Walk | Talk | Think The grey-gold Seracian pup was quiet as she snuck away from her home territory. No one knew - well, no one save her oldest brother Nako - of where she was going or why. It was her secret, one she had been harboring for a while and had finally decided to act on. She should have been nervous of what would happen to her when she got back, the repercussions she was bound to face when her mother found out, but all Anais could feel was excitement that made her heart race and her legs itch to finally be where she was going. A few wrong turns had been made but fixed along the way, and she knew she was getting close now. Navigation had never been an incredibly strong point of hers but her determination made up for it, paying off now in the sound of the Rio Grande just beginning to make itself heard through the forest. Forgoing all pretense of stealth and sneakiness, the excitable pup's face stretched into a grin as she raced toward the sound, barreling through the trees and practically skidding to a halt to keep herself from tumbling right into the river. Anais breathed heavily as she smiled, staring into the swiftly moving waters and then around her more attentively. Oh. Father's den was not on this stretch of the river. Maybe she had turned toward it too soon? Undeterred and no less optimistic, the girl began wandering along the side of the river, yellow-gold eyes just as interested in the scenery around her as they were in spotting her father. "Dad?" Her voice was raised to grab his attention, careless of whoever else could have been out there. Her dad made this riverside his home; as far as she was concerned, she was perfectly safe. -- anais brb: adventuring

Bane gave a stretch and a wag of his tail at the early afternoon sun, forever thankful that it was out unlike during that terrible day when the winds had howled and trees were uprooted. Hurricanes were rare, his only other memory of one as a yearling, and that was on the peninsula of the Talutah tribe where he saw one way out on the water and observed it move to the coast away from them towards the other side of the bay. Back in the present, Bane sure had a mess to clean up with the hurricane that had come closer. Much closer to home. A worried scowl was cast in the direction of Seracia as he pondered how his family was doing.

A paw pushed a water soaked branch into the muddy river as he threw in a couple of sticks with a jerk of his head. The remaining eye the male had following the debris downstream. The uprooted and knocked over trees were stared at for a moment that surrounded and littered his den site. Nothing could be done about those. Ears flicked at the sudden call coming up from the downstream. He couldn't hear what the word was, only that it was over down by the thick patch of trees that hugged the riverbank. Curiosity got the better of the elder wolf and he gave a toss of his head to send his howl into the thankfully clear sky's.

Walk | Talk | Think Anais was all smiles as she wound through the vegetation alongside the river, excitement urging her along. It was thrilling to have made the journey to her father's home all on her own; likely Nako had already beaten her to this accomplishment, but not even that could shake her sense of delighted adventure. Of course, thinking of him, of family, also got her thinking about what her mother would say when she returned, none of which she imagined would be good. Especially knowing what she wished to do. But Tahlia had been giving them more freedom, so Anais hoped it meant her absence would not be noticed before her return. She was still searching and staring around her at the Rio Grande when she heard the voice of her father carry over the noise of the water next to her. It stole her attention completely, almost made her trip as she moved, and just as the pleased smile on her face broke into an unrestrained grin her stumbling paws were moving swiftly into a race. Knowing Bane was so near, she could hardly be expected to keep a slow pace - or at least slow relative to how fast she could run. "Dad!" No sooner than she saw him, her tail was wagging away excitedly. She bounded right up to him - less fearful this time that he would fail to notice who she was - and did not stop until she was right before him, bumping into his leg and shoulder as she somewhat skidded to a stop. Soft yips and quiet whines were made as she practically danced on her feet before him, nuzzling him and licking at his chin. "I missed you," she admitted, ears tucking slightly with her admission. The intent of her visit aside, she really was just glad to be with him again. -- anais brb: adventuring

Perhaps he had been hearing things? A trick of the wind? Maybe it was a combination of the wind through the trees and water against the rocks making a sound that seemed like a voice? Bane still tilted his head slightly to the right though and squinted his remaining eye at the trees. Was it somebody who had just fallen into the river? A shiver was given at the thought. A death cry, one of helplessness and fear as the waters dragged them along down the river, eventually drowning them or letting them go to paddle to shore with what energy they had. If any at all. Bane reflected on the subject of death for a moment and what it meant to him.

It meant it was an inevitability. The only common fate even animal had. It was all part of life, the end of all things. Anais's sudden appearance seriously changed those grim thoughts, tongue slightly poking out of his muzzle with the startled jaw drop he gave. The hell? What? Why the hell was his daughter here?

Anais was like Bane upon meeting Tahlia alone for the first time after his banishment. She wiggled and licked his muzzle like the excited pup she was, a smile, not nearly as big as his daughter's, found it's way across his muzzle. Her affectionate gestures were returned with a few licks of his own. "What are you doing here?" Bane pawed at his whining and yipping daughter to get her to settle down. He gave a sigh and sat down as she still nuzzled and licked his muzzle, knowing it would be a few moments before she would calm down.

Walk | Talk | Think In her excitement, Anais could not settle down. Her quick paws made calculated, swift steps of evasion as her father lifted a paw to try and coax her to sit, unwilling yet to submit though even so the initial onslaught of enthusiasm was beginning to lose steam. A few more stray nuzzles interspersed with playful, muted giggles, were given as her dancing slowed and eventually ended with her heeding that raised paw and lowering her hind end with tail still wagging to sit beside her father. Such an accomplishment this was! And she had actually found him home on top of that too! Today would be the day, there was no question about it now. She was going to get her mark. Somewhere during all her wiggling a question had been asked, but it took the stillness of sitting for her to finally gather her frenzied thoughts well enough to form her answer. And when she did, she did so with care. "I wanted to see you," she stated in utter simplicity, beaming up at him with her tail still stirring upon the ground. Of course, her true reasoning was hardly that simple, but she had had reservations and misgivings of even mentioning such a thing to her mother, of what she wished to do. And it was only now, as she sat before him, that she wondered whether or not her father was influenced by her mother's opinion of the matter even at this distance. The smile about her face faltered if a little as this thought crossed her mind, and for the briefest of moments she considered if it might not be best that she keep with this ruse of only paying a visit and leave with nothing to show for it. But both Nako and Bane had the mark! And Anais hated very much to feel left out. "Actually, I...had a question too," she ventured a bit nervously, making herself speak before her nerve could break entirely. Her yellow-gold eyes moved from her father's single remaining one to his scarred shoulder and back again before she continued, at last finding resolution in her voice, "I want a marking like you and Nako." -- anais brb: adventuring

Such a source of boundless energy his Tahlia-born daughter was, still fidgeting even after finally sitting down and even then he could see it was an effort to just hold still. "I don't believe that's the full reason Anais, but nevertheless it's good to see you too." Bane nosed the top of his daughters head and gave server affectionate licks between her ears. He remembered when he had to lean down much farther to do that. His pups were growing at a steady rate. No health problems, except for Anais who had a rather easily excited heart. But that wasn't a problem, only a never ending source of curiosity and untamed energy until she mellowed out more with age.

Bane looked out across the river with a twinkle in his remaining eye. This moment was one to be savored and remembered for later times. His eye would open at her statement of having a question and Bane looked down at Anais with a slow blink. What could that be? When his daughter spoke what she had on her mind he couldn't believe it. Bane gave a sigh and a slump of his shoulder. A mixture of pride and unease overcame him as the elder rose up to find the carving antler in his den. "Come with me Anais..."

Walk | Talk | Think She had not realized she could feel so nervous and on edge until she had spoken of her request to her father and sat before him awaiting his answer. So much she hoped he would say yes, but even so a part of her - the part who knew her mother's temper - worried that it would not happen. Tahlia had always been heavily adamant about appearances, especially of her daughter. No doubt the she-wolf saw her child as a miniature of herself, a near flawless clone of some kind, but Anais wanted none of it. She wanted adventure, and dirt, and scrapes and bruises. She wanted to live life right there upon the edge with her brothers and keep up with everything that they did, more so Nako since Jakart was naturally more timid and hesitant. She was her own wolf; she could do what she wanted. Right? It was painfully obvious that her question had been the furthest thing from her father's mind. And with it she felt her anxiety grow. Oh no, he was going to tell her no, he would send her back home. Worse yet, he might even tell her mom. Her ears shifted, swiveling back to tuck against her head as she waited and listened to Bane sigh, noting the new set to his shoulders. Uh oh. Was this it? Was she in trouble now? Perhaps not. He said nothing regarding her inquiry, only rose to his paws and turned to begin the short trek from the riverbank to his den, a quiet order given for her to follow. Anais wasted no time in scrambling to her paws and trailing after him, ears still tucked and tail now following suit. What did this mean? Would she get the marking too, or would she be sent back to Seracia without it? Would Tahlia know before or after she received it? Unable to help herself as her thoughts zoomed about her troubled mind, she ventured another tentative question. "Is...that a no?" -- anais brb: adventuring

Bane checked back to make sure she was following. A... rather sudden request his daughter had made to receive a Talutah mark. Anais looked nervous and a tad bit apprehensive with her submissive posture as she trailed behind him to his dens entrance. He ducked inside and nosed about his den as he searched for the carving antler. "It means that we aren't using any herbs. We aren't going to stop after I've begun. We aren't going to move, or wriggle about and tell me to stop because it hurts. You want this Anais, and your going to lay down on your left side and remain absolutely still while the worst pain outside of birthing courses through your body after you wake up."

The antler was snatched up and Bane pawed at his daughter to make her lay down. The elder worked the antler about in his maw so a comforting lick could be placed on her cheek. She was probably still pondering the last part of his statement when a paw shot up and smashed the bottom of her chin. With his daughter dazed or unconscious, he dragged the tip over her right shoulder in a trace of where the mark would go. Bane began to carve and dig into the flesh. It took a few moments, and even longer for his red stained maw to clean away the wound and press the split skin together so the bloody fur would web over and scab up. The Talutah elder flung the antler into the water of the Rio Grande and lay beside Anais as he waited for her to wake up.

Walk | Talk | Think Her father was quiet as he led the way from the riverside to his den, and as he stepped assuredly inside Anais paused hesitantly within the entryway. He seemed intent upon something, rummaging about as if he had misplaced a necessary item, and as he did so he spoke. It was not words of protest, as she had feared it would be, but words of warning. She was instantly relieved and wagged her tail with a grin - she was going to get her marking! - but it was becoming obvious there was more to this request than she had considered. Herbs? The significance was lost to her as she leaned her head curiously to one side, though she supposed she understood about not fidgeting. She wanted her marking to look like the ones Nako and Bane wore, not a squiggly, nonsensical line. She was still puzzling over what she had not quite deciphered as she followed his direction and drifted further into the den to be guided onto her side. Stubbornly she kept her head raised, accepting the lick to her cheek with a distracted smile, though it only made it easier for her father to connect his swinging paw with her chin. Pain was there only for an instant before her dizziness escalated into a blackout, consciousness leaving her for what felt like only a second and as she came back to she wished she could go back under again. Her shoulder hurt, much worse than she had been anticipating it to. Eyes clenching even more tightly shut, the girl's body tensed as a soft whine slipped free, remaining still upon the ground as her waking mind caught up with the injury inflicted during her blackout. Even with all the tearing and prodding done and over with, the leftover wound was not comfortable. Just a little she squinted her watery, yellow-gold eyes, surprised to find that her father lay right there within her field of vision, or at least what she could see through the tears. Even more threatened to come forth and spill over as she saw him, her ears angling to pin themselves while her lower lip wobbled. Unsteadily she called to him with a quiet, "Dad," to receive some of his comfort and assurance that everything was fine. -- anais brb: adventuring

Bane let his tongue glide over his daughters shoulder and nudged the fur at the base of the wound. A furrow of blood matted fur on Anais's shoulder showed the modified mark of the Talutah tribe. A crescent moon with a small circle on the inside was the original mark. the slash across it all was a modification on Bane's part after he ran into a mimosa branch, and met Tahlia when she helped him off of it. His remaining eye gave a hard blink. The elders paw rubbed the area around her shoulder in a minor sense of pride. She was in for a world of hurt when she came around.

He heard Anais's whine and licked her cheek, his tongue leaving streaks of blood. Bane saw her eyes crack open and scrunch up in pain. She murmured his pup title to him with watering eyes, dad. The old wolf licked at the tears Anais was visibly fighting to hold down. "I know it hurts Anais, it's ok. It's ok to cry. I'm here." Bane didn't really remember when he got his scar, only that it hurt. The pain was the only outstanding sensation from what he remembered from his ceremony. He curled all the tighter around his daughter at the thought. "Try and sleep, all be right here for you Anais."

-End thread?-

Walk | Talk | Think She felt rather than saw her father swipe his tongue across her cheek, catching tears that she had been trying her hardest to keep at bay to no avail. The pain of the wound on her shoulder was simply too much for her to ignore, too much for her to pretend that all was okay. And though she did not say so aloud - in truth, she could not say anything around the lump in her throat - she did tester we decision a little because of the pain. She had known it would be uncomfortable, but the severity of the actual process in comparison to her thoughts was astonishing. Not to mention a new voice had been added to the mix, one she had been excellent at stifling until now when other doubts had surfaced: Mom's gonna kill me for this. Bane was endlessly patient, allowing her to cry as he maneuvered himself to curl up around her. She wanted very much to snuggle close to him but any tiny movement upset the torn skin and caused the pain to flare worse than it was in a resting state, so she did her best to remain absolutely still, only crying quietly within her father's embrace. At least he was there. At least she had not been left alone like this. Hopefully it would stop hurting soon. Gently he suggested she sleep while the pain was still high, and though she doubted it could be overlooked long enough for her to feel at all restful she sniffled and tried to do as instructed. She was still crying when finally sleep claimed her, the pain about her shoulder becoming a consistent, almost tolerable throb. But still within slumber, she felt less of it, and even dreamt about what it would look like when finally it was healed and very much a part of her new appearance. -End thread- -- anais brb: adventuring