Heartleaf Creek Ever Forward

Cessair sat on the bank of the stream, the only stationary object in a forest full of movement. What sunlight remained of the aging day filtered through the canopy of gently waving heart-shaped leaves above to dance like a kaleidoscope of many colors on the soft earth below. The creek at her paws rolled endlessly along, with a few scattered leaves floating on the current like memories, here and gone again in a moment. Closing her eyes, Cessair drank in the aromas floating by. While the water of the creek itself had no smell, it carried with it the ghost of a scent from every land through which it passed; the icy nothingness of snow from the mountains to the grounded, earthen smell of mosses from the darkest forest. Ever forward pressed the creek.

Lost again in the memories of her travels, Cessair slid her paws forward along the damp earth until her stomach lay flat against the ground and her claws dangled in the flowing water. For the last two years, the fawn-colored wolf imagined herself like this very creek, freely wandering, exploring the world. But now she lay still, and the creek kept moving. No, Cessair was like a rock. She always had been. When she lost her brother, Dolan, she had only been several months old. The next two and a half years of her life were spent searching, always searching for him. She hardly acknowledged that she had long since grown up; even less would she admit that her brother was no more than a memory, a dream, now. She was stuck in the past like a stone in the creek.

Creamy paws stood and absently splashed into the water. It was a half-frozen river that had claimed Dolan so long ago, and now it was into this cheerful creek she would release his memory. If she was never to see him again, it was high time she let his memory be and got on with her life. Cessair's nose touched the water as her tail swished slowly behind her. Goodbye, my brother. Go and find your peace, and I will search for mine.

(This post was last modified: Aug 09, 2014, 12:27 AM by Cessair.)

It was a rather quiet and peaceful day. Not one where everything held still and seemed to be resting, but one where everything bobbed in the breeze like a leaves floating on an invisible river. The tawny hued boy had no particular intention for the morning hours of today, and therefore found himself merely following the breeze. Whichever direction the breeze blew in, Kato's paws followed in the same direction. It was something his father had often done to calm himself and become more in tune with the world around him. For the fawn youth, it had the same effect.

Around mid morning the boy found himself at the tree line. Just ahead was a river, flowing calmly past. A deep breath escaped him. More than any other geographical feature, Kato loved rivers. Waterfalls were almost as good and mountains were a solid, unmoving comfort, but there was something captivating about rivers. No matter what got in its way, the water found a way around. Kato was just thinking of how he wished he could be like a river when he noticed a tawny figure at the water's edge. From his angle, it looked like she was on the brink of falling in!

Alarmed, he stopped following the wind and sprinted to the water's edge. But, as he came closer, he realized she was not falling in, but rather draped on the shore. Thankfully, he was far enough back that she hadn't noticed him yet, so when she stood and waded into the water, he remained motionless and simply watched as her tail bobbed back and forth as her nose touched the water. Not wanting to startle or disturb her, Kato resolved to wait on the shore until she noticed him.

Her tail didn't stop swishing as Cessair sighed and lifted her head away from the flowing water. While her dream floated away with the current, no new goal floated in to replace it. Cessair had always been a lone wolf, but with the goal that had driven her for the last two and a half years gone and no new direction to replace it, she felt truly alone. The river always seemed to know where it was going and traveled at a constant, steady pace to get there. But where now was Cessair headed?

Before anything else, her ears perked. A new scent had settled on the lonely wolf's nose, and it hadn't come from the creek. Cessair looked up and scanned the bank. Still and quiet sat a stranger under a branch laden with heart-shaped leaves. He had been watching her. Lithe muscles tensed beneath her creamy coat and Cessair dropped her eyes to the stranger's paws. He may be aggressive --she couldn't tell -- and she certainly did not wish to give him any reason to attack. She felt unexpectedly chilly. Surely that was just the coolness of the creek working through her fur. In quiet fear, Cessair analyzed the scents on the air to be sure that she hadn't wandered into the territory of a pack.

But there was no scent that Cessair hadn't already acknowledged. If the stranger were really aggressive, would he not have attacked by now? She dropped her tail and ears to make herself smaller and slowly looked up into the stranger's face. He was somewhat larger than her and his tan coat blended in with the forest behind him. As Cessair debated her next move, a wandering beam of sunlight came to rest on the new wolf's shoulder. The light seemed to approve of this elegant, brown-eyed boy, so Cessair decided she would approve of him too. She didn't move from her place in the creek, but she waved her tail and offered a greeting.

"Hello," she began, dipping her head. "My name is Cessair."

"Kato. It's a pleasure to meet you," the fawn boy responded, standing up in a more graceful manner than he normally did. Upon his feet now, the youth took only one step forward, offering a friendly wag of his tail. "That was a nice ritual you had there," Kato commented, inclining his head toward the flowing waters she stood within.

His expressive eyes lingered on the water, watching the elegant way in which it simply flowed calmly around whatever obstacles it encountered. The sunlight, which danced all around the river and it's surrounding, reflected off the moving water in a multitude of places, creating a beautiful, sunlit path. Ha! If only the Forest floor were that beautiful. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by the water all the time? I might turn into a fish from spending so much time around it! he laughed to himself. Kato sincerely wished he could be like the water. It disturbed nothing, and simply went about its business, allowing whatever leaves or twigs that floated upon its surface a safe travel to faraway lands. Someday, I will come back here, and I will follow the river to wherever it may end. It will be a great adventure, I think, were the boy's thoughts as his soft gaze returned to Cessair's face.

"Are you a member of a pack?" the tawny hued youth asked her. He was keen to hear what she would answer. Another recruit for his pack would be simply wonderful. But if she had other plans, he would understand.

Friendly. This wolf was friendly. Cessair could hear it in his voice that he meant no harm. Kato, as he introduced himself, was the first friendly wolf Cessair had met in a long time. She dipped her head in acknowledgement of his name and stifled a chuckle when he mentioned her "ritual." Losing a brother was thankfully no common ordeal, and she certainly hoped never to experience that pain again. Of course, her new acquaintance could not have known the thoughts behind what she was doing, so she decided not to comment.

Instead, Cessair waded to the bank of the creek, her tail still wagging, and shook herself off. Once satisfied that she was no longer dripping wet, she approached the caramel-coated boy to greet him more properly. His eyes, which were a muddy brown from afar, were actually flecked with emerald green and as clear and colorful as the water beside her. Cessair wanted to look at this unexpected marvel longer, but she didn't want to make Kato uncomfortable, since she still wasn't entirely sure of his intent, and so she looked off toward the stream and watched the sunlight dance on its surface.

"Are you a member of a pack?" The shaggy-coated female paused at Kato's question. She had never in her life been part of a true pack, and after three years alone, the difficult lifestyle of a lone wolf was plainly evident in her outward appearance. Or so she had thought. Though she wasn't quite starving, Cessair was visibly thin and her once-plush coat had grown distended and ragged. Still, maybe Kato just didn't want to offend her by making any assumptions. That was the kindest way to consider the matter, Cessair decided, so she went with that explanation. "No, I have no pack. But I am looking to join one. Do you know anything about the packs in these lands?"

No, I am not. But I am looking to join one. Do you know anything of the packs in the region? Boy, did he ever know about the packs here! "Oh yes, I know a fair bit. This side of the mountains is very populated. I've never crossed the mountains, but I assume there are more packs over there. We're close to a couple of pack territories right now, and all the pack wolves I've met have been friendly. Also, I don't know if you'd consider this an option, but my friend and I are starting a pack just a little south of here. If you wanted, you could join us..." When he put his knowledge in words, it sounded considerably less extensive. Thinking about Laurel made him wonder what she was doing right now. Maybe she was fishing, in this same river... No, he needed to concentrate. Perhaps this river connected to Bramble Falls, though. Well, he'd learn that whenever he returned to explore the river. A cool breeze picked up, sending relief to his thick, lush coat. It really was incredible how long it took him to get it really clean. Although, that wasn't even close to how amazing it was that Kato didn't shed less of his even bushier winter coat in the spring. Death by freezing would certainly never be a worry for him. He sat down and turned his face to the direction of the breeze, closing his eyes in genuine pleasure as a Wolfe grin possessed his face. "Speech"

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Kato became as animated as the dancing leaves above them, it seemed, when Cessair asked him about the local packs. She sat down and neatly tucked her still-damp tail by her side as she listened to his response. It was a relief to hear that there were plenty of friendly packs nearby -- certainly one of them would be willing to accept her as a member -- but when Kato mentioned the possibility of packs on the other side of the mountains, a new thought briefly came to Cessair's mind.

The place on the other side of those mountains was one of the few territories across which her calloused paws had not yet trod. What if her brother was over there? Cessair kept her ears pointed toward Kato to listen while her eyes wandered back to the creek in mild distraction. She realized after a moment that she had no desire to explore the other side of the mountains; the mere thought of resuming the tedium and loneliness of searching for someone who certainly no longer lived was dreadful. The days of endless wandering would finally be over when Cessair joined a pack.

Though Cessair's mind had wandered where her paws would not, she still heard most of what Kato had to say. She certainly heard the offer to help build a new pack, and her tail began thumping on the ground as she considered the idea. A newly-established pack would take a few months to confirm its direction, methods, code of conduct. To Cessair, this seemed a good thing. Would it not be easier to participate in the formation of a pack's direction than to attempt to conform to the rigid ideals of an established pack? And besides that, a new pack would be in need of members, so she, who had never known pack life, would probably still be welcome.

Cessair turned her attention back to Kato and saw that he waited for her reply. She found herself matching his grin as she began to speak. "I would be very honored to join you and your friend in starting a pack -- thank you for your invitation! -- but I would be remiss if I did not first seek a little more information about the established packs in this area. So before I commit myself, I would like to speak with some of the local pack wolves. After that, if I am still not sure, I could try to find you again and join you then. If you would still have me."

we must accept finite disappointment,

karpos slayer

but never lose infinite hope...

Karpos had been wandering away on a scouting mission to find himself at the creek. It was a place that he had barely been too before though he distinctly remembered it because of the massive hunt where so many packs had showed up to during the winter. His eyes fell upon the water as he pushed towards it before he heard a voice. "I would like to speak with some of the local pack wolves. After that, if I am still not sure, I could try to find you again and join you then. If you would still have me." that had surely caught his attention more than anything else as he pushed towards them carefully. His scarred eye was closed as his good eye was opened.

The slight off in vision bothered him, he had to admit, but it was his fault that it was there. He had started the fight between himself and his aunt so he had payed for it. He had still given her a nasty scar herself on her muzzle. It was something he would never be able to forget. He pushed towards them before they came into view and he held a small smile to him. "I heard someone was looking for information on local packs? I'm Karpos Slayer." He introduced with the tip of his head and a smile. He would be glad to see if these wolves would like to join the River and if they were even worthy enough for that honor.