ooc: shall get better of course.

Aria had been checking out the mountain line, recovering from her recent spar, shoulders and neck sore. About a few hours in she had come across a small hole, barely hidden by some vegetation and being how she was, the woman couldn't leave it be, in she went. It was a bit of a squeeze, but by turning her body just right she was able to squeeze in, standing there a moment to shake herself off before moving on slowly so her eyes could adjust. Ears swiveled around, catching the sound of water droplets hitting the surface of a puddle, echoing down tunnels. "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3

Dhiren's paws had grown restless again. The young pup was silently getting tired of being surrounded by family everyday, so he took his chance to disappear for awhile that morning. After catching a squirrel that seemed to have lost its marbles, he munched on his breakfast before making a beeline for the borders. With a full belly, a man could do anything. His eyes of silver and gold looked out to the large world ahead of him. Dhiren wasn't sure where he was going to go, but he knew it would have a life lesson wrapped in it somewhere. Wherever his paws took him, he followed without a fight. The journey didn't last long, for he ended up near a series of caverns that caught his eye right off the bat. Curious bubbled in the six-month-old's chest as he padded through the foliage to reach the first cave that was big enough to swallow him whole. Immediate darkness covered him from head to tail, making his eyes bounce around like bodiless orbs. He blinked as they got used to the darkness, but once they did, his other senses began to intensify. When his scent indicator began to work, he caught the familiar smell of a female that he had met before. It brought back a temporary memory of when his sisters first stepped out of the den and he had made a failed attempt to smoothly slip among his sisters without being noticed. The female he had met was the Beta of the pack at the time...what had ever happened to her? He gave a sharp bark, hoping that maybe she was still there. Speech,

Lost in exploring, Aria did not even hear the clicking of small claws against the stone ground, only a sharp bark. She would lift her head, eyes narrowing the slightest, trying to look through the darkness to find the being the voice belonged to. It would be hard to pick out a scent in this place if the person had come in behind her, but she would take the steps and see who it was, and if a fight broke out then oh well. She moved away from the small cave she had been inspecting, coming down into a tunnel with just a few inches of clearance for her head. That was when she caught it, the scent. Aria would come to a stop, taking in a long and deep breath, going through her memories to identify who it belonged to. Ludicael, a male... someone she briefly met, a pup. "You should be at home with your family little one." She would chuckle, the corners of her lips pulling back into a smile. "How are you Dhiren?" Would he remember her? "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3

The first thing she would say upon greeting him was telling him to be with his family. Dhiren snorted lightly, but his eyes danced with the pup-like merriment that could only be found in someone younger than a year old. "They won't miss me," he said gruffly, sticking his chest out as he tried to prove it. "Mama and Daddy have all of my sisters to woo over -- they don't need me." He knew it was a lie, but he wanted to come off as the tough big brother. One thing Dhiren didn't want was someone to think he was soft because of all the estrogen he was surrounded by everyday. Due to the way he was raised, Dhiren amended his words and said, "Actually, I think they would...but I doubt they wouldn't mind me running into you." She then asked how he was doing and his tail began to wag behind his frame. "I'm doing great, actually. Living the life of a big brother and making sure they don't get in trouble." He gave an exaggerated sigh. "What a hard job it is." A smile broke across his face as he laughed shortly after speaking. "How have you been, Miss Aria?" He asked, wonder finding its way into his puppy tones. Speech,

He was as adorable as she last remembered, the snort to her comment, but the look in his eyes, he was being silly. It was nice to see someone like that, made the world seem like a better place. He would tell her that nobody would miss him, sticking out his chest as if showing he was tough and didn't need his family. Aria would raise a brow at him, agreeing bu giving a few nods of her head. He told her his parents had his sisters to woo over and didn't need him, now that she wasn't sure he was joking about. Being surrounded by the opposite gender, it must have got annoying at times, maybe other boys would pick on him for it. Naw, there as hardly any male pups around to do such a thing, and the adults definitely wouldn't. But then Dhiren would take back what he said, that he doubted his family wouldn't mind him running into her. Yes, the others. What was it they were told about her, why she left? Did Jupiter tell them what happened or did she make something up to make her look like the bad guy? The ex-borealis had no idea, anything was possible. But by the way the boy was acting around her, she assumed nothing bad was spoken of her. The conversation would then focus on the boy, telling the woman he was doing great, living the life of a big brother and making sure his sisters didn't get in trouble. That was a good brother, looking out for his siblings, and she would chuckle when he told her how hard of a job it was. She bet it was hard, looking after a few sisters, girls were quite trouble makers, just in a different way from boys. At the end he asked how she was... With a heavy sigh the woman would look to the boy, smile fading as she turned around and motioned for him to follow her down the tunnel. At first she would not answer him as they walked a few feet down the tunnel, giving way to a decently sized cave, a small hole in the ceiling that brought light shining down onto a small puddle. That was where she would take a seat, shoulders hunching over, the light shining on the small wounds upon her shoulders, scratches, and a few scabbing cuts on her legs. It was not visible that she had lost the shine to her fur, a tired look not only on her face, but around her body like a cloud. "I have been better. I have been getting into a few fights since I left, just practice, and enjoying the feeling of walking unclaimed earth as a free woman." Would he understand what she meant, or would he ask questions? Why did she leave, what happened, did she make Jupiter mad? What if he did ask one of those, should she tell him? Aria took in a long and deep breath, lifting her head so her deep green eyes could look through the hole int he ceiling, up at the moon. "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3

He followed obediently as she gave him the nod to encourage him to go with her. When she had chosen a seat beneath the light, she revealed the wounds that graced her once smooth features. Dhiren was amazed at the transformation Aria had gone through since the last time he had seen her. Blinking rapidly, he approached the female in stunned silence as her gaze was at the moon above them. He wanted to see them up close, to understand why they formed there. His paw stretched out and touched the disturbed skin and fur on her front legs. They felt bumpy and raised, as if worms had gotten beneath her skin and dug small tunnels. Their texture surprised him even more and Dhiren said, "Wooow..." underneath his breath. "I bet they hurt when you got them, Miss Aria. What stories do they tell?"ooc: I know, crappy post. x.x;; Speech,

Aria watched the boy in silence, not flinching or becoming upset by his reaction in seeing her fully in the light. Yes, she looked different from the last time she had been in Ludicael. Instead of a well maintained body, void of wounds besides the scars over her eyes, she was now littered in small cuts and scrapes, luckily they would not leave permanent scarring. She would sit completely still, holding her head high and leveled, respectful in a way as if she still held some power. Still she would remain even when he reached out a paw to touch one of her numerous wounds on her front legs, the corner of her eye twitching the slightest, it was still a bit sore. What he would say would make her smile, saying how he bet they hurt when she got them, and asked what stories they told. What did these say? How cold you interpret them? With a deep breath she would look into the small puddle thoughtfully, an ear twitching along with her stump of a tail. "They tell of a woman who sought a way to release some anger but also to gain some experience." From the corner of her eye she would look to the boy, a smirk forming on her lips. "What do you think they say?" She would ask curiously, turning her head to gaze at him fully, tilting the slightest. What kind of stories were floating around in that head of his? "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3

He listened with ears that wanted to know and a mind that wanted to learn from what he was told. Dhiren's desire for knowledge and life itself was growing at a young age and he embraced it without hesitating. She spoke of how anger that was stored had to be released, but experience meant lessons were taught and learned as well. Despite the scars, she learned from what caused them. Dhiren's elegant black head slowly nodded, understanding as the words sunk in and were mentally digested. "I hope to learn a lot one day, Miss Aria. Mama says I learn something everyday, but sometimes, it doesn't feel like it." Her inquiry was like a mirrored question of sorts and he had to think a minute before answering. His tail swept around his small haunches as he replied with a slight hesitant note in his voice. "I...I think that they are emblems of who you are, symbols of where you have come from and what you had to go through during those times." Dhiren knew that it was an opinionated answer, but it was really what he thought they meant. Bi-colored eyes met Aria's and they held the warmth that Cherokee's usually kept. "Does that sound like it makes sense, coming from a young pup like me?" Speech,

With a nod of his head the boy would seem to understand what Aria had told him before speaking up. The woman would listen, chuckling at his words. He was a knowledge seeker, that's probably why he felt like he doesn't learn something everyday. He would soon move on to answer her question on what he thought her scars told for a story, she was very interested to hear what he had to say. What he had to say though would make the woman smile, he wasn't her son but she was feeling proud of him, being able to think such a thing at his age. It didn't even cross her own more mature mind. When he asked if it made sense the woman would give a nod of her head and a playful shove against his shoulder with a laugh laugh. "It makes a lot of sense, a very mature thing to think of. Good job.? She would lift a paw and set it on the boy's hair, then would move it around to ruffle up the fur on top of his head a moment before pulling away. With a heavy sigh the woman would give a small shake of her head before looking down into the small puddle at their paws. "So, how's Ludicael? Anything interesting going on while I've been gone?" She would ask curiously, turning her head slightly to throw a glance at the boy. Though she wasn't apart of the place anymore, the ex-borealis was still curious to know if anything crazy has happened, especially if her two friends were still there. "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3

The approval Aria bestowed upon the boy made his heart lighten with pride. He was happy to know that such ideals were rewarded, and he intended to use his mind more in the future. He didn't know what the future held, but he would take it on without fear and worrying about the consequences. Dhiren's head fur was ruffled by her gentle paw and he squealed as a result of her playful antic. His little tail began to wag faster until it looked like a blur. Dhiren didn't mind showing her his happiness. After she had placed her paw back on the ground, Dhiren's ears perked to the question Aria asked. The goings-on of Ludicael were still interesting subjects and so he carried on with his answer. "Not a whole lot, but some things have been making headlines over there." His turn of phrase sounded confusing for a pup, but he didn't care. "Sol Jupiter came back from a fight with a dumb wolf that wanted to try and take over the pack. She won, of course, and proceeded to hold a meeting for us. We had some new members appear recently. A wolf named Medusa, her pups, and then a man named Deteste..." His voice faltered and a low grumble radiated from his lips. "He spoke badly of my Aunt Symphony, saying that she almost got Amenti and our pack in trouble with each other by seeking their alliance. Sol Jupiter didn't know about it until Deteste told everyone out in the open. She was mad." The news that Dhiren was telling Aria was a big deal for the pack as a whole, but he was still too young to realize it. He sharply inhaled and then continued. "Mama was upset, too, but she didn't say anything negative to my aunt. Aunt Symphony apologized and then the meeting got boring." He looked at her with his wide gold and silver eyes. In a serious whisper, the black and white pup said, "I didn't tell anybody that, though. They would think I didn't care about the topics...Mama would be sooo embarrassed." Speech,

A brow would raise when Dhiren would begin telling her about what has been going on, something was making headlines? Somebody tried challenging for Ludicael and failed, Jupiter held a meeting and they got a few members, Medusa, pups and Deteste. Ah, so they had returned, but what happened with Amenti? Aria would sigh heavily at this news, they were only bringing trouble for the pack, Newt would come for their heads because of what they did, and she wasn't sure f the giantress would take it out on the members too. Dhiren and his family, along with her friends were in danger. Eyes would refocus on the boy at the low growl, going on to talk about the man. So, the man seemed to be causing trouble, wanting to get into something, at least that's what it seemed like and Jupiter would probably take his side. Aria always thought something was going between the two. After he was done Aria would lean over, her fur brushing against his in a low sigh. "I'm sorry for that Dhiren, it seems being in Amenti has changed Deteste." She would pause, thinking of how she would word her next sentence. "Ludicael isn't what it used to be, it and your Sol changed after the fight with Kaios... I'm afraid that you guys are in danger because of her actions." Would he understand, better yet, would he try doing something that would keep him and his family safe? "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3

His bi-colored eyes twinkled with curiosity at the words Aria spoke. From what he understood, Amenti had a crazy lady that ran it. He didn't want to go anywhere near the pack; he would rather die. Blinking blankly, his ears perked at Aria's touch and he nuzzled her back to accept her apology. "It's not your fault, Aria." His tone was soft as he spoke, not wanting what he had to say to vibrate through the caverns and out to where others of Ludicael could hear him. "I have noticed a difference in how Sol Jupiter has been acting since I was little. She seems more distant...as if something is on her mind and she can't seem to find it." It was the first time in a long time Dhiren had confided in someone outside of family. His aunts and uncles were large in numbers and he adored them for it, but sometimes he liked to be on his own. By finding Aria, it was a nice change of pace for the growing boy. Being away from all of the estrogen gave him a chance to be himself. He looked up at her with his wide gold and silver eyes as he continued to speak. "I wish there was something I could do, but I know that I can't help everyone. I think I would make myself tired if I didn't take some time for me...ya know?" Speech,

She would smile at the boy who told her it wasn't her fault, finding it comforting even though he was just a child. Ears would perk up as he went on about Jupiter, he had eve noticed it, she was acting more distant, as if something was on her mind but she couldn't find it. Aria would look away briefly to think about this, wondering what could possibly be bothering her to a point where the pups could even see it. The boy's voice would break her train of thought, her attention going back to him. He talked about how he wished there was something he could do, he knew he couldn't help everyone and that he would get tired if he didn't take some time for himself. Aria would chuckle at this, giving a nod. "While there try to keep your head down, who knows what will happen if those two get upset by something you say. And if anything happens, come find me. Okay?" Though she was no longer part of Ludicael, Aria would still help those in the pack she once called home and friends. "Speech." Awesome table by Shelby <3