At this point, Aiyana would have decided to leave with Borden, with Ice and Cori's agreement, so she won't be with them. They would have communicated with Triell via howl, but not actually seen him yet.
Since Cori gives birth on the 27th, we're going to make this claiming thread short and sweet. If people could get their posts up by the 26th, that would be awesome. Please allow Fenrir to post first with Ice, and then we'll book-end it once everyone has posted.
@Ice, @Fenru, @Cali, @Jessie, @Kisla, @Tali
Mid afternoon ~ 45 F; mostly sunny
Gone Tomorrow
The Swift River wolves were no more. That is, they no longer laid claim to the lands that had been their home for so long. Turning her back on the familiar places had been far harder than Corinna had anticipated, but in the end, she had been forced to do so. Her stomach would begin to swell, and once it did, there was no reneging on their decision to leave. For the sake of the life growing inside her and for the lives she looked after as leader of the pack, she had bid her favorite haunts goodbye and headed east. The pack had traveled together, their mutual company making up for the negative feelings that had inevitably set in as the weight of their decision fell upon their shoulders.
The loss of their youngest member had been enough to rattle Corinna for several days, her melancholy so great that she had to focus all of her energy on walking. It was a small comfort to know that Aiyana had left the pack under the protection of @Borden Lyall. The River wolves had always gotten along with their neighbors in Cedwarwood Forest, and somehow, the slight disappearance of Aiyana's gloom at the prospect had made Corinna's agreement a little less hard to bare. But there was no getting around the fact that of her second litter, born almost a year ago, none remained. If anything, out of the all too familiar feeling of loss came the determination that the future had to be better for the cubs taking shape inside her womb. The world was a harsh place, but with a loyal pack and companion beside her, perhaps she could do better by these young ones than she had been able to do by Aiyana, Torrel, and Rissa.
A combination of depression and determination was what got Corinna over the treacherous mountain trails. Her life-long fear of heights, once comforted by the presence of Indru, had returned with a vengeance, but the leader had refused to falter for more than a few steps. Her eyes focused forward and upward, she had refused to look at the ground as it fell away beside them into steep slopes. But her relief as the highest point in their journey was crossed was visible, and her steps were a bit more enthusiastic as the pack of wolves made their descent from Serpent's Pass and into the forest below.
Their path had dumped them out into a forest. Familiar terrain, although an all together different atmosphere than the forest they had left behind in the Grove. But they had pushed on, stopping only when their feet grew too weary to carry them. They hunted as they went, the tell tale signs of deer herds a comforting sight. Water and food were Corinna's primary requirements. Secondary was a location in which she could give birth securely. There was relatively little time for them to construct a den, as they had done for her last litter, so a natural landmark was going to have to do. And so they pushed on through this forest ears and noses perked for the sounds of their companions who had gone ahead.
And then, several days after they had descended from the Pass, Corinna's heart surged. Despite her weariness from the travels, she had given a high yip and her pace had picked up. They had heard Triell's familiar howl that morning, and his scent had been stumbled upon, rerouting their path as they took off after it. With every step, Corinna knew that she was getting closer to this place that would become home. The trickle of water had registered in her ears, and without a doubt, she knew that they were close.
A large oak tree dominated their view before the creek did, though the shallow creek was not far beyond it. The mid-afternoon sunlight shown down, casting the whole area in a warm light. For a split-second, the place reminded her of the tree for which Indru's birth pack, Hidden Tree, had been named for, but the sound of life was everywhere, a quiet, constant hum. There was no such sound in the ashen Wildwood. Triell was not here, but his scent was strong, and somehow she knew that he would not have ventured much farther. Coming to stop at the base of the tree, Corinna turned and looked at Ice, the glint in her eyes hard and decisive. This was it.
Circling around the oak tree, Corinna rubbed her shoulder against it, breathing in its scent. Her fresh gaze fell on each of her pack mates, hoping that they too could feel the excitement that she did at this discovery. This was the place, she knew it in her heart. Tilting her head back, the leader's black lips parted, her alto voice rising into the afternoon sky triumphantly. This was what they had been searching for and it was here that they would rise up. No longer as the wolves of Swift River, but as a a new group, the wolves of Oak Tree Bend.