Silver Linings [Mason]

[Ava Jackeline Rowentree]

[scrolly:h(225),w(365),sy] You really are a very strange human. The growl that came with the words made her look down at the white wolf with her teal and purple markings, sprawled out under the apple tree with her dark eyes on Rowen. Rowen had found the apple tree about an hour ago, and had decided to climb up it with a bag. She was a tree climber at heart and was damn good at it, something her family had formerly laughed at her for. She would climb up and sit on the highest possible tree brances and relax there with a book, or something, just to escape. Now, it was merely for fun or survival. Or - of course - for food, as was the case here. Rolling her eyes at Zara Koliea, she smiled and put another apple into the bag, "Zare, I love you, but wolves have almost no appreciation for climbing trees. Besides, this is for food. And I'm sure Mason will appreciate fresh apples. I told you we were bringing some back to camp before he gets up. The least we can do." She'd met Mason Ashcroft - a member of the Nightfall who'd threatened her when they'd met - and his wolf only a short while ago. They were, needless to say, two people she'd never thought she'd see in Alkali forest. The Rogue's land was protected from the Nightfall for a reason. The Nightfall were brutal, cruel people for the most part - and a group of them had slaughtered her family. She had a reason to hate them, and so did the others. Even though some of the Rogues themselves had been Nightfall. Mason, though, was different. There was something about him that wasnt like his group. He wasnt cruel like all of them, not... evil. She wasnt afraid of him, although she probably should be. He'd been staying in her camp for a while now. For someone who'd braved coming into the forest where so many people hated the Nightfall, he had known very little about survival on his own when they'd started. He'd even had trouble starting his own fire, for Heaven's sake. Moving, Rowen climbed down the tree and started off toward the camp again. Her camp wasnt very far away from the tree and when she made it back, she smiled down at Mason's wolf before she sat down, carefully setting the bag down. She didnt want to wake Mason. She figured he deserved to sleep in a little. Humming softly, she sang a few words to a song that Zarek had taught her when they'd met in the forest, smiling when Zara walked over to lay down next to her, her white head rested on Rowen's lap. Zara Koliea missed Zarek more than either of them did, and they rarely ever stayed far from where he was buried. It was important to both of them that they reminded each other of him, a little bit every day. Stroking the wolf's head, she continued to sing, her voice silk as it flowed through the air. Zarek would be proud of you, Ava. Zara murmured, her eyes closing. [/scrolly][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style,padding-left:67px;padding-right74px;padding-top:320px;,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width:500px; height:602px; background:#0a1017 url(http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/9971/arl3.png) center center no-repeat;,true][atrb=style, text-align:justify; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:12px; color:#12193d;vertical-align:text-top]

[Mason Ashcroft]

Loki's eyes crossed the two as they returned. He laid a few feet away from Mason on a bed of mashed leaves. His legs lay stretched out before him, crossed with his head setting on them. His empty eyes followed Zara. Something about her. Pure looking, yet tragic. His thoughts failed to appear on his face as they always did. His eyes traced back to fall on the little black bundle that he protected now. The rodent curled up next to him. Microscopic compared to Loki's size. Blinking a couple times, he took a deep breath before releasing it in a heavy sigh. His ears laid back smoothly. Back legs stretched out. Relaxed.

He walked alongside a monstrous black beast. The world before him was nothing but black and white. Every bit of color had been drained from it. A few coos from some morning doves caressed his ears. A breeze pulling through the trees. A few dead leaves broke free and swayed to the ground, falling in the already leaf covered path the two trekked on. The path seemed worn. All the leaves having already been smashed into the ground. Even under the weight of his wolf, they didn't make the brittle crunch noise that fresh fallen leaves normally did. Usually, this path should have been coated in warm colors. Reds, yellows and oranges. But just as everything else...it was only shades of greys. And even though in his mind, he knew something wasn't right. he didn't question it.

The pair froze. Side by side, staring ahead. Neither saying a word. Somehow, Mason knew how his partner stood beside him. His head low. His black ears laid back against his head as always. His empty, black eyes seeming non existent. That same cold look on his face. The breeze's fingers pulling through his thick, inky fur. He always had an eerie look to him. Like a shadow. A black ghost. It was almost as if he wasn't there at all sometimes.

His eyes fluttered open. Blinking multiple times to clear his vision. His hands shuffling across the ground till he find something his mind thought stable enough for himself to lift up from. Turning his head, he saw that Rowen and Zara were sitting a little ways away from where he had been sleeping. His head turned to look for Loki. Where was he? Finally, his eyes landed on a shadow at the edge of their camp. There he was. Stretched out, relaxed as usually. The world could be falling down around them and he'd still have that look on his face. As if nothing could ever be wrong, but nothing could ever be right. He was indifferent to pretty much anything it seemed. After he learned that everyone was there and fine, his vision tossed itself back towards Rowen.

Word Count: 485
Tags: Rowen, Zara

[Ava Jackeline Rowentree]

[scrolly:h(225),w(365),sy] It was amazing how one small thing could remind her of home. Even though the song wasnt one that her mother would sing to her, she remembered a time when she was a child - only three or four years old - and her mother would sing her to sleep at night. The woman had a voice like honey and silk, and she used to revel in the sound of it. Rowen had once been told that her voice was much like her mothers, all golden honey and silk, with a hint of a darker undertone. The compliment had always made her glow with pride. She'd always wanted to be like her mother, the good, sweet, kind person that the woman had been before she'd died. People had looked up to Daneel Rowentree - and many more had come to her for her expert advice as a healer, and her remedies. Throughout her life, up until Daneel died, she'd passed her secrets of healing down to Rowen. This was why the forest was perfect. It harboured all of the natural herbs and spices used in her mothers remedies for healing. After all, every plant had healing remedies. Even certain aspects of animals did. The song that flowed through her lips was in a different language all together, and as she moved her fingers through Zara Koliea's fur, she smiled softly and closed her eyes, her voice becoming just that much stronger as she sang. The song itself - Zarek had told her - was about a woman who had lost everything and found it all in another life. It was a dark song with a happy ending, and Zarek had enjoyed singing it to her, knowing very well that she herself had lost everything she had in her life, and that the song had a certain importance to her. When the song ended, she almost felt as though Zarek were there with her, listening to her sing. He'd been one of the few people to ever hear her sing, and had always thought she'd had a talent for it. She could almost feel him next to her, hear his voice on the wind as he sang the last few lines of the song with her. And then the feeling was gone and she was left with Zara. Opening her eyes, she smiled down at her wolf, "I felt him again.. His spirit.." she murmered to the wolf. It only took a moment for her to realize that she was being watched. Lifting her eyes up to gaze across the camp grounds, she blinked. Mason was awake, watching her, and she vaguely wondered how long he'd been awake. Whether or not he'd heard her singing to Zara. Getting up, she picked the bag that held the apples up and moved over to him, setting it down so that the apples spilled out of the sac, "Good morning. I brought breakfast." she said, smiling faintly, "There's a lovely apple tree a ways away from here, Zara and I found it on our walk." [/scrolly][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style,padding-left:67px;padding-right74px;padding-top:320px;,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width:500px; height:602px; background:#0a1017 url(http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/9971/arl3.png) center center no-repeat;,true][atrb=style, text-align:justify; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:12px; color:#12193d;vertical-align:text-top]