The Sapling ((Tagged))

[Fierfly]

((@shiver))

Epsilon:

The brisk Autumn air was welcome with the determined sun still shining down on him. Summer was hanging on, but she couldn't last for much longer. When he'd woken up that morning there had been a light, mystical frost on the ground leaving intricate patterns of ice on startled green blades of grass. His breath had puffed out in misty clouds, steaming from his nose and mouth. Oh yes, summer and warmth could try, but it was time for Winter to be on her way and little could stop that. The silver male quickly dunked his head under the cold, clear water of a small creek on the edge of the grove, letting the red stain of lifeblood wash away. A fresh kill now lay beneath the roots of the old tree in Canopied Clearing: a hare, given away by the premature white of his coat and a pheasant for his own stash was already tucked away in his den for a stormy day in freezing rain when nothing was out and he was trapped in his den.

Brr!!! The water was getting cold! He pulled his head back up and quickly shook off the excess liquid running down his face in the traditional canine manner. He'd be dry in a few minutes with the fierceness of the sun and with how brisk the breeze was, so he didn't too much concern himself with drying off. Instead he headed back to his den site, to do what he wasn't entirely sure now that he'd been off hunting - there wasn't much else to do with his den finally completed and he really wasn't much for standing around jawing - although he probably out to have made more of an effort to get to know his packmates, he simply didn't think much for that priority.

Reaching his little hole under the boulder he studied a perfectly smooth face of the stone and cautiously put his paw on the slate surface. A thin carpet of ice appeared from under his claws, finely covering the smooth patch in a delicate sheet of white. Bony, white fingers of crystal grappling out, reaching for more domain. He had a lot to learn yet before he could quite master the power of ice.

He backed away from the boulder, looking around for a few minutes. No one around, no possible accidents with practicing. He firmly set his right, forepaw down in the grass, creating another spiderweb of fine ice. He stamped his left, rearpaw down in the same way, another patch. As his left forepaw set down a spurt of icy flakes shot upward, slowly falling back down like premature snow. It quickly went from patches to spurts as he tried out his newfound ability to send the fine shots of ice flakes into the endless blue sky.

[Deleted]

Three colorful paws padded confidently through the leaf strewn forest, usually quiet steps revealed by the noisy crunching and ruffling of dry brown and yellow leaves. It was late autumn and every last tree had fallen from the saplings found here in the grove. Their barren branches gave the sky a net-like tattoo of barbed-wire branches; hedging in all who lived under its canopy. And so Amora returned home, to stay. She had often wandered in and out of her mothers parklands, not too attached to anything about it. Yet...she came back still. Upon chatting with the Gatling Epicenter, she had rekindles her desire for power and acceptance. And so, she vowed to go home and stay, hopefully becoming a valued pack member. She had missed the pack hunt, but she could still challenge authority. Most wolves in Secluded Sunrise lacked a power, she could win a rank easily. That is, if Blaise gave in to instinctual pack structure. Amora found it difficult to muster up respect for hermit her, even if she was Alphess. The black wolfess could only see the shattered, nervous wreck that was Alphess Blaise.

Before Amora could even begin to fulfill her ambitions, she had some unfinished business. The sunset swirled shewolf strode towards a den, eyes narrowed. It was going to happen. "So we meet again." She growled. This was it, the moment her trek had been leading up to. The great confrontation. She swished her tail with anticipation, her power mark glowing fiercely, and-

Turned towards a tree.

"Still perfect." She smiled, tossing her head dramatically. She then turned her attention to the wolf she had passed on her destiny stroll. "How's it going Epsilon?" She barked. "Is it really snowing?" He was looking well, still alone at his old stone den though. She turned her pointed muzzle towards the clear, cold, sky, not a cloud to be seen. She furrowed her brow and then inspected Epsilon closer, finding the clues she needed. "Ah! A power!" She mused with curiosity. Ice...Sheba apparently saw something in him to give him that power. The same power the notorious Fjord possessed.


(Ehhhhh good enough. Fierfly )

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

The icy dance was reaching an apex - he was moving from paw to paw so swiftly now that the snow was coming down steadily and realistically - had there been any clouds in the sky, it almost could have passed for real snow, but the sky was blue and clear and the snow was his own. The giant, silver male reared back on both rear paws, nearly doubling his height and reaching for the flakes. Willing his claws to frost over as he slashed at the gently falling crystals. As another wolven scent permeated the air and a voice reached his ears he lost his concentration and balance and stumbled back. He nearly fell onto his backside before quickly twisting around and straining his shoulder in a way that he was sure to feel the next day to land on all fours. Turning around quickly he caught sight of a surprisingly familiar face.

"Botanist Amora!" some innate respect dictated the need to give the young she-wolf a title, although she didn't truly have one. Perhaps it was her strong resemblance to her mother, or maybe her own fire and will that he respected, he wasn't entirely sure. It had been quite some time since he'd seen the young botanist, their last conversation had ended in nothing but questions from Amora for her mother and had not exactly gone well...but it was the most conversation Epsilon had made with any of his pack mates and thus their friendship (if it could be called that) was a special one. "Welcome home," He wasn't entirely sure if the rogue daughter still considered her mother's pack home, but she returned consistently and he felt justified with the greeting.

He too looked skyward and Amora turned her freckled face to study the source of the precipitation and he smiled and let his power mark along his spine glow and he reared up again, causing more snow to come down to demonstrate the source. He came down lighter this time and nodded to affirmative. "Things are going well, thank-you, and no, it is not snowing." a shy, rare, old smile tugged at the corners of his maw, she knew it wasn't, it didn't take long for her sharp mind to figure things out, but it had been ages since he'd talked or teased and he was feeling lonesome for it. "I probably haven't been practicing as much as I should though, I'm still trying to figure it all out." He let a fine cover of frost make sleeves over his front legs and down to his paws where simple, enlarged snowflake shapes emerged. He looked down at his paws and contemplated what more to say - his good mood wavered somewhat as the magic left him and he remembered. The brief smile left and the familiar heaviness filled his eyes again, there was nothing more he needed to say. He let the mark dim back to its original blue and the ice slowly began to melt, the snowflake patterns he'd been so proud to have accomplished broke and gave way under the heat to the water it was made of, melting off the crystalline substance like tears.

[Deleted]

Amora nodded, giving a smile as she watched the premature flakes fall from the clear sky. Ice surely was an interesting element, cold, graceful, deadly in excess, hard, fragile, meltable. A very curious thing. She approved of Sheba's choice, it fit Epsilon with keen accuracy. "You'll get the hang of it."it really helps if you're in a life threatening situation. Amora reminisced bitterly about her grand battle against her brother. It was so long ago, the day she lost her left leg. But today was different. Today the constant reminder would be somewhat lessened. She was going to make her peg leg. With this here tree. "Speaking of practice," The young shewolf began. "I'm going to finally cut this darn tree down, and make myself a new leg." She puffed out her chest, eyes narrowing as an idea graced her cunning mind. "Hey, whaddya say we have a sort of contest. We'll go one move at a time. Who ever makes the final cut wins." She grinned, a thick root spiraling up from the earth, ready to take a turn lashing at the trunk of the tree. Hopefully Epsilon understood her little game. Perhaps afterward they could even spar. Amora wouldn't hurt him, well, not on purpose anyway; if he gets a little scratched up...she could always heal him. Although the it certainly was not her strong suit, she could try. She had only ever treated two stranger wolves by the Amoux Creek, and she wasn't even sure whether they had survived.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

He looked up in surprise at Amora's confidence in his abilities and to study the tree she was referring to. The one she'd marked at their first encounter - so that's what she'd wanted it for! Could one make a limb from a tree? ...There was certainly no reason why not: wood was durable, yet this sapling was young and still flexible, perfect for a prosthetic leg! With her botany she could tie it on with vines or even stitch it on with thorns if she cared to make it that permanent or go through the pain to make it so. Clever she-wolf. Amora's dark eyes lit up and then narrowed playfully with challenge and he could feel his own interest stirring as well. Again the icy blades graced his claws and fine, dusty frost crawled up his fore-legs. "You're on," his formal tone disappeared and an innate friendliness from his pup-hood emerged for the first time in years. A fuller, playful grin completely erased his shy, mild one from before and the sapphires lit up with their own light of interest. "Ladies first," he insisted graciously, stepping around Amora for his own clear view of the sapling so it made a triangle between them: he and Amora on one end and the sapling as their mutual focus.

[Deleted]

Amora grinned as her challenge was accepted. She hadn't known Epsilon was to relaxed. Before, he had displayed careful respect, even a bit of distancing. It appeared to Amora that he was becoming much more familiar with the pack and pack relations while she was absent. It pleased her to see that he was becoming more involved with the pack. Her pack. Her deep amethyst eyes glinted as her power mark glowed a bright green, creating a contrast with the environment. The root curling in front of her grew in length, slowly finger size thorns protruded from its tip, like a whip. With a small grunt she flung the root at the sapling; end wrapping around the trunk, burying huge thorns into the flesh. Amora pulled back, weapon becoming loosened from the trunk. There were four visible puncture wounds in the trunk, as well as some missing bark from the abrasive whip. "You're next." The black shewolf smirked.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

Amora's deep purple eyes were set a twinkling as he accepted and took his own stance for their little competition and he almost wondered how long it had been since he'd actually had fun. Thank goodness he had no time to linger on it and Amora skillfully summoned a thorny root and lashed it at the sapling. Four holes and some missing bark - "Not bad," he admitted, obviously someone had been practicing, and for some time. He concentrated for a moment: he had to be strategic about this, Amora's power was a little more physical and durable, ice was somewhat more fragile and he had no idea of his reach yet. Well...now was a good time to find out.

He rose up on his rear legs and came down hard on all fours again, his claws clenching and grinding in the cold, barren soil and a fine trail of crystal traveled from his paws, up the trunk to Amora's cuts and then hardened, several finger-thick icicles protruding both into and out of the icy ring. He willed the cold to end a few seconds later and the ring slipped off under the heat of the overbearing sun still determined to warm summer. More bark was peeling back, he'd deepened one of Amora's punctures and started a small gouge of his own about the size of a hazelnut. "Your turn,"

[Deleted]

Interesting...not the approach Amora would've taken. If she had the power over ice, she would've flung icicles at the trunk. Just being around Epsilon she was learning more about him. Such as the unique way his mind works. From what she had gathered he takes a more subtle and strategic approach, not using a large amount of energy, yet making the same effect. He used the wounds already created, a mind like this could be used well in strategic battle planning...the dark shewolf raised an eyebrow in response before reading back her own weapon. She glared icily at the thick, barbed, root. Power mark glowing she flattened the appendage, thinner...thinner. Until the root became nearly completely flat, it now had acquired sharp blade like sharpness. With a wicked grin she split it into two. Rearing the organic machete back she whipped it forwards. It grasped onto the trunk like the fangs of a viper, slicing into its flesh, merging several holes into one long, deep, gash.

"Your turn ice princess."

With a toss of her pretty, severe head, and a lash of her luxurious glossy tail she released her grip on the trunk.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

Amora was not overly impressed with his method, but he did see a flicker of interest and playful curiosity in her eyes, so he was sure his approach was not entirely useless, just unusual. He could live with unusual. Ice in itself was unusual, at one moment cold and hard and immovable and at the next refreshing and moving as water. Not many other physical things could change so much so quickly, thus he decided than an unusual approach only made sense for so strange a matter as ice.

She flattened one of her thorns into a virtual blade and vigorously swung it at the tree. Ooh! That was going to be a good mark towards the end of this little competition. It cut deep into the flesh of the tree and connected her other four punctures into one deepening line. Interesting.

"Your turn ice princess." her voice was taunting and playfully competitive, or maybe not so playful, just definitely competitive. She tossed her head and lashed her tail energetically as she retraced the vine. Sassy wasn't she? Very sassy...this was going to be fun.

He quirked his eyebrow at her little stir-up and bowed down into a playful position facing the target. Maybe a steadier tool wasn't such a bad idea. Of course ice was too fragile to be that steady and he didn't have the control to hold and throw and retract anything the way Amora did, but he could improvise. His claws tensed again and dagger-like shards of ice jumped from between his toes and thudded into the tree's trunk. He wasn't sure how deep the lacerations were, but the tree was distinctly beginning to quiver now with their efforts. "Ready to give in yet?" his own voice was dangerously between seriousness and jocularity as his own dark eyes twinkled and his mouth curled back in a friendly snarl of challenge.

[Deleted]

Amora watched with quiet fascination the way his face moved when he was strategizing. His brows lowered over his piercing eyes that gleaned with the intensity of his thoughts, and his muzzle remained poised and still. She admired the hewolf from where she stood. He was a good accessory to the pack, she wondered how he had performed in the pack hunt..perhaps they could chat on a later date. Her dark orbs flickered over to the tree as a sort of hissing noise announced that Epsilon had made his attack. Glassy icicles were embedded in the trunk, causing the punctured sapling to shake and shiver with, what Amora would like to imagine was, anticipation and fear. As a botanist, Amora could nearly hear the whispers of the forest, and this tree seemed to be anticipating its new purpose as part of her.

"Not bad..." Amora mused, tapping the frozen earth with her gleaming ebony claws. She could cut and stab as they had done the last few times, or...she could crack....this wouldn't sever the top from the stump, but it would help. Narrowing her eyes, she caused thick, new, green vines to worm their way from the earth. They emerged and stretched, their bottoms dotted with tiny gripping hooks. With a yip, Amora lashed the tendrils forward, tearing up the earth and wrapping around the trunk just above the multitude of incisions. She grasped the end of the vines in her jaws and tugged, making sure the ends would hold fast. With a grunt she tugged harder. With a creak, a groan, and a snap, the top of the tree began falling towards her slowly. Amora leaked out of the way as its branches thudded where had stoid. With a triumphant pant she examined the place where the wood had torn, still connected by a chunk of wooden fibers. "Make the cut Epsilon." She commanded eyes excited."[/b] While she knew she had lost, she had won a new leg.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

The botanist admitted his tactics "weren't bad". He let himself grin a little more easily, begrudging of compliments? Proud and sassy, this was getting more interesting all the time.

She bid vines up from the ground once more, but no longer embedded with thorns - they looked more like the hooks of burrs, but stronger, longer, and bigger, definitely bigger. She flung the line around the shuddering sapling and pulled until it cracked - now wait a minute...was that cheating? Mm...no. Come to think of it they hadn't really laid down any rules and as far as he was concerned this was more than fair play for her to use a line. She nimbly skipped out of the way of the falling tree and beamed in triumph. It briefly crossed his mind if she even needed the artificial limb since she seemed to be getting along so well without her original one, but this was Amora's tree and Amora's choice. She wanted it, he'd help her with it, little more to the story than that.

She beamed and turned over the honor of making the last incision to him. In response he took the vine she'd dropped and firmly twined it between his two paws and concentrated. Just as it had the first time his frost trail inched up the trail he'd chosen of vine and onto the tree, but this time icicles didn't just grow out of the ring around the last few strips of bare wood. As he heard various strands in the fibers still clinging snap he willed the ice-ring to grow tighter and tighter, severing the tree by holding it. It was hard, he had to both have the ice melt and freeze it closer and closer to the wood and deeper and deeper into the various punctures they'd been making as the game had gone on and at one point he felt his eyes roll back into his head with the strain. But finally there was one more crack and it sank in defeat to the ground, the sapling had fallen.

"Victory," he turned a little sheepish as he realized he'd said that aloud. Whoops! He hadn't so liberally voiced his thoughts since...since he was a pup. Hoping Amora hadn't been paying enough attention for the comment to register he nodded to the fallen tree. "Congratulations, you're well on your way to getting yourself that new leg."

[Deleted]

Amira looked on, deep violet eyes flashing in the late autumn lights. The older male seemed to be shaking slightly as his power Mark glowed fiercely. It occurred to her now, that Epsilon had just received his power; this endeavor wasn't as effortless for him as it was for her. And yet, here he was winning the competition she herself had set into motion. He would truly become a talented and powerful wolf with practice.

She watched the way he thawed and froze the ice. The ring dug and ground into the heart of the tree like a deadly parasite biting into its host. She gazed in slight admiration and increased respect when Epsilon finished off the sapling. "Great job, Epsilon." He was truly resourceful and clever, truly an asset to the pack. Right then, Amora made the goal to meet every new wolf in the pack and assess their skills and personality herself. Perhaps then she could aid her mother in advising who should occupy which rank. Of course Blaise had seen first-hand a handful of wolves work together in the pack hung. She regretted missing the event, but Amora would find a new and better way to display her strength and talent.

Tugging the fallen trunk away from Epsilon's den, she thanked him "Thank you, I'll see you around then, eh?" She eyed him with a sort of appraising promise in her deep gaze. Without a second glance she padded proudly into the trees, tugging the sapling behind her.

(I'm not exiting the thread, but she's pretty much done with the interaction unless he pursues conversation.)

[Fierfly]

(Unfortunately my little turkey isn't much for conversing)

Epsilon:

Victory indeed - they'd just felled a sapling - Amora could cut it down, shape it and fit it to her own liking and whim now as she pleased - they'd just conquered a tree. The wise, old trees, guardians of the forests, they'd felled a sapling.

Victory was understandable.

Amora just stood there and smiled at the sapling for a while, tail quivering ever so slightly with satisfaction or moving in some graceful brushing swish, not overly emotional about the accomplishment. He couldn't help but smile - victory in deed. He'd won...they'd won.

"I won!"

He almost looked up - the words seemed so real as if he'd actually heard them. But he knew they hadn't been spoken nearby, but a long way away along Amoux Creek, many seasons ago. The sun seemed to fade at that moment and grow cold rather than the insistent, energetic warm it had been moments before. A brisk wind blew up and he shuddered even under his thick shag that was coming in over his sleek summer coat as the weather changed. How he missed hearing that voice. He paused and studied Amora again, unable to resist comparing the owner of the voice and this victor before him. Both sleek, light, determined and feisty in their own rights. But Amora was darker in color and attitude, slightly cynical even here or there, the violet jewels of eyes from her mother held determination and seriousness, power, worry, and pride. The green ones he missed so dearly had been light and playful, contradictory, teasing, eagerness and hope for what laid ahead. Now a laugh haunted his mind and he shook his head again. He couldn't remember - he couldn't handle it right then.

Amora thanked him again for his help and began dragging her prize off to be polished to her desires. She almost paused as if waiting for him to continue. He nodded once and turned in the other direction. "Of course," the mellow, subdued tone was back in the words. "Later Amora..." and his own paws carried him quickly, swiftly out of the grove.

-Exit Epsilon-

[Deleted]

Amora sat, looking on at the trunk laid before her. Her friend Eclipse had helped her fell the tree in order for her to craft a peg leg of sorts. But now that it was set before her, she didn't quite know how to do that. The young shewolf narrowed her deep purple eyes and let out a snort of frustration. She had a few ideas, but there were still engineering kinks to be sorted out. Bending over the wood she examined its thickness. She needed a flexible part, but not particularly bendy. She didn't want to see herself trying to walk on a bendy leg. She flinched. How humiliating. Amora shook her head free of the vision before setting to work.

She chose a length in the middle of the trunk. It had a strong woody center with a younger, more flexible outside. After taking a deep breath, Amora began to alter the wood. She had never tried morphing plants that were separated from their roots before...she had created a hybrid plant to do her will, but that was a completely random occurrence. The black shewolf's power mark glowed green against her sleek pelt, and the wood began to shape. The two ends of the length became thinner and thinner until finally the segment became free of its upper and lower bonds. Amora narrowed her eyes before begging be to strip the bark off, revealing the pale flesh beneath. Using her power once more, she began to morph the thinner end into a vaguely paw-shape. Amora didn't want to exhaust all her energy trying to make it pretty, and she couldn't quite use her power with that much finesse. The shape of the peg leg looked to be sufficient and so Amora began the most nerve wracking part; connecting it to her stump.

She had thought of seeing it to her flesh like she stitched up Darlin and his sister, but thought better of it. She wasn't sure how her flesh would react to plants weaving through it. And so she decided on connecting it with a series of straps and buckles. However, after exhausting her power so often in that day, Amora felt the need for a nap.

-halfway through the next day-

Amora awoke at noon, the sun high in the sky, the wind crisp and cold as it shushed through the trees. Her deep purple eyes opened slowly, then brightened as she remembered her task from the night before. She had slept a considerable amount and her energy was as good as it was getting. She didn't want to trek back to camp for food of hung anything until she had her new leg.

Excitement threatened to burst from her pelt as she worked, using her power to shape wood into strong, flexible straps. Like a spider she weaved, melding the straps together into a harness. Then she began to tack the leg and the harness together. She summoned fibers up from the leg to hold together the straps. One strap was having a hard time sticking together, causing Amora to grit her teeth in frustration. All her botany attempts had been successful before!! After a painstaking hour, the harness was finally secured.

The alphas daughter gazed down at her creation with fascination, pride, and a smidgeon of fear. What would the pack think of such a strange appendage? Would they ridicule her? They already stared...Amora bit her cheek and hardened her gaze. It would serve as proof of her strength. A reminder that she could take on Mother Nature herself, and win.

Amora lifted the plant matter into the air using her power, before fitting the contraption onto her deformed body. Once all the straps were tightened to her frame, and the leg fitted to the remaining stump, She tried standing.

Wobble wobble whump!

She fell.
Her eyes were wide. She failed! No!
She tried again.

Wobble shake

She was struggling to stay standing, but her fierce determination kept her on her now four paws.

Wobble

She did it!!!

Amora was ready to take on the world!

-End thread-