Sanguine Cove i want you by my side

Tagging @Jethro @Moonshadow @Chan @Nash @Aleister - set on Sanguine Cove's borders. Please don't feel pressured for everyone tagged to join! I'm actually hoping for this to be kind of quick.
Please allow Jethro to post first!

So there was definitely a pack here. Nori had been worried for days leading up to approaching the borders. It had been like this every single time she'd made a trip up a mountain so far - the only big difference this time was Jethro. While it was wonderful to have him there, and he had been great for her self-esteem, she couldn't help but feel those creeping vines of anxiety creeping into her lungs and throat.

This might not even be her family. The first three times weren't - in fact, the first mountain she had been up hadn't even be populated. The second had been, but they had been... unfriendly, to say the least. The third wasn't much better. What were the odds that the Eastfalls would be up this one?

Without letting herself think too hard, the girl tilted her head back and howled for the attention of the pack. She was determined not to lean against her dark companion, as it would probably look better for her to stand strong on her own. Besides, she was possessed with some sort of frenetic energy that didn't allow her to stand still at the moment - as she waited, her paws shuffled and her body trembled and her breathing was stuttering a bit.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," she told Jethro, fighting to keep herself as still as possible. "It might not even be them. And if it is, then what? Do we join if they want us to? Or if they want to fight?" She huffed, shoulders tensing up a bit, but refusing to turn and run off. "This is so dumb."

Luckily, she was getting all her ranting done before the pack wolves showed up. After they approached, she would straighten her posture and stop shuffling and muttering to Jethro, but for the moment, her stress was obvious.

The days of journeying, wandering, and climbing mountains had paid off. Before the two of them was pack territory, clearly designated and marked, impossible to mistake. And at that moment, it was impossible for Jet not to wonder just what the hell he was doing here. This was so contrary to everything he’d had planned when he’d departed his homelands. Never in his wildest dreams - or nightmares - had he ever anticipated he would be seeking out an entire pack of others. But, here they were.

His ears stood erect, eyes narrowed, scanning for the first sign of an approaching pack wolf. He did not doubt they’d be far off, especially once Nori called for them, and he wanted to see them before they got too close. Jet adopted a rigid, but neutral stance, keeping his movement to a minimum and emotions in check. As much as he’d come to spite it, he knew how to demonstrate passivity and respect. It’d never done any good back home, but at least this time, there was a chance the wolves he’d be meeting were decent.

Nori appeared to be combatting concerns of her own, nervous and restless at his side. She spoke up with several concerns that the dark one mulled around in his head for a moment, before ultimately shrugging lightly. ”Only one way to find out. We tell ‘em we came to talk and why we’re here. If they’re hostile, we get the hell out of here. If they’re your family, hopefully.. they’re understanding.” And, either way, didn’t try to force he or Nori to do anything against their will. Because that ship had sailed a long time ago.    

”It’s gonna be alright. Chin up,” Jet added, offering a quick, and what he hoped was an encouraging nod to his companion, before returning to surveilling.

Chan wasn't too far off, and so when the wind brought him their scents as well as a young girl's call, he held no qualms about changing course and seeing what it was they needed. As he started after them he let out his own howl, letting everyone in the valley know he was meeting up with the visitors. He didn't bother about wondering who it could be, as the possibilities truly were endless. When they did come into sight, he let out an amiable bark to let them know he was almost there before finally greeting them with a wide smile and easy sweeping of his tail.

"Hey, how can I help you?"

on mobile, please excuse any mistakes or shortness.

Nash was feeling a little more like himself these days. Chan had journeyed out and returned; he'd come home. Maybe that meant there was hope for a home for him yet. Nash still tried not to think too hard on it; there were pups to look after, and a home to care for.

He was out checking the caches and making sure they had fresh food when he heard the call. It was an unfamiliar voice, so Nash perked up and picked up his pace to a trot to reach the border. He arrived shortly after his brother and silently came up to stand beside him. He sniffed in the general direction of the couple standing at their border; the girl seemed vaguely familiar, but he knew he'd never seen her before. He figured he'd smelled her around the mountain on one of his rounds at some point.

"Welcome to Sanguine Cove," he said, wanting to live up to Chan's friendliness.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

The large onyx woman had been visiting the graves of her love and friend Namid. The last few weeks had taken a toll. Sanguine Cove had been not even three moons old when tragedy struck them. Moon needed to just talk with them. She knew it might just make her seem crazy but it brought her comfort. She was nearly at the border when the unfamiliar voice rang through the valley. Her silver dusted ears pressed forwards as she tried to recognize the voice. She couldnt place it so she picked up her pace to meet them. Shortly after Chan's voice rung out and a smile pulled at her lips. She loved seeing him, and Nash, be all grown up and dutiful, helping where and when they can. It made the aging mother proud. Speaking of aging, Moonshadow wasnt nearly as quick as she used to be. She finally made her way along the borders and reached the small group. Mercury orbs fell upon the forms of her boys before moving to look over those who called for them. The girl was barely older than a year. Her coat was a light ginger agouti with similar colored eyes to match. The other was a male whos coat was a mixture of dark browns and black. Her heart lurched when green eyes came into view. She thought for a moment it was her lost best friend @Kajika. She missed him terribly and could really use his support. But sadly she hadnt seen him in years. This man that stood at their borders wasnt her long lost best friend either. His youthful face told her he was barely into adulthood himself.

The inky Eastfall gave a small bark to alert the others of her arrival. A warm smile was pulled her lips up as she strode up along Chans other side. She gave the new comers a smile and small dip of her head. She surely knew her sons had greeted their guests so there was no need to be repetitive.

 

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Against the odds, Jet's words had made the girl feel a little bit better. It was so much more simple that way, wasn't it? Just see what happened and react accordingly - Nori briefly wondered what it would be like to not overthink every single decision she made. Maybe that would make things a lot easier.

She shook her head to clear it and offered him a small smile. "Right," she agreed, taking a deep breath in through her nose and standing up a little straighter, leaving no trace of the fear that was coursing through her veins to show on her expression. It would be alright, surely.

The pack responded quickly to her call - two males and a female approached them. The two black wolves vaguely matched the description her mother had offered, but the first one to respond really caught her attention. Multicolored eyes... wasn't Chan supposed to have multicolored eyes? Nori had never seen them before on a wolf, so she had kind of thought her mother was lying, but apparently that was an actual thing. How cool.

Sanguine Cove. That was a really pretty name.

"Hello," she greeted with a smile, stepping forward so that she could put herself between the strangers and Jethro - this was her weird family thing, and she didn't want him to feel too pressured to speak. Perhaps using herself as a physical shield would protect him from unwanted social interaction; fortunately, these wolves didn't seem unfriendly. "My name is Nori. Nori Eastfall-Koizumi. My mother, Staryn Eastfall, sent me north to try and find our family. I'm looking for my grandmother and grandfather, Moonshadow and Tagg, and my uncles, Chan and Nash." And that was about the end of her rehearsed greeting for the strangers. Her voice was a tiny bit more unsure as she continued, "You, um, wouldn't happen to know if they're around, would you?"

The response to Nori’s call was cursory, a multitude of wolves appearing in succession within only the slightest of increments present between their arrivals, and they were all sizable individuals. Objectively, Jethro was impressed.

The first was a lighter-toned male, with the distinctive trait of two different colored eyes. He was quick to ask how he could help. The second was equally kind - almost a mirror image of Jethro himself, though much more welcoming. The dark female also appeared amicable, though she did not speak, her smile was inviting. At all of that, Jethro found himself surprised, for he was wholly unaccustomed to such things. He briefly noted as Nori stepped forth that the second male and older female looked like they could be related, although that was perhaps just a coincidence.

Nori was quick to introduce herself, providing her full name, her intentions, and the names of all of her relatives. She didn’t bother to introduce him, which meant he would probably have to do that at some point, unfortunately. Thankfully, right now didn’t seem to be the time, sparing him from that unpleasantry. Jethro opted simply to stand back and observe, intrigued by the courtesy of these wolves and to see how the interaction would play out.

Whoever's next PLEASE interrupt Nash or he's never gonna shut up...

It was clear the girl was nervous, even if she did step protectively in front of her companion. Nash was sure that having three strangers appear so quickly must have been a little disorienting. She'd called, though, so she was clearly looking to talk to somebody.

His thoughts were quickly confirmed as the girl started reciting an introduction that sounded suspiciously rehearsed.

Eastfall...

His ears pricked up and he got increasingly excited as Nori spoke. He glanced between his mother and brother, his tail wagging furiously. He could barely contain his excitement. Staryn's alive! She's alive and has a mate and she has a daughter-

By the time she'd finished, Nash couldn't control himself any longer. "She's alive!" he crowed, all but leaping into the air. He grinned widely at his niece and half started toward her to embrace her, but managed to catch himself. She was nervous enough as it was. "Welcome home! I'm Nash, and this is Chan, and our mother! This used to be Fallen Tree Cove - Staryn and I were born here! How is she? Is she well? Where is she now?"[/I]

He had a million questions, a million things he wanted to say, he felt like he was vibrating with the enormity of who had just arrived. He looked at the boy travelling with Nori. {b}"Are you Staryn's child too? Are you my nephew?"

He could keep talking forever, dancing in place with excitement, just waiting, itchinging,  for permission to surge forward and greet them in his classic manner. He opened his mouth to keep talking.[/b]

(This post was last modified: Jun 08, 2021, 03:28 PM by Nash.)

It didn't take long for his family to appear at his back, as they usually did. It still felt good every time, especially given that less than a year ago the mountain had been practically deserted. When Nash arrived at his side, Chan leaned over to bump him with his shoulder.  His mother was given a return, welcoming bark and then a nuzzle to the cheek when she made it to them. Then, once again, the strangers had his full attention.

The girl's intentions when she moved were not elusive to Chan's observant gaze, and it was duly noted as his mind naturally strove to fill in the blanks when it came to their story.

His last name, nestled between two unfamiliar words, surprised him as it left her mouth. His mismatched eyes widened, and his smile seemed to hesitate as his brain attempted to compute while still keeping up with what else she was saying. Staryn, Tagg, uncles. Each successive word brought a mistiness to his eyes, eventually welling them with full blown tears.

Staryn had a daughter. Staryn had a daughter.

Words formed in his throat, but Nash was quicker. So he simply watched, and listened, and tried to mitigate the rising joy inside of himself so that they didn't entirely terrify the poor girl and her companion.

Staryn had a daughter and she was beautiful.

(This post was last modified: Jun 09, 2021, 04:20 AM by Chan.)

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Omg Chan reacted the same way as Moon! <3

Mercury orbs met the gazes of both of her sons and a gave each a dip of her head. She also gave her agouti boy a nudge to his cheek in return for his nuzzle. Her mercury gaze then looked to the strangers who called for them. She smiled and waited for them to respond to the questions the Eastfall boys surely asked. The girl smiled and took a step forwards placing herself between them all. Silver dusted ears pressed forwards as the older inky woman found this curious. She wondered what the yearling had to say.

Nori, what a beauti- the world around her seemed to slow and all but stop. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened just slightly in shock as their familial name fell from her maw. Then another name filled her ears - Staryn - the mother grandmother breathed silently. Her silver eyes began to mist, quickly filling with tears before spilling over onto her cheeks. Nori continued to talk but Moon hardly heard any of it. She was too stunned to be able to properly process any more information. Was this really happening? Were her prayers actually answered?

It felt like an eternity before Nash's voice reached her. Starting far away it grew in intensity. Moonshadow reluctantly tore her eyes off the tawny girl, afraid she might disappear if she looked away. The mother glanced at Chan seeing him reacting much in the same way she was. Her youngest son though, was very vocal. A smile tugged at her inky lips, bringing out her feelings for everyone to see. Her green eyed boy bombarded the yearling with a slew of questions no doubt overwhelming her. She took a step forwards "Nash, love take a breath, dont overwhelm her." She gave him an understanding smile. She had the same questions and desperately needed more information but knew there would be more time to get it. Turning back to Nori she smiled with tears still falling along her cheeks. "Oh hun..." she paused unsure how to really say the following words. "I'm Moonshadow yer - yer grandmother, and these are yer uncles." The inky woman stood still despite wanting nothing more than to embrace her. She knew that they all needed time to process.

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