Riddle Heights when i'm gone and getting colder.

RE: A rare freezing rain coats Relic Lore in a coat of ice! For @Greer!

This is also a subterritory discovery! Aurora Heights is due north of Silent Moon Plateau, where an amphoral stream runs near one of the local peaks. At night, the thin air allows a gorgeous view of the sky, as if it is the very window to all the worlds beyond this one. The ground here is rocky and sparse, but pines and firs still grow, making a breathtaking backdrop to the nightly show of lights during the winter months. There is a certain degree of magic here, if you can tolerate the exposure. Aurora Heights looks like this!

It hurts, that Greer won’t stay with her – but she won’t ask again, not yet. It hurts somewhere deep inside her chest, but logically, the Argyris heir knows it is unfair to ask the shadow to leave his home and his family. He is with other Archers, after all, and his alphas have a pack, a territory, and they can take care of their wolves. All Kyna has is an aching heart and a desperate need to return to wear the air is thin, and life is good. For now, it is enough that Greer will accompany her on a short jaunt back to the heights, perhaps even visit Silent Moon Plateau before her companion must turn back, and resume his role as his sister’s watchdog.

They have not stopped, not even to fress when they finally summit one of the local peaks. The recent rain has made travel much slower, everything encased in ice – but perhaps there is one benefit, for the spring stream bed is full, at least for the moment, allowing the strawberry blond to slow. Kyna dipped her head down, drinking between breaths, and it is then that fire bright eyes notice lights dancing across the surface of the ripples.

Her head flew up, ears pricking towards the night sky as her tail wiggled. “Greer! Look!”

More than anything the shadow wanted to stay with his fiery companion. He felt at home with Kyna at his side, even with the undesirable weather conditions. As much as he wanted this adventure to continue Greer knew he had to return to the monadnock eventually. The thought hung over him like a thick, dark cloud, even as he matched the russet girl’s pace step for step. It was a pace slower than what he was used to—for his long legs were built for speed—but he did not mind. The more time he got to spend with Kyna the better. Guilt gnawed hungrily at his stomach but he knew that they would be together when the time was right for them. While the raven was willing to wait, he hoped that it would be sooner than later. He hated the distance between their visits.

Ice clung to his pelt as the duo reached the summit, the crisp mountain air filling his lungs. His shoulder brushed against hers as they approached the stream, his mercury gaze flitting around to make sure that they were alone. The thought of returning to the tundra plagued his thoughts, causing the corners of his mouth to fall. As the strawberry blond dipped her head to drink from the stream Greer pressed his head into her scruff, dismissing his thoughts with her comforting scent. There was no point in spoiling their limited time together just yet.

The boy recoiled as she spoke, his brows furrowing as he glanced around, unsure of what he was supposed to look at. However, as the blond fur on his friend’s face was illuminated by an array of colours, realization dawned on him. His gaze focused on the sky above them, his previous frown slipping away as he studied the dancing light. The sky appeared to be rooting for them, as this was not the first time they had stumbled upon the aurora.

Even if for a moment, the bright colors stretching across the sky were enough to making Kyna forget the impending misery that would come with her companion’s departure. It was enough to make her forget her sore feet, tired from crunching through the ice-crusted snow, or that her pelt was heavy with small droplets that would not be shed. This was not the first time the sky lit up for the pair of wolves, and she certainly hoped it would not be the last, for quickly the strawberry blonde was coming to love nothing more than the dancing streaks of watercolor lights flowing effortlessly through the midnight sky.

“I love it,” she sighed happily, not clarifying whether she was making reference to the aurora borealis itself, or the peaceful summit they’d fond. It was probably spectacular even in the daytime, even when not coated in a thin sheen of ice. Finally, the youth glanced back over, brushing her shoulder back into Greer’s. He wasn’t a man of many words, but hopefully, he liked the place, too. There were trees for shelter, but also the wide open space and tall rocks that Kyna so craved. The smile danced across her eyes. “What do you think? Should this be our place?”

More than anything the shadow enjoyed the time he spent with his little flame. She lit up the impenetrable darkness that cloaked him in ways that others couldn’t. He had always been independent, finding comfort in solitude, since he was nothing but a small tuft of inky fur. His independence was the reason behind his speech impediment. Greer had isolated himself so much that he had taught himself to speak from listening to others… when he chose to practice.

The Archer blood that pumped through his veins made him furiously loyal to his family. Despite his recluse tendencies, he still cared for them and would do whatever necessary to ensure their safety. Kyna, the former Moon princess who had captivated his attention since the first time they met, was the only wolf outside of his family he cared for. She was everything to him. The thought of leaving her behind, leaving this behind, tugged at his heart. Greer wasn’t so sure he wanted to leave anymore, but he knew he had to. He could not abandon his family—not after he had pleaded his case to join Craw and his sister on their journey north.

His mercury gaze wavered from the lights overhead as she spoke, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Greer love—“you, this place, travelling with you, the fresh mountain air, you “—lights.”

Smooth, as always.

As soon as the words rolled of his tongue his brows furrowed and he glanced away, quickly, focusing his attention on anything but the strawberry blond. Since the move north, the shadow had grown to like the openness of the tundra. After being so accustom to the canopy of trees overhead he worried about the vulnerability of the lowlands. However, after they established themselves on the monadnock, Greer began to realize how remarkable living on a (sort of) mountain could be. They were able to see almost all of the lowlands from the top of the rock, making it an excellent vantage point.

Finally he returned his silver gaze back to his companion, expression softening. He nodded at her words, his tail wagging gently behind him. Their place. He liked the sound of that. Of course, he liked anything that included Kyna.

Oblivious to the parade of thoughts behind Greer’s silver eyes, the girl simply smiled at his awkward statement, instead chalking it up to his usual distaste for spoken language in general. So she offered him a small smile, and followed his gaze back up to the flowing lights, a runnel of color in a world far beyond the wolf’s own. She did not remember any such phenomena occurring at her former home upon the plateau – but then, she did not remember ever looking up.

Funny, how things changed.

For all the good memories she had there, sometimes Kyna forgot that it was not all sunshine and butterflies. Aponi had left her there, after all. There was Celandine, and some of her father’s other children. Wren had lost his mother, and his father, and then she’d lost her first friend altogether. And yet-- Despite all this, she still wanted to return to that mountain. Perhaps it was simply in her blood.

Greer’s voice drew her back to reality and she hummed, giving a little nod. “Good. It’s settled, then. We can meet here sometimes. And you can come, if you ever need to get away. And it can-- It can just be ours for a little while.” She didn’t need anyone else. “That tree root den we found once – I don’t think I can fit in there anymore.” Even if she tried. Even if she wanted to. “We should give it a name.” Just like she and @Sahalie used to.

He wanted to argue with the strawberry blond and tell her that she should come back to the expanse with him. To Whitestone. It did not compare to the Heights, or the crisp mountain air that engulfed them, but it was where he was. And he couldn’t leave—not yet.

But, instead of protesting to his friend’s words, he nodded meekly with his mercury gaze focused on the frosted ground beneath their feet. He could not tell her what to do, or where to go. Something had driven his flame south and he knew, no matter how much he pleaded for her to return with him, she wouldn’t. Fortunately, the pair had mastered the distance that separated them. Their visits were not as frequent as he would have liked, but they would suffice. The spontaneity of their visits ensured that Greer had something to look forward to.

At the suggestion of naming the place they had stumbled upon the Archer drew back, his brows furrowed. He shook his head, a frown tugging at his lips. “Ky name,” he suggested, bashfully, as he studied the lights overhead. She was the one with an eloquent tongue, not him. Words did not come easy to the shadow—that was Kyna’s department.

His features softened as he recalled the root den where he had first met the strawberry blond. Back then, she had been a princess of Silent Moon and he had been nothing but legs. Aside from her title change, not much had changed for Greer. He had filled out some but his legs dominated. They had been such an unlikely duo—and still were—but the shadow wouldn’t change it.

She should have guessed, really. Words never had been, and probably never would be Greer’s thing. Still, it seemed rude not to offer him at least a little input – it wasn’t as if she’d made the discovery entirely by herself. Whether or not she’d have climbed this particular slope, nighttime or otherwise, without her friend remained entirely debatable. Choosing not to dwell on the idea for too long, she instead hummed thoughtfully, allowing the colors to fill her vision for several moments before something finally sprang to mind.

“What about Aurora Heights?” she asked. “Or Aurora Plateau? But it’s not really a plateau, I suppose. Not flat.” Not like the place her birth pack had inhabited, as badly as she wanted to name this secret little place after the land her father had once reigned over. Kyna gave a soft sigh, something other than wonder flickering in her eye for a moment. She really should visit him sometime.

Another thought caught her mind and she shifted, looking at Greer studiously for another minute. Perhaps she should bring Greer to meet her father? It was hard to gauge whether or not the man would approve. She’d hardly been interested in boys the last time she’d seen him. And wasn’t that a little…weird? Dragging your ~~love interest~~ friend all the way up a hillside to show him your father’s bones?

Saving the thought for another day, she shook her head. “Do you ever wonder how things might have been? If I stayed here?”

Perhaps it was what she didn’t say that was what she actually meant.

If my father didn’t die? If my mother never came back?

If Greer had anything to do with the naming of the sanctuary they had stumbled upon he surely would have named it after the strawberry blond. However, he was not clever enough to think of a name for this place. He was the legs and the brawn in this ~~relationship~~friendship; Kyna was the brain.

At her suggestion he nodded quickly to approve of the name, lips twisting into a soft curl. “Heights,” he repeated, dismissing the second option. She was right—it was not much of a plateau. His ears twitched at the name, however. The shadow knew how much his scarlet friend missed her former home, How leaving the mountains had not been her choice. As much as he wanted her to join him in the tundra, Greer did not know if the girl would be able to live there. She had been built for the mountains, born from the stone; neither the forest nor the lowlands could quench her thirst for mountain air. The monadnock was a poor excuse for a mountain. He did not know if it was enough for her. His heart sank at the thought. The idea of not having Kyna around made his head spin and his stomach ache.

But they always made it work.

Her voice lulled him out of his own head, bringing him back to reality. He blinked at her question, a line forming between his brows as he considered her words. With the frown still pressed against his dark lips, he answered, his voice low: “Greer be here.” And he would have been. The shadow would have only been a hop, skip and jump away from his former home, which would have made his family happier than his relocation north.

At least he had some input, Kyna thought with a small smile. The shadow not be a particularly verbose man, and that was just fine with her, but sometimes she worried that she might be steamrolling him. Or it was just easier for him to agree (or chose not to argue). That is not what she wanted out of a friendship (or anything deeper than that), for if Greer’s opinion differed, she wanted to hear it. She wanted to know. If she valued anyone’s opinion in this world, it was Greer, and it was Sahalie. The latter, she knew she could trust to speak her mind, but this one…

Alas, his answer now did nothing to ease her aching heart.

To think – she would have her mountain, she would have her father, and she would have Greer! A perfect life. But she was not a perfect princess, and maybe happy endings didn’t exist at all. The young woman gave a soft sigh, hiding the fall in features as she turned to look at the shimmering lights overhead. If only, if only…

It did, however, beg one other question. “Why not now? What has changed?” she wanted to know. “I know there is no pack here – not yet – but what if… Maybe we could… We could make it work, Greer, you and me.”