A secret place...

[Duester]

Mitts made little sound as they scaled the slab of rock, rather awkward in appearance because of their disproportion to the wolf’s body. The pup wandered along the stone, blinking into the dark depths of the water. The calming rush of water.. The cooling mists… This place was.. well, pleasant. Lids slid over amber eyes as he inhaled the heavy scent of moisture, and for a moment he was content. Optics flicked open, and he pivoted neatly for the waterfall.

He half-leaped, mostly clambered up the massed rocks from which the falls plunged in search of an adequate perch. The pup paused to regain his balance, then scrabbled to the next outcrop. It seemed most of the jutting cliffs and rocks were coated in slick, mossy vegetation that wasn’t exactly enjoyable to lay upon. It was rather sodden, and clung to one’s coat when pressure was laid upon it.

Duester frowned lightly, pausing to shake the burdensome condensation from his chestnut peltry. Dusky fur mottled the solid chocolate hue across his back and down a portion of his brushy plume. He stood for a moment, gaze wandering along the rockface until it fell upon.. something interesting. The pup hopped to the rock that jutted out just above him and peered at it more closely.

It appeared to be.. a den. Yes, a den… In solid stone. Like a cave, but.. it was far above the ground. A narrow rock projected from the heap so that it might have been possible to spring from it into the hollow, but the pup rather doubted the chance that he might /not/ slip and fall onto the rocks below. So he stood, craning his neck to see into the dimly lit grotto. It was almost completely concealed by the falls, which was probably why Duester had only sighted it from this angle.

A secret den.. Oh, the prospect. The pup silently turned and carefully started the descent, pondering a time when it might be better to return. His best bet might be when winter arrived, when the condensation that coated the rocks might be iced over… It could take longer than he wanted to wait, but Duester was the sort of wolf to think things over and take the best chance that opportunity threw him.

He lit on solid ground, where he had begun his endeavor. The young creature seated himself soberly by the water’s edge, at ease as he reflected on bygone things and studied the crystalline surface of the pond created by the falls. Oh yes.. he would wait. It would be well worth it, to have a place to escape to when obnoxious siblings or his paranoid father came waltzing through. His own sanctuary…[/size]

[Nedatro]

Nedatro popped his head out from the rock he was hiding behind.

Could it be, just maybe, he knew this other pup?

Eyes squinting, he narrowed his view and so focused them by doing so... yes. Indeed, it was someone he knew quite well. Was it... Duester?

But being the horribly inner-debating soul he was, he did not budge further. Instead, he weighed it all in his head...

Hmm.. it does look like Duester.. aye, 't does. And he's acting like Duest... or, at least, as one of Duest's many personalities...

But what if it is not? Duester is what he looks like, but what if it is not? I would not know them, and they naught I-- I could be greatly wounded. And even if this is Duester.. well, I grew up with him. I know how his personality is so fickle, changing ever so quickly... he might be in one of his bad stages, might he not, and that would be as bad as approaching a wolf completely stranger to myself, if you think of it as a risking, and danger question...

Ah, but if he does not see me.. I always had a love of sneakin' 'round..

He found no cons bad enough to sway him from proceeding with this plan, and so stole out of the boulder's cover, seeing his sibling pop behind the waterfall.

Even Duester wouldn't just charge into a waterfall...I shall see what he's found, and go from there.

Tentatively, he ducked around and behind the waterfall, welcoming the cold air the cascade of cool liquid created, for the moment it lasted.

This may not be very safe. The rocks outside are slick enough... it could be dangerous.

But I am very curious to see what it is, and what Duestar's doing... Curiosity prevailing, he noiselessly followed his sibling down and in...

Seeing his sibling exiting the cavern, he pressed himself hard agains tthe wall, stopped breathing, became utterly silent.. his sibling had passed. Breathing once more, he tarried a moment, then followed Ster out..

((So you know, Itallics and Bold just show the different sides of the argument. He doesn't have another wolf in his mind.. I think...))

(( Man, I LOVE him! Now that I"m RPing with the pup... -tackleglomps innerdebating wolfeh-))

[Duester]

Duester turned his gaze from the water for a moment, furrowing a brow as he glanced around the clearing. Seeing nothing, he cast his eyes back to the pond, but his attention was carefully on his surroundings. He thought he'd sensed something... But he saw nothing, smelt nothing, so he supposed he was being..

Oh, Fenris. Oh, Tor. Not paranoid.. Duester did not want to be like his father. Not in that aspect.

He exhaled slowly, optics slipping shut again as he attempted to allay his anxiety. There was nothing there. Nothing at all. An eye opened fractionally, flicking to the side as if to be sure whatever he thought was there wasn't sitting, for some reason, beside him or in the water. How he hated that feeling.. The feeling of being watched. The pup hated to be observed in the first place, felt intruded upon and suddenly quite self-concious at the lightest glance.

/Nothing there. Nothing. Nothing. Get a grip on yourself, whelp./

The thin voice that pervaded his troubled thoughts snarled at him. On occasion, it shrieked threats, advice, and.. detached, panicked thoughts. It was.. odd. Almost as if Duester had alter personalities or something, deep inside him.

ooc| xDDD -Pats Du-

:3 Yayfulness.

[Nedatro]

((xDD))

Seeing his brother look frantically about, Nedatro flattened himself against the wall once more.

Can't let him see me..

But he seems to be in one of his good, or at least neutral, moods! He's not going to--

MUST NOT LET HIM SEE ME...

Argument going on in his head, he silenced himself, though allowing him not to hold breathe this time.

[Duester]

A growl of frustration almost, almost escaped his maw. Still nothing. Still nothing. Nothing. Crania finally moved, tipping slightly over his shoulder so he could scan the wood. Nares flared tentatively for a moment, but.. he could not smell anything. Perhaps it was the mist.. or the creature was downwind. Duester dearly hoped so. He couldn't be losing his sanity, like Domani. Not like Domani.

Okay. Calm. He let his head fall back forward, then paused and rolled his shoulders to loosen them. Feeling quite vulnerable, he pulled his small, light frame up. For a moment the pup stood and glanced around. He could go to the cave, perhaps. But then whatever he was convinced was watching him would know about it. He could run, as the perverse little voice persistently urged him to. But doubtless, if it gave chase he was as good as dead.

And really, dead was not good. He didn't want to be dead. Not now. Too young. He blinked, casting his gaze back to the ground before his paws. Okay. Okay. He could call out, in case the creature would reply. But for the moment, a chilling sense of foreboding at his position locked him in place. Tongue darted out to nervously graze his maw as he dared yet another skim of the clearing.

[Nedatro]

See? He's just not liking the feeling of me, or anyone else, watching him.. I could relieve him the stress, go and greet him...

I don't know that. he could know where I am, and, the moment I reveal myself, he could attack me, personality change, something, something bad.

Exactly. I've lived long in his company, and so know how to react should those things happen.

For a moment, no cons presented themselves, and he moved a forepaw to walk-- then froze.

I have grown with him, and I know that every time it's different, every time...

Then what do I suppose I do?

Wait..? Yes. Wait.[/i]

Thoughts in harmony for the moment, he did just that.

((Notice; last thought was BOTH bold and itallic. x3))

[Duester]

The whelp had been inwardly combatting his mixed desires and fancies for quite a while now. It would be best to end it now, he contemplated, rather than sit here and squirm until whatever it was decided it'd had enough and spring out to kill him. Limbs tensed for a moment, flexing his claws from oversized paws. Duester let out his breath, then turned around so that his back was to the water.

Amber optics, muted with a slate hue, narrowed slightly, underdeveloped canines bared in a futile attempt to make himself look bigger, older, stronger, fiercer... Whatever his nervous, clouded little mind was fooling itself with. His normally soft, evenly toned voice had an almost shrill ring to it as he shouted out into the shadowed wood.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

/What are you expecting, you little idiot? The big, bad wolf to come trotting out, pleading for mercy? Pfft. Oh, and look! Dear old Daddy isn't in sight. Oh, the irony./

[Nedatro]

Before the argument coule commence inside his brain again, he heard his sibling's order...it didn't sound like he was really being extremely vicious, for truth.

But what if he is, in truth, being..

Oh, why won't I just suddup! He wasnts to see me-- I have but not choice other than to comply.

Yeah.. if I don't it could and all that be as dangerous as just sittin' here and waiting for him to attack..

Hesitantly, he walked forward and into view, paws still making well nigh no sound. His body tensed with nervousness... what mood was Ster in today?

[Duester]

ooc| EDIT: ....HEE. :x Here's meh post. v.v

bic| Duester's countenance changed abruptly from nervous and shaky to.. slightly irritated as Nedatro revealed himself. He sat back on his haunches, exhaling slowly. It was only Nedatro. What in the world was he doing skulking about in the wood to scare the life out of him? A frown faintly marred the pup's maw as he eyed his sibling. He acknowledged him in a single, flatly spoken word, neither angry nor remotely joyful.

Nedatro.

Of course it was. Who else could he trust to be overly suspicious? It was as if.. as if Nedatro was afraid of him, or something. He blinked, now feeling somewhat foolish at his reaction. Fenris knows why he'd been so dubious.. It wasn't like the pup to be that way.

/Please oh please oh please don't be like him.../

[Nedatro]

Nedatro sighed, not quite one of relief, but somewhat like it.

"Duester."

It seems he is in his true mood, true personality. That's good... not in one of his strange side-personalities.

But he could always revert to a bad personali--[/b]

Shut /up/.

[Perfidy]

<sub>It was rare occasion that the little female was so far from everyone. Well, she thought so. But she was in fact rather close to her brothers, though she was quite oblivious to it. She hadn't tried at all to acknowledge the scent, much less identify it. She was a one-month-old whelp, and she had no care for scents. Actually, at the moment, she was a little distressed. Her father was somewhere unknown, patrolling the territory, and her mother was... a long way away. She hadn't seen her mother since her father took them. And that.. wasn't a real long time ago. But she doubted wholly that she was going to see her mother again. Or her other siblings, Abraxi, and Corpus.

She could see her brothers now. Oh. Near the waterfall. She exhaled rather violently, but it wasn't loud. She was just out of earshot anyway. She rested on her haunches, blinked, then wondered in vain whether to approach her brothers. No, she'd just sit here. And be discreet. A vehement scowl crossed her muzzle. Damnit. She growled to herself, took a few steps back. But then she cooled herself. No really, she was just having somewhat of a moodswing. Or she called it that. Yes, she called it that.

The bantling fixed her siblings with a passive gaze. Her siblings.. the scoundrels. It was strange. Maybe it was because that they were boys.. but she felt ostracized. Duester and his counterproductive personality switches. And Nedatro and his debating of... everything. Everything good and holy. She shook her head. They were weird. And even though she was their sister, she was scared to approach them. She always felt she'd say something wrong. She was always afraid that she'd offend someone.

She sunk down further, watching her siblings through narrowed eyes. She wanted to say something, she wanted to say something. But she wouldn't. She moved her gaze to the waterfall. It was loud. Sort of. Sort of lucky, too, that there wasn't a drought. Her dad had told her that there had been one at one point, and she feared it'd happen again. Then she'd be hungry, lonely, and god knows what. Her gaze moved off the waterfall to the rocks. Oh, rocks. Well, she loved climbing. Well, she thought she did. She stared scornfully at her claws. Well, they weren't the blunt ones of her father, but they weren't as sharp as she'd like.

But nevertheless, she rose up from her laying position, then looking at her brothers, moved toward them. However, she took a detour toward the rocks. Rather briefly she shot a discreet glance back at her brothers, then sprung onto one, like a glider. She landed safely, but then slipped slightly onto her belly, hitting her muzzle. And then she tasted blood. Oh, great. She'd bit her tongue. Her tongue hung from her mouth. It was a tiny little prick from one of her sharp little teeth, but mixing with the saliva, it looked like more. She spat it out, then clambered onto another rock, careful to keep her balance. And then, she sprung onto another, and slipped onto her belly again.

'Ouch.'

The words were quiet and muttered to herself rather than anyone else. She hadn't bit her tongue this time, but falling on her stomach wasn't comfortable. She growled silently, and clambered up onto another rock.She could see an outcropping above. She leapt up another few rocks, then looked dubiously at the outcropping. She was small, and rose up on her hind legs to get a better view. Was... was that a den? She fell backwards, suddenly, but regained her balance. But now her confidence was all but gone. She looked down to the shallow water, quivering, then hid her head under her paws. How was she to get down? Only when she mustered up the courage.

And that could be a while.

ooc| She's a little coward.</sub>

[Duester]

ooc| FONT COLOR. x333

=o Lykomg, Gecko posted.

bic| Duester jumped slightly in surprise at his sister revealing herself, then swore under his breath as he resolved not to do it again. Fenris knows why he was so jumpy today. He'd done a lot of thinking today, perhaps.. About Domani, mostly. Overprotective, overanxious... And worrying about this new paranoia. It was rather unsettling, and seemed to close over him like some ghastly fog.

He turned his gaze from Nedatro to watch her make the ascent, still saying nothing. She didn't seem to be doing particularly well, clambering and slipping like that. Crania tipped at an inquisitive angle as he watched her peer into the concealed den.. Oh, joy. Well, scratch that... But, he supposed, as long as his father didn't come across it, it wasn't pointless. The brute would probably snap over the steep climb, the slick rocks, the hazaradous fall if one lost their footing..

And then what? If the pup was forbidden to return to the hidden aperture, he had nowhere else to go to be alone for a while. It seemed that wherever he went, Nedatro and Perfidy appeared sooner or later. Duester didn't particularly like to be away from home, in an infamiliar place... He rarely strayed from the invisible boundary that encompassed the main areas of the packlands. A scowl marred his features as he pondered the scenario.

[Nedatro]

((x.=))
Nedatro watched with a blank, ungiving lok. He'd learned to mask his face so that the constant debating giong on in there couldn't be noticed by others. It wasn't much arguing at the moment, but it was still there...

Joy.
Looks like we're all together, now.
Wonder why that happens so much.. doesn't really matter... want to be alooone..
I don't mind wolves I know around...

He sighed, letting himself blabber on mentally, detatched, as he watched his sibling.

[Duester]

The trace of irritation faded into puzzlement as Duester glimpsed his brother staring relentlessly at him. He disliked to be watched, disliked to be talked about... Hell, he even disliked being thought about. And doubtless, Nedatro was thinking about him. He was always deep in contemplation over some petty thing.

"What?"

The pup rearranged himself to a more comfortable position, finally settling sprawled upon his right flank. As if suddenly forgetting about his sibling, his attention had shifted back to Perfidy. She was just.. sitting there. He vaguely considered addressing her, wondering why she would just sit there on the disgustingly slick, slimy rock like that.

But he didn't. Crania tipped at an inquisitive angle as he watched her unfalteringly, as though he was thoroughly entertained by her predicament, though no definite expression now took his face. Truly, he cared for his siblings. As much as he resented the fact that their bloodlines crossed, indeed the bond was there. A minute flicker of concern weaved desperately into his mind, pleading him to do something. Help her, maybe. At least /say/ something.

"H'lo, Perfidy."

The words finally formed and escaped tonelessly from his vocals.

[Perfidy]

<sub>Perfidy was still perched firmly upon the high rock, her cautious little eyes focused on the two pups below that were her brothers. She whimpered slightly, though from down there it was probably inaudible. She hoped. SHE HOPED. Hearing her brother speak, she rose to her paws. Then, after a wobble, she thought better of it, and lowered herself back down onto her stomach, her rough claws scrabbling at the moss on the rock. She then addressed her brother in a rather terse and meek tone, her tongue running over her tongue, rather tensely.

'Hello, Duester.'

Her fur stood up on end, but she tried in vain to stop it. She had never been this high before, never in so much danger. She could plunge to her death. She could. Or maybe not. How shallow was the water? Was it shallow enough that if she fell, she'd break her back? Dear lord. Trying to get her mind of such a violent topic, she shook her head slightly, then looked to Nedatro. He seemed to have not actually noticed she was up there, or something. Or maybe he was just--

Oh bother. She exhaled, scratching at the moss with a rather forlorn claw. She was nervous, indeed. And surprising, not just about her current situation. About wolves. Where was daddy? Where was Domani? It almost sickened herself that she thought of her father as "daddy", but she liked him. More than mother. Perhaps, because he saw his father more often. Domani was running a pack, though she hadn't noticed too many members about. She exhaled, looking at Duester nervously. She never got the feeling that he liked her, or for the matter the fact that they were siblings.

Of course, Duester was the one with the multiple personalities, but there had to be a happy medium. A grey area? Some... ugh. All this was rather confusing for the bantling. She had messed up siblings. Nedatro was always ticking things away in his mind. She could see it in his eyes. But then again, Perfidy was nothing to be proud of. She was paranoid, she was extremely shy, she was delusional. Perfidy was a mental breakdown waiting to happen. Of course, she didn't act it. She tried to stay composed around any company. Of course, she was never good at meeting gazes or when other wolves touched her. Playfights - although the three siblings weren't exactly at that stage anymore - were a threat to her. She just hated them.

Perfidy whimpered again, the sound becoming a rough drone against the sound of the water. Her limbs shaking magnificently, she raised a bit, looking with malice to the rock below. Oh, blast. She didn't want to leap down onto it. She didn't. Nevertheless, she lunged blindly towards it. And - WHAM, she hit it. Well, boy it hurt a little. But it was a lot better than falling all the way to the vicious (maybe that was just her perception) waters below. She looked rather nervously to the next rock, whining quietly. Her legs were shaky, and she severely doubted that she would slide down this "slope" with ease. But she had to get down somehow.

She jumped onto another rock. The water was now rather a bit closer, the sound of it louder than before. And then, she lost her footing, and plunged into the water. Quite fortunately, she wasn't too far from it and it shocked but not stunned her. A muzzle shattered the surface of the water about ten seconds after she went in, gasping for air. Paws, large in proportion to the bantling's body, paddled across the turbulent water, until the bedraggled whelp dragged herself out of the water.

Moving away from her brothers as to not spray them, she shook off her pelt, shivering slightly, her body shaking. They could laugh at her, but they didn't really seem the type. She was still quite frightened, despite the fact that she was on solid, firm ground now. Her eyes watched her brothers, wondering what they'd think. She then shook off her pelt again, her small frame shuddering slightly.

ooc| Perfidy is so easy to write posts for, unlike Domani.</sub>