Sanguine Cove Over the river and through the woods

A faint smile danced over the guardian's face when Leo paused and contemplated his decisions. He could see the longing curiosity in his eyes. It was the same he'd felt as a young child, and even though he wished he'd gotten to experience it on different terms, growing familiar with the surrounding territories had helped him even after the pack formed and he settled down.

Finally the pup chose, and Nash nodded. "Why don't we go to the top of the pass and look down? It's good to check for avalanche activity, and it's not too far," he suggested. Besides, it wouldn't be too far for him to go with his hip. It was already getting better with @Aquene 's careful care, and her medicine certainly helped with the pain, but walking was still an uncomfortable endeavor.

A rare, genuine smile flashed across the pup’s face, his tail whipping back and forth enthusiastically at the adult’s words. He felt a little bad, seeing how Nash was still moving with a slight limp, but then, the guardian had been the one to make the offer in the first place – he knew best what he was capable of, certainly way more than Leo.

There was a little extra bounce in the boy’s step as they continued on, though he held his place at Nash’s shoulder. His heart skipped a beat as they finally crossed that line that had until now been an impenetrable wall, keeping the Cove pups from the outside world. Leo had always understood the adults’ reasoning for their rules, that they were there to protect them, but still he had longed to see more of the world for months now!

So, as they crested the ridge, surrounding and protecting their valley, what had up until this point been the edge of Leo’s world, he found himself holding his breath. He didn’t know what to expect; Just more trees? The rest of the world couldn’t be that different from the Cove, right? And then he was looking out over the Eden’s far below, a world of forests and meadows, all clad in white and crowned by the clear, blue sky. “Wow…!” The boy breathed, taken aback by the sight. Nash had mentioned avalanches, but right now, all of Leo’s attention was taken up by the vastness of the world.

Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA

Nash kept half an eye on Leo as they walked, half expecting the boy to take off out of excitement, but he remained polite and patient. None of the pups this year had been too wild, Nash reflected, and wondered if next year would be the same. He hoped so; the pups were pleasant to spend time with and, for the most part, didn't cause too much trouble. Leo especially.

The Vuesain boy's excitement was still palpable, especially when they reached the overlook. From their vantage point they could see down the pass and to the Eden. It was currently awash with snow, but come summer it would be full of color. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said after giving Leo a few moments to admire it. "Maybe soon you can go down there and see it up close." The Eden was beautiful all through, but for the guardian, home would always be the mountain.

The woods seemed to stretch on forever, all the way into the horizon, broken only by a few spots of clear white, and a thin blue line that must be a river. It all looked so tiny, so far away – this must be what the raptors saw when they circled high above; How can they spot their prey from so high up? So, so high up. The pup suddenly felt dizzy, the magnificent view before his eyes starting to spin. He’d never realized how high the Lost Lake valley was above the rest of the world.

Taking a step back from the ledge, turning his two-colored gaze down at the snow, the boy almost missed Nash’s question through the sound of blood rushing in his ears. He had to swallow a few times to get control of himself before he could look up at the guardian to answer, though he’d gone visibly pale under the bronze fur on his face. “Y-yeah, it’s p… pretty,” He replied, trying to sound enthusiastic, although there was a small tremble in his voice.

Nash’s second comment, though it was clearly meant to be encouraging, didn’t help matters, making Leo’s eyes widen. He swallowed again, trying to smile at the adult, even though he felt a bit faint; “D-down…?” Another swallow; “Y-yeah… That’d be… Nice.” He paused, glancing briefly out over the ledge, where the earth seemed to disappear right into the open sky. His eyes quickly came back to rest on Nash, tail giving a nervous wag as he tried to continue the conversation; “D-do you g… Go down there… A lot?” He almost hoped the answer was no, just so he wouldn’t have to imagine the dark guardian clambering down the mountain slopes any longer.

Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA

Even as Nash turned to Leo, the pup was stepping back and averting his gaze. He didn't look so good. The guardian's smile turned to a frown of concern. He turned away from the edge and moved back a few steps, beckoning for the boy to follow. "It can be a bit overwhelming the first time," Nash said kindly. "I don't go down very much anymore, but I came up and down the mountain every month for a couple years, before we made the Cove. Don't worry, we don't go up and down here." He nodded back toward the pass, where they were headed to check for the avalanche. "The trail is back here, at the pass. This is just the lookout point."

The guardian gently nudged Leo before sighing. "I've probably done a bit too much walking for today; are you ready to head back?" He would have loved to show the pup the pass itself while they were out, but his hip was starting to hurt and the lookout might not have been the best place to start.