Hollowheart Keep Dearly Beloved

Naira
So collect your courage and collect your horse

All Welcome

There had been a purpose behind her decent to this side of the Mountain… though whatever it had been was placed aside as the woman bought herself to sit outside the entrance to what had once been the Hollowheart Keep den. The last place she had walked with Mapplethorpe. The last place they had rested together, whispering quietly as Asphodel and Hemlock squirmed between them.

The steady beat of his heart as her head rested on his chest still rung in her ears in moments of silence, or was that her own? Eyes stared blankly out into the woods, unseeing. No amount of sweet memories or wishful thinking would bring him back. The one who had caught her as she was falling and set her on her feet again. The rattle of bare branches overhead and the cawing of a crow bringing her attention back to the here and now.

Hawthorn still grew about the den, causing a frown and a scoff. There was no hope here. Instead of the ginger or white fir she was looking for her eyes fell instead on the newly sprouted babys breath. It was like a slap in the face, intended for her eyes alone. Well, she would show the weed, rare in the best of cases that it was far from welcome here. a combination of snaps from jaws and frantic digging soon had the offending plant scathed beyond recognition, until her eyes fell on another… and another. It was practically an outbreak.

It would seem she would find herself preoccupied weeding her garden for some time yet.

He had decided that this would be his final visit. Nostalgia had kept drawing him back to the scorched earth of what once had been his home, at irregular intervals. He could not know that Mapplethorpe was buried beneath the ground he solemnly tread, just as he didn't know anything of what had happened to the wolves he'd held in such high regard. It was as though one of his visits he might get lucky, and run into an old pack mate who also felt just the smallest pangs of homesickness within their gut despite having moved on. Even a stranger who had heard the tale would do for him, anything to satiate the curiosity that was eating at him.

Yet as his responsibilities and rank grew within Round Stone Crest, Gent found himself less and less preoccupied with the past and evermore focused on the future. When he finally was given the crown, graciously by what seemed to be the only male member he could trust, the Lieris king had decidedly taken a day to see the last of the ruins of Hollow Heart Keep, finally content to completely bury the past.

His memory still marked the fallen pack's borders for him, even though there were no longer any markers to indicate the old domain. As he drew closer to the heart, his mind too brought to him the scents of his pack mates, as though they still lingered within the fog. Strongest of all was Naira, though that couldn't be much of a surprise; after all, it was she that he had revered the most, and thus missed the most. He deep sigh expanded his lungs and pushed his jaws apart as the man trudged on, not entirely sure what he would do once he reached the abandoned den.

This did not concern him however; in fact, nothing really pressed at his mind until he lifted his glacial eyes and laid them upon his previous alpha. Surprise swept over his features, and he stood there shell shocked as he watched her frantically demolishing a batch of vibrant baby's breath. A part of his mind spoke out that perhaps he was witnessing his first ghost; perhaps the dead really did live on. However, Gent could not be convinced of this. Instead, he knew, that against all odds, alive and breathing before him, was Naira.

Gent rushed forward, thoughts tripping over one another as the questions flooded his mind.

"Naira!" he spoke out, voice deeper than it had been the last time she'd seen him; as a yearling, unable to even hold a rank. Now he approached her as a king, and he couldn't help but wonder for a mere second, would she be proud of him?

"What the hell are you doing here? What happened?"

from time to time, you cross my mind

good company is hard to find

The charge was perceived just a moment too late, her back legs skittering and her whole body lowering in defence as she turned to face the charge with teeth bared and ears flattened. She saw lips move but the words were delayed by the fog that clouded her mind. As the assailant slowed she gathered herself, raising herself to a more impressive height, the raised fur of her hackles making her appear larger to strangers but much smaller to those who had known her before. The life of a loner was not an easy one and she was clearly suffering from malnourishment, the line of her ribs concealed by the thick fur she had inherited from her mother. The healthy sheen was gone, her coat drab in comparison to what it once had been and a feral fire burned behind her eyes.

 

But that voice… she knew that voice. She looked again, the pale eyes the dark coat, for a moment her mind jumped to Rhysis and her heart skipped a beat with fear, but that wasn’t right. The tone had been conversational, almost friendly even if she hadn’t caught more than her name and the sudden movement of someone behind her. She shuffled about the disorganised clutter that had been jostled about in her mind, finally digging the familiar and sorting it from the strange. As realisation dawned her posture shifted to a more friendly stance, although an edge of aloofness and caution remained. “@Gent.” she voiced with a somewhat sheepish smile. “You startled me.”

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

A leadened feeling hit his gut when she turned on him, viciously defensive. Part of him understood; he had come at her quickly and without warning, and she had clearly been enthralled in... whatever the hell she had been doing. But it also made him doubt that she remembered him, and that only left him feeling awkward and silly. His glacial eyes searched her rigid face and golden eyes, shining with something that was a bit off, not able to relax until finally, she began to. He saw the realization dawn upon her, warming her face like the sun. She even recalled his name.

His smile slowly returned, tail tentatively waving back and forth behind him. His happiness was renewed, and he forced it to the back of his mind that this Naira was somehow different than the one who had lead Hollow Heart Keep. There were far too many other questions to ask.

"Sorry," he offered curtly, before pressing on. "I didn't think I'd ever see another Keep wolf again. All I've been hearing is that you all vanished. What happened, Naira? Why is everyone gone? Where have you been?"

@Gent

from time to time, you cross my mind

good company is hard to find

Why is everyone gone? Where have you been? her eyes glazed over for a moment as she considered her answer. Truthfully she wasn’t sure. When Mapplethorpe hadn’t joined her she could only expect the worst. “Stupid…” she muttered darkly, her gaze sweeping over the decimation that lay underneath her paws and all around the small clearing, her brows drawing down as she took in the sight, as though she couldn’t quite remember ripping out all the plants in her wake.

“A woman joined…” what had she been thinking letting her in? Something hadn’t sit right with her from the start. “She stole a child from the south and brought it here.” An ear turned and her head swung to follow, perceiving some far off sound that was probably unheard of by anyone but her. “We had our own to protect. The shadows…” She turned her head to meet his eyes again, taking one step forward to close the distance, and then another. She lowered her voice and dipped her head, her eyes were wide as she whispered “They were watching.” Her chest rose and fell in quick succession, it would seem perhaps she had completely lost her mind. Her head rose again along with her voice, “Nova was gone, Aponi was gone. Even Sagacity left. Mapplethorpe… He should still be here…” Her head turned again, her ears swivelling in an attempt to catch his voice, waiting for some apparition to manifest before her very eyes.

“Have you seen him?” she questioned hopefully, hope rapidly dying in her heart as her worst fears were slowly being realised.

Confusion was the only prevalent notion upon his features, for no matter how much the once-queen spoke, none of the fog surrounding their shared past cleared. In fact, he was only given more questions to ask, as well as a dose of true concern for the woman before him. Naira wasn't right, and the more words that spilled from her throat the more obvious this became. She even spoke of shadows watching them, and Gent couldn't help but chuff lowly and derisively. He didn't much care for this mad canon, not when the Naira of the past, the one he had looked up to with such thorough admiration, cast such a dark shadow over her.

"I haven't," he answered her, head having drawn back a few inches during her approach. The man looked down upon her with cool glacial eyes, torn between pity and anger and he couldn't really tell who either would really be directed at, himself or the fallen matriarch. This wasn't what he wanted to find, by a very long shot.

"Who was the woman, Naira?" he then asked her, tentative again in his prying. He wanted answers so desperately, yet felt as though he was dealing with a skittish fawn. One wrong move or question could send her running and Gent knew he didn't have the heart left in this ordeal to chase her down.

"What child did she take?"