Post by Therdde on Apr 15, 2012 17:05:27 GMT -5
Characters:
Althaea - Female Juvenile Wolf
Skahla - Male Wolf
- Creek Overhang -
The cool air of winter was no longer as cold as it once was, the seasons end reaching its later days making a certain young she-wolf a happy one. Though she'll miss the snow thats brought many joyful days, Althaea finds new excitment in patches of ice that have broken from the overhand and shattered across the ground. Batting around a small piece in the less denser bits of snow, she grrs playfully.
Skahla has always been a wolf with his head in the clouds. What he sees, the things he does... but it never hurt anyone. Maybe his brother. But no one important. Until now. The no longer young alpha approaches the overhang with his head low. It is not idle wandering, though. He strongly desires to see his surviving daughter, for what else is there in Ute that could possible serve to lessen this ache he feels?
Slipping onto the ice just beneath the overhang, the ice goes skidding and Althaea falls slidding after it. A distant noise, however quiet, draws the girls attention behind her for the moment and her ears go back. Looking around she finds nothing and no one and so turns away looking for the ice piece that got away. Slowly trying to make it back to her paws, claws digging into the ice causing it crack some. This causeing Alth to be a little worried, she scuddles to the shore.
Skahla's keen ears pick up the sound of cracking ice in the distance, and his pace hurries. His daughter, after all... is in the area. And that sound could never be a good one. Once the girl comes into sight, though, Skahla's heart pounds a little less forcibly, and he encourages himself to slow his pace as he barks out at the girl to grab her attention.
By the time Althaea reaches the safty of shore, her fathers bark reaches ear and she turns to it; tail wagging. Nothing said, she shakes out her coat then bounds for the older wolf. How long has it been since she's seen her father- her reaction toward him was always the same, happy and excited to see him.
Today is no day for a lecture. Not even with Skahla's otherworldly fears about what might actually live below the water filling his head. When his daughter approaches him, the much older wolf nuzzles fiercely against his daughter in greeting. His own tail is still, and lower than usual.
Althaea nuzzles him back, brushing her body between his legs after and circling about to his front taking a seat. A rather mild smile on her face she looks eager with anticipation for whatevers on his mind, even if its nothing. Tail swishing through the snow behind her, ears twitch to just about everything.
For a time, Skahla simply looks on his daughter in silence. Eventually, however, what he sees cannot be enough, and he asks, "You feel well, Althaea?" She is, after all, his only healthy child anymore, and he intends to see to it that remains the case, whatever the cost.
Althaea blinks at her family puzzled by the question. Why wouldn't she be well? First she doesn't say anything, looking to herself for a moment then back up. "Yea daddy, I'm fine." She felt great infact. Picking herself up and placing her fore paws on her fathers cheast she wonders. "Something wrong daddy?"
The girl will find out soon enough, won't she? That something is, in fact, wrong? Why bother telling her now, then? Forcing a smile as the young shewolf places her paws on his chest, Skahla answers, "No. Nothing is wrong, puppy. Come, walk with me, will you? It is much too cold to just sit here, isn't it?" Unsurprisingly, this method of calming his aches has worked well. The smile stays with him easily, even given the recent loss that has hurt him so deeply.
Being young makes it easy to not question her fathers response, dropping to the ground. Though curious she smiles nodding. "Ok." She didn't mind a good walk so long as the company was good an being cold just made it all the more easy. Stepping about, she waits for her father to lead the way.
The direction that Skahla picks is random, though it is unsurprising that Skahla should automatically head southward, closer to the heart of their land rather than further from it. "You're getting older, Althaea. I think, the next time your uncle and aunt take a trip to see the Cerulean... you should join them." Oh no. Skahla will not be letting his daughter leave unattended. He will be there to watch, the next time his younger siblings decide to go on one of their little journeys. It is time for his children to get to know something of the world at large, though... is it not?
Althaea blinks, why would she want to go there. Her place was here with the pack was it not? Coming to a stop behind her father she looks to the ground for a moment wondering something looking up only when she's come to a very unlikely conclusion. "You want me to leave?" She questions taking a step toward him.
When Althaea speaks, Skahla gets some sense that there is more distance between himself and his daughter than he intended, and he turns to face her as she takes a step closer to him again. His answer comes quickly, and his voice filled with emotion as he gives it. "Of course I don't want you to go, pup. And I promise, I would never let you be gone for long. These are the things a young wolf needs to do to grow, though. I was not much older than you the first time I left, you know, and that was on my own. Well. On my own, with your mother. You will not be on your own. You with have your aunt and uncle-" and her father to boot "-there to keep you company. To keep you safe."
Althaea frowns at first to the very thought of having to leave home to learn and grow. She had thought to be doing a fair enough job right here, but apparently that's not the case when it comes to those older than her. Moving closer now she half smiles. She wasn't afriad of going alone, her uncle could probably deter that but what she doesn't get is why 'she' has to go. "What about Hadi and Soy?" Not aware of her sisters passing.
"Your brother is... everyone knows your brother is not well, Thaea." Hadir will never make it outside of Ute, and with Soyala's recent passing, Skahla has to wonder if that is with good reason. If he should not have given into instinct and killed the boy when it first became apparent that something was wrong with him. If he had, he may have never been forgiven, nor forgiven himself... but would his younger daughter still live? "And your sister..." Before Skahla can continue, he is forced to take a breath to calm himself. "Your sister is no longer with us, pup." It's a fact of life. Eventually, each one will end in death. Though his youngest child is lost to him, though... "She has joined our ancestors in the stars, Thaea." Of course Skahla is sad. Grieving. He does not want his children to do the same, though.
This she knows, though having never seen it first hand. Something about him just didn't feel right. In truth deep down a part of her wished her brother harm; to end his suffering- its not what she wanted though. She hoped he would get better even though she knew better. Stopping along side her father she looks up at him in his silence. Ears droop with his words. Her sister was gone. She didn't really know her but losing a sibling would always be a sad thing. Hold her head high knowing how it must feel she bumps him with her nose. "Its ok daddy." He still had her and always will. Now for the real question. If she was all he had why send her out into the wild where he couldn't keep watch. She'll have to be strong so he can see her again.
There is a small twitch of a smile as his daughter tries to comfort him, more for how she tries than how she succeeds. "Of course it is, pup. Of course it is. Now, you'll do as I say, right?" He has never been given cause to truly force his will on his children. On anyone in the pack, really. His tone, thus, remains gentle as he looks for his remaining daughter's obedience.
As much as she wanted to stay Althaea didn't want to upset anyone either. Giving her father a smile, she nods. "I will daddy." The trip may be fun, let alone she could use an adventure.
"Good girl. Now," Skahla begins with a nuzzle to his daughter, "I want you to go find your mother. She needs someone to walk with much more than I do. Do you understand?" And while Shawnee gets to spend some time with their daughter, Skahla can take on the responsibility of laying their youngest to rest and informing the rest of the pack of their loss, so that burden will not fall on his mate. It is little comfort that he can give her... but at least it is better than nothing.
Althaea noddles with a smile. Course she has no idea where to start looking but she's not going to let that stop her. She'll make a bit of a game out of it, any maybe even get her brother to help. She pauses. Where was her brother? Guess she'll have to go looking for him too.
The answer encourages Skahla to give his daughter a gentle, loving nudge to her hindquarters to encourage her on her way, and as he stands back to watch, he does so with a slight smile still. For the loss that plagues them currently, there are still things here to enjoy, and he fully intends to enjoy them himself and to encourage the rest of the pack to do the same, no matter how difficult it may seem to be.
Althaea smirks with a giggle to the nudge as she lops off to one side some. She knew he wanted her to go, but she had intended to drag out her stay for as long as she could. However, that isn't the case when a sound from behind draws her attention. Maybe it was her mother- only one way to find out. Bounding out, she goes to investigate.
Althaea - Female Juvenile Wolf
Skahla - Male Wolf
- Creek Overhang -
The cool air of winter was no longer as cold as it once was, the seasons end reaching its later days making a certain young she-wolf a happy one. Though she'll miss the snow thats brought many joyful days, Althaea finds new excitment in patches of ice that have broken from the overhand and shattered across the ground. Batting around a small piece in the less denser bits of snow, she grrs playfully.
Skahla has always been a wolf with his head in the clouds. What he sees, the things he does... but it never hurt anyone. Maybe his brother. But no one important. Until now. The no longer young alpha approaches the overhang with his head low. It is not idle wandering, though. He strongly desires to see his surviving daughter, for what else is there in Ute that could possible serve to lessen this ache he feels?
Slipping onto the ice just beneath the overhang, the ice goes skidding and Althaea falls slidding after it. A distant noise, however quiet, draws the girls attention behind her for the moment and her ears go back. Looking around she finds nothing and no one and so turns away looking for the ice piece that got away. Slowly trying to make it back to her paws, claws digging into the ice causing it crack some. This causeing Alth to be a little worried, she scuddles to the shore.
Skahla's keen ears pick up the sound of cracking ice in the distance, and his pace hurries. His daughter, after all... is in the area. And that sound could never be a good one. Once the girl comes into sight, though, Skahla's heart pounds a little less forcibly, and he encourages himself to slow his pace as he barks out at the girl to grab her attention.
By the time Althaea reaches the safty of shore, her fathers bark reaches ear and she turns to it; tail wagging. Nothing said, she shakes out her coat then bounds for the older wolf. How long has it been since she's seen her father- her reaction toward him was always the same, happy and excited to see him.
Today is no day for a lecture. Not even with Skahla's otherworldly fears about what might actually live below the water filling his head. When his daughter approaches him, the much older wolf nuzzles fiercely against his daughter in greeting. His own tail is still, and lower than usual.
Althaea nuzzles him back, brushing her body between his legs after and circling about to his front taking a seat. A rather mild smile on her face she looks eager with anticipation for whatevers on his mind, even if its nothing. Tail swishing through the snow behind her, ears twitch to just about everything.
For a time, Skahla simply looks on his daughter in silence. Eventually, however, what he sees cannot be enough, and he asks, "You feel well, Althaea?" She is, after all, his only healthy child anymore, and he intends to see to it that remains the case, whatever the cost.
Althaea blinks at her family puzzled by the question. Why wouldn't she be well? First she doesn't say anything, looking to herself for a moment then back up. "Yea daddy, I'm fine." She felt great infact. Picking herself up and placing her fore paws on her fathers cheast she wonders. "Something wrong daddy?"
The girl will find out soon enough, won't she? That something is, in fact, wrong? Why bother telling her now, then? Forcing a smile as the young shewolf places her paws on his chest, Skahla answers, "No. Nothing is wrong, puppy. Come, walk with me, will you? It is much too cold to just sit here, isn't it?" Unsurprisingly, this method of calming his aches has worked well. The smile stays with him easily, even given the recent loss that has hurt him so deeply.
Being young makes it easy to not question her fathers response, dropping to the ground. Though curious she smiles nodding. "Ok." She didn't mind a good walk so long as the company was good an being cold just made it all the more easy. Stepping about, she waits for her father to lead the way.
The direction that Skahla picks is random, though it is unsurprising that Skahla should automatically head southward, closer to the heart of their land rather than further from it. "You're getting older, Althaea. I think, the next time your uncle and aunt take a trip to see the Cerulean... you should join them." Oh no. Skahla will not be letting his daughter leave unattended. He will be there to watch, the next time his younger siblings decide to go on one of their little journeys. It is time for his children to get to know something of the world at large, though... is it not?
Althaea blinks, why would she want to go there. Her place was here with the pack was it not? Coming to a stop behind her father she looks to the ground for a moment wondering something looking up only when she's come to a very unlikely conclusion. "You want me to leave?" She questions taking a step toward him.
When Althaea speaks, Skahla gets some sense that there is more distance between himself and his daughter than he intended, and he turns to face her as she takes a step closer to him again. His answer comes quickly, and his voice filled with emotion as he gives it. "Of course I don't want you to go, pup. And I promise, I would never let you be gone for long. These are the things a young wolf needs to do to grow, though. I was not much older than you the first time I left, you know, and that was on my own. Well. On my own, with your mother. You will not be on your own. You with have your aunt and uncle-" and her father to boot "-there to keep you company. To keep you safe."
Althaea frowns at first to the very thought of having to leave home to learn and grow. She had thought to be doing a fair enough job right here, but apparently that's not the case when it comes to those older than her. Moving closer now she half smiles. She wasn't afriad of going alone, her uncle could probably deter that but what she doesn't get is why 'she' has to go. "What about Hadi and Soy?" Not aware of her sisters passing.
"Your brother is... everyone knows your brother is not well, Thaea." Hadir will never make it outside of Ute, and with Soyala's recent passing, Skahla has to wonder if that is with good reason. If he should not have given into instinct and killed the boy when it first became apparent that something was wrong with him. If he had, he may have never been forgiven, nor forgiven himself... but would his younger daughter still live? "And your sister..." Before Skahla can continue, he is forced to take a breath to calm himself. "Your sister is no longer with us, pup." It's a fact of life. Eventually, each one will end in death. Though his youngest child is lost to him, though... "She has joined our ancestors in the stars, Thaea." Of course Skahla is sad. Grieving. He does not want his children to do the same, though.
This she knows, though having never seen it first hand. Something about him just didn't feel right. In truth deep down a part of her wished her brother harm; to end his suffering- its not what she wanted though. She hoped he would get better even though she knew better. Stopping along side her father she looks up at him in his silence. Ears droop with his words. Her sister was gone. She didn't really know her but losing a sibling would always be a sad thing. Hold her head high knowing how it must feel she bumps him with her nose. "Its ok daddy." He still had her and always will. Now for the real question. If she was all he had why send her out into the wild where he couldn't keep watch. She'll have to be strong so he can see her again.
There is a small twitch of a smile as his daughter tries to comfort him, more for how she tries than how she succeeds. "Of course it is, pup. Of course it is. Now, you'll do as I say, right?" He has never been given cause to truly force his will on his children. On anyone in the pack, really. His tone, thus, remains gentle as he looks for his remaining daughter's obedience.
As much as she wanted to stay Althaea didn't want to upset anyone either. Giving her father a smile, she nods. "I will daddy." The trip may be fun, let alone she could use an adventure.
"Good girl. Now," Skahla begins with a nuzzle to his daughter, "I want you to go find your mother. She needs someone to walk with much more than I do. Do you understand?" And while Shawnee gets to spend some time with their daughter, Skahla can take on the responsibility of laying their youngest to rest and informing the rest of the pack of their loss, so that burden will not fall on his mate. It is little comfort that he can give her... but at least it is better than nothing.
Althaea noddles with a smile. Course she has no idea where to start looking but she's not going to let that stop her. She'll make a bit of a game out of it, any maybe even get her brother to help. She pauses. Where was her brother? Guess she'll have to go looking for him too.
The answer encourages Skahla to give his daughter a gentle, loving nudge to her hindquarters to encourage her on her way, and as he stands back to watch, he does so with a slight smile still. For the loss that plagues them currently, there are still things here to enjoy, and he fully intends to enjoy them himself and to encourage the rest of the pack to do the same, no matter how difficult it may seem to be.
Althaea smirks with a giggle to the nudge as she lops off to one side some. She knew he wanted her to go, but she had intended to drag out her stay for as long as she could. However, that isn't the case when a sound from behind draws her attention. Maybe it was her mother- only one way to find out. Bounding out, she goes to investigate.