illusion of sanctuary. / open; joining.

[ivan.]

this is only the illusion of sanctuary.

ivan had never expected to find himself in a place such as this; it looked so dangerous and as if it had to take a daring wolf to even step foot on such land! ivan always wanted to be like that, no matter how hard he tried to push the feeling away, his weary mind would just force it back to the surface once more. he couldn't just ignore the fact that he was a naturally pathetic soul. after what had happened to him in the past, he'd best be. however, the feelings of inadequacy ivan experienced dug him into a rut-- one so deep and made of something so hard so that he could neither climb or dig his way out of it. he truly felt stuck in the world, stuck in his metaphorical association of his own lacking a being trapped.

the warm breeze was able to calm ivan from his thoughts. it seemed to be calling his name with its whistling, like a friend long-lost to the male. it was tinged with the warmth of spring-time and rattled with the weight of the coming fall. it felt coarse against his scruffy fur, furthering the tightly mangled mess that was ivan's light-brown coat. his ears were focused forward upon his cranium, tuning into the sounds of nature around him.

there was the hazel-green grass, swaying from side-to-side with the gentle breeze, the buffalo who wandered the plateau, feeding on the grass and other plants, and then there was ivan-- the wolf who silently watched over the seeming-lucidity. everything here seemed to be so peaceful with the occasional bird who flew high above, searching the lands for an animal, long-dead by its enemy. he hadn't turned away or made a move since he first came upon the place; his body was kept at a halt, his eyes the only part of his body which moved to scour the land.

it was truly gorgeous, to ivan at least. he couldn't fathom how anybody could not take a liking to it. it looked like a sanctuary, from where he stood. he could have so easily never moved and just stared out across the land, studying the buffalo and other animals who had made their homes within this land. he had to ask himself if he was crazy to want to stay here for the rest of his life. it was exactly what he was looking for all of his life-- something to look at and say, "that's the place i feel happy at."

after quite a while of simply gazing out over the land, ivan finally moved one of his fore-paws forward and took a step, the grass rustling beneath his paws. the sun was just beginning to dip beneath the horizon, its rays becoming a deep orange shade. most of the animals began to retreat back into the safety of their homes. but ivan did not turn away to find his way to a place he could stay; he continued on, further into the place.

his body was tense, his joints seeming to be locked in their places, and his tail relaxed against his hide-legs. his movements seemed to clearly show his astonishment with the territory. he hadn't been paying attention to his own safety when a rustle in the grass behind him startled him from his trance-like state.

his head whipped back towards where he had heard the sound, his tail raised slightly and his fur bristled. his eyes caught a dark silhouette in the distance as another string of rustling-sounds emerged to ivan's ears. it was small and fat; ivan soon would make what he feared out to be a rabbit. his tail lowered as the feelings of being threatened subsided. he was much calmer now, than he was before when the rabbit had made a sudden movement. however, he was still on edge, as he was caught off guard.

652. Esperanza; open. big whoop.

[Esperanza]

The day was definitely one of the most beautiful ones she had seen in a while. They were just exiting the winter into the spring and already, life was flowing, babies were running, just about everywhere. In fact, the alpha had just managed to snag herself a decent sized calf from the bison herd about 50 feet from where she now lay, hidden among the grassland plateau.As she chowed into the meal, she gazed at the herd. They were steadily moving along. Well, all except the mother of the calf Esperanza had killed - she was still eyeing the wolf with large, sad eyes. The wolf almost felt pity for the mother bison, but she had to live, which meant others would need to die. Unlike the bison, she could not live off the green of the land, she needed meat, and sometimes that involved taking from the living, even if they'd done nothing to deserve it. It was just a way of life. 

Maybe next year the cow would be more lucky and have bear a calf that would survive. But, in the end, the more fortunate side, the bison were doing well this year, the herd was larger than ever. It only proved to the alpha that she had made an excellent decision in claiming the land she had. However, there was a new scent on the other side of the plateau. It wasn't bison, though it was much further away, probably on the very edge of the Madison Range. At the moment, she was too caught up on her meal to really pay attention. The only other predators that seemed to show up - or more so scavengers - were the coyotes and the vultures. The bears and other wolves if they came by tended to stay toward the ridge or the creek.

However, when the scent blasted her nose and she grew aware that it was another wolf, she was on her paws, ditching her kill for the scavengers, to question them before they actually passed over her border. Her swift trot picked up into a steady lope, bringing her closer to the intruder much faster. Of course, she kept her cool, slowing back into the trot when she caught sight of the wolf himself. She could smell his masculine scent, and he was a little on the scraggly side, leading her to believe he was a loner. Either way, she shook out her coat, allowing the whites to brighten and the golden flecks to shine against the tan plateau. She was impressive looking, and she knew it. She approached cautiously, but composed. Her ears were perked, tail arched, her whole body taking up her dominant role as leader.

Still, she did nothing to offend, frighten, or dominate the male wolf. Instead, she walked up beside him, casting her gaze out over the buffalo plateau and kept her eyes off of him. He already seemed agitated or spooked by something, so she wasn't going to make it any worse. She was patient, and for a while she stood there in silence, admiring the view as the wolf beside her did. Finally, though, she spoke up.

"It's rather beautiful from this view, isn't it?" She asked, her voice as smooth as silk, turning her honey colored eyes to look at the brute beside her.
ivan.

[ivan.]

wide eyes; sweetened lies. all these sadly tangled lives. they cross, they twist, they fall, they rise. all these sadly tangled lives so broken and in despair. irrefutable broken lies sweetened highs and sullen lullabies. children cry, parents lie-- All these things, left in disrepair never true despair. Once upon a times , lullabies, and sweetened highs. Despair untrue-- tattered emotions and fanciful notions.

There was something about that place that just made Ivan feel such a sense of security-- Something so calming, that it made him feel as if there wasn't anything else to do but stare. He felt bad. Not for himself, but for everything around him; it never got to enjoy the risks of life. The blades of grass, grains of dirt and sedimentary -- none of it got to enjoy anything other than it and its other inhabitants presence. It was under-appreciated and taken for granted by so many. Ivan never -- in his life -- felt as if there was anything to take for granted in his surroundings. However, with seeing this place, he realized there were so many things he never realized were there that he had always never given to thoughts about before dismissing it! He couldn't stand himself for being so... Blinded. However, his realizations came to a sudden stop when a female walked up beside him and sat down next to him. For a while, she, as he did, admired the scenery. That was something Ivan appreciated about this female who had approached him and sat in a mysterious silence beside him. She seemed in such a calm state, so perfectly content in herself and everyone around her, that Ivan had to give a second to the thought of who she could be. Ivan had yet to glance over her after she sat beside him. He cocked his head her way only when her voice echoed in his ears, "It's rather beautiful from this view, isn't it?" His muzzle opened slightly to release a few words but they came out as an inaudible mumble. It wasn't that he was... Captivated by her appearance, her silkily-flowing vocals, or even just her simple being, and that he was too stunned to speak but it was that he had no words that could explain what he thought of this place. It may have been an exaggeration, but Ivan had never come across some-place like this in his life! He was a low-life loner with a past shackled to him like a sleuthing teen interested in what he'd done in the past. There was nothing he could do about that and there wasn't anything anybody else could do about his patheticness. He was a tattered soul, lost and lonely. Nothing could be done to fix him. About a minute later, Ivan once more opened his muzzle to release words. This time, however, he was able to find something to explain to the female beside him what he thought of it. "Indeed... An already captivating scene highlighted by the sun drifted below the horizon and its deep, yellow light fluttering through-- I'd be astonished if anyone could disagree." He chuckled and snorted slightly at himself before picking up his words once more and saying, "But that would dub me the naive child. However, I can't honestly say much to that. Only that naive is something best played by the pretty-little girls who think they're really something more than... Innocent virgins who could never bear a litter if they tried. Now, you see, I am not criticizing the female sex -- Only the three-year-olds who run around with the thought that they can seduce whoever they want in their heads." He once again paused and let out another, more light-hearted chuckle. "I criticize with a bad, bad analogy and distanced opinions." He made an attempt to dismiss his rudeness from the female's minds and to even dismiss the thought of him stating an opinion, "My apologies if you find me rude. My name is Ivan." He glanced back at his surroundings, trying to wash away the distaste within his mouth.

tell me it isn't true.

let me know it's all a lie but don't tell me why. Esperanza. 619.♥

[Lycurgus]

Golden orbs had followed the movement of a shape in the far distance. Even across the stretch of plateau, Gus could make out the form of another wolf. He couldn't quite find the scent of this stranger given the small breeze wasn't entirely in his favor, but what mattered more to the younger wolf was that his scent would also be somewhat undetectable. His gaze curiously followed the figure until it stopped at the edge of the main stretch of the plateau. It appeared this other canid was looking about, simply enjoying some view in the distance. Gus paid little mind to what the other wolf looked at. For now, his focus was on this stranger himself.        Since leaving his old pack, the young male hadn't encountered any others of his kind. He had caught wolven scents of the breeze and seen the marks their pawpads left in the now melted off snow, but he hadn't laid eyes on any others. He wasn't exactly seeking others out though. There was desire in him to join a new pack but being young he wasn't sure just how to approach others. He had thought about following their scent and foot trails or howling out to summon them but the truth was that he was a bit nervous. He knew of what skills and potential he could bring to a new pack and he definitely had the drive to be successful in a new home, but it seemed he was having trouble finding the guts to approach another alpha.         The mottled wolf lowered his body towards the earth and crept forward slowly to close distance between himself and the stranger. To an outsider, it probably would have looked like he was stalking the other wolf. In reality, he was just trying to stay out of sight until the time felt right to approach the other. He was unsure of who this wolf was as he'd only been following him for a short time, but Gus was hoping that this was a pack wolf who'd be willing to take him to an alpha. He froze and crouched lower as this other male wolf turned and looked back his way. Surely he'd been spotted. Quickly he thought of an explanation for why he'd been following the older brute until the real source of the stranger's distraction was made obvious. A small hare pushed it's way through the tall grass, rustling along as it went. Yellow eyes found the tiny creature as it moved hastily away from his position, then returned to the male who sat at the plateau edge. He had not yet been seen.         Gus began to eye this brute up. He was a tad scraggly, but by no means a canine of poor health or hygiene. He didn't carry himself like an alpha... but the approaching white wolf did. The young male laid motionless in the grass as the female approached and came to a sitting rest at the stranger's side. An alpha... Well, at least he wasn't going to need to seek out a pack leader himself.         His listened as the alphess spoke to the male, and the stranger's response suggested that he actually wasn't a member of the pack. Gus' ear twitched as he suddenly thought of how awkward this whole instance was. He hadn't been following a pack wolf at all. He'd been stalking a loner. He began to feel slightly embarrassed about how he was going about this entire process. He was being so immature stalking the other wolf. Why hadn't he just howled and let an alpha come to him? He shook his head as though trying to toss his embarrassment, and his frustration with himself, aside. He was tempted to just turn around and crawl away like the tiny pup he was acting like. But he could never bring himself to do that. He wanted to join another pack, he had just belly crawled out into this field in pursuit of that very notion, it would be pointless to just leave now. Especially with an alpha so close.         Gus rose to his paws slowly, still trying to remain undetected. He didn't want the others to think he'd been sneaking around as he already felt awkward enough about the way he had approached things. At least if he just casually walked up to them, they wouldn't know just how pup-like he was really acting. The young male began to approach the pair slowly from behind, making sure to keep his ears back and his tailed tucked slightly between his hinds in submission. As he came into earshot, he made sure to drag his paws through the grass a bit so that his approach wasn't entirely silent. He didn't want to surprise them.         When he was only a few steps from the pair, he stopped in his tracks. His golden gaze rose from the two wolves to see what they were staring at and when the sight met his eyes, he was dumbfounded. This place is beautiful... He thought to himself of how he'd never seen anything so gorgeous as this plateau. No wonder the others were looking on at it. He had been raised in a forest on a hillside and though the trees were a nice sight, his homeland had nothing on this. The grassy field seemed to stretch forever. The orange light of the sinking sun reflected off of each blade of vegetation, creating a golden and green ocean of beauty on which a herd of massive animals he had never seen began to lay as they settled in for the coming night. A small herd of deer in the distance filed their way out of the field as they made for their bedding area, a large hare made the final bounds towards it warren, and the silhouette of a vulture faded into the distance.         Moments passed before Gus' attention returned to the situation at hand. He made his way to the side of the alphess that wasn't being taken by the male stranger, whom he overheard was called Ivan. He sat down facing the pair and wrapped his tail tightly around his haunches, making certain to still act submissive. In the presence of both a young alphess and an older male, he didn't want to make any of the wrong moves and ruin his chance at finding a home. He parted his jaw as though he was about to introduce himself but thought twice about it and shut his muzzle at once. He would wait until he was addressed to speak. In the meantime, his gaze would linger on the plateau and the animals that prepared themselves for sleep.