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Post by trillian on Jun 22, 2007 10:51:23 GMT -6
A dark tundra wolf grudgingly made her way up a narrow switchback. It had been treacherous going the entire way, but it seem that her plan had worked. She hadn't seen or smelled other wolf in miles, but then again it would be difficult with the mass of rocks surrounding them on all angles. This had worked to her advantage in the being of her ascent - her shadow-like coloring had allowed her to blend in with the rock. Now she had come higher were the snow blew all in seasons and her dark fur stood out plainly. At least Kali had no trouble finding her.
"Mama..." Said a little voice below her. Rhea swung her head down and to the right.
"What is it now?"
"Mama, its cold here..." Blue-green eyes gazed up at her, proof that this little pup was growing despite the wishes surrounding her birth. "... can't we go somewhere warmer?"
"We are." Rhea assured her. "Once we start going down it will get warmer." With this, the adult turned and continued up the trail. They would be on the other side of the range soon. They would be warm, and more importantly, there would be a large obstacle between them and the Koritsume.
Although the threat of her old pack and its specialized destroyer unit never fell from her mind, Rhea was cautiously hopeful that they had either lost the trail or assumed them dead. Neither was likely, the Koritsume were the most feared wolves of the Far North territories. They were trained from puppy-hood to never leave an enemy life, and given the training to track them down and destroy them. The Koritsume did not belong to anyone of the Far North packs in particular, but rather they were used by the packs as a whole to defend against foreign treats to them all.
Rhea didn't know or care how the alpha had convinced the other leaders to use the Koritsume against one pup - all she knew was that in order for Kali to live she had to run as far and as fast as she could. Unfortunately, her young foster pup was exactly that: a pup. She was barely able to keep up with Rhea as they fled the Far North. The terrain had worked against her but the weather helped. Winter had given way to spring covering the endless tundra with tall grasses and other smells to mix with their own. Rhea headed for a mountain range in the south. She couldn't lose them on flat ground, but one wolf can move faster on a narrow trail than a group, even if she does have to keep track of a pup. They had moved up wards for days, and now finally the path was being to flatten out.
Kali jumped ahead of her mother in a brown flash as the rocks that had been blocking their view of the south finally parted. She stood at a ledge and feasted her eyes on the sight below.
"Are we going there, Mama?"
"Yes." Rhea circled around her pup and sat. "Let's rest here for a while."
"'Kay." Kali snuggled down and closed her eyes.
Once Rhea was sure her pup was asleep she scanned the horizon - first with her eyes then with her nose. A pack definitely resided here. The border was close, she would have to be careful of crossing it. Sentries to were likely.
Rhea fixed her amber eyes on the horizon and waited.
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Post by martyr on Jun 22, 2007 12:43:30 GMT -6
The mountains and Martyr did not get along.
Not because they were treacherously steep, or because the snow and cold was omnipresent year-long. Not because the few creatures who did make their home in the cruel peaks were often as terrible as their surroundings.
It was because they reminded her of home.
The pale mockery of a wolf flew through the rocks and down the slippery slopes with impossible grace and speed. Her insubstantial form offered her this advantage, even if it was the only one that came with being a phantom. There was a suggestion of femininity in Martyr’s petit frame, elegant gait, and delicate muzzle; but only a suggestion.
Dashing through one particularly ill-placed boulder, Martyr pulled up short, only part of her frame materialized from the rock. A patch-work of paradise laid out some leagues beneath her paws, obviously in the throes of summer heat. It was a gorgeous view, but that was not what arrested her attention; someone else was already admiring the view.
Don’t be afraid, she warned the sentinel female, her alto voice manifesting itself only in the mind. She did not wish to frighten the other off the face of the cliff, but she had been cursed only enough to know sudden movements were the initial reaction of those unacquainted with her.
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Post by trillian on Jun 22, 2007 13:03:21 GMT -6
Rhea swung her head around as soon as she heard the voice. Not wanting to disturb her pup, she did not move beyond that. She searched for the source of the voice, but could not find it right away; it didn't seem to come from anywhere. "Hello?" She said, getting up and looking around. Kali, who was well awake by this point, quickly found what her mother could not. It was a wolf, or part of one. A different pup of the same age probably would have turned and ran, but Kali found no reason to fear this strange being. No evil came from it, no malice, no aggression, nothing that set any alarms off in her small mind. She walked up to it and stood a few inches away from the ethereal face. Her head turned to the side in a very puppyish way as she tried to figure out what this strange new creature could be. "Who are you?" She asked it.
Rhea, who had been facing the other way, quickly made an about face when her ears picked up the sound of her pup. Kali was standing in front of something she couldn't quite make out at first. It appeared to be a wolf, but it only the ghostly front half of one. At first Rhea's ears flicked forward and her tail rose, but as she slowly approached she remembered that Kali could sense malintent and would not walk up to a stranger that meant her harm. She relaxed a bit, and stood a few paces behind them.
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Post by martyr on Jun 22, 2007 13:15:05 GMT -6
Northerners. They were Northerners as well.
Martyr’s well disciplined mind held back a barrage of images and memories. Of course, what kind of wolf was better suited to ascending the imposing landmark? Perhaps they were headed towards the oasis below. Or perhaps they were returning to their homeland.
The curious youngster earned a smile from the benevolent ghost, even if the expression was lost in the glare of the sun. I call myself Martyr. Fluidly, the female took a single step forward and extracted herself from the rock. Reclining on regal haunches, she lowered her muzzle, until she was eyelevel with the wolf-child. And what is your name? her question was extended to the mother wolf as well, who kept a careful distance.
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Post by trillian on Jun 22, 2007 13:43:35 GMT -6
"I am Rhea." She said, stepping forward. "And this is Kali." When she was level with her pup she stopped, and examined the creature. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, through her own eyes or those of her pack. Nowhere in the stories she had learned to tell there was mention of something so strange, save one. The Calling One sometimes appeared faded, or fading, between the Worlds. The being seemed to be living, but at the same time looked as if it were the spirit of a dead body. Perhaps it was lost, outside the Cycle. There was no way of knowing for sure without asking, which she held off on for the moment.
"Kali and I are looking for a new place to live. We're trying to get over this range to the valley down there. Do you know anything about it?"
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Post by martyr on Jun 22, 2007 13:59:44 GMT -6
Pleasure to meet both of you, Martyr replied formally before turning her attention to the expanse below. Ah, so they were traveling to the vale below. Her pelt rippling in a phantasmal wind that seemed to affect only her as she took a step forward, and then several more, until she had walked off the edge of the precipice and stood on thin air, her colorless eyes trained upon the world below.
The flora, even at her great distance, seemed in excellent health. The azure veins of water cleaving through the ground likewise. But the vitality of the terrain was not what interested the femme most, no. It was the magic. She could sense it saturating the air, the ground, everything… Whatever wolves lived there, were marvelous creatures indeed.
Satisfied, she walked back to Rhea and Kali, ending her gravity defying stunt. I’ve encountered a land like this before only once, she began. My daughter lives in a place like this… The land is a magic land. A good land, but a magic one. It appears safe. Her gaze lifted skyward, where the sky and stone became the same monochrome of gray. Safer than this place, for certain.
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Post by trillian on Jun 22, 2007 14:07:12 GMT -6
Kali stood amazed. "How'd you do that?" She walked past her mother to the ledge and peered over the side. The edge looked very solid and definite to her. She lifted a paw over the open air.
"Kali..." said Rhea sternly but quietly so she wouldn't become startled and fall. The pup withdrew her paw and walked back to her mother. "How did you do that?" Rhea asked, curious herself as to how this feat was accomplished.
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Post by martyr on Jun 22, 2007 14:18:56 GMT -6
The suggestion of a smile flickered across Martyr’s maw. Magic has made my physical form less than… stable. If either of you were to touch me, you would pass through my body. Like a cloud. Her mind voice grew amused at the thought of her being one of the fluffy giants loaming overhead. It’s not so much floating as falling very, very slowly. Not even ghosts can escape gravity. It’s just kinder to us than most. While Martyr was not in actuality a ghost, she described herself as such. It fended off unanswerable questions, and was far simpler to explain. Shall we go down to the valley? I think I will accompany you, if you’re going.
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Post by trillian on Jun 22, 2007 14:30:32 GMT -6
Kali's head tilted to the side again, this time to the left. She didn't know that wolves could be clouds. She decided to be careful not to walk to close to the wolf-cloud as not to accentually walk through her, Martyr probably wouldn't like that. Still, this she was a friendly cloud and Kali was always looking for new friends. This wolf was to, or so it seemed to her. As Kali moved closer she could feel this wolf was happy to have someone around.
Rhea confused as well, but was better at hiding it. Magic has taken this poor creature out of the Cycle. She can't move on the next World. "Alright," she said out loud, "let's start down." Rhea walked to the part of the path that lead down the slope. "Come on, Kali."
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Post by martyr on Jun 23, 2007 7:16:09 GMT -6
I will scout the front, Martyr announced, bounding forward with uncommon grace down the decline. Save for a few icy patches, there was nothing troublesome about the path. A frost coated rock reared statuesque into the mournful sky, momentarily blocking the view of the vale below. The phantom darted right, and suddenly found herself once more suspended in the air. The abruptness of the change confounded her, and the echo of adrenalin rattled through her mind.
If Rhea or Kali had followed me… With a flick of her tail, the she-wolf went to return to the mountain, but froze when a pair of kohl rimmed eyes the color of glacial ice stared at her from the rock face. Wind Time. It could be no other, the alabaster pelt rippling in the wind, the proud curve of her spine… Martyr took a step towards her daughter, and the wolf in the ice did too. With a snarl of disgust, Martyr realized what she should have realized before; that she was merely staring at the reflection of herself as she once had been.
Martyr returned to the fork in the path, pausing to address Rhea and Kali. Don’t go to the right, there’s a drop. She threw a casual glance to the left, evaluating. It was a straight path down into the gray. The left looks harmless.
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Post by trillian on Jun 23, 2007 10:19:41 GMT -6
Now that there was someone to watch the trail ahead, Rhea allowed Kali to walk almost abreast with her as they started down the way Martyr had pointed out. The mist in front never allowed them to see more than a couple of meters, but Rhea wasn't worried now that this new wolf was with them. Kali clearly trusted her and that was enough for her. As picking the trail became easily, Rhea's thoughts drifted to the new wolf again. She knew the stories of her birth pack were far from all-knowing, but it still bothered her that nowhere within them there where spirits that lived. She recalled the story of the Calling One and picked through the words carefully. Now she realized the ghost fit into the Cycle, but only if she could die. Rhea glanced down at the valley and wondered if more magic such as this was below. Perhaps it was why the Koritsume had not followed - maybe they knew of the powers the lay across the mountain and refused to come. She looked to Kali. As long as the pup's power held up, she would know when it was time to jump.[/size]
Kali walked along beside her mother. She was thinking about something, probably the new place or the wolf-cloud or how to get down fast. Kali often mirrored this introvertedness, but often had nothing to worry about so she found other things to occupy herself with. She looked at the mountain beside them. It had more kinds of grey and black in it than she had names for: light grey, dark grey, dusty grey... she began giving them names. This one's like the sky when the moon is gone so it's "dark sky" and this one is shadow colored so... This kept her busy for a while until the fog cleared and she could see the valley clearer. As she watched it she wondered if there would be other wolf-clouds like Martyr down there.
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Post by martyr on Jun 23, 2007 17:11:18 GMT -6
(Heh, wolf-cloud, that makes me crack up)
The temperature was rising. Not that Martyr could feel the ascent, but the few lone snowflakes that had dusted the air before were now no where to be seen. The mist was thicker than ever, and the she-wolf herself could not even fathom where her body ended and the vapor began. Fortunately, the mountainside also appeared to be growing more stable. The occasional obstacles Martyr had walked through had dwindled to naught.
Later, how much later she was unaware of, a zephyr brushed past, combing away the omnipresent mist. Martyr gasped; closer than ever was the valley now, awash in its glorious splendor. A few more hours walking, and they would reach it for certain.
A shadow flew over Martyr. With a warning growl, she looked up, but saw nothing. Ears pinned back, she scanned the heavens thoroughly, but nothing out of the ordinary met her searching gaze. Did you see anything Rhea? She asked her companion, her deceitfully tone light and jovial. It would not do to upset Kali for no valid reason.
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Post by trillian on Jun 23, 2007 18:10:28 GMT -6
Rhea sniffed the air and looked up. "A shadow..." She stopped and scanned the air more carefully. "... looked big for a bird. Could have been a hawk." Rhea would have been perfectly content to continue on and forget about the incident had she not noticed Kali's swift change in temperament. Her pup's ears were flat on her back and her tail had disappeared as she tried to make herself small and less noticeable. "Kali, what is it?" The puppy looked up with terror in its eyes. "Something... something up there." She began. "Something up there's trying to get us..." The young fae huddled against its mother who turned to the ghost. "Martyr - keep your eyes open. Try to find it before it attacks."
Kali moved as close to her mother as she could. Something in the air wanted to hurt them - she could feel it plain as day. She shivered and moved closer. This thing wasn't attacking because it was hungry or they were in the wrong place, no, that was a different feeling. This was hate. Whatever the thing was, it wanted them erased from the earth.
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Post by martyr on Jun 23, 2007 18:24:07 GMT -6
Of course. Martyr’s ghostly pelt bristled dangerously, a line serrated teeth gleamed dangerously against the darker shadow of her maw. If only she were free of the manacles chaining her to her insubstantial form.
Darkness flickered over the fatale once more, and without conscious thought, she was reacting, leaping into the air with phantom claws spread. There was a screech of surprise as Martyr passed through the assailant; the frigid touch of her frame often had effect on the unsuspecting.
Martyr landed on the stone, and spun around, just as the beast crashed into the stone above and fell to the ground, a scare yard away from the snarling phantom. Belligerent, orange eyes berated her from the features of a creature that looked part feline and eagle, but was neither in truth. It was perhaps the size of a large wolf, its wings larger.
The creature screeched at the trio of wolves, the sound a strange combination of eagle scream and cat hiss, and stumbled to its clawed feet, wings beating the air brutally.
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Post by trillian on Jun 23, 2007 18:56:37 GMT -6
Rhea wheeled around to face the demon. Her ears flicked back as the fur on her back bristled with anger. On a lower level of her mind, questions were exploding; but her focus was only on one task: Kali's protection. Rhea dug her claws into the earth and prepared to spring on the beast. "What do you want with us?" She demanded with a fang-filled snarl.
Kali cowered behind her mother. The aggression from the beast had dominated her perception earlier, but now the anger from her mother blazed just as brightly. The clash of the two strong emotions confused her, causing her to unconsciously retreat into her own fear.
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