Cedarwood Forest two sides to a story

For @Capella!

Despite spring's arrival, the dark woman was still miserably hungry. The last she had laid her eyes on prey had been the moose that had gotten away, that had been one of the lowest moments in her life and the event still bothered her as she laid gnawing away at a large stick she had found an hour ago. As she took chunks from the branch she pretended that she eating flesh, and tore away the bark as though it were skin; it would probably be the closest she'd come to food for some time.

When the branch had become mostly pieces at her outstretched feet, she stood and stretched her healing body with an arched back, a wide yawn leaving her she stood silently at her spot to glance around Cut Rock River. The pack had become unusually quiet lately, probably with breeding season finally coming to an end, and Bastet took this opportunity to venture to the neighboring lands--it would give her a reason to stretch her legs and help her as she completed her training as a scout. It would be a few more months yet before she'd gain the rank, though she was optimistic that eventually her and Naia would become partners; she enjoyed the idea more than anything that had happened to her this far.

Once she got her momentum the woman was on her way further North, toward Cedarwood Forest where she could possibly find more information about where the herds had migrated to. It did not make sense to her why the hard not begun to return to the land already, perhaps they had traveled another way, or worse, were not planning on returning until much later. She hoped they would be so kind as to return within the next days, as her pack members were in desperate need of food and she wanted nothing more than to relay the message of possible food and participate in another hunt; this one would be successful. She paused at one of the cedar trees to catch the musk of one of her pack mates, they had probably been in search of food as well, and to let others know of her presence she bent to urinate over the previous wolf's musk and continued on her way. She had no particular destination in mind but she did have an objective--find food.

Avatars by Becca! Thank you!

Enter a very confused Pella.

Capella did not miss the new scent that had clung to Lachesis' coat only days before. It caked the den, and she had fallen asleep pondering which face the perfume belonged to. Then when she awoke, she found herself wondering if he had shared his secrets with her. The thought made her stomach feel raw; Foreign with knots and other strange feelings she hadn't the time to analyze. Of course it shouldn't matter, and the pale girl told herself that it didn't. It was good that Lach was attempting to reenter the real world, and he needed to converse. He was taking a big step towards being himself again, or at least mimicking the actions he assumed to be normal. It was good for him, and all things aside, she needed to encourage it. Yet, why was she so... hesitant?

Melancholy sketched her features as milky paws ambled along the borders. Regardless of the war raging within her, there were still duties to uphold. A sigh left her lips only a second before a familiar aroma forced her attention. It was her, the same fae who's scent had followed Lach into their den. The one that had intrigued her so much before. Torn, she didn't know what to do. Her heart begged her to follow the trail, lay eyes on the face that had become another staple in the ghostly boy's life. However, her mind did not agree. What would she find if she took this path? This new girl would be no Anastasia, maybe not even a friend. Could she possibly gain anything from the encounter? After all, Capella was no longer a social butterfly. In fact she tried her best to avoid contact with the world outside of her den. So why now? Why here, and why this female?

Like all battles between the heart and head, common sense would not win. Curious still - a quality she had not lost - the sunflower-eyed girl set off, trailing the unfamiliar face. Catching up too quickly for her taste, Capella hesitated. It wasn't too late to turn around, but she'd already come so far. Allowing one last fleeting glance behind her, she resumed her pace.

worlds are ruined this way, and we've all been there time and time again.

(This post was last modified: Apr 04, 2014, 05:36 AM by Capella.)

Her thoughts were clear as she walked having become focused on the task at hand, that is until she got the strangest feeling of being followed, along with it came the familiar scent of a particular female she'd caught lingering within Lachesis's pelt. It confused her, the many females the yearling had befriended, but since Anastasia's disappearance she had caught the musk of Capella on his pelt that grew stronger with each day; there was no doubt in her mind that the two were sharing a den. During her last meeting with the alabaster male she found herself slightly jealous over the stench of another upon his pelt, but that had been during breeding season which was finally over but her curiosity over who this wolf was that occupied his time happened to linger much longer than usual. She had to find out why he had chosen to take her in as well, or was that his custom with the newly accepted females?

Having realized that the woman whom she'd grown so curious about was following her, she slowed in her trot to a walk and found herself turning every so often with hopes of catching a glimpse of the woman from the corner of her eye. It was a few moments before she caught the glint of salt and pepper pelt and stopped in her stride to feel the sensation of her guard hairs rise along her back in defense, she would show defend her position and relationship with Lachesis if the woman came for a fight. "Why are you following me?" she wondered aloud, turning finally to face the woman who had been following her for probably the better part of a mile, and was taken back by the woman's features. Capella was young, and pretty with eyes the color of sunflowers, she looked delicate, like the very flowers that would bloom with the approach of summer and yet Bastet kept her defensive stance. She would not allow this woman to catch her off-guard, and would certainly not let her see the jealousy that began to fall over her after having finally set sight on the woman Lachesis was spending his time with. Had she also stolen his heart?

Dread lined her insides as the woman's voice caught her ears. How could she have been so careless? It was far too late to turn away now. She couldn't run home to the den she shared with Lachesis, which meant that social interaction couldn't be avoided. How she longed for the warm hideaway. An internal sigh passed before she spoke, her voice doused in the same honeyed tone it always was. "I didn't mean to.. I mean." There was no talking her way out of this one. Regardless of what excuse she offered, her reputation would be marred. Not to mention the taste of a lie on her tongue felt like sandpaper. "We've not met before, and I was curious." Curious of what though?

Sunflower orbs could not help but gaze upon the fae, taking note of her features. With fur as dark as the sky on a staress night, and mismatched eyes that stood out like moon against her coat. This girl was nothing like Capella, thick with an accent she'd never heard before.

Approaching, Capella folded her ears back atop her skull, greeting the superior with respect. "I'm sorry if I've bothered you." Why was she here? She never should have come, and once again Capella felt shame burn like wildfire across her skin. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

worlds are ruined this way, and we've all been there time and time again.

Her mix-matched colored eyes bore into the sun-yellow of her counterpart as she stood without a word, waiting for Capella to explain herself. She had never before been in this kind of situation, she was hardly that interesting to follow, but something about Bastet had peaked the younger woman's curiosity and the dark woman found herself wondering just why this woman had resorted to stalking her. Perhaps her affection for Lachesis was far beyond the simple friendship she had hoped the two wolves shared; she swallowed the pang of jealousy that bubbled within her gut.

When finally the girl responded, obviously thrown off from being caught, Bastet remained silent a moment longer before responding herself, she knew her words had to be perfect, she didn't exactly hate the woman but for some reason, she also didn't particularly enjoy the amount of importance this girl was to Lachesis. "Have you been curious as to why my scent sometime lingers with that of Lachesis'?" she spoke, inhaling the woman's scent a second time before continuing, "because I cannot deny that your scent upon him has intrigued me as well..." but why? She couldn't quite understand her feelings either, especially since the male was younger than her and this was enough to usually mark them off-limits, but the alabaster male was different and innocent in so many ways. Around him Bastet felt safe and free to be herself, she could only imagine how the young male made Capella feel but she could only guess that their relationship was different. She had a part of him that Bastet was too afraid to ask for, and that was his complete and utter trust. When the woman mentioned bothering her Bastet merely shook her head, this was but a small detour in her plans, she would once again avert her attention to her task but first she had her own questions to ask, "who are you?" the question was innocent enough.

The woman spoke, her knowing voice calling Capella out. So this was a mutual curiosity, and maybe not even as strange as she'd originally feared. "He brought it home with him, but..." How could she tell this wolf that her questions might remain unanswered. If she had asked Lachesis.. was she even allowed to ask him? This girl might have been helping him, seeing into a part of his soul that not event the dandelion eyed girl could reach. She had no right to be here, no right to wander through his business, but somehow she felt better for knowing. Leaving the sentence as it was, she opted out of asking. "I wondered all night who it belonged to." Admittance was the first step, but in what?

"Capella Destae. Lach and I were pack mates once. Far before the... disasters. And you?" Why had she said that? This wolf probably didn't know about everything that had happened to the pair, and she sure wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Not even with Lachesis; Especially not with Lach, but the words had flung from her throat, in the same tearing fashion they always did. It was painful to even think about, and she'd done her damnedest to keep the memories at bay. Yet here she was, allowing the wounds to reopen before a stranger. The same that had shared her scent with Lachesis only a short time ago.

worlds are ruined this way, and we've all been there time and time again.

The sun colored eyes of Capella captivated her as she hung on every word that spilled from the younger woman's mouth, analyzing each detail for sign of anger or jealousy and found nothing. Standing in the woman's presence brought forth jealousy, and the dark girl was familiar with the jealousy bug, it coursed quickly through her veins the moment the familiar scent of Capella met her head on, and yet she stood at her spot simply staring at her competition. Capella was quiet and hard to read, therefore it humbled her knowing that someone else was filling the shoes of Anastasia in her absence, but it bothered her to know that she would remain that of a lingering memory while this new woman reaped the glory of having sweet innocent Lachesis as her constant companion.

She knew that she could not compete with the memory of Anastasia, Lachesis would not allow her access to the alabaster woman's realm and yet here stood Capella--some unknown woman a month shy of joining the pack and she was staying with him, occupying his space, stealing his heart. What was so different of Capella than herself, and how could she get the male to finally notice her for who she was? She dismissed her thoughts and returned to their conversation, the woman's lingering question intrigued her, and she began to wonder why this woman even cared whether her scent lingered upon Lachesis' pelt, as far as Bastet was concerned, she knew Lach longer and their relationship was more real; but what then of this mess? It was evident from Capella's words that the fact that another woman's scent mingled with the young medic disturbed her, and she had every right and reason to be, but who was she to seek her out and question who she was, and before a countering question spilled from her jaws she gave her name.

"Bastet."

Her response seemed distant, and cold, it only grew worse when the woman gave some background information of who she was and how she and Lach had met; how interesting... "funny, he never mentioned anyone besides Anastasia but she's long gone now, believed to be dead.", giving the girl the once over she continued on, "did you seek refuge or did Lachesis bring you here? her response would help her piece together the puzzle.