The Return Of The Music
08-28-2014, 04:17 PM
Surreal |
Silvery paws stepped upon the shores of the island she and her family had taken refuge on after that fateful challenge issued by that red bitch. Her mother had lost, and from the injuries, had nearly died later on. Surreal?s mind had been firmly on the safety of her mother after the challenge had been lost. While revenge was a tasty sounding word, she was mature enough to cast it aside in the long run. So she, Alsander, Sarak (who had headed off not two days ago to seek out his family and mate, a wild eyed look on his face), Cormalin, and Obsidian, had taken Erani here, to Atlantis Island. Both Obsidian and Sarak had left important members of their family behind to assure Erani?s survival. Both had departed recently to search for them. Surreal hoped they were successful. She cast a glance over her shoulder, up at the walls that protected the islands inner sanctum. It had been a haven, and she had been able to nurse her mother back to health. Her uncle was growing old. Still strong, but the hairs on his muzzle was becoming spangled with white flecks, and one eye had begun to cloud, much to her mothers displeasure. His gold eye was now bleached of color, clouded over as blindness sank in. He held himself well, adapting to the new manner of seeing. Erani, despite her age, and the battle she?s survived, had retained much of her stolid grace, eyes still keen and deep blue, fathomless in their wisdom. There was the ache in those eyes, however. The ache for a lost home. The ache of failure to protect and defend a pack, her family. Surreal?s canines glinted under an early morning suns light as her jowls lifted in a silent growl. While they had been in the confines of the island, she had tried her best to listen in on the goings on of the mainland. Battlesong had been a great help; flying inland several times to see what the situation was for their old home. Since the challenge, Battle had reported, the pack had changed paws, the red bitch handing it to another female, who had vanished. Surreal had missed her chance to grab their home back, and now a new female held the plains and the moor in her paws. They would take their home back, and bring Valhalla home. But not yet. Surreal would bide her time, and gather their strength again before retaking what belonged to Valhalla. Blue and gold gaze swept the distant shores of the mainland. First, however, she needed to find him Her love. Sarak and Obsidian weren?t the only members of their group that had left loved ones behind. Would he be waiting for her? Or had he moved on already, to another female?s embrace? Her eyes dropped to the sand beneath her paws. If he had? And that female made him happy? Could she ruin that for him? Her heart ached at the thought of him tangling with another female. But all in all, if he had found a new mate, it was her own fault. Still? The agonized sound that seeped up through her jaws wasn?t a sound she could help. Soon enough, her sense of purpose returned, forcing the maelstrom of emotions aside, and she circled the base of the cliffs rising high above her, paws trailing depressions in the sand in her wake, until she had reached the southern end of the island. There was shallow water here at this time of the year. Taking a breath, she plunged into the cool seas embrace, striving powerfully away from the shore, toward another shore, just south and east of her. There was a river that emptied out into the sea, leading inland on the western side of the mainland. She would find a place to catch her breath at the rivers maw. Around her churning legs, the current buffeted and billowed, the tide coming in, and bearing her frame to the mainland. It was a moderate swim, and she reached the mainland shore in due course, sea water pouring from her pelt in heavy streams. The sea rushed and hissed over the sand, swirling around her paws as she paused to give her body a firm shake, trying to relieve the extra weight of wet fur. It was short lived as she made her way to the river, slipping in to try and wash the salt water from her fur. She came out feeling a lot better than she had going in. Surreal glanced up at the sky as a soft rush of feathers announced the arrival of her faithful feathered friend. How long hawks lived, she wasn?t sure, but she would mourn the day Battlesong no longer flew in the sky above her. The hawk settled on a branch above her, opal pendant glittering with many colors under the midmorning sun, preening a feather into place before her large golden eyes observed Surreal. There are wolves to the south and east of our location, in an area full of willows. They look to be of your family, some of them. I remember them being in the pack, but there are young ones I do not remember. Surreal smiled, daring to hope that they were of the family. ?Thank you, Song. You are a true friend.? Her words carried the mix of accents that had been imprinted from her puphood from her mother and father. Her mother?s Scottish and British mixed accent held sway over her father?s Russian accent, due to the long standing absence of her sire. Castiel, too, had long been absent. Where was her golden eyed, white pelted brother, anyway? She had seen him once, after they had disappeared, but soon after, not even a day after, he had been gone again. And she hadn?t seen him since. Brow points pulling together in a frown, she started off in the direction Battlesong had indicated, deciding to put aside the sadness for a lost brother for the time being, and check to see if this was indeed her family that her companion had seen. Her eyes were alert, and yet, she wasn?t seeing much beyond her path. Her mind was returning to Falk, and what she would do if he was still waiting for her. It was her season, if she recalled rightly? She was three now. Well enough into life to consider a family of her own; children of her own. Her paws halted, and she looked up, ears perked. She could smell them now. Imena, Cael, Deviant, maybe even a few others, and pups she didn?t recognize. The song that issued from her jaws was both a joyous greeting, as she bounded forward a few paces, and a call to the island that the coast was safe for her aged mother and uncle to find their ways ashore. And she charged forward with a bark to the family that was so close. |
Surreal's family is allowed to crash any thread she is in, regardless of it being private or not.
08-28-2014, 06:23 PM
Castiel |
It was by sheer, sheer luck that Castiel had been in this particular area at this particular time. For the moment, he had left Amia behind, confident in her abilities to take care of herself, and wandered aimlessly. It had only been a few short hours before he would hear a howl echoing in the air - one that was beautifully, astoundingly familiar. The white male stopped, the breath escaping his lungs in a whoosh as he froze. His muscles tensed, and his brain struggled to process what was happening. Surreal. She was here! And as soon as that thought had sunk into his skull, Castiel was racing forward, paws slamming into the ground as he shoved himself forward, chasing that voice before it could dare vanish. He would not lose her, not this time, not when she was so close that he could taste her scent in the air. And with every moment that passed, her scent grew stronger and stronger until suddenly, she was there, and running towards him too and Castiel didn't have time to react before they were colliding with each other. And down they went, in a tangle of limbs, tumbling towards the earth. A few desperate twists ensured that Castiel landed beneath Surreal as much as possible, protecting her body from the bruises that this fall would surely cause. Panting, the wolf stared up at his sister, stretching up enough to cover her maw and face in licks and kisses. "Surreal! You're all right!" He had not seen hide nor hair of them in the seasons since he'd arrived here, but now she was standing right in front of him and the months seemed to have melted away. He had not been this happy in months - if not years. There was sheer joy in Castiel's thoughts, and the only thing that he could think was that she was alive and she was all right. If only their.. father could have been there too. The thought of Nova sobered Castiel up instantly, and he backed swiftly away from his sister, rising carefully to his own four paws. Suddenly serious, he watched his sister in silence, struggling with how to frame the words that needed to be said. He was the herald of bad news, the one that would bring hurt to his entire family; their father was dead. |
Castiel's current avatar is by Caltics on DeviantArt.
08-28-2014, 07:24 PM
He hit like a tidal wave, and the next thing she knew, she was on top of the large white male that she?d crashed into, or had crashed into her. It took her brain a few seconds to realize who this huge white male with golden eyes was, and reconcile this image with the much younger, lankier version she had seen so long ago. ?C-Castiel?? The name came out as an astounded croak. Then louder, clearer. ?Castiel?!? The licks he was planting on her face and muzzle were swiftly returned as she fully understood that she wasn?t just dreaming. ?Cas! Of course I?m alright. It?d take way more to kill me off that one would think.? Castiel seemed to sober up abruptly, scrambling to his paws and backing up, and she took the moment to gaze at her bog brother. He was so grown up. He was big, too. Fluffy, his dirty brown muzzle of younger years having bleached out to a snowy white that matched the rest of his frame. His eyes were a molten gold, like their fathers. Come to think of it; her eyes flicked around. Their father?s massive black frame was nowhere to be seen. ?He didn?t make it.? The solemnity in her voice was a note of understanding. She had never truly expected to see her father again; had only begun accepting that she might never see Castiel again. Gabriel? Something in her heart knew that he was never coming back again. He wasn?t dead. She just knew he wasn?t dead. Her mismatched eyes turned to her brothers golden eyes. ?Luna?s Light, I?m so glad you?re okay, at least. Mother will be so happy!? She bounced forward a pace, coming to meet his chest with her shoulder as she made to embrace her big brother. ?You?ve grown so much, you big galoot.? The affection in her tones made up for the name-calling. Right now, even her heat couldn?t? She backed up a step, checking the wind to be sure it wasn?t blowing in her brother?s direction. No need to blast her brother with her feminine things right off the bat? Her mind returned to the family she had been expecting to see. ?How are they, Cas? Imena, Cousin Cael? Or? Have you not met them yet? You don?t smell like you have, but you do smell like Amia?? The words were out in a tumble as she cast a look over his frame again, tail waving curiously. Then her mind tripped over the thought of Falk. Luna?s teeth, what would her brother think of her hating a mate? Possibly having a mate, she corrected herself. It all depended on whether Falk would even still want or have her after her atrocious disappearance. Did Castiel have a mate? Maybe Amia? She studied her brother. ?Oh brother, there?s so much to tell you about? Where do I even begin?? |
Surreal's family is allowed to crash any thread she is in, regardless of it being private or not.