Sacred Grove waterbed

Open! Dating this 11/20.

Kiteingale has discovered Salmon River, a river that hosts a salmon run up until mid-January, even past the light snowfall. Long ago in this area obscured by the thick trees of Sacred Grove that seem to obscure and hide away this place a glacier had run through this place, creating a yawning trough well past the rivers mouth at the foremost portion of the mountains base. Grand stone—of size and amount—spilled into this very area, and this caused the waters to remain and course the warmer water to the surface, so that the waters would remain usable to the salmon who would make their run through this riverbed. The area is overpopulated with eagles, some who migrate for this and others whom had lived there since they have hatched; it is not rare to witness a fight among them. Bears, too, keep to this area though are more than content to mind their own. The area is difficult to find only because many overlook it, enchanted by the depths of the Grove. But these are good fishing grounds, safe so long as you mind the apparent residents of the place. The river is by no means a massive one, and it curls and stretches sidelong before turning into a Creek itself down the line.  RN Image Reference

With the weather not horrible, the songbird sought to take a quick, two-maybe three-day trip. She had informed her leaders of her intent: to scout around, briefly. Even if this was some pipe dream it would be something she had to figure out; Kisla humored her, but as for the others opinion... well, she hadn't expressly told him much of anything, had she? The songbird would keep her situation for the most part to herself; she did not want to be looked at oddly, or differently, or for others to feel like that if ever she remembered they would mean any less to her. Nightingale had already figured out that the wolves in her life that she met now were no less important to her than the ones in her past at the Caldera. While she didn't know how much those wolves meant to her, she had to presume that her leaving was inevitable if she had done so intentionally. She felt horrible, in the leaving of the Caldera. Horrible but not wrong; her intuition led her along.

And today, it led her in the wrong direction. Her situation would never allow for her to remember everything at once, or even anything at all if she tried to summon it. As her mind attempted to repair itself—some pieces were linked limply, currently, like the memory of fishing with her mother while others reached for one another desperately, perhaps to no avail—she knew she could no more force herself to remember things now than she could, well, ...hate others without reason! Impossible. Hell, hating in general was not something the songbird partook in; she didn't know what it felt like, but she had surely heard the word used.

In cutting through the mountains, avoiding the particularly treacherous areas, she saved herself a great amount of time. She used those very mountains as a vantage point but could not see anything that struck her as familiar from such heights. While she knew she couldn't expect her problems to end in a fortnight she certainly wished it could be so. Even less, as she thought of it. The songbird moved for miles and miles and miles without rest up until she reached the Lake, where she did sleep for a while; and then she continued onward, now picking her way down. A forest had caught her eye, beautiful even from here. If it was familiar she could not tell, but she wanted to know if the shadow of a memory lingered there, caught beneath the root of a tree.

But in going downward, a roar caught her attention. Louder than most, this season, but it certainly sounded like a river. Even from here she could hear the battlecry of eagles, and the songbird moved from a thinly forested area out of the Forest. There was an average sized clearing with impressive views of the mountain that appeared faraway from here, but there was subtle inclines that betrayed its true proximity beyond the river. She could not see the mouth of the waterway but she could see salmon, more than she had ever expected to see this time of year, jumping through the water.

This place was teeming with wildlife; bears stood and surveyed and surged like clockwork as they fished. Two eagles scrapped over a particularly large salmon midair, while others were content to survey. The songbird herself stood there among it all, staring in awe. Were she a lone wolf still she would have stayed here; even still, salmon were a better quarry for her to hunt than any ungulate given there was no risk of it lashing out at your head to break your jaw or crush your head. And while she stiffened at the sight of the bear—bears, actually, there were many of them—they were bent to their tasks and did not so much as sniff upon her arrival. The songbird herself had no idea what to do... but before long, she was headed toward the water to test the current.

Once again Kajika found himself traveling outside of his packs lands in search of food to bring back to them but also he needed to clear his head. He hadn’t been completely oblivious to the lack of signs that Des did not seem to be patrolling the borders any long but no one had specifically told him that she was gone either though if that were the case he hoped that she would have at least said something to him. After all she was a big reason for why he had joined Fallen Tree Cove in the first place but most importantly he had thought that he had meant something to her. Still he didn’t want to make assumptions till he knew all of the facts of what had happened to her if anything. Those were the thoughts that plagued him most of the time when he didn’t actively think about something else and this seemed to be one of those times. When he finally decided to take notice of his surroundings and where he found himself he discovered that it seemed he was much further from home than he had thought. Kajika had decided to take a different route away from his pack lands, one that he hadn’t ever taken before in hopes of finding more prey. It seemed that the choice to come the way he had was a good one because the place that he seemed to have stumbled on looked to be a lake. Different from Lost Lake but it was a lake all the same and he hoped as he stood at the edge of the forest that there were plenty of fish for him to catch for his pack. He first looked around him for any signs of danger before he slowly picked his way across the stones that made up the bank of the river. He’d only taken a few steps out when he noticed the bears that must be there to fish as well as the eagle soaring overhead which he took to be a good sign. He watched the others around him for a moment to ensure they were too busy to notice him before he finally loped across the distance left till he reached the water where he lowered his head to the water to quench his thirst.

~Table by Ace

(This post was last modified: Dec 11, 2015, 06:52 PM by Kajika.)

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Yay!

Her gait was slow. She wanted to be sure that the bears were preoccupied... and they undeniably were. She dipped a paw in the riverbank and continued. The pull was not as heavy here as it was at the mouth of it, where the ursine creatures loitered for what must be the best pickings. But, the songbird decided, she did not need the best; anything would do. She had eaten enough by now to need nothing prior to departing the River packlands but knew she ought to replenish herself before the journey back. Nature, and life, was unpredictable. When she could, she avoiding taking unnecessary risks. Food here was ripe for the taking.

There was another scent on the wind, and the songbird looked more diligently at her surroundings. In the near-distance was a male approaching the waters as well. If he noticed her she could not tell. He blended well with the rocks and pebbles that stood where loamy grass must have been in the summer and spring seasons. Her own furs were best suited for forests, not rocky riverbeds. She was as good as a tree herself in color, though perhaps a bit less obvious in that she lacked the extravagant greenery it wore. In stature? More of a naked shrub, that had more potential as shrubs often did to be more... simply not in the cold, when it could offer little more than its stick-thin branches. Of course the resourceful songbird found that even that offered plenty.

Her eyes did not linger long, in case he was only passing through she would not disturb him. Thoroughly socialized now given her standing within a pack, she did not need the interactions with others quite so desperately as she once had... but it didn't mean that she did not desire them. Besides that, she was more than a little nervous, falling back into her ways now that her life was falling back into something some might call normalcy, despite her circumstances. In any case, she herself continued to slowly move into the water, her forelegs no longer visible as she moved deeper. The water was not bonechillingly cold, nor frigid, like most were becoming... and she understood, as best she could, this phenomena she was witnessing in that vein. How, or why, however? That she could not begin to guess.

The water was cold going down but that was to expected with the colder weather having arrived. Once he’d had his fill Kajika raised his head to further take in his surroundings. He was a little surprised by the number of bears that had congregated at the lake, in his experience it wasn’t like them. Though if he were completely honest he hadn’t had much experience with bears and he preferred to keep it that way. From what he understood they could be rather dangerous. The scent of salmon was also on the air and that paired with the presence of so many bears not to mention the eagles caused him to feel confident in his first assumption. There would be plenty of food for him to take back to his pack and the salmon might even stick around long enough that he could come back to this place to get more if he needed. As he surveyed the shores of the lake further he noticed the figure of an agouti female. His ears perked as he watched her slowly make her way into the water. He wasn’t sure if she’d noticed him but if she had he thought it rude to at least introduce himself. There was also the fact that his pack lands weren’t too terribly far and if he could make it to this place in a matter of hours she could make it to Fallen Tree Cove’s borders in the same amount of time. He felt it was his duty to just check in with her at the very least. Kajika checked the bears once more to ensure they were still busy fishing before making his way down the shore in her direction. He kept his gaze on her and couldn’t help but find it slightly amusing the way she entered the water. When he was within a few feet of her he stopped his tail swished low behind him as he remained alert to her movements in case she did not welcome his presence. Now that he was closer he was able to take in more of her which had a faintly familiar quality about it. “Hello,” he finally said, “I think that this might be one of the better places I’ve found in these lands,” he added allowing his gaze to wander for a moment before returning it to her to emphasize his point. He also kept his tone friendly since he didn’t want to frighten her.

~Table by Ace

(This post was last modified: Dec 12, 2015, 04:51 PM by Kajika.)

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Autumn padded though the dense undergrowth. The pale sun was slightly obscured by thick drifting clouds and the the patchwork of leaves framing the sky. She could hear the faint sounds of water in the distance. Carefully stepping over a fallen log, Autumn found herself closer to the rushing water than she would of expected. Not wanting to get too close, Autumn continued her trail up through the forested land. Hoping she wasn't getting that close to a pack, the creamy wolf sniffed the air. She could detect the faint traces of wolves here and there, but didn't worry. Even though she didn't want to get attacked by pack wolves, she wished for some company, any at all. Autums legs were now tired from walking, and she sat down to rest. She needed to find food. It had been a few days since she had last eaten, and she couldn't go on like this for very much longer. There was no time for rest. Still hearing the faint sounds of water, she decided to head in that direction. Maybe there would be a fish of some other marine animal she could find.


The water was much closer now. Autumn picked her way through the bushes towards it, and as she did picked up the sent of other wolves, mingled with another sent. Bears! Oh no. Even though the danger was hinted at, she had to press on a bit longer. Walking out of the lightly forested terrain, Autumn gasped as she saw what lay before her. How beautiful! The trees  separated to reveal a clearing, with a large stream rushing through. The mountains soared up in the sky near by, tall and stunning. And yes, there were bears. They stood around the river, to absorbed in their fishing to notice her...or those other two wolves over there. One, a female, who was standing partly in the water, and a male, near her. Terrified of the prospect of getting savagely killed by these wolves, or bears, Autumn let out an all to audible cry, dark amber eyes widening at the sound. In vain, she tried to run away, but slipped on a stone and fell to the sandy bank with a crash.

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2015, 03:13 AM by Autumn.)

The warm sun shone on her dark fur, until a cloud drifted in front of it causing the dark wolf to open her eyes. She was slightly irritated that she couldn’t power nap for just a bit longer. Her underside then made such a noise that Moonshadow jumped to her feet in surprise. She hadn’t eaten much the last week, not since the squirrel she caught not far from her den. She exits her den and pauses to take a deep breath, allowing the cool crisp air to enter her body and fill her lungs. She lets the breath out slowly and begins to look for signs of prey.
As she was looking for her next meal Moonshadow remembered the stream she found and wondered if it may lead to a river or maybe a lake where she could find some fish.


Moonshadow finds the stream and begins to trot upstream in hopes of finding an origin of the water. She began to hear the growing sound of rushing water getting closer. This sound was pierced by what sounded like a cry of shock followed by a loud splashing of water and a crash. The cry startled the young dark wolf and once she heard the crash she began sprinting in the direction of the unsettling noise.
She came to the edge of the forest and on to the bank of an enormous lake. It was breath taking with glistening water being disturbed by salmon. She didn’t linger on the view to long for she was looking for who could have possibly made that cry. That’s when she spots a crème wolf at the water’s edge to her right. The wolf was drenched and looked absolutely horrified. Moonshadow trotted up to the other wolf without a second thought. She wanted to make sure they were alright and if she could help at all. The dark wolf was completely unaware of the bears upstream or the other two wolves downstream.


“Are you alright?” The dark youngster asked the strange crème wolf with ears lowered in a non threatening manner. Moonshadow helped the strange wolf to their feet and did a quick assessment for sings of injury.

Hi alllll

The river she stood in had an easy flow that would not overtake one of her average stature. Perhaps a smaller, lighter wolf would have difficulty in standing in one spot but she herself had none at all. So she thought it would be alright to take another step forward, wary and watchful of her surroundings. Nightingale had known of the one wolf colored in ink but had not acknowledged him in not wanting to disturb the other if they were simply passing through. The woman could be thoughtless on occasion on how others might take what she considered to be a kindness, but the songbird truly only cared for others and thought it was they who would benefit from her decision; she worried herself an annoyance. The fear was unfounded, but it didn't make her believe and think on it any less.

Her attention was not entirely upon the water, though she wished for it to be. Nightingale knew she needed to be aware of her surroundings, and as she saw the ink blur in her peripheral drift closer to her the songbird did not wait very long to turn her muzzle in his direction. She looked over her shoulder toward him, eyes soft in the light overhead. He addressed her and the place she—they, really, she supposed—had discovered. Her tail gave a meager wave of greeting, so that he might see she was harmless and had only good intentions, and she nodded, nerves settling like nesting birds within her chest. 'lotta fish, Nightingale said of the place, eyes wide as she thought of them and then wondered about them: oh, what am I doing with my eyes? Now I'm focusing on my eyes... are they getting bigger? They're wide. I can feel them wide. Okay. Bring them back to scale. Normal size. They normal...? And it was a horrifically embarrassing moment for the songbird, who was still watching the dark male before her. Waters not as cold as most of the water... And I came to fish, she relayed. Finally: I'm Nighting—

Her words were cut off by a splash in the distance. A look of alarm crossed her features as she looked in the direction the sound came from. A cream wolf had fallen into the water, a loud wail falling from the strangers lips. The scent of fear wafted toward the songbird, who looked to the bears. They themselves were disinterested in the fallen thing; even though the wolf was prone, it still had teeth. The many salmon did not, and were far easier to deal with in any case. A cursory look was all the bears offered the fallen creature before they again fell back to fishing. Nightingale herself kept her eyes on the other, and then noticed a wolf running forth from the telluric world behind them (the forest) to meet her. Nightingale shifted her weight, ears straining to catch what the other dark wolf was saying in the distance. The rivers own voice was louder than that, and she caught nothing.

She waited a beat. Nightingale had come to hunt; she decided that the others would not prevent her from it, but that she ought to check if the palest of the group was alright. The fall looked painful, but perhaps the water served as a cushion to the blow the rocks would have given? We should check on her. I mean, I... I'm going to--I don't want to speak for you! She certainly didn't want to rope him into anything he did not want to get involved in, and so before approaching she waited for his response.

Ayla trotted along confidently, her paws that were now cracked from travel caused snow to crunch underfoot. Her pace slowed as she caught the scent of other wolves nearby. Her tail swished slightly at the thought of other wolves, she had been alone for to long and these would be the first she has seen since she lost her family. She lowered her head and tail in respect of the new wolves as she approached. Her grey eyes sparkled slightly with excitement as she looked upon them. Then she noticed one female had slipped and concern flashed in her eyes. She walked over slowly and cautiously with her cranium still lowered as to not seem a threat. "Are you alright? Let me help you up." Ayla offered gently as she neared. Her green flecked eyes mirrored her compassion and want to help the fallen female. Only then did she realize how many others were in the area and the slightest whiff of bear in the breeze. She stifled a whimper at the threatening smell and instead smiled slightly and focused on the female that had fallen. But her ebony ears swiveled listening to the wolves around her as she was on high alert and did not know how these others would react to her presence.

Having so many bears nearby did not help to put Kajika at ease causing him to feel it imperative to keep at least an ear turned in their direction in case the decided to make a move in his direction. The rest of his attention was directed at the female slowly making her way into the water. As he approached he hadn’t been sure if she’d seen him though he hoped she had not wanting to startle her but then she turned her head and looked directly at him. He knew then that she had noticed his arrival on the shore nearer to where she was making her attempt to enter the water. He wasn’t exactly sure that he would want to go into the water but he supposed that he would have to eventually if he planned to bring any fish back to his pack. He’d stopped a short distance from her not wanting to put himself in a position that might get him hurt if she wasn’t too welcoming and also to not crowd her. A comment about the place they both found themselves in was made and then he waited for her response which he didn’t have to wait long. It brought a slight smile to his face as he nodded in agreement. Kajika also took notice that her body language wasn’t unfriendly. “Yes it is. Plenty to stock up for the winter.” He commented. He was a little surprised by her admission that the water wasn’t too cold. However he didn’t get the chance to add anything to the conversation because she was interrupted just as she was giving her name. First there was a splash causing Kajika’s attention to be brought in the direction it had come from worried that perhaps one of the bears had decided that it had tired of fishing and two adult wolves was a better prize. As it turned out a young female had fallen into the water and there were two other female with her. He watched the group of younger females for a long moment not really liking the fact that they were so close to pack lands though he wasn’t one to judge a situation before he knew all of the facts. The agouti female whose name he only knew part of had brought his attention back to her by saying that she wanted to find out if the white female was alright. “Its fine,” he stated when she seemed worried that she was speaking for him, “I agree we should go and check on her see if she’s alright and see if there’s any help we can offer. Shall we head over together?” That wasn’t the only reason that he wanted to go over though. He wanted to make sure that they didn’t have any ill intentions toward his pack with so many wolves in the area much too close for comfort especially with winter coming they could have plans to steal from Fallen Tree Coves caches and he couldn’t allow that.

~Table by Ace

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2015, 09:25 PM by Kajika.)

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There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health