Oh, Lord, save me

Things were beginning to warm up, and Viorel was hyper aware of the impending spring this year. This spring everything would change, a whole new world of possibilities, but also a hell of a lot more responsibility as well. During the day the world was getting warm enough that the top most layer of snow had become soft and packy, and the trees had developed huge stalactites like icicles on them. At night it was still dipping down into the negatives and everything would refreeze, winter wasn’t quite ready to be done with them yet.

There was a lot on the salt and pepper Valle’s mind. His wandering paws carried him back to the place that he, his brother, and his cousin had originally woken up. How much had changed since then, it felt like it was years ago rather than just six weeks. Yellow eyes flicked upwards to look at the sky, hoping to see the same stars that hung over the Estuary, but was disappointed to see that the cloud cover was fairly heavy. He was feeling a little homesick tonight for the smell of salty air and the sound of crashing waves. Things here were going to be great, but he was going to give himself a moment to glower, just one. Then he would have a smile on his face again.

my drug is my baby

Perhaps he was still naive for his prime age, but the Vuesain didn't realize what Spring was going to bring to the Cove. Maybe Aleister wasn't ready to face the facts of what may happen when winter leaves the Lore and graces them with warmer weather. The agouti male wasn't oblivious to what happened in Spring, he just never found anyone he was fond of enough to share that moment with. He quiet frankly avoided everyone who was the opposite sex as him when that time came around. However, now if the Cove was going to be reclaimed, they would need a new generation to keep the legacy alive. So, this year he won't be so lucky to avoid the females. This year he would have the responsibility to continue on the Vuesain legacy.

Groaning, the dark agouti male traveled through the Wildwood, hoping to find fresh air instead of the suffocating air in the Cove. The idea of having children of his own was frightening enough to make him leave the area that housed not one but three unrelated women. So the Vuesain found himself within the Wildwood, with the late evening heavy in the sky. He hadn't sought out the abandoned bear den yet, instead he kept his paws wandering hoping to find solace in the starry night. However, tonight heavy clouds blocked almost all the stars within the sky. As he was wandering across the snow covered land, the sight of another came into view. Pausing, he debated upon leaving before the other spotted him or sparking a conversation. A long moment passed before he finally cleared his throat and approached the other male. "Not the best night to star gaze, huh?"

Oh, Lord, save me

Viorel was almost ready to let go of his down mood and smile again when the sound of something moving through the woods caught his attention. Salt and pepper ears flicked backwards toward the sound only a moment before his skull followed suit. There in the dimness between the trees another male appeared clearing his throat, seemed friendly enough. There was a few things apparent enough based off his appearance and his scent, he was older than Viorel and he hadn’t been hanging out alone. Yellow eyes flicked past the stranger to the trees, but nobody else was visibly lurking there.

Grinning and looking upwards again for a second, he was greeted with only a few stars between the clouds and tree branches. Chuckling gently, ”And probably not the best spot for it either. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow night.” He probably would have called it a night at that, he wasn’t particularly in the mood for socializing with strangers but Viorel was intrigued. The scents on his pelt didn’t speak of just one or two others but a whole group. Was there another band similar to their own hanging out just around the corner from them and they had no idea?

Looking back towards the stranger he offered a simple, ”Viorel Valle.” With hopes the dark agouti male would respond with his own name, Viorel could start piecing together the pieces of the puzzle from there.

my drug is my baby

The breeze shifted softly to bring him a stronger trace of the black and grey male's scent, alerting him that he too was not alone. Looks also proved the other was much younger than him. Mismatched gaze followed the stranger's gaze as he looked skyward for a moment before responding to his question. A lazy grin crossed his lips, "The Mountain is by far the best spot in the Lore for it." Aleister was certainly biased, but did have the experience of traveling the Lore and knowing in fact that his opinion was true in his opinion. The Dire gave everyone the best possible view of the sky, unobscured by trees and one could almost feel they could reach out and touch a star if they tried hard enough.

A name was given by the stranger, one that was very familiar to Vuesain. "Aleister Vuesain," he responded with a court nod his way. "I know a Sharlee Valle, actually." A sister or a cousin perhaps as Aleister remembered the woman was quite young, but he remembered Sharlee saying she had family here.

Oh, Lord, save me

The mention of the mountain caused Viorel to look briefly towards where the peaks loomed over the trees in the distance. The thought reminded him of his brother’s trip over and back on his own, and yet he still hadn’t had the thought to climb even the shortest of the cliffs. What was he being such a baby about? Clearly it was fine if Andrey could do it alone, and this Aleister seemed to enjoy it, but the stone seemed so imposing to the Valle teen. Looking back towards the other man Viorel returned his smile, although a bit uneasily, ”I’ve never had the pleasure of having the experience.” And, hopefully he never would, he thought to himself.

Returning the nod out of courtesy he was about to exchange further pleasantries when Aleister’s next words stopped him in his tracks. Silver eyebrows rose in surprise over his yellow eyes, but was followed with a cheeky smile and a chuckle. ”Sharlee’s my cousin actually, we’ve only been in the area for a month or so. I didn’t realize she had been making so many friends.” The tone made it clear that Viorel was joking, he couldn’t care any less that his cousin had been making outside friends, though Aunt Modesto and Vayko may have had a different opinion.

He would have to ask Sharlee when he got back what he knew about Aleister and the group he was clearly hanging around with. But, for now it was time for digging of his own. Sitting on his haunches, Viorel glanced back at the peaks, ”You spend a lot of time on the mountain then? I can’t imagine it’s an easy place to winter.” One wrong step and you’re falling even worse than the sinkhole he found. A shiver ran down his spine, and Viorel had to make a conscious effort not to have his air rise along with it.

my drug is my baby

With his mention of the mountain, the male gave the range a lingering look before turning back to return his smile with one that looked less than maniacal. Aleister forgot how daunting the Dire could be to others that hadn’t been born within its looming shadow and foothills. Traversing the mighty range came natural for the Lake wolf, though he was sure it looked terrifying to others. ”I know a few good guides up there,” he answered with a smirk. He certainly didn’t recommend the faint of heart to travel alone without an experienced guide.

After mentioning the curious woman he met while on one of his scouting trips through the Heart, Viorel revealed Sharlee was in fact his cousin. She had mentioned having a few cousins and her brother around with her. “My family and I haven’t been here long either, though we are returning to the land after having been gone for a few years.” Though Nash was the only one among them that had tried to return more often than the rest of them. When both sets of siblings returned simultaneously to the Cove, it seemed too much of a coincidence to not try to recreate their birth pack. “She was rather curious to know why the area seemed so abandoned.”

Following the other male’s movements, the Vuesain settled upon his haunches as Viorel continued their conversation. He turned the subject back upon the mountain, skirting around the point of figuring out where the dark agouti man may be residing with the group that was plain upon his fur. Tonight, he didn’t feel like being as mysterious as he usually tried to be. ”No, it’s not the easiest, but my family and I have some deep rooted experience.” Winter upon the mountain as not a feat for just anyone. The weather was extremely harsh compared to the rest of the Lore, but the Lake wolves have become experts in surviving the icy grip of Winter’s wraith. ”Where did you and your family decide to settle?” Aleister didn’t feel like beating around the bush, though he was unsure if the younger wolf would appreciate his more forward tactics.

Oh, Lord, save me

Aleister’s smirk and comment about knowing a few good guides was met with a polite smile of his own. Viorel would take his word for it, at least for now. Maybe once the weather turned and began to thaw - and he built up the courage - he would pay the Vuesain a visit up on the stone giant. Maybe. Until then he would be keeping his grey tipped paws firmly on solid earth, well, snow for now, but there was earth underneath it right?

The next words were much more interesting, ears perked in surprise, ”Oh?” He wondered what could have caused a family to abandon their homes, could the Vuesain’s have gone through a similar ordeal to the Valles? And, it seemed as if Sharlee had had similar questions. ”Well, I can’t blame her there. Not very often you hear about a family leaving their home for a few years then coming back.” The tone was curious, but not pressing. Viorel would like answers sure, but he was polite enough not to demand them from a practical stranger in a friendly situation.

Ah, so Aleister and co did call the mountain home, even in the winter time. A terrible choice in Viorel’s oh so worldly opinion but he would keep that thought to himself. Smiling again he nodded, ”I understand, it can be hard to dig up roots that run that deep.” Certainly it had taken a… freak accident to get the Valles away from the ocean. ”Haven’t really settled anywhere yet,” that much was true, at least they hadn’t officially settled anywhere. Viorel may be trusting of strangers but he knew Vayko wouldn’t appreciate him blabbing their exact location all over the place. Gesturing behind him he continued, ”Been hanging out just west of here quite a bit, but we won’t make a decision about where to more permanently stay until the thaw.” Again, the truth, but not the whole truth.

my drug is my baby

He seemed to get Viorel’s attention when mentioning how he and Neha left the Lore behind. Though, the two of them leaving had been a rather painful endeavor after laying their mother to rest. Both of them certainly needed to heal and the Lore was not the place that would allow that. As for the rest that abandoned the Lore, he could not be sure on what prompted them to leave. Aleister certainly had his guesses, but at the moment they weren’t provable until something that experienced firsthand.

”My family had different reasons on leaving then everyone else. I’m not sure why everyone else left to be honest.” He responded, his mismatched gaze glancing over at the other male. ”I told Sharlee that before we left, there had been so many coyotes that almost seemed to take over the place. That is my guess on why everyone might of abandoned the place.” It didn’t seem the cousins had a chance to talk about his meeting with the cream coated Valle, but at least now Viorel would have a theory to mull over.

Nodding in agreement, the Vuesain siblings had always been drawn back to the Lake no matter how far they traveled away from it. Something always drew them back together it like an invisible string tied around their hearts, pulling them back inch by inch. The Valle man admitted him and his group hadn’t officially settled anywhere as of yet. Gesturing with his muzzle at the general direction of their current location, his mismatched gaze voluntarily followed as he continued to explain a little more. ”Well, if you and your family decide to stay, you are welcome to come visit. We are looking to settle along the lake within the mountain pass.” Offering his general location in turn, he turned his muzzle towards the hidden lake though that wouldn’t be all he needed to find it. They didn’t call it Lost Lake for nothing.

Oh, Lord, save me

Viorel picked up the hint when Aleister did not volunteer the information about why his family left, just saying there was a different reason. He didn’t want to disclose exactly what situation had led them to leave and that was totally fine. After all, it wasn’t like the Valle had told him that they had just been dumped here haphazardly by a bunch of strange two legged creatures. Some things are better left close to the heart. Curling his lip at the mention of what happened to everyone else, he spat, ”Vermin.” They hadn’t had to deal with them at the Estuary much - they seemed to avoid the coast - but some of their neighbouring packs had.

Yellow eyes followed the gesture that the other man made towards the mountain, and again wondered how anyone would want to make that their home. But oh well. Smiling politely, Viorel nodded, ”I’m sure once we’re finally settled somewhere myself or Sharlee will come brave the stone giant.” He was teasing, mostly. They would come visit, if they could find this mountain pass or the lake that was, but he was pretty sure it would not be him who made the trek. Certainly not in the spring if he had pups running around.

Standing up the yearling shook his salt and pepper pelt out lazily. Offering the other man a soft wag of his tail be bid his ado, ”As nice as it’s been chatting with you, I’d better be getting back to my family. And, I’m sure you have quite the trek to get back to yours.” Waiting only long enough to hear what Aleister had to say, he smiled one more time and turned to the west. It didn’t take long for the dark wolf to disappear in the thick trees and be gone.

my drug is my baby