look at this poor boy [open]

[Lirriel]

Cage me like an animal,

Winter's chill still gripped the earth, with Spring not yet sprung. The Everbane mountain rose high, impassionately unaware of the daily activities of the animals that struggled to survive its icy land. It blotted out the sun from the sky, casting the forest before it in an eerie shadow. Forlornly, an eagle looked to the sky; its clear expanse unfurled around the mountain like the gossamer wing of a butterfly, brilliant in its hue and breathtakingly unreal. Though it was mid-morning, the air sat still, the only sound that of the steady crunch of snow beneath paws that slunk slow and steady, easing up through the treeline toward where the river rolled down the mountain much as a dragon might: sluggish and content in its power.

"You are a snail," the wolf said mildly upon reaching the near bank.

The wolf was known as Elysium, and the ever-present cold had finally driven him down the Everbane, in search of solace and warmth and a den that did not sip the warmth from his bones as he slept. Morning frost clung to his pelt, making him glimmer like a snow waif. Delicately, his fine muzzle dropped toward the water, and he dared to lap at it. The water nipped at his tongue, bitingly cold and yet refreshing in a wild way. His stomach had grown small with disuse and his heavy pelt hung awkwardly on his frame; hunting had been scarce these past few days, and he had been forced to scavenge kills made by other predators. At last he was forced to admit defeat, and he had finally descended the mountain, uncomfortable to be so close to the White Forest, and yet unwilling to die a fool's death upon a lonely mountaintop.

At last he turned his head away from the riverbank, surveying the territory he still had to cross, a desolate landscape of pine, shrub, and snow. It was a long journey ahead of him, and the only warmth he held was his own. And yet despite his solitude, the desperation of a lone wolf did not overtake him. He did not seek a pack, nor did he seek companionship. His red eyes were distant as he began to pad onward, down the mountain and toward the lowlands. It had been two, three seasons since he had last seen another? But he was not lonely. His heart did not ache.

No, only his stomach begged to find another of his kind, desperate for lifeblood freshly spilled and meat newly torn. It was a small, tight aching thing in the pit of his belly, drawn up tight upon itself like a cub to its mother's teat. And so, almost wearily, as if he already tired of the stranger he might draw to him, he raised his head and released a howl. It was a rough caricature of its former glory, tuneless and of one note. But he sang the cry of a lost wolf seeking another like himself, of a lone wolf haggard and weak from a treacherous winter. And in this call, he also put forth the sorrow of once more traveling amongst his kind.

"But I must be kind to them," he told himself softly once the song had ended. Its echoes reverberated around him, answered by the shriek of the eagle, glad to know the living still moved amongst the ghosts of the mountain. And Elysium waited, certain his call would be answered. In time.

a crown of gems and gold.

tag: Open
words: Open
photo credit to ria p. @ click

[Ember]

BIANCA SILVANO

Bianca was quite aware of the dangers of the mountain. Her uncle's bedtime stories—far too many for her liking, really—outnumbered any other warnings she might have received as a child, because they were just that. They were warnings in their own right, disguised as anecdotes regarding the Everbane, perhaps a little twisted and removed from reality for effect.

Yet despite all her uncle's efforts, their morals went largely ignored.

The threat of opportunistic snow leopards, or falling off a cliff to what was certainly a gruesome death, or freezing from exposure to the elements did not worry the she-wolf as she made the trek along the mountainside. No, her steps were confident, reflecting the unshakeable resolve with which she approached any and every challenge.

This was not to say that the environment did not bother her. Quite the opposite, she found herself irritated by the seeping cold, and the way icicles clung to her underside, and the fact that her toes had grown numb after hours of trudging through the snow. However, she was hardly one to be deterred. Such hardships only bolstered her self-assuredness.

And it would seem she was not alone on the mountainside. As a howl reverberated off the cliffs in the distance—a less-than-glorious, forlorn, weary sound—a smile curled her lips, because that brought to her mind one sentiment.

Either someone was as brave or as stupid as her to be wandering in these conditions. She liked to think they had the former quality in common.

Without pause, she reoriented herself to make her way toward the stranger. She was greeted first by a river, its waters slow-moving but undoubtedly chilly. And then she saw the wolf beside the water. The cold had put a damper on her sense of smell, and if not for his bright crimson eyes or slightly-off white pelt, she might have overlooked him entirely.

The she-wolf took a few steps in his direction and allowed an amiable smile to grace her muzzle. “Well, hello,” she chimed, her voice light and amused despite their circumstances. Her curiosity piqued, she sincerely hoped he might divulge his reasons for sending up such a call, and in the meantime was content to let her eyes wander over his frame, as if to commit him to memory.

Lirriel
I'm here to unlonely your thread, if that's okay! :3

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[Lirriel]

Cage me like an animal,

The river mocked him as it always did. Its sluggish movement spoke of chill and ice and frozen memories that threatened to rise as a mist might upon his mind. And yet Elysium continued to politely ignore its quiet, rumbling jabs; it was of a different source than him, too old to understand the heart of flesh-and-blood creatures. It contrasted him, slow and steady and a giver of life even as he extinguished it as one might a flame. And Elysium realized wryly that yes, he had been far too long absent from the society surrounding a true wolf, that he now found himself in silent speech with the very ancients themselves: unknowable and incapable of the modern words that fell from his lips.

"Do you regret any of the lives you've taken?" he ventured to ask it, settled down into a half-crouched sitting position, the better to avoid the stray winds that might tug cruelly at his pelt. His head tilted of its own accord, both ears pricked in interest as if he truly believed the river would spill its secrets. But as expected it spoke no words he was capable of deciphering, and he turned from it in disappointment.

And yet his disappointment was quickly replaced with an increasing interest that wavered between guarded curiosity and genuine anticipation. Though the sound was faint, the soft sound of paws upon snow were no stranger to his ears. He was used to tracking the scuffle of snow hares, the unsteady crack of a squirrel breaking through frost-frozen ground. Scent held no place upon the mountain, so often stripped bare by the unrelenting wind of all but the strongest smells. Instead it was sound and sight. And so Elysium listened, his eyes scanning the surrounding landscape.

He came to locate the other wolf by sound first, and his body tensed because it was difficult to distinguish the difference between a traveling wolf and a hungry, adolescent cat, learning to stalk and pounce. But then his eyes located her, white and wintery and picturesque in the desolate scenery. Her eyes shone a delicate blue, and almost unconsciously he found himself licking at his lips, for they were the pure blue of spring water, hidden water: aqua vitae denied the dying. And for a moment he hunched up and turned his head away from her, terrified of her dazzling beauty and how it contrasted so sharply with his own wretchedness.

But no, his actions were rude, especially after he had been the one to summon her.

With the sheepish grin of a caught-out pup, he dipped his head to her politely, his tail kept carefully lowered. He was respectful of her ability to travel, respectful of the kindness she extended him: a stranger upon a lonely mountain with only the silence as his companion for far too long.

"The Fates do me a kind turn today," he told her honestly. "This land has been harsh of late, and so I sought out one of my own for solace."

Almost as the words left his mouth he realized he spoke as an exile might: honeyed words that meant nothing, a speech filled with empty space. He barked a short laugh, embarrassed at his inability to speak as a proper wolf might and added, "Yes, hello. I'm sorry. I've been up here too long." He once more flashed her a smile, wry but friendly, and he added, "My name is Elysium. It's been a while since I spoke to anyone, if you couldn't tell."

a crown of gems and gold.

tag: Ember
words: no more loneliness : D i'm sorry ely's weird, he's been on a mountain for a while lmao
photo credit to ria p. @ click

[Ember]

BIANCA SILVANO

To anyone else, the male's response might have been some terrible affront, some social crime in and of itself. Bianca, however, did not feel the pang of insult as he turned away from her. No, if anything, she found herself all the curiouser as to why he would behave so, especially given that she could find no fault in her own approach. Her greeting was as normal as they came.

Then again, normal was boring. Normal was predictable. And his reaction was, without question, anything but normal. What could have caused such a response? She could only wonder.

Which was something she was more than content to do, even as he turned, moments later, to face her again, as if to reconcile, as if he worried he had dissuaded her of her notion to seek him out. She was inclined to think as much, given his rueful smile and meek posture.

The silly male. She was not so easy to rile or deter.

She permitted her expression to soften as he addressed her, possibly with the hope that doing so would cause him to feel more at ease in her presence if her previous inferences were, in fact, correct. The sincerity that lay beneath his words was enough to coax a patient smile to her lips, and she merely kept her gaze trained on him as he finally revealed the intentions behind his howl.

Of course, he fumbled his poise not a moment later, releasing a self-deprecating bark, the likes of which she was loathe to vocalize herself. The sound caused her to quirk a brow, yet still, she said nothing.

My, she had not seen another as flustered as this male in a long time, though perhaps that was due to her own wandering, her own lack of socializing in recent months. Thus, she found herself reluctant to judge him. The last statements to flow forth from his lips seemed much more composed than those which preceded them, and it was these words on which she decided to focus.

With a brisk shake of her head, she dared to walk along the perimeter of the riverbank toward him. “Perhaps, though you shouldn’t worry. I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of company in a while, myself.” At length, she released a quiet chuckle, her breath a vapor on the wind. ‘Pleasure’ seemed a stretch, given her preference to live as a loner, but he didn’t need to know that.

After lessening the distance between them, she lowered her haunches to the ground with the utmost care, apprehensive of the stinging cold that would certainly rush through her legs when they contacted the snow. Once settled, her tail wrapped neatly around her paws, she titled her head to watch the male—Elysium, he was called—her patient smile persisting. “Bianca,” she said. “Nice to meet you. I suppose time will tell if I can be of any solace, hmm?"

Lirriel
OH MY WORD SO SORRY FOR THE NOVEL THIS POST KINDA HAD A MIND OF ITS OWN

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[Lirriel]

Cage me like an animal,

Elysium found his eyes sliding off the wolf as she stepped still closer to him, observing the fragile trust that lay between them: two strangers, silently agreeing to neither betray nor harm. It was a code of conduct not all followed, and though hunger gnawed at him as an overzealous flea might, he was confident enough in his power to drive off usurpers and aggressors. And yet his relaxed countenance spoke of something more than self-confidence. He also, surprisingly, found himself believing her to be a soul whose hostility was ruled by a tempered mind and reflective heart - not one, he thought, prone to foolish bloodshed. At least, not without proper causation that demanded consequences of an equally severe nature.

As she came within striking distance, he turned his head back toward her; her words threatened to be snatched by the wind, and with each syllable that fell from her lips, Elysium found himself returning to a more civilized state of mind. The river's whispered words were merely the frolicking of a lively current and no longer the sharpened tongue of a entity as old as time itself. It was easier to ignore the howls of the wind, to slowly remember the forest was only a living creature to those who held no other companions. His red eyes blinked, and he drank in the sight of her, fascinated with the words that dripped from her lips. He had not realized until just this instant that he was so starved for another's words, true words, the speech of his kin and his kind.

Elysium found a larger smile stretching his maw, grinning back at her patient smile as a fool pup might. In some ways, he was as jubilant as an adolescent might be, eager to feast upon newly-torn flesh but for Elysium the flesh was sound, blessed lyrical sound. How strange he must sound in comparison! His own words had long ago transformed to the languid unending speech of the earth, a useless babble that hid the silent communication, the true intent housed in the soul. How pleasurable, to hear the speech of a true wolf!

Slowly, the bliss that had overtaken his body for one brief instant faded, replaced with the warm glow of societal pleasantries. It was almost too easy to forget what had driven him up the mountain, and her kindness drove the shadows back into the recesses of his heart. It was hard to remember isolation had been his choice, when such serenity washed over him. A self-induced exile, but not now, not for a while longer, not until this wondrous warmth was overtaken by his winter-bitten secrets. Not until his belly was full and guilt could once more slither up his throat and cling to the back of his tongue, stinking and heavy as rotted meat.

"Bianca." Elysium repeated her name to himself, the taste of snow on his tongue. A fetching name, a true name; his eyes crinkled in pleasure. "It is a good name. Fitting," he added, and wagged his tail for further emphasis, a brief sweep of the full plume.

"I feel as if already I've lost some of my mountain wildness," he confessed. "You've fed my soul, but -" and here his voice lowered to a mischievous whisper, "- but I fear my stomach is as empty as it was before I called you to my side."

He left his challenge (or invitation?) unspoken.

a crown of gems and gold.

tag: Ember
words:i'm sorry he's weiiiird
photo credit to ria p. at dawnthieves

[Ember]

BIANCA SILVANO

Time did Bianca a kindness, providing an answer to her question, rhetorical though it was, only moments after it was spoken. As though her voice were some siren song to this beleaguered traveler, as though her very words promised comfort in their own right, Elysium seemed at once warmer and more relaxed than he was upon her initial approach. She was uncharacteristically glad for it, his welcoming her so openly, and she allowed her smile to soften into something more sincere.

The metamorphosis that took place before her was not novel. Time and time again, she had seen the simple art of civilized conversation calm that wild beast that lingered in all wolves—that of her uncle most prominent in her memory. To her, Elysium as he was now seemed little different from her mountain-born relative, and perhaps it was foolishness disguised as some need to connect with this stranger on the cliffside that caused her to place her trust in the white male. Despite his admitted isolation, he conducted himself pleasantly enough. At present, she could find no reason to fear for her safety in his company.

A choice which seemed even less risky moments later when the male complimented her. Bianca's eyes brightened in response. “Why, thank you,” she chimed, tilting her head at a coy angle. Though not as openly coquettish as many females, Bianca still welcomed the approval of others, accepting their adulation with an innate ease and grace.

The dire nature of Elysium’s next confession caused her expression to harden, however. Hunger was a plague exclusive to no wolf. The small tightness of her own stomach, which she had done a fine job of ignoring until presently, was at once an annoyance too difficult to push from mind.

“Shall we hunt? The motion might do us some good.” She chuckled, a light, girlish sound. “Warm our bones and blood a bit.”

Lirriel
NO SHUSH HE IS A PRESH BABBY

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