Gone Tomorrow

Winter had brought not only snow, but a blanket of silence that covered Relic Lore. The chorus of birds had been quieted and today not even the wind filled the silence. The frigid temperatures had even stilled the rushing river; the ice thick enough that Corinna was easily able to cross the temporary bridge safely. Leaving behind River territory, she had headed north, skirting the Wildwood, as far away from Hidden Tree as she was able. Ever since Torrel and Rihael had gone missing, the River matriarch had consciously avoided venturing to the birthplace of her absent mate. Her heart had permanently barred itself from warm feelings towards Indru; she did not want to venture there and risk having those particular wounds reopened.

There was no real purpose to her travel; she certainly wasn't attempting to track down Rissa. Her search party had returned home empty handed. Cori had mourned to the sky, her hallow calls defying the silent winter. The wounds were far from healed, but she did not have the liberty of locking herself away in her den again. Losing her life to depression and inactivity would not bring her children back; but there was no denying that she was growing increasingly discontent with the physical space she was in. The reminders all around her of those loved ones that had been lost were just constant reminders of the tragedies that had befallen them.

Safe inside her warm coat, the leader removed herself from that dark space, her progress hardly impeded by the falling snow. It was the unpacked snow beneath her that proved to be more of a challenge. A cloud of hot air rose around her muzzle as she huffed, pushing through the deep snow, forging a trail in virgin ground. She greatly envied smaller creatures who could run easily across the surface of the snow. But slow progress was better than none, and eventually she reached her destination; the frozen tributary that spread out before the falls. Frozen above and below, the water was only free during its short descent. it would be freezing, of course, but motion had prevented the ice from taking hold. But that hardly mattered; the important part was that this was not her River and that was all that mattered for her at the moment.

Gone Tomorrow

Like a simpleton, Corinna sat watching the water fall over the rocks and into the pool below. She had seen waterfalls before, the sight itself was nothing knew. But something about it had captured her attention. Absentmindedly, she had fallen to her haunches in the snow - hardly caring about the sudden surge of cold to her body as she did so. The effort of her journey had warmed her, and she remained firmly seated in the snow, green eyes glued to the falling water. It was the motion that held her concentration; in a world that had fallen still in winter's grasp, seeing something move was a reminder of the life that was just waiting.

Life and death had certainly monopolized the leader's thoughts as of late. When the search party had returned and delivered the news; it had been twenty more lashes upon her heart. It had not been an unexpected response, but what mother would react emotionless towards the death of their child? She had retreated into herself, burying the pain and agony within her. Her eyes had taken on a deadened look that had only recently begun to fade. Maybe the trek out to the waterfall had been a response to that? The she-wolf had caught herself slipping back into that pit of depression that would have been near impossible to escape this time; but that wasn't an acceptable response, not so long as she had more lives in this world that needed her.

In hindsight, the wolf should have realized that her absence would not have gone unnoticed. Having been a shell of her former self for so long, any flurry of activity was sure to have attracted the attention of her pack mates. But occupied with a myriad of thoughts that flew away on the light breeze like ghosts, she paid no attention to this fact when she left. So when the woof rang out, shattering the silence and the monotony of the falling water, she half rose, head turning quickly to see who it was. But her rump met the snow once more, seeing that her caller was the pale ghost who had kept them safe for so long. "Ice." She called out, the trace of a smile on her lips.

He joined her, touching his muzzle to her shoulder. With a half wag of her tail, she dipped her muzzle beneath his cheek, offering it a solid nudge before withdrawing out of his personal space. Holding him in her gaze for a moment, she retreated from there too, returning her attention back to the waterfall. "I once got into a fight with an angry beaver here," she mused after her moment, the grin on her face audible in her voice. "Sometimes I wish all of life's challenges were that easy."

Gone Tomorrow

Maybe this had not been the place where she and the white furred Alexander, the long-lost patriarch of the mountain, had once done battle with angry brown, furry creatures whose teeth gnashed together threateningly despite being out sized by two grown wolves. But that hardly mattered. What did matter was that this place was not accompanied by a painful memory or a familiar face. That fact was far more of a blessing than she would ever care to admit, even to the gray male beside her who she trusted absolutely. Of all the wolves to find her here, without any preconcert, she had to admit she was glad it was Ice.

Shifting to the side, she threw out a paw to stop herself from tumbling into the snow as the unexpected poke to her side came, accompanied by the familiar and amiable voice. Tail wagging behind her, Cori righted herself, playfully batting a paw in Ice's direction. "I can't say I'm terribly fond of beaver," she teased. "Besides, there are others who need the food more than I do." Aiyana, for one. Fenru and Kisla, for second. They were almost two years old now, hardly cubs. But they would always be children to Corinna's eyes, and she would always put their needs before her own. Nevermind that Fenru had outgrown her long ago, and Kisla was her paler doppelganger. The rest of the pack was her responsibility as well. That's why they stayed with her, despite her depression. "Has Jessie managed to find some of her strength, yet?" The subordinate had taken Indru's departure with Torrel and Rihael particularly hard, and then there had been the run in with the lone wolf.

"Do you think in the spring we, the pack, can be fat again?" Happy and fat and carefree? Cori looked at him, her tone slipping from merriment to something slightly more serious. Bu tit was gone in a moment, replaced by a lighthearted chuckle. "I suppose it's good we're not now. We would't be able to chase prey to feed ourselves, and then we'd really be in trouble."

Gone Tomorrow

Corinna had asked about Jessie, knowing full well that it could open up a can of worms that would otherwise be left untouched. Nobody wanted to talk about the old River leader or the harsh mark he had left upon his family when he had taken it upon himself to leave them behind. His old mate was certainly among the group that just wanted to forget and begin to rebuild - for far too long she had lain dormant in sorrow. Her heart still yearned for Torrel, to see the young man that he was sure to become, but the rational part of her had come to accept that it was not to be. Just as seeing Rissa grow up was never to be either. It wouldn't have been possible to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but at some point, Corinna had made the mental and emotional transition from mate to mother; it was the loss of her children that plagued her more than her losing him. As the word rolled off Ice's tongue, Cori's head dipped in a nod of understanding. "I see." A simple response for a not-so simple subject, but she had no desire to delve into the mysteries of Jessie's reaction to Indru's leaving. Truth be told, the leader couldn't understand why it had affected her so hard - as far as Cori knew, Indru and Jessie had not been on particular friendly terms with one another. But who knew for certain? If there had been more there, then it would not have surprised Cori whatsoever; Indru and she had hardly told each other everything.

But the moment of seriousness faded, replaced by grins and smiles at the thought of a large River pack trying to bring down fleet footed deer in the deep snow. The closest comparison that she could think of was her size during pregnancy, which had tended to be substantial. Imagine, a pack full of pregnant Corinna's. That would be a sight to behold, and then run away from before the hormones took over. "I'm impressed you manage at all as you are," she teased, intentionally placing a paw down into the snow, where it sank only a little bit. Ice was not fat by any means, but he was a large wolf. Useful, for bringing down deer, but significantly less so for chasing them. "Triell, Fenru, and Marsh aren't tiny either; we certainly seemed to have attracted the biggest beasts in this forest." She was joking, evident by the laughter in her voice, but who knew if she was actually correct. Corinna had not met many beyond her borders, preferring to stay home as opposed to adventuring.

That, though, could potentially change. The merriment of jokes had died, and he had pounced upon her not so subtle question of happiness. Could she be happy here anymore? It didn't seem so, why else had she left, even if only for a few hours? Looking down at her paws, the leader's body tightened up as if a guest of wind had hit her, sending chills up her spine. "No." She whispered, not even sure if he would be able to hear her. "Everything is a reminder. I can't see him or smell him any more, but he's here." Maybe that didn't make sense, but she was hopeful that Ice would be able to understand. "But the River is home. What are we, if we're not River wolves?"

Gone Tomorrow

Would they ever be able to have a conversation again without allowing it to give way to weariness and pain? Corinna was beginning to doubt that such a thing could ever happen again, perhaps their lives were just too tainted for that. As it was, what had begun as a trip to escape the haunted memories of those they had lost and loved had become a painful conversation about them. At least, a conversation about how the rest of them were to move on. If they even could. The green eyed wolf stared down the frozen water with a steady concentration - could she break the ice that held her down and live the rest of her life? Not without painful memories, but scarred was better than immobile, wasn't it?

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Corinna turned her attention away from the water and onto Ice once more. Surveying him, she noted the slump in the Guardian's posture and the overall weariness that surrounded him. He wore it like a cloak, and without thinking, she leaned into him, her chin coming to rest upon his broad shoulder. While she was physically leaning on him, her intention was the opposite - to reassure him that he was not alone. Things were bleak, to be sure, but that did not mean they were impossible to overcome. If nothing else, the wolves of the River were survivors, and they would whether this storm like they had many others. "There are more rivers, yes," she conceded, shifting her muzzle out of his fur to respond. "I was young when I left, younger than Kisla and Fenru are now. I can't remember what I was thinking back then, what drove me to want to leave. The first time I met Indru, he bit me and chased me from the borders. Perhaps I should have known then." A sad smile graced her lips, hidden from him by the angle of her head, but no doubt heard in her voice.

"Where would we go?" It was an honest question, and frank. Corinna had no idea what lay inside much of Relic Lore - her knowledge of its territories was sadly limited. Her pack members had roamed much further than she had, and she would trust their judgement about where was safe. And if they could not tell her, then perhaps it was time for them to begin their search.