Cedarwood Forest we meet again

Of all the places that Destin had found, so far Cedarwood forest was his favorite. There was something calming about it that he enjoyed, that he felt comfortable with. He still felt some anxiety about going off on his own, but it was getting better. Grizzly Hollow seemed to be a remedy for his fears, though may not be able to patch them all up completely. Different thoughts ran through his mind as he walked amongst the fallen leaves and the bare branches. His large frame had more than enough room to maneuver amongst the spacious trunks. Destin's thoughts turned to Sibyl and then Jaysyek. Their kindness still amazed him and he couldn't believe his fortunes so far. He frequently wondered how he could repay the two.

Then his mind turned to the wolf he had seen at midnight. The one that had upset healer Nina so, the one who had disappeared off into the night without a trace. <i>The one he had followed here to happiness.</i> She deserved to be repaid fully as well, though Destin did not know if she even knew who he was. Their contact had been brief at most and the male knew almost nothing about her, but still felt that it was necessary to thank her graciously. It probably would have been better to ask Sibyl about her first, for if she still remained in this area or even was part of Grizzly Hollow, she definitely would know of it. The thought had been forgotten in the celebration and overwhelming emotions and new responsibilities and had been pushed to the back of his mind. But now, in such a tranquil place, it had resurfaced.

This task seemed daunting to him. He knew not how big the territory was, nor the forest. Despite being a new member of Grizzly Hollow, he did not want to howl for her. Besides, he didn't even know her name! <i>Dark-furred wolf with Nina please come here!</i> That call would be ridiculous, even for Destin. Perhaps if he did not come across her soon, he would try it. There was just something about meeting her that had been plaguing his mind. It was not often these experiences happened to him, but when they did his polite nature always trumped his fears. The brown male stopped walking for a few moments and just stood there silently. Sighing, he looked up to the canopy of the trees and watched as birds flew above him. A slight chill rushed through the forests branches and ruffled his fur. Destin wasn't used to thinking so hard, and it made his brain hurt a little. What was he to do?

(This post was last modified: Dec 08, 2012, 11:37 PM by Destin.)

Sorry this is so late <3

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(299 words)

Shadow was hunting, not just for prey, but herbs that could be used to help Follko. A stalking down low to the ground, her tail hovered so it barely did not touch the ground. Her eyes focused on a vole that scurried across the snow covered ground. The icy blue eyes of the black wolf narrowed as she raced forward at it. Determined to catch it she leapt and landed on it's neck. A small crack as she broke it's nick with a swift bite. She noticed for the first time a familiar scent. Grizzly Hollow wolf, must have been a new one. She figured she had time so she followed the scent to greet the wolf. She took her vole with her, a welcome present, even though prey was harsh. She should save it for Follko. She had to, without steady amounts of food and herbs, he might kick the bucket.

A sort of shocked expression on her face as she came face to face with the brown East Timber wolf. The golden eyes familiar to. He was there... the day she had left Copper Rock Creek for Grizzly Hollow. What had Nina called him again? Destin? Yea, that was it, perhaps her mind wasn't as fried as she thought. "I thought you were with Nina and Sloane in what use to be Copper Rock Creek." She commented, her eyes full of curiousness and wonder. She then spotted some Goldenrod and padded over to it quickly. It could help with Follko's infection. She waited for Destin to respond to her comments. when she realized she had never given a name. "The names Shadowstorm, Shadowstorm Slayer. Most call me Shadow however." She said, all her stress had made the tips of her muzzle go gray. She was getting older.

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2012, 04:31 AM by Shadowstorm.)

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

Destin sighed as he thought. There was no use in worrying about it, and his brain was hurting from thinking too hard. Somewhere close by he heard the sounds of paws crunching on snow. First they were slow and steady, and then they were quick. The male froze, his senses on high alert. Even though he knew this was pack territory, he still was not ready to face a possible intruder as it was only his first day! Plus his frights from previous days still affected him mentally. The wind was moving the opposite way from him, and so when he did think to sniff the air he was not successful. Shuffling his paws nervously, he wondered if he should just run away. If it was an intruder he would not be protecting the pack, which was his job! His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he turned to look towards the source of the sounds.

A dark-furred wolf emerged from the trees. She had striking blue eyes and walked with a purpose and a vole in her mouth. Obviously this was who had been hunting in the forest so close by. Destin couldn't believe his luck, his golden eyes wide in surprise. The female wolf looked equally taken aback as she stopped in front of him. Her comment solidified the idea that she did indeed remember him. <b>"I... I was. I left. And I came here, following you, ma'am."</b> he replied softly, turning to watch as the wolf walked past him and straight towards some kind of plant. Was this wolf a healer too... like Nina was? The wolf then responded with her name, and Destin appreciated her polite nature. <b>"I am Destin McBain, ma'am."</b> he offered. <b>"I came here looking for you because I wanted to thank you."</b> The wolf fell silent, waiting to see how Shadowstorm would respond.

(So sorry these are taking forever)

Shadowstorm perked her ears up in curiosity, he was thanking her for what? What had she done that could have affected him? She was a nobody. "I'm afraid I don't understand. What exactly are you thanking me for Destin?" He asked, she was completely confused. She let her tail fail to a stand still, her icy blue gaze locking into his golden ones. She examined him, large, brown, same species as her. Why would he not stay with Nina? It made no sense to her. She had a lot on her mind at the moment, she'd gone out herb hunting to get the required specimens for Follko, this made her delayed. Perhaps he could be a gentlemen and help her out after she got a few answers.

She let her nose sniff for some ergot or maybe even tansy. The infection in her friends face had gotten worse and he needed more attention then he was getting. She also wanted to see Jaysyek to get permission to leave the Hollow to get more herbal knowledge from Nina. Nina had said she'd help her, and Shadow intended to at least ask. She sought out herbs now, not as a disgrace, but as a true advantage to her. She could heal herself when needed. That what was important. She shifted her position, she really should be going, but she needed to know. Why? Why was she followed? Why didn't he stay with Nina? He should have stayed with Nina. Nina was his friend wasn't she?

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

Destin blinked in surprise. She didn't understand why he had sought her out after all of this time? The male did not really know how to put his thoughts into a coherent sentence that would make sense. Sitting down on the snow, he pondered it for a couple of seconds. "Without you I would not have found Grizzly Hollow, ma'am." he said politely, catching her icy blue gaze in order to convey that yes, he was serious. "I followed you to the edge of the territory where I met Sibyl, and she was very kind and assisted me in joining."

The female went about her business with her plants, and Destin would love to help but he did not know anything about healing. He instead followed what she was doing closely and noting the plants she was searching for. His gaze watched her face intently and noticed that she seemed deep in thought. Maybe this was a bad time? If he did not speak to her now, he wasn't sure when there would be more time in order to though. At least he was able to actually find her in order to fulfill his current mission without feeling weighed down by it. That was good enough for the large wolf.

"I'm sorry if I am disturbing you, ma'am," he said, changing back to a standing position. "I would love to help you if I can, but I don't know anything about plants." Waiting in silence he watched her movements. He still did not have his answers for why she had left Nina. Running away in the dark with only a few words of good-byes didn't seem very polite to Destin, but he probably wasn't seeing the whole picture here. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave Copper Rock Creek?"

(This post was last modified: Jan 13, 2013, 09:06 PM by Destin.)

Shadowstorm finally understood as Destin McBain spoke, so he had left as well. "Without you I would not have found Grizzly Hollow, ma'am. I followed you to the edge of the territory where I met Sibyl, and she was very kind and assisted me in joining. I'm sorry if I am disturbing you, ma'am. I would love to help you if I can, but I don't know anything about plants. If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave Copper Rock Creek?" The last part made her a bit weary of him, she had asked herself this since she left. Was it truly that she wasn't welcomed there, or was it perhaps that she wanted to be free to make her own choices, to start fresh from her former mistakes, a clean slate.

Or was it because Follko had offered it to her? Was it because she had saw fancy in the male when he had suggested it. "I started off in the Relic Lore, with fights after fights. In this, I got into a fight with a pack leader in the mountains. Follko, one of our packmates and a close friend of mine, told me her name was Athena. Anyways, I had arrived at Copper Rock Creek borders as my former arrogant self and was quite rude to Nina, Sloane and Kashikoi, a moment I regret to this day. I was turning away and my leg snapped from too much pressure added to previous injuries from the fight with Athena. I was healed and Nina and I grew to trust each other, the others pushed me out and rejected me because of my former behavior so I left. I met Follko as a loner and he offered to help me gain access into the pack of Grizzly Hollow so I took him up on it." She told the story as it it had just happened yesterday.

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

Destin listened silently to her story. She did not seem very arrogant to him as she spoke, perhaps she had changed after this encounter with so-called "Athena". The male did not know who that was, but assumed it was a wolf. Maybe it was a bear's name? The McBain wondered if bears had names, and if they were like wolves in that respect. He'd never seen a bear pack before, it would be quite interesting if one day he did.

His golden eyes watched the dark female as she finished her tale. Both of them had been healed by Nina, and then left Copper Rock Creek behind for this Grizzly Hollow. Destin quite liked it here, and knew that even if Nina invited him back to Copper Rock Creek he would stay here with Jaysyek and Sibyl. He had loyalty to both of them now, and he could never leave them. He also felt a loyalty towards this Shadowstorm, mostly because they were in the same pack now and would have to work together. But also because she led him to this very spot. Destin could not even imagine what place he would be if he had not made the right decision to follow the mystery wolf into the night.

"I haven't met this Folko yet," he said, after the story was over. "Do you know how Nina and Copper Rock Creek are now, ma'am?" He did have some kind of curiosity towards knowing exactly what his old healer was doing right now. How was Copper Rock Creek? Did the leaders accept new members after him? The large male decided his next goal would be to apologize to Nina for leaving her behind. He would need to find her first, though. Perhaps Shadowstorm knew of her whereabouts?

As the words of Destin entered through her ears and her mind processed his words, she was a bit puzzled still. He left Nina and Sloane, yet he asked of them. He had not seen Nina since she found out of Copper Rock Creek’s fate a while age. “Copper Rock Creek disbanded a little while ago. Ruiko and his mate, along with the pups all left the Lore apparently. That is all I know. I know nothing of her current where-a-bouts.” She told her friend. She needed to keep her mind straight. She had more important things to do, but this conversation was getting interesting. She was a bit nervous with Destin around to be honest; she was timorous enough in this new pack. Though she felt she had taken steps up with her jobs, she was helping heal Follko; she and Ani weren’t doing too bad at the task either.

As for Destin, she was sure that he would make it far in the pack. After all he seemed to be nice, he could definitely hunt or fight in his current state. Shadow herself had little more to offer in those fields. She was concerned about it; she felt the light fading from her eyes every day. She felt herself get weaker every day she lived on in this world weary flesh. She wanted to fade to the stars before it was too late. It was like she was being punished for something, so they kept her here. She could be with her aunts and uncles. With her cousins; the stars were big, she would have enough room to stay away from her parents.

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

Shadowstorm's words surprised him slightly. So, was this what Nina was speaking of when she told him to wait? When he had first left he wished every day that he had stayed, so he could stay with the healer and help her however he could. Now that he was at Grizzly Hollow he no longer had these thoughts, though of course he did wonder what it would be like if he hadn't followed the trail of the mysterious black wolf. He never would have met Sibyl, or Jaysyek, or even Shadowstorm most likely. He never would have fallen in love with these woods that surrounded him, and never would have been able to explore them. The subordinate hoped that Nina was doing well, and also that Ruiko was doing well too with his mate. That explained why Nina had been so hesitant to take him to them, and now he felt bad for snapping at her slightly and becoming so upset over it.

But what is in the past is in the past, and there is nothing to do of it now. Every moment goes by and you can no longer take it back, only look forward to the future. Destin tried to remind himself of this sternly as he thought of could-have-beens. He was happy now, and that was all that mattered. Now his golden gaze rested upon the female before him that seemed to have taken after Nina with her herb gathering. Was she happy here? She seemed relatively healthy and there was a glow in her eyes that symbolized the life that filled her. "Perhaps we could visit Nina together soon, ma'am?" he asked. He knew that someday he needed to meet with her again and apologize for his behavior but explain that he had moved on. The male hoped that there were no hard feelings between the green-eyed female and himself. Of course if Shadowstorm decided not to travel with him or travel at all he would be fine with that, but it was always nice to have some company. "And what are the plants for, if you don't mind me asking, ma'am?"

(This post was last modified: Feb 24, 2013, 09:27 PM by Destin.)

(Can you post an exit to wrap it up?)

Shadowstorm gazed at Destin as he asked the question, what did he even know about herbs was what she wanted to know. She knew that she could not find the herbs in this area. They grew up near the Thicket and nowhere else to her knowledge. “I’m looking for an herb called ergot, it’s found near the Thicket, I know I won’t find it here, but I’m looking for perhaps a substitution for the herb. Ergot is used to help with an infection, at least that is what Nina used on my leg back when I resided with Copper Rock Creek for healing.” She said, she was getting older, no doubt Shade was too. Though he had much more physical exercise to keep him fit and she did not.

She knew that she could be considered an elder now, she was around Follko’s age and she might get a sickness and die of disease. Or she could have a heart attack from overworking herself. For the Hollow’s sake she tried to keep her stress to a minimum, but it had piled up. Now here she was with his wolf, he was younger with a brighter future. She was so close to considering him a friend. She rarely ever made friends too; this was a rare event indeed.

Shadowstorm let her jet black fur slide out of the scene as she spoke her last words. “I must go now, I need to go and visit an old friend of mine. It’s been a long overdue visit and he needs the herbs that I have stored.” She said, she was referring to Follko of course. The male was always sick, this time, the outcome looked terrible.

{Exit}

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~