The Way to Go; Open!!

[lovelysnails]

North, south, east, west
Which is the way to go
To find a one true home?

- Blackened, hard paw pads felt the hot, rocky terrain beneath them as the legs moved forward, pushed by an endless hope and will inside a young, petite female wolf. She was colored dark slate on the top half, but a silvery marble on the bottom half. Decorated with onyx on the claws and nose, and ambers set in where the eyes would be. A live sculpture.
- The sculpture was moving over the Outlands, sniffing the air and ground every five seconds. Her ears swiveled so much that they seemed to be able to turn a full way around, and her eyes darted everywhere; searching. She was searching for her family. Her dad, mom, brothers, grandpa and any other wolf she loved but was separated from by the earthquake.
- One would have probably accepted the thought of family being dead by now, as this young wolf searched for her family for more than a year. But she refused to even think of such things. It was too horrible to think that the only wolves she loved could be gone forever.
- I, Tiny Tammer, survived, so they must have too, were her thoughts after the earthquake. It made sense, somewhat, because Tammer was the weakest of them all. She had weak legs as a pup, and was pretty much paralyzed before her eyes and ears opened. Being a lone traveler for a long while, though, made her a very quick and strong runner, but still with weaker bones than most. Anyway, she figured if the weakest of the bunch survived, her stronger, older family, such as granddad Duke, would've survived, and she set out to look for them. So, after a long while, she came upon the unknown No Man's Land and passed through the Foglands, coming to Outlands.

- Tiny Tammer continued across the hot ground, her first goal to find a temporary den site and then to explore every inch of this unclaimed space for a clue of where her family could be. Of course while she passed through she searched, fearing that if she was off her guard she would miss an important clue to where her loved ones were.
- An odd growling sound made her jump a bit into the air, and then frown at her own stupidity and hoping there was no one near to witness that. She had been frightened by her own stomach, which was continuing to growl of hunger and bite her flanks in a want for food. Tammer scanned the territory and growled softly along with her stomach as she saw nothing. Then she heard a scurrying sound a little ways away and spotted a brown lizard moving quickly across the ground.
- It'll have to do, she told herself and her legs picked up and she seemed to be starting to fly across the rocky floor. Tammer ran up behind the lizard, putting all her speed into he chase to catch the small prey. It was an unwise decision, but the stupidity of her jumping at her own stomach glared at her inside her head. Showing off her running to the just the sky and rocks was enough to prove that she wasn't an unintelligent pup. Oh, how oddly she thought.
- The scared, brown little dart of a lizard ran towards a rock, and leapt into the air to get to the shelter sooner. Too late. As it jumped in the air Tammer shot her head down and grabbed its shoulders and head; almost smashing her face against the ground but not. Limply the lizard torso, hind legs, and tail dangled from her mouth as she sat up. It was a very poor meal to a wolf, but like she thought 'it'd have to do', and she swallowed it whole with a grimace. Lizards weren't the best tasting either...

- Panting a little she continued to sit and scanned the space again, looking for her always number one thing on her wishlist (family) and the now number two thing; food.

[Paint]

Oberon quite liked the Outlands, really. He found himself wandering there fairly often. He found that he liked to meet the loners, remind himself of his own loner tendencies. Not that he ever regretted becoming a pack wolf. No, especially as he had made some good friends now. He thought back to his conversation with Taya and Silver the other day. How odd to think that three completely different wolves all found themselves under the same umbrella.

So it was in this mildly amused and contemplative state that Oberon wandered around, feeling the soft heat of summer begin to creep upon the valley. Surely all the pups would have been born by now? As far as he knew, they'd had a pretty good haul this year. No disasters, either, which was reassuring.

A dark shape appeared in front of him, and the bronze male automatically stopped and watched her. She seemed to be quite small from here, and from the way she was snapping at a lizard he automatically felt a little sorry for her. Perhaps she was new here. Was she unaware of the other prey they had? Sure, she was small, but that was a completely insufficient meal for even a young wolf.

He watched her stop and sit up to look around, realising that he should probably speak before she thought he was staring at her.

"Hello," he tipped his head very slightly, a small half-smile appearing on his maw. "Are you new around here?"

[lovelysnails]

- Tammer's slow scanning paused for less than a millisecond before she whirled head around to stare at the unexpected company. She looked the male wolf over; not a family member but perhaps another loner? His question made her think he was one even more, seeing that he seemed to know the unclaimed territory. But, when she sniffed the air, he smelled ... different.
- Either way, he did seem to know the place. Maybe he could tell her the best hunting and denning places, or what or where nearby packs were! A family member might be hidden there; though she doubted it. Still, better safe than sorry.
- Curtly she nodded to acknowledge his presence, ears falling back on her head temporarily as she realized her mistake. She didn't want to give him a reason to walk away or harm her; she was not fit for battle yet and even from here it was clear he could overcome her by just height. Mentally shrugging it off she dipped her head again, a bit more deeply and longer to show just a right amount of respect.
- "Hello," she imitated back to him. Tammer's voice was hoarse and quieter than should be due to lack of use and her ears felt like they wanted to flee to her head again, but stood still despite the added embarrassment. She spotted the small half-smile and head-tip; he seemed nice and with luck he truly would be, plus helpful. "Yes, I'm pretty new," she continued, louder, "My name is Tammer." She tried for a small smile herself, but the corners of her lips just flickered feebly and sat in place. Again her ears wanted to flatten on her head, but held upward.
- She felt a sudden want to add that she was a wolf in Falling Moons, but that seemed wrong. Not because he could possibly be from a pack against them, no, but because she was supposed to be a loner. If this wolf had something against pack wolves he might do exactly what she didn't want him to; walk away and not help her or harm her. Instead, she kept sitting with her eyes on him, hoping he wouldn't go away. She wanted food badly and he was the best chance to get it soon.

[Paint]

Oberon watched her curiously. She seemed to be searching him, deciphering the situation and what purposes he could serve her. He didn't know how long she had been a loner, but she clearly had a brain on her. He wondered for a moment if she was from the old valley, that everyone seemed to be from. But it had been two years now, surely she would've been here already?

"I'm Oberon," he replied, continuing to watch her. Then he glanced away momentarily, hoping it would put her at ease. He didn't doubt that she could put up a fight but currently he felt no sense of hostility from her. He didn't feel threatened just yet. He looked back at her. "Excuse me for intruding, I just noticed that you were snapping up a lizard. That's why I thought you might be new."

To him, this made perfect sense. She was hunting prey which had very little nutritional value. She can't known where the rabbits or other such small prey was. He wondered for a moment what else she might say. Loners fascinated him.

[lovelysnails]

- As Oberon glanced away Tammer's ears flattened themselves against her head for a fleeting moment. Was he thinking of walking away? She hoped not, but as he looked back she left all trace of nervousness or fear of loosing her key to finding food soon from her appearance.
- She was suddenly struggling to keep her ears on her head, and very glad she had dark fur over her face. It felt hot, the uncomfortable stickiness of embarrassment clinging onto her like tree sap on pup fur. A fellow wolf had witnessed her eating a lizard. A third of Tammer wanted to lunge at him for bringing that up, a second third wanted to turn and run, but the last third told her to stay still and play it through. She chose the last one, though the first did seem more welcoming...
- Still sitting still, she pondered on what she should say next; take a direct approach or beat around the bush for now? "Oh, yes... I don't exactly know where to get the bigger meals yet," she decided to say. It was truthful, but not exactly to the point. She wanted to ask him where the best spots were, but didn't want to sound like a helpless puppy either. I wonder if this conversation would've been easier if I traveled with someone... Tammer thought.
- Hurtling back to the vision directing outward which viewed the tall male, and not the vision inside her head of having an easy care-free conversation, she noticed Oberon's intent watching. Was he thinking that she was a brainless fool for eating a lizard? Feeling irked, mostly with herself, she added without being able to contain herself, "May I ask what you find so interesting about me?"

[Paint]

OOC. I am so sorry that I have to leave before I can reply to you! Please do go ahead and join/start other boards and I'll come back to this one asap. Have fun (:

[lovelysnails]

OOC: Haha, don't worry about it! Thank you for telling me I can go to other boards, though. I will have fun, thanks, and I hope you enjoy yourself at university!

[Paint]

Oberon blinked slightly, but then laughed. He dipped his head apologetically. With a slight shrug of his bronze shoulders, he thought of what he could say.

"Sorry for staring, I used to be a loner myself. I know what it is to stumble upon a new land and not know your way around," he spoke honestly, but still with a half-smile on his face. He glanced away momentarily, so as not to make her feel awkward again. She certainly had a little attitude, but honestly she may need it.

"You're lucky that you've stumbled upon a placid wolf though," he turned his brown eyes back to her. "If you ran into a Moons wolf they may not be so kind."

As he spoke, it slowly dawned on him that she may well be a Moons wolf. Even a Stars wolf. She did seem to have a searching look in her eyes, and he didn't think it was just from hunger.

"Where have you come from?" he asked curiously.

[lovelysnails]

OOC: Sorry about the big delay!

- Tammer's claws dug into the earth as he laughed. She absolutely hated being laughed at, and it made her want to rush at him and bite him on the muzzle to show who was boss. With a sinking feeling she remembered she was a simple loner, and really didn't have her granddad's threatening pack to back her up right now.
- Her eyes took in the apologetic gesture, then, sending it to her brain, and making her ears perk up in surprise. She was completely unable to hold it back. He wasn't laughing at her? Then what was he laughing at? But that didn't matter so much; he apologized. And had said it in words too.
- Who was this wolf? Apologizing didn't really happen in Falling Moons, only in the Stars. A startling question came to mind, Could he be a Star?, but then it disappeared. She would have known if she was that close to an enemy around since before she was born.
- Her anger was now a curiosity. He used to be a loner, then. A sense of fear shivered up her spine as he glanced away, afraid he wanted to go, and afraid of losing him not just because he knew where to get food. That actually seemed like a far away thing, considering she was so intrigued by his unusual presence currently.
- She started to nod, agreeing silently that she was lucky to run across a more levelheaded wolf, but became rigid in the middle of her second nod, and speechless.
- Her eyes were wide, her ears perked up straight, her mouth slightly open, and body still. Only when she realized he asked something, she started a sentence of unformed words. "I..bf..ml..," she shook her head, realizing she was making no sense, and hurriedly said a sentence of formed words, "I've been searching for them! Where are they?" She was now standing, her amber eyes bright and tail wagging wildly and a great waterfall of names spitting out of her mouth, "Their names are Duke, Anevay, Raiden, Rose, Blake and Bion!" And then she seemed to be paralyzed again, but broke the look by slowly sitting and bowing her head. Her suspicion of him being a Star must be true. He was not just a passerby wolf, but an enemy and a threat. He knew the place better, and probably would not show her the way to the Moons. And he was bigger, so he could easily make her go. But hopefully she wasn't too clear; she didn't say she was looking for the Moons. Surely he would've taken in Duke's name, though.
- Oh boy, what have I done? she thought miserably. She probably ruined her chance of seeing them; but now she knew that Moons was still alive. That was a good feeling.

[Paint]

Ah. So she was a Moons wolf. What a shame, thought Oberon, and it was clear that he was disappointed. He shook his head ever so slightly with a sigh. To have these lands so divided... It didn't make much sense to him. Was he now obliged to treat this stranger with distaste because she was unknowingly his 'enemy'? Probably.

"I know of Duke, but I have never met him."

Oberon knew that she would know about the Stars. He wouldn't patronise her, but his smile had fallen with the knowledge of who she was. It wasn't exactly a warzone at the moment, but she had stepped into this place with preconceptions. Perhaps he had the right to tell her the absolute truth.

"I can gather that you are a Moons wolf, then," he spoke very evenly, with control, but without the warmth in his tone as before. She could be highly dangerous for all her knew, although he knew he was a good fight, and older than she. "I am a Stars wolf. But before you make any judgements... I can tell you that this place isn't like the place you've come from. The packs have changed and grown. I don't know much about your family but there is no war. You can think whatever you want of me but times have changed."

Oberon, of course, had not come from the old valley that this wolf was from. But he was intelligent enough to know what had happened there. He had been told their history, and that was enough. He stood up, slightly stiffly, and stared at her again.

"You're currently in No Man's Land. The Stars land is this way," he dipped his head in one direction. "And the Moons is there." He repeated the gesture in the opposite direction. Then he waited. He wanted to hear what she had to say.

[lovelysnails]

- Tammer's face tightened she saw his disappointment; her own emotion of defense slipping into the tight creases. He knows I'm a Moon, she thought with a little shiver. But he didn't seem afraid of that...disappointed, but not afraid. Slightly insulted by the fact that he didn't look afraid, her eyes grew a colder look, but she stood still. Hopefully a fight wouldn't happen and she or he would just walk away.
- Her thought was reassured as he spoke, and she nodded slightly in response. Irritation and nervousness swelled inside her as he stated he was a Star, but was popped as he talked further. The war was over? That was certainly good news, for two reasons. There was a good reason to guess there'd be more peace in her family than before, and there was less of a chance of fighting if there was no war. Probably there were stronger reasons to not fight than fight.
- Tammer's surprise at the news was obvious; her still posture had gone as it was broken by a higher perk of her ears, and a bit of wagging by the tail. She never really did like the war back then; it lessened the attention she and her brothers got and made everything tenser. Plus it added onto her frustration of being small and weaker. Suddenly she was brought back out of her thoughts as her eyes caught his movement and first words.
- Oberon was standing, and then giving her directions to the Moons! Her slight tail wagging burst into full speed; in which she blushed and failed to stop by sitting down on it. Tammer's mouth failed to stop smiling either, even when she bit the sides of her cheeks and made them bleed some.
- All of her physical hunger seemed to disappear, and was replaced by the strongest sense of mental hunger she had yet. She needed to find them. But not now; she had to thank the Stars' Oberon for helping her. So few wolves were like that and she felt so grateful for him and disappointed, too. He was a Stars, and that unfortunately meant they wouldn't be friends.
- She stood, slowly, her smile a bit smaller than before and her tail wagging, but wagging a bit slowly. Suddenly she ran toward him a full speed, stopping directly five yards away and got, possibly, the best look of him she would ever get. With a small laugh at the surprise run, she noted his all his looks, and decided she would always recognize him by his soft, golden brown eyes. Then she dipped her head in gratitude, and spoke in her hoarse, died out voice as her head rose, "Thank you so, so much. I will remember this always." She spoke very sincerely, and laughed a little again, "I guess the Stars are still as nice as they used to say. I'm happy about that."
- She paused for a moment; looking at his eyes and the details of them so she wouldn't forget at all. A thought traced across her head, I wonder if he'll remember me?, and she jumped at it. "Oh! I forgot to tell you who I am!" She smiled apologetically and instantly switched it to a smug smile. She rose her head to level height, and said evenly with a louder and prouder voice, "I'm Tammer. Youngest pup and only daughter of respected Rose and Raiden, and the little sister of Bion and Blake." She refrained from adding the last bit of her being Duke's granddaughter, and dipped her head again, ending her overly proud intro.

[Paint]

Oberon perplexedly watched the flurry of emotions storm over the young female's face. With a blink, he recognised some of her facial expressions, but it seemed that she was rushing through a lot of different emotions. And suddenly she had run at him. His whole body tensed, his jaw tightened and he instantly assessed the situation- was she attacking him or not?

It became very evident that she was not. There was utter warmth eminating from her, her tail was wagging. She was thanking him, in fact. Not attacking him. He felt himself relax ever so slightly. One of his pet peeves of being a Star was that it was assumed they could not, or would not, put up a fight. Oberon was a good fighter, he knew he was, but he also didn't fight unless there was absolute need to.

But there was another aspect of Oberon which was often underestimated- his intelligence. He knew not of Rose and Raiden, or even Blake. But Bion was a Stars wolf. Oberon knew Bion, he knew about his new mate and their pups. With a start, Oberon realised that Bion must have originated in the Stars. Bion must be related to Duke, and to these other Stars wolves that Tammer was speaking of.

He blinked, processing the information, feeling ever so slightly nervous under the intensity of her gazing at his eyes. Tammer seemed to want to remember him, and in all fairness, he had helped her out. But this news, of Bion... surely that meant that the boundaries between the two packs were being tested right under their noses. For a moment he said nothing.

"Nice to meet you, Tammer," he dipped his head. "Although I have some news that might confuse your direction somehow."

He glanced back at the Stars lands, and then back to Tammer. A curious and incredulous half-smile appeared on his bronze maw.

"I believe your brother is a packmate of mine. Bion is a Dancing Stars wolf now."

[lovelysnails]

- For a moment Tammer froze, and then let herself relax some with a quiet laugh. Her wagging tail slowly fell to the ground and continued to pat it softly with a sign of amusement, while her eyes still looked at his, but with less intensity as she let herself just sit there and ponder. Bion, a Star? No.. An uneasy feeling crept through her skin, but was conflicted by a happiness; he was alive. Of course he was! The Bion Oberon was talking about couldn't be her brother, though.
- "I'm sorry, I don't believe you when you say he's a Dancing Star now."
- She wouldn't believe it. She'd gotten so close to being with her pack again. It set a revolutionary and dream-crushing idea into mind, What if they've all left the Falling Moons?
- Certainly Duke wouldn't leave; he'd more likely have died in battle than left. And he always won, right? So he was there. But would her mom and dad and brothers still be there? She hoped so, and tried hard to believe Bion wouldn't be in the Stars, and that her other family would still be in the pack. Tammer didn't know, though. She hadn't seen her family for so long; she didn't even know what they would look like now.
- However, as a pup Bion was always a happy guy; like Stars are supposed to be. No, he had to be in Moons. They simply all had to be.
- "Maybe it's another wolf named Bion," she thought almost desperately, but said with an even tone. As even as it could be, anyway. "My brother's eyes are green, and his paws are gold. I'm sure your pack's Bion doesn't look like that."

[Paint]

Oberon let his face fall into a fairly neutral expression. He understood that this might be traumatic for her, I mean, she was rediscovering her long-lost family, but... was it good for her to be so naive? He cleared his throat, contemplating whether it was his time to leave or not.

"Like I said- times have changed."

He shrugged and stepped back a little, wondering whether she actually needed him around anymore. She knew which vague direction to find her family, and she was none of his business. Her actions confused him slightly, as she didn't seem to want to be 'friends' but she was stll engaging him in conversation. Perhaps all of her gratitude towards him had disappeared with the mention of her brother.

"Perhaps there are two Bions," he raised a tawny brow as he said it, clearly indicating that he didn't believe this. But his voice was soft and low. She was only young, you see. She had time to learn what the world was truly like. It wasn't as simple as the 'good' pack and the 'bad' pack anymore.

[lovelysnails]

- The corner's of Tammer's lips fell some, making a small frown. Her posture didn't show any harm in it, but it did show some sadness and hesitance. Bion can't be... she thought desperately. Instinct hung over her heart though, and she felt herself shrinking inside. On the outside, however, she still sat with the small frown on her muzzle.
- Had she really been gone that long? So long that she didn't know what to believe, what to trust in, what changed? Yes. Yes was the truthful answer of her heart; she'd been gone too long. Bion was a Star and great things changed seemed to be the new.
- And Oberon obviously thought there weren't two Bions. Maybe even that she was silly. He'd been so kind, though, like a Star was supposed to be. Was it so bad or unreliable to still think like she did?
- A small flame of desperation was there in her words, "Does your pack's Bion have green eyes and gold paws?" She begged in her head, Please say no, please say no. Yet she knew what the answer would be; as sure as she was when the earthquake struck. Yet this knowledge wasn't a hope, and didn't hold the reassurance and comfort that was in her guess. Just an instinctual feeling.
- She knew that if Bion was a Star, she'd go there first, right away. To see him, to smell him, to hear him. And tell him how much she missed him, ask him if he knew if Mom and Dad and Blake were alive even though her hope wouldn't accept a "no", and to ask him why he was there. Plus she wouldn't hurt Oberon, though the anger or confusion or sadness would show. He had helped her, and had been so nice to continue to talk to her softly though he didn't believe there were two Bions like she hoped. A passing idea occurred to her, If Bion's a Star, maybe destiny wants me to be one too. Then I could be friends, maybe, with Oberon and live with Bion again. By that she scared herself a bit, on the inside, and begged silently again, Please say no...