Kettle Pot Pond It's Easy to Explain 'Cause This World's Not Tame

It was okay, wasn't it?

With a soft smile, she nudged him back. For once not being revolted by the touch of a man...Which was to say, in a sense she didn't really view him as a man. No offence.

Lenae had met many sorts of wolves, with a hundred different shapes, sizes and natures. But none of them seemed to be like Cotton, so earnest and open. Maybe it was because he was young, or just so bright eyed but it felt as though they were almost the same. Cut from the same cloth. Friendly and kind for the sake of it, wanting little else in return but a smile. And Cottongrass gave them out in the bucket load. Lenae felt spoiled.

"Wild Rye Fields? Oh, that sounds pretty." So open and spacious, with nothing but grass in sight. It sounded beautiful, no doubt, but also a little scary? So open and vulnerable. Like a giant eagle could swoop down and pluck her up...And there was another childhood story working its way back into her mind."I think my friend told me about you guys, you live directly across from us, on the other side of the tundra. Like neighbours!"

She'd never had neighbours before, her Father and her fellow clan mates would had never even tolerated them. Claimed land or not, loners weren't allowed to roam the land outside their territory. If they tried they learnt the hard way that it wasn't the done thing. Not that it had ever stopped a sneaky Casanova or two, they always flocked to see Everly and her sisters. They even paid Lenae some attention, which felt good, at the time.

"Do you like it in these lands, is it safe?"It was no doubt a random question, but she wanted to know what he thought.

His words seemed to work. Her frown was gone and there was a certain warmth returning to her yellow eyes. He couldn't be prouder. Because Everly was nice. She lived at Whitestone Monny and she didn't know how to fish but Cottongrass didn't care about that last part. He was just glad that she wasn't sad anymore. In his mind she was good. One of those wolves that deserved nothing but happiness and his tail gave an upbeat wag as he listened to her talk.

"Wow!" He barked in return. The idea of being neighbours with someone was new and exciting. He decided Everly was the best neighbour to ever have. Especially if she lived at that weird formation he always wondered about. They would have to visit each other. Because he was already spending a week each month visiting Aytigin. He could spend a day with Everly no problem! His smile brightened and he didn't blink twice at the change in conversation.

Do you like it in these lands, is it safe?

That might have been one of the easiest questions ever asked of him. He never thought about those kinds of questions but he already had an answer. One that was the honest truth and nothing else.

"Yeah!" He chirped. "Everybody here is always so nice and you know what—" It probably sounded like a question. It wasn't a question and he continued on without hesitation. "I think this is the safest place I've ever been." When he was a lone wolf he went all over the place. He spent a few weeks roving the open tundra and a few more weeks lost in thick forests that never seemed to end. Neither of those places compared to these lands.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wasn't home. His parents weren't around and he almost wanted to feel guilty at the realization because he knew that he abandoned them without reason all those months ago. But he was happy. He didn't have to wither under his mom's disappointed stare or withstand her quiet whispers of why can't you just be good. And he didn't have to whimper and whine countless apologies while his dad pinned him to the ground and tore into his muzzle with jagged teeth because he needed to be taught a lesson.

There was none of that. Instead there was Askan and Reyes and maybe Everly now too because they were neighbours. Coming here was the best thing that ever happened to him. He wanted her to feel the same.

sorry for the delay my muse has been so fickle. 

The safest place he had ever been.

Lenae had once thought her home had been the same, that upon the mountain and it's peaks they were untouchable. That the dangers of the world below could try and reach for them as much as they pleased, but it would amount to nothing in the end. For the Selwyns had once been angels.

Or at least that's how the stories went. These days Lenae didn't believe in them, or in anything that seemed too good to be true.

She wanted to believe Cotton, she really did, for he seemed so earnest, like he truly believed it. And yet, she couldn't. She had seen so much ruin and despair, it was hard for her to believe in anything these days.

She wanted to try though, anything to make this fluffy, if not charming boy smile. It's all she wanted really, to make others smile, to make their day as bright as the summer sun on a clear day. If she could lay down for the night knowing she'd made someone else feel a little better, then she'd be content. She wasn't asking for too much, surely.

Again, she had to remind herself that today was a good day. That with her new friend-and neighbour- by her side nothing could go wrong. Sure, bad things had happened here...But as of then, the pond was a good place, with slippery fish and big beaming smiles.

"I hope I'll feel that way too one day.."She admitted, her voice soft and quiet, as she watched the water ripple around her ankles."But until then, want to see who can make the biggest splash?"

If anything could distract her, it'd be a fun, if not silly game.

Fade

(This post was last modified: Sep 28, 2017, 02:05 AM by Lenae.)