Phoenix Maplewood King Rat

Location powerplay of @Saena, PM me if you want me to change it! It's late... weird post is weird. I think I got a little carried away.

There was a shadow. Formless and shifting; it watched, hovering above the loam as Reek found his bearing. The ringing in his ears was constant, but thankfully, it's near spectral shriek was drowned out by the droning sound of the river. The old river had always been a source of comfort— Reek clinged to it's familiar memory and found himself clinging to it now once again.

The familiarity was striking. But, it had been so long. Years had passed, and yet it felt as if he had never left.  The valley, the river— all there, exactly as he had left it. The White River Valley stretched before Reek's eyes, bathed in bright white light... like he was seeing the world through some shitty instagram filter. The brightness was nearly painful, save for the shadow which continued to contort on the riverbank.

"Nothing," the shadow creaked in an all too familiar voice before finally taking form. He towered above Reek's skeletal frame— unnaturally large in stature, Cato had always been a man of intimidation. Reek could only cower backwards as his eyes met his uncle's face; black and ghoulish, yet peppered with markings of age. "That's what you are. Your whore mother too," he spat with vitriol.  The words cut deep and Reek could barely muster a dry whimper.

"—Uncle?" croaked Reek, voice meek and meager. For a moment, he barely recognized it as his own. But soon the information clicked, it wasn't a question of who, but when. He was a pup, back in the valley, barely pushing four months old.

"I'm not your uncle," snapped Cato, cutting the pup off before he could get a word in edgewise.  "You're not family."

"But—" sputtered the pup.

"What is your name?" He snapped grinning smugly as he cut the pup off once more.

"I dun wanna—" Reek whined. It was unfair, all of it.

"Name," repeated Cato, grin gone. A stern grimace took it's place.  

"Reek," he offered reluctantly and defeated. His namesake; his legacy.

"And what are you?" Cato inquired with a self-satisfied grin spreading across his maw.

"Nuthin."

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Reek awoke with an awkward clamber as his orange eyes sprang open in the darkness. His heart raced frantically in his chest as he sprang to his feet and wildly looked around where he slept. It was all still there. The life that he had built for himself. His mate sleeping beside him, his pack, his happiness.  All accounted for. Allowing himself to relax a bit, his heart rate slowed. However the lump in his throat still remained.

He needed a walk.  

Awkwardly stepping over his sleeping mate (if he hadn't already woken her in his panic), he made his way to the creek and dunked his head in the cool water.  When the ripples eventually subsided, Reek paused to look at his reflection. He had greyed so much; the stress of losing the rise taken it's toll on the alpha considerably and for the first time, he finally noticed it. But most of all, Reek seethed with anger.  His ghoulish features, the greying— he looked so much like him. "Fuck you," he groaned, slapping the water with his forepaws so that the ripples would distort his image away.

The world of sleep was unknown to her tonight. The inky wolf blended in with the cover of the night, her slight form practically invisible as she moved through the forest. There was no purpose behind her movement, other than that she was killing time. Upon laying down, the Fire sister found herself unable to sleep and so got up to spend her time more productively. In silence, Nochtli drifted through the trees, making sure those she lived with safe and sound. There was no intent to disrupt or awaken any of them, and with as quietly as she walked, someone might think her a figment of their imagination.

What was not figment of her imagination was the splash of water. Her ears perked as her pace paused, curious as to what it was. Direction changing, Nocta moved, closing in on the creek with the thought to hide and watch but the voice made her smile, instead stepping out of the underbrush and into full view. With her dark coat, he might not have seen her, so the Amazon announced herself as well.

"If you're talking to the water, I don't think that's possible. If you're talking to your reflection..." Her voice was soft but there was a smile to signify her teasing. "Still not possible, but then you might also need mental help." Bright eyes flickered over him, noting his wet fur. "You okay?"

Stonefaced, Reek stared on as the ripples distorted his form. His dream, though fresh in his mind was already beginning to fade.  The details became blurry, but Reek could remember the feeling; the dread. In his post sleep stupor, he found it hard to turn away from his ghoulish reflection, not until Nochtli's voice called out behind him did he pull his gaze away from the slow-flowing stream. The concern in her voice was quantifiable, but who wouldn't have been concerned?  Reek looked like an absolute loon, staring off at nothing.

"Nochtli?" He whispered, turning his head to face her.  "I'm fine— I just, uh, can't sleep." That was one way to say it.  "Why are you out and about? He asked in a tired mumble.  "It's, like, late and stuff."  Or early, whatever.  All Reek knew was; it was dark and he was tired.

He seemed... Shaken. Weary. Hmm. He was at least responding coherently, so that was a plus. Identifying her by name, he explained his reasoning for being up and about at this time right before questioning her about it. "Wanted to make sure everyone was alright, since I couldn't sleep either. New territory and all; never know what could still be lurking." Of course, she wasn't attempting to be pessimistic about it but it was a very real possibility. She'd burn off a bit of energy, wait until some of the others woke up for the day, and find some cozy place to nap a bit.

"Something keeping you up?" She queried, gently prying. If something was bothering him, the girl wanted to see if she could help put it to rest. That was what she'd trained back at Coatl's Rise for, after all.

Insomniac twins. Obviously something caused Nochtli to shirk away from the throws of sleep, but tired as Reek was, he hadn't the foresight to catch or comprehend anything behind it. He simply nodded along to her explanation with a weary shrug.  Thanks Noch," he mumbled, knowing  very well that the untamed world was a savage place.  He had seen it first hand. Those that would aim to take what they had by force and claim what the wolves of the Maplewood had were numerous in number. His unsettled expression shifted into a slight and terse smile before he mumbled, "—But, I think we're fine... for now at least.  I mean, whatever's out there would have to go through me and this, uh, impeccable physique."  It was absolutely ridiculous and Reeks face showed it, but a little bit of humor was a cathartic remedy to his unsettled state.

Her genuine concern for his condition was heartwarming, but in no way was Reek ready to open up to the Amazon completely. Though she was a pack member, and by proxy, a member of his family... she was still held at arms length like all new arrivals. Especially when it came to something so personally unsettling. "I'm alright," came  his response.  A lie, but a damn good one. However, once his dream was no longer fresh in his mind, he would be just that. Fine. "Just some bad dreams, nothing special."

She shrugged off the thanks and instead laughed, a quiet sound in the dead of night but it marked her amusement nonetheless. "Woe unto the dastardly creature that encounters you, Lord Reek." her tone was regal and as serious as she could make it right now; She was teasing, again. She knew that he and Saena had done everything they could for those that followed them and highly appreciated those efforts.

He brushed away her question and she did not protest, instead nodding. If he said he was alright, perhaps he was. If he did not want to talk about it, that was his choice. "Good to hear," She responded easily, glancing at a small fish that moved under the stream's ever-changing surface. "I've heard if you burn off energy, it helps you sleep better. More soundly. Down for a hunt? Or a race?" It was his choice, but she was already trying to burn the restless energy away, and would continue even should he say no.

"Woe indeed," came his half-wheezed retort despite the fact that just the thought unsettled Reek even more.  Reek being the sole defender of the territory was almost funny. Perhaps if that responsibility didn't rest upon his shoulders, he would have found more humor in the situation. Thankfully he had the support of the others, his family, and where he walked— he was never alone. After living his life without a cause, he had finally found his with the companions he kept. The power of friendship was such a tired cliche, but Reek had finally conceded that there was something to it. He would give his final breath for his pack if it came down to it.

Like a firmly pressed spring, Reek was tightly coiled in his unease. The prospect of any further sleep in the night was long gone, but when Nochtli suggested a late night hunt, Reek could already feel himself begin to physically relax.  "Well," he began, managing a terse smirk. "Have you made an appointment with my secretary? I have so much stuff to do... but, maybe I can fit a hunt into my busy schedule." To be honest, staring at his reflection in the moonlight was more unsettling than productive and a quick hunt would definitely flush the mind of it's collective herby-jeeby's.

Something was up, she could sense that much. His tension was palpable but even so, she did not prod at him. His privacy was his right and besides, they were going to go hunting. If his secretary could make some room on his schedule, of course. Her smile reflected his and then widened into a grin. "I would be honored, Lord Reek," She intoned before laughing, moving across the stream to join him.

"Maybe we can find something fat and juicy." She wasn't hungry but perhaps by the end of the hunt she'd have developed an appetite. "We could hunt jackalopes!" She whispered fervently, having heard the term from someone else. Whatever it was, it sounded yummy and she definitely wanted to try one, unaware that it was a fictional creature. "Do you know what they look like?"

Reek nodded his head in agreement to the prospect of taking down something fat and juicy. Nothing caught his attention better than the thought of a late night snack. His mouth had prematurely begun to drool in anticipation at just the passing mention of food. But, whatever it was that Nochtli had in mind certainly wasn't the standard fare. In no way, shape, or form had Reek even heard of a jackalope; nor had he gotten the memo that they were simply myth. Deer, fish, foxes... that he could do, but feeding off of Nochtli's burgeoning enthusiasm, Reek was ready to try anything new.

But despite Reek's enthusiasm, it would be impossible to hunt something without knowing what the hell it was. "Yes!" he whispered back excitedly, "Sounds big... ish. I certainly hope it's big." Nevertheless, no matter what a jackalope looked like, they wouldn't make any headway by standing around the creek. "Come on, we aren't going to find one here!" he prodded before beckoning the amazon to follow him into the deepest reaches of the maplewood to begin their wild snipe hunt.

Perhaps it was a bit futile to pick a prey that neither of them had any inkling of what it looked like but it would no doubt keep them busy. His summons pulled her closer as she followed his lead and stayed at his side. While she continued moving forward, her mind switched over to a more focused way of thought, separating out scents and sounds as she went. She was looking for something she hadn't smelled before, hadn't seen. This was still a fairly new territory to them so who knew? Maybe one was hiding out in the dense forestry.

"Let's split up a bit. I'll go left, cover more ground and see if I can find anything." Her tone of voice was more serious than before, slipping off into the dark. She paused for a moment to scuff her toes in the dirt and make sure they were mostly hidden before setting off, nose down to the ground to see what she could find. All the while, her ears twisted on the crest of her skull to make sure she would hear any signal from Reek.

Since this one's getting a little dated, want to fade this out and have a new one?

Together, they pushed through the darkness to only the sound of their own growling stomachs. The foul dreams that plagued where now far from his mind, and Nochtli's intervention was something he was greatly thankful for. Something he would, in turn, remember. Reek turned his head back to Nochtli as she spoke and nodded in confirmation. They'd split up to cover more ground. "Sounds good," Reek whispered in the hopes he wouldn't scare off any jackalopes in the process. "We'll stick close.  I'll howl if I see anything."

With a final, tired smile, Reek bid Nochtli a temporary farewell before loping off into the darkness of the Maplewood in search of the unknown.