Wild Cherry Orchard scarlet begonias

There was still snow upon the ground. It wasn't yet Spring, so such a thing was to be expected. It was always a little cold here, and she was surprised that it wasn't currently snowing as she made her way through the Wildwood. There was an unpleasant chill to the air, like a warning. But as she broke through the Wood, she found not billowing snow, but water. Lots of water. It was visible above the grasses among the cherry trees. Obviously flooded, Borlla tentatively moved forward, feet eventually sinking into the saturated earth. It wasn't necessarily deep, certainly nothing earth shattering, but it was...Icky? It made a terribly squelching noise as she walked, trying to find a dry place to sit. Occasionally her paws would sink in partially consuming her toes.

In time, she became indifferent to it. It was unpleasant, yes, but nothing that required any sort of overdramatics. Her mind was more focused upon other things. Perhaps like the last time she was here, as far as she could vividly remember. She'd been eating some of the cherries off of the ground and Indru had come to speak with her. She shook away the memory, a scowl spreading over her muzzle for a moment, before she settled beneath a bare branch tree. Her underbelly and legs were instantly soaked, but she was rather indifferent to the feeling. At least it wasn't really raining, though she was sure as the day went on, this water would being to freeze. All Borlla really wanted was to move on. All the memories she had were useless empty thoughts now. She needed new ones. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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It was rare for the male to be out this far from his home, but from time to time, especially when he required a moment to think, he would find his paws leading him to the more northern regions of Relic Lore. Of course, he found himself doing this more so these days.. especially with the news that had come from Elettra at the previous meeting. Phineas, despite his somewhat distance from his fellow pack mates, still wore a heavy heart on the matter that had been dealt to the Ridge pack. Given his ex-mate’s sudden reappearance in to his life as well, the large wolf had been trailing north for a few days now, and while he knew he should turn around and go back to the wolves who needed him now more than ever, his paws kept luring him further away right into.. a puddle?

Blinking, his eyes glanced down. The flood of melted snow was expected, but it seemed the terrain before him was seeing more of it than others. His gaze narrowed slightly, though glancing up, the Ridge male was able to take in the area. What appeared to be a myriad of cherry trees scattered about the more open land, and given it was not the season of blooming, he imagined they would look far more majestic at a later time of the year.

Of course, that was not what held his fascination. With his fiery eyes falling upon the pale creature before him, recognition instantly flooded him. “Borlla?” The words slipped past his muzzle, and Phineas found himself stilling, his eyes grazing over her, taking in the cream and mixture of pale tawny upon her pelt. Their last meeting had given him the impression he might not ever see her again, and it was hard to keep the surprise from his features.

Odd how quickly one adapted to something unpleasant. She laid here in a muddy, grassy lake, just moments ago a bit put out by the feeling, now totally oblivious to it. It was not unlike a metaphor of her life. Becoming one with so many unpleasant instances that she just became one. She was a muddle puddle. Well, maybe she used to be. That puddle was evaporated now, soaked into the ground, gone. She was a puffy white cloud now. Carefree, new, clean, fresh. Perfect. The woman let out a sigh of relief, ears twisting back as she relaxed, glad to clear her mind of unhappy things for now. It felt good to just let go sometimes. It was sporadic now. Her leash stretched out, allowing her more freedom than she'd imagine, before it recoiled again, holding her insecurities close. Maybe once she could free herself from this bungee, she could return to the Willow wolves.

Unless they came to her first. She heard her name, and her ears slowly rose up, eyes opening as well. The figure she saw was familiar, a large creamy form watching her. Phineas. What a pleasant surprise! She smiled, and lifting her muzzle slightly, attempting to usher him over. Not that he'd probably want to. She'd forgotten exactly what she was sitting in. He'd been a faint ray of sunlight in her otherwise drab life now. He knew nothing of her, who she was, her connections. It felt good not to be judged. It was hard not to smile, so, of course, she didn't bother holding back. What was the point in hiding your emotions if they were positive ones? Right? <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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His eyes roved across her with mild surprise – not only had he not been expecting to cross paths with the pretty she-wolf so soon, his gaze landed upon the seemingly over soaked ground, amusement flickering across his features. Her smile was not missed – in fact, it seemed to alight her features with the hint of mischief that had drawn his attention to her in the first place, and in turn the ivory male gave a nod to what she was stretched out upon, his own grin spreading across his features.

“Is this what you sought at your old home..?” His tone was teasing, his muzzle canting as if to reiterate the words and their meaning. Of course, it was a simple play upon her words during their previous encounter – her reasoning for not going home with the two Ridge wolves had been to seek out her old home. Was this it?

As the question suddenly struck him, the large male rolled his shoulders back, his fiery eyes moving from her to scan the land around them. It wasn’t a land that was majestic as it likely would become in the spring and time for blossoming, but that did not take away its strange appeal. Yet he scented no others, and in turn, his eyes flickered back to Borlla, suddenly curious of her past.

A smile alight was replaced with mild embarrassment at the question he presented. She had made some mention of home, hadn't she, in order to fend off the Ridge wolves. Soul searching probably would have been a more accurate statement, for it seemed everyday she just got a little bit closer to putting everything behind her. It was hard though, for so long as Tainn was tacked at the end of her name, it would be neigh impossible to shake the past. Her ears twisted back, and she managed to smile again. <b style="color:#32527a">"I suppose you could say that," Borlla answered, trying her best not to shift in the sopping earth. <b style="color:#32527a">"There were one or two memories here. To be honest though, I um...Lied. I can't actually go home." Her smile faltered, and she met his eyes. She did feel quite guilty for lying to him, despite him basically being a stranger.

<b style="color:#32527a">"That doesn't mean I wasn't interested in Willow Ridge, of course!" She got to her paws, finally shaking the restlessness off. <b style="color:#32527a">"I've just...Been through a lot. Mostly self-inflicted." The woman let out an airy breath, and rolled her eyes. Settling to her haunches, Borlla looked down at her paws for a moment. <b style="color:#32527a">"Things just get hard to shake sometimes." She gave a pointless little shrug, before looking up again. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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Her smile seemed to fade slightly with his words, and instantly the large male desired nothing more than to take them back. His teasing had seemingly stirred something more serious within the she-wolf before him, and without further questioning, the male slunk forward, his own paws squishing in to the wet and muddy ground.

Just as he reached her, the Willow Ridge wolf bent his muzzle down to briefly touch noses with his companion, his tail giving a light sway of contentment by her presence. Without further ado, the ebony streaked male slumped down to the ground in a faux dramatic huff, the droplets of mud and water lifting to spray him slightly and speckle his coat with the dirt.

Now stretched out near the female, Phineas’ pumpkin eyes regarded her, taking in her words before offering a silent shake of his muzzle. He had never meant to place pressure upon her. “Perhaps you and I are more alike than you think,” he murmured in response, his muzzle bending down to smooth down a stray area of fur along his forepaw. While his past was not necessarily self-inflicted – unless one counted his over trusting ways as such – he too knew what it was like to miss home. “I could never go home either.”

She'd been no more than a truant. All she had to be was a good sister, a good packmate. And somehow, as easy as those things should have been, she managed to completely fail. In fact, she'd failed so many times, that she couldn't possibly pass at this point, which, again, led her to the point of literally dropping everything and starting anew. It sounded good. Perfect. She'd make it there eventually. In fact, she was already doing a terrific job, it seemed. This male, who had so kindly come to her side to comfort her, didn't care what her last name was or what she'd done (then again, he didn't exactly know what she'd done). It felt a little bit like freedom.

Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment, relishing the contact he'd made, before making a bit of room upon the waterlogged earth. They opened slowly as he spoke, a faint glimmer of hope finding its way into her honey gaze. She found comfort in his words and smiled again. <b style="color:#32527a">"Did you alienate your entire family, too?" She asked, laughing slightly. There wasn't much to laugh at, but the words felt so heavy, they made her uncomfortable. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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He stretched one paw further out, his eyes riveted upon the patch of dead grass he now rested upon. In a couple of months time, spring would revive the foliage of the land, and Phineas was eager to see what opportunities such a season would bring.

Her question drew his eyes up once more, allowing his gaze to rest upon her pale cheek. Her laugh stirred a small smile to his lips – not because he found the statement humorous, but because he knew she was attempting to avoid an awkward situation. “In a way, yes,” he stated, taking the question in to true consideration. After all, he had abandoned his ‘cubs,’ despite that they had not been biologically his. In turn for his disappearance, he had also left his three brothers behind.. and with the heartbreak he had felt, he had done so without looking back.

“My new life is here though,” he clarified, as if that somehow made up for the wrong things he had done in his past. Desdemona might have ripped his heart from his chest and danced on it, but that did not mean that in the end, with him turning his back on her, he had not hurt his family in the process.

She was pleased that he'd chosen to laugh as well. It made her feel a bit less...Terrible about this whole ordeal. But then she was a bit surprised that he'd actually chosen to answer. It wasn't something she'd really been expecting. Her words had been a poorly-formed joke, something that no one should have had answer, yet he did. Frowning, she watched him carefully, hoping that he wouldn't say more than he needed to, because then she'd feel obligated to do the same, and she was so damn happy right now. It would just destroy everything. Thankfully he didn't, and she let out a slow exhale, taking in his words. They were true. Well, true for him.

<b style="color:#32527a">"This has always been my home, though. I've tried to leave, but I always find myself coming back. I don't think I can ever have that new life." Shaking her head, her eyes dropped to her paws, trying to focus on anything but the fact that everything hurt, everything was unfair. It was such a childish thought, because yes, life was unfair and there was really nothing you could do about it except hope that one day you'd get a good hand, one big break, one chance to redeem yourself. She was still waiting for hers. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."

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Thought we could wrap this up and I can start us our other thread? ;) I thought this turned out to be pretty interesting development for them both..

Despite everything – the good nature of their greeting, the smiles that would filter on either muzzles every so often – the conversation was slowly shifting to a more meaningful and revealing topic that neither of them were ready to divulge, and upon the she-wolf’s final statement, Phineas found himself silent for a stolen moment.

There was something honourable about her inability to leave her home, whether she realized it or not. He himself had left his birth pack and home without second thought or glance – his friends, his family. Lifting his muzzle slightly, the male reached forward to briefly touch her nose with his in comfort before drawing back. He took in the sight of her then – her pelt slicked back with the wet and mud from spring, while he could only imagine his own was a mirror of hers. With her eyes downcast to her paws, the male soon clucked his tongue together to break the silence in thought. “Well, Borlla,” he started, a small smirk pressing to his lips in hopes of cheering her up from her thoughts. “I’m going to prove you very wrong about that,” he mentioned then, not realizing just how real this promise very well could be.

With that, the male pushed himself up, feeling the soft squish of the ground beneath his weight once more as droplets of water formed upon his underside. “You just wait and see,” he murmured, casting the girl a wink before trailing back the way he had come. Despite his past, Phineas was always one to hold his friends close.. and Borlla would be no exception of that.