Morning Promise [Eclipse, Irving]

[Eclipse]

OOC: Here Irving! I am posting your post first, then I'll reply in a minute or two! We will continue our RP here, but in a cleaner way.

The thin, amber grasses of wild oats lay limply against eachother for support. Their tall stalks heavy with the burden of last night's rain and looking slightly gloomy as more cloud cover rolled in. It was a typical late autumn day. The air was cold and damp, a very fine mist was carried on the sigh of a chilly breeze even though the sun was peaking out from behind his ethereal realm. The territory was fairly boring. Flat and isolated, save for a songbird or two who were wintering here. A rare splash of red or orange in the surrounding forest, but for the most part the land was bare.

The brute's heavy, sloppy footfalls resonated through the otherwise quiet meadow. His lean frame splashed with mud since he began jumping in every puddle he could find. A wide, silly grin playing across his face and his tongue lolling as he took in the sights and sounds of the territory with a state of child-like glee. His wet fur tossed around by unseen hands, Tharin's lean frame stood confidently on the only hill for miles.
The slope dipped sharply down, creating a ravine-like effect and giving a picturesque view of the mountains and conifer forest in the distance. The mountains stood like silent, looming sentinels. Distant and foreboding on an otherwise calm and cheerful day.

Though, it didn't seem to faze Tharin any; His wander-lust would never be satisfied until he could scale that mountain and he was bound and determined to do so. Though for now, he seemed perfectly content to play in the field while waiting for his mate to catch up with him.

[Eclipse]

Eclipse listened to her mate playing ahead, and laughed. She smiled and crept up behind him, pouncing and tumbling down into the mud with him, both of them now covered and splattered with multiple drying layers of the smelly grime. "Ick, you're dirty!" She laughed and nipped his ear, kissing him.

OOC: Sorry, brain dead.

[Captain (Irv)]

Tharin smiled suggestively, but what-ever he was going to say was cut short. A brief, although loud, stuttering screech erupted from the patch of conifers just below them. Insane, bitter laughter erupted shortly after. The resonating feminine cackle that sounded as if it'd wake the dead swept through the prairie before it broke off into another shriek of terror.

"What the hell...?

Tharin wriggled himself out from under her, his teal eyes wide as a shock of cold fear ran down his spine. He looked to Eclipse for confirmation that she heard it too before going into instant-protective mode. Whatever it was didn't sound happy and he'd be damned before he let anything hurt his mate.

Ooc: xx; Thought I responded earlier, sorry 'bout that!!
Also... Shortshortshort >:

[Eclipse]

OOC: It's kk!!!!

Eclipse froze, staring hard at the distant noises, trying to see the maker of such a terrible noise. "What was that?" She growled fearfully. She turned and crept a little closer, searching silently. She motioned to Tharin and broke into a jog, racing on silent velvet paws to investigate. She never was one to be easily scared...

[Captain (Irv)]

Tharin followed, his large paws thudding quietly against the sloppy turf.

-<->-<->-<->-<->-<->-<->-<->-

The undergrowth of sharp, prickly shrubs prevented him from getting too close. Tharin's keen vision caught sight of a thin figure only a few feet away. Quickly, pressed his belly to the wet leaves below him, desperately trying to watch the willowy female from the protection of the thorns. The smell of blood hit him like a ton of bricks, his hackles rose as he gagged involuntarily.

The sound attracted her attention and immediately her head swiveled to find the source of the noise. Finding nothing for the moment, she gave a finalizing kick to the body beneath her before moving off at a brisk trot. Her willowy figure disappearing into the dense, morning fog.

Tharin hesitantly poked his head out only to be greeted with an icy chill that ran down his spine.
In the clearing was a dead coydog. Her eyes still wide in shock as blood pooled from her nose and mouth.

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[Eclipse]

Eclipse closed in, pushing through the bushes and breaking into the clearing just in time to see the female's tail disappearing. She looked around, seeing Tharin's shocked face. "What Honey---" She followed his gaze and gasped, jerking back from the pool of blood she'd almost stepped in. The coydog seemed as though staring back at her, and she started breathing hard from fright. "What the hell?!" She demanded, "What happened?"

[Captain (Irv)]

"I... I really don't know." Tharin murred, trying to keep his husky voice free of the terror that was rippling through him. "It was really one-sided, she didn't stand a chance..." He added, his voice painfully cold-sounding towards the fact that they'd just witnessed murder. His paws carried him closer, trembling as he snuffed the area around the little body. Tharin nudged her cheek gently, attempting to see if he could get any scent off of her.

His shock could not be hidden as he reeled back in absolute terror, slipping and falling on the blood-soaked leaves. Tharin's jaw hung wide open, his breathing quickened. Even though it was mixed with the metallic scent of blood and the musty odor of the coydog, the smell was unmistakable.

"Eclipse..." He said softly, choking back a sob, "I - It can't be true. She couldn't have done this, something's wrong with her, Eclipse! Neinna..." Tharin's voice cracked loudly. He'd not spoken of his daughter for years, saying her name felt strange, almost foreign. Words couldn't describe how much it hurt him to bring her up now, associating her name with a crime he couldn't comprehend.
"Nienna wouldn't hurt a fly."

[Eclipse]

Eclipse continued to stare with shock at the coydog, then heard Tharin's stuttering. At first she was confused, then she spoke, questioningly. "Who's Nienna?" She asked softly, her eyes panicked, yet gentle and curious, worried and loving, for her mate. She could sense there was going to be a long story behind the strange sounding name, and it scared her, but she trusted him to tell her the truth.

She sat down, far enough away that the blood didn't puddle at her paws, and pulled her mate over beside her. She licked his cheek gently, encouraging him to speak, and to tell her what he meant by this foreign name. Nienna...

[Captain (Irv)]

Tharin stood up slowly, stumbling around as he tried to regain his footing. His tail drooped between his shaking legs. Finding himself dizzy, he slowly sat down again. His head swimming, spinning... As a father, his world was turned upside-down. No parent would believe their own eyes if they witnessed something this horrendous, surely something must be wrong with their vision. Perhaps his nose was playing tricks on him... Yet the scent was undeniable. It was hers.

"Nienna's my daughter... The only survivor out of a litter of four." Heavy sobs racked his slim body, no longer to hide them behind a mask of shock and fear. He fell down again, covering his tawny face with a white paw. "I should've been there for them... None of this would've hap pend if I'd been there for her. I lied Eclipse, she didn't leave me. I left her... I couldn't resist one more adventure and as a result, I lost them. My former mate wanted nothing to do with me... I can't blame her." Tharin sniffled loudly, his tears seemed to finally stop. Not because he felt better, but because he had no more to shed. In their place came loud, agonizingly dry cries.

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[Eclipse]

Eclipse worried, trying to force her mate to sit so he could speak. However, as soon as he was able to, his words made her recoil faster then a cobra after its prey.

"Your daughter?" She cried, shock showing through. She was no longer focused on the murder they had just seen, but the fact that he had kept a secret this big from her, despite what she had been willing to give him. Her virginity and complete, absolute faith, for example.

The hurt was clear on her face as she backed up slightly. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your first... You were mine." She said accusingly.