Secret Woodlands Queen of Secrets

Backdated to 8/15/2014

It had taken him much longer to find the pack than Titan had wished for. After being sent out by Ash and Kassander to meet with Nina, the dark boy had gotten lost looping around cedarwood forest. He ended up in the wild cherry orchard; only finding his way north again after noticing heartleaf creek to the south. Perhaps Titan had been lucky with his familiarity of the terrain by the creek from back when he had first met Danica. Finding that creek enabled him to realize that he had to turn northward once more.

I hope mom and Ash don't worry too much with my lateness... Titan thought as he wandered through the thick undergrowth marveling at all the different kinds of plants that covered the game trail. He had been lost in this forest at first until the lad found the deer trail. Unhappiness was clear on Titan's face since he had not sniffed out a border yet, but the young male hoped that he was close to the pack he was searching for. At least now the woods looked completely different from the willows and cedars that he was used to. These were mixed with everything and the trees were taller while the undergrowth was thicker. For a few moments the dark wolf wondered if Danica would have been able to lead him around in here.

A few more minutes went by before the faint scent of an old marker had the young wolf pause to smell it. It didn't seem like a wolf marker, but something strangely canine. Sniffing around the marking soon revealed a small hole in the ground that had somewhat more fresh fox scent on it. Though Titan was not aware of what a fox was. He had not yet been taught about this animal.

A wind from the north brought the very fresh familiar scent of wolf to the boys snout as he checked out the currently empty fox den. Bringing that blackish silver crown up and staring into the distance, Titan's stomach fluttered in excitement. Had he finally found some members of Secret Woodlands?

Titan started forward concentrating on the scent of the woodlands wolves. He tracked the air born scent to a fresh marker then stopped. Picking up his head Titan howled out the female leads name, Ash's sister, and the queen on secret woodlands pack. Then he lowered himself accordingly and waited for someone to show, whether it be Nina herself or one of her guardians.

Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Accept no defeat, surrender retreat...

She was quite comfortable where she was. Lounging had become a regular thing for her, particularly when she would enjoy watching her children play, which was what they were doing now. The woman's tail waved in a relaxed fashion behind her, keeping her single eye trained on her sons as they did what they wished. Occasionally, she would look over to find that Silentium had sat out. He was a smart boy and knew where his limits were, and Nina loved him very dearly, he had acquired her lover's intelligence. She could only assume that his hearing impairment had come from her side of the family, as she had recalled that Hollow had no knowledge of any disabilities within his web. The alpha would never say anything to her child though, she certainly did not want to discourage them. They all needed to learn on their own, and the best way for them to do so was through trail and error.

Her time was interrupted when a call, specifically for her was made at the borders. She sat up tall and stretched accordingly, licking each of her children on their foreheads before she headed out to do what she must. Nina hoped that the triplets would try to behave while she was gone and not get into too much trouble. That was wishful thinking though. She quickly made her way towards where her borders were. Creating an authoritative, powerful air about her, the Hervok came out of the shadows suddenly, much like her brother. As she looked at the boy in front of her, a yearling, she narrowed her single eye, trying to determine where she knew him from. Surely his voice was unfamiliar, but there was something picking at the back of her mind that she should have known who this was. She inhaled quickly, taking note of her brother's scent on the male, therefore claiming him as a Whisper Caverns wolf. Humming softly, the mother spoke calmly, ”Greetings, dear. I am Nina Hervok...I'm assuming Lady Thorben or Sir Hervok sent you?” Her tail waved easily above her back as she waited for the other's response.

Titan waited patiently however he did not have to wait too long till someone appeared before him. Her raised stature and penetrating gaze held Titan's blue eyes for a moment before he looked away respectfully. When she gave him her name Titan let his tail wag happy that he had finally found the place he had been assigned a mission to find. As luck would have it the first wolf he was met with was the very she wolf Titan had been searching for. Sighing in relief Titan grinned happily before he remembered that he hadn't introduced himself yet.

"Hello ma'am, my name is Titan Thorben. I was sent by Ash Hervok and my mother Narime Lagina to get wild ginger from you and perhaps learn a new herb or two." He answered calmly before his eyes widened. Titan remembered Danica and realized that he was talking to her mother which made the dark wolf look back at her to try and find the resemblance. To be honest,only the green eye looked familiar as Titan lowered his head out of courtesy once more. She must have gotten her looks from her father then... He thought quietly before remembering Danica's injury.

"Oh, ummm... My friend Danica, your daughter, was injured while hunting during a thunderstorm. I treated her as best I could because Kassander, our healer and my teacher, was out getting herbs when it happened." He looked up to try and see Nina's expression. He hoped she wouldn't get angry at him for her daughters injury. "She had a stick rammed into her leg that went almost all the way through. I... I gave her ergot to slow the blood coming from her wound, then scrub pine for the pain in the muscles of her hurt leg, and then made a poultice of goldenrod to place on the wound after I extracted the wood and its splinters. " He hoped the explanation of what he had treated her with might help calm Nina if she was feeling worried. He had heard from Ash that Nina was a great healer herself. So she should know what had to be done right?

"She's resting as we speak with cobwebs wrapped around the poultice and her leg. Kassander got back after most everything was done, although he gave her something called Hellebore that he had just cultivated outside for pain. Then Ash got mad at Kass and told me to get wild ginger. So I'm here because I have no idea where wild ginger is found and Ash told me to come to you for it." He looked to the forest that seemed very mystical. Avoiding the leaders eyes, Titan hoped she wasn't like Ash who got angry at stupid little things.

The queen watched the boy in front of her. He was quite the gentleman, just like his father, and the thought brought a pleasant smile to her features. Every few seconds he would bow his head in respect for her position, as if reminding her of who she was. The notion almost made her burst into childish laughter. She remained steady though as she listened to what he had to say. As he introduced himself she dipped her head in greeting, noticing the color patterns and noting how accurately Sloane had described him. Of course, he was much bigger now and was close to the size of his father, but as far as Nina could tell, that was the only change. It made her wonder how the other Thorben children were. But the thought stopped there as she heard Titan speak. Lagina...it seemed that Narimé had started the process of moving on from her former mate. The mother felt bad for her friend, but knew that the process was needed for the healing to begin, and she knew that Ash would be there along the way to help the gray woman.

However, a much more concerning matter was brought to her attention when Titan began to speak of her daughter. As she listened to the yearling describe the situation, Nina's eyebrows tensed, drawing near and visualizing the process by which he had taken. By the sounds of it, the Thorben had taken quite the liking to healing, which was a beautiful art to be crafted in general. It seemed as though things had turned out right and to reassure the boy of her gratitude she spoke, ”Well, it sounds like you did all that you could to help her...and she is still alive, so I thank you for that.” The mother did not want to think about losing another one of her children. The reminder that Tacoma had perished still plagued her thoughts on a regular basis and was not something she ever wanted to repeat.

As Titan recalled how Ash had lashed out, the golden woman shook her head in amusement, her brother was one to get overprotective of family...as long as he wasn't trying to kill them. Her thoughts were once again cut off by the reminder of what Titan was here to get. Not wanting to raid her own supply, and in hopes of gathering more for her, and some fresh stores for Whisper Caverns, Nina nodded her head happily. ”Yes, yes of course, come. There are patches all over the thickets.” The alpha stepped out of her boundaries without second thought, trusting Titan enough to know that he would be following her. With her muzzle twitching every once and awhile to make sure she was on the right path, the alpha headed towards Wildflower Glade, where there always seemed to be a plentiful supply of what she was looking for. Waiting for Titan to catch up, she was pleased to see that her assumptions were correct.