The tawny woman had thought she could handle seeing him with another, surrounded by his own family finally. She had hoped she could be happy for him, but deep deep down she simply couldn’t. From the moment she had stepped across that invisible line with her children in tow she knew she could not stay. Surely he could tell by her dark demeanour, the way she had held her children so tight and stayed so close to the edge of his kingdom. He surely could not have been surprised to see them gone by the time the sun rose.

She had travelled with her children, across the open plains, around the craggy cliffs until finally they found themselves once again beneath the boughs of a thick forest, thicker than any you would find in the Lore. The branches overhead were entangled so tightly they blocked out the sun, the moon, and the stars, their only path a winding creek that cut through the dark and into the unknown. While her children grew nearer in the dark forest their mother, although limping, stood taller, knowing at last that she was going home.

Just as she had anticipated, she was greeted as though she had never left. One of her uncles escorted her home, making small talk as he took her to see her grandmother. She was not surprised to see the imposing black wolf sprawled out on her favourite boulder, although her eyes were now clouded grey with blindness and more silver marked her muzzle than had at their last encounter. Naira spent much of her recovery time recounting her tales to the dark woman, occasionally joined by her own mother when she wasn’t busy keeping the pack in order. They were intent not only to heal her physical wound but to bring some light back into her golden stare.

She was allowed to grieve.

While she had hoped and even prayed that Mapplethorpe might find her, them, she had felt no sense of impending dread when he had not showed up at their rendezvous. If he could have made he would be there and while her heart was shattered, it had been something she had forced herself to shut out for the sake of their children.

But it wasn’t just Mapplethorpe she needed to grieve for, it was her brother Kanosak, and the terrible damage she had done. It was for Lily and Adonis, Datura and Belladonna. Even Rhysis required a few tears to be shed and the more she allowed herself to process her grief, the less often nightmares had come to plague her. As her mind healed her body followed suit until she felt as a six year old wolf should, not weary to her bones, not broken and bitter and falling apart.

She was able to smile again.

For almost a year she had sheltered with her family, raised her children (amongst their many cousins, aunts and uncles), celebrated in the way of the faith she was raised to embrace and she was at peace. There was no need to assert her dominance or question others motives, no need to worry about where their next meal might come from or fear of what mother nature might throw at them next. She was convinced she would never leave again, but it wasn’t to be.

On their first hunt, her children had helped to pull down a caribou. The pack had moved out onto the open tundra for the sake of the young ones, and while the rest of their family ate their fill, those that waited basked in the snow under the northern lights. One of her uncles started telling stories, much as Mapplethorpe might have but his voice didn’t have the same quality to it. Words seemed forced instead of rolling off his tongue like silk, but still she smiled, wondering if perhaps he would have been as happy here as she was.

It was then that the stars began to fall from the sky, much as they had on the night of her first litters birth. Some said it was an omen, but Naira merely raised a brow, that was until the godess took her mother. It wasn’t the first time she had seen such an episode but it was fearful none the less. The white wolf soaked with blood, her eyes glassed over, speaking in a voice that wasn’t her own. She had walked straight over to Naira and delivered words of warning.

Fate had been cheated twice, she said, to allow it to happen a third time would mean her demise.

Her grandmothers blind stare had fallen on her with pinpoint precision and for a moment she thought she saw the fiery tone behind the clouded grey burn. “You know what you must do.” It was as much an order as it was advice. Her children were old enough, they would have the protection of their family as long as it was needed. She had a task that could not be ignored.

It tore her heart to leave her children, but her soft spoken son and brazen daughter promised they would come and find her when the time was right. She had embraced them both on her final night at home, sleeping under their weight as she had when they were barely able to touch the underside of her belly. It was hard to tell the difference between night and day under this thick canopy but somehow her body knew when it was time to leave.

She said her goodbyes with a smile on her face. It wouldn’t be such a terrible journey she was sure. After all, she shouldn’t have to stay gone long.

Now here she stood, with red earth from the eastern hills under her paws, the weather turning and a fire burning under her pelt. It was good to stand in the sun again, even better to see the stars. A reckless smile marked her face as she continued her journey down in to the woods below. She was back, and she could almost feel the earth tremble beneath her paws as the wind whipped through her thick pelt.

This time, things were going to go her way.

Rage seared through the silvered male's veins, threatening to tear him in two. From afar, the silver wraith seemed perfectly composed. Each paw perfectly placed one before the other, neck and spine aligned, ears and eyes alert. A closer look would yield to the stiffness that followed each motion, the overly steady gait, the intensity of his white-hot gaze. These red hills had become more and more like a prison, Garmr and his small band forced to behave more like fugitives than warriors. He wasn't a cowering rat like the rest of the wolves who inhabited this region, but Garmr at least had enough brain cells to realize that getting caught by Nayeli's pack was not an option. He needed control of the situation, he would face the filthy pack and steal his woman back on his own terms... 

But Garmr could everything crumpling, sifting out of reach like soft sand between his grasp. The season was nearing its turn, and still they had not obtained what they had traveled to this wretched land for. Time was not on their side, and Garmr was beginning to suspect his family wasn't entirely either. Garmr knew @Skadi was as dedicated as he, and knew he had her held firmly under his own paw. @Ainashi seemed to lack dedication entirely, but at least did what he was told, and so far without question. @Vali, however, greatly troubled the leader. Garmr would be a fool to not notice the steady decline in his brother's drive and passion for their mission. It had always troubled the perfectionist in him, but he needed the brains and brawn Vali provided. Vali's disinterest wouldn't have mattered as much as long as Garmr got what he needed from him, but as of late his brother's periodic disappearances were beginning to actively interfere with his plans. Not only did they lack a plan, but his brother's physical absence meant that even a blind, spontaneous rush on the oak tree pack would be even more likely to fail.

Nearing his breaking point, Garmr decided enough was enough. He would find his damned brother and they would charge the pack of mongrels, plan or not. He would take no excuses.

His nostrils flared at the scent of a female, filling his lungs with her scent. Upper lip lifted, his tongue flicked the air as if to taste. He snorted, conflicted. Tempting, yes, but it was easy enough to tell the woman was the same type of common blood he despised. However, that did not mean she would be useless to him. Setting his face into a pleasant, if not somewhat empty expression, Garmr moved at an easy lope through the trees towards her. Finally spying the tawny coated peasant, he slowed. He lifted his pale muzzle, giving a chuff to draw her attention. His tail swished at his hocks, not overly exuberant but friendly enough.

Her task would not be an easy one, this much she knew, and she still had a ways to travel before she would reach the oak forest and begin putting to practice her carefully laid plans. If this was what fate demanded of her, she would do what was required to protect her own hide. Demise was not a term she planned on coming to grips with any time soon.

She was pulled from her musings by a chuff, honey-hued eyes narrowing as they fell on the stranger, her chin tilting up out of habit and her tail stirring to sit level with her spine as she took in his welcoming stance. She was not so foolish as to trust just any male, particularly at this time of year but a deeper part of her soul tugged at her gut as she looked him up and down. Perceiving the man as a minimal threat she allowed herself to relax. Although her eyes wished to travel back over the trees that lay below them she knew better than to turn her back on a stranger.

She took a step closer to the silver coated man, closing the distance between them. Her steps were deliberate and measured as she lowered her head to take in the scent at his shoulder, her tail taking up a lazy wag as she committed it to memory and registered nothing of familiarity about it. Some might be made uncomfortable by her brazen approach but she was not used to being defied. “You’re not from around here.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement, her words smooth and clipped with a business like tone, lifted by the smirk that pulled at the corner of her lips, hidden from the pale man by the way her head was angled across his back. “What brings you to this godforsaken place?”