Navigation - Wraith's Woods

All You Have Is Your Fire...

Claws clicked against the parched ground as Pyralis stalked into the woods. The dry season was still clinging to Auster and she'd taken to staying in the shade of trees though that was irrelevant now. The sun was setting in a blaze of red. The color stained the surrounding area and made black cracks of the withering trees. She'd heard the rumors of spirits being trapped in these woods and she was wondering if she might manage to snare one. Pyralis was restless again, searching for her future. The Abraxas had achieved the first of surely many packs but what now? She was impressed with her son's ambition and the fact that he had taken charge of his goal himself. She was there for training and criticism but little else. Should she take this respite to wander again? Or would Amon want her help in organizing the pack? What was to be her role now? Perhaps, she did long to return to her wandering… Pyralis stepped gracefully over a fallen tree branch to pause in the heart of the woods as the sounds of night life began to creep into the air like a haunting dirge.

After meeting a new friend, and later meeting her father, Amos had eventually found the drive to set off and explore for a while again. He had some time before his new friend could go with him, so he might as well become somewhat familiar with more of the lands they'd explore in so he wouldn't get them hopelessly lost or something. That would suck. He'd made it all the way to Auster, and when he crossed the land bridge he had to admit that it was every bit as pretty as 'Rielle said it would be. The shimmering sands were fantastic, reminding him very much of his friends fur. He didn't stay too long, wanting to save some investigation for later.

Now, he was lost. The one thing he didn't want to happen, the one thing he wanted to avoid at all cost! Mismatched eyes rolled, irritated with his own foolishness. One thing was for sure; he was not going to grow up to be a very good navigator. Just being mediocre would suffice at this point, as he wandered past an oddly shaped tree he was sure he'd already passed. Good job, idiot. And it was getting dark! Stalking through the trees with ears laid back and an irritable expression firmly plants on his face, Amos hoped to high heavens he'd get out of here soon. Just then, he spotted a woman, several years older than him if he wasn't mistaken. She stood alone, the last rays of fading sunlight striking the russet portions of her pelt and making her take on the glow of a dying ember.

Eternally unconcerned, Amos approached at a meandering walk. His pace was slow and his movements languid. Offering up a friendly smile, Amos waved his tail gently, like a cattail bowing in the breeze as he would call out his greeting. Hello, there!"

Emerald eyes flashed as the woman blinked against the harsh light of the setting sun. The blazing colours were brilliant to behold, but the glare of the sun forced her to tilt her head earthbound, even through the cover of trees. Even so, with the brightness overhead, the shadows were growing longer the further the sun dipped, and in their darkness crept a mysterious chill, in spite of the lingering heat from the day. There was something inherently eerie about these woods, and Sterling realized now that it was why she'd never stepped foot here. She'd only come here today to distract her mind, to keep herself busy - and with the gnawing wariness she was beginning to feel as her surroundings seemed to repeat themselves, she knew she'd be occupied finding her way out of here tonight, if not out-running phantoms. Yet still, for the moment, it weighed on her mind that she hadn't been back to Talis, hadn't seen her sister, or her parents, in such a long time, and she hadn't even told them why; she hadn't told them she was leaving in the first place. Not just her immediate family, but her entire pack, including her Alpha. Fear had kept her from approaching their borders, even though she had lingered in Auster for some time now.

As she glanced around at her slowly dimming environment, she was beginning to wonder if her fears of the dark secrets these woods held would begin to outweigh her fears of returning to Talis. Maybe she should have just tried it, instead of running and keeping her distance. She shook her head, chiding herself internally, but her self-scolding was interrupted when the young woman spotted a vaguely familiar form against the blazing light of the sun and the blackness of the shadows. The frame of the massive and somewhat intimidating (in Sterling's bold opinion) she-wolf blended with the burning colours of the sunset glaring through the trees. She froze, catching her breath as though preparing to hide, her body urging her to blend just as well with the shadows and disappear. Another wolf, darker in colour, made his appearance from the darkness, calling out to Pyralis.

This was her chance to make an exit - slowly lowering her dull gray body to the ground, she prepared to slink away, turning her head to peer into the woods behind her. But suddenly, Sterling dug her nails into the ground, and turned back to where Pyralis and the other wolf were. She knew she wasn't going to find her way out of these woods by going back the way she'd come. Even if Pyralis was a wolf that made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn't explain, Sterling knew that she was better off with others, than trying to navigate the maze-like, haunted forest on her own. So she took a deep breath, straightened herself out, and sauntered over to the two, her eyes mostly fixed on the female. "Um.. hey, hi," she began awkwardly, then tried to force herself to sound just a little more confident - she shouldn't be showing so much fear amongst strangers, "We've met before,
uh, at the waterfalls not far from here." Then she glanced to the male, figuring she ought to introduce herself. "I'm Sterling," she said, tail shifting as she now glanced between the two wolves, waiting and wondering how this evening would turn out.

All You Have Is Your Fire...

Pyralis let the sounds wash over her fora moment before she continued her exploration. These woods were particularly treacherous. They seemed to wind and twist in on themselves. No path was straight. Nothing simple. On top of that she had yet to see Alkali. Who knew where her hawk had gotten off to but she was sure the bird would make itself known in time. She'd been about to shift her course east when a voice called out. She turned to see a friendly lad about Ashiel's age coming toward her. Well, well, wasn't he an amiable sort? She grinned. "Hello there, who might you be?"

She was curious who else would be out exploring a place reputed to be haunted but it seemed this wasn't that uncommon of a spot for shortly after she'd spoke a young woman appeared. Familiarity tugged at her mind and finally it dawned on Pyralis that she'd met the woman before. As she spoke it only confirmed Pyralis' suspicions. This was Sterling, the girl she'd met at the falls. Her grin broadened. "Sterling! A delight to see you again. You've certainly grown since our last meeting. I'm Pyralis. What are you two doing out in these haunted woods?"

With a smile and a last wag of his tail he'd introduce himself, "M' name's Amos Allantide. You know, you remind me of somebody," his brows furrowed thoughtfully as the boy tried to recall who. It'd been a busy time for him lately, and his recall wasn't as fast or reliable as he'd like for it to be. His quest for a name was interrupted when someone else approached.

He listened to the two strangers greeting each other and went back to thinking. Hmm... wait, he had it! "Ashiel, that's who you reminded me of!" sitting proudly, Amos looked rather delighted by having found what he assumed was a connection. They did kinnd of look alike. Not a ton, but enough to be family. Oh, and now that he thought to pay attention they did small alike. Same pack, he guessed.

Wait, haunted? He scoffed softly, mismatched eyes narrowing a bit. "Haunted? I doubt that very much. I was just exploring. My friend told me about the bifrost and after visiting it I kind of wandered into Auster... Never heard anything about haunted forests." his features maintained a skeptical look at he eyed Pyralis.

Sterling tried to prepare herself for when the attention of the others would land on her. She saw the grin on Pyralis' face, and it put her on edge, even though she wasn't sure she needed to worry at all. Why did everything about everyone else always make her tense and paranoid? It was probably nothing, yet she drew meaning from the gestures, movements and words of every wolf. She was startled when the woman exclaimed in delight at seeing her again. Her paws shifted nervously as the woman said she'd grown since their last meeting. Well, she supposed that was true. After all, she'd been just a yearling back then. She'd thought she was all grown up, but clearly that was not the case. Even now, she hardly felt comfortable in her own skin.

Her attention was captured momentarily by the boy who spoke with an interesting accent. She took in his name, trying to remember it for later. She tilted her head as he exclaimed suddenly that Pyralis reminded him of someone named Ashiel. Sterling shrugged, not knowing who it was he spoke of.
Her head turned back to the Abraxas woman as she asked the two of them what they were doing in these haunted woods. "Wait, they're actually haunted?" her voice came out nearly the same time as the boy's. She looked to him as he expressed his doubts, but she wasn't sure if she believed it. She was sure she'd felt things since being here that didn't seem natural.

Emerald eyes shifted to the woman once more. "Well, if you know this forest's haunted, why are you here?" she questioned, her gaze shifting around the shady woods for a moment before fixing back on the face of Pyralis, "Aren't you... worried?" She wasn't sure what it even meant for a forest to be haunted - all she knew was that it gave her the creeps, like she was being watched and hunted, and she didn't like it!

All You Have Is Your Fire...

The boy introduced himself as Amos and she grinned as he stated that she reminded him of someone. "Oh? Do tell?" She hoped he had encountered another Abraxas. It was a good sign and proof that their name was growing and spreading. The boy mentioned Ashiel and she gazed at him in surprise but then smiled again as pride spread through her chest. She was pleased Ashiel had been getting out and exploring as he said he would. "Ashiel is my son! He's been out exploring as well. I hope he didn't cause you to much trouble." She could never tell with Ashiel. Typically it was not his style to get into trouble, not like his sister Asharya, but he did have a streak of unpredictability nestled deep inside him no mattering how much he tried to over rule it.

Pyralis glanced between Sterling and Amos, nodding her dark head. "Oh yes, it is haunted… at least that's what the stories say. These woods were cursed long ago by a nameless god of rage and hate who was slain in these lands. Should you die in these woods though your spirit will never find its way out and be trapped here forever. There are those that claim to have seen the spirits."

She grinned at Sterling's question. "I'm here to see if the rumor's are true and also to explore this place. I've made it my mission to explore every land in Auster and that includes those that may be cursed." The woman asked if she was worried and she shrugged lightly. Maybe she was a bit… concerned. Spirits could be risky to deal with but she wasn't going to let a pair of mortals know that. "I'm descended from the fallen god who slayed the nameless one in battle. Yes, perhaps the writing spirit of whatever was killed here may seek its revenge but in all likelihood that will not come to pass. The nameless one won't risk battling an Abraxas again, bound in mortal flesh or otherwise. Would you two like to explore with me? I wouldn't mind the company and with me here you have nothing to fear."

Assessing her again, he could pretty easily see the relation between the two tall wolves. Though grey hues dominated his coat, and her’s was interrupted by some warm reds and a darker base. Still. They looked and smelled like family, though he got a much more dominant and chaotic vibe from this woman right off the bat. It was something that seemingly oozed from her being, but true to form Amos was rather unfazed and gave her a chuckle and a light shrug of his shoulders, ”Hardly any at all… in fact we had a pretty great spar. You must be a very good teacher.” Friendly as always, The boy was content to fall into idle chatter and could have almost forgotten Sterling was there.

Her questions did bring Amos back from his absorption though, and he stifled a small laugh. He still highly doubted that it was actually haunted. She was being silly by being so worried, though she did an admirable job of hiding it for the most part. Then Pyralis took the stage and drew in the attention of at least Amos with her story. What was this? He couldn’t decide if the thought she was weird, or crazy, or maybe a mix of both and some other things he couldn’t put names to. ”Hmm…” he muttered to himself as he tried to decipher how he felt about this.

Glancing at Sterling for a second, as though she might help him sort out what this puzzling woman was saying, Amos frowned. All this stuff about spirits and death and haunting was unsettling talk in it’s own right. But, ever the extrovert, he lightened quickly and gave Sterling and Pyralis a determined grin, half dipping into a bow as he stretched his front limbs and laughed, ”Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?” His words were an unspoken dare, attempting to prod Sterling into accepting the offer as well and go further into the spooky ‘haunted’ woods.

The young woman was drawn in to the Abraxas woman, curious for her answer about these haunted woods. But Sterling could feel the look that the boy cast her, and she flicked a glance in his direction - was he judging her? An annoyed frown crossed her face, and she tried to ignore it, ears tilting back noticeably. Well, he could get caught unawares by the spirits in this forest then, if he chose to ignore the eerie feeling this forest gave off. That'd show him for being so doubtful. Sterling's attention fixed on Pyralis as she described the nameless god of rage and hate. A slight shiver ran through her. A god of rage and hate did not sound like someone she wanted to run into. She gulped nervously, feeling like something was stuck in her throat. Why had she come here?

Her brows came together when the older woman grinned suddenly. How could anyone be having a good time when the sun was falling and they were stuck in this maze-like forest? If Sterling had known beforehand that this place was really home to spirits, especially dangerous ones, she would have never come here, not even to escape her thoughts. Although her mind was certainly preoccupied now, which really had been her intent in coming here in the first place - but was it going to be worth it? As Pyralis added to her words, Sterling leaned in, her ears coming up as she listened with growing interest. Wait, she was the descendant of a fallen god? Suddenly it made sense to Sterling why she'd felt inferior in the presence of this woman since the first time they'd met. Emerald eyes fixed on the woman, she found herself nodding along slowly, until Pyralis suggested that they explore further.

She caught her breath, wondering what she should do. She wasn't really interested in exploring - her nerves felt raw from all of the uncertainty she felt. But she also didn't really want to spend her night in these woods alone, and she knew with the setting sun there was just no way she was going to find her way out before sunrise. At least not on her own. Besides, Pyralis was assuring them that with her, they needn't fear. "W-well.. uhm.." she stammered, not really sure on how to answer. Couldn't they just work on find their way out of here? She startled slightly when Amos moved suddenly - she'd been so focused on Pyralis, she'd nearly forgotten her surroundings.

Her head turned toward him, scowling as her ears flattened again at the sound of his laughter. Did he really think this was just a joke? She felt incredulous as he asked what was the worst that could happen. She wondered if his question were merely rhetorical. Because she could certainly give him a million and one worst case scenarios. But, sparing them all of her endless worries, Sterling focused instead on the jabbing dare in his tone. "Hmph.. yea, I'll go," she retorted stubbornly, "But I'm not saving your rump when the spirits come after you!" She snorted and padded closer to Pyralis, feeling most comfortable closer to her, despite her earlier uncertainty.

ooc: sorry for the wait! and the shortness ><

All You Have Is Your Fire...

Pyralis' chest swelled with pride at the mention of her son keeping good on his word to explore the territories and to interact with the mortals. The fact that he was showing off the fighting prowess of his family was another good mark. Of course, she enjoyed the idea that she was a good teacher. She supposed she was fair at it. She chuckled at Amos comment. Indeed what was the worst that could happen? "There's the spirit!" She grinned at Sterling who didn't seem to sure about all this but in the end she seemed to come on board as well.

Pyralis trotted off into the woods, picking her way over tree roots and dipping underneath long tendrils of moss that draped over low-hanging branches. She paused for a moment, nostrils flaring and ears twitching as she looked up to see a black squirrel scamper up a nearby tree. "So, why is it you two explore? Are you looking for something in particular?" She paused as she neared a fallen trunk which she promptly climbed on top of. Her nose started sniffing as she caught an unusual scent. As she stuck her head in a knot a fox suddenly flew out of the far end of the log and disappeared into the surrounding forest.

Shrugging, Amos retorted, "Well it's a good thing I wasn't lookin' to you for help, now isn't it? I'll jus' fight 'em off or somethin." Perhaps he was a little overly confident, but what could he say? She struck a bit of a nerve there though he wasn't exactly sure why or how. Oh well, at least he wasn't a scardy cat!

Following Pyralis at an easy gait Amos looked all around through the dark, shadow woods as they made their way through winding paths under the cover of the leafy canopy above. He had to admit, a few of the hollowed out holes in the trees resembled spooky faces. He was hardly phased, but... Nahh, not scary. Glancing towards Pyralis as she spoke, he considered the question a moment before replying. "Oh, just adventure. New lands to see, wolves to meet, spars to be had. Enjoying the loner lifestyle to the fullest," he grinned, adding, "What about you, Sterling?" Watching the fox disappear into the distance, he flicked his tail and fixed the woman with a a playful grin.