@ilunga

#cd853f

The morning crept through the day like a silent veil, pulling the sun along with it. The world below shuddered in the cool air as mist collected along the ground. A stream, crystal clear, babbled and bubbled. While the tall spruces and pines stood strong and proud, speckled with dew from the night before. A gentle wind swept across the patches of grass and howled against the red rocks. Wild flowers grew in scarce patches of vibrant colors, purples, magentas, and yellows.

Her snake-like body had been coiled away in the brush of a low hanging rocky crag, snoozing as the run splashed across Hidalgo's blue body. The rays warm against the cool of the rock and blinding with it's brilliance. Amber eyes opened slowly, head turning to the side as she grimaced an ugly little face.

Jaws opened, teeth glinting as she yawned and a pink tongue washed across them lazily. With a stretch of her limber body, she'd carefully make her way to the dusty ground, drunkenly swaying over to the stream. The sentry would pause looking at her reflection. Not like what you see? There's a whole lot of baggage here isn't there? Behind those gleaming eyes a life far away resided. A girl that had so much promise slumbered, but now Hidalgo held that life for ransom.

But she always managed to slip through the cracks, even now. A bristle of her fur and the sentry lashed out against the water, snapping wildly and then slapping her paws down. Swiping with purpose and seething rage. "This is MY life not HER'S! This is MY body!" But this is my body, the only thing that I own entirely, and it'll carry me to greatness somehow.

OOC: As of June 1, this thread is being liquid timed to right before Angus's entrance in to Gemini.

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The night had been cold and full of terrors. 

The next few mornings weren't much better. The  sun drew itself slowly over the lands, drawing moisture from all around it; the creatures of the night had only just begun slinking back to their holes and dens as the suns rays came in to view. Amidst the shift change of wildlife was a pup, bounding through the brush and trees with the remains of what had once been a fully severed deer leg- though now only scraps remained. It had been several days since he had left behind Ivaylo, and his only goal was to find Hyperion. If Angus was to find home, he would need to find the prince who had not so long ago told him the wonderful tales of this pack called Gemini and the bountiful and wonderful lands it held within its borders.

The pup slowed as he neared a stream, his entire little body shaking with exhaustion as he fell to his belly and began lapping up the cool water. He ran through the night after he left Ivaylo to their dinner, and truthfully, Angus wasn't sure if this was a decision he was regretting these days later or if he was just severely exhausted. There was distance that needed to be made and he knew that Ivaylo's long legs would have found him sooner if he hadn't created a larger distance gap. As he lapped down the cold water, the pup couldn't help but feel almost foolish for his actions. Perhaps he had overreacted to her words and her tone, but he couldn't help but still feel a tinge in his heart as he thought of how she couldn't believe his story about Hyperion. He growled to himself as he sat up, looking at the bright new day that was about to come to them, and turned his head to the west from where he had come. Ivaylo was surely close behind him, and he knew all too well that she was smart enough to track and find him. He needed to change up his strategy if he was to find the prince.

Angus took in a sharp breath before digging in to the remainder of the leg that he had taken with him. It wasn't much but it had lasted him the last few days and he was grateful to have brought it with him. After a few minutes he sat up and licked his lips, sniffing the air. The smells were muddled but he smelled one that was...familiar. The pounding in his chest doubled as he stood quickly and looked around, ears pricked up to pick up all the sounds around him. Could it be? Had he...had he done it? The pup picked up the scraps of his meal and jumped in to the creek bed that he had just lay near, running through the water in hopes of it masking his scent while he bounded towards the stench.

"Hypherion?!" he called out with the bone in his mouth, climbing over wet rocks and wading through the shallow waters, a renewed sense of hope filling his every limb. "Hypherion!" Angus called out once more, bounding further up stream. He had to find him, he just had to.

The only thing a rainy day was good for was avoiding it. There wasn't much cover in the craggy area just before the Fringe, mostly bare mountains and a few caves mottled around, one of which Skooma was occupying, along with his various wares, his claws carefully carving into a piece of petrified wood. The rain was intense, wind whipping the droplets into the sides of the mountains. He laid a good bit away from the entrance, despite already being soaked, Skooma wasn't exactly ecstatic at the idea of getting more wet. He harrumphed, more than a little miffed that his wares were nearly as drenched as he was, his tail waving back and forth.

The cave wasn't exactly deep, but it was shelter enough. If he wasn't so much of a traveller, and if his first experience in this area hadn't been being hit by a violent storm, he almost would have considered making this the base of his operations, somewhere to return to and rest up when he was travel-weary. Unfortunately, that was the last thing on his mind.

The plants he'd brought along smelled wonderful, however, and something in him ached to roll in them, to chew and feel the pleasure tingle under his fur. It filled the cave, a scent that was familiar and warm. He refused to, however. He wasn't exactly sure if he would have to cross the Fringe once more to retrieve any, not exactly knowing the area well yet, or really. Knowing anything about this land.

His claw slipped, tearing right through the wood, entirely by accident. Skooma swore quietly, retracting his claw. Perhaps he could string something through the hole?

Thunder crashed overhead, startling him, his damp fur sticking up slightly as his claws extended and he jumped to his feet. Oh hell no. No thank you, no sir.

aka 'hot choclaty milk'

It hadn't been long since Lodka had joined the pack, and yet, she was already making herself right at home. Her 'bar' might have been modest- it was ugly, really- but it was beginning to attract a semi-steady flow of traffic. It was a fun distraction from her other work, though she would never prioritize one over the other.

Her current project was a milk-and-carab based, sweet liquor drink, something safe for both feline, canine, and even equine members of their pack. (Did they have horses? Man, it'd be cool if they had horses, they were so big, and-) Lodka snapped herself out of her thoughts, breaking off a piece of carab into each drink.

With paws still bloodstained from dental work on a packmate earlier that day, Lodka dunked one of her long, dexterous claws into the bowl on the 'counter' (really, a piece of driftwood that she had leaned against a rock, inside of a shallow cave). She stirred the mixture until its consistency settled down into something slightly easier to swallow, before retrieving a bottle from her 'shelves' (again, more driftwood against more rocks). It was in a discolored, mud-stained bottle, and likely thrown off of a human craft some hundreds of years ago, but the bottle of liquor was still drinkable. Lodka turned back, pouring a decent amount into each glass, and then set the bottle back where it had come from.

She left the bar to scratch out a new message on the algae-covered rocks outside of her den-



Hoping that her sign was at least a little bit legible, Lodka retreated back inside, waiting for her first customer of the day.

Something Blue

ENTER THE HOLLOW