lazarus

@Rowan

The more weighted tongue of the youth had been expected, given that most were quite cautious around a stranger. Yet there was a determined scowl ever present on his visage that made the boy appear more bothered than his tone would have suggested. The female did not believe, nor care if, this disposition was brought on by her presence. However there was an apparent disease at seeing such a young face look so burdened rather than carefree and youthful. None the less, the learned wolf retained her calm neutrality.

Checking the stone in which she was perched upon, she brushed a callused paw over it surface, ensuring it was not too slick before setting her rear carefully upon it. She kept her forelegs splayed to ensure her balance while maintaining a subtle forward arch of her shoulders to lower her center. All in all, she looked quite comfortable on the stone even though her expression conveyed nothing but mild interest for the returning youth.

Though he mentioned he was from this secret haven, there were no fresh scents to suggest inhabitants remained. Nor were their markings to convey a renewed claim. Unless there were faces she had not yet seen, he was but a returning ghost to haunt the haven or perhaps explore what had once been his home. The woman nodded in understanding. “…and has much changed for you?” she motioned carefully with her muzzle to the flowing waters and the moistened flora. She could imagine that the grounds looked much different with an adult eye as opposed to the one he might have seen through in his puppy months. But in all her question was to imply if the young male before her missed these flora rich lands at all.

The wordless noise between the two wolves slowly began to fill his ears, overcoming the drum of the Falls and the spray of the water below. Rowan did not want to talk about his heaviness, he really didn't, but not talking about it was beginning to strangle him all the same. The mist was poison, wetting his fur and soaking into his skin. Did he feel sick now, or was he just imagining it? He was not sure, but all the same the Attaya boy began to feel - for the first time in his life - the urge to leave family behind. But his family was ghosts, and they still lived here, and he was beginning to feel possessed himself.

So when she nodded and asked if much had changed, he could not hide the bitterness in his response. "Everything." Nostalgia was lost to him. It wasn't her fault. She had no idea of the tragedy that had occurred here. She seemed positively fascinated with Secret Falls. Perhaps his mother and father had been too, the first time their metallic gazes had settled upon its majesty. He could have smirked to find this grown adult naive and himself not, but Rowan hadn't the heart for even a bastardization of a smile.

"Forgive me for being forward," he said, feeling the poison burning in his limbs. Go, his mind said, but he continued - "but to what pack do you belong and who leads it?" Maybe, just maybe, what had actually happened was they were swept south and re-grouped somewhere in the lower part of the Vale of Secrets. Maybe she would say, Oh, Kade and Ava lead my pack. Maybe there was a happy ending to be discovered from this quiet explorer.

@Rowan - Feel free to fade out if you'd like :3

There was little else as far as conversation that the female could offer her younger counterpart. As she continued to extend her open curiosity, it was accepted somewhat with a begrudging disposition- one she took as meaning the youth was not at all enthused to share. Again she did not mind this, but took the gestural hint that her time in his presence was drawing nigh to a close.

Her brows perked as he replied, the edge to his tone hardly missed. Indeed, he did not seem too inclined to share, a rite of which she had no intention of pressing as she took a retreating step back and shifted her upper form to turn away. She did halt, however, when asked from where she hailed. The same level of edge remained in his voice, yet the question spoke in a differing octave for him. Perhaps he was looking for someone? A pack that no longer dwelt within this land but elsewhere?

Feeling the dampness of the air weigh down upon her crown, she shook her head slightly before replying. "The Magnolia Glen," she stated simply, but dared not divulge its exact bearings. "It is led by a white male, Phineas, and his mate," she concluded. Whether it was what the youth had hoped for or not, she did not linger for much longer to take notice. Feeling the atmosphere of the majestic setting change in the presence of bitterness and gloom, she lowered her muzzle to the ground as she dismounted from her stone and continued to pursue the earth for valuable resources.

Magnolia Glen. Phineas. The words meant nothing to him. Thankfully his heart could sink no further and all Rowan managed was a small, grateful nod to the tawny wolf, who likely would not have seen it during her dismount. Rowan hadn't bothered to look her way for it, so he did not notice either. He turned, and left her to peruse what was once his. The claim was lifted; Darkwater Rapids was no more. The Attaya youth would continue his search elsewhere - once the poison of his family's demise had bled from his veins.

( fin <3 )