Blackberry Fields and yesterday has gone dead on me anyway

For @Nina only. Sorry about taking so long on this.
Dated 12/05 - freezing fog, morning.

The girl did not dare to go north often. While she missed her family terribly, she knew she could not allow them back into her life. If they knew where she was, certainly they would make her go back to the thickets, and Nineva could not stand the thought. There was nothing wrong with the pack, with the landscape, with her extended family which had done the great service of taking them in, except that it wasn't home. Even Grizzly Hollow at times turned her stomach, leaving a bitter taste within her mouth at just how charmless it could be when compared to the Caverns; and still it was so much closer. It also allowed her the autonomy she craved. One day, she knew, she would meet back with them, and she hoped dearly that her nightmares would not be true; that she would not be labeled a traitor by her own blood. They would see how important it had been when she gathered them and took them back home, reestablishing Whisper Caverns for it to thrive once more.

When she began to smell the sour stench of rotted blackberries, floating up from the dead flattened grass that her paw steps uncovered, she knew that it was time to turn back. She was coming too close, and from her adventuring had learned to associate the smell of blackberries with a certain kind of danger. Her adrenaline flagged, she felt uneasy, and with a sigh she resigned to turn around and traverse familiar lands back home. It had been a melancholy day for her, she'd thought exploring would change that for her, yet now that she curled round and set herself back on toward the Cedarwood Forest she felt as though a lead weight had been swallowed to rest in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps to be alone was not what she had needed. Maybe when she got back she should pester @Kenelm for some time together, or maybe entice @Tomen into playing a game. Anything to take her mind of off everything that waited for her to the north.

It was not often that Nina left territory, especially with winter upon them. For the most part, things were going well within Secret Woodlands. The Hervok woman kept a close eye on her brother, knowing that it must have been hard for him to be within a pack and not knowing exactly where his mate was located. However, with the disappearance of his daughter, Ash seemed to have lost part of his rationality to take care of himself. Nina was already busying herself with Lyanna, adding Ash onto to list only increased Nina’s stress. It was getting harder for her to move around with the cold. Easily, she could feel the cold seeping into her limbs and laughing at how hard it was for her to move around.

Blackberry Fields was always a place that she had enjoyed running in, until Black Thorn Downs had occupied it. The golden brown dam had been forced to acknowledge that it was no longer safe for her to go on a jog on her own…which would have defeated the purpose of her alone time in general. Black Thorn Downs were no longer a problem and the woman felt that she could stretch her legs a bit. She was quick to mark her scent on the way out of the territory, making it clear to whoever was on border patrol that day (though it was probably Miccah) would know that she would be returning soon. The woman took her in time in walking around the Fields, allowing her joints to get use to her new movement.

While her walk had been merely for her own pleasure and for her to think about the future of her pack, Nina had not been expecting to see a familiar figure up ahead. Had it not been for the size difference, the Woodlands’ alpha would have thought it was normal. The body size, however, proved that to be false. Nineva was alive and here and it perplexed Nina that the little girl hadn’t thought to check in with her family. She moved closer before stopping a comfortable distance away, not wanting to scare the girl into running away from her. Nina would not be able to catch up. "Nineva…?" Her voice was soft and hesitant, not wanting to startle the girl away nor make her think that she was disappointed in anyway. All Nina wanted was a conversation.

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.