Time's A-Tickin'
| Surreal Adravendi |
|
This gods forsaken heat. It was going to drive her mad. She’d rolled in a rosemary bush, taking special care to rub her rump against the aromatic plant. She reeked, and she was still considering rolling in a multiple concoction of herbs, the stinkiest she could find that still smelled fine. She was full of restless energy, and spent most of her time patrolling the old borders. She and Regulus hunted now and then, bringing in a meal for the family. She still avoided Falk most of the time, waiting for him to seek out Athena and make her aware of the decision. Time was ticking. Not only for her, but for Amalia and Athena.
Surreal slowed as she reached a stream, lowering her head as she waded into it, pausing to take a long drink. She lowered herself until the water came up to her chin and covered her back and shoulders. The cool relief eased the physical heat from the sun. It even soothed just a little of the heat cycle’s maddening fire. She took in a deep breath, and let it out in a long sigh, closing her eyes. For once, she was content to merely stay put, while her ears kept an alert tab on her surroundings. The Plains weren’t under their official control yet. Loners and wolves from other packs could waltz in and cause trouble without consequences.
She let the thoughts and plans roll through her mind. Archangel of Celestial; Speartha to members of the Pack. That would be what she would call herself, and what Regulus would call himself when he took over once she was ready to step down. She took in a breath and ducked her head under the water long enough to wet her fur, then brought her head above the surface, giving her head a shake to sling the water out of the fur.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Heat was Glacier's worst nightmare, his thick heavy-set coat was on fire by the mere touch of the suns rays and his large body couldn't seem to keep cool. He ditched the beach for the day, the sun seemed to radiate off the sand and waves and even there he couldn't find relief least he swam far from shore. He searched for a stream in the rogue lands, something without salt water and sand to cool off in through the midday heat. Just the short walk to rogue lands had his temperature rising and he was panting in moments. No doubt Sere, wherever she was hiding these days, would be having a ball. He missed the beauty and comforts of winter. He approached the stream with no caution what so ever, stepping easily to its side and dipping a paw into its cool depth. He sighed in relief at the cool temperature, before the being who had slipped beneath the surface rose again, shaking out water from her head with a brisk movement, and he would realize he wasn't the only one with the idea. With a deeply regretful sigh the Titan pulled his paw from the surface and sat his hunches on the ground, eyeing the stranger cooling in its depths. The silvers in her coat stood out under the reflection of the sun, and even with her coat damp with fresh water it was easy to see she had a good figure, and the scars across the bridge of her nose wouldn't go unnoticed. “Sorry to disturb you, Lady of the Lake, but would you be opposed to the idea of company? This heat is.. insufferable” he said conversationally, his trademark smile coming to life as his head titled just that tiny bit to the side and one side of his lip quirked upwards in an easy going and relaxed gesture. He easily expected her to turn him down and suggest he find another stream to cool of. His large figure was intimidating and strangers never seemed to feel comfortable in his presence. |
| Surreal Adravendi |
|
A sigh brought Surreal’s eyes around to bear on a massive dark male with shades of blue in his coat. Well, it wasn’t often that she saw someone larger than her son, and had unnatural coloring. His smile and greeting with a question set her at ease. She shifted to her paws and moved a ways down the stream, settling back again. “You’re telling me?” There was a lot of double meaning and an ironic tilt to her head, but her smile was warm enough. There was no sense of malice to this male. He didn’t set her teeth on edge or send her skin crawling. The breeze turned enough to bring his scent to her nose, and she took a delicate whiff. Hm. He was an alpha. The pack wasn’t a familiar smelling one, but the smells suggested he had come from the east or south, somewhere with a coast line if that hint of salt said anything.
“I’m Surreal Adravendi. My family and I live within these plains.” She offered easily. A name wouldn’t jeopardize her future pack. She felt she could trust the male wit that much, and if he was an alpha as his scent suggested, well, this conversation could prove useful. She reclined, though kept her paws underneath herself. Regulus wasn’t far, and while this male had a few years, pounds, and inches on him, an angry Adravendi was still a force to be reckoned with. Particularly since Surreal was no novice at fighting, herself. “What brings you this way?” She asked conversationally, eyes roving the larger wolf’s form, taking notes of his appearance and filing them away.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
In response to his question the stranger got up from what looked like a comfortable position in the water to move further down stream. That was somewhat an expected response, what wasn't expected was how it didn't look as through she did it out of fear of him, to get away, instead it seemed like she was giving him the deeper water and she easily struck up a conversation, and his grin returned at her words. “good to see I'm not the only one wholly unimpressed with the heat” he said as he moved his top half down and into the water before easing his bottom half in, this way his mountainous weight caused only a few ripples in the water instead of drenching his new companion. “Then I hope i'm not intruding, Surreal. I'm Glacier Elementas and you wont have to worry about me, i'm only passing through” he was quick to reassure her, not realizing she already knew he was an Alpha of different lands. He paused their conversation to dip his head beneath the water, much like Surreal had done not long ago. The water was deep enough that he didn't have to fold in on himself to do so, which was a relief. When he surfaced again there was definitely a more easy going feel to him then before, finally! Relief from the insufferable heat. “Searching for a decent place to cool off in, really there's nothing much more to it then that. Have you and your family been here long, and plan on staying? If so I can be more weary about intruding on your lands” he explained, they weren't a pack but if they had carved out a home for themselves here he would be carefully not to get in their way in his wondering. |
| Surreal Adravendi |
|
At his words, Surreal gave a dry smile. “Normally, I would be tolerating the heat fine. But there are other kinds of heat, as well.” His reassurance that he wasn’t seeking trouble and was merely passing through was answered with a nod of approval. Beneath the water, her hips shifted, allowing her hind legs to stretch out to the side as her front paws crossed languidly. “You aren’t intruding so long as you continue to mean no harm. These are, for now, unclaimed lands to outsiders. To my family and I, however, these have always been claimed by the Adravendis, even when such packs as Arcanum were squatting on them.” She paused to allow him time to enjoy the water, much in the same way she had, a faint smile on her jaws.
She knew precisely how good dunking one’s head in the water felt; her own fur was still damp, and she thought she might have a drop of water slipping down toward one eardrum. A flick of that ear dispelled that odd sensation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Glacier Elementas. Alpha of…? She let the title trail off in an inquiring tone as her mismatched eyes locked in on his face. She was curious, when that pack scent wasn’t a familiar one. With a pleasant natured leader like Glacier, they must not be half bad.
She smiled at his question, however, answering calmly, “The Adravendis claimed these Plains before my birth, after their previous land had been destroyed by a volcano erupting. The pack then was called Valhalla. My mother was the lead healer of the pack, and the adoptive mother of the Alpha’s litter. He stepped down upon the claiming of these lands to hand the pack to his adopted son, Collision, until his firstborn was old enough to take the helm.” She paused, thinking back on the history her mother had drilled into her head along with her siblings, and back to her memories. “Collision stepped down after my mother yelled at him in a pack meeting regarding a choice he made; many choices, really… He demoted her, but my adoptive sister reinstated her when she took control. Good thing, too. Mother was the most experienced healer in the pack. Then there was the war with Glaciem against Isardis Armada. Basically, he liked one of our females, and when he tried to take her, he was told no, and threw a tantrum and started a war. Ironically, my mate, Falk, is one of Isardis’ sons.” Surreal flashed a grin at Glacier, a soft chuckle panting its way from between her jaws.
“Not only that, but my mother adopted another of his sons, who was Falk’s full brother, after he left Glaciem to claim a pack called Tortuga. I wasn’t there, but mother said Isardis maimed his own son, even though Taurig was offering an alliance to Glaciem, and then Isardis put a price on his head. After the siege that Valhalla lost, my sister Chrysanthe, who was the alpha at the time, moved the pack to Nephilim Island for a short time, but no one really felt completely at home there. I was promoted to a Beta status. Then a yearling from Glaciem challenged for Valhalla, and Chrys lost. The winner didn’t stay on these lands though so, my mother brought the pack back from the ashes and took us back to these lands. We lived here for about a year and a half before some red bitch Viridiana Sovari challenged for Valhalla again. My mother was old by this time, and we had just gone through fighting off a plague that hit the whole continent. This woman is the same one who brought us the cure, and then turned right around and challenged for our home.” The grim tone to her voice and stern set to her face was a clear indicator that even if she had let go of the past and wasn’t going to be dumb enough to seek out the lady for retribution, she would happily tear the woman apart if she ever showed her face again.
“Mother lost the fight, and we holed up on Atlantis Island until she was healed, then came back and stayed in the whistling willows until my eldest children were yearlings. I recently relocated us back to these lands, last autumn, just before my second litter was born. Arcanum squatted here during most of that period in time. They were brought down by a siege from the pack called Ebony, and a few of my sister’s wolves from Fiori.” Oh the relish in her tone as she spoke of that event. She hadn’t been there, but she’d heard tell that Arcanum had been utterly crushed. Her eyes turned to Glacier’s. “I intend to revive the pack my mother lost. Valhalla will rise again, but under a new name. Celestial. So, yes, you will eventually find a pack border around these lands.” A grin flashed across her face. “Ah, forgive me. I hadn’t intended to give you a full history of the place.”
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
He chuckled at her insightful question, he had no worry about speaking of his family to this woman, he sensed she meant no harm and perhaps only wished for a peaceful home for her family as he did his own. "I see little gets past you, surreal. Me and my brother voltage rule a pack called donostrea we've done well at keeping to ourselves so I'm not surprised you don't know of us even if you know alacritis well." And well she did, he was amazed at the in depths knowledge she gave him "this land is rich with history, and your family well ingrained within it. It must be strange to you to see strangers like me settle in on lands with no knowledge of the wars, alphas and history that came before" he mused thoughtfully, letting his gaze drift as he muzed over that.
"It would be an honour to see a pack so ingrained with history reborn here. I hope you succeed in that dream surreal and that when you do you that you would call donostrea friend. I believe that we could learn much from you" he grinned his lopsided grin again, letting her know the history lesson had been well appreciated. " donostreas history mostly lies elsewhere. We started from a small family, our mother and father who loved on an island a good travel from here. When me and my brother reached an age we where kicked from our home and learned to survive on our own for a while. When out siblings where kicked from home they joined us and we took care of them. One more litter from there was born and banished and we decided to move elsewhere to start a life free of the legacy our parents left us, a place we could all live together happy safe and secure. That is why we created donostrea, to give the family we love the security they needed."
| Surreal Adravendi |
|
Surreal gave a soft chuckle as Glacier spoke of having many sisters and having built a tolerance for the smell of a female in heat. “I’ve taught my eldest son - he’ll be two this autumn - to stay upwind of his sister until winter returns. He should be alright.” He admitted that he knew little of the history, and that Arcanum had also been unknown to him. “Be glad you never had to deal with Arcanum. They kidnapped Falk’s sister, then when her mate challenged for her back, Falk ran off like an idiot, and they took him even as his sister was freed. They let him free eventually, but not before they maimed him first. The resulting injuries blinded him eventually. By the time I got back from burying my mother and getting swept out to sea with my son in a storm, he was completely blind.” The acid in her tone said that it was still upsetting to think about. The thought of it did indeed settle a taste of ash on her tongue, and she tipped her head slightly to take a quick lap of water to clear it.
Glacier didn’t seem upset that she had noted his status, instead complimenting her observant nature and telling her that he and his brother ruled a pack by the name of Donostrea. After her impromptu history lesson, he seemed thoughtful, before voicing his thoughts, including that it must feel odd to see strangers come in who had no knowledge of the history of Alacritia. “Not so odd, if you think about it. Children are born year around; they don’t know the history until they are taught. Newcomers to the land are merely children in that sense. They need only to be taught the history.” His next words brought a warm grin to Surreal’s face. “Thank you, Glacier. It’s honestly good to hear well wishes, and I do hope that we will be good friends with Donostrea, as well as any pack that will accept an allegiance. At the very least, I hope to obtain a peace agreement with the other packs. I’ve heard that Imperium is strong. I’d prefer not to step on their toes if I can manage it.”
Glacier had a bit of history to tell as well, regarding how he and his siblings had come to Alacritia, and how they had decided to make their group into a pack. It was an interesting story, and she waited until he had finished before she asked questions. “So most of your pack are your family members?” In a way, it sounded almost like how Valhalla had been, both under Erani’s rule and Chrysanthe’s rule. There had been a lot of Adravendis in Valhalla, especially after Cairo had given Erani his surname. Would Cairo have been her father if Nova had never come? It was a thought she had visited often after her father had vanished, and her mother had come back from a talk with Cairo looking confused, and yet at peace. Nova hadn’t been spoken much of since then. In a way, Surreal resented her father for disappearing, taking Castiel with him. Castiel had come back with the news that Nova had been killed, but somehow, she didn’t believe that. Oh he was for sure dead now; he would be old if he still lived now. But at the time Castiel had told her, the words hadn’t resonated in her heart as truth. It didn’t mean that her brother had lied. Just that he had been wrong at the time.
“Safely and happily are why I wish to revive the pack. I want all my children to have the structure I grew up with, hopefully with fewer wars and upheaval from challenges.” A soft, almost sad chuckle left her jaws. “They’ve already had enough, what with their father going missing when they were small, and coming back only to go completely blind from his injuries later on, to myself and my son being swept away and lost for a season or more… My youngest born in the first litter went missing during that time. We still haven’t found her, but I feel in my heart that she’s still alive out there.” She shook her head slowly, then added, “At least as a pack, we will have less chance of having our home claimed from under us. And other packs are less likely to force claim a pack wolf.” If they tried, they’d have her to go through.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
The woman wasn't that much older then Glacier, and spoke of having a son half of Glacier's age. It made him wonder what it would have been like if he had had pups already, but truth was he couldn't have split his attention like that, not any earlier then this. Only recently was the first time his family had been settled and content, had a place to call home pups would have been a unfair distraction to his family that needed his attention and support. But now? Pups where a thought that entered his head more and more often, and left a fond smile on his lips. The gentle giant could imagine some little ones underfoot, boosting colors of brown and blue, a mixture of himself and Anais. He shook his head, clearing it of the image, there was an innocence about the 3-year old Anais, so pure and sweet and he would not be the one to break it, she would grow up at her own pace and he would never suggest to her otherwise. Surreal was speaking again of Arcanium, and it was quickly becoming clear that this was not a pack he would ever have associated with. They sounded like the kind likely to break the peace he had so carefully constructed for his family, and he was glad they where not here any longer. “I would have liked to meet Erani, you speak so highly of her.” he said gently, certain her death was a loss to the world. “Interesting way of putting it, perhaps our friendship will age my family” he teased at her comment on a child lack of knowledge to history. He bowed his head gently, enough to let his nose touch the surface of the water at her next words. “It will be good to add to our friends, we want only peaceful terms with the packs that reside here. And yes, i've heard this of Imperium through i've had little to do with them so far” he explained, he hadn't been there himself but Voltage had spoken with them during his spars, and it spoke volumes that Imperium seemed to be a pack easily found on the battlefield. “My entire pack is either family, or ones that have become mates to our family. Well.. actually we have a couple mates-siblings and an unrelated healer to train our own healers who so far are only self taught” he chuckled, he himself about to agree that there was only family in the pack before he realized how Donostrea was growing. “I see we both very much on agreement there, we create only to give a level of safety to those we love” he smiled at her then, it would be nice to have another pack out there so much like their own, perhaps they could look out for each other. |