With Nothing but the Sound of Breath (OPEN)

[Deleted]

Moonlight dappled over the forest ground. Mounds of earth, fresh and ancient, were painted silver by the light of the gigantic space rock. A she-wolf whose pelt was the color of the starless sky stepped noiselessly into the clearing. Golden streaks stretched down her sides, and her ice colored eyes took in her surroundings with nothing more than a blink.

Ba'ali had joined Eternal Snowfall after finally leaving her neutral and evil father and mother. She had not made many friends, but she had heard that the pack's ancestors were buried here. Ba'ali was a respectful wolf. She bowed her head by one heap of soil and closed her eyes. "I do not know which spirit is buried here. But, um, thank you? For helping... make this pack?" she said hesitantly. "I have not met anyone that, well, I haven't made any friends. But I feel at home, which, is, er, foreign. So..."

Ba'ali trailed off. Suddenly, she felt very foolish.

[Deleted]

Shiver was tired of a pack with no loyal wolves, she was tired of having no one to keep her company, tired of not having anything to do. She had set out, wandering the territory, hunting rabbits and the like in order to keep the food pile strong. Piala was old, maybe her mind was catching up with her body. Shiver still respected her Alphess, but maybe it was time to do some promotions, pass the weight over to someone younger, like that! The white, blue, and yellow shewolf perked up as she caught sight of a new member. She was young and looked healthy, though it was kind of odd to find her in the Tombs. And talking to one afterall. She supposed it was polite to pay ones respects, but Shiver found it strange. "Ho there, stranger. It is good to meet a new member. I presume you are a member yes?" She finished her sentence with a quizzical look, and a shadow of a growl. No intruders unwiliing to obey the packs rules and join had no place in these lands, much less so deep in the territory.

[Deleted]

Ba'ali jolted as the silence was lifted, moving faster than the lightning that adorned her pelt. She whirled to see a wolf that she recognized vaguely, but had not spoken to. Ba'ali dipped her head- clearly, from the authorotative way that this wolf spoke- she was speaking to a member of Eternal Snowfall. Ba'ali blanched at the menacing undertones of the wolf's words, and hurried to correct her. "I, yes, I'm a member," she assured her. "I joined only a few moonrises ago. I, well, I can imagine that you think I'm a bit odd," she admitted, shuffling her paws. "I mean, look, I'm a relatively strange wolf who has wandered into the heart of the pack and is speaking to a pile of bones. This is, honestly, not how I saw first impressions going. My name is Ba'ali. Would you give me yours?"

[Meds]

Sasha;

The newly aquired eye tattoo was glowing on Sasha's rump. It was usully black, so contrasting with his white fur, but when he was using his power, it glowed purple. It wasn't a bad colour—besides, Sasha certainly wasn't void of colour. His bright green and blue spots helped his white body to stand out in the snow, including his tail, underbelly, and around his ankles.

His tattoo was glowing because he was practicing. It wasn't a lot at first, because it made his head tired, but every time he landed on the snow as he loped, ice crystals and water droplets flung away from him. He found out that he could move small objects across the ground quickly and large objects more slowly, but very small things like pebbles or ice crystals, he could fling. He smiled as some more snow went flying as he galloped by.

Before he knew how far he had come into the territory, Sasha came upon two females at the tombs. He slowed his pace and his tattoo died back to black once more. One he recognized as Shiver, but the other he couldn't place. He walked in to the clearing of snow-covered bushes to meet them, not at all interested in hiding his presence. Not wanting to inturrupt, he simply nodded lightly and sat down, giving them both a warm smile.

[Deleted]

Castor

The bright male rolled into the snow, small, cold crystals collecting on his fur. His left eye went from its usual blue to bright red in alert. He moved as slowly as he could, careful not to alert any wolves. His black symbol on his shoulder and hip gave him an even more distinct wolf. "Agh, it'th tho hard to make my way around thuch thnow!" He growled, his lisp extremely audible. He cought the scent of three wolves, one male, two females. As if on instinct, he dove into a bush where the scents were stronger. He crawled his way through the snow slowly, seeing the unfamiliar wolves by some tombs.

[Deleted]

Shiver dipped her head lower as she introduced herself as indeed a member of Eternal Snowfall. Shiver's fur lay flat and her voice lapsed into an easy tone. She introduced herself nonchalantly, her bright golden gaze shifting as two males slipped into the now public conversation. "Shiver, i'm glad to meet some new members...it's been quiet here for that past seasons with my pups all grown up." The first was a pale male who resigned to speak. Shy? or just polite? The third sort of fell through a bush and into the snow, he too remained silent. With a flick of her tail, she invited them closer, each wolf having owned a small portion of the packs scent. Now that she was closer to Ba'ali she could smell it on her too.

[Deleted]

Ba'ali gave an internal sigh of relief as the she-wolf, Shiver, lost all signs of aggression. She was infinitely grateful to meet someone at last. Ba'ali cocked her head as first, a white, green, and blue wolf crept into the clearing, and then from the other side entered a wolf who had crawled through a bush. She waited politely for them to speak, but neither did, so Ba'ali returned her ice blue gaze to Shiver. "You have pups," she said, grasping for conversation. "I'm sure you were an excellent mother- are an excellent mother-" she sighed. "I'm sorry. Honestly, I have no idea how to compliment a mother." She let out a bitter laugh and flattened her long ears, determined not to bring up her roots, not here. The leggy blue wolf blinked at Shiver, then said, "They are still with the pack, correct?"

[Meds]

Sasha;

Sasha couldn't help but smile as another male came upon the group and said nothing, either. Shiver invited him closer without words, so Sasha moved forward. He still didn't want to intrude, but he had no real way to leave without being rude, so he sat.
"I'm Sasha," He said quietly, fixing Ba'ali with a smile. "Shiver," He added with a nod to the knowledgeable female. "I—I apologize about bursting in on you all like this. I was just out for a run-around. I'm reletively new to the pack as well and was just getting a feel for the place."

His eyes moved to the tombs, and he supressed a shiver that threatened to travel up his spine. He wasn't filled with fear; rather, he was filled with wonder. This was a place of deep and ancient power, and he could feel it. He was sure the others could as well, else they woudn't have been here for him to come across in the first place.
He held his tongue then, worried that he may have said too much. Instead, he waited quietly for one of them to respond or call on him—either one was fine, and Sasha was happy regardless.

[Deleted]

Castor emerged from the bush, his bright yellow fur gaining more of it's luster. "Hello, I'm Cathtor." he said, though it seemed goofy. "And, yeth, I do have a lithp." His now red eye faded to it's usual blue as he sat down. His odd markings made him a beacon, and his mind filled with clever escape routes if the chat got rough. His face showed nothing, however, as his life of making cunning escapes had pratically trained him. "I mean no harm, but I wath jutht curiouth of thith plathe." He said, his overbite showing as well, but he ignored it.

[Deleted]

Shiver shrugged. "They haven't really stuck around." She smiled at Ba'ali warmly, her golden eyes content but with a glint of sadness. That was to be expected, as most mothers did not stay long with their children. Still, she wished that out of six, more than one had stayed. Valor was around, growing up too. Perhaps someday she could see him get a mate. Ba'ali was just a little too old for him, so nothing of that sort could come o this new acquaintance. "It is good to meet you, Sasha, Castor." The large, white shewolf dipped her head to the two males as they introduced themselves. Sasha seemed like a very pleasant wolf, reserved and intelligent. Castor seemed kind behind that cheekiness. He had announced that he had a lisp, as if avoiding the embarrassment of others pointing it out. He seemed very street smart. Ba'ali was sweet and could be trained up into the strategy of rhetoric and diplomacy. Shiver could definitely work with this group. "It's nice to meet you all, and, i dare say i believe that we may all end up good friends." Her intelligent eyes flicked over each of them, meeting each gaze in turn.

[Deleted]

Ba'ali blinked as the two wolves introduced themselves. She noted certain things about each wolf to help her remember their names. Ba'ali never felt more awful then when she had to ask someone to repeat their name when they had obviously told it to her before. Castor- Cathtor. Sasha's got that eye on his rump, and Shiver's white. Snow. Snow makes you shiver.

Ba'ali dipped her head to Sasha and Castor. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Ba'ali."

The blue she-wolf's white tipped tail raised slightly as Shiver's scruitnous gaze flicked over each of them in turn. She was absolutely blown away at her next words- they could be friends? In Ba'ali's experience, making friends consisted of a lot more bloodshed than had gone down in the tombs.

Her ice blue eyes were wide, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that, yes, these were exactly the sort of wolves she would want to be friends with. Sasha seemed to be respectful and well spoken. Castor seemed to be straightforward, a trait that she admired. And Shiver was clearly intelligent, although whether it was from years of wisdom or a natural aptitude Ba'ali was not certain.

Ba'ali ran her tongue lightly over her teeth before responding. "I would be honored- you see, I've never had a group of friends before," the yellow-streaked she-wolf admitted, ducking her ears slightly.

[Meds]

Sasha;

Castor introduced himself, and stated the most obvious thing about him for all to hear. Sasha supposed everyone had heard it anyway, but what was the harm in saying it outloud? Maybe stating that he had a lisp made him more comfortable—as if he didn't want anyone to think he was trying to hide it and failing. Sasha gave him a warm smile.
"It is certainly a place intertwined with curiosity." He said, his voice deeper than the others. He was the largest of the four meeting there, noticably in bulk and only slightly in height, but he didn't seem so. Shiver seemed the largest, with her big personality and knowledgable aura. Sasha rarely seemed as large as he was because he never used it to his advantage. He travelled across the land with a quiet grace, trying not to upset anything or anyone. For the most part, he suceeded.

Shiver suggested that they could be friends, and Sasha grinned. He hoped so. Then Ba'ali, though she looked confused for a fraction of a second, said she would love to be friends, and that she had never had a group of friends before. This made Sasha raise his eyebrows. He chose not to comment on it, but he would remember that. He wondered why she hadn't.
"I certainly hope we can be." His blue tipped and green-speckled shuddered behind him. He made eye-contact with Shiver for a second before dropping his gaze lightly and respectfully.

[Deleted]

Castor returned the smile, as he did seem more safe with all these wolves being passive. "Yeth, It motht thertainly ith." He stated, bright yellow tail swaying. "I'm thure we all could be friendth." His now blue eyes shimmered, though the left showed signs of changing back to the red it once was. "I haven't made any friendth thinthe arriving into thith thnow covered plathe," Castor paused, thinking of what to say, "which ith thurprithing becauthe look at me, I'm a beacon." He laughed, looking at the others. He made eye-contact with Ba'ali for a moment before looking away, his left eye changing into red once again.

[Deleted]

Shiver smiled gnetly at everyones comments. Castor was quite funny, she had needed some laughter, since her pups had grown she hadn't had a reason to. With a chuckle or two she dipped her head. "It is very haunting in a wonderous way here in the tombs. Many wolves lie here beneath our paws, in many ways the soul of Eternal Snowfall." The shining white and blue shewolf swept her yellow tipped tail towards Sasha. "I've hoped for many seasons that this pack would find it's way back and grow with the good hearts of the wolves in this valley. For a long time I've been alone here, everyone gone."