Spectral Woods the preacher's daughter

@Drestig, @Spieden, @Triell (not sure if he's back yet), @Jessie, @Serach, @Anneliese, @Beren, @Naira, @Darrah and @Drift.
Don't have a particular start date for this. Dawn, cool 64 ° F, 18 ° C, mist slowly dissipating as temperature rises.
Would like everyone who wants to join to respond by SEPTEMBER 4TH.
Things to keep in mind: Sahalie is 3 months old, pretty large, can speak like an 8 year old and go distances. Not a total baby.

It seemed too quiet.

Her eyes had fluttered open suddenly this morning, as if silence, rather than ruckus, had somehow stirred her from her sleep. She wiggled out of the old birthing den where she still chose to sleep to find the well-trodden grounds around the lone Oak Tree deserted. But this was not so uncommon. Her family members liked to be busy, it was a good distraction from the heavy atmosphere that plagued them. But as she shook the sleep from her head and rubbed a paw across her snout to wipe away the residue of mud from drooling up against the den wall, she realized that it still were other sounds usually. Bird calls, the creaking of the old trees and the gentle rattle of branches. These were the sounds of her home. It was far too quiet.

She was not sure if this was really a cause for alarm, but she felt that it was something worth mentioning. But there was no one around to mention it to. Sahalie would have to go out and find someone. She gulped, her paws hesitating as she turned to stare into the misty grave of trunks. She did not want to go out there.

But she had to tell someone.

Awkwardly she wandered through the thick and frosted world of the morning, hoping that the sun would drain the mists away soon. Her homeland was much more inviting, more comfortable in the afternoon when things were not so hazy or eerie. The little girl called out the names of her pack mates as she wandered. Or at least the ones she knew. She asked for Drestig and Spieden the most, but occasionally asked for Anna or even Drift. She wondered where he had gotten off to.

When the forest finally awoke from its slumber, the noise was not one she expected or even wanted.

The trees cried out as a hundred of their twigs snapped and their branches shattered. Their was a hard sound, as if a trunk has been struck as well. The sound crescendoed and the birds that had, apparently, been in hiding rose to an unreasonably shrill chorus as they took wing. The girl clung to the ground. When the beast appeared she could do nothing but scream.

What was this hideous beast?

i can cut you into pieces

Drift Tainn

when my heart is broken

Drift had risen before the sun and snuck out of the den he shared with his sister. His favourite mud puddle had dried up and he would need to find a new one. He could only hope this new one might hold tadpoles of it’s own… When he snapped at them they felt slimy on his tongue but he never actually ate one, usually bursting into giggles when they wriggled in his mouth. At first he had been worried when his prior puddles inhabitants began to sprout legs, and when their tails fell off he had been even more worried… but they gave him hope too. If they could change from little wriggly black dots into hoppers with legs… maybe he could change too?

He was pulled from his search by the sound of his sisters voice. His tail wagged as he wondered why she was calling for @“Spieden”. They were eating real food now, what could she want with their ma’? (she might correct him with her name but for all he could tell she was the only wolf he had ever known besides his da’ so she must be ma’). She sounded worried. Far more perceptive of the world around her, Drift had been far more focused on finding mud - his coat was getting cleaner and paler by the day, it just would not do.

It took him a moment to decide, and with a sly smile he started following in her wake. He had her lined up just right… She was within striking range and he began his attack before a loud crash and a bellow sent him diving into the dirt mid stride at his sisters flank. His sister might have had the courage to scream but Drift could only look on in horror while every fibre of his being screamed to run away!

The future king had been waking up rather early as of recent, and though he had no explanation as to why, he knew everything happened for a reason and chose to simply leave it without question. He was going about his usual morning routine, checking the caches, securing the perimeter in which his family resided, vaguely searching around for his missing parent (If only to put his fathers mind at ease), things he'd never once been asked to do but still felt responsible for. Everything was exactly as it had been every morning, until of course he heard a rather shrill voice in the distance, and it called for him. The Tainn knew exactly who it had been, of course he did! It was his youngest sister! But never had she sought him out before, so why now?

Darrah wasted no time in trotting over to little Sahalie's location. The request didn't call for any urgency, though that didn't devalue it's importance. He wanted to build an unbreakable bond between his newest siblings and himself, though in all the time building up to this moment no clear action had been taken on his part. Perhaps he was scared, but of course in the end even that was an excuse. Choosing to hesitate no longer on the plan, the heir made this their deciding moment. Whether or not the Tainn's could build a relationship with each other would reside strictly on what was to happen next. Or so that's what he'd apparently and ignorantly intended upon. "S'halie!!" he answered back, rather delayed. 'Now or never, you'll do great Darrah..' moving in on her whereabouts, his pace began to stagger. 'Sahalie.. Honestly, I'm terrified to officially meet you.'

Screams filled the once peaceful environment, and before he could process exactly what was going on Darrah was sprinting. Ambushing the scene, first thing noted was his siblings. Both of them. Second thing processed was the beast that could very well take their lives given the chance. The Tainn, occupied by pure adrenaline, instinctively through himself between his family and the horrendous creature. "RUN!" he screamed, demanding immediate action to take place. "Drestig!! Anneliese!!"

One king, One crown.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Spieden never slept in, with today as no exception she had moved towards the border, following it's arching path into the red hills just as the first hints of pink painted the eastern horizon. She couldn't help but notice that the air was still with a heaviness that typically loomed when a storm was about to fall. Her usual early morning checks of the eastern hills yielded nothing odd, which should have reassured her but only made her more anxious. Something didn't sit right with her, and deciding to cut her patrol short she turned back, cutting straight through towards the territory's heart.

Her way back brought her past bits and pieces evidence of what she would find, deep gouges dug into the mud, bark scraped from the trees, saplings snapped in two. The cause was unclear until she found moose's blood smattered against the ground. Curiously she tracked after it, nearly stopping when the scent of fresh death and bear hit her like a wall. She couldn't just ignore it though, and gingerly she crept forward to find the corpse of a yearling bear crumpled against the ground like a pile of leaf litter. She couldn't spend long inspecting the scene though. Her head snapped up as the pale blue sky darkened with birds on the wing, their raucous cries reaching her ears as they fled overhead. She stopped in her tracks, feeling the ground rumble underfoot like distant thunder. Sahalie's familiar timbre reached through the noise, far and barely audible even by her sharp hearing given the distance.

Spieden's heart felt like it stopped and before she could even think of what had happened or what to do she was running towards the brewing chaos. It was too easy for her mind to replace the image of the crushed bear with that of a much more fragile child. As if Sahalie screaming wasn't enough, Darrah's frantic voice joined in. A massive dark shape materialized from the mist, Spieden's damp nostrils flaring to catch the scent of Sahalie, Drift, and Darrah underlying the stench of the wounded moose. She wanted to sob, this was too unreal, it couldn't be happening.

The lumbering beast swayed and trampled towards the cubs, Darrah swiftly inserting himself between. If only the cubs were months smaller she would have snatched them both up in her jaws and fled. Instead she charged for the moose's backside, sinking her teeth into its hock to distract it and not caring if all her teeth got kicked out in the process.

(This post was last modified: Aug 31, 2015, 02:56 AM by Spieden.)

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Anyone feel free to have Drest miss/the moose turn on him etc. ^^

The ebony man had never been much of an early riser, but since his promotion, he had made an effort to get more out of his days. Patrols along the borders, reinforcing the pack scent was no longer a duty he had taken upon himself, it was his responsibility. That was why he rose with the sun, though he was far from the first, already the den was mostly deserted, and slinking out into the dawn was easily accomplished without disturbing anyone. Since the meeting, the male alpha had begun sleeping in the communal den again, it seemed the right thing to do, and, in all honesty, it was comforting to have the rest of the pack around him. The pups still preferred to stay in the den where they had been born, though it was much too small, but it lay close to the common-den, and Drestig couldn't bring himself to deny them the last memory of their mother; However much I detest her for abandoning them! He would leave it to Spieden to drag them out of there if they didn't come freely to the larger burrow within the next few months. His first order of business every morning was to check on them though, a quick jaunt bringing him by the small opening, near the old oak. Casting a glance into the burrow though, he found it empty, and dark brows furrowed as he pulled back, lifting his head to look around; Someone's up early... He couldn't help but feel a little worried, though of course they could be with someone, there was no sign of Spieden either, perhaps she had taken them out somewhere. Still, he felt uneasy as he turned towards the borders, trotting through the familiar terrain with ears perked, eyes scanning the forest for any sign of trouble. Something just felt off, but despite his hardest attempts, he couldn't discern what. Fog licked his legs, hackles standing on end as he continued forwards, sniffing intently, but scenting nothing other than the damp, cool air. When his next step landed on a dry twig, the snap send a shudder through his body, freezing in place, ears flipping back and then forwards again. Finally he realized the issue; It's too quiet! Barely had he thought it before a great ruckus up ahead made his head jolt up, ears widening as he saw a large flock of birds taking to the sky up ahead, screaming in alarm. Ice trickled through his veins as the avian choir faded to the background of one, much more familiar and disconcerting voice; SAHALIE! He was already running when Darrah's all reached him, and he pushed even harder, gasping for breath as he broke through the final trees and onto the scene. Quickly, wide ember's scanned over the situation, seeing first the pups lumped against each other, then the yearling, standing before them protectively, and finally the creature confronting them, big and foul looking in its rage, moving forwards determinately, despite torn and bloody skin marking its flank; SHIT! He needed to act quick, but with only Darrah there... Just then, a brown and grey mottled shadow came charging out of the forest, latching onto the beast's hind leg, like a vicious burr; Spieden! He could have smiled, if he hadn't been too busy already. Voice booming, eyes ablaze with determination, he glanced only briefly away from the threat to meet the elder prince's equally orange eyes; "Get them out of here, now!" He barked, leaving no room for argument before he turned towards the moose; "We'll divert his attention!" Then he jumped into the fray, jaws snapping, moving dangerously close to the beast's veering head and lethal antlers before dancing to the side and going for the open wound; Let's end this quickly!   Word count: 633 Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

Nobody had called for Serach. Very rarely did anybody ever call for him, to talk or for help or for any other reason. But the shrill scream of Sahalie did not discriminate and sent chills up and down Serach's spine. He had been resting, sheltered under the shade of a tree while he waited for the morning mist to disappear. He too had noticed the abnormal stillness that had fallen over the forest, but had put it down to that certain kind of muteness that accompanied misty mornings like this one. But the girl's scream proved his assumption wrong, and as the boy ran towards the sounds of the fight, the pit of worry and anguish grew to monstrous proportions in his stomach.

Darting in and out between the trees, Serach was nearly overwhelmed by sensory overload. He could smell his pack mates and blood, and hear them tousling about while the great beast bayed and grunted in its own anguish. He wasted only a few precious seconds to take in the scene upon his arrival. Sahalie and Drift cowering behind Darrah who stood between them and the injured bull. Spieden and Drestig were in attack mode; she clinging to the beast's flank and Drestig his side. The subordinate wasn't sure what he should do, but his instinct urged him onwward, overriding his hesitation as he launched himself into the fray.

Drestig's attack had caught the bull's attention, and as the beast's mighty head turned to deal with the black devil attacking his side, Serach took his opportunity. He ran full tilt towards the bull, springing upwards at the last moment to tear at the moose's shoulder with his teeth. He could feel the blood splatter against his face, but he refused to let go even as the moose bleated out in pain, trying to shake off the wolves that were weighing him down.

Playing the moose just cause?

It was hard for her to stop screaming.

She felt the hard impact of something and assumed it was the clubbed paw of the beast. She screamed harder, her head turning instinctively. But it was just her brother. Her stupid, idiot brother who had followed her out here to die. If she could have, she would have definitely screamed harder. They were going to die.

With every shadow that fell across her eyes she was sure it would be a striking blow from the creature. But it was her pack mates, her family coming to her defense. With Darrah between her and the moose she could not make out much, but she saw the dark and pale shapes of the others. She hoped that one was Spieden, but also really hoped that none of them were Spieden. She did not want the wolf she loved so dearly to be hurt on her behalf.

Distantly she heard the call to run but felt obligated to watch. Her legs did not work anyway, they seemed. She stared back into the eyes of her paler brother. What could they do?

- - -MOOSE CROSSING- - -

That fucking bear. Gunthor was not to be messed with under any circumstances, but certainly not today. He was a very territorial bull, and he just barely tolerated the yapping dogs that had taken over his forest. There were too many of them to deal with on a normal occasion, so he subsided. He kept to himself. But that fucking bear and it's fucking cub. Their insolence was not something he would tolerate. Their stupid den that they had suddenly, unlawfully erected sometime that week had caught him by surprise. And he did not like surprises. He also did not like the sound his ankle had made when he crashed to the ground after stumbling into the hole.

They paid dearly for making such an offensive den.

Awkwardly and heavily he stumbled through the undergrowth, looking for a stream in which to cool and wash his injuries. Vaguely he knew that he was headed in the wrong direction, but the pain misguided him. It clouded his path and changed some of the routes. This way, it urged like the devil, Water this way. But it lead him straight towards the wolves.

By the time he heard the screams it had been too late. It was summoning more. He went to stamp it out but another one appeared in his place, and it instead received the damaged ankle he had chosen to lash out with. But then the others were upon him like lightning. The hung on his coat like burs. One was on his backside and the other jumped dangerously close to his throat. The moose reared backwards, stumbling a bit but catching some ground, hopefully shaking off the one clinging to his back leg. If it did not he would simply back her into a tree the same way he had done to the bear.

MOOSE MOVES: Kick Darrah, Drestig misses, rear backwards, ass aimed at a tree. Feel free to let me know if this was confusing

She hadn't been exactly close, and so it wasn't Sahalie's tentative roll call that drew Anneliese to the scene. Instead, her first alert had been the piercing screams that the child volleyed off, and the adrenaline hit her like a cannon ball. There was no hesitation on her part, nor even panic. Instead, she reacted as a machine, barreling over and under memorized obstacles to take herself as fast as her body would allow to the source of such horrified wailing. There was yet to be a personal connection between herself and the princess, the woman wasn't much for children anyways, but it wouldn't have mattered between Sahalie and Jessie; if a pack mate was in trouble, Anneliese would be there in a heart beat.

When the paladin hit the scene, she was just in time to witness the beast striking out at Darrah before flailing backwards. A vicious snarl tore loose from her throat as anger filled her, outraged by this transgression against her favorite of the Bend wolves. Already there was three adults upon the enraged beast, and its blood thickly lined the air. Knowing the wisest position she could place herself in, Anneliese reacted swiftly.

She launched herself over top the cubs, and planted herself in front of Darrah. Baring her fangs, she feigned a few attacks, though never truly touched the hoofed brute. Instead of hunter, she stood as guardian of the children, though prepared herself to strike to kill should the need be. Hopefully, her pack mates could quickly fell the dangerous beast without her assistance. Backing up slowly, she aimed to herd Darrah behind her as well as stand over the cubs, using her own body as a defense should the moose lash forward once more.

PLOT WITH ME!

“RUN!” Whether the words were spoken by the large dark shadow that passed between himself and Sahalie or if it was his own self preservation instinct finally kicking in he couldn’t be sure but a large hoof flailing at their brother was enough to get his flight response in order. More shapes emerged from the woods, and he knew it was now or never. When Sahalie’s terrified eyes locked with his own he knew he would have to find a way to snap her out of it. “Go!” He prodded his sister in the ribs with his nose to try and get her moving, when that still got no response he leaned into her shoulder with all his weight. “We have to go NOW!” he pleaded, hoping his words would be enough to get her feet moving.

The cacophony of noises only partially obscured by Darrah reached a crescendo as their brother caught a flailing hoof, the mingled scents were overwhelming for a child that hadn’t yet figured out how to process them. As quickly as he was moved another wolf arrived to close the gap, although in all the commotion he couldn’t tell if it was Serach or the other white one from the meeting. It was all too much for the boy to process. His breath came in short gasps, his eyes wide with panic. He pushed against his sister harder, keeping her dark shape in front of him as he tried to retreat to anywhere. Anywhere but here.