Sex: MaleMarch 24th; Early morning just after daybreak; Partly Cloudy; 16° F/-9° C
How long had it been now? Two weeks? Three? Two months or three? Fenru Donata could not truly recall when he had last seen a full moon, but he did remember that he had seen at least two. Up and along the mountain range that brought the peak of Mountain of Dire upon a lofty throne, the young wolf had led a solo expedition to the north in search of a way through to the other side of Relic Lore. Up until now it seemed to have been a hopeless cause until Fenru managed to regain hope from the singular sight of a chirping songbird. Spring was on the rise; there was no reason yet to turn around and go back to Oak Tree Bend.
Atop a stony and frost ledge, he had paused, staring at the perched warbler. Perhaps it had arrived early in hopes of snagging a good nesting spot; this had been the first time Fenru had ever seen one at the beginning of spring. Its yellow-feathered chest puffed up more and more the longer Fenru stared and eventually, it took off, taking the Donata's strand of hope with it. The streak of yellow soaring off to perch in a nearby fern plant.
"You be back soon, all right?" Uncle Triell had said, when his nephew had come to him with the proposal of leaving. "With or without Kisla or Ice or even Merlin, you come back safe and sound." Fenru could do nothing but slightly smile and brush his nose to his superior's chin, the closest thing to a "hug" that he could give the Leader.
"Don't you worry, Uncle," Fenru murmured under his breath, watching wisps of vapor fly free from his lips as he said it out loud. I will find them. Inside his chest an inkling of worry dared to stir but he swallowed it back down into the pit of his stomach. Before he had left, he had done a full patrol around the territory, and before he even summoned Arlette, he made sure to pull his younger brothers aside. To both @Serach and @Sceral he promised with all his heart that he would be back soon, that there were some adult things that he needed to take care of, and that they were to be good in every way and listen to Uncle @Triell. For while he was gone, they were to be the Guardians and/or Scouts in his place. Then, just like that, with a nuzzle of his nose to each pale-furred cheek Fenru bid them farewell. Just for now... so that he could be alone and fully move past Corinna's death in the process of searching for his well-missed family. He would be back, he kept telling himself, time and time again. He was no Tainn, but Corinna's son, and he would always come back home.
His amber eyes went up to the lightening sky, taking note of the new morning. He glanced down to where he had left Arlette for just a brief moment while he scouted around for a promising way through the sierra, then started to make his way down. For safety's sake, he did not plan to go too far up, but the songbird had stopped him in his steps. Again the warbler sang out and Fenru leapt down into the elbow-deep snow with a dull thud. He took a few steps towards it and it merely trilled as if it were telling him something.
"Do you know the way?" he playfully asked it with a wagging tail. It chirped back at him and he shook his head with a grin, watching it take flight again towards where he had first spotted the brightly colored bird. He twirled around to see after it but it had already cleared the jagged cliffs. I'll be right there! he wanted to holler with a laugh, but he held himself back. The haggard features on his face had no place for joy, at least, not just yet. First, he had to find his family, be it his step-father Ice, or red-coated man that was the evasive Merlin, or his dearest sister @Kisla ...
Half-skipping over to where his companion had been resting in the snow, Fenru used his nose to find his way back to her. They had it down to a routine and well-planned out strategy. While he looked around and made sure the surrounding forest was clear of danger (during the past few nights, he could have sworn that they had nearly woken up a hibernating bear or badger while they aimlessly traveled), she made herself invisible, hiding by flattening herself with the snow and tucking her black nose between her paws while she patiently waited for him to come back. She had her eyes closed and the way she had wedged herself partially beneath a thicket almost had him walking right past her.
His plume of a tail lifted as he saw her, allowing him to elicit a tune of excited whines as he placed a kiss on the bridge of her muzzle. "Come on," he whispered through his excitement. "I think there's a way out nearby. We're close. Just need to follow the mountain a little bit further." He waited for her to stand and shake out her coat before romping down the path he had already forged through the snow. "Rissa said it's this way, we'll be on the other side of Relic Lore in no time..."
Fenru led the heiress of the Mountain onward, determined to continue on his rather spontaneous and whimsical adventure. Forging through the thick snowdrifts and taking care to look back and make sure that she was able to navigate along his own footprints, he encouraged her. However, little did they know, that the Spirit of Wildwood had other plans for them, and that this journey, for the both of them, would only be one of many in addition to their previous encounters. For Fenru Donata and Arlette Dieudonné to survive their harshest winter yet was a sign; and, the fact that they had managed to come together for a third time had now become an unspoken promise. This time was theirs: to better themselves, to escape the only lives they had ever known, to start anew, and, unbeknownst to both of them, start a life that was truly their own.
(Exit Fenru & Arlette. <3 )
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