Magnolia Glen i hide behind my mouth

It was difficult to enjoy anything with the thick blanket of snow covering the forest. It made it harder for Sachiel to navigate his way, for most of his memorized landmarks were painted with white. Which was incredibly frustrating for the wolf who claimed it was impossible for him to get lost. At least the snow had stopped falling from overhead, so the boy could retrace his prints back to the shallows. His home. At the thought the ghost of a smile rolled onto his dark lips as he stomped through the snow-dusted glen.

Everything was so white and boring. There were no colours. Nothing of interest. Just thick, ugly snow. The smile was quickly wiped away, a frown replacing it as his brows furrowed into a tight V.

With an exasperated sigh the boy flopped down onto the ground, his forepaws hanging limply above his chest as he rolled onto his back. It was odd travelling without Pumpkin Eyes at his side, but Sachiel didn’t mind the silence that accompanied him. He didn’t get much time to himself anymore, not like he used to in the Vale. So much had changed since he moved up north, but he didn’t mind. He was happier with the Edge wolves—where he actually felt useful.

Except for today.

Today he was taking a break.

Mabel had been incredibly frustrated to find out that her friend was no longer part of the Vale, frustrated and a little embarrassed. She had dragged her brother all the way out there and now they were going to be so grounded for nothing. On the bright side she had successfully found Sachiel’s old pack and that was something right? Even if they got in trouble she could try and play it off as a scouting trip to find out about Quaking Vale, even though she knew her mom didn’t like them. Mabel didn’t care much about that though, her mom didn’t like a lot of things.

Still, she was mad. So when Corsair had purposely used a branch to flick her in the face with snow the child had stomped off. Her brother knew better than to follow her thankfully and let her go have her tantrum without him, she would meet up with him later. It wouldn’t be hard since the snow was so deep and she could just follow her own tracks back.

That had been her every intention, until she had come across the tracks of another wolf. The scent hit her as strong as the branch her brother released had. It couldn’t be. Suddenly her stomping turned into sprinting as she tried to struggle through the deep snow like a bulldozer. ”Sachiel? Sachiel?” Had she really just stumbled upon him out here in the snow?

Despite the dullness of the snow, it was oddly peaceful. Or maybe it was because he didn’t have Pumpkin Eyes trailing behind him, or stomping through the snow in front of him. He flopped over to his side, his legs sprawled out awkwardly in front of him as he observed his silent surroundings. The agouti boy couldn’t help but wonder if his father was still lurking around, as he had mentioned he was going to hang around for a few days before he disappeared. Part of him felt bad, for not offering to accompany his father, but Sachiel had obligations in the shallows. A new life. He couldn’t just up and leave because his father had found him after months of searching. That wasn’t fair to Askan or Reyes, who had taken the boy in when he had nothing to offer them. He wished his father the best, but his future no longer resided with the dark Leigh—or his mother, who had seemingly abandoned the tawny youth.

A familiar voice echoed through the trees, causing Sachiel to scramble to his feet, causing a wave of snow to cascade around him. Sachiel? His creamy brows knitted in confusion as he took a hesitant step forward, toward the voice, his nostrils flaring. It wasn’t Pumpkin Eyes… but it was young, too, so it couldn’t be his mother… Shades of ivory and lavender accompanied the voice, earning a small smile from the boy as recognition settled in. Mabel! He shouted as he lunged forward, through the snow, his mismatched gaze searching for her pale figure among the sea of white. What’re you doing out here? He’d forgotten to tell her where he’d gone. That he’d left the Vale and joined a new pack, north of where her pack was.

Oops.

Mabel hadn’t thought of how her cream coloured fur might blend into the snow before as she went bulldozing through the powder. Sachiel on the other hand stuck right out and the girl stopped when she was a few feet away from him. A wide smile stretched across her face as she looked over her mismatched friend and his bewildered expression. ”Well, I was looking for you,” funnily enough she had found him, despite him now being where she had expected.

Looking him over her smile fell a little, ”But when my brother and I found the Vale they said you weren’t there.” Suddenly Mabel wondered if this might have been a mistake, maybe Sachiel had never lived there at all or they had done something bad to her friend. Maybe, her mom was right for once and she had a reason not to like them. Aponi never really explained why she hated certain things, she just did and they were supposed to accept it.

Mabel couldn’t help herself, ”Are the wolves in the Vale bad or something? My mom doesn’t like em.” Aponi’s word was pretty much - well, it was law in the Bend, but it didn’t mean shit out here as far as her daughter was concerned.

His grin widened as the ivory girl became visible amongst the snow, his black-tipped tail sweeping behind him as he studied her soft, chocolate born irises. Well, I was looking for you. His brows pinched together at her bold statement, his chin tipping from side to side. Why you lookin’ for me? He cheesed in response as an amused expression settled onto his tawny features, overtaking his previous bewilderment. They were sort of friends, weren’t they? So it made sense as to why she was looking for him especially if sh—ah. So she had gone to the Vale in search of him. His ears swooped to the side as he offered her a bashful grin, his mismatched gaze settling on the snow-covered ground. It made even more sense now; he hadn’t given the Vale wolves a reason as to why he was leaving. It had sort of just happened… because he had chosen to leave.

Are the wolves in the Vale bad or something? His brow furrowed once more. My mom doesn’t like ‘em. Sachiel couldn’t remember any beef between the Vale wolves and their northern neighbours but, then again, he hadn’t paid much attention to his packmates. Or vice versa. It had been a combination of the wolves and all the orange. The wolves hadn’t paid any attention to him, allowing him to do as he please. Normally it would have been a puppy’s dream, but Sachiel found it rather dull as the excitement had worn off quickly. It didn’t help that his parents shouldn’t have been parents and seldom questioned him on his whereabouts. He wasn’t bitter—really. He was much happier with his life now. He had purpose; goals. Things to look forward to. It just wasn’t home, he admitted with a lazy shrug as the corners of his mouth tightened. It never was.

The pup beamed at her darker friend as they stood there in the snow, his face bewildered by her sudden appearance. Cream coloured tail swished happily behind her, ”You told me I could come visit, so I brought my brother and we snuck out.” Except now Corsair wasn’t here, he was wandering around somewhere in the forest by himself and that was okay with her. He would be fine and she wouldn’t be gone long, and besides the sooner they met back up now that she had found Sachiel the sooner they would have to go home and be in trouble. The Donata daughter didn’t mind being grounded much, but it still wasn’t exactly enjoyable.

This time it was her turn to be confused, her ears flicked backwards against her head as Mabel tried to process what he had just said. No matter how many times she ran his words through her mind she didn’t get it - she was a lucky wolf afterall, ”But, you lived there?” Doesn’t that automatically make a place your home? ”How do you know it wasn’t your home?” Little did the child know that in a few short months she would become very very aware of what Sachiel meant about a place you live not being home. Unfortunately for her though Mabel would be aware of what she had lost.

Oh, duh! For a boy with impeccable memory he had forgotten that he had invited the pastel girl to the south. He’d just been so wrapped up with the shallows that he had pushed aside the majority of his memories from the Vale. Most of them weren’t good, boring being a more accurate description, which was why he seldom recalled them. His expression grew soft once more, mimicking the same colours he associated with the ivory-coloured girl. Sorry, he hummed apologetically, his dark ears sweeping against his crown as he averted his gaze, I shoulda came by sooner ’n told you. They were friends, weren’t they? That was what friends did… right? He blinked, the corners of his mouth tightening as a surge of guilt filled the pit of his stomach. Oops. But, the girl didn’t appear distraught. In fact she almost looked relieved to see him.

However, her expression quickly turned to the soft grey tones of confusion as a pair of questions rolled off her tongue. Sachiel’s features did not dim in response. Instead, he answered first with a warm smile, his tail wagging slowly behind him. Easy, he countered, his chin tipping slightly to one side, it didn’t feel like home. He shrugged. Jus’ cause my parents lived there didn’t make it a home. Another shrug. I hardly knew most of my packmates. He did not know if it was because of his own actions or their own disinterest him, but it didn’t matter. Castel was the only one he was really familiar with and enjoyed spending time with (sometimes), aside from his father. Sometimes y’just know.

Mabel just looked upon her friend pleasantly when he apologized, clearly not upset in the least. In fact, she was quite pleased with herself for finding Sachiel when he didn’t even live where he was supposed to. If her parents weren’t going to be so mad at her for sneaking out she definitely would have told her dad how good her tracking skills had gotten - even though technically finding the agouti boy had been an accident. She didn’t have to tell Corsair that though, she would tell him that she went out on her own and tracked their peer down without any help and he couldn’t even track a moose if it was the only thing in the field.

Without even acknowledging his apology - because in her mind it wasn’t worth mentioning - she had her own follow up question, ”Well, where do you live now? Is it less orange?” Mabel didn’t exactly know what he had ment about all the orange trees last time they had met since none of the trees had any leaves on them when she had been to the Vale. And, even if it had been orange the girl wouldn’t have minded, she had liked the fall when all of the green had faded to orange, red and gold.

His own response brought a hum of acknowledgment from the girl but nothing else for a moment or too. She supposed that the Bend must be her home because she felt it was, clearly she would know if it wasn’t. ”Is the new place you live a home then?” He must be happier if he hadn’t left it yet, ”You’re way braver than my sister, she won’t even leave the territory without our parents let alone move away from them.” Mabel also thought he was pretty brave, but that was a weird thing to say. It was better to compliment someone by going the long way around.

She didn’t seem too bothered by his disappearance. Mostly, she looked relieved that she had found him again, especially since he hadn’t told her where he was going. At the time, he didn’t even know where he was going. He had led the other wolf—Diego—north under false pretensions that his pack resided there and had stumbled upon Pumpkin Eyes and the rest of the Edgy crew. Some days he wondered where the dark male had gone, as he had disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. The tawny boy hoped that Diego had stumbled upon his missing siblings or returned to wherever it was he had come from. He deserved his own success after helping Sachiel escape an angry feline and find his forever-family.

A faint smile creased his pale features as she asked if his new home was less orange. He nodded quickly in response, his tail swaying gently behind him. Yes, less orange. He paused, his brows pinching together as he tried to determine what colours were best suited for the Edge. Shallows Edge. More blue-green. Quieter. Not like the loud! orange. His nose wrinkled. So obnoxious.

Another nod came from the boy. It’s definitely a home, he responded as his smile returned. However, his ears twitched at her comment. Braver. He didn’t know about that. I wouldn’t say braver, he scoffed in response, his head tilting from side to side, I just knew what I wanted. ’N the Vale wasn’t what I wanted. He shrugged. What about you, huh? What’ve you been up to aside from lookin’ for me? He flashed the ivory girl a sharp wink as the words tumbled off his tongue, although he was genuine with his question.