Turtleback Lake better things are on the way

They were leaving the Kingswood. It didn't hurt the red man any to go but he knew if hurt Sana especially since they were also leaving Inna behind among the trees. The woods held little for him but he knew that for everyone else they had held their dreams and their ghosts. The dark lady and him had spoken and she had told him about this. About leaving Sana again. He had also begun to see the way everyone else viewed her and had to wonder how much of it was on her and how much was on them. It wasn't his concern though. His main concern was to simply stay with Sana. So he followed the rest of the pack to their new home.

Once there Lach tossed up his head to let out a howl that everyone else joined in on. Reid's ears were all for Sana's voice as he heard the sadness in it and it made his chest hurt. At the moment there was little he could do to alleviate her pain except to toss his head back and let her hear his own howl so that she would know that he was with them.

Damn, Hearthwood had been bigger than Ayti remembered. A half dozen or more voices rang out through the trees after Lachesis’ call, and Ayti only felt it natural that he follow suit. He did work his way up to the cliff that most of the wolves seemed to be gathered at, padding up to brush against Lilya and Lachesis’, with a good-natured nip at the white Stark’s ear, before he howled his own tenor to join the chorus.

He felt bad for having to force Inna to stay behind, but even with Oksana’s sad voice, everything felt a little lighter around this place. Perhaps they really had left all of their demons behind. Perhaps this place truly was going to be good for them after all.

The massive second-in-command huffed after the song was finished, looking out over what was to be their new territory. His tail gave a few slow wags around his hocks and he sighed through his nose, his chest already feeling lighter and his heart excited for this new change.

”Driftwood Surge,” he murmured to himself, hazel eyes glancing back toward his alphas (and friends). ”That does have a nice ring to it.”

The news of their moving had not hurt as much as she would have thought. She had spent her last moments drifting along the graves of her parents, feeling a sense of remorse at leaving them behind but knowing they would have wanted this – would have wanted their family to move on completely from the devastation that haunted them. She would not miss her mother’s den, where if she looked at it long enough, she could still see the scuffle marks and blood as if the rain and snow had not actually washed it away.

What she didn’t understand was why Inna did not follow them. Her dark sister had bid her farewell, and kept the reasoning vague – despite the tawny she-wolf’s insistence she come. Lekalta had part of a mind to stay behind with her littermate – what remained for her in the pack now? But one look to Matheo and Risaela was all she needed, and while she was distant from them now, she needed to mend this – they needed her more than her sister did.

So she trailed after them, her eyes drifting to the others every so often – faces she wasn’t truly familiar with anymore. Instead, her focus remained on her younger siblings and Oksana – offering them their space, but ensuring their travel to their new home was safe. The scars she bore upon her body had been to save them – she could not abandon that now.

When they arrived, the Baranski did not feel the stir of welcome that home should. She simply felt indifferent. The others remained elated, and she took heart to that – tipping her own muzzle up, Lekalta’s own soothing tone added to their claim. She would wait and see what life began to unravel for them here.

are you deranged like me? are you strange like me?
lighting matches just to swallow up the flame like me?
do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?

Risaela seemed happy. So did Lachesis, and Lavender, and whomever else gathered around. Some of them were family. Some of them weren't. Some of them he'd never seen or smelt or heard. They all seemed excited to be moving. Except for Inna, was not something he was entirely sure about how, or why, or what good could come out of any of it, but on some level, he did not blame the dark wolf.

They were leaving the dead behind. Mathéo had thought he wanted it, to go where the ghosts couldn't. To go somewhere without the haunted trees - or maybe this was better, because it was like a lake, like the one Hawthorne had shown him, kind of, and there places to protect him from the trees. But he wasn't sure he wanted that. Théo didn't know what he wanted, not at all - left him tired and uneasy - it was like he had told the white wolf in the Ethos. Worrying was hard. His claws crept into the earth as he sat. The wolves called around him. Théo opened his mouth - but the song didn't come. His ears fell back. Stared at his feet. He had no song to sing.

Whispering Pines send my baby back to me

She caught wind of the decision to move Heartwood somewhere safer and begun to take up the habit of checking the status of the pack from just beyond the border, anticipating the big day. She knew that this move was monumental for Heartwood and judging from the amount of stress that Lachesis was under, she assumed that the change of scenery would do wonders for his well-being as well. She woke late, having struggled to fall asleep beneath the intense moon but she was quick to realize her error and wandered to where the border was with hopes that she hadn't missed out on the most important day--the briefest glimpse of the last wolf confirmed that today was the big day.

A surge of excitement and fear swelled within her as she cautiously followed the pack she had began to unofficially follow since the disappearance of Cotton. The ground beneath her feet felt strange, the elevation change taking effect as she maneuvered the best she could without being detected--when she heard the distant sound of howling, she knew that they had finally reached the destination. She lingered behind, happiness swelling in her chest knowing that some day soon this would officially become her home--someday soon, she'd be freely wandering beyond these new borders and the thought made her excited. She lifted her head and howled, the happiness spewed from her mouth without much effort, as she helped her good friend to found another paradise for his wolves.   

Ashbash 2016 - Ian Schneider 

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2018, 07:25 AM by Rory.)

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

thank you for being so quick everyone <3 archiving this now!

One by one the howls of his packmates joined his. First was Oksana, whose song was more subdued than the others, but that was to be expected. Her mother was still in the Kingswood and had sent her daughter to be with the rest of the Hearthwood wolves. Driftwood now. His daughters were close to follow, causing his lips to curve upward in a wide smile as he continued to sing his song. Risalea’s soft voice mingled with the Stark children, followed by a voice he did not recognize. A young male, by the sounds of it—a friend of the tawny cub? It did not matter—it appeared he was hear to stay, which was fine by Lachesis. Leaving Inna had resulted in them losing a member; he was happy to welcome the young male into the ranks. His wife followed quite, along with one of the newest river wolves (a friend of Inna’s) and Anastasia, who had kept to herself since rejoining Hearthwood. He hoped that this move would help her, too, for he hated to see his bubbly friend so withdrawn. Reid, Aytigin and Lekalta followed next, each of their tones blending into the song that echoed through the evergreens. He knew Mathéo was present, but his voice did not come. The quiet boy was a bit of a recluse, so perhaps all the excitement was too much for him… it did not matter. Not now. He was here, with the other river wolves, starting fresh. He hoped this would be good for both Théo and his sister, for they had endured enough in the Kingswood.

Just as he was about to dismiss his subordinates another voice added to the mix—one that earned a surprised expression from the ghost. Rory! She had found them. Was the gypsy girl finally deciding to settle down? He allowed the song to continue for a few more moments before lowering his snout, his smile still present. With a loud bark! he dismissed the river wolves to their duties before he went to collect his children and mate. There were borders to mark! Dens to find! Enough work to keep all the members busy, including the two newest ones…

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stick with those who stick with you