Arrow Lake If mine could be the name

aw! Need to give her some new stuff :)

Vienna had thought about giving the meadow another visit since springtime was on the verge, but instead today chose to venture further into the mountains.  Treading carefully, she followed the ridge of peaks, nosing around with a pleasant sort of curiosity and enjoying the warm sun on her back.  It was shaping up to be a lovely day, but that wasn't the only reason for her happiness.

She and Sumayl had become official, and she could hardly even now believe it. It seemed unreal... As though she were walking on clouds, and only too soon would wake to find herself falling.  It was insane, but her giddiness couldn't be kept down.  She had yet to tell anyone, choosing to keep it to herself for a short time and revel in the happiness.  She didn't doubt that they would be happy for her, but she also knew it meant that things would soon change.

Hopefully those changes would be for the better, and her optimism had few bounds.  She just couldn't see how something that made her so happy could lead to anything less than an amazing future.

It had been a while now since Andalusia had set paw on the central range of the Teekon Wilds. Though she had lingered in the region for a few days, Ciervo had been right to assume her wandering feet were meant to keep moving. Her legs had grown restless as the days passed, and the stubborn drive to find Chehlia still pressed her on. But as the Winter shifted to the dawning chirps of Spring, the Ostrega began to wonder if her quiet little sister had found her own place in the world, nestled among others and thriving in a pack of her own. It was a likely idea, and one she had considered many times before, but it had taken her many suns to shift her stubborn heart to believe it true. When she finally had, the Ostrega quickly found herself with no direction and limitless freedom, the likes of which she hadn't experienced before. No more searching - the days were hers, and Andalusia rerouted West to seek out the one land that had enthralled her above the others: the Teekon Wilds.

The Ostrega could not hear the lake from where she stood on the mountain's towering crests, but she could see it with the clarity of a hawk. Endless peaks stretched on and on before her, and though shrouded in haze, the glimmer of the ocean sparkled on the horizon, reflecting the rays of the midday sun that covered the land in a radiant glow. The towering peak of the Sunspire rose just beyond her, and for a moment she let her mind wander to her brothers. She had ties to these lands, established by her kin. Though the Wilds remained foreign to her, the land already felt like home. It was a feeling she hadn't felt since leaving her parents months before, and Andalusia closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath as she let the Spring air dance its earthy scent of heated stone and sweet mountain grass over her tongue and tease her of her future here and of the coming Summer.

Thanks for joining!!!! :D yay!  They'll run into each other eventually I'm sure lols

Still on cloud nine, Vienna zigged her way up the ridge towards a rather nice vantage point she'd found on a previous foray.  Once there she would sort out where to go next, but for now, the spring air was all the stimulation she needed to get her humming.  It was so gorgeous here.  Once summer came, she knew she'd need to take another trip to the coast... summers had always been her favorite back home, and she would be homesick she was sure.  Spring seemed to be a time for mountains.  She wondered briefly, since forests lit up with colors in fall, if there was a place where winter reigned in beauty.  She supposed likely not, since really, it gilded everything equally in silver.  All was beautiful, though also still, in winter.

Reaching the ledge, breath coming slightly faster from the effort, she danced over to the edge and looked out at the neighboring mountains.  It was breathtaking.  Taking a moment to appreciate, her jade eyes roamed a bit before glancing down to see what paths she might take below.  A nearby ledge looked to be sturdy and wended it's way to another passage, gradually declining towards the valley and the lake within.  It was this path she decided to take, paws placing themselves firmly and carefully as she did so.  In a few places she had to hop over breaks in the path, singing lightly to herself as she went.

:D I just couldn't resist! As for running into each other, we'll have see how long that takes!

Sunlight penetrated Andalusia's silken fur until its radiance seeped through her skin and wrapped her body in a warm embrace, lulling her mind to a buzzing rest. Slowly her eyelids fell, and her thoughts spoke gently until they took on life. The soft rumble of her brothers, their laughter and jabs. Chehlia's softness breaking through their raucous chatter. Like when they were young, too young to wander and too young to see there was another world out there beyond even the charred forest where their parents had died, just waiting. Maybe not made for their eyes to see, but that hadn't stopped them from finding it nonetheless.

She could have slept there forever, but her body had plans of its own. A sudden jerk, and the Ostrega blinked awake. The sun blinded her now, and she glanced skyward. The ball remained fixed: her sleep had come for mere minutes - a relief to the Ostrega - yet a thin disappointment crossed her as the sound of her family vanished with a snap and she found herself alone again. Alone, like she'd been since leaving Ciervo in his makeshift den in the southern forests. Andalusia forgot how long ago that was, but she didn't need dates to tell her she was bone tired of travel and this life as a vagabond. She was no loner; she had given herself the need to run, but the more time Andalusia spent beyond the confines of a pack, the more she wished to be among the throng again.

Not wishing to drowse herself off the cliff, the Ostrega shook herself and stretched each leg in turn before sliding beneath the shadowy cover of the crags. She gave herself a shake at the sudden drop in temperature. It would have been warm if she hadn't basked so long. The air here was nothing compared to the balmy heat striking the stone just pebble lengths away, and she eyed the mountain rock with the desire to return. But the Ostrega resisted, deciding it was safer to stay in the shadows where her mind would be alert rather than seek comfort again and risk walking straight off the mountainside in a nostalgic daze.

As her mind cleared, Andalusia cast her eyes downhill until she matched her gaze with a score of meadow marking the land just beyond the lake. Her destination since the start of her climb, and the Ostrega lanced her gaze along the edge where it seemed to disappear against the mountainside. It seemed the likeliest route to the Sunspire - level ground for a good ways, a welcome contrast to the mountain's constant rise and fall. The only question was how to get there, and the Ostrega had a pretty good idea. It wasn't a challenging task in any means, not more than choosing the right towpath, one that would fall at a steady descent and not send her stumbling into dead end. The ones heading skyward were out of the question, despite the chance one could wind toward the valley below. She imagined her chances were better if she took one that actually seemed to lead to the lake. After a moment's pause, she struck out on a narrow path that twisted idly toward the shore. Her choice lay in guesswork and no skill of the mind. After all, the worst that could happen was a dead end.

It took a while for Vienna to reach the lakeshore.  Not because she traveled slowly along the ledge, but because there was so much to distract her on the way down. She stopped at least six different times to climb to other areas, the sight of green making her wonder what vegetation was hiding there. On one occasion the ledge disappeared, and she was forced to slide down to another further below. She was a big fan of sliding in any form, so enjoyed it immensely. It was too bad it was too steep an incline to climb up easily and go again.

She did finally make it, however, and as soon as her paws hit level ground she took off in a sprint towards the water. She rounded a bit of the lakeshore before slowing to a gallop, then a trot. Coming to the water's edge, she stared in, wondering suddenly if perhaps anything tasty lived within. Only one way to find out! She stepped into the water slowly to avoid disturbing too much the food that may live within and wandered a couple steps out. It became deep rather quickly, but still, you never knew. Fish could sometimes come this close to shore.

Andalusia continued at a steady descent down the rocky mountainside. Though the paths were steep at points and though they sometimes broke, the Ostrega did not concern herself over the occasional departure from her course. The trail she travelled now twisted sharp to the right, but while the path drew her further from the meadow, she continued on. Her goal was to reach the lake. Finding the meadow would come after that.

The mountain gradually eased, and Andalusia found herself walking level with the lake. She steadied her gaze with the horizon and turned her face southward. The meadow lay beyond another rise, though one less sizeable than the peak from which she'd descended. There was still a decent distance to travel before she reached the Sunspire, but if she kept moving she trusted she could arrive by evening time. And, with the days only growing longer, she anticipated night would not fall before she found her way to her brother's home.

Andalusia skipped forward and let her tail fall into a gentle sway, her face pulled into her characteristic grin. Whether Sumayl would be glad to see her was beyond her, but she felt another trill of anticipation at the thought of seeing him. With a bounce in her step Andalusia made her way to the water's edge and trotted along, favouring the silty ground of the shoreline over the sharp rocks of the mountainside. The water cooled her and for a moment she glanced down to watch the sunlight play off the droplets that danced from her fur. When she lifted her gaze again, the landscape had shifted by a small addition - another wolf who had come from the mountains. Curiosity took the woman and she squinted to catch a clearer sight, but from the distance she approached, Andalusia did not reckognize the other. Not that she expected to - the Ostrega was but a newcomer to the land. So Andalusia continued forward, in both interest and necessity, drawing closer to the other and unknowingly setting her paws in line with her sister-in-law.

Andalusia may have seen her, but Vienna had no clue that another approached, she was so engrossed with watching the shadows play across the lake's surface and through its depths. She watched intently for a telltale ripple, or a characteristic shadow, to pass by. It was a game of patience, and a distraction could lose her a rare chance, for fish didn't pass by often some days.

As it would happen, today timing favored her. She caught the glint of scales within the murky depths, and as her eyes trailed the shimmering shadow, it drifted directly towards her. Anticipation rose within her as it came closer, and she was carefully still, tracking it as she silently watched the distance between them close.

After what seemed an hour, but was likely a minute, the moment came. She lunged, jaws violently breaking the surface to close around the slippery creature. Rather than latch on, which would earn her a good fin to the lip, she flipped it into shore, then turned to follow... Only to stop short when she saw Andalusia. Distracted, recognition was slow, and she paused in confusion, fish momentarily forgotten.

The other wolf was distracted - or rather, intensely focused - and so Andalusia carried on along the shoreline at a gentle pace, enjoying the coolness of the lake and the rub of the sand between her toes. She hadn't yet made it to the ocean shores, for her journey had led her inland, further from the sea. Whether a visit to the deep lay in her near future, Andalusia couldn't say, but from the stir of the lake's soft waves against her legs, she knew she would still find her way there.

A loud splash pulled the Ostrega back to the present, and Andalusia lifted her gaze to rest on the fishing wolf. The smoky woman turned, only to stop when her eyes lighted upon Andalusia, and at the sudden connection the Ostrega drew to a halt. The gentle lap of waves and the distant chirrup of birds filled the silence between them, and an uncanny sense of knowing stirred within the golden Ostrega as her gaze traced the brown smudges that lined the other's vibrant eyes. Andalusia's confusion surfaced in a slight turn of her head to the left. "Vienna?" The name came with a hint of doubt, for though she thought she recognized the woman, Andalusia couldn't tell if the other recognized her. The beginning of a grin twitched at the corners of her mouth, the idea this was the same woman she'd met in the Vale a bizarre possibility itself.

Oh my god.

When the other woman uttered her name, recognition sparked immediately, and the fish was entirely forgotten as she lit up with obvious delight.  "Andalusia!"  In a few bounds she made it to the shore, shaking water out of her fur before trotting up to greet her.  And for a minute, the conversation with Sumayl was sidelined in her joy at just meeting her friend again.  It wasn't often she happened across the same face twice on her travels!

"How've you been?!" she asked excitedly, happy to see that she looked well still.  A lot could happen in the length of time that had passed.  "Any more adventures come your way?"  

Full recognition dawned and Andalusia's face broke into a full grin. She allowed Vienna to make much of the approach, but found her own paws skipping forward a few steps to cover the shoreline that separated her from her friend. Andalusia gave herself a quick shake to dispel the spray of water that peppered her fur, but couldn't be bothered to dry herself more than that.

"Graced with fair travels," she said with a quirk of her mouth, "with plenty of tales to tell." Andalusia's eyes shone with equal mirth and mischief, but she did not elaborate further. At the moment stories were not her pressing concern, and she hoped she would have time to share them with Vienna on the mountain the grey girl called home. "How is your pack faring with spring's arrival?"

"Sounds great!"  Could a traveler really ask for more?  Her own days were not nearly so exciting, except perhaps for one minor occurrence.  "I would love to hear those sometime!"  Vienna would love to have her visit the Sunspire (she wasn't gonna hope for joining, though that would be amazing!) and exchange tales with her sometime.  She wasn't sure she wanted to be gone so long today though.

"The pack is great, spring on the mountain is beautiful and we've had great luck so far.  Hopefully that doesn't change!"  She fell silent, simply enjoying for a moment that she had nothing but good news to share.  After the hardships of fall and winter it was a welcome change.  Then a thought lit within her and her eyes widened.  "OH!... oh my gosh, yeah!  You're Sumayl's sister!!"  She beamed.  "Why didn't you tell me?"  Nevermind that there was a likelihood Andalusia hadn't even known Sumayl was part of the mountain pack.  Details tended to get lost when she got excited.

Andalusia expected to hear nothing short of Vienna's report, but to have confirmation that her pack - and as an extension, Sumayl - were faring well solidified the sense of ease that had been uncertain since she'd laid eyes on the Sunspire. The Ostrega replied with a smile and a humming agreement, and allowed the silence to wash over her as well. The lapse lasted shortly before Vienna's eyes widened again - another recognition - and the golden Ostrega fought hard against the crooked smile that threatened to take hold of her mouth.

"So brother dear finally mentioned me." She pulled her face taut for only a moment before her lips finally broke into a wily grin and she swept her tail in a gracious arc. "To be fair you didn't tell me you knew him." Though to be fair, the strength of his scent on Vienna's fur had been enough to convince Andalusia to pursue the Sunspire again. Andalusia took the force of Vienna's outburst as an excellent sign, and she wasted no time to press further. "I trust he's been behaving himself?" Truthfully, she didn't, but she had her hopes. If a foreign pack had kept him around so long, perhaps moving away was what he really needed to grow up.

omg I have had zero inspiration for her for weeks @.@ good thing I'm taking a break

"That he did.  Didn't bother to tell me he even had a last name until a few weeks ago..." ... when we became mates, she thought, and her smile was an endearing one as she joked about him.  Somehow, though, the words didn't seem right that way, informing her of this fact.  Were there right words for this situation?  Oh, hey, we met once... by the way, I'm your sister in law!

Luckily, when Vienna was excited, thinking wasn't something that tripped her up for long.  Patience was not a virtue of hers, not in happy instances at least.  "As well as can be expected, for him.  But now I can threaten divorce if he does anything too dumb."  She said with a grin, tail waving faster now.  "We made it official a few weeks ago!"

She didn't even stop to consider that this news might not be as exciting to the other as it was for her, because that meant they were sisters now and that was cool any day, right?

Oh man, I definitely know how that feels D: Breaks are usually a good call when that happens (:

 

Andalusia could sense something was up by the very way Vienna spoke about her brother. She'd heard that voice before and has seen that face. Normally it passed from woman to woman, or was held by a handful at a time, and didn't tend to progress far past doe-eyed infatuation. But there was something different about the way Vienna spoke of Sumayl that made the golden Ostrega wonder - and she soon found out what.

A confused grin took her lips, and her face seemed to freeze on a mix of happiness and uncertainty. A strange zing passed through her - or more of a hollow buzz - and for a moment she couldn't feel the shore beneath her paws. Shock silenced Andalusia's running thoughts, and it took her a moment before she blinked the confusion clear of her face, and a second yet for her mind to kick back into gear.

She shook her head and blinked again. A nervous laugh escaped her before she found her voice. "Oh - wow. Well, I wasn't expecting - congratulations." The words fell from her mouth in clumsy fragments, and her brow remained tight with fixed concentration. Sumayl, her rebel and playboy brother, had settled. Something about the thought unsettled her, though she knew she should have been happy for them both. Something of a jealousy filled her, and more than ever she itched to see him - but for the first time entertained the unwelcome worry he might not share in her desire. "Looks like we're family, then," she said, and her face fell back into an easy smile, not willing to betray her troubled thoughts. She liked Vienna, and it was silly to feel anything of envy against her. She was still Sumayl's sister, after all. No one could take that from her.

mind if we wrap? ^^ this is my last thread with her, sorry I'm so slow!!

So caught up in excitement, Vienna didn't notice the other's shock. Instead she latched onto the thought of 'family' with a gusto, unable to contain it. "I guess that kinda makes us sisters, doesn't it!?" Her tail thumped with elation.

Then she hopped up, a thought occurring. "Why don't you come back to the Spire with me?? I'm sure it'd be fine and I bet Sumayl would be glad to see you!" Having Andalusia see there home would be just about the greatest thing ever, and imagine if she liked it so much she stayed!?!? Jace might not be fond of her brother, but Vienna was willing to bet he'd be as charmed by the golden traveler as Vienna was. "It'd be so great!"

All good with me! (: This'll be my last post, I've really enjoyed the threads these two have had and definitely hope to see Vienna around in the future <3

"I guess it does," She said with her same easy smile, but there was that strike of envy again. A sister to her, but to her brother, a wife. Vienna had found love in a way Andalusia never would. But this was how life was supposed to be. Not for her, but for her brothers and sister, and for Vienna, too. To leave one's family, take a mate, and start one's own. How soon before Sumayl became a father? And Andalusia, an aunt? The thought struck her jealousy with a tingle of anticipation and disbelief. Her siblings' children would be the closest relation she would ever share with anyone beyond their quartet, and for a moment the thought choked the small bitterness she felt within.

Vienna's voice swelled again, and Andalusia gladly turned her thoughts in favour of her friend. To see the Sunspire - to see Sumayl. Her heart skipped, a mingle of uncertainty and delight. This was what she had wanted, yet something stuck her tongue as the same old worries ran through her mind. They carried her a moment before she let stubbornness chase them away, and a smile broadened her face. "I would love to see my brother again," she said, and turned her gaze to the far off Sunspire. Her brother's home, Vienna's home - but she couldn't quite see it as her own. "I'm not ready to settle yet," she added slowly, and turned her bright eyes back on her greyscale friend, "but if you'll have me for the night, then lead the way."

here's hoping you do! Loved our threads :D

That it would only be for a night did not matter- she agreed to come see their home, and thus Vienna was elated to show her.  She couldn't wait to see Sumayl's reaction at being reunited with his sister again!

With her tail beating a happy tempo through the air behind her, she led the way. Doubtless they would pass the journey with conversation, and she hoped to maybe glean tidbits of their life as children that Sumayl was less apt to disclose. That was what happened when family got together, yes? A sister. She could hardly believe it.