Twisted Slough night's decor

Scout trade thread.

It was easy enough to deviate from the coast and head further inland, at least for a while. Time passed slowly despite the pace he upheld. At first the boy was charging across the plains and when his energy began to drop, so too did his speed, but he kept moving. There was a great distance to cover if he was to find shelter for the night. As evening began to settle upon the wilds Tetsubo felt the world breathe a great sigh; he felt it through the scruff of his neck, heard the rustling of the green around him, and slowed to a lethargic pace. The wind held a foul smell, but nothing that was remarkably dangerous upon it — no wolves, at least.

The darkness of the trees soon swept over him, and the warrior paced between the dark willows with some care. He wasn't planning to sleep tonight. Tetsubo had half a mind to follow the stars, but when he lifted his head his gaze was met with a great blackness; there were no stars here. The density of the forest must have hidden them from his view. It did not bother Tetsubo as it perhaps should have, but instead, he felt a strange clarity creep through him. A sense of peace. It was strange and new, and nothing he had been prepared for, so he began to search for a way out of the gloom with some urgency.

This looked lonely <3

It was not every day anymore that the Lady of Arthendal couldn't sleep, but alas it still did happen. While her nightmares were not as frequent anymore as time passed between her time in Blackfeather Woods and the arrival here, they were still there, haunting her every now and then to remind her life still had a lot in store for her. Though what she had noticed, was that she was more scared of the loss of the wolves she now had around her than she was of the Dark Brotherhood. More specifically, she feared for Burke's life, that of her young and of her subjects. Burke was old -sorry boo-, and soon he wouldn't be able to do things as he was used to do. The day would come where she would have to care for Vassago and Pyro on her own, while simultaneously caring for the whole pack. She had done so before, in Moonlit Hills, but everyone had been so independent there.

Two yellow eyes blinked under the light of the moon, one chocolate colored muzzle pointed at the sky as she sat on a hill. She wanted to explore, but waiting for a new day would be too long for her. She hated leaving unannounced, but she wanted some of her freedom back. Running a pack with an old crank and two adventurous boys to care for was hard work- it was almost natural for her to leave for a few hours. A new determination burned bright in her golden orbs as she made her way down, swimming across the river on the North side, somewhat tilted to the East. The stars were a great guide, but soon she noticed her bright guiding angels were gone, thick, disgusting air hanging around what seemed to be old trees. Since when was this here? 

Despite the foul scent that hung around here -which she hoped to not be poisonous or something-, the scent of another being was present, and that made her even more uncomfortable. She couldn't escape either, being disorientated in this claustrophobic maze of trees and tangles and without her sky as a guide. She just hoped she wouldn't have to run into anyone, but chances were high she would be found out quite fast. 

The glorious advantage of being a bigger wolf, and of not caring if someone were to stumble upon you because of a well placed prowess and confidence in one's abilities, was that Tetsubo could go barrelling through the forest without a single care. Even if he had the ability to feel emotion, he'd have been totally without remorse. He moved without grace, as always, but seemed to make a point of breaking down anything in his path. A few times he'd encounter fallen trees or tangles that were insurmountable, but he would simply stop and climb his way over, or snap at the brambles and cut his way through; this meant he'd be caught with his torso stuck high up across a log, or his rear end would be exposed while the rest of his sterling body was rooted awkwardly among the shards of stone and clusters of fresh growth, but it didn't matter. He was immodest. His desire to go from point A to point B went unhindered by the obstacles, as he would face them and overcome them.

At the same time, his voyage through the slough was slow-going, and by the time he'd found a gap in the trees within which to rest, he was panting hard and slightly delerious from hunger. The beast fell partway down a steep incline with only a small stand of saplings to brace him, and as they snapped beneath his weight, he came to a rest and took a moment to suck in a much needed breath of air. The stench of the place was quite intense, and slightly sulfuric. The darkness helped little at this point — he still felt that strange clarity and togetherness like never before, and the anxiety that plagued him over this strange new feeling was beginning to abate, as he was distracted by his body's reaction to so much work — but there, out of the corner of his vision, he thought he saw a shadow twitch and move.

He breathed another series of breaths, in and out, and thought fleetingly that this could be another embodiment of the nether — so Tetsubo stood at attention, and bellowed with a firm call, in to the void of his surroundings.

Her bright yellow eyes scanned everything, but there was nothing in sight. For a moment the hope of the other having left made her heart slow down, but every sounds made her whole body twitch. She was a leader, and yet here she stood- shaking on her legs with a wet coat, afraid of something that hadn't even announced itself. What had happened to the ignorant side of her- the one that thought she could do anything? Sometimes she wished she could go back to being a murderous, malicious being, but she was also a mother now.

A call rang through the fume-filled air, and her head swiveled in the direction it had come from. There she saw it- a shadow of a man. There was no doubt that he had sensed her, and ignoring him might trigger something in a being that was crazy enough to hang around here alone. With a high tail and ears perked up in a friendly manner, she made shaky steps toward him. Hello? She let out a call of her own, the air so think she almost choked.