To the moon | OPEN

[webby]

A long, piercing howl split through the cool night air. It was midnight, and the moon hung heavy and full above, in a canopy of tiny dots of light. From the ground of the meadowland, the open, cloudless sky could be taken in clearly without a tree to block the view. That's where Sayuri was, pacing restlessly through the long dewy grasses. Her head was thumping with the dull but strong pain of a headache, and she found it difficult to concentrate on her surroundings, instead appearing to be distracted from everything. Her tail hung low, and her ears were drooped, giving the normally cheerful and bouncy wolf a rather defeated look. It was obvious that she hadn't slept.

Earlier that evening, she'd been perfectly fine - curled up cosily in her den, listening to the comfortingly familiar noise of the wind rustling through the caves where the Dancing Stars all usually slept at night. It had taken her a little while to get to sleep but that was not unusual; with a mind as excitable and playful as hers, it always took a while for her thoughts to settle down and her brain to switch off. Not long after, she'd dozed off peacefully and the den was silent apart from the sound of her slow breathing.

The next thing Sayuri knew was that she was horribly widely awake which a piercing pain through her head and an inability to lie still. No idea where such a feeling had come from, or how to fix it, she'd started out in search of another wolf who might be able to find a solution for her pain or at least keep her company until morning. It felt unnatural for Sayuri, who was normally a deep-sleeper, to be awake at such an hour. Letting out another howl from where she now stoood in the meadow, more in an attempt to release some of the pressure she felt inside her skull than anything else, she then flopped down in the long grasses. Oh, why was everyone else asleep!

[arbie]

It wasn’t every night Roan had these nightmares. In fact, they were classed more than a rarity now. The rumbling of the earthquake, random howls and cries of surrounding wolves. He was sure his dreams were making it more dramatic than it had been, too. But tonight’s dream was something that unnerved him, and he couldn’t get back to sleep. Deciding it was best to take a walk and clear his mind, Roan wandered through most of the Dancing Stars land until he reached the dens again. And even then he wasn’t interested in sleeping. It seemed he was no longer tired, but he wasn’t hungry either. Unsure about what to do, Roan took to walking again, planning on following the winding stream, but something else forced him to take a different path. A long, lonely howl. He turned his head, ears swivelling, and he stood still for a moment. The howl wasn’t aggressive, though it wasn’t a cry for help. Still, whoever it was seemed to be agitated. Who would be up at this time of the night? They must have left when Roan was away; he hadn’t seen anyone leave the dens when he was around. Worried, he made his way to the source. What if someone really was troubled? Being one of the only ones awake, Roan would have to help.

And there it was again! Another howl. He quickened his pace to a trot. But as he neared the meadow, he slowed, attempting to see a figure in the moonlight. She was recognisable, but a name escaped him. Slowing his pace to a walk, he lowered his tail submissively, ears swivelling against his skull. A usual approach for Roan, he limped lightly towards her, wondering if she was definitely okay. There was no scent of blood - thank goodness - so perhaps it was emotional stress? Even so, he would try to help. It was what a pack mate did. Slowly his ears perked up in curiosity. She wasn’t the beta that he recognised of Dancing Stars. He smiled slightly.

“Hello?” he called nervously, treading lightly. It was unusual to see a wolf attempting to sleep outside of the dens, if she was trying to sleep at all. But what if she was, and he had interrupted her? The thought tugged at his mind, but he tried to ignore it, not wanting to lose the streak that he had. He was managing to start a conversation, or at least greet the wolf first, “Are you alright?”

[silverlight]

The night was hard on him and he usually had no problems, however his thoughts would not let him sleep. He lied on the rocks near the river alone, as usual just thinking of what the life of a Dancing Star was like. He wanted to join up but had no reason and was scared of being rejected, as in he thought his entire world was going to end if he was cast down. The moon had caught his orbs, it couldn't have been much more than midnight as he heard a howl.

As the howl sounded Silver lifted his form to his haunches letting his audits perk, 'I am not the only one up,' he thought as he stood to all fours contemplating his next move carefully. It could be his reason to become one of them, but what if he was attacked as a possible spy? For whatever reason he finally decides to head towards the howl, yet stay a good distance away to just watch the events unfold. He was hoping to stay far enough away so no one saw, heard, or even scented him.

He began moving through the water making the attempt to complete his resolve. As he did so his silvery fur collected bits of mud from the river, causing his underside to come out near black, it also masked some of his scent. He was wet also knowing full well when he dried out everyone was going to scent him, in fact his scent was going to become overpowering. He brushes the thoughts away as he climbs up to shore shaking his fur trying to get as much water off as possible to keep from becoming too cold.

As he finished shivering and shaking the water out of his fur he began to head towards the meadow. Upon approaching it seemed as though someone else was nearing a female, Silver then dropped to the ground unsure if he could be seen, heard, or even scented. One or more of them was too much in his own mind. He let his audits flutter in time to hear the male say something, but the message was lost because of distance, he had one thought, 'I need to get some closer.'

He stayed on the ground on his stomach and slinked closer hoping to avoid detection by moving slow. This caused the dirt to build up causing more of his silvery fur to turn black from the soil, better masking his cosmetic appearance. As he got a bit closer, hoping he was undetected, he watched listening intently. He knew full well curiosity was dangerous and decided to toy with it anyway.

[webby]

As Sayuri paced back and forth, the grasses making a soft crunching sound with every pawstep, she heard in the distance the sound of another wolf approaching. Turning to face him, she tried to make out his features in order to discover who exactly he was. The moon, partially obscured by silvery clouds, spread little light on the matter. It was only until Roan came a little closer that she recognised him for who he was. Although she didn’t know him at all well, as the son of the former Alpha he was one of the more recognisable wolves in the pack. Judging by Roan’s posture and the way his ears were flattened, he seemed somewhat agitated, and it didn’t cross Sayuri’s muddled and pained mind that it might be simply a reflection of her own agitation. Oh god, I hope I haven’t woken him up, he won’t be happy, she said thinking regretfully back to her howling. Her forehead creased with a frown from both the pain of the migraine and confusion about her situation.

Gosh, sorry, yes, well no – i’ve just got this horrible pain in my head. I didn’t wake you up, did I?’ She flustered in reply as Roan drew closer. Although she knew enough about him to know that he wasn’t the kind of wolf to be easily angered, she was concerned as she hadn’t really intended to put the pain of her terrible headache onto other wolves. Then again, he might have been awake anyway – perhaps there was something wrong with him too? Thinking she better ask to be polite, she returned his question. ‘And ummm, are you alright? Normally she was a wolf capable of far better conversation than this, being bubbly and lively as she was, but today she simply couldn’t think straight.

Suddenly, a small gust of wind blew a less familiar scent her way – not the typical scent of the Dancing Stars, but someone a little different. She looked around nervously; it was very unusual to smell another wolf on Dancing Star territory, unless it was a loner trying to become part of the pack. Her ears flickered as she turned away from Roan sharply to face the direction of where she sensed the other wolf was. Hello? She called out, her tone somewhat nervous.

ooc; sorry it's taken so long, i've had these terrible stomach pains and headaches all week, did not help concentration

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[arbie]

Noting her slightly dismayed attitude, Roan frowned at the fact she wasn’t feeling well. Perhaps the stress had gotten to her; though, what kind of stress, Roan wasn’t sure of. He wasn’t sure what the relationship between Sayuri and her brother was like but, for the most part, he understood they were very close. She wouldn’t be stressed about pups, because Roan was positive she didn’t have a mate. At the question, he shook his head vigorously, relaxing a bit more.

“Oh no, no.” he looked up at the sky, tilting his head back curiously as he gazed at glowing sphere, “No I, ah, was up already. I couldn’t sleep.”

He didn’t like sharing his problems with people. He didn’t want to be a burden, and his troubles were minimal anyway. Nightmares and a sore leg, who needed that to think about? No, no. Roan would keep them to himself and try and help others. Besides, being able to help others put him in a good mood and took his mind off himself. Unfortunately, helping others forced him to push his problems away in order to get his head clear, and that left his own troubles lurking around. Roan usually tried to avoid them anyway.

When asked if he was alright, he merely chuckled light heartedly and made a slight shrugging motion, sitting down on his rump. His tail bashed against the ground at the thought of someone asking if he was alright. He wasn’t sure if he had been asked that in a while or not, his recent memories seemed to meld together. Roan wondered if someone had asked how he was… Well, being in Dancing Stars, there was a high chance they did. But Roan kept to himself a lot of the time, so it was rare. He turned his head when Sayuri became distracted, and as the wind ruffled his fur, he caught the unfamiliar scent too.

A lone wolf.

He looked round nervously, but knew he had to do something. He couldn’t leave Sayuri to defend the land by herself, especially with her pounding head. She could be too distracted by it and let her guard down. He got to his feet, scanning the area carefully. It was dark, but Roan could at least try and find the wolf. Were they friendly? Were they… Going to be like Caerwyn? No, that was wrong. No wolf was like Caerwyn, he was one of a kind.

Roan raised his head purposefully, though his heart was pounding. He wanted to try and help his pack for once, and it would start here.

“Show yourself.” he called, “We won’t harm you.”

Which was partially true. Roan didn’t attack out of the blue, and hopefully Sayuri didn’t either. But if this stranger attacked them, then Roan would do everything in his power to get rid of the loner, including fighting him. Fighting wasn’t his strong point, nor was it his most favourable option, but there were some sacrifices you had to trudge through for your family.

[silverlight]

The night seemed to cloak him well as he laid himself down keeping orbs upon the two whom seemed to also be having some difficulty sleeping. He wanted to just rush over but his fear was stronger. The change in wind made him want to turn and run but he stayed forcingly. He knew his scent tril was going to betray him, yet he chose to stay, 'I wonder why I am so sympathetic,' he thought, 'afterall I could be killed,' he reasoned further.

As he finished his thoughts he heard the female emit a unsure 'hello' followed by the male's much gruffer voice. He felt fear shake his body as he stood to let them see him. He downcasted his cranium letting his pupils follow along with his audits. He walked very slowly towards them showing he was greatly outranked, in fact he was showing as best he could he was going to be submissive. In a way he was trying to sell himself to the pack, yet wasn't sure if he had anything specific for the pack to utilize.

As he came within a good distance he stood hackles lowered and as calm as he could do attempted to introduce himself, "Hel-l-lo, I-i-i'm S-silver," he said unsurely. He knew one way to get them to believe he was no harm, he just hoped they saw it the same way, and decides to sit, defensively this could be death should they get aggressive with him. He waits a moment after his name to let his actions sink in before letting his snout rise up to straight in front of him still below the two he was talking to, "I w-wanted t-to j-join the S-stars," he continued after a long pause.

Upon finishing Silver continued sitting letting his orbs close in case they decided to attack. He would be very easy to take down, first because he was sitting, and even though he could fight well defensively even an amateur fighter could win that, and second he was not expecting it. He hoped they saw all his submissive movements as friendly and hoped they also believed his story, it was afterall true so why wouldn't they?