Thunder Dome plan a pretty picnic

 

Rue had picked a mild day to ascend the dome, recalling the storm she had previously seen on the mountaintop from a distance. After having seen harsh weather play itslef out over the exposed rock face, Rue knew this would be the wrong place to be caught up in an unexpected storm. 

And yet, she summited the dome even so, knowing that the view from the highest peak around had no chance of being matched. She would be able to mentally map terrain that otherwise would have cost her many days worth of travel. 

Rue had looked out over the territories for a long time, nearly breathless at the beauty and diversity she saw spread out beneath the dome.  She was still resting from her difficult climb when the wind began to pick up. Knowing the signs of impending weather, Rue rose to her feet in order to decend to a safer resting place.

Before she could move more than a few paces, the winds had gathered clouds around her, obscuring the path Rue had used to ascend to this point.  Rue's heartbeat picked up, but she still moved with slow, calculated steps. Rushing forward in a panic could lead to a misstep, which would spell distaster so close to the rock face. A rumble of thunder sounded ominously, and a whine escaped the young woman.

ooc: Sorry for the wait, been a long weekend.


It had been a long few days wandering through the terrains of unfamiliar territories and getting to know small chunks of lands here and there. But climbing high also saved time in looking for a new home. The idea was to scan terrains and hope for the best in what she picked wasn't already occupied by a pack of wolves. Despite knowing how much she dreaded living within a pack, she denied the fact that she had to face it sooner or later that she would have to choose a pack to reside in. She was getting older, not any slower, but less patient for losing out on the larger prey.

She eas also getting pretty close to hitting her prime, and decisions needed to be made; and very soon! Perhaps creating her own pack would be ideal? She was still sitting on the fence with that one as well. She actually thoroughly enjoyed living solo.

Her thoughts were cut short as the wind started to pick up, just as she reached the top and caught a quick glance. Risking it, she took a longer gaze staring down at one of the pine forests. It was an amazing view up there that was for sure. Her tired limbs decided to carry her to the neck of safety until she ran into another wolf, a younger female; almost literally bumping into her. Slick on her feet she skid to a stop and stepped sideways to avoid a collision.

Sorry...

Slipped through her lips as she gazed at the younger female. She stood there looking around with squinted eyes from the wind to see if there was a cave for cover nearby. The wind was quite loud and almost hard enough to blow her off her feet. The sky darkened and Onyxia knew if they didn't get out of there, they would be in more than just trouble. 

Come on, let's find a cave or another place of cover...

They had no time to run down the mountain, they simply wouldn't make it, there had to be a cave close b.

I am editing this post due to Onyxia going inactive. The thread is now open for one new partner to replace Onyxia. Feel free to have your wolf already posted up in the cave and react to Rue's arrival.

Rue gasped and stiffened as the other wolf appeared out of the clouds. Since Elixir had told Rue about being attacked at random by a stranger in the shadows, Rue had been even jumpier than normal. 

After a beat, Rue recovered. It helped that the stranger was female, Rue was less suspicious of women. "I saw something promising when I was ascending. This way."  The young woman turned to lead her new companion. She hesitated to turn her back on the stranger for the briefest moment, but she steeled herself and pushed through her mistrust. Elixir would be proud of her. 

A short break in the wind allowed Rue to see well enough to lead her companion to a point where one edge of the path fell away in a steep slope. Rue peered over the edge, toes flexing in an attempt to grip the dirt on the path. It felt like the wind was trying to tug her over the edge. If Rue squinted through the clouds, she could see a darkened opening down below. "There," she pointed out, looking back up to see what the woman would think.  

She was gone.

Rue glanced around in concern. The first raindrops were begninning to soak through the fur on her back, and she knew that she wouldn't have time to seek out the stranger if she wanted to make it to the possible shelter before the storm. Rue barked a few times to direct the woman toward her location if she was lost in the fog. She then turned to carefully pick her way down to what looked to be a small cave. When Rue reached the opening-- which was only just large enough for a wolf to squeeze inside-- she poked her nose in to investigate.

Navigation had never been Apple's strong suite - she had always gone by the feels and had had various levels of success at getting, where she wanted to go, and returning back again. Therefore no wonder that in her attempt to cut the journey around the mountain range short, she got hoplessly lost and was facing the fate of being drenched through the skin and being swept over the edge of the cliff. 

She was fighting her way along a narrow path, when she heard someone barking in the vicinity. Hoping that her mind was not playing tricks on her, she rushed towards the place, where she had heard the sound, just in time to see a wolf form disappear in a cave. With the thought that, where there was room for one, there had to be a room for a second person, she followed and arrived at the shelter just mere minutes after the she-wolf, who had found it in the first place. 

"Ahoy, stranger - is there a room for another one?" she asked, standing by the entrance.

Thanks for the save!

Rue was relieved to find a cozy, dry cavern as she squeezed through the cleft in the cliffside. It was not an overly-large space, but it would certainly do. She was further relieved to hear the other woman announce her arrival, and she turned to welcome the midnight-pelted wolf in with an equally cheerful reply.

Except the woman standing in the cave entrance wasn't midnight-pelted at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Rue's relief morphed into starled confusion. It took her a long moment to recover. She finally shook her head as if to fling away the confusion, and she adjusted her expression to one of friendly curiosity. 

"Yes! Yes, of course, please come in." The woman had stood in the rain long enough waiting for Rue to recover from her surprise. "Ruenna," she offered as a replacement for being addressed as "stranger." If they were to wait out the storm together, they certainly wouldn't be strangers long.   "Sorry, I-- I met a dark-coated woman up on the ridge-- I thought you were going to be her." Rue shook her head again, knowing she probably wasn't making much sense. "No matter. Hopefully she found somewhere safe to shelter."

"For a moment there your looked like you have seen a ghost," Apple, remarked, when Ruenna stepped aside and let her in. The change from the windy, wet and cold conditions outside was remarkable, she walked a little further away (as much as the length and width of the cavern allowed it) and shook her coat heartily. Droplets of water splattered in every direction, but it was enough to deal with most of the water that accumulated in her coat. 

"Dark lady? Must be blown away then, did not see anyone fitting that description, when I came this way," she replied, settling down on her haunches and beginning to groom her paws, moving over to chest and belly. Her coat was plush and thick, she would have to spend more time outside to be properly drenched (or take a lengthy swim), but a ritual was a ritual. Plus, it helped to calm her nerves (or rather hide the fact that she felt unsettled by the raging storm outside). 

"Oh, I must be very rude - I did not introduce myself at all. Apple Blackthorn, young mis," she introduced herself.

Rue ducked her head and offered a sheepish, apologetic smile. It was certainly not the first time she had been accused of looking such a way-- she seemed to spend half of her life being hypervigilant and the other half being startled. The woman entered the little cavern, and Rue shifted over to make room. 

Oh.. Oh, goodness. 

She shifted over more. Rue hadn't quite anticipated the size of her new companion. Rue ducked again as the woman shook, and when she was done shaking she seemed to have grown in size if that was possible, fluffy coat sticking out in all directions. Rue supposed that was no matter-- a larger companion would only warm the cavern faster, and the woman seemed nice enough. 

The woman had not seen the dark lady Rue described. Huh. "Perhaps I did see a ghost, then," Rue remarked, her voice more offhanded than she truly felt. She suppressed a shiver. Her unease with the dark-pelted apparition was simply concern for the woman, she told herself. She certainly wouldn't let such obvious nonsense as ghosts frighten her. Certainly not. 

Apple Blackthorn introduced herself, referring to Ruenna as "young miss."  Perhaps Apple hadn't heard Rue when she had given her name. That happened to Rue fairly often-- she had to remember to speak up more. "Ruenna Redfern," Rue introduced herself again, a bit louder this time, and with the addition of her surname. "..Of Blacktail Deer Plateau," she remembered to add a beat later. After her recent stint as a lone wolf, she was still getting back into the habit of introducing herself as a pack wolf.

Apple's looks were deceiving - her stature was on the smaller side of the spectrum, her plush coat and the illness due to which she had a fairly rotund and slightly obese shape, added to her size. Seeing that the girl was somewhat uncomfortably squeezed against the wall of the cave, the older wolf got up and made herself comfortable in another spot, leaving just enough space for Ruenna to also lie down. The storm would probably rage for a long time, therefore they were stuck here for a long time.

"Have you met many ghosts in your life?" Apple sparked up the conversation again, deciding on an entertaining subject.

The two of them settled in, doing their best to politely and fairly arrange the space. Thank goodness Apple seemed fairly laid-back, and seeing as Rue was the submissive sort she didn't expect they should have any problems despite being near-strangers in a very small space.

"Ghosts, hmm," Rue mused, intrigued by the subject. "Not that I'm aware of," she admitted, though after her recent encounter with the dark-coated woman she was unsure whether she would have recognized that a ghost was a ghost even if she had seen one. "My dreams feel like ghosts of.. of events sometimes," she added, wondering if ghosts had to be people, or if other things could be ghosts. What is a memory but a ghost of an event, anyway?

"I can't say that I have met many in my life so far," Apple shared her experience on the topic, "but those become really handy, if you want to get your kids in order. Mark my words, when you have your own." There was this particular stage, where you could not bribe those little rascals, but you could easily make them believe stuff that was not - strictly speaking - true. They do not want to take a mid-day nap - tell them that, if they do not have a shut-eye, a Snatcher-ghost would come and take the disobedient ones to his underground tunnels. Want win an argument, which consists of countless "why?"s and be more creative than "I said so!" Tell them a story about, what happened to the last wolf, who did [enter the particular forbidden activity here] and why he is now bound to haunt the lands once a year and beg for someone to save him. Handy things, those ghosts. Handy.

"Do you have any of your own? Children not ghosts, I mean?" Apple asked, feeling no shame for prying in other people's personal lives. She asked it nicely and with an innocent curiosity.

Rue cracked a smile at the mention of keeping kids in order. Apple seemed to have the experience to know what she was talking about. The idea of telling stories to children was a lovely one; perhaps she would have the opportunity someday. Not with her own children, of course. To have children you had to let a man touch you, Rue knew that much... and that was still a no-go for Rue. Not after... well, after all she had been through. 

"No, none of my own. You need a man for that, I've heard." Rue quirked a brow in amusement. "..And I haven't had the greatest luck with those." She had hoped that her words would come off as light humor, but a note of truth would be evident in the young woman's tone.

"But my alphas might have pups this season," she offered optimistically, hoping to steer the conversation away from her own misfortunes. "So I might yet have the chance to apply your advice."

"Hah, that's always the problem, isn't it? Women are great and very capable on their own. And, when I was a whelp, there was a time I sincerely believed that you could get pregnant just like that, on your own and did not need any assistance," Apple shared one of the few childhood memories she could still recall clearly. "But there has been at least one well-documented case of a miraculous conception, where no man took part in it," she added, leaving out the specifics, but vaguely referring to very well-known top-bestseller for about many, many hundred years in the human world. But since Apple was a bit shallow, when it came to literature and other complicated stuff, she memorized the most interesting facts. And often she would never recall, where she had heard it in the first place and in what context.

"Haven't seen such miracle in my life-time though," she added, though without much regret in her voice. While giving birth had been painful and exhausting, she was not such a hypocritical old hag to deny that she had not enjoyed the whole courting process and The Process, when it had taken place. Many of several good memories of her long life. "Anyway... where were we, before I rambled away?" she asked, scratching behind her ear, and trying very hard to get back on the track of their earlier conversation..

Rue laughed as Apple recounted her beliefs from puphood. She recalled thinking similarly-- as a child she had not overly-concerned herself with where pups came from, and perhaps that was one reason why reality had hit her so hard upon adolescence. If she'd taken her head out of the clouds for just a moment, she might have realized what Sjorn really wanted from her before it was too late. She might have been able to do something to dissuade him, or.. or something.. 

Rue blinked at Apple's story of immaculate conception. It sounded quite far-fetched to Rue, but she knew that there were lots of wolves out there that believed in divine interventions and other such miracles. Rue couldn't quite discern if Apple actually believed her own words, or if she was just chattering to pass the time. 

Rue laughed again as Apple finally noticed that their conversation had derailed. "My alphas," Rue reminded her between chuckles. "We live on the plateau just west of here." Rue was fairly new to Blacktail Deer Plateau and may have been going out on a limb, but she decided to add, "You know, I'm unsure of whether anyone in Blacktail Deer Plateau has raised pups from birth." Liri and Kavik seemed quite young, and it was likely that any impending litter would be their first. "The knowledge you possess would a great asset to our pack if you are considering a place to settle, even for a short time." Rue made the offer in an offhanded manner, with a shrug and a smile.

"Well, no first-time mother has any knowledge at all about child-raising. This comes with having a practical experience with real kids. And by the second and third, and maybe fourth litter - depends, on how much one can stand those rascals, it's easy peasy. Especially, since there are the older kids around to keep the bitey sharks entertained and occupied," by her third batch Apple had been so good at managing people around her that all she had had to do was to feed them, while it was still necessary and spend the rest of the time as she pleased or saw fit. No, this does not mean she was not involved, she was simply better at planning than the first two times. 

"Hmmm... you are the first to offer me the job of consultant. I never really put much thought to it," she had never considered this. "But you know, what most parents are about prying old ladies that throw unwanted advice here and there - they either get upset and eyes them hags darkly or plainly tell them that they understand nothing of life," she laughed heartily, but there was some truth in her words. Apple loved to talk, loved to share her experience, but she tried not to imply that hers was the only truth and that it should be followed by diligently. "So, your pack - what's it like?" she asked to keep the conversation going.

Sun and stars, Apple had had quite the life! Rue grinned in amusement at the "bitey sharks" comment, recalling the sharp-toothed, predatory fish that occasionally starred in her relatives' stories. Sharks had always been portrayed as quite aggressive and single-minded, and Rue could certainly see how a pup could seem similar. Just thinking about it made Rue twitch her tail, recalling the near-constant pain of piercing puppy-teeth that had plagued her last summer.

"I never considered that," Rue responded with a laugh. She could not imagine anyone in Blacktail Deer Plateau being told off for "unwanted advice," but then again mothers could be funny about their pups. Rue had seen women go through entire personality changes after bearing young, starting from the time they went into heat. Rue knew that she would soon experience whatever it was that drove adults crazy during the winter, and she couldn't say she was much looking forward to it. 

"It's lovely," Rue answered the question, more than happy to extol her new pack. "There's plenty to eat,  strong warriors to protect the territory... an emphasis on learning and developing a unique skillset.. and although we are a diverse group, we think of one another as family." These were the things that Rue both appreciated most and had learned very quickly. She had yet to come to see the flaws of the pack or experience how the pack dealt with setback... if she had been having this conversation with Apple several months later, she might have been providing a slightly different description.

"Ah... you remind me of my second mate Rob Blackpelt. I had just left my first and he after years spent in a dutiful service with others had just been kicked out for mutiny or some related stuff, or - I do not quite remember the whole story, but I do recall getting an impression that the new alpha somehow did not like that Rob had a history with his current wife... anyway, we happened to run into each other one day, when we wanted to cross the same river over the same fallen log, but from the opposite sides. An argument ensued about, who was to cross first, neither of us wanted to give in and... on the same evening we came to an agreement that not only we quite liked each other, but were fit for one another as well," Apple had meant to tell that they too had started out together, full with optimism, hope and happiness - just the same as Ruenna felt now - but had not seen a way, how to shorten the tale of events that had taken place beforehand. And by now she had got so invested in the story that she had quite forgotten, what was the reason she was telling it, in the first place. 

"I still wonder, how that happened and how we made it work. Because - boy - I was such an air-head, temperament and wanted to have the world by my feet and felt disappointed and insulted, when Rob did not share the same views. You see - he was a lot older than me already then - and it was not easy for a weathered warrior, who had somehow imagined domestic bliss being peaceful and going according to his rules and whims, to bear with a wife that not only did not meet these criteria, but constantly got on his nerves," she said with a fond smile, remembering all the shenanigans of that time. Some people would add at this point that they would do things differently given the chance to go back, but the old lady regretted nothing. It had been turbulent two and a half years together and out of all mates he was definitely among the favourites. 

"But love makes fool out of people - despite all that we were crazy for each other. And, looking back now, I think we both enjoyed the heated arguments we had or shouting rounds only to get back on good terms after a short while. Yeah... good times were those..." she fell into a contemplative silence, smiling about the vivid flashes of memories she saw before her eyes.

Something about whatever Rue had said reminded Apple of a former mate. Apple lost herself in the story, which Rue did not mind in the least. Rue was not a talker herself, and so she considered it quite lucky that of all the people with whom she could have been trapped, the delightfully entertaining Apple had been the one to poke her head into the cave. 

Rue's head dropped to her paws, but her eyes remained trained on the woman, who was in the middle of a rather romantic story about a river crossing. Rue couldn't put a paw on exactly what was so romantic about the story-- she had never considered arguments especially romantic berfore-- so maybe it was just the way Apple told it, with that faraway look in her eye. Apple continued to recall (what seemed to Rue to be) the difficult times with her former husband, but the woman's smile never left. That was puzzling to Rue. Rue was young and she understood very little of what love was, but the picture Apple was painting was quite a stark contrast to the one she had conjured up in her mind.

Rue sighed as Apple fell quiet. Perhaps the woman was caught up in her memories, or she didn't realize that Rue was still awake. "I guess I always thought that love was.. flowers and kissess and romance.." Rue admitted, "And.. babies." Rue winced to herself. If baby-making was a necessary component, she doubted that she would ever experience love for herself. But then again, Apple seemed to have a different experience. If the older woman could recall her shouting matches with such fondness, perhaps that meant Rue was wrong about love. Perhaps there was hope for her, yet.

"Oh, that's, how all young people feel about this and there is plenty of that there too," Apple nodded with a knowing smile. With her 4 mates, 14 children and a string of flirts and flames she could be considered a relationship-junkie. The falling in love part never grew old and weary - even now, when she was done with family business and child-bearing-raising process, she still felt butterflies fluttering inside her stomach, when she met a handsome and a desirable guy. 

"We all believe in prince Charming or Mr Perfect or some other idolized person and in the beginning The One really seems that way. You let your guard down and see in him, what you want to see. And after a while, when you have lived with this person and got to know him better... it turns out that they not only fart and burp just like everyone else, but that there are character traits that you can't stand in them or do not understand," she explained. 

"And the same goes for the other party from, what I have learned. You are that flawless princess, who can't do a thing wrong, and then it turns out that - hey - she can have her bad days and be a real grouch," she said with a laugh. "Mark my words after playing this game several times, you get to know the rules very well. People too. In my age I have yet to meet a person, who will surprise me."

"Anyway, enough about me," she was more than happy to oblige and talk to no end, but she was mindful that the other party might not be interested in all of her banters. "You were not born in your current pack, where did you hail from?" she asked, not remembering, whether she had made the same inquiry earlier or not. That happens, when one talks so much.

Rue's gaze continued to linger on Apple as she talked, and she mulled the older woman's words over in her mind. Rue understood more about the deceitful Prince Charming charade than Apple knew, perhaps. Her Prince Charming had turned out to be demon, morphing completely the moment Rue found a chink in the "princely" facade behind which he armored himself.

Rue could not imagine anyone thinking her a princess, and that was probably for the better. She needed no more make-believe in her life, no more fairy tails twisting into nightmares in the eleventh hour. 

"No, I was born out east. I'm from a small, familial pack called Red Fern Glade. " Rue paused, and added with a stab at humor, "Not much opportunity to find The One when everyone in your pack is a relative." Of course, such pairings were not unheard of, but it seemed to Rue that there were many ways for such a relationship to end poorly and very few ways for it to go well.

"Then you did the right thing, going out in the world," Apple approved of the girl's choice, because she had done exactly the same thing the moment her personality had grown so big that it simply did not have enough space in the Blackthorn nest. She had spread her wings, intended to fly high (which had happened for a while), but not without bumps, falls, crashes and other mishaps happening along the way. In the end she had not been much of a person, who flew around, preferring to be the kind of bird that enjoyed the sky, while standing firmly on the ground. But it had not been a bad life still.

"I left, when I was barely a yearling. A young man wooed me and as young and stupid I was, I was ready to go to the end of the world with him," she said with a rueful smile. "It turned out that I did not fancy much the speed and the determination with which he was nearing that Earth's edge, and left him to find someone better. But you heard that story already." However, as she spoke about her first love and husband Alastair there was not a hint of disappointment or hurt feelings in her voice. Their love had been real and had worked out as long as it lasted and then faded away. Just as all things in life. 

"I encouraged all of my kids to go out in the world - some more than the others," she grinned, thinking about her beautiful airhead Priscilla and Deanne, who had tried very hard to be a homebody, because she had thought that this was, what was expected from all dutiful wolves, and how it had not worked out entirely, because the world had been calling to her all along. "Just once to give it a taste and find out, what is it like. Those, who did not enjoy it, returned. Others I never saw again. Bless their hearts," she replied. "My point being - sorry for taking all the spotlight with my rambling - that, if you wish to have a family one day, then the chances will be much higher outside the nest of the birth-pack."

Ruenna nodded faintly as Apple expressed her approval of Ruenna's choice to leave her natal pack. Not that it had really been Rue's choice exactly. The girl might have explained that if the conversation had lapsed to silence, but she allowed Apple to continue speaking uninterrupted. The whole story behind Ruenna's departure from her birth pack didn't exactly cast her in the best light, and so she was content to continue to hear more about Apple's life. 

The small space in which they huddled was quite warm now, and Rue felt her eyelids growing heavy. She allowed them to blink open and shut sleepily as she listened, smiling to herself as Apple described her ex-husband's speedy journey to the end of the world. The language choice was quite artistic, leaving a lot of wiggle room for the imagination. Rue felt her thoughts drifting, imagining such a journey. 

By the time Apple had concluded with her advice on family-building, Ruenna had tumbled over the edge between wakefulness and sleep. Her breathing was heavy and even, and her dreams content. 

Fade. Thanks again for the save!