Cold Water Creek If I didn't have you

It has been some time since the fall of the pale patriarch and far too long since Aponi had been able to provide her daughter the safety that she needed. They had stayed behind, hoping that despite everything the pack might still stand that they still might be able to recover. But after @Erebos left and took the majority of the pack with him the others left one by one until one morning the mother and daughter pair had awoken within the territory alone. Still they had stayed for another week, Aponi had wanted to give her daughter time to mourn and say goodbye to the only life she had ever known. It was not a selfless act, it also gave her time to figure out what the hell they were going to do now. They could not survive a winter alone atop the mountain without food or protection so when they had completely emptied the caches of every last morsel the mother told the daughter they had to move on.

So they had descended from their rocky throne and into the forests below, towards the only pack that Aponi knew the location of. They had once been enemies when their name had been Magnolia Glen but the pair's fur had long since stopped smelling of anyone but each other. The pack however proved harder to find now that they were in the thick of winter, any landmark the silver fae might have remembered now looked starkly different. Instead of the forest's canopy leaving them almost in complete darkness the leaves were now gone, though the territory still seemed eerie and dim.

It had been a week or more since they had gotten off the mountain and there was still no sign of the pack or any wolves at all. Today the ever present fog was even thicker than it had been and was cold enough that it stung the female wolf's lungs if she breathed too deeply. She had left Kyna at the makeshift den they had stayed in last night and told her to only leave if she could follow her paw prints and that she would be back. Nearly two hours later she found herself following a creek throughout the woods hoping for any sign that they were on the right track. Raising her head to look for any landmarks she might recognize her breath curled like steam from her nostrils, where the hell was this pack?

Gloom! That was the only way to describe the dark mans existence. Ever since his discussion with Triell and Spieden, he felt like he was living in limbo, stranded in the woods he had grown to hate. He longed for the sweet spring, full of hope and promises, but so far it was nowhere to be seen. So he waited, he patrolled, he hunted, and he tried to keep as low a profile as possible, often spending most of his days off Oaken territory. Today was no exception. He had woken up early, slunk along the borders for a while before crossing them, moving mostly aimlessly through the ghostly forest. Ground covered in snow, branches above naked and dark against the pearly sky, not even a breeze stirring, the world itself seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for the sun to return.

Drestig shuffled through the snow, his tread hunter-silent, even though he wasn't particularly looking for prey. His winding route, surprisingly, brought him across the mysterious creek, that same one he had discovered back in summer, when Spieden and he had had that odd conversation. The graying chap shook out his fur, bowing down to sniff at the water, but not feeling particularly thirsty. Instead he turned to follow the water up stream, snaking through the forest, a silver strand in the white snow. He'd never found out where the water led, and it seemed as good a quest as any on this grey day. He did not expect it to lead him to another wolf.

The silvery woman appeared out of the fog like a ghost, heavy winter fur separating from clinging tendrils of white. The Avalon stopped in his tracks, riled by this sudden encounter, nostrils straining to try and catch a whiff of her scent. Even across this short distance it was hard, and what he did smell was unfamiliar. Unsure whether she had spotted him yet, the ebony man cleared his throat, voice hoarse after so many hours of silence as he called: "Hello there!"

Word count: 341

Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

Stop leaving me.

Leave, only if you could follow your own tracks.

Ears flattened against the youth’s skull as she jogged through the snow, following not her own paw prints, but her mother’s. She had no idea that the young blond had started tracking already – she had no teacher, but Kyna was a clever girl. At the time, it had been of the utmost importance. She had to find Aponi, and finding Ace was never far from her mind, either.

Fortunately, her mother hadn’t made it far this time, and she’d managed to approach the woman from behind only moments before the stranger appeared. With a small gulp, the child’s ears rolled back against her head, orange eyes widening slightly before she tucked her tail below her legs. Even if it wasn’t Phineas or Erebos, she knew an alpha when she saw one, and it was enough to set a worry in the girl’s heart.

Worry enough that it slowed her mind, and it took her several moments to realize the scent was not entirely foreign to her. Sahalie, she thought, and finally took a good, long look at the foreign male. His coat was the same color, and his eyes almost alike, and before her nerves could get the better of her, the child asked, “Are you Sahalie’s father?”

Her daughter's footsteps were much louder in the snow than the older male, as a pup in her first winter she didn't have the practice to walk with a quiet tread yet. Silver ears flicked backwards as she caught the first sounds of it before turning her head and the blue eyes sought out the blonde coat. Perhaps another mother would have smiled encouragingly or told her what a good tracker she was but Aponi's brow furrowed in response. Why had Kyna followed her instead of staying put like she had been told? Opening her jaws to ask if something had happened the words were never uttered as the pup's frame changed and a voice came from behind her.

Closing her maw the mother instinctively stepped in front of her daughter as the silver cranium whipped around to see who had spoken. Her gaze was met with the sight of a darker wolf, greying with age or perhaps stress and obvious confidence, the kind that only came with leading a pack. Aponi couldn't help but note the attractiveness this gave an otherwise rather plain looking brute. Blue eyes trailed over his frame, lingering on the well muscles legs and taking note of the fiery eyes that reminded her of Phineas. A small flirty smile began to play upon her face, this could work out very well for them indeed.

He could have a mate this was true, but if Aponi had learned anything in her two years it was that having a mate meant little. Wolves disappeared without a trace all the time, leaving behind mates and pups and packs. Before Aponi could properly introduce herself and her daughter Kyna piped up behind her speaking of Sahalie, a friend she had made in her absence who the mother had never met. When the older woman had explained to her child where the pack they were seeking out was located the blonde girl had been quite excited and spoke of nothing but her friend for some time.

Turning her head she gave Kyna a stern look before looking back to the man, "I'm sorry about my daughter's manners, we've been travelling for far too long." It wasn't often that Aponi herself used manners, it felt strange in her mouth to be speaking so politely but she continued none the less. "I'm Aponi Aquila and this is Kyna, a friend of Sahalies from some time ago," The words were spoken with as much charm as she could muster, the smile once again playing at the corners of her mouth. Much like a pitbull with its locked jaws once the Aquila had a plan in her mind nothing would stop her from achieving it.

A second figure appeared right behind the young woman, lankier and as colorful as her companion was grayscale. Drestig immediately recognized a pup, as tall as the adults and with fluffy winter fur, but lacking the kind of poise that came with age. The dark man instinctively lowered his head a little, ears folding back to soften the dominant posture he had initially taken. The silvery woman stepped in front of the pup, and Drestig glanced up, recognizing a mother's protectiveness and smiling softly. He was about to speak when the youth suddenly called out from behind her guard, making his ears perk and brows rise; Sahalie? He would have wondered how this strange pup had come to know Halie, had he not been so confounded by the question itself; Me her father?!

The mother moved quickly to berate her child, offering apologies that Drestig shook off with an easy smile. Leaning back on his hunches he listened politely, attention now back on the adult as she explained their situation. One silver sprinkled eyebrow cocked, fiery eyes giving the young woman another sweep over while she talked. The coy expression was not lost on him, but to be honest he was much more interested in the child, who, according to her mother, had known Sahalie for some time. "It's nice to meet you both. I am Drestig Avalon, leader of Oak Tree Bend." The alpha replied jovially, a friendly smile on his lips. His head tucked gain, just lightly, gaze seeking out the girl at her mother's hunches; "And I'm not fortunate enough to be Sahalie's father, but I care a great deal about her. And her friends." He offered a soft smile to Kyna, hoping that she hadn't been too cowed by her mother's light reprimant.

Then he turned his attention back to Aponi, expression still relaxed yet his back straightening as he addressed her; "Perhaps you are looking to end your travels? Find some place to stay, permanently, hm?" Of course he was curious how a lone, young lady and her cub would have ended up alone in the death of winter, there would be more questions to ask about their situation before he could allow them into the Bend – if they so wanted – but he thought it might relax them both, to have the offer; And we would have plenty of room for them both… Triell might not have been so open when faced with a strange female and her pup, but Drestig had no children of his own to think about, and he couldn't bear the thought of any pup having to scrape by as a loner, a he had at that age; Even if she does have her mother…

Word count: 454

Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

She did not appreciate the stern look – not only was Kyna an Argyris, but she was an Aquila, as well. Her mother’s blood ran hot, even if she was coated in gold instead of silver, and her eyes flickered with her father’s flame instead of the icy glimmer the older female exhibited. Despite the wallflower’s general nervousness, despite her fear of rejection, she did not waver underneath Aponi’s silent reprimand. She lifted her chin almost imperceptibly, setting her jaw by a degree, and she kept her tongue to herself. Proud, but the once-princess understood well what was at stake her.

So she allowed her gaze to follow her mother’s back to Drestig, dipping her head in silent acknowledgment of the man’s status. For a moment, his rank and pack only heightened her belief that she might have found her friend’s father, but he quickly squashed her hope. Ears fell backwards as a small sigh escaped, worry bubbling up until the clarification was ended with a question. A query. For her?

No – it was clearly directed at Aponi. She took a moment to weigh the benefits against the potential consequences of crossing her mother, and she cleared her throat, hoping to draw the alpha’s attention back to her frame as she stepped out from behind the older female. “Yes,” she murmured quietly, “we are. I met Sahalie before the snow – she is my friend. And she is very – happy. So we came to find her, and her family,” Kyna explained carefully, her bright eyes never leaving the older male. “I don’t want to keep wandering.”

Aponi could not help the trill of anger that stirred her heart at her daughter's slight defiance, it was a simple gesture the raised chin but it spoke volumes. The lip closest to her daughter twitched in response but she made not further movements. What had happened to the pup that she had left? Quiet and obedient to everything her mother had said and yet today alone she had gone against the older woman twice. It was troubling to say the least but the thought was shoved to the back of her mind as the alpha before them spoke once more.

Silver ears twisted forward as she took in all of this information which was followed by an unbelievable invitation. Once more though her daughter was quick to the draw and answered the question before Aponi had the chance to speak. Instead of anger the words brought a rare sense of guilt, after all she had been the one forcing her daughter to travel as she couldn't provide for her.

No matter. That problem was clearly resolved now, with a smile once he mother answered in a coy voice, "That is most kind of you, thank you so much. We would like nothing more than to end our travels in the safety of your home." The words felt too sweet in her mouth but the tone came naturally. She'd used a man to get what she wanted once before, it could easily work a second time.

Oh there was spunk in the reddish-gold pup, the set of her chin noticed by attentive, ember eyes. It was the smallest movement, just a tiny touch of defiance at her mother's silent reprimand. Drestig diplomatically looked away, snickering to himself; Not all roses, these children..! Though personally, he was completely taken with Kyna, her mixture of shy and surprisingly forward making him smile. Again she was the first to speak up, answering his proposal before her mother had a chance to talk. He gave her a soft smile, glad to hear that Sahalie's friends thought she seemed happy – even if he briefly pondered just how the two had come to meet one another. Regardless, he could only nod at the child's sentiment; "I can understand that." He spoke warmly to the girl.

Then his attention returned to Aponi, as the mother gave her own answer. She seemed polite and thankful, and Drestig was not completely immune to her charms. Really, he couldn't see why the two of them shouldn't put an end to their travels in Oak Tree Bend. So he nodded, smiling now at the silver dame; "Then you shall be most welcome!" He said definitively, motioning for the both of them to follow. He figured they could answer his questions on the way.

Word count: 216

Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

This male, Sahalie’s-not-father, he was not so bad. Despite a general reservation of all strangers, the young wolf found herself warming to his general demeanor. He did not make her want to miche as she usually did, and his enthusiasm was met with a slow wag of her tail. The child bobbed her head, trying to mask the sigh of relief, but what she hid in facial expression showed in the slump of tense shoulders.

With a subtle glance towards her mother, her relief only doubled when the woman graciously accepted Drestig’s offer. To be quite honest, she wasn’t entirely certain what she’d been expecting @Aponi to do, but she would not question it. The end of wandering would be quite welcome, and the golden girl glance back upwards, offering the alpha a shy smile.

“Thank you,” she murmured as well, keen to remember her manners. As the older wolf motioned for the pair of females to follow, she took to foot, remaining at her mother’s flanks as they were lead into the heart of Oak Tree Bend. Briefly, he inquired after their past, and Kyna inhaled sharply. Her father’s death flashed across her eyes, and the girl could not stop the involuntary shudder.

“There was a disagreement,” she muttered, “and Silent Moon Plateau is no more.” It was as good as nothing without Phineas at the helm.