The Mountain

[Yasula]

Syoke nodded his head as he closed his eyes agreeing they should leave. He was quiet all of a sudden not use to seeing a smile quite like Anafiel's. He was started how charming it was. His brown eyes soon realized Anafiel's view was some where else now. Following the beta's gaze he noticed another male wolf there. Syoke did not say anything when Anafiel had asked if the male wanted to come join them. When the male came over Syoke quickly learned that his name was Theo. Nice name but not unique as Anafiel's name was. It just went to show that the beta was not a wolf from these parts but was a respectable wolf in Syoke's eyes.

Syoke stood beside Anafiel calmly as he watched the other wolf. He did not recognize this wolf but the pack was getting larger. Well compared to his past pack it was larger. Syoke did not know each and every member in this pack but he did make sure to know who the members of higher in rank were. By how nervous this wolf appeared it would seem that he was not use to speaking with the beta. Syoke tried not to show he was nervous around others. Although it can work both ways. It can prove to be a bad way on handling things are a good way. It means you would be more on the cautious side which is helpful.

Syoke ran his hand through his brown hair as he watched the wolf who had moved closer to Anafiel. Syoke was like this. He often watched those who approached near him. Because he holds a serious face quite often is why some think of him not very approachable. Syoke could not help that though. He did smiled kindly to the other male to show politeness. Syoke would wait for Anafiel to introduce himself before Syoke would. Syoke was dressed quite different then from Anafiel. He only had a simple kimono on. His younger sister had always liked it when they wore kimono's so he carried it on when he could not find her after the accident. Syoke felt much more comfortable around brutes and only his sister was the fae he kept around near him. He much preferred the company of fellow brutes then the mysterious faes.

 

[- Child of Cirra -]

"Theo. Nice to meet you."
The Beta dipped his head politely, gracefully.
"I'm Anafiel Delaunay. You ah..." He shrugged. "You might've heard of me somewhat. I-"
He cut himself off again, his serene eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Purposefully, he tilted his chin upward. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. Once he sifted past the attar of rose, the amber, the mistletoe, the myrrh, the soil, the greenery, Theo, and Syoke...
...there were yet even more scents that lingered in the air.
Oh, come on. You're serious?
As trained and skilled as he was in the arts of covertcy, whatever uneasiness Anafiel might've felt never surfaced physically. He kept his eyelids from twitching, he kept from licking his lips...
Such exquisite self-control.
And at the moment, he felt as if it were being wasted.
Anafiel Delaunay was actually beginning to feel overwhelmed... and somewhat helpless.
"Wait. What...?"
He took the scents in again, considering them more deeply, giving them more thought than before...
...he knew them.
He swore under his breath as he felt his spirit lighten. Without warning, the once wholly dignified Beta of the Na'arinheim picked up his skirts and bound down the path like a happy, sissy girl.
Upon sight of the two familiar faces, he stopped dead in his path, his smile stretching from ear-to-ear.
"Firefly! Skylark!"
It took a moment for him to register their human forms... He'd never seen them before but... Oh, Elua be thanked, he was sure it was them.
"Now this... this, m'ladies, is a pleasant surprise."
He must've looked like an utter fool, greeting them with such relieved enthusiasm.

 

[Collective_Day_Dream]

Theo raised an eyebrow, for he had never met anyone quite like Anafiel Delaunay. It was quite strange, coming here, it was like stepping into an entirely new and strange world. He wasn't sure that he was used to such things. But oh well, he musn't allow himself to be put on display as an emotional person. He allowed himself to fall back on the hard, comforting surface of the rock face and feel the cool eminating from it. He felt a flash of black light behid his eyelids and lept up suddenly, nearly loosing ballance. Far off in the distance a great black thing fell from the sky. "Whoops."

 

[Shotgun Mouthwash]

Well, wasn't this just a bottle of goodies. Firefly had known that Anafiel was up there since she's come around the last corner. Being older than the others, her senses had had the chance to mature and grow more than theirs had. But no matter. They'd get there eventually.

Skylark jumped slightly as the blur that was Anafiel came running toward them, instictively jumping behind her mother for protection and peeking around her long legs. However, when it registered inher brain who exactly it was that called her name she dashed back around Firefly and up the path before her mother had the chance to grab her or say otherwise. With a happy yip she pelted into the beta male's legs with enough force to knock him over, giggling madly. 'Anafiel! I've missed you so much!' she exclaimed, turning her head up to look at him with anger flashing in her green eyes. 'You missed my ninth birthday!'she said indignantly. 'You promised you'd be there, too!'

'She was quite angry about that, I must admit,' the elder remarked as she made her way up the path, stopping in front of the two and bowing her head in respect. 'She raved about it for a week.' Skylark nodded in agreement, blowing a sharp raspberry up at Anafiel before burying her face into his lower thighs again, hugging his knees as hard as she could. 'I missed you,' she said quietly.

come.what.may

 

[- Child of Cirra -]

Anafiel had to regain his balance somewhat before he could place an affectionate hand on Skylark's head.
"Aw, I missed you too, dear." He gazed down at Skylark with his compassionate eyes, combing his fingers gently through her hair. A considerable amount of his own hair had fallen messily in his face though, for once, he seemed to pay it no mind.
She spoke the unfortunate news as if it were blasphemy, and Anafiel actually found himself feeling genuinely guilty.
He had promised.
Firefly's comments only made it worse.
"I did miss it, didn't I...?"
A pause.
He sighed and, removing his delicate fingers from Skylark's har, knelt down to get eye-level with the young girl. For a brief moment, he lost himself in her face. She was only nine, and already a charming young girl. When her beauty blossomed in full, he decided, she'd be quite the pack's heartache indeed.
Sweetly, apologetically, he touched her face before taking one of her tiny hands in both of his.
"I've no excuse, I'll admit. A promise is a promise, and I've done you wrong, my heart."
He bowed his head low before Skylark, and found himself forcing back a smile. He supposed it was well-hidden by his thick curtain of ginger hair but... He knew the joys children felt at being treated like adults, and he loved the idea of making Skylark happy. Her and Firefly both were very dear to him. They had been the first people to really welcome him into the pack, and they eventually gave him the confidence he needed to ascend as Beta.
"I owe you a boon, then. Anything you ask of me, Skylark, I shall do."
He looked back up at her, his eyes shining with earnest, his smile a comfort in itself.
He wondered sometimes what Firefly must think of his games. He shot her a quick glance, he smile widening as their eyes met.

 

[Yasula]

Syoke arched his eye brow as he watched Anafiel happily run like one of those school girls Syoke had seen before he came about this pack. He had a feeling this wolf had many differences that were unique. Quite interesting indeed. Syoke glanced over to Theo who had now allowed himself to just fall back down onto the ground.

"I'm Syoke and lets give Anafiel some time with his friends. Give them some privacy," Syoke stated calmly. He tapped the top of his shoe against the ground as he crossed his arms. He sighed noticing it was a couple of faes. Syoke really did feel uncomfortable when near faes. Syoke wondered if there were something wrong with him for being cold as he was to the females of his species. Syoke mainly just tolerated them. Although without them the species would have been long gone. To bad he was one of those who will not replenish the species next generation. Syoke soon glanced to towards Theo hearing a 'whoops' escape from his lips.

"What did you do?" Syoke asked. His brown eyes looked towards Theo not showing much emotion. Syoke was good at hiding what he was thinking. There were only a few who could see past his eyes and see what he was feeling. Syoke glanced back over to the two girls. One had white hair. This just reminded Syoke of his darling younger sister. He sighed as he looked away from them back towards Theo waiting for an answer. Syoke would wait in till Anafiel's business with the two girls was over before or he asked for them to come over before Syoke would move to walk beside Anafiel again.

 

[Collective_Day_Dream]

Theo cleared his throat. "Uhm. Nothing of importance," he lied, though his mannerisms changed not at all from his normal cool features. For just a moment his eyes had been differently colored, left black and right white.
Theo watched the assembled group below for one more moment, feeling oddly jealous of the smaller girl, before he turned away and went to his previous spot at the other edge of the rock. He sat, making sure no part of his bare skin touched the rock directly with a twinge of remorse. It was needed. He sighed.
Ever since the destruction of the main house of his old tribe more then ten years ago, Theo had not been able to loose control of himself while touching some form of rock without crushing something. He forced himself to watch the distance rather than focus on the rock.

 

[Shotgun Mouthwash]

The young pup watched Anafiel with careful eyes, trying her hardest to figure him out. It wasn't like him to be this nice to someone, that much she knew. So why was he groveling like he was now? But then again... what did it matter? He was being nice. That was all that mattered. And she planned on using it to her advantage. She turned to look at her guardian, who by now had her arms folded before her chest with an eyebrow quirked into her white hair. She had picked up on Anafiel's peculiar behavior as well, but didn't think on it. Firefly knew how deeply he cared for herself and her adopted daughter. He wouldn't even begin to think of pulling anything stupid.

When Firefly nodded her approval Skylark's grin widened, her head turning back around with her shoulder-length falling around her face like fire. 'Okay, I want two things,' she began, holding up two tiny fingers. 'One- I want a big basket of blackberries. And two- I want you to promise me you won't ever try to run off like that again.'

The first one Firefly had been expecting: she knew better than anyone how much Skylark loved blackberries. The child pretty much lived off of them these days. But the second one tugged at her heartstrings. Sure, she knew that Skylark had missed Anafiel, but to have her say it now made Firefly have to suppress a sigh with difficulty. She swallwed silently, a warm smile lighting up her face as she watched the two before her.

[OoC]Grr, short.[/OoC]

come.what.may

 

[Yasula]

Syoke watched Theo as he spoke about it being nothing of much importance. Syoke was not to sure about that but he would not pry in other people's business. The brown head soon moved over to the edge of the mountain looking down over the view. Anything to keep him from seeing the older fae speaking to Anafiel. Her hair reminded him to much about his sister's hair. He figured he was just missing his sister a bit today. He ran his hand through his hair as he stood there watching the view.

Syoke crouched closer to the ground. His arms rested on his knees as he looked out over the view. It showed trees and some of the water resources in the area. Syoke loved the view that heights gave you. Which was why he usually came up here but it would appear more and more people had headed their way up here. Usually Syoke would soon head back down but he had told the beta he would walk with him. Syoke would just wait in till Anafiel was done speaking with the two faes.

The brown haired brute could hear Anafiel speaking with the two faes behind him. Well he could hear them but could not make out what they were saying. Syoke found it odd how he seemed to have gotten nervous all of a sudden when more people started to show up. Maybe it was because he was not use to it. Well Anafiel had stated it was not often that he was blessed with good company in a while. Oh well maybe it was just the brute's lucky day or something. Syoke will have to find some place to relax after this. Syoke always got tense when there were more then enough people around him.

"Anafiel sorry to intrude on your conversation with the two friends of yours but would you like it if I just move along? It would appear you have your hands full at the moment. If not I can wait," Syoke said calmly as he stood up. He had turned to face the red head who was quite interesting. Syoke may have to seek out his company a few times after this. It would be nice to learn more of this foreign wolf.

 

[- Child of Cirra -]

(( OoC : Nnnuh, who cares? I gotz tha writa'z block. XD; ))
(( Plus, it's taking me forever to reply because of all the other damned RP's I'm replying to... DX ))

Anafiel's reaction was much like Firefly's.
He blinked, puzzled.
He'd expected some completely innocent request, and that much she'd given him.
But the second...
...the odd aura of seriousness that clung to her words made his smile falter somewhat.
He hardly knew what to say.
"Skylark, heart..."
He paused, unexpected emotion threatening to overwhelm him.
Blessed Elua's kindness was at work.
Acting on impulse, Anafiel took Skylark's face in his hands and gave her a sort of fatherly kiss on her brow.
"Alright. I'll get you your blackberries as soon as I can." He smoothed some hair out of her face and tucked it tenderly behind one of her ears. "By sundown tomorrow at the latest. I promise. And..."
He sighed, struggling to find the words to continue.
"I apologize for... for running off." He smiled, though there was a subtle sadness behind it. "I needed some time for myself. I guess I got a little homesick and..."
He shook his head.
"It was awfully selfish of me and... Yes, I... I promise I won't do it again."
He meant every word in earnest, though he didn't really expect either of them to entirely believe him.
Why, he wondered, did he feel like he owed these ladies so much?
Syoke diverted his thoughts elsewhere as he addressed him, and Anafiel reluctantly tore his eyes away from Skylark's to meet his.
"Oh... I'm... I'm sorry, I'll... I'll catch up to you later, lad. I have unfinished business with her ladyship"
Giving Skylark a final pat on her head, Anafiel hoisted himself up from his kneeling position. His mess of bangles chimed noisily as he flipped his hair over his shoulder. He smoothed his skirts and composed himself quickly, dipping his head Syoke's way. It was a polite form of dismissal, as well as his acknowledgement of his departure.

 

[Collective_Day_Dream]

Theo felt his eyelids start to droop oddly. What a weird time to be tired! Ah well, he could always converse with the locals later, he odviously needed some sort of rest at the moment. He transformed easily into his wolf form, who had two different colored eyes and the same brown hair that its human counterpart had, and curled up in his spot with his long tail covereing his nose. He fell asleep instantly.

[[Gotz ta go. Bye!]]

 

[Shotgun Mouthwash]

The elder wolfess stepped forward, placing a hand on Skylark's shoulder. It was difficult to say exactly what was running through her head at the moment. On the one hand, she wanted nothing more than to take the young pup and hug her. But on the other hand, she wanted to burst out laughing at the thought of the beta wolf hunting for blackberries for the adopted runt child of an elder. The entire situation was just... funny.

It was a relief in the elder's mind to see that Skylark had a father figure in her life. After all this time, she finally had someone other than her mother to look up to, and that could only do good in her life. The small pup watched him stand, eyes never leaving his as if she feared he might evaporate from right in front of her. 'There's a big thicket of them in a clearing about a mile off the spring,' she replied. 'That's where I go when I want some blackberries.'

'Yeah, and when is that not the case?' Firefly mused. Countless times Firefly had turned around, only to discover her pup had snuck off to her clearing yet again. The elder had just begun to expect it at that point. Not like she minded. There were worse things she could be doing, after all.

come.what.may

 

[Yasula]

Syoke bowed his head politely as well before he would take his leave. He reluctantly started down the path leaving the busy beta to his unfinished business. Syoke honestly did not want to leave wanting more time to speak with Anafiel but that could not be helped. Syoke now found himself calmly walking down the path to leave the mountain. Syoke would have to come visit Anafiel the next day or so when the beta went up to pray to his gods. Syoke must say the brute had some unique atmosphere about him. To bad he was to busy for Syoke to speak with him. That would be expected with having an higher rank after all. Although Syoke was not worried he would just seek out the beta tomorrow or something.

Syoke was not sure where he would head to next. Maybe to the hot springs. It would be nice to relax his muscles for a bit. Syoke had not been to the hot spring in a while. It might be wore it heading to there. That was of course if it was not to crowded. Syoke hated it when it was too crowded. More often then not when that happened he would just leave and find some place to have a nap some where. Syoke enjoyed living a bit of a simple life. Although when he had duties he would tend to them taking them serious. Just when he had the time to spare he would just relax and seek out places where it was quiet and where he could enjoy himself. Syoke never knew why he was like this but he did not mind his life. Only few catch his interest that he would want their company.

When Syoke got further away from the group he soon changed into his wolf form. He was much faster in this form. He shook his brown with white fur. He glanced up towards the top of the mountain before heading down in a slow trot towards his next distention. Syoke perked his ears up listening to the birds calling among the trees. He really did enjoy watching the nature around him.

 

[- Child of Cirra -]

Anafiel smiled down at Skylark affectionately.
"You read my mind... I was just about to ask you where in the world I was supposed to go a-hunting for your precious blackberries."
He pondered the child's words a moment.
"Hm. The clearing..." He met Firefly's eyes, trying to derive what comfort he could from the wisdom therein.
The brilliant topaz specs within his own eyes had dimished to a dull, grave shade of orange.
His voice dropped somewhat.
"You haven't... I mean, you haven't by chance seen Alcuin there, have you?"
It'd been some time since his adopted son had shown himself, and Anafiel had the nagging paranoia that maybe, just maybe, for whatever reason, Alcuin was avoiding him. The thought of the pup feeling any sort of disdain toward him whatsoever made Anafiel's stomach drop.
Perhaps that's why he was so nice to Skylark when she was around.
Skylark was... different, though...
Alcuin had never hugged him like she had.
...
Naturally, guilt formed a lump in the back of Anafiel's throat.

 

[Shotgun Mouthwash]

The elder could sense the younger beta's guilt building and right away knew what had triggered it. If perception was a tangible element, then Firefly's eyes would be made of the purest of that substance. She had heard from various other wolves in the pack about his young son. Firefly herself had never met him, but if he was anything like his adoptive father he was nice eno--

'Alcuin?' Skylark repeated, halting her mother's musings in a moment. 'He sounds familiar... I think I've seen him before.' Being a fellow pup of the pack, Skylark was bound to have seen him somewhere or other. And the name really rang a bell somewhere in the back of her mind... but she was finding it rather difficult to put a face with a name. There were quite a few pups that ran around the pack, and to pull one specific name from nowhere would be quite a feat indeed.

Skylark furrowed her eyebrows, one hand resting on her chin and the other cupping her elbow as she thought, olive eyes falling to the dirt at Anafiel's feet. 'Hmm... I know I've seen him somewhere,' she murmered as she pondered, nose wrinkling slightly.

come.what.may