Shadows (Tagged)

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

Autumn was slowly settling in. How he enjoyed this season. Her subtlety as she took Summer's place in life and her harshness as she dropped the earth like a bad habit into the cruel cold winter. Life was so much like that. You get comfortable and slowly things begin to change, often catching you off guard and then you're dropped into Fate's merciless clutches. Sometimes Lady Luck would smile on you, sometimes not. All of Life was an Autumn, always change.

His breath steamed from his mouth as he exhaled into the cool morning air. He shivered beneath his short coat. He'd noticed the other day that he was starting to shed his short, fine summer coat for an equally short, but thicker and heavier winter shag. The winter would be cold no doubt, he'd never seen a winter that didn't flood the valley with snow and cap the Mountain peak with ice. He enjoyed winter just as much as autumn, maybe more. Her cool mystery, the white beauty and then the white death. Autumn was of mystery, and Winter was a fickle lady, and both were Life as he knew it. Woe betide any youngster or even yearling striking out on their own in autumn, even second years had been claimed by the season of snow.

Such were his thoughts as he roamed through the forests. Another year had passed, couples and litters had come and gone or were selecting their dens still. He had to know what options were left to him for during his wanderings. He would set out to find out soon, but until then there was always the Ruins. They were usually empty to him, seldom did any other wolves claim it for their home. The forest there was too dense to be open to preferable hunting and the ruins made some of the wolves he knew afraid. The strange markings on the peculiarly, precisely shaped rock drove them away.

And so on occasion it became the home of the shadow, the home of the Renegade.

((@nadia))

[Deleted]

Azerath :

The young she wolf not even an adult had been wandering on her on. She didn't know what to do her mind numb for a moment. Her only thoughts were she needed to find shelter. Azerath had traveled for a while on her own her fur if at all was gain g a bit of thickness but not enough to rid the breeze that would blow through it. Which to her seemed cold already she felt cold, numb even it was only a few days ago her family dead, the image came to the pup's mind and she shook her head. She was growing tired and she needed shelter. She didn't know where exactly she was going but she knew not far from where she was was the Ruins. She knew it could offer shelter and she would use that shelter.

She arrived at the Ruins finding no wolves around. The she pup flicked her violet tail and crept slowly round and managed to find a spot for her to rest. She laid down quietly keeping her limbs close to her. She had about to doze off when she heard someone approach and her light blue eyes peered from where she was to see the older wolf. Her ears immediately flattened a bit afraid and she pressed herself against on of the ruins she had been laying next to. She watched him quietly. Azerath though stood out against the old ruins with her white-gray,black,dark black and purple coat.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

"Curious," a muffled scent reached his sharp, ever-searching nose. It was a wolf, and they were close. Renegade was surprised and somewhat chagrined. Usually scenting a warm body on such a cool morning was easy and he would have caught their scent ages ago. He shook off his initial surprise and raised his nose higher.

Female, young, not yet a yearling. Too young to be out on her own but he couldn't find any other scents in the air. A wanderer? Possibly, but so young? Young and foolish to be wandering in Autumn.

He followed his nose until the scent was less muffled and he was standing before the Ruins themselves. There, curled against the wall. Ears flat, barely breathing, hoping he would miss her but seldom did anything escape his ice-blue eyes.

Renegade strode forward, lowering his head so that his pale blue eyes connected with hers. He opened his jaw just a little, letting his sharp white canines show as he drew closer to the cub.

[Deleted]

Azerath:

The young female pup pressed as close as her small body would allow her to the Ruins. She didn't quiet see the male wolf but she knew he was there. She was a bit afraid. She hadn't much encounter other wolves before and being this was the first time fear set in. When the older wolf came to her with some of his teeth showing and head low. She felt her tiny tail quiver a bit and go between her legs. She started to try and back away a whining sound coming from the she pup"p...please don't hurt me " She said a bit afraid.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

"So she is alone," Renegade realized, "If she was traveling with someone she would have called for them," Renegade silently chided himself. He could be frightening to a cub, his wraith blue eyes and slinking black form was even eerie to some adults, he didn't have to scare the poor thing, although it certainly got him the information he'd needed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice low, and a bit more ominous than he'd intended. He was not accustomed to dealing with cubs and especially not in the Ruins.

The cub's pale blue eyes were wide with fright and could soon pool with tears if he wasn't careful. Her misty gray face looked ghostly pale in the early morning light, especially under her purple cape mark. Her paws and body were black and her legs the same misty gray as her face. She was still so small, and looking into her eyes, he could see an aching heart.

[Deleted]

Azerath:

The small pup looked at the male still frightened and eyes wide. She felt as if she was going to cry soon she was so afriad. Her blue eyes continued to look at the male older wolf a bit afriad. She didn't know what was going to happen and what she was going to do. She considered running away but she didn't know how far she could get. Probably not far. Azerath looked at him shaking a bit spots of water appeared at the small pup's eyes. Upon being asked the question of why she was hear she felt her voice shake as she said" I...I came h..here for s..shelter " She said a bit of a whine and somewhat of a whimper in her shaking voice.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

The male was somewhat flustered as beaded tears formed in the pup's eyes. She was scared that was certain, and he certainly wasn't helping things any. As she quietly whined out her explanation, he felt his heart soften a bit, she was only a cub. Lonely, cold, afraid, the Ruins weren't his and she had just as much right to be there as he did, but he still had so many questions. Why would a wolf cub be alone?

He growled to himself and hoped she wouldn't really cry, he really had been too hard on her, but he wasn't accustomed to working with pups! They were soft-hearted and fragile and innocent opposed to his rough, loner life-style. What was he supposed to do if she did start crying? Give her a kiss and tell her things would be okay? Not something he did very often. Today was turning out to be one of those days where he should have stayed wherever he'd been previously. Still, he never looked back and he wasn't going to now. He was going to deal with this cub somehow ... how he wasn't quite sure but he would.

"Don't cry," he failed miserably to make his gruff voice a little more friendly. "I'm not going to hurt you, and there's no law that says you can't come here so don't cry."

So fragile and small, surely someone had to be nearby! Abandoned cubs were not unheard of, but to abandon them right when the weather was turning harsh was unacceptable, even a basic code of honor forbid such cruelty to cubs. "Who are you? Where is your family or pack?" he crouched down and lowered his head to her eye level once again, this time he tried to soften his eyes and assure her he meant no harm, he just wanted answers.

[Deleted]

Azerath:

The young pup continued to look at the older wolf still afraid. What was she to do. She already knew she couldn't run,he would cat her and then what. She was quiet her whimpering still stayed. She had told him why she was there. She waited for something anything to happen,she didn't know what to expect. Though when he said for her not to cry she slowly blinked the beaded tears away slowly." Y...your not g..going to hurt me?"She asked her voice quivering. Looking at him she was quiet her tears were gone though she was a tiny but afraid not as much as she was before."m..my Name is Azerath " She spoke quietly before the question of where her family or pack was and she started to whimper loudly at the thought of it"t...they are d...dead " She whimpered looking at the older wolf.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

He hated himself for it, but his heart began to melt for the cub, she had his sympathy. "No Azerath, I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her as he tried the name out. It was beautifully chosen and danced on the tongue as it was said, surely her family had loved her very much.

Had loved her.

Dead. Her whole family dead. Suddenly, Autumn's change and Winter's chill were no longer so beautiful. They certainly weren't to Azerath. But it was life. It was harsh and demanding, you could only do your best to survive it. But she was still so young...she was good not to cry, he'd told her not to and so she didn't, even though she cried inside.

He shook himself. He was getting too soft. Other cubs had harder beginnings. Some were born in winter and starved when hunting was bad. Some lost their parents or were abandoned before they were weaned, Azerath had done nothing to earn his sympathy, but she'd found it anyway.

How to go about this? He just wasn't cut out for family or pack life! "I'm sorry about your family." he stared at her trembling little body. She needed to be out of the chilled morning or to be moving to keep warm, and she needed sleep and food. Wait a minute - why should he take the responsibility of her care on himself? He could easily take her to the lake or a pack and have her adopted by one of the females with litters of their own. He had no reason to care for her, but she needed to rest before trekking with him to a territory, he wouldn't carry her the whole way. He growled to himself again "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself. Renegade reached his muzzle down closer to her. "Come on Azerath, let's get you your shelter,"

Gingerly - terribly out of practice if he had ever been in practice - he closed his mouth around the limp fur protecting the scruff of her neck and picked her up. She was still small, but putting on good weight and growing healthily, he was certain he wouldn't be able to carry her to even a nearby territory. He picked her up, careful not to nip her tender flesh and carried her to one of the nearby ruins. He recognized this one, it had served as his den on more than one occasion, he had always gotten in by a square hole in the stone, but he'd had to jump to go through. Could he still make the jump with Azerath's added weight? There was only one way to find out. He gathered his haunches and jumped.

[Deleted]

Azerath:

Azerath blinked slowly looking up at him as he said he wouldn't hurt her. She blinked and nodded quietly" o....ok "She said quietly her ears lifted a bit from being pressed flat against her head. She bunched herself together to try to stop shaking. She was only shaking now because of the chill of the morning. The thought of her parents made her want to cry and would but she forced it away and she cried inside just wanting her mother and father back but it would never happen. "Its...fine you didn't cause them to go away " She said as a resort to avoid saying dead lest she break into tears. Azerath watched his muzzle move closer and she was quiet letting him come closer instead of her taking several steps back. She felt him grab the soft flesh just above her scruff and she let her body go limp as he picked her up. She was exhausted either way and was glad he was picking her up. She felt him jump soon and she closed her blue eyes as the landing.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

He'd made the leap cleanly and thumped softly as he landed. He surveyed his surroundings again, inside the strange den was a square room, several early stray leaves had already fallen in and littered the floor. There was still a covering over most of the structure, and most of the walls were still whole although a few other holes too small to leap through dotted near the ceiling where the rock had given away over the years. The room was small, and while the holes let the wind in, it was still warmer than outside. He selected a corner where pine needles had fallen in through the cracks, or perhaps been brought there by some other wolf over the seasons and set Azerath down, she was already asleep, physically and emotionally exhausted after her shock and fright.

"How do I get myself into these things?" Renegade growled to himself, what to do? He was now the care-taker of a cub! Him! A loner! He'd never had a family before, and he drew up a blank on how to go about caring for the pup.
He studied her again. Small, probably a runt, but she was nearly old enough to start learning to hunt if she hadn't started already. He would show her how to snare a rabbit or squirrel when she woke up, for now he would do the hunting. As he turned to leave another thought struck him, What if she woke up while he was gone and thought he'd abandoned her? She'd be heart-broken.

"Blazes!" he snarled under his breath, how did pack wolves do it?! She needed something to eat, but if he was gone when she woke up - could she make the jump to get out of the ruin? Probably not but the pain he would cause her - he was going soft, he usually didn't consider feelings in his daily activities.

Finally he returned to the small bed of pine needles. She'd subconsciously curled around herself for her doze to help conserve her body heat. He nudged her cheek gently with his nose, not enough to wake her completely, just enough so that she was aware. "I'm going hunting, stay here, I'll be back soon," as a precaution against a predator or stranger, he brushed some of the dead leaves over her sleeping body to hide her and leaped back out the window. He never looked back when he was leaving somewhere, and he wasn't about to start, but his thoughts lingered with the cub,

 ((Go ahead and post again with Azerath @nadia ))

[Deleted]

(Alright)

Azerath:

Azerath had already partially fallen asleep when they landed in the cave. The warmth helped her completely fall asleep as he had carried her. She felt him lay her down and instantly she started to curl up as if to keep what body heat she had left. She was glad to finally sleep and did. Though when she felt someone nudge her a bit the small pup was aware but not completely awake. When she opened her eyes slowly she looked at the older wolf and she just nodded sleepily and said very quietly"ok" before she laid her head back down and was asleep once again. Knowing that he would be back she slept comfortably not minding the leaves that were on top of her small body.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

Autumn was one of the best seasons for hunting. He wasn't too concerned about finding prey, that part would be easy, especially now in the early morning. A pheasant or a rabbit was always wandering around at dawn, thinking they would be safest this time of day. His concern was for the cub.

He snarled to himself again. How had he gotten himself into this mess? He was a loner, not in any position to be hunting for a cub, much less caring for one. Maybe he should give her a meal and send her off. He couldn't care for a cub, he didn't know how and she would never be able to keep up with him as he wandered. What to do? He'd really gotten himself stuck this time.

He suddenly crouched low to the ground and began to slowly creep forward. A nice, plump rabbit was nibbling at a late Summer leaf that still hadn't turned dry. It's ears twitched back and it broke into a run, but he was already on top of it and soon had the limp creature between his jaws.

Hunting for the pup wouldn't be any trouble, he never lived off of very much and he knew the ways of the forest well enough to find pheasants or rabbits often enough to keep her stomach full, but it wasn't just the providing that worried him. He just couldn't care for a pup, even if she was growing quickly, he didn't have the patience to teach a cub to hunt, to play with her, defend her. Azerath - next to everything absolutely necessary to survival - needed support. Something he couldn't give her. No, what she needed was a new pack, a new family.

Oh Blazes! So many questions about what to do with Azerath and not enough answers or options. Never mind. Let her rest. He would cross the bridge of decisions when he came to it, for now he wouldn't worry about anything. He carried the rabbit back to the den and re-entered the ruin. He dropped the rabbit near Azerath and selected his own corner for a doze. He didn't sleep as regularly as other wolves, sometimes he napped for a few hours at night, then woke up and traveled and slept again during the morning. He'd been up since mid-night to get to the Ruins and now he was being pressed with the question of what to do with the cub. He needed to escape the whirlwind, and the best escape was sleep.

He slowly closed his ice-blue eyes and drifted off to sleep.

[Deleted]

Azerath had been sleeping somewhat fine though as it usually did since she lost her parents, her sweet calming dreams turned to dark and haunting nightmares. At first the pup whimpered before it turned to whines before she woke up. She was more of startled and scared then calm but she then took notice of the warm smelling peice of prey in front of her and she sat up slowly and her tail wagged a bit. Momentarily forgetting her sadness as hunger outweighed it she started to take small bites from it. Taking her fill the greyish silver black and purple she pup looked to Renegade and slowly she moved to him and laid down.

[Fierfly]

Renegade:

Even when asleep, Renegade's ears always searched. The twin, black satellites twitched as they picked up the crying whimpers of a frightened cub. Instinct and responsibility demanded that he attend the cries, but just about everything else in him willed him to stay asleep, so he did for the most part. When the cries ceased his tensed muscles relaxed and he felt himself fall into a deeper sleep. He wasn't going to think about his situation right now, he just needed sleep and then he could face the questions pressing at him about Azerath.

The sounds of Azerath taking her meal from the rabbit he'd caught went mostly unheeded. She was old enough to watch after herself for a while, and he wasn't in any hurry to face her again. Soft paw-falls around the ruin was also mostly ignored, until they approached him. Only faintly aware of what was really happening, he felt a small bundle of fur curl up beside him.

He growled mentally as he slowly came out of his doze. What did she think he was - a cuddling magnet? His phantom blue eyes slit open and they roved over to the cub. Still young and innocent, simply curling up beside him to keep warm. He felt an involuntary smile flit over his face. "Don't get used to this," he mentally warned Azerath as he again relaxed and allowed himself to simply lounge and relax. "This is going to be a one-time allowance little Azerath. - Blazes! When did I start calling her that? Up on your paws you old Shadow, you're wasting time." he glanced at the pup again and felt his favorite interjection on the tip of his tongue, was she going back to sleep? Did he move and awake her or let her be?