Fireweed Rise i think i saw you in my sleep

i think you ought to stay away from here, there are ghosts in the walls
and they crawl in your head through your ear

Heard their voices loud as thunder, clear as day, calling him into the starlight.

Rowan, my son, my boy.

On his way out, the Attaya had felt the fire as he walked through it, following mother's gentle beckon to come home. Under the cold night sky he remembered this place now, but found that when the world did not spin it was only greying flowers that had ever been the flames. Even as he knew it was a lie, Rowan swore that was the last time he would ever forsake himself in search of the shadowy figures of his family, who could not possibly exist.

It was all just a fever dream, the hallucinations' origins still yet unplaced, which had taken him further from anywhere he'd ever felt welcome and left the boy adrift again. How real the voices had sounded, the scents and even the visions that they were all just ahead - how empty it left his heart, to know it was not so. It had taken him a while to be sure they were only visions, and longer even so to discover where his heavy heart had taken him now. Once his head was clear, he knew a number of things to be true. Again, they were gone. Again, he was alone. And now he had to come home.

As far as the Attaya boy knew, and despite how it felt like a dagger to the heart, Darkwater Rapids was nothing more than a watery dream-turned-nightmare. Willow Ridge. That was the only home he'd ever known. And he had feverishly tossed it aside with the child-like hope that Mom and Dad were just right around the corner, like they were when he was a little pup. It was foolish, it was sad, and it was over.

The moon guided his anxious path. Even though he was eager to return to the Ridge wolves, Rowan could not help but drag his black-painted legs through the dying weeds. He grit his teeth at the embarrassment that sat like lead within his veins, but lifted his heavy legs beat by beat regardless. The most he could do was own up to his mistakes and pray that he would be understood, if not welcomed once more. Morning's light would bring him to the Ridge's doorstep, he supposed, and perhaps the following night he might finally sleep without their voices in his head.

adopt thea?

i know that someday you'll be sleeping, darling likely dreaming off the pain. i hope you'll hear me in the streetlights humming, softly breathing out your name

She had been here for some time now. For so long now she had made use of the cold dead flowers turning them into a soft bed of sorts. The young woman knew that with winter here she needed some real shelter. Not the meadow with her makeshift bed of dying flowers. Of course she would like to believe that she had all the skills that she needed for getting through the winter, even if getting through meant hanging onto her life by one little nail. But she wasn't that overconfident or dumb. The yearling knew she would new somewhere. A place. Even if just the winter.

Laying in her bed of dead flowers she stared up at the sky. She couldn't sleep. The moon too bright and it's stars seemed even brighter. When the night breeze carried the scent of another it was a relief and a worry. What was someone doing up so late? Not that she really had room to talk. Rising to her paws she barked out into the darkness unable to see if anything or anyone was out there moving. When the moonlight gleamed off of some dark fur though she was quick to take a few steps forward. "Is someone out there? I'm just curious, I won't hurt you...I promise." Her voice was as soft and chilling as the night itself.

It took Rowan a moment after the sound to realize he was not truly alone in the dying fireweed. The stranger's voice came to him warbled by his self-consuming guilt, losing the words but not losing the meaning. Though Willow Ridge was at the forefront of his mind, the devoted boy could not help but stop immediately when his attention was called. The night was darkened by the approaching winter clouds, but he looked closely until he was able to pick out the shape of wolf not too far a distance away. Her eyes like pale blue gemstones glinting beneath the starlight. Using their sheen as his compass, Rowan turned and stepped closer, holding his body lower than usual. They could neither see each other very well, and he much preferred to be safe than sorry given his loner status. The Attaya gave a slow wave of his low-hanging tail, trying to convey his friendliness though his expression remained somewhat stone.

"Hello," he responded, his voice like gravel compared to her dulcet tones. It had been a while since he really exercised conversationalism, and though he was rusty at it, Rowan attempted a half-smile and tried again. "I would hope you didn't plan to hurt me." It was his best attempt at a joke given his somewhat dented social skills. His dull gold eyes watched her blue pair closely, hoping that it would register and he would be free of one embarrassment in his recent lifetime. Hopefully she wouldn't find his humor so putrid that she had to leave. Her presence out here, though he knew absolutely nothing about her at all, was strangely comforting after all the emptiness before.

The silent winter's sky set him slightly uneasy, but Rowan found his guardian heart had more concern for her safety than his own. After all, the wind told him no pack's claim was threaded into her agouti coat. It was just good looking out, then, for him to prompt her, "Are you alone?" It helped him, anyway, to think of someone else rather than himself after spending so long in his own head.

His voice was like the rough rocks of the mountain, though even if it was rough she found something comforting about it. As if it was like a security blanket of sorts. Taking a step forward her eyes lit up and a chuckle sparked at his humorous joke. "I don't know, you seem like quite the challenge to take on...but I like a bit of a challenge." Joking back at him Nyna shot a wolfish wink towards him. He seemed nice so far. "Are you alone?" She nodded in the dark in a "yes" sort of motion. Even if he couldn't see her head moving it offered some sort of pillar for Nyna to build off of. "Yeah, I have been for sometime now. I left home a while ago and haven't found a new one since leaving." Her voice was trying to fight back a sadness that laid heavily in her heart. It was cold and lonely being out in these lands alone, but what could she do? She hadn't found herself even trying to fit in. Maybe she should have been looking harder. But the nervous not so confident part of her was anxious about trying to fit in somewhere. What if they rejected her? "I'm assuming your alone too?" The yearling girl's voice light and curious in tones. "If so, where are you heading?" Her tail wagged softly behind her and she offered a wide grin. This night was turning out better than expected. "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Rowan took a moment to process her comment, puzzled to discover she was reciprocating his humor even though his joke had all the punch of a baby bird. His snort of laughter was awkard and delayed, but nothing if not genuine. His ears twitched as he listened to her elaborate, making a note of their similar predicaments and the muted torture in her voice. His dark lips pulled into a frown, though it was helpful to know if she no longer wanted to be alone, she was in the right place. The Lore teemed with packs, families and wolves. Just not his, he supposed.

"Yes, I'm alone," he murmured, brows furrowing as he considered the idea in full. It required a constant reminder, but he pushed the Attaya memory into the back of his mind and recalled the swaying willow branches, knowing that there would be solace that couldn't be found in the dark of night. He hesitated as she asked of his destination, not because he didn't want to tell her but because he was still embarassed to turn up at the Archer-Lyall doorstep. But he had to; there was no where else to go. "I'm looking for the willow trees. That's where I used to live."

He paused, wondering if that was appropriate to say given that it might be irrelevant soon. His tarnished gold gaze returned to the she-wolf and pulled his lips into an apologetic smirk. "New to town?" he prompted her, curious to see if her journey had a destination in sight as well.

"Yes, I'm alone,"

"Well, we can be alone together.”

Her eyes stared down to the cold grounds. How stupid and foolish of her to show any signs of emotions. She could tell, or more like she thought, the other yearling was loosing interest in her snide little jokes and comments. Her tail started to flick behind her form. "The willow trees? I've been there but I've never got the chance to meet the pack that lived there. Always smelt their borders but thought it would be best to stay away from them ya know. Lone wolf against a pack isn't smart...” She found herself rambling and slightly embarrassed when she caught on to it. Her skin heated up underneath her light colored fur. Thank the gods it was dark and he wouldn't notice her nervous facial features or motions.

His comforting voice rung out to her ears again causing a small smile to bless her tainted lips. "Yeah,” The Lagina yearling's eyes shot up to stare at his eyes. "I'm not really too sure where everything and everyone is. Maybe you could show me around a bit?” Her voice was soft and kind. Anxiety building up in her chest made her chest rise and fall heavy with every breath. For some reason this meeting between the two yearlings had Nyna quite the nervous wreck. The young Lagina could only hope it wasn't that noticeable. The last thing she wanted to do was scare of some good company. Oh how she had longed for this company and now she had it.

"Speech.”

</3 a little too busy trying to close out the semester to spree a thread rn, but i promise i'll reply as fast as i can!

Alone together? He had never really thought of that. As it were, he seemed to like the idea, and with a simple nod of his head the Attaya boy sauntered closer to the unknown girl. He stopped a wolf's length away as she continued, revealing she had been near the willows but never encountered the pack. Pity, he thought, knowing the wolves of the Ridge were strong and powerful and just. Everything a girl might need from a pack.

"If you never try, you never know," he offered her simply, his voice quiet but reassuring. It was that sentiment that had taken him globe-trotting, and Rowan had thought it wasn't true for him anymore. That was until he ended up in the dark with this gemstone-eyed girl, who shyly suggested Rowan might offer his guidance. Before he could figure out what had gotten into him, the dust-coated male smiled something small and started forward, looking over his shoulder to see if she would come along as well.

Taking a casual pace the Attaya let his dull gold eyes wander from her to the dark horizon. "I don't know much of this place besides my own, but I can tell you what I do know. If you go east and north a bit, to the cedar trees, there is another good pack there. Cut Rock River. A wolf named Maksim reigns there." That would be a suitable place for a good wolf, he thought, letting his gaze fall upon the she-wolf again. Perhaps two reasons to visit would finally bring him to those borders as he had always intended.

Rowan frowned slightly, surprised that his mind had conjured up such an idea, and reeled back somewhat. He cleared his throat. "I, uh, never caught your name? I'm Rowan. Rowan Attaya."

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity