a slight smile upon the other's maw, and it was enough to soothe her own nerves a little, a brief quirk of her own lips a silent response. Her pale muzzle opened soon after, thanking the wolfess despite the cool attitude that had been presented beforehand. "Thank you," 

And with that, the red girl drifted away into the surrounding shade, figure disappearing amongst the shadows. Gwen herself turned her oceanic gaze back toward the glittering sky that had so entranced her a few moments earlier, relishing in the silence that returned.