A Pin Drop

[maiara]

Maiara paced soundlessly through the brush like a waif in the dim starlight that leaked through the dense forest canopy. Usually the darkness of the forest didn’t bother her much, but tonight the shadows seemed to mock Maiara, and the rest of the pack that had been left behind while Eligius had gone off to meet with Sapienta Saecolorum’s Alphess. “Meet” was the exact word that Eligius had used, but everyone knew that it was merely a euphemism for negotiate. The air was taut with tension in the Animos Regum den site. Everyone was hanging about, waiting for the word “war” to be uttered, each of them wondering if they had it in them to kill. Maiara thought that she could if it came down to defending her pack. She didn’t know anyone well enough to say that she would be protecting those that she loved, so it was more a matter of loyalty, and honoring the promises she had made to the pack when she joined. At the same time, she had no animosity toward the wolves of Sapienta Saecolorum--she had nearly joined their numbers when she had returned to the Vox Populi wolves. She supposed that they would all find out in time, although she hoped that they wouldn’t have to. What could be taking Eligius so long? Or had he really only left moments ago? They were all truly in the dark on this night.

[Destra]

Silence coated the thick night over the Animos Regum territory and the night was a damp and balmy warm blanket for those few who could sleep. It hadn't been long since Alpha Eligius had left to wander off the territory into Sapienta Saecolorum's wild universe. A thick haze of doubt clouded Kaline's mind as she shifted once more in her dip in the slightly damp earth that marked her own sleeping area. Sleep eluded her and was replaced with a worry as deep as the chasm that was the night sky. It prickled her fur and made her hackles rise, it made her skin break out in a cold sweat, and it made her legs itch with a need to stop him. However, Kaline knew that what had to be done was being done and she had tried to keep herself from struggling to persuade Eligius not to leave. With a deep sigh, the dainty fae rose to her paws, defeated and unable to sleep, and stretched out her back with a pop. Quietly, she picked her way over sleeping forms and struggled not to disturb the likely disturbed. In the clear night lit only by the stars and a sliver of silver moonlight, Kaline could make out the form of Maiara. The slightly younger female's light fur was the only thing that Kaline could make out, but she sought comfort in her pack mate. While she knew little of the other fae, she wanted to know more about how her strange past had led her to come to join the pack. "I take it you can't sleep either" her voice reached out, a soft but rough noise that slithered its way into her pack mate's ears, "I fear for Eligius, while he may have good intentions, I am afraid a torn female like Ridley with violent tendencies, may not." The worry that gnawed with dull teeth at Kaline's heart was obvious in almost every other wolf here. Any wolf that loses a parent figure might lose a bit of their humanity, but to have them slaughtered and left for carrion was something that Kaline didn't think anyone could recover from, none the less stay sane afterwards.

Her amber eyes flashed with the sudden dampness of tears as she raised her gaze to the night sky. Up there, amongst all of the souls of the previously passed, lay her sister, Clover. Clover had been so young when she died and Kaline and her had been so close, although nearly a year had passed, losing her sister still clawed at Kaline's very soul. It seemed that the loss seemed amplified by the treasure Clover left behind and through her grief, Kaline couldn't even bear to bring herself to look at the child that lay in her sister's wake without feeling the bitter bile of anger rise in her throat. Every once and a while, Sable's green eyes would rest on Kaline and seem to look into her very soul, her young eyes seemed to hold a vast expanse of knowledge that Kaline could barely comprehend herself. It made no sense to her that the gods would choose to take her innocent sister above the fae's volatile mate and leave her poor Sable to be subjected to the harsh world with no buffer. Guilt drenched her fur then, Kaline could have been her buffer, Kaline could have saved her from facing all of the cruelty that the earth harbors, yet she had chosen to separate herself, to distance herself away from the one pure gem that the Earth herself had produced.

[Eligius]

I DONT WANT TO BE THE VOICE OF A GENERATION...I JUST WANT TO BE THE VOICE FOR YOU..

"I fear for Eligius, while he may have good intentions, I am afraid a torn female like Ridley with violent tendencies, may not. “She is hurt that is for sure,” Eligius said quietly as he leisurely strolled into the Cospe just as the sun entered the sky. The light of the bright fiery orb had overwhelmed the soft flow of the moon and caused it to fade away into the bluing sky. “And I’m afraid that her hurting is only going to cause the rest of Vox Populi suffering, but I suppose that is only the act of the famous greed many within Sapientia Saecolorum are known to embody.” The young leader added as he already brought himself down into a resting position alongside Kaline and Maiara. The statement he made was more than true, and that was simply the way those within Animos Regum had come to know those within Sapientia Saecolorum. Just as those of Sapientia Saecolorum had probably come to consider those of Animos Regum to be just a bit arrogant and stuck up. In the past Eligius probably wouldn’t have labeled Ridley as being in the same league as the others of Sapientia, but now the image of a greedy Ridley was becoming all too real…and for some reason this put the male off into a sort of sullen mental state. How could the two be so similar, yet so very different? “If it is war she seeks, she’ll no doubt want aid from those of Lingua. If she doesn’t that will be one of her first mistakes,” Eliguis continued to talk matters with the two currently present in the area. Eligius was no battle master nor was he accustomed to the idea of war, but the thought was something that he had already considered himself and so it was bound to popup into the ashen colored females head as well. With a relaxed yawn he seemed to shake the negative matter away, as his eyes found the sky again. The sun was never as pretty and elegant as the moon, and the only thing that could complement or even come close to reaching the moons beauty was perhaps the night stars. For it was only natural that the moon and stars belong together..

..ALONE WE MAY BE LOST BUT TOGETHER WE STAND TALL..

[Aivlyn]

Aivlyn did not waste her time on her trip back, her paws barely touched the ground as she pounded through the forest. When one was as large a female as her, it was almost pointless to really be quiet.. She'd save that energy for other times. Her mind was too occupied with thoughts anyhow, as she over-calculated literally everything. It was at this point that she decided that she needed to get to know some of the pack members more as soon as she could, it would help her give better advice. With that in mind, she headed straight to the core of the Animos, where the scents of fellow home-pack-wolves were strongest. It was there that, she did find several, conversing on the topic of war. She wasn't wasting any time, however, she did wait a moment to hear what Eligius was saying before jumping into the conversation.

"I found a loner when I was scouting the no-wolves-home.. But she's cool. So if you see a strange-coat-hue-lone-wolf, tell her Aiv says hello." There was a sliver of humor in this, but her expression quickly got serious as she turned to Eligius. She tried her best to keep calm, and she did, but every moment anxiety was trying to choke her. This could be seen immediately, rather than normally relaxed (and maybe mildly disturbed) as she normally is, she was stiffer than usual. Tensed, though not quite rigid, more prepared and expecting the worst at every moment. She'd handled war better the first time. But it had also ended horribly, so now she was simply fighting to maintain her control. As she realized this, however, she paused, took a deep breath, and shook her coat. This helped.

"I know that you're not experienced in war, Eligius." She began, "And if you need advice, help, or a fighter, I shall be willing to do so."

It confused Aivlyn, though, how relaxed about all this Eligius was. It baffled her how he could just calmly yawn at a time like this. But it also helped her keep calm. The relaxed leader helped to keep her anxiety in check, as Skölir had done in the past. Maybe that was her problem. She then waited, simply to see how Eligius would react and reply. Over the course of a few moments, she notably calmed down, once she came to a controllable threshold she found herself to get herself calm on her own.

[Destra]

Kaline’s ears pricked with Eligius’s return, it was strange that he had just been the topic of a very important discussion, and then there he was. As he laid down she licked his head and cheek, ”We were worried about you” she spoke softly, nudging him with her muzzle. She listened to his words of war, a chill echoing down her spine with ever mention of the blood. Silently she nodded as he spoke of Ridley’s most probable plan, wondering how the fae would possibly come against Animos Regium. Maybe they really were a bit stuck up. Kaline’s eyes focused on the dirt beneath her paws as she thought it through. She had always seen her pack as the top pack, but that was less likely than any one bird of prey outsmarting the other. It occurred to her that if war did break out, there was a possibility of failure. What would they do then? What would happen? She couldn’t think of such dark things at this time and shook her head, her ears making flopping sounds momentarily as the ricocheted against one another.

It took a moment but then it occurred to the brown coated female that the sun was slowly throwing deeper shadows as it rose. The light bounced off of the trees with small flecks of dew on their leaves and the warmth spread through her bones like a flame. She hadn’t realized just had chilled she had become until then. She lifted her muzzle to the sky, her ears falling back and her amber eyes closing as she relished in the heat like a lizard sunning itself. The heat, it was so rare but it was returning. Spring was on its way and already the air was beginning to become perfumed with the smell of blooming foliage. It wouldn’t be long until pups were announced and the air became thick with humidity. It was only a blessing that the wolves had come to call the thick forest their home and so were able to keep cooler than most others.

When Aivlyn entered, Kaline was more than a little surprised. She had heard the female from farther off than usual, could hear the crashing of her thick paws as they snapped twigs and pushed through leaves and thick bushes. Kaline’s brow furrowed, creasing over her bright eyes. Where had she been? Had anyone even noticed her disappearance? She shot the new female a glare of reprimand and worry, the wolf may be new to the whole pack and family thing, but to disappear without a second glance? It was something she would have to learn was not permitted. The more Aivlyn spoke, the more Kaline became worried, a loner? Here in Vox Populi? Could that fae be the murderer that all of the wolves were on the lookout? The cause of the entire social vomit that had spewed from almost everyones maws as fingers were pointed and teeth bared? In annoyance Kaline’s ears pinned back, ”So you were out with some strange wolf?” tentatively she took a step towards Aivlyn, ”You’ve just met her!” she nearly snapped, she was more worried than she was angry. ”She could have killed you!”