Conclusion~ Under The Moon

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Gemini
Adult Bluebird
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Conclusion~ Under The Moon

Post by Gemini »

Well a while back I had written a good chunk on my wolf in WEO, but it wasn't finished and it had always nagged me. So after returning to play, I think I have the rest to wrap it up, and post all of it on here!

This story, in my opinion, is quite the mouthful. Sorry :c And also, names are quite easily forgotten, especially pups', so no accuracy is guaranteed..

FIRST HALF~!

The first thing that really alighted in my senses was the sweet, warm smell, rich against the straw. It was contentable, alluring and comforting to my tiny little nares, which seemed to press against a soft feeling. It was easy to register the life around me, my siblings, nestled in the bowels of the den. I was still too young to even open my eyes, let alone hear the mewling coming from my maws and the soft murmurs from the figure at my nose. This lurking frame, curled around the nest, provided a secure and comforting feeling deep inside, allowing myself to nuzzle up on her belly and next to another pup. It seemed to be like this forever, cuddled next to four individual aromas, and the one smelling of milk and other various scents, from which always seemed to grow stronger each time she came back. And then one day, I could see her. A fuzzy, dark side laced with hints of steely gray and tan. Tenienon*, my mother. Surrounded by Chetan and Apollo, my brothers, and Sierra and Wennia, my sisters. Wennia was the smallest, cowering at my mother's large paws. She was easy enough to pick up, even on young, unsteady feet. So was Sierra, but already I was tackling and Apollo and Chetan, chewing on their noses and ears, pinning them. However, there was nothing more captivating then the bright, crooked circle that shone down onto the nest. Roots blocked it partially, but there was enough room for Tenienon to wriggle out and dissapear, often for hours at a time. It always perked up my siblings and I when she returned, covered in mysterious scents from the unknown. However, she would always pull me down when I tried to escape, struggling to find footholds on the dirt walls. So I kept to a strict routine of play, sleep, and milk.
It only seemed when the soil under the nest gradually warmed without being slept on did activity in the den increase. Our teeth had grown in, allowing us to tackle chewed up vension or even the occasional bone. And finally, did we meet our father Howlingwind. A hulking frame, a lot bigger than Teneinon, and completely black. Even his eyes were dark in the light of the den entrance as he slipped down the passage and came to sniff each one of us. Immediately, feeling prideful, I leapt on my father and tried to push him to the ground with ungainly paws and a fuzzy body. Of course, he did not give way, but in days to come in the summer heat I would push my father down and have first rights to whatever meat he brought into the den. All of us were moving quite easily now, no longer hindered by puppy fat but growing bones that made our legs long and our ears on the point of bat-like. And now, my mother finally didn't stop me from clambering out of the tunnel and into the world. The first thing I was to see was the towering cliffs that rested under a massive sky, reaching down to the ends of the plains, reflecting a large body of water down the hill from the den. The wind blew pale green grass, elk moving slowly through it on the boughs of the plains and lake, tall pines in the far ground. It was an amazing sight to me, and a fine place for a wolf pack. I slipped back into the den, content to revel in my sights while nestled between Sierra and Chetan.
The summer was drawing to a close, and it was evident that us pups would be leaving soon. Tenionen came less and less, and Howlingwind stopped by only to groom us. Chetan, the smallest of the male pups, often cowered at the edge. Apollo and I would bully him out of any scraps he would happen to pick up, and our sisters were no less merciful either. As the season grew long, Chetan wasted away until he was no more. He was the sustainment his siblings needed until we reached full maturity.

Four of us jostled each other to reach the den entrance. We were barely yearlings, but it was the season of changing leaves and Howlingwind had called for us. It was time to join the pack. As adults, we would hunt alongside each other, protecting the strip of grassland and lake, guarding the mountain den from Kaieri’s pack to the west. I ran out alongside Wennia, tail wagging lowly to greet our father, who stood down the hill among the boulders. My ebony muzzle was about to touch his lower jaw when he snapped, snarling and fur bristling. My immediate instinct was to respond to the challenge, but my father’s standing was below me. I had fought for his rank and taken it as a pup, all the while heeding his natural status as a disciplinarian and leader of my birth pack, but I wasn’t meant to be in it for my life. He had probably feared that eventually I would take over and force him away in his later years, driving him into solitude without younger wolves to look after him. This was probably true, I had no intention of keeping around weak links in any group I had. Turning away, I ran out across the plains, ignoring the low howls coming from my siblings. My paws lead me north, to new territory.
Thick forest lined the edge of the plains, covered in the call of bluejays and little sparrows, singing and flittering through the branches. I did smell a stale scent marker of a fae, but I had no intention of starting a pack. I decided to stay in the northern lands for awhile, exploring the new terra and splashing through the cool river. For a year I lived in solitude, straying from any chance to run into my kind. I hunted small prey and scavenged the catches of other predators, creating a small circumference of which I patrolled each day. It covered a waterfall and small plateau, away from the forest and in sight from grandeur mountains capped with snow. When the color of the trees of the river forest began to turn again I scoped out a place suitable for a young family. My mind was filled with ideas of raising a pack from birth, alongside a pretty silver fae, kind and just as inexperienced as I was. The cold drove me to fend off other lone males, fighting and scrapping over the littlest things. The only apt mate in my range was Whiteleaf, a recent widowed from a pairing with Owera, an older wolf. She was tough, often ignoring me when I would track her down the woods. Whiteleaf seemed more partial to Frosty then a two year old, who held the most dominant title. I planned to hunt him down and take that rank and prove worth to Whiteleaf, who was a lot older and wiser than me, not to mention I barely reached her shoulder.
However, I managed to take her as a mate and lead her back to the waterfall den. She seemed reluctant, and often hovered above the northern stream as I tried to coax her into the hole. Finally, Whiteleaf entered it at the end of the winter, a low growl in her chest. But our tiny pack was never destined to have the next generation. It was early spring, and I was lying on the peninsula between the waterfall creek and large river, underneath the single spruce tree on the bank. To the west, past brush and a small dip in the land was the water tumbling over rocks, boulders shading the den I had dug last winter. I had have been troubled by Frosty, who was slinking around my tiny territory, but nothing could distract me from the prospect of having a litter and continuing my young, nameless pack. And it was devastating. Whiteleaf slipped out of the den, right where I could see her, and climbed the waterfall rocks to disappear across the thawing meadows north. I jumped up, running across the water, tail curled in anxious curiosity. Frosty and Whiteleaf were greeting each other joyously, and were already traversing the gorge when I reached them. Angrily, I howled, but the two were across the canyon and slipping into the forest. Later I found out that Whiteleaf never gave birth to surviving pups, most likely stillborns or abandoned in the pines. I turned away from the rocky ledge, growling. I no longer had a pack, and I set my direction south to the lakes and its’ surrounding lands, leaving the waterfall territory behind.

In the warm time of summer, I collected several older males in a small and goalless band. Semo and Frosty (different Frosty) were loners and didn’t really seem to care about my little pack, but they were good scuffling partners to gain fighting experience. We roamed around the lake, taking down small bobcats and foxes. At one point, I managed to get a hold of a young goat calf, dragging her to a small enclave on the rocky lake coast. The mother was extremely upset, chasing after, but it was too late and I had pinned the baby out of reach. Gloating, I toyed with the goat, stupid enough to realize that it was able to escape. From then on, I was harassed by the goat’s mother and the herd, including the calf. A hoof managed to strike me on the muzzle, leaving a permanent scar on it. From then on, I strayed away from goats.

In the late season, I lead Semo and Frosty towards another wolf family. Kaieri and his mate Ursa were busy hunting and caring for five healthy offspring. His pack was always brimming with pups, it seemed. Malicious, I set Semo and Frosty on Kaieri while I snuck around in the tall grass, slipping into the den. Ursa was still in there, biting and snarling, and I tried to turn around in the confined space, only to run into Kaieri. I barely managed to escape, running out towards the lake. I was then met by my unloyal followers, who challenged me for my rank, even while I was bleeding and nursing horrible bite scars from my encounter. Infuriated, I disbanded the pack, leaving the older males near the lake and headed north again.

SECOND HALF-~
My second solo journey fared much better than when I had first left my natal pack. There was no sign of young, hotheaded behavior that had been present when I decided to leave my father's pack. And I was a rival to him now- reaching his size and muscular build, I had developed a strong coat riddled with the scrapes I had gotten myself into. Mature and reaching my prime, there was little that could stop me as I carved a hefty swath of territory to the west of the rivers. The waterfall provided a secure area to enlarge a badger den into a suitable nest, with plenty of rocks nearby to provide a sunny bed whilst watching over a fledgling pack. I began to recruit wolves, all who were sufficiently older and not nearly as powerful as me during my prime. My leadership would be secure and unquestionable. Wildbill and his rackety older sister, Xao, were my first aides. I could feel the thump of three tremulous paws against earth as I ran across the wide meadows, with the pair at my heels. We would often travel in the traditional single file line of wolves, minimizing our scents being detected by potential prey. Wildbill would soon prove to be my most loyal subject through all the wolves I would meet during my lifetime. This beta could never be found more than several miles from the pack's den site. When I would wake in the early morning or evening, my active times of the day, my light golden beams would see this buff-colored creature running freely through the tall grass, a red shape at his paws as his jaws snapped at the fox's white-tipped banner.
My newest mate for the coming snow turned out to be a female lupine who was naturally small, but her motherly personality made up for it. I met Trillian as the first cold snap froze the yellow leaves of the birches on their stems. She was a loyal partner, a dispersal from my newest enemy, Tristan. Together, Trillian and I would pace side by side, crossing the crystalloid stream bottomed out by smooth gray stones. And her fur was even more unusual, a pale gray that lingered on white, with roguish ginger ears that sat proudly on a face inset with hazel pools. She was remarkable enough, and as a leading pair, with Wildbill at my side and Xao making a good enough omega, my clan served to be a powerful new beginning for my dreamt-of empire.

That spring brought about four new additions to the pack. I burst from the den's mouth, my lips drawn over pearly incisors in a happy, joyous smile. Wildbill was immediately at my side, and I could feel his tongue under my jaws, his body sidling up to mine, tail tucked between his legs. I threw my dark skull up towards the sun floating in the pinnicle of the sky. My howl was loud and pleased, ringing through the territory. It was soon met by Wildbill's, and then Xao's from across the river. These pups would serve me well if they could make it past the difficult challenge of childhood. But for now, my howl would warn the neighboring packs of Tristan and Kaeiri about my impending prowess.
It seemed my luck wasn't that great. Aleut and GeminiJr became the pack's yearlings, their two brothers perishing, never to see the light of day. But with pride I trotted at the helm of the group as we traversed the autumnscape, leading them towards the bluffs. Soon we would settle in the more food-rich northern hills. And next year, Trillian brought five healthy pups into the world.
And so my life seemed to settle down, different from the rough start it had seen, trying to find the balance of loyalty and territory. But just as soon as it began to grow peaceful did I see all of it ripped away from my very eyes. It was an early, chilly grey morning for my pack and I as our bodies were curled up at different points of a hill. Wildbill was a few paces about, Trillian at my side and my four newest youngsters; GeminiJr, Koni, Espeth, and Ducky were all curled up at the base of the slope. It was an autumn day, promising nothing but the gentle frolic of pastel leaves and my wanderings along the borders. But the evening before had gathered giant, black clouds rolling ominously at the horizon. And now they threatened to break overhead in a torrent of rain and lightening. Wolves were of course built to survive even the toughest of weather, and so we had all chose hill to wait it out. The slopes would buffer the wind away from our bodies sufficiently enough. But we were in no way ready for the first clap of thunder and then the earthquake that followed. But this was no regular shifting of the tectonic plates; even though the shaking of the ground was tremendous. But there was an awful roar accompanying the earth, the smell of loose dirt and trampled grass heavy on the wind. I let out a growl just as the crest of hill on top of us swelled with a gigantic swarming, heaving mass of brown. And then it was upon us, the buffalo stampeded washing down through the unsuspecting pack. Their ebony orbs were rolled into their sockets, the males' horns glinting with the flashes of lightening above. The smell of sweat and fear mixed with blood as the herd descended on the hill, breaking for the river below. I scrambled to my paws as I saw Trillian knocked from her stance, thrown into the air like a leaf tumbling in the wind. I had no choice but to leap towards the side. But I was not quick enough, and caught a hoof in my side. My paws loosened their grip and I tumbled underneath thousands of buffalo legs, a hoof pressing onto my tail, or leg, as I crawled between them. Slowly- then I was free, on the outskirts of the bison herd. But their heads kept rolling down, a single mass of heaving tan as they splashed through the river, bellows mixing with the onslaught of rain and lightening from the storm. My pack, my pups were nowhere to be seen. Slowly the herd tapered, then there were no more charging over the hill. But I had not lingered to watch- my worst fears had been confirmed. They were dead.

During these trying times I grew older, no longer the powerful creature that roamed the earth. That didn't mean I was any less strong or able to control a wolf, herding them into a courageous pack. But I had seen things that could only amount to the trying force of Nature. I could estimate about three of four more litters before I grew too old and retired as a helper for a younger pair. But I was still complacent enough to round up loners for my newest gathering. Chetan took the place of Wildbill, and I had also found two strong brothers to become my main attack and defense force. Semo and Kosa were boisterous, black-coated males who did little but roll and play in the grass until I snapped at them, and then they hopped to it. With a wavering determination, I scooped out a new home for a female and her pups. I found myself needing much more rest than before, and often I laid for the length of the day, just napping in the sun. But Xao, who was only a little younger than me had no qualms and moved right into the hilly den I had made. Soon, there were five mouths to feed. Out of these, only Pine and Kichuk survived. But I could already see my daughter Kichuk as a true fighter, strong. Even when my beloved Pine was swept away downstream, only to be recovered as a rotted, mangled corpse did I see the familiar courage in Kichuk. She was a true Gemini, and I longed to see her long after she had left to start her own family. Xao and I had four more pups at my chosen location, the timeless waterfall den. It seemed the sound of water upon stone, and the fresh air that came from it did wonders for young wolves. All four of them, Pine, GeminiJr, Nuniqik, and Oniri all survived to adulthood. It didn't seem as rough during these years, even though what happened to my beloved friends during the stampede haunted me on night patrols. I had summoned my pack to me as I stood above on a small grass ridge. Chetan was the first, with Kosa and Semo trotting along behind him. And then my newest addition, Marion, who had been long harassed by her sister Vee, who eventually drove Marion from the pack. Behind her came our four stronglegged wolves, and I slid from the hill. Leading them off to the hunt under an expansive blue sky, I felt a sense of contentedness wash over me.
Xao eventually passed on, leaving the pups to strike out on their own path. I had watched Chetan be pummeled to death during a hunt, and Kosa and Semo grow ever more bold to challenge my position. I found RisingMoon about this time. Even her appearance was comical. The old fae staggered about on shaky legs, her fur matted with ticks and skin patches showing through in some places. The wolf smelled quite bad, and her ears were ripped and eyes rheumy. But I didn't turn her away- in a fit of selfish spite, I kept her around to laugh in my long-time neighbors, Kaeri and Ursa's face. RisingMoon had been Kaeri's mother and now I harbored her within the protected confines of my forest. She wasn't the only addition. I found a young, spry male named Brownleaf, and later on his sibling Maya. With these five adults, most in fit physical condition, I had the most sucessful hunts in my life. Normally wolf packs had only about a 10% sucess rate, but this statistic did not define the Ornyid, my pack. Semo and Kosa had chased an elk cow and her calf up the river gorge and pinned them down at a cliff. I closed in with Brownleaf and Maya, and the five of us finished the pair of elk off.
But that didn't describe how painful my joints were getting at night and during rough weather. I was still no match for challengers, who had no avail gaining my top rank, but with wisdom now came age. But I had gleaned Kiri, a daughter of Kaeiri, into my pack, and she would four pups if the circumstances were right. But Kiri was a young wolf and enjoyed being outside rather than in a den. And that is when tragedy struck. It was the early spring and I could not find Kiri in the den. Ravaged with worry, I found the silvry fae tucked behind a bush of raspberries. The sight was too horrendous to even glance at and I sprung off into the woods with disgust and anger. Kiri had the four pups in the middle of the open and had abandoned them, trying to dig a den deep in the forest in order to conceal them. But scavangers were too quick at this oppurtunity- my pups did not stand a chance.
My last litter that became of me was from a fae named Teionien. With my large adult pack, we had no trouble securing food, even just for me. I found it difficult to get up in the mornings, my legs creaking with the stress and my fur roughening about my muzzle. And one day I had trotted alone to the lake. The massive surface of the water was undisturbed and highly reflective, beaming back the sunlight and clouds above. So in this mirror I could see myself clearly. Standing ankle deep in the lake, I peered down as I had done a few times or so over the course of my life. I was so clearly the image of my father, Howlingwind. Lean but muscular, large, with a heavy coat of black fur and piercing yellow eyes. But this is what he would have looked then on the last legs of his journey- as I did now. Gray about the muzzle and chest, drooping whiskers and weary, tired yellow eyes. Teionien would be waiting for me back up the hill, and I lifted my face to gaze out over the lands I had come to know so well. From the lake spread the gentle slope of green spring grass, feeding large herds. The purple mountains were visible on the transparent day, rimming the edge of all of my travels. The pack den was just up the grassy plains, settled into a low hill facing the water with a single pine tree as a sentinel. After my two pups, sweet Alene and her brother Rayak, left the den, there would be nothing more that I would need to do than to settle quietly into the mountain lakes and wait patiently for my death.


Done! Sorry if it's long oh Bob it is isn't it..
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Stormy251
Bluebird Chick
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Re: Conclusion~ Under The Moon

Post by Stormy251 »

Long, descriptive, wonderful..
~I love it x3
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Ingame name: Hoody (I wuv CreepyPasta :3)
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