Wandering Days

[Kaziph]

Nuri kept quiet for most of the journey south, but his ears were always pricked and open to hear whatever Amaya had to say. They days passed, but they made it to the border of Akeldama in good time, all things considered. The evenings were growing chillier faster now, and soon it would be winter and snowy.

The open deadlands were as bad as the white wolf remembered them being, but he felt drawn to them after seeing his daughter. He wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and his family's forested home. Nuri wanted nothing to do with the woodlands. That had always been Nasir's dream.

Finally he paused and looked back, wondering if they should begin to bed down for the night. Soon they would have to hunt, for berries and rodents didn't last long in a traveling wolf's stomach. He glanced back to Amaya, questioning in his eyes. How do you fare? Shall we stay here, or continue on? We have arrived at Akeldama, the deadlands.

[Zanna]

Traveling with Nuri over the past few days had mellowed Amaya's fear of her new island home. The male was gentle of voice and a good listener. Although she seldom spoke as they traveled, his ears always seemed open to hear her when she did. The chill nights brought by the approach of winter only made his company more welcome. She was grateful not to be alone when the winds howled with fury, her ancestors accusing her of committing wrongs.

As they had ventured farther from the lake, she had begun to like her surroundings less and less. The life and vigor that had filled the land had gradually ebbed away as they moved on, and now they stood in what he called "Akeldama," understanding for the first time what the word truly meant. She had seen lands that were brown and ill after times of drought, but this place didn't seem ill. As Nuri had said, the land was dead, never to live again. Did any prey live here? She doubted anything at all lived here, even dared to breathe, aside from them. Her paws ached somewhat, she couldn't imagine how Nuri felt, being so much elder than she. He's been doing this all his life... The thought surprised her. Of course he had been doing it all his life... Does he still feel the wearyness of long travel, or had the sensation been left somewhere as he moved through?

She blinked longer than she would have liked, betraying how tired she was, but she smiled nonetheless. I fare well. I will continue, if you like. She leaned into the ground, stretching her back, which gave a quiet but satisfying crack. Her tail wagged slightly behind her as she met the male's eyes straight on.

[Kaziph]

Nuri shook his head when she cracked her back, wondering how much pain it would cause her later in life when she came to be closer to his age. He had noted, though, the tiredness of her eyes and knew they would have to rest soon. He himself was growing weary, but he had learned over time to not show it as much, for it could be a signal of weakness for another predator. The lanky white wolf started walking again, this time slowly, heading off to a place he had once known and used as a resting place. It was well sheltered, if nothing else.

He doubted there was much food to be found here, but soon they would have to start looking. It had been seasons since he had hunted the Akeldama, but it was possible to find food if one knew where to look. Eventually he came within sight a large rocky outcrop, standing alone in the middle of the open, pale grassy region. Elsewhere in the land there was dust and red dirt as the ground, desert-like. Yet here there was scant earth covered with small shrubs and yellowed-grasses.

Nuri approached the outcrop carefully, scenting as he went along to make certain no scents other than their own were fresh. After checking around the area, the white wolf sighed and approached it straight on, making for a slight indentation in the earth. It was a dark cave which arched and swirled back and forth like a river - which it had once been - but they weren't going in that deep.

He glanced back to Amaya, offering a soft smile. Welcome to one of the few shelters in this forsaken land. Learn it well, because this place all begins to look the same after a while. He then turned and padded to the entrance, sliding inside with little effort and issuing a yawn while he made room for his traveling companion. Once he had settled and laid down, he stared out the entrance, lost in thought.

[Zanna]

Amaya nodded at the males words, taking in the sight of the cave, making a memory of it's image. She followed him into the dark, wondering what other things had previously taken refuge in this place. She hoped that they were all long gone. Her eyes blinked rapidly for a moment, adjusting to the dark. She had no desire to trip over a hidden stone or injure a paw in an unseen crack. The cave was far from the cushy, bedded dens many pack wolves slept in, but it was windless and safe from the elements.
Once her eyesight was sufficiently clear, she proceeded to lie down beside Nuri. She licked troublesome sand and stones from between her paws, a yawn escaping her maw. Her eyes flitted closed without another thought as she drifted to sleep.

((sorry for the icky post... My sister just woke up from her nap.))

[Kaziph]

Nuri listened as Amaya's breathing evened out and eventually became the deep calmness of sleep. He sighed quietly beside her, watching the stars through the opening of the cave's entrance. He remembered a long time before when he had come here, but for some reason he couldn't place what other wolf had been with him. Surely he hadn't been alone then, too? His tired brown eyes blinked, pondering over his life as he laid there beside the she-wolf.

He had been raised as a loner by his mother, and his sister Nasir by their father, but he never considered going into a clan for good. That was the key problem between himself and Larka, his one time mate. They had decided to have offspring for the good of the forest, the place where his roots touched ground. He wondered now what would have happened if he had gone with her and raised his own children, been a real father to them.

But such thoughts were useless now, and as he settled down to sleep, his dreams instead wandered north, where his family ran under the trees of the forest, running into the night with stars under their paws and the moonshine on their silver dappled backs.