Wheeling Gull Isle xv. tell me every secret, share every story

might be a pack formation thread? Not sure yet

The recent rains had softened the soil, Rhælla's paws easily breaking through the levened crust of ground to shift and scrape at the earthy loam beneath - marvelling to herself at just how rich the soil was in the south; Gods knew she'd slaved and toiled over the Gardens of Lirea to produce even a stunted seedling. 

By noon she'd dug several caches of varying sizes - for medicines and plant foods, for pelts and game. Still, a few remained to be finished - pits wide and deep made to fit big game, whole if needed. 

The nightwisp straightened, pausing to relax for a moment, with a grunt - grimacing as her spine creaked and cracked in protest. The dark girl - dyed an odd, deep ochre by dirt - flopped against the roots of a tree wearily, lilac optic drifting skyward as she rested.

im throw him in cuz I want to get the progression of Aristos going!

The large male had made a successful catch as the silvery fish hung limp in his bear trap-like jaws and it swung helplessly from side to side as he made his way around the island. He was hoping to encounter someone he hasn't met quite personally yet and his goal was to make sure that everyone was okay with him being around since, for some odd reason, he causes wolves to fear him. I'm not that intimidating? But should I smile less? Or would that make me look scarier? I have no idea what I am doing wrong? Back at home, this wasn't such a big deal. But this wasn't home, he was in a place where he had no one to escape to, except his friend @Lokie of course who he would show fierce loyalty to if should a time come. But what if this attachment goes too far? What if Connor had to choose? He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think long about it since his wandering didn't take long for him to finally meet up with someone. The Lady herself, Rhaella, who was busy making the camp and Connor couldn't stand there and watch her do it by herself, why wasn't anyone helping her? No matter, he walked himself up to her but giving her space since she was busy, however, Connor forgot the fish was in his mouth. "Hey Rhaella, need any help?" His voice was muffled by this catch, knowing this, he narrowed his gaze cross-eyed at his fish and spat it next to him and looked back at his leader and dipped his head in apology. "Sorry let me rephrase," he chuckled as his emerald green gaze tracked her, "hey Rhaella, need any help?" He started again with a cheesy tone, he figured it was funny but wasn't sure if the Lady would feel the same.

The woman's gaze swung to the side, locking upon Connor with familiarity as he strolled into the clearing. Her tail took up a welcoming tempo as it beat the earth, a smile blooming across her features as her lips parted to greet him warmly - only for a muffled string of words to escape around the male's catch. 

"Sorry?" She giggled softly, unable to make out what he said. 

"Hi, Connor, I'd love some," she answered back cheekily with a laugh, standing and joining him alongside her half-dug pits. 

"Just pick a hole, I suppose, and start deepening and widening it," she suggested, taking up a perch over a large cache and beginning to dig once more.

Connor returned her welcoming thump with a child-like smile and a tail wag, the girl chuckled that she couldn't hear him which gave Connor amusement. The lady welcomed his help as it seemed to him that she was working so hard, someone could only do so much before they drop dead which worried the male, no wolf left behind. The muscular man gave her a determined nod as she told him to go find a hole and start digging to which he didn't object to and started heading towards a hole right away. He found his spot, which wasn't that far away from Rhaella but he turned to her with a blunt expression, "I have to warn you though, my aim isn't too great so I apologize in advance if I spray you with dirt." His paws were large so he predicted that he would be scooping out a lot of dirt and he would try to keep tabs on his strength but he wasn't sure what the right amount would be.

He wasted no time and dove himself into the hole and began scooping mounds out of the forming den, he felt like a drill as he made haste but he made sure to widen the den as best as he could. His rear was up and he looked like a pup that was stuck in a hole which made him look silly, but as he was digging, his speed and strength caused dirt to snake its way in his nose. The male paused for a moment as half of his body was in the hole, his right eye was wide and his left was scrunched with his muzzle wrinkled. He felt himself heaving a bit but then he let out a powerful sneeze in which the pressure of the sneeze cause dirt to fly out of the den, like there was an explosion, he figured Rhaella would be wonder what happened so Connor made sure to say that everything was fine. "I'm okay!" His voice echoing off the walls of the den, he continued to dig through and once he was done with this one, he moved on to the next one.

The celestial laughed, shaking her head to dismiss his concern lightly. "Trust me, I don't think a little more dirt is gonna hurt at this point," she joked, glancing down at her filthy pelt. She was gonna need a long bath in the stream later to wash all of the dirt out of her pelt. 

The nightwisp focused on her digging, unbothered by the occasional spray of dirt that struck her, though it was not quite as frenzied as Connor's - she'd been working longer than he had. 

As a loud noise - something like a cough or bark - rent the air explosively, accompanied by a shower of loam, Rhæ startled - scurrying to the edge of the cache with vague worry. 

She only chuckled as Connor leapt out with an assurance that he was okay - meandering over to a second cache herself.

Connor gave her a toothy grin, a cheeky one really to assure the concerned girl that he was fine, Rhaella was covered in dirt for she had been working longer than he did and he was going to make sure that she didn't collapse from exhaustion. The giant male had to make sure that he wasn't going crazy and using all of his energy at once, he knew he had to take it slow and keep pace in case the Lady lost energy. The titan and the stardust girl were making good time cleaning out the dens, he even went so far as to move back to the previous ones he worked on and checked if they were in the clear, occasionally looking at Rhaella for an approving glance or telling him that he needed to improve in some areas.

By the time he had dug out his last one, he was covered from paw to ear tip in the dirt, something he didn't mind of course as he planted a firm stance on the ground and proceeded to shake all the dirt off from his coat. There was so much dirt compacted on his coat that when he shook it off, it looked like a sandstorm. He turned to the lilac gazed female, "okay, what's next? Or do you want to take a break?" He offered to her, he knew not to push one's limits when working, he knew that she was determined to get the job done and form her pack.

The nightwisp drew back and examined the pits once they'd finished and Connor asked for her opinion - stepping back a few paces as her head tilted, for optimal observation. 

"I think they look good," she complimented, tail wagging as she beamed at him in approval. They were mostly finished - save for a few touches - and as Rhælla glanced to the dipping sun, she had to admit that a break sounded pretty great right now. 

"You up for a swim?" The sylph asked invitingly, grinning eagerly at the thought of the cool, refreshing stream.

Connor nodded in agreement when Rhaella concluded that the pair were finished with the dens, it was hard work but he knew it was going to pay off eventually. The giant male sighed, he was content, he wanted to make this work, he wanted the others to feel happy on what they had accomplished today, the more they worked, the more they were coming closer to their goals. The russet titan beamed at her with his bright jaded gaze and his tail wagging he was pleased with what they had started doing and he hoped that they could finish in time for when the pack forms. The lady was keen on his suggestion that they would take a break, Connor was most relieved that she chose to do that, the girl had noticed that the sun was going down and asked if he was up for a swim. The muscular man nodded eagerly and looked at the stream that the young girl was eyeing, and a cheeky plan aroused in his head.

His eyes flashed at Rhaella with a cheeky smile, "last one there has to sleep with the crabs!" He hollered, and without hesitating, he launched himself into a sprint, his claws dug into the ground helping him get a grip so that he could increase his speed, he kept his eyes forward without looking back. He skidded to a stop and with his locked-in strength, he leaped into the air and soon came crashing into the water creating a small tsunami. Connor swam to the top with his head bobbing, he didn't bother to shake so that he had another thing prepared for when his little sister figure Rhaella shows up and joins him.

wasn't sure if this was wrapping up or not but this may be my final post in it? I'm not sure lol

The black fae burst into laughter at his cry but she was much too fatigued for a run right now, not to mention the ache in her depleted muscles. She pushed herself to her feet and padded after him, much slower than her friend.

She reached the river several moments after he had. Though the young woman did not bound into the liquid's embrace as Connor had, Rhælla didn't slow as she broke from the trees. 

Her tired pace led her right into the water, slowing as she walked into the creek and treaded water - plunging under once she'd reached the depths.

yea sure we can wrap this up if you wanna! Tag Connor if you need more pack formation threads, will be more than willing to get Aristos moving <3

The titan realized that he got a bit too excited and had forgotten that Rhaella was tired and she couldn't move that fast, he felt guilty for that. But it seemed that Rhae had enough strength to make it too the stream and she was determined to get there. Connor beamed at her as she stepped into the stream with him, "I will let you off from sleeping with the crabs," he chuckled at her and winked.

Connor shook his large head with the water spraying, he gave a cheeky look as he began splashing around, he did wonder where Lokie was and how he was adapting, he hoped his friend was okay. But for now, he was having fun getting to know new wolves and Lokie was right, if there are bad ones, he shouldn't get all worked up about it.

A content, tired laugh escaped her at his words, nodding along in jest. "Most kind of you, ser." 

Some time had passed before Rhæ managed to wash the grime from her coat but by the time she was finally clean, she was well and truly exhausted. With a soft goodbye and apology for her sudden departure, Rhælla departed from Connor's company to find a secluded corner of the beach where she might sleep a few hours. 

Oh, how good that sounded.