Secret Woodlands i've a reason to believe

Set same day and not long after this thread, so it's probably getting late. @Mirren <3

After so long - it was over half a year, now - of living outside of pack life, it had felt decidedly surreal to willfully cross over clearly marked borders. If she hadn't been explicitly invited, and if those borders didn't smell so much like @Mirren and @Ash, it would have struck her as far more wicked. But this was good and legal, so long as Mirren's welcome was shared by the rest of his pack. With a nervous spring in her step, Bella carefully picked her way through the thicket, glancing up every now and then at the tree canopy overhead. Secret Woodlands, he had said, and she could see why; it would not be hard to slip into the depths of the brambles and winding flora and never be seen again.

What if they were watching her right now, wondering why a stranger was in their midst? Maybe she should have asked Ash to escort her after all, or maybe she should have stayed at the borders and called for him again, because then she wasn't trespassing that way. Maybe it was because she was here alone, and she hadn't been alone since Wolesh had found her more than two years ago. Maybe it felt strange because it wasn't her mountain, but she was wondering if this was really where she was supposed to be. Could the dense vegetation be a home like the dust and rocks had been? It was all so different.

"Mirren?" she called, once she finally decided that she couldn't effectively guess at his trail anymore, for his musk was thick and in the air everywhere and it was impossible to distinguish the way he had most recently come. Turning about on the spot, she could barely distinguish the way she had come, and so decided to stop; perching herself on a rare, soft patch of earth in this thorny territory, she lifted her gaze and glimpsed at the darkening sky, peeking through the trees. A familiar, comforting sight. Breathing deep, she closed her eyes and opened her ears, waiting to be discovered - by whoever it might be.

A little powerplay, hope you don't mind. <3

The sun was going down, taking all of its fiery red and salmon and golden light with it and leaving behind a violet, quiet dusk. With darkness descending on the forest, the shadows inside it seemed to grow and engulf the twists and turns of the beaten and uncharted paths he knew so well. He took his time navigating through them, deep in thought about the wonder girl who had managed to end up at his borders. Mirren could only guess at her business with Ash, whether they were related, or whether or not they were long lost or old friends. One way or another, he was glad that Ash's presence had drawn her here ─ in a way it had brought her back to him, and he doubted that their paths would have ever crossed again otherwise.

Would she stay for the night, taking him up on his offer? A part of him thought that she wouldn't. First of all, because that would have been too good to be true, but secondly because he rendered she'd probably gotten what she'd came for in her reunion. Belladonna could have had a hundred other things to do, other people to see, and he considered the fact that she probably needed to return to wherever it is she had come from. And yet, another part of him somehow knew that, somewhere in the shadow, she would seek him out. He couldn't quite put a finger on a reason why he felt it, but there was this gravity...It drew his mind and body and will to her. Maybe it was because she'd been his comfort those weeks ago, not asking a single question of him and offering her kindness with no expectation of something in return. Maybe it was because he'd thought he'd seen her soul when he'd looked into her eyes as the storm blustered around them. Maybe it was because he thought she'd seen his. One way or another, she had become something special, even if he didn't know what or why.

It was his hope that she had caught the silent invitation that lingered in his gaze when he'd turned his back on her hours ago, and so Mirren greeted nightfall far from the den he would eventually return to. Moonlight began to filter down through the tree tops, becoming brighter as the time passed until it finally bathed the world in a silver-blue. The crickets were out, their songs soft and familiar in the distance. He'd scaled a small ridge on the way to somewhere when his name echoed through the foliage. He stopped, peering over his shoulder as his ears pressed forward in attention ─ he'd recognize her voice anywhere. Quietly backtracking his own trail, it didn't take long to find her, though it was his nose to pick up her scent before his eyes could discern her figure. A soft smile found his lips.

In a low woof he called to her, recognizing that she'd probably had hell making her way through the thicket this far and surely had no idea what was up and what was down in here. Fallen leaves crunched beneath his paws as he approached her, keeping enough distance so as not to intrude on her personal space. There was a lot he wanted to tell her and questions he'd have liked to know the answers to if she'd give them, but he knew that the thick of the forest was no place to play catch up. He had somewhere in mind. "Come 'ere," he beckoned, his eyes soft and wanting even if she couldn't see. "There's someplace I want to show you."

---

Autumn was temperate enough that the flowers still remained despite the chill that its nights brought with them. The bright, warm hues of their petals couldn't be discerned in the moonlight, but instead took on an array of shades of blue and silver and black. Wildflower Glade was beautiful even in the dark, and if anyone beside him was going to appreciate this, it would be Bella. The canopy was thinner here, and there were several spots where the it gave way to an open sky, the holes allowing the light to shine down to the forest floor. Mirren picked the one he liked best and led her there, circling around and finally sliding to his belly. "The moon is nearly full," he commented quietly, glancing upward. A few moments of silence passed and his eyes found her face. He never was very good at beating around the bush. "Did you find what you came all this way for?" His tone was casual, the words softly spoken and innocently curious.

The soft sound brought her crashing back to the present, but she recognised the voice and did not panic. Her golden eyes fell upon his shadowy figure, and it made her smile; this is how she truly knew the man, shrouded in darkness and secrets, and here they were in the heart of both. The light caught his eyes for a moment, and she wondered if he was thinking the same. Wordlessly she stood, unable to resist his summons - who was she but a lone beast at his mercy? But it was more than that. Her compulsion to follow him would have been strong enough to overcome any good reason not to, but fortunately there were none.

He led her through the thicket, and even out of the pack's territory, and she padded softly after him without question. This was his world; he knew it, knew where he was going, and she was but a visitor. What a splendid place to visit, though. As they came upon the glade, a space of serenity and calm amidst a tangle of thicket and undergrowth, she had to pause for a moment at the significance of it. He was sharing a beautiful place with her, she realised, and a tight, hot knot formed in her chest as she looked at it, the rays of moonlight giving soft spots of blue light to the glade. It was breathtaking, and not least because he had deliberately brought her here.

She glanced up at the moon as he spoke, peering through one of the open spots through which it shone bright, and the sight of it made her feel a little more at home. Slowly, almost in a daze, she came to lay opposite to the man, sharing his patch of moonlight. Dipping her nose into the beam, she considered his question, watching how the light played on her muzzle. "I think so," she admitted at length, finally letting herself look at him, though his face was shrouded in darkness. It was so similar to how they had met, but this time they were awash in the scent of flowers and moonlight instead of water and wind.

How could she be simultaneously so comfortable and so nervous? She had been full of curiosity last time but had buried it out of respect for him, for his business was his own. Now she almost felt invited to it, but still she was reluctant. A random thought bringing @Kenelm to the fore of her mind, she found that she had a perfectly safe question to ask: "What is this place called?"

(This post was last modified: Sep 29, 2015, 07:16 PM by Belladonna.)

Even if the chilled autumn mornings had tempered the wild, summer beauty of the flowers, covered them in cold and frost day after day, the fragrance of the ones unharmed still remained. The fresh aroma was starkly different than the earthen musk of the thicket itself, and as he inhaled it deep and slow, his eyes on Belladonna, he felt utterly at ease. A breath of fresh air, they were, and so was she. She admitted to him that she thought she'd found what she'd come all this way for, her nose sticking out into the blue moonlight between them. He was curious about what her reason was for seeking out Ash but he wouldn't ask. Nina's brother was biding his time under the safety of the Woodlands wolves and their forest and was sure to leave with his family at their own convenience. It dawned on him then that it was the deterioration of their own pack further south that had landed them on his doorstep, perhaps Bella could have been one of them?

But...her sienna and russet and grey stroked fur didn't hold the scent of a pack, now or that night in Hidden Tree. If he was going to guess where she'd come from it would be someplace on the mountain; he was well acquainted with the range that loomed to the east, more so with the peaks that that had bordered Sequoia Vale, and was aware that the smells of damp stone and conifer ─ the only distinct ones he thought he could discern ─ were all but gone from her now, most likely lost in her travels. All he knew for certain was that she hadn't come from the forest, that he had no idea what had brought her to the Wildwood those nights ago, he had no idea what her relationship to Nina's brother was, and that he felt peaceful in her company. Seemingly, he always did.

His eyes traced her lips as she spoke, watchful and patient as if there was nothing else to the world except the Glade and the two of them in it. "Wildflower Glade─" he revealed, glancing briefly around at the scenery before returning his full attention to her. His heart was steady, but it felt like a river of adrenaline was coursing through his veins. "─One of the prettier secrets the Thicket conceals," he tacked on with a wistful smile. Most of the secrets he knew about this place were dark or gloomy and he tried not to think of Daniel. "I come here sometimes, on nights like this when the moon is bright and the world is quiet, to think mostly. I know there's not a thunderstorm to wash away a day's worth of angst, but...I suppose I don't need one when you're around." Heat swelled in his throat and in his cheeks but he couldn't, wouldn't look away, he only let a few moments pass to wick away the bashful feeling. "So ─ Bella ─ now that you're here, and I'm here, and we both know how coincidental (or fateful) it is that you happened to stumble across my home on the search for your friend, will you tell me what I did right to have earned one more moonlit night with you?"

There was play in his tone, a flirtatious note that he didn't hide, but his inquiry was a serious one. Behind the veil of lighthearted banter, Mirren felt starstruck by the fact that she was here. He'd meant it when he'd told her he didn't think he would ever see her again, and he felt it when the sound of her voice made him feel more whole, like the velvet chord of her words wrapped his wounds and warded away lingerings of pain. As dreamlike as this whole evening seemed, the significance of it was important, because he wasn't supposed to see her again. She was supposed to be only a memory, one of the better ones, and her figure to be seen only in his sleep and when he needed to remember that pain doesn't always go away, but that it always has a purpose. Belladonna was supposed to be a fluke, but she wasn't now. She was real, and she was here with him.

(This post was last modified: Oct 07, 2015, 05:16 PM by Mirren.)

The beautiful glade was committed to memory, name and all, another line in her fairly extensive (but by no means complete) log of all that was Relic Lore. She still didn't know where to place Mirren, though, the mysterious creature who sat opposite her and who seemed unable to look away from her. Bella felt almost bashful under his gaze, hardly able to keep from wondering what he was thinking, why he had brought her here, what his intentions were. There was a gleam in his eyes that was new, an energy he had found since that night in the storm, and she hoped it meant that whatever ailed him had eased up. The curiosity remained, but she could never ask, not now.

He spoke of thunderstorms, and hearing the words made it even more real, that this really was the man she had met that night, but then he continued to speak and completely stole any words she might have had. His gaze was unwavering, unrelenting, and she could not tear her eyes away.

Was he flirting?

She inhaled, quietly but sharply, as an unexpected throb of guilt coursed through her blood, just exactly at the same time as a wave of shy pleasure. Her mate was long dead, but it didn't stop her from feeling as though she could betray him - not that the man deserved any posthumous faithfulness. And this was innocent, just a charming man she had tried to help when he was down - she would have done it for anyone. But it had been Mirren, and now she had found him again, and the tone in his voice was making her cheeks incredibly, uncomfortably warm. It was just because he didn't really know her, she told herself; he was enamoured with the woman sitting in the rain, a woman who had been totally at peace, a woman with all the right things to say. This Bella was anything but those things.

She swallowed, staring at him, not knowing how to answer his question. It had been rhetorical, but that didn't mean she could say nothing at all, but a whole new world had just opened up in front of her and she was struggling to process it. Pushing her doubt and guilt and everything else down, Bella remembered the night they had met, how effortless his company had been, how easy the words. There was nothing to be afraid of. She was allowed to be here and she was allowed to enjoy his warm, attractive company.

But that didn't mean she had any idea how to respond.

"I was looking for answers," she said, blatantly deflecting, feeling entirely too self-conscious by his undivided attentions, "-solutions." Here he was, a handsome and eloquent beast, and she felt as though her tongue was swollen and unusable. First @Veho, and now this - what kind of creature did everyone else see when they looked at Belladonna Calor? How could she possibly live up to their expectations? Maybe it had been a mistake to come here, but she couldn't truly believe that. If she had known where Mirren called home, she would have sought him out, so why was this outcome any different? But she had to be honest. He had to know; Bella couldn't bear the idea of misrepresenting herself to someone so open and wonderful and those gold eyes and oh no she couldn't start down that path. "I - was looking for somewhere to stay. For me and... my family."

@Belladonna

It wasn't hard to decipher the reservation in her sharp inhalation, and suddenly he could see the way Belladonna guarded herself. The answer she offered him was a rational one, certainly not the one he'd been fishing for but there wasn't anything wrong with that. Where he was at ease to offer her the beginnings of this slowly-evolving affection he thought ─ he knew, deep down ─ he felt, she was inclined to keep things business-like. It made sense. Here was was in his own domain, pleasantly surprised by her arrival today and relieved by the fact that she'd caught the message in his eyes as he'd left her and Ash to their reunion; here she was, far from whatever home was hers, on a mission, in the dark of the night with a man she hardly knew. Her reaction to his innocent advance served to remind him that, even if she was a ray of light in the dark of his life, it was wholly possible that he was not that in hers.

Mirren breathed an easy breath, looking up to the night sky where the canopy broke as a cloud floated past overhead. It obscured the light ever so slightly, and he watched the silhouette of the branches ─ their black against the navy of the sky ─ until the cloud had passed and the light shone down as blue as it had before. He did his best to be unassuming, more welcoming and less pressing, to be patient and to actually hear the message her words carried. A home for her family, that is what Bella was seeking. He blinked thoughtfully. He'd considered the possibility that she wasn't so alone as she seemed when they encountered one another before. After all, he had a family of his own, too. With winter around the corner, it wasn't past him that there was room for her and hers right here in Secret Woodlands and, now that he had an idea about what she was after, he wanted nothing more than to offer her at least that.

"I see," he acknowledged coolly. His soft eyes fell away from hers to trace the wisps of fur on her cheeks. He pondered on what words to say, fearful of saying the wrong thing or coming across too strongly. For the first time with her, he felt the need to be gentler, as if his enthusiasm might be overbearing. The last thing he wanted was to push her away. The last thing he wanted was to let her go. As quickly as he'd digested the knowledge that she had a family, he considered what it would be like to keep her here, if she chose that ─ to meet hers and to allow her to meet his daughter, to live among them, to share with them. What were they like? What would it be like to see Belladonna's form in the snow, and would time weather the mystery that radiated from her? Would she even accept if he offered?

After the hand he'd been dealt, Mirren knew life was too short and too unpredictable not to take chances, and he knew somehow that she was worth the risk.

"I couldn't be happier that you're here, no matter what brought you to begin with." His gaze was steady, his heart true, and his words uncharacteristically soft. "If home is what you're looking for, then...stay with me." Sweetly said, the words that escaped his mouth betrayed the way he wanted to be nonchalant. "...Your family is welcome, too, of course. Secret Woodlands is a haven, and we've survived several winters. I know the woods are neverending, but," a grin tugged at a single corner of his lips, "it's safe here." He took a moment and added at the last, "It would be my honor to welcome you all." He hoped she could read the sincerity in his offer.

(This post was last modified: Nov 25, 2015, 08:14 PM by Mirren.)

<3 would love a new thread once we've wrapped up here.

To his immense credit, either @Mirren understood Bella's hesitation or she had misread his intentions. Not being entirely clueless, she suspected the former, and while that implied that his flirtation had been true, it also meant that he was enough of a gentleman to step back once he noticed her discomfort. Her admiration for the man grew to even further heights, though with it a fresh sense of shame; her feelings of guilt at his innocent interest was entirely unwarranted, but not something that she could control.

In contrast, his reaction was controlled, carefully given, and she desperately hoped that her flailing response had not offended him. With how events had transpired, she had been toying with the idea of joining his pack, for she yearned to be with Ash once more. That it would mean being close to Mirren, as well, was no unappealing prospect, though now she had to worry that her actions might lead him on unintentionally. It was easy to get swept up in the handsome and charismatic... Bella was all too familiar with that path. Watching Mirren's eyes, she saw no ill intent there, no deception, but she hadn't last time either, and by the time she had learned how to see it, she had been in too deep. It was safer to keep a distance, even if she sorely tempted to get closer. She refused to be a fool who made the same mistake twice.

He made it very hard to stay guarded, though, and the smile which crept across her face at his warm, welcoming reply was entirely out of her control. She did want to stay, stay in this thicket and with Ash and, yes, with him too. It was possible to do that and keep her heart safe, wasn't it? She was strong enough to do that. She was allowed to give herself this.

"You are incredibly kind," she said, her tone as soft as his, unable to properly convey her appreciation for his generosity, and still the guilt gnawed at her edges even as she tried to ignore it. "I will need to go back to them, to ask them to come, but - but I'll come back. I think... that this is where I'm meant to be, right now."

It was something about the moonlight, the serenity of this glade, the fact that he had brought her here specifically, that Ash was here and that there was a successful and secure pack to welcome them and solve many of the problems that she had been worrying over for weeks. It was her children's decision whether or not they came, but at least they would know where Bella was, and she knew that she could not keep a hold on them forever. Perhaps it was in all of their best interests to do what felt right; she loved them so, but Wolesh ever stared back from behind their eyes, and she felt highly uneasy at the notion of letting him into this haven.

"You know," she said then, almost taking herself by surprise as the thought occurred to her, fixing Mirren with a pointed, wicked gaze; "I didn't know this territory was yours. You kept that one quiet." She laughed then, quiet and light and brief, the action allowing her discomfort to melt away. "I had no idea I'd made such a powerful friend. I'm..."

A pause. A breath. She was stronger than the anxiety in her gut. "I'm glad you stumbled across me that night."

A new thread sounds awesome!

The glade surrounding them rustled as a river of autumn air blew through the tree trunks, the sound of the withering foliage quieting the sound of his own heart beating somewhere in his throat. If nothing else ─ if it wasn't her will to stick around ─ at least she knew where to find him now, and knew that she could turn to him if she needed to. It was hard to tell beneath the mask of darkness what the expression on her face had to say about it as she considered his offer, but still he watched. The thoughtful gleam in her shadowed eyes. The rise and fall of her chest. The way the moonlight danced across her fur. To his surprise, her decision was just what he'd been hoping to hear.

"I think...that this is where I'm meant to be, right now."

His heart skipped a beat.

Relief and a flame of excitement washed over Mirren but he didn't let more than a humble nod of agreement show through the facade of control. Well...and a gentle smile that mimicked Bella's own as she continued ─ inadvertently painting him as powerful and a friend. It was true that he ruled these woods, but he owed so much of what he'd come to accomplish to the very woman who founded Secret Woodlands years ago. As the thought of Nina crossed his mind, he didn't believe for a second that whatever power Belladonna perceived in him was all his own. His experiences had made him who he was, and his relationships with his own family and with Nina and Lyanna and with @Kite had molded him into the man he was now, the man who sat across from Bella with an open mind and a guarded heart.

Since her arrival this afternoon, the Tainn had immersed himself in everything Belladonna, soaking up her presence and letting what he felt for her replace the feelings of resentment and despair and uncertainty and discord that seemed to hold his bones together since the birth of his daughter. With the anticipation associated with not knowing why she was here and if she would remain simmering down, for the first time he understood that ─ even if she was going to stay, stay with him ─ she couldn't fix the damage Kite had wrought.

Grounded by Bella's own grip on reality, Mirren could see that his elation only masked the problems that persisted in his life, that it was temporary, a feeling. As his eyes searched her face, he also realized that temptorary elation could be all he needed to see him through; he cast all uncertainty and the mound of worry he felt creeping up onto his shoulders again aside, for now.

"I'm glad I stumbled across you too," he admitted freely, a soft rumble. "And...I'm glad you want to stick around." He breathed, inhaling the night air as he kept his cool in spite of the warmth that flushed in his cheeks. "I can send someone to accompany you on your journey back to your family, if you'd like?" To make sure you'r'e safe. It was merely a suggestion, Mirren knew Bella was a big girl, but the thought of something possibly happening to her while she was not under his protection made his skin crawl.

"I could go..." he added at the last second.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Two wolves sat across from each other, of an age, both with guarded, weary hearts. They could enjoy the other's company, their cautiously-given affection, but such bandaids were insufficient for the scars they wore.


Watching Mirren, wondering again at his motives, at his desires, at what had brought him out into that storm - Bella felt at ease with herself, and decided that was okay, too. She was safe here, from judgement and harm and most of all, from him. There were times she felt Wolesh's presence very clearly, could feel his eyes on the back of her head. She had felt him in those moments when Mirren let his affection run a little too unguarded, felt the ghost grasp at her fur and hiss in her ear. It took effort to push him away, to remember that his power was gone. Laid here across from a gentle man, bathed in soft moonlight, it was easier to summon the strength to fight him.

Her request to go back and gather her children was graciously granted, Mirren's coy little addendum giving Bella pause as she smiled. "Oh ye-" she had started, before correcting herself with a small shake of the head and a sigh; "I would love that, but it would be quicker if I go alone. My youngest, he... is very... shy." That was a delicate way of putting it. "I think it would make him anxious to travel with someone he doesn't know. But perhaps you could meet him, when we come back? My Duck rather lacks a good male presence in his life..."

There was no guarantee that the others would come, but Bella had no doubt that her duckling would follow. And Fox and Snake... well, they wouldn't take kindly to anyone trying to even remotely replace their father, Bella had no doubt. Even if all she wanted was a strong role model, not a dad stand-in.