July 19, 2013, 08:12 PM
No other forest quite felt like the one back home, largely because no other forest seemed to contain a single wolf, let alone the generations of wolves that Spine was accustomed to seeing. But rather than feeling homesick, the tawny female reveled in it. It was quiet. There were no older siblings to (try) to order her around, simply because they were three years older. Nor were there any younger siblings attempting to use her as a jungle gym or punching bag.
No other forest quite felt like the one back home, because no other forest even came close to containing the chaos Spine had lived with for her only two years of life.
Truthfully, there was only one family member her heart ached for, and he had left before she did. Spine had not known what sorrow was until she saw the life flicker out of her grandfather's eyes, the proud male that had filled her young head with stories of myth and legend. At that moment, she decided she would live the rest of her life in his honors. She slipped away that night, and with a forest teeming with Blackthorns, no one had even seemed to notice that she was gone.
"There has to be one here somewhere," she mused aloud, golden eyes scanning the thickly grown trunks. Spine had begun the search on the night she left, but in the weeks that had passed, she still had not found what she was looking for.
No other forest quite felt like the one back home, because no other forest even came close to containing the chaos Spine had lived with for her only two years of life.
Truthfully, there was only one family member her heart ached for, and he had left before she did. Spine had not known what sorrow was until she saw the life flicker out of her grandfather's eyes, the proud male that had filled her young head with stories of myth and legend. At that moment, she decided she would live the rest of her life in his honors. She slipped away that night, and with a forest teeming with Blackthorns, no one had even seemed to notice that she was gone.
"There has to be one here somewhere," she mused aloud, golden eyes scanning the thickly grown trunks. Spine had begun the search on the night she left, but in the weeks that had passed, she still had not found what she was looking for.
July 20, 2013, 02:29 AM
Hey! I’m assuming it’s day, but if not, just gimme a shout and I can edit this very easily. (:
The ambivalence of feeling which family caused was a familiar feeling to Hiraeth. Despite how her parents’ wariness of her, despite their distancing and their calm “request” for her to strike out on her own, she had loved them, and now she found herself missing them every once in a while. What a strange, sickening feeling. Yet, it was not so bad as the wound which her brother’s death had inflicted upon her. He had been the only one to stand up for her in her entire life, and now he was dead—but not gone. No, that was the strangest bit of it; even now she could feel his presence. It was that familiar feeling you have when you are truly close to someone, like when you knew that they were at your shoulder without even turning to see. His spirit clung to her like a cobweb she had stepped through, and she had never once tried to shrug it off. It was a comfort. She might not be able to speak with him, or huddle together for warmth in the colder months, but at least she never felt alone.
Hiraeth had slept last night in Blackfoot Forest. It had probably not been the best of ideas; strange calls (of foxes, though that particular detail escaped her ken) had kept her frightened and jumpy before exhaustion had claimed her. She had never been truly frightened, however; it was hard to fear spirits and things she didn’t completely comprehend when she had been living with the same for her entire life. She had experienced spirits who had truly frightened her, and these were not the same.
She remained where she had slept well into the day. She was still tired—her muscles ached, and the weariness seeped into her mind as well. She might’ve remained there for even longer if the whisper of words—real, physical words from an actual other living wolf—reached her ears. They swiveled, picking up the other female some distance away before her eyes could detect her: another female, she would guess around her own age. She did not feel threatened by her, and Hiraeth based a good deal of her judgments on intuition and feelings.
What should she do? Her social etiquette had been, since her departure from Pacific Rim, nearly completely unused. She stood from where she rested, hesitated, words dying on the back of her throat. She made the snap decision to vocalize them regardless, but they came out as a, “H-Hello?” which was scarcely louder than talking tone. Should she be heard, she might not feel so foolish, but otherwise she might just retreat to where she had been before.
The ambivalence of feeling which family caused was a familiar feeling to Hiraeth. Despite how her parents’ wariness of her, despite their distancing and their calm “request” for her to strike out on her own, she had loved them, and now she found herself missing them every once in a while. What a strange, sickening feeling. Yet, it was not so bad as the wound which her brother’s death had inflicted upon her. He had been the only one to stand up for her in her entire life, and now he was dead—but not gone. No, that was the strangest bit of it; even now she could feel his presence. It was that familiar feeling you have when you are truly close to someone, like when you knew that they were at your shoulder without even turning to see. His spirit clung to her like a cobweb she had stepped through, and she had never once tried to shrug it off. It was a comfort. She might not be able to speak with him, or huddle together for warmth in the colder months, but at least she never felt alone.
Hiraeth had slept last night in Blackfoot Forest. It had probably not been the best of ideas; strange calls (of foxes, though that particular detail escaped her ken) had kept her frightened and jumpy before exhaustion had claimed her. She had never been truly frightened, however; it was hard to fear spirits and things she didn’t completely comprehend when she had been living with the same for her entire life. She had experienced spirits who had truly frightened her, and these were not the same.
She remained where she had slept well into the day. She was still tired—her muscles ached, and the weariness seeped into her mind as well. She might’ve remained there for even longer if the whisper of words—real, physical words from an actual other living wolf—reached her ears. They swiveled, picking up the other female some distance away before her eyes could detect her: another female, she would guess around her own age. She did not feel threatened by her, and Hiraeth based a good deal of her judgments on intuition and feelings.
What should she do? Her social etiquette had been, since her departure from Pacific Rim, nearly completely unused. She stood from where she rested, hesitated, words dying on the back of her throat. She made the snap decision to vocalize them regardless, but they came out as a, “H-Hello?” which was scarcely louder than talking tone. Should she be heard, she might not feel so foolish, but otherwise she might just retreat to where she had been before.
July 22, 2013, 11:44 AM
Yup, it's day times!
Perhaps if Spine had arrived when night was falling, she would have believed she found what had been eluding her thus far. The screams of foxes, after all, sounded like the keening of banshees—and she wasn't extremely familiar with the species back home. After all, the sheer amount of Blackthorns would scare almost anything away from that forest. But as it were, the sun was high in the sky and Blackfoot Forest seemed to be relatively calm and quiet, and the young female was oblivious to the eerie turn the territory would take as night fell.
Intent on her search, Spine didn't realize that another was close by—at least not until the quiet, shy "hello" broke through the silence. If the breeze hadn't died down at just the right moment, the independent Blackthorn might have missed it altogether. Scanning the trees for the source, it took a moment for her to notice the tawny female a few meters ahead, just barely visible behind a trunk.
Trusting by nature, Spine swept her tail in a dog-like wag of greeting, and said, "Hello!" with a friendly grin. "You haven't happened to come across any nemetons in this forest, have you?"
Perhaps if Spine had arrived when night was falling, she would have believed she found what had been eluding her thus far. The screams of foxes, after all, sounded like the keening of banshees—and she wasn't extremely familiar with the species back home. After all, the sheer amount of Blackthorns would scare almost anything away from that forest. But as it were, the sun was high in the sky and Blackfoot Forest seemed to be relatively calm and quiet, and the young female was oblivious to the eerie turn the territory would take as night fell.
Intent on her search, Spine didn't realize that another was close by—at least not until the quiet, shy "hello" broke through the silence. If the breeze hadn't died down at just the right moment, the independent Blackthorn might have missed it altogether. Scanning the trees for the source, it took a moment for her to notice the tawny female a few meters ahead, just barely visible behind a trunk.
Trusting by nature, Spine swept her tail in a dog-like wag of greeting, and said, "Hello!" with a friendly grin. "You haven't happened to come across any nemetons in this forest, have you?"
July 28, 2013, 01:39 AM
Hiraeth did not believe she would be spending another night in this place—not this forest, at least. The presence of her brother and other more familiar spirits had kept her calm last night, but to remain would be little more than tempting whatever else loomed here in these woods.
It was surely nothing that she was used to, nothing at all like Vancouver Island. Sometimes she missed it—the air coming off the ocean was refreshing in the summer, and the smell of salt had calmed her nerves. The further she had come, trying to find the place where the sun slept, the more that scent faded until it disappeared completely. Here, so far away from the ocean, she felt even more adrift than she had been living near the coast. An ocean of land, locked on every side. If she were not following Eppes’ last wish, she would be crushed by indecision on where to go.
Nonetheless, it appeared that the Fates conspired in this situation—though whether for or against Hiraeth, she could not yet tell. The stranger scanned her general direction before finding her. Well, it looked like there was no backing out now.
The stranger seemed good-natured enough, greeting her cheerfuly and with a sway of her tail. Hiraeth’s betrayed her, twitching in reply, though her voice was not nearly so bold. “I-I’m sorry — I haven’t seen any what?”
It was surely nothing that she was used to, nothing at all like Vancouver Island. Sometimes she missed it—the air coming off the ocean was refreshing in the summer, and the smell of salt had calmed her nerves. The further she had come, trying to find the place where the sun slept, the more that scent faded until it disappeared completely. Here, so far away from the ocean, she felt even more adrift than she had been living near the coast. An ocean of land, locked on every side. If she were not following Eppes’ last wish, she would be crushed by indecision on where to go.
Nonetheless, it appeared that the Fates conspired in this situation—though whether for or against Hiraeth, she could not yet tell. The stranger scanned her general direction before finding her. Well, it looked like there was no backing out now.
The stranger seemed good-natured enough, greeting her cheerfuly and with a sway of her tail. Hiraeth’s betrayed her, twitching in reply, though her voice was not nearly so bold. “I-I’m sorry — I haven’t seen any what?”
November 11, 2013, 05:31 PM
Spine hadn't meant to startle the stranger, but that hardly seemed to matter—the girl seemed frightened by her very own shadow, and her voice was soft and unsteady. The Blackthorn shifted her approach, moving to a less threatening position and altering her own tones to be less outgoing and potentially abrasive; while she still wasn't the best at conversation, the time she had spent with her family had at least taught her how to deal with various types of personalities. She clarified her question, describing the nemetons her grandfather had told of in stories—but the stranger did not know what she sought, and indeed seemed frightened by the nature of Spine's questions, so before long the pair parted ways.
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