Frost and snow had completely overtaken the land. In desperation, the smallest Macieo had fled the mountain, hoping to find some cover in the lowlands. Of course, she didn’t intend to stay away for long, she just needed a break from the icy heights.

Once she made it down into the Wildwood though, she didn’t want to turn back. Before their move to the Cove, she’d hardly even left the Chasm, she hadn’t wanted to, really. Now she longed for the dense forests and bare rock of her real home, but feared seeing it empty. This, she’d reasoned, was the closest equivalent, and even with the trees bare and ground covered in snow, she wasn’t disappointed.

She found herself moving further and further from the mountain each day, travelling through mixed woods interspersed with curios, blackened stumps, appearing to have been dead for a very long time. It was all so exciting, and night seemed to come all too soon, prompting her to seek shelter in whatever nooks she could find, which were often cold and lonely, but the adventures of each day quickly overshadowed that.

Sun had set on her third night away and she was just starting to look for a good sleeping spot when distant sounds drew her attention. Noises like she’d never heard before, seemingly far away yet shockingly loud. Curious as she was, she tried to discern the direction, wandering for a bit before she cleared the tree-cover, stepping out into a vast open space, seemingly endless in the waning light. Suddenly the area was lit up in a flash of color, drawing her eyes to the sky to see a shower of multi-colored stars exploding across the heavens in a crackling chorus. “Woohw..!”

Thoughts ”Speech”

Her eyes too were fixed on the heavens, wide as they can go, perked ears twitching with each pop and crackle. She’d never seen lights in the sky before, other than the moon and stars, a shooting one once, leaping across the black background in a trail of fire. But that was brief, blink and you’d miss it. This, this was like the sun, only blinking in all imaginable colors, over and over, and she would never grow tired of watching.

Then a sudden voice drew her back to her surroundings, which she had entirely forgotten. Her head snapped down, but against the darkness of the marsh, the lights appeared to keep flashing right in front of her eyes, obscuring her surroundings. She blinked rapidly, squinting at the shadow that seemed to materialize out of thin air. “I… Did you say…” She started, confused at this apparent stranger approaching her and using her nickname, but then another flash lit up the silver-toned wolf and Apolline’s eyes went wide; “Lien?!”

The memory was more like a dream, a day when the sun had come down to earth for a curious pup to examine. And where a lesson was learned about befriending strangers – or had it been? As he stood there now before her, all she felt was excitement.

”Speech" Thoughts

Another explosion of color painted the sky, and her gaze was momentarily drawn back heavenwards, but now her attention was torn. Silver fur shimmering in the flashes of different color, Malien seemed, if possible, even more intriguing to the young girl than the first time they met.

She smiled shyly back at him, giggling nervously at his words, which made heat rise in her cheeks. It was awfully nice to be noticed, not just another pup among a host of siblings and cousins. Woya did her best, but there was still only so much time to split between the children, never mind her other duties, and with her father off somewhere with her brothers, Apple was rather susceptible to the older man’s attention.

Still his question made her frown a little, thinking back to that afternoon and trying to remember her mothers exact words. It was mostly lost in a haze of emotion, her own feelings about the encounter and ensuing reprimand sticking much better than the lesson itself. Looking back up at another burst of color, she pursed her lips, answering in a light tone: “Not really.” She shrugged, looking at him with another girlish smile; “She was mostly just scared I guess.”

”Speech" Thoughts

If she could have read his wandering thoughts, no doubt her jealousy would flare, that his attention was not on her alone. But as it was, she felt every bit in the limelight, with only the small distraction of the colorful lights to pull both their eyes, now and then. Her analytical side wanted to know what they were - each colorful explosion unique, from the blend of hues to the way the starbursts scattered and faded against the night sky – but for now, her curiosity was focused on Malien, hanging on his every word.

His comment about Woya’s protectiveness made the teenager grimace, clearly showing how she felt about her mother’s attempts at looking out for her. It all seemed rather pointless now, in any case, and if there was one thing to appreciate about the move to the Cove, it was how much easier it had become to slip away, unnoticed among so many other pack mates.

And, as if reading her mind, the silver man then asked about her home, prompting a frown from Apolline. “We left,” She answered, tight-voiced; “Went to live on the mountain.” There was clear poison in her voice, eyes rolling to further underline her distaste; “Maman thought it’d be nice to spend some time with our cousins.” From her tone, it was very clear what she thought of that idea too – all in all, the picture of a disgruntled teenager.

”Speech" Thoughts