Adventure Mishaps {Crow/Phineas/Anyone}

[nightblood]

Ziro lowered himself to the ground when Umbra approached him. The bloodshot eye giving off some type of mental warning. He lowered his ears when their noses nearly touch. He couldn't help but gaze into that crazed eye.

"Young one...what do you fear?"

Shaking his head roughly once again, Ziro put on his bravest face and stared at the gray wolf as if he were a rival. "Nothing while within the borders of my home." The loyalty in his voice surprised even him, but his expression remained confident. The phrase was carried down in his home pack. He saw it fitting to continue saying it here. Once he'd grown older and more mature, he would understand it's wisdom, but for now- it was simply tradition and habit.

NightBlood stood amazed at the pup's reaction. Though her face remained cold and hardened, she held pride for the pup. Arnlan would soon have another full grown wolf worthy to be called a member of Arnlan. She watched as Mortil approached her. Ziro's eyes had followed him as well. Red eyes soon met green. A message was passed between them. One of understanding. Blood nodded slightly at the pup as Mortil sat down beside her.

"You have no idea how interesting my life is with Umbra around."

"Oh, I'm sure I can relate a tiny bit," she whispered back, referring to the time when she once had a split personality. She didn't miss the conversations in her head one bit. Not budging and inch from her position, only her eyes moved when a movement caught her attention. A new, but slightly familiar face. What was his name again? Phin... Phine...

"Phineas," she said aloud, bowing her head in a greeting as he approached her opposite side.

"I say, there, NightBlood! We have happened upon each other once more. Why not introduce me to your fine friends?"

"Crow, Ziro, Orion, Mortil," she rattled off nodding to each wolf she named. With a jerk of her head, she motioned toward the other wolf beside her. "Phineas. Recently accepted. Crow, I think I told you about him."

Her voice was bored in manner, but in truth, she was quite delighted to be in such company. At least now, she could witness some of the interaction between the Arnlanians, even if she was the one being most addressed.

[sarhea]

{{sorry for the delay-crazy weekend made it impossible to post-this is gonna be short....sorry}}

Orion felt himself instinctively rise to his feet the moment Mortil approached the red pup in such a threating manner. The ash gray wolf's voice had changed, his eye turning red. Chills ran down his spine as he wondered what the heck was going on, and how such a 'mad' creature had been allowed to enter Arnlan's borders. He had no idea what he would have done had Umbra attacked the youngster. But then the brave voice of the pup came forth

"Nothing while within the borders of my home."

The kid's courage left him in awe, standing there almost stupidly as Umbra calmed and Mortil once more took over, moving in to sit next to Nightblood. The awkward silence he'd found himself in was broke by the entrance of the scent he'd picked up earlier...finally the hidden wolf had made an appearance. This wolf approached Night as well-She was doing a fine job at Sentry-which made him regret being so reclusive the past few months. As a future scout, he should know all the members of the pack-a problem he would have to remedy.

The new wolf's name was announced-Phineas... the pup was called Ziro, and Mortil, well Mortil he just couldn't quite figure out, and he was unsure if he wanted to.

Orion forced himself to move, drawing closer to the group, nodding his welcome to the newly arrived Phineas.

"It is nice to meet you, Phineas, Ziro....Mortil," he repeated the names, committing them to memory. He flinched slightly as he realized that he'd been hesitant in repeating Mortil's name. He diverted his gaze from the group and focused on Ziro.

"Hey kid," he whispered. "Ziro-what did you do to Night, by the way?" A lame question, but the pup had hinted that he in fact had done something to the large female. And anything to take his mind off his uneasiness over Mortil.

[Electus]

Mortil dipped his head briefly. "A pleasure, I am sure."[/b]

"Nothing while within the borders of my home."

Mortil smiled slightly. The young one was brave, but the ash-grey wolf doubted that he really knew what he was talking about. Nevertheless...he was indeed interesting. "Then you'd best do well not to stray too close to the border Ziro. Foul things prowl these lands, and while Nightblood and Crow perform their jobs well, they'll not always be there." Mortil spoke, of course, from experience, as always.

"It is nice to meet you, Phineas, Ziro....Mortil"

Mortil could feel the wolf flinch. He looked at him, smiling. "You have heard of my...condition?" he said, getting up and circling once and sitting again. "I assure you, there is nothing to worry about."

Aren't we being bold?[/color]

A bit, I guess. What about you? Getting used to having a pack again?[/color]

As long as they don't attack us like last time, I am content.[/color]

[Bandersnatch]

"Young one...what do you fear?"
"Nothing while within the borders of my home."

The motherly she-wolf smiled softly toward the pup. That was the way it should be. He was safe here – and she would do her duty to see it stayed that way. He certainly had a lot of spunk.
She watched as Mortil – Umbra? – circled him, but there was no ill-intent. Done with his studying, he sat by Night and Crow was able to unknot her muscles yet again.

"Then you'd best do well not to stray too close to the border Ziro. Foul things prowl these lands, and while Nightblood and Crow perform their jobs well, they'll not always be there."
While Mortil’s words had not exactly comforting, the compliment did not go unnoticed. Crow gave him a soft smile – sincere and thankful, though not without just a touch on uncertainty.

The entry of yet another pack member was, for one of the few moments in recent times, not greeted by a jump on Crow’s part. Her little jolts were a habit she seemed to have developed quickly in her months of being seemingly solitary, but now in the extended company of others it was slowly fading back away. Not that the male’s entrance had been a faze out of the shadows - the sort of drama that was so often reserved for Alphas Sofika and Karolek seemed to enjoy. He had moved, quickly though in plain sight, with little mind to the sounds of shuffling snow and frozen leaves beneath his feet. Crow had distantly noticed his scent wafting around in the undergrowth but with the mingling of the scents of others, both familiar and relatively still new, it hadn’t been bought forth in her mind. She turned an ear as he made his way toward the gathering – certainly a group unusually large for Arnlan.

"I say, there, NightBlood! We have happened upon each other once more. Why not introduce me to your fine friends?"
Crow cocked her head, studying the newcomer with an ignited curiosity. His words seemed patiently eloquent, laced with a cheeriness that, like the meeting, had been mostly absent from Arnlan for quite some time. The majority of Arnlan’s wolves had preferred to keep their words to themselves. Such changed that were happening in the pack were welcomed by the she-wolf. Her jaw slumped into a friendly open-mouthed smile, tongue flickering freely with her breath. Judging by scent, he was still relatively new in these parts. The musty smell of Arnlan hadn’t yet got hold of him in the way it claimed its long-standing members.

"Phineas,"
Crow swiveled an ear to the larger sentry. If he was new and she hadn’t accepted him, he could’ve only been one of Night’s inductees. Her greeting confirmed it. The smallest of the mature wolves dipped her head in appropriate greeting as Nightblood rambled off her name in amongst the others.

"Phineas. Recently accepted. Crow, I think I told you about him."
The she-wolf paused in thought, though quickly the moment was dug back up. It had been a part of the impromptu report. When she had found out about Ziko… Crow clapped her jaws shut again, though managed to keep her smile with a little effort. She gave a small nod of confirmation. Yes, she remembered.

Crow half-listened as the others uttered their own replies. It was the conversation that followed that interested her.
"Hey kid, Ziro-what did you do to Night, by the way?"
The free sepia ear shifted toward Orion, glad he asked. She hadn’t actually seen anything as such and was rather curious herself.

[Donn]

"You have heard of my...condition? I assure you, there is nothing to worry about."

Phineas regarded Mortil for a few seconds, before coming to the conclusion that whatever condition he claimed to have, Phineas had not heard a thing about it. It didn't appear to be a physical deformation, that would be obvious, but from the hesitation of Orion, he guessed it was something unpleasant. However, there was no harm in asking. "I apologise if I may seem intrusionary, and do not hesitate in the slightest to halt my curiosity, but if Mortil might specify what condition that he speaks of, it would dissolve my lack of understanding in that regard." He said it quite innocently, his orange eyes meeting Mortil's own, with a neutral expression. "You must of course understand, amicus meus, that I have only just arrived."

((ARGH! How do you people make your posts so LOONG!?))

[nightblood]

"Then you'd best do well not to stray too close to the border Ziro. Foul things prowl these lands, and while Nightblood and Crow perform their jobs well, they'll not always be there."

"Yessir."

Ziro kept green eyes on Mortil as he moved toward NightBlood and sat down. Pleased with himself and how he acted, the pup sat up a little straighter, only to pull back down slightly when he heard Orion approaching him. He twisted an ear n his direction, while attempting to keep his eyes on Mortil.

"Hey kid," he whispered. "Ziro-what did you do to Night, by the way?"

Letting out a small laugh, the pup leaned closer to the older male's ear and held his paw up to shield his mouth in order to muffle his voice from the others.

"I hit her in the head," he whispered triumphantly, "Next time I'll pull her tail so I don't get nailed with a paw."

With a satisfied grin, he sat up straight again and listened in on Mortil's and Phineas's conversation. He wanted to know about this 'condition' too. It may be the reason he carried so many battle scars. He just noticed too, that he had been missing part of one ear.

NightBlood, on the other hand, let out a moderately loud yawn. When Mortil had first been accepted, she had wanted to test his abilities as a fighter. After beholding the fight between him and Archer, and more recently, him and Ultionis, she concluded that any ill-willed intentions toward Mortil would prove fatal via Umbra. She liked living. And because of this fact, she had grown quite used to Umbra- both nice and nasty. He was a good ally, if not a temperamental one. To show her comfort around him, Blood laid down and folded her paws neatly in front of her, looking directly at Orion and Ziro, whom she believed might be up to something. After a moment, she looked away. Unfortunately, her eye landed on the gash in Mortil's chest. Her ears lowed as she frowned. She wondered just how much pain the gray wolf was in right now.

[sarhea]

[[O-o; I'm really confused as to who Mortil had been talking to-I though it was Orion, but it seems maybe not? Oh well, lol...enough wonding about it-sorry for letting that little thing delay my response]]

Orion noticed Ziro crouch down a bit at his approach. The pup's eyes were still locked on the gray wolf with the dual personality, and rightfully so. At least, from the wolf's last statment, the unpredictable side of him appeared to be under control, and Mortil had the right idea about warning the pup about the dangers of the borders. He lowered his head down to Ziro's level as the pup lifted a paw to shield his words. Orion couldn't help but grin once more as he tilted his head in closer so the pup's secret would stay as secret as possible.

"I hit her in the head," "Next time I'll pull her tail so I don't get nailed with a paw."

As much as he tried to surpress it, a giggle snort escaped his maw, and Orion's eyes slightly watered as he tried with all his might to keep from loosing his cool and erupting in laughter. The kid definately had guts, and Orion could picture the incident so clearly in his mind. Oh how much fun it would have been to had seen it happen. He briefly caught Nightblood glancing their way. He lowered his head, his voice a muffled whisper next to the pup's ear.

"Your play'n with trouble on that one, kid. You can try, but I still think you'll get nailed. Though you may have better luck if you approach her from behind on her left side-I do believe her vision is a bit impaired on that side as I have also noticed she has a limp on that side."

He was terrible. He shouldn't be helping the kid cause trouble, but Orion liked Ziro's spunk, and mischievous at heart as he was, it had been a long time since there was someone willing to pull such pranks.

[Electus]

Mortil shifted his weight and lay down next to Nightblood, yawning slightly. Even since his wounds started healing, he tired easily, and the strain of such long company wore on him like the frightful gashes on his forehead, side, and chest.

"I apologise if I may seem intrusionary, and do not hesitate in the slightest to halt my curiosity, but if Mortil might specify what condition that he speaks of, it would dissolve my lack of understanding in that regard."

The ash-grey swiveled his one good eye to bear on Phineas. "Very well. Do not apologise...for my condition is the concern of all. It wouldn't do well to kill a fellow pack mate, after all."

He closed his eye, and when he opened it again, it was blood red. As Umbra spoke, his voice spread a slight chill into the area, enough to shiver the spine of any wolf there. "The name is Umbra. I am a killer, an assassin, a taker of lives. I am a demon, I am the Death Shade. Dispute with me not, if you value your life. What do you wish to know? Looking at you...you seem to be a smart one. I'm sure you can already guess."[/color]

Feeling dramatic today?[/color]

Why...yes.[/color]

[Bandersnatch]

(nothing productive & don't want to hold you guys up - skip me)

[Donn]

Phineas stared in mild surprise. Realising he was being impolite, he said "Ah, forgive me for my staring... Umbra. Or is it Mortil?" Phineas stood silent for a second. This was a new one. Mortil had a condition, in which he claimed himself to be called Umbra, an apparent murderer. Some form of Dissociative Identity Disorder, perhaps? It was indeed an interesting condition, and the first of it's kind Phineas had seen. Without warning, Phineas grinned, "Well, an honour to meet your aquaintance, Umbra. Most appropriate name for such an introduction, I'm sure. Though I must ask how oft Arnlan partakes in theatrics, for you are the second in as many days to give me such advice. One might wonder if you are the subject of many such disagreements." Phineas noticed irritably that the pup and Orion were muttering to themselves, and Phineas disapproved of muttering.

[nightblood]

"Your play'n with trouble on that one, kid. You can try, but I still think you'll get nailed. Though you may have better luck if you approach her from behind on her left side-I do believe her vision is a bit impaired on that side as I have also noticed she has a limp on that side."

Ziro's eyes brightened up as he heard the information. He turned to face Orion and show his full appreciation of such knowledge.

"Thanks, man. I didn't know about her limp. I could probably outrun her if I got a good enough head-start too," he said, his voice still hushed.

"The name is Umbra. I am a killer, an assassin, a taker of lives. I am a demon, I am the Death Shade. Dispute with me not, if you value your life. What do you wish to know? Looking at you...you seem to be a smart one. I'm sure you can already guess."

Though she had grown used to Umbra, NightBlood could not help but shiver as he spoke from beside her. Inwardly, she wondered if there was any wolf he trusted fully, or if he ever would. According to Mortil, he didn't... at least last time they spoke about him.

Ziro, on the other hand, was more interested in this gray wolf now than he had been when he first arrived. It was clear to him that both Mortil and Umbra shared one body. They were separate wolves, one more hateful than the other. He wanted to know exactly how each operated. In all honesty, he was only curious for curiosity's sake, but there were victories to be gained with knowledge. With that in mind, he crept a little closer to the three wolves at the mouth of the cave, lowering himself to the ground and moving in a hunting fashion even though he was clearly in plain sight.

"Well, an honour to meet your aquaintance, Umbra. Most appropriate name for such an introduction, I'm sure. Though I must ask how oft Arnlan partakes in theatrics, for you are the second in as many days to give me such advice. One might wonder if you are the subject of many such disagreements."

NightBlood, though half-confused by Phineas's words, had an idea of what to say to the question, but she;d be damned if she was going to interrupt Umbra during his rare appearance to newcomers.

As soon as he noticed he was being watched, Ziro crouched down into the snow and pulled his ears back. He wasn't afraid of getting attacked physically by Phineas, but he didn't want to be confronted by him verbally either.

[Sarhea Unable to Reply]

[[sorry for the delays, but I just don't have time at the moment to reply-please skip me]]

[Squeeji]

Levy had been quiet as death since Ziko had disappeared, the two boys had been friends and playmates, but now there was only one left, the shy one, the wallflower, the wolf who had lived the entirety of his life before Arnlan completely invisible.

The only proof of the little male's existence was a collect of rabbits in the food storage with his scent, and a brief stint with a couple of cats at the border. Levy had always been a bit of a shut in. But he was at least an inquisitive shut in.

The short squat almost pup-like wolf sat some strides away, watching the group curiously, but not sure enough that he should come to visit, he knew one of the wolves at least, the pretty sepia female who seemed very nice. But the rest of them looked a bit threatening. Dangerous.

And Levy didn't like dangerous.

But he almost pained to come over and say something, he was so lonely all the time...he hungered to talk to someone...but really he knew he'd just make a fool out of himself. So he sat just strides away in the open mulling over his conflict of interests.

[sarhea]

Orion grinned as Ziro brightened with mischief at his suggestion. He still felt guilty in a way for revealing the information. Nightblood would surely knock him on his butt should Ziro ever tell where he'd received his information. But he felt it worth the consequences to make the pup feel more at home.

His own gaze locked onto Mortil as the gray wolf spoke.
"Very well. Do not apologise...for my condition is the concern of all. It wouldn't do well to kill a fellow pack mate, after all."

Do what? Orion snapped to a ridged sitting position, having missed Phineas' original question. Now all he was hearing was something about attacking pack members...served him right for not paying attention and helping to stir trouble with the youngsters...He couldn't help but stare directly at Mortil, his expression now very much alert. And then Umbra's appearance....The already cold air seemed to instantly grow colder, a chill racing down his spine once more as the monster spoke.
"The name is Umbra. I am a killer, an assassin, a taker of lives. I am a demon, I am the Death Shade. Dispute with me not, if you value your life. What do you wish to know? Looking at you...you seem to be a smart one. I'm sure you can already guess."

Now Orion stood, staying in place, his brown eyes still locked on Umbra. He ignored the fact that the question had been directed at Phineas.

"It is not the way of Arnlan to attack pack members, but that's not to say that everyone will always get along. Are you saying that this Death Shade side of you, Umbra, is likely to take Arnlan life in the event of any scuffle?"

Orion blurted out the question without much thought. He was young, naive, but the words that Umbra had spoken unsettle him greatly. Was this wolf a danger to the pack?

[Donn]

((VXIII? Hello?))