Post by helaku on Jan 18, 2010 12:29:51 GMT -5
Skelaghe - Adult Wolf, Ute Alpha.
Wanageeska - Adolescent Wolf, Ute Newcomer.
----
Wanageeska had been exploring some of the territory since Skelaghe offered him a place, but he stayed away from the den when she was not present out of instinct, and respect. A new wolf who didn't need to be told to stay away from the den, who knew? Since become a member of Ute, he had remained only partly aloof just to get his bearings on the land, and which paths were fastest for responding to emergencies. All his exploring soon returned him to the Hilltop Vista, but even here he remained distant from the den. This place let him do something he never did before--relax just a little, but still he kept his guard. That was something that would probably not vanish any time soon.
This is where Skelaghe belongs. Not off running to responded to the panicked howls of her packmates. Not beyond her borders, for any number of reasons. Here, watching her pups play and sleep. Well, not so much pups anymore. They're growing very quickly. before she knows it, they'll be old enough to care for themselves, and then... Lying where she is, and watching Ciqala who flopped over onto his side even before reaching the den, her ear flicks in response to the sound of someone approaching her. She still keeps her eyes on her smallest child for a moment longer, though, before looking to Wanageeska.
Wanageeska sat where he was, at distance from the den, watching her and the little pup. He had nothing but a smile since he came here. Was it really that much better than home? Yes and no. There were many good, happy moments back home, but the peace was often short lived. "You have a very well-situated den," he said, "on a high rise, overlooking a large part of your territory. It reminds me of the den in which I was born. It also was on a hill like this, but the actual burrow was within a large tree." Said tree..being a Redwood. "It is as if nature shaped this land on purpose."
Skelaghe shakes her head slowly. Skelaghe would be the last person to ever imply that anything was without purpose. Even so... "You may give too much credit to nature, and too little credit to parents." Skelaghe did not dig her own den, but she can be certain that whoever did, before she discovered it, was not digging a den for herself. Nor did the tree Wanageeska remembers drill its own hole. "As such, I think you for the compliment. I spent many weeks trying to find the perfect place for my family to grow."
"It is a very nice place," he said. "There is much difference here than the lands surrounding it." He still didn't move, not yet, looking about to the trees and whatnot. "The territory is active and bestills itself here, where pups can grow in safety." He murmured, closing his eyes for a moment to take in a breath. "And the air is fresh; I can smell everything."
Skelaghe doesn't say anything else, immediately. Rather, she just watches as Wanageeska looks around. She can remember herself, extolling the virtues of this land to Wanageeska's father... Who never truly seemed to appreciate all of the beauty of it. Not in life. Thankfully, that lack of appreciation doesn't seem to have been duplicated in his son. "I am glad you like it, child."
"Am I permitted to come closer?" he asked, his eyes falling back on her. It was an important question, of course. He had not seen the view from the top-most of the hill where the den lay. Wan knew good land when he saw it, and it paralleled much with his birthlands, though in a subtle way the sights were grander. Everything was smaller here than home, more compact. And, best of all, there seemed to be no deathly valley where hardly anything grew, it having been trampled so much by men and wolves at war that even grass failed to take root.
"You may." The statement is accompanied by a nod of Skelaghe's head. There is only one wolf in Ute banned from drawing near her pups, and it is not Wanageeska. Her answer /might/ be different, were Ciqala awake, but given that he still slumbers, there is no reason to keep Wanageeska away.
Wanageeska took his time in approaching, not wanting his closeness to wake the pup by it being too sudden. He stepped right up to the top and looked down over the territory before him. "It is a beautiful sight, down the hillside," he said. "Does the pack ever sit together and contemplate?" A good question. Helaku instilled something certainly Ute in Wan, even as a pup. The old communal sitting prior to the disease in which they'd watch the sun rise at certain times of the year, and set at other parts.
"Not in a very long time. Before my first litter was born, we did, on occasion. Since then... Well, my children have always been the sort that have been difficult to herd. It is not unique to Rowtag." Skelaghe's answer comes quickly. Anymore, what time she spends in contemplation, as Wanageeska put it, is also spent in solitude.
"It is a mite sad," he said, tilting his head as he still surveyed the land. "A pack should be close, but it seems this has been hard for you recently." Finally, he turned to face Skelaghe and settled down a few feet from her. "If they'll listen...that is your pups, it might be something that does them some good, to commune."
"Just because we do not engage in tradition in the exact way that the Ute of old did, does not mean we do not engage in it. My children have been called to paths far and wide, and I have let them be called. Danger has visited us at regular intervals, and we have not turned it away. For all of this, though, we remain, and whether we see it or not, we have had our influence." It does not bother her that her children may not follow the exact path that she has. She is perfectly willing to jsut help them along a path that works for them.
Wanageeska had to think on how to respond. Normally he dealt with more like-minded individuals, but she was not them. "Being called," he said. "I rarely heard that phrase back home. The Elders said it to me once, that I was called to venture out and away from my former home. Now, I feel that perhaps I'm supposed to be here for some purpose. I'm not quite sure what that purpose is, though." Ever since being welcomed, he wondered what it was. Defend? Protect? Or just live?
They may or may not agree, but Skelaghe smiles at Wanageeska's statement. "If I have learned only one thing in my seasons, Snow Eyes, it is that our purpose is never to sit around, wondering what our purpose is. Accept that you have one, even if you may never know what it is, and you are likely to be much happier." It is a lesson that she has to relearn periodically, when her pride threatens to grow too strong, but it is probably the most important thing she knows.
Wanageeska smiled when she called him Snow Eyes. "If one just sits around, then their purpose hardly ever comes," he answered. "Sitting accomplishes nothing, unless you're sitting on someone to keep them from wandering off, getting in trouble." It was a reference to...Rowtag, a lighthearted one that is. Right now he felt his purpose was to be near Skel...for some reason. Perhaps it was because that is what Helaku might have wanted.
"A great many things can be accomplised while sitting, even if you're not sitting on someone." Like Wanageeska, Skelaghe's tone is light. She has said the only thing of impotance that she really wanted to. Whether it actually sticks is up to Wanageeska, and for now, Skelaghe is satisfied to just enjoy a bit of socialization.
"A great many things," he said. "I've done a lot of sitting, but how many great things came out of that I'm not sure. My mind would wander at times, curious about things I've not yet experienced." Experienced...like riding down a mud slide on a log, or jumping off a moderately high cliff into water. Experience. He wouldn't openly speak of such things unless a conversation went that way, however. "The only bad thing about letting your mind wander is that sometimes you forget of what you think after doing so."
Skelaghe listens to the young wolf talking. She nods in agreement to the statement. She has never been upset at the outcome of her own daydreaming, even when she could remember nothing of her daysreaming just a few short minutes afterwards, but she can understand what Wanageeska says.
Wanageeska lay his head on his paws, all ready contemplating something else. "I believe, perhaps, I should rest," he said. "I have been running and walking since I first arrived, getting a feel for this place. Is there a spot you'd suggest?"
"You may rest here, if you'd like." Skelaghe will move Ciqala back into the den, so he will not have to see a stranger first thing upon waking and freak out. "The other members of the pack usually try to keep things peaceful around here, because of the pups, so you may find it a good place to rest." Until, that is, her other pups wake up and decide to crawl all over Wanageeska.
"Thank you," he said. Wan got up so he wouldn't be the first thing in front of the den, and found a nice tree not too far, against which he could curl up. The young wold did look thoroughly tired though he had a lot of energy. The wake-sleep patterns he had been accustomed to had been thoroughly replaced by a different lifestyle, and it had a toll on him for now. "I believe it will be a good rest."
Wanageeska - Adolescent Wolf, Ute Newcomer.
----
Wanageeska had been exploring some of the territory since Skelaghe offered him a place, but he stayed away from the den when she was not present out of instinct, and respect. A new wolf who didn't need to be told to stay away from the den, who knew? Since become a member of Ute, he had remained only partly aloof just to get his bearings on the land, and which paths were fastest for responding to emergencies. All his exploring soon returned him to the Hilltop Vista, but even here he remained distant from the den. This place let him do something he never did before--relax just a little, but still he kept his guard. That was something that would probably not vanish any time soon.
This is where Skelaghe belongs. Not off running to responded to the panicked howls of her packmates. Not beyond her borders, for any number of reasons. Here, watching her pups play and sleep. Well, not so much pups anymore. They're growing very quickly. before she knows it, they'll be old enough to care for themselves, and then... Lying where she is, and watching Ciqala who flopped over onto his side even before reaching the den, her ear flicks in response to the sound of someone approaching her. She still keeps her eyes on her smallest child for a moment longer, though, before looking to Wanageeska.
Wanageeska sat where he was, at distance from the den, watching her and the little pup. He had nothing but a smile since he came here. Was it really that much better than home? Yes and no. There were many good, happy moments back home, but the peace was often short lived. "You have a very well-situated den," he said, "on a high rise, overlooking a large part of your territory. It reminds me of the den in which I was born. It also was on a hill like this, but the actual burrow was within a large tree." Said tree..being a Redwood. "It is as if nature shaped this land on purpose."
Skelaghe shakes her head slowly. Skelaghe would be the last person to ever imply that anything was without purpose. Even so... "You may give too much credit to nature, and too little credit to parents." Skelaghe did not dig her own den, but she can be certain that whoever did, before she discovered it, was not digging a den for herself. Nor did the tree Wanageeska remembers drill its own hole. "As such, I think you for the compliment. I spent many weeks trying to find the perfect place for my family to grow."
"It is a very nice place," he said. "There is much difference here than the lands surrounding it." He still didn't move, not yet, looking about to the trees and whatnot. "The territory is active and bestills itself here, where pups can grow in safety." He murmured, closing his eyes for a moment to take in a breath. "And the air is fresh; I can smell everything."
Skelaghe doesn't say anything else, immediately. Rather, she just watches as Wanageeska looks around. She can remember herself, extolling the virtues of this land to Wanageeska's father... Who never truly seemed to appreciate all of the beauty of it. Not in life. Thankfully, that lack of appreciation doesn't seem to have been duplicated in his son. "I am glad you like it, child."
"Am I permitted to come closer?" he asked, his eyes falling back on her. It was an important question, of course. He had not seen the view from the top-most of the hill where the den lay. Wan knew good land when he saw it, and it paralleled much with his birthlands, though in a subtle way the sights were grander. Everything was smaller here than home, more compact. And, best of all, there seemed to be no deathly valley where hardly anything grew, it having been trampled so much by men and wolves at war that even grass failed to take root.
"You may." The statement is accompanied by a nod of Skelaghe's head. There is only one wolf in Ute banned from drawing near her pups, and it is not Wanageeska. Her answer /might/ be different, were Ciqala awake, but given that he still slumbers, there is no reason to keep Wanageeska away.
Wanageeska took his time in approaching, not wanting his closeness to wake the pup by it being too sudden. He stepped right up to the top and looked down over the territory before him. "It is a beautiful sight, down the hillside," he said. "Does the pack ever sit together and contemplate?" A good question. Helaku instilled something certainly Ute in Wan, even as a pup. The old communal sitting prior to the disease in which they'd watch the sun rise at certain times of the year, and set at other parts.
"Not in a very long time. Before my first litter was born, we did, on occasion. Since then... Well, my children have always been the sort that have been difficult to herd. It is not unique to Rowtag." Skelaghe's answer comes quickly. Anymore, what time she spends in contemplation, as Wanageeska put it, is also spent in solitude.
"It is a mite sad," he said, tilting his head as he still surveyed the land. "A pack should be close, but it seems this has been hard for you recently." Finally, he turned to face Skelaghe and settled down a few feet from her. "If they'll listen...that is your pups, it might be something that does them some good, to commune."
"Just because we do not engage in tradition in the exact way that the Ute of old did, does not mean we do not engage in it. My children have been called to paths far and wide, and I have let them be called. Danger has visited us at regular intervals, and we have not turned it away. For all of this, though, we remain, and whether we see it or not, we have had our influence." It does not bother her that her children may not follow the exact path that she has. She is perfectly willing to jsut help them along a path that works for them.
Wanageeska had to think on how to respond. Normally he dealt with more like-minded individuals, but she was not them. "Being called," he said. "I rarely heard that phrase back home. The Elders said it to me once, that I was called to venture out and away from my former home. Now, I feel that perhaps I'm supposed to be here for some purpose. I'm not quite sure what that purpose is, though." Ever since being welcomed, he wondered what it was. Defend? Protect? Or just live?
They may or may not agree, but Skelaghe smiles at Wanageeska's statement. "If I have learned only one thing in my seasons, Snow Eyes, it is that our purpose is never to sit around, wondering what our purpose is. Accept that you have one, even if you may never know what it is, and you are likely to be much happier." It is a lesson that she has to relearn periodically, when her pride threatens to grow too strong, but it is probably the most important thing she knows.
Wanageeska smiled when she called him Snow Eyes. "If one just sits around, then their purpose hardly ever comes," he answered. "Sitting accomplishes nothing, unless you're sitting on someone to keep them from wandering off, getting in trouble." It was a reference to...Rowtag, a lighthearted one that is. Right now he felt his purpose was to be near Skel...for some reason. Perhaps it was because that is what Helaku might have wanted.
"A great many things can be accomplised while sitting, even if you're not sitting on someone." Like Wanageeska, Skelaghe's tone is light. She has said the only thing of impotance that she really wanted to. Whether it actually sticks is up to Wanageeska, and for now, Skelaghe is satisfied to just enjoy a bit of socialization.
"A great many things," he said. "I've done a lot of sitting, but how many great things came out of that I'm not sure. My mind would wander at times, curious about things I've not yet experienced." Experienced...like riding down a mud slide on a log, or jumping off a moderately high cliff into water. Experience. He wouldn't openly speak of such things unless a conversation went that way, however. "The only bad thing about letting your mind wander is that sometimes you forget of what you think after doing so."
Skelaghe listens to the young wolf talking. She nods in agreement to the statement. She has never been upset at the outcome of her own daydreaming, even when she could remember nothing of her daysreaming just a few short minutes afterwards, but she can understand what Wanageeska says.
Wanageeska lay his head on his paws, all ready contemplating something else. "I believe, perhaps, I should rest," he said. "I have been running and walking since I first arrived, getting a feel for this place. Is there a spot you'd suggest?"
"You may rest here, if you'd like." Skelaghe will move Ciqala back into the den, so he will not have to see a stranger first thing upon waking and freak out. "The other members of the pack usually try to keep things peaceful around here, because of the pups, so you may find it a good place to rest." Until, that is, her other pups wake up and decide to crawl all over Wanageeska.
"Thank you," he said. Wan got up so he wouldn't be the first thing in front of the den, and found a nice tree not too far, against which he could curl up. The young wold did look thoroughly tired though he had a lot of energy. The wake-sleep patterns he had been accustomed to had been thoroughly replaced by a different lifestyle, and it had a toll on him for now. "I believe it will be a good rest."