"Speech"

The young man strolled along the creekside. Eltrys was enjoying the sounds of the creek gurgling and bubbling away as it wound through the reeds and stones. A small garter snake slithered across his path just as he heard a duck call up the stream. This little corner of the territory was rich in wildlife and easy prey.

His fierce countenance was misleading as he looked around off the creekside. He was looking for a tumble of roots or a fallen tree, a perfect place to make his den in his new home. It would not be too smart for a den to be close to the creek in case of flooding, so he would explore the forest of sycamores that lined the stream.

With a heavy heart, Jericho slowly wanders underneath the canopy of the sycamore trees that reside by the creek. Recently, Ethne had raided the Raiders Hollow and, when the war party had returned home, the boy had discovered that his brother had passed. Baecette never really had much of a chance, taking sick as a pup and only really lingering in this world for his family. The news of his passing had gutted the rainbow-marked boy and he has wandered the pack lands like a wraith, in search of answers no living mortal will ever know.

Birds sing gleefully overhead, celebrating the sun, spring, and the birth of chicks in the long sycamore branches. It is warm, pleasant, the perfume of flowers fills the air, and the babbling of the nearby brook makes for a truly picturesque scene; but Jericho sees none of it because his world is dark and gloomy. It is filled with a melancholy that often travels hand in hand with grief and the boy continues to silently pass through the world, seeking but never finding on his quest to understand the why.

A dark form moves in the shadows of the trees ahead of him and the boy immediately stops in his tracks, attention refocusing to the here and now as he realizes that he hasn’t been paying to his surrounds. Nose immediately pulls in the surrounding scents, finding that of a pack mate and not some fearsome predator that is waiting to attack. The tension that had snapped him to alert, pulled his shoulders tight and aligned his spine in preparation of an attack gives way and his shoulders slump inward as the sorrowful youth slowly pads up toward the stranger.

When he is close enough, the boy calls out, “Hello there! Do you need any help?” His demeanor is friendly and relaxed but his pale, white eyes are brimming with grief and heartache as he looks to the earthen-hued male.



"Jericho Agatsuma-Kedieo"

"Speech"

The new Ethne Woodsman was always taking in his surroundings and had seen the yearling first as a flash of white through a set of trees then a startling still rainbow through another set as they both walked. He had taken in his scent and knew they were a packmate he had not met yet but had hung back and observed the yearling for a moment. They seemed lost in their own world. He didn't want to interrupt their obvious grief wandering and was about to move on in his search for a good den when the boy was alerted to his presence and came forward.

Eltrys pushed his small dark ears toward the yearling, his piercing ice blue eyes narrowed in scrutinizing the other as he came up and spoke brightly, blatantly hiding his grief behind a layered voice.

Ahhh...another one who hides their feelings behind a mask. Eltrys couldn't readily see a relation to Haydee but he wouldn't be surprised if this were a family trait or even a common practice among those of Auster. Eltrys wondered if he would pick up to the practice or perhaps help his new family unwind their masks, at least around him. He could almost feel his own eyes well up with the other's restrained tears.

"Ah... yes." He started gruffly, trying not to show his own perceptions, "Haydée Kedieo has introduced me to the pack, I am looking for a good den site to call my own. Perhaps among these sycamores, a good fallen log might be good."
His heart felt heavy in his chest, the grief this little one must be feeling was immense. Haydee did say something about two recent raids...
"Do... you know of any good spot around here?" He was terrible at hiding anything.