Oak Tree Bend till the love runs out

omg so sorry to do this to you but SAHALIE MADE ME DO IT. triell can always tell her it's a story for another day xD

Eagerly the girl scrambled to take up a place beside her father. She picked the choice's spot just behind his elbow, always loving the shape of his body at this juncture: the smallest of cranies designed seemingly just for her, a place where she could feel his lungs expand and sound resonate soothingly. Sure, she was a little big now and her nose could not fit between his elbow and chest in that same way she had remembered, but her father was warm and he smelled like adventure and the familiar. She sighed contently and waited for him to begin in earnest.

Almost immediately she felt the temptation to interrupt. Her small body lurched forward as if reaching for words, but she clamped a paw down on her muzzle. RiHAEL? It sounded an awful lot like SaHALie. She closed her gaping mouth. But it was a futile attempt, for everything her father said seemed to cause it to fall open all over again. For some reason the girl had assumed her father had been born here, like her. Why else would they be living here? But Sahalie had never really given their homeland much thought, figuring that they were living here because it had always been so. His birthplace sounded so strange. A wild wood? Beyond the mountains? Her eyes flicked westward momentarily, towards the peaks she knew lay beyond the thinning crimson canopy. That seemed awfully far away. Hidden Tree seemed like a nice name for a pack, though. Maybe she thought this only because it sounded so reminiscent of Oak Tree Bend, a gnarled and magnificent trunk that was, itself, tucked away and lost in the depths of the misty Spectral Woods.

A small gasp escaped her lips unbidden when her father spoke the number of siblings he had. Having only one brother her age, two older siblings she hardly saw, and a pack that itself numbered in the tens, Sahalie could not even imagine what that would have been like. To have a pack that was entirely and completely related to one another. Weird. 

Her tiny heart hammered along with his as the story very slowly began to darken. She wondered if she should have asked about her father's childhood at all, but told herself that this was important. She needed to know. The things her father described sounded terrifying, it sounded completely insane. A surge of happiness swept her heart when her dad's brother's reappeared in the narrative, finally, to save her father. Gently she pushed her nose into his fur, as if to offer her condolences for the loss of his Hidden Tree. Her father, either by accident or design, had excluded the death of his parents. She wondered if she could ever leave Spectral Woods and Oak Tree Bend.

This Sacred Grove sounded so amazing, though, that it could not have been such a bad alternative to the wildwood. A cast of names fluttered from her fathers lips, some of which she had heard before and other's that she hadn't. Corinna and Ice were both unfamiliar to her, but apparently they were Serach's parents. She blinked solemnly. Why were they not here? Serach himself was only barely an adult. Kisla was a name that Serach had mentioned at the meeting... though she was not sure what to make of this "Fenru." He was her uncle, apparently, like Kisla was her aunt. But how?

The list of names was followed by a series of much shorter stories. Her eyes shown with admiration now, rather than the shame she had felt earlier. It seemed like he had gone and done so many things, seen so many places. "How did you end up here, then?

Sarah if you want to archive you can or reply <3 @Sahalie

I'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

 It was only till his story had faded, and she spoke did he lightly touch her head. "It is a whole other tale. I think you least should know the short version. I made a vow to myself that I would be loyal to Corinna, watch over her and her children. Ice was my best friend. Both my family. Why I have a lot of good memories of Swift River there are a few that aren't so much. It was when the most tragic occured they wished to move so everyone could start in a new place unscathed by sadness." He didn't feel they had escaped it at all. This place was haunted as well. Tainted. He didn't feel the need to share his dark thought and continued.

"I scouted and found these woods, but they picked the very den in which you sleep. Serach and Sceral were born here, and we thrived. You know life only ever promises us change. Ice left on a search for one of our members. Cori, a dire winter took her away," he sighed, a sad smile evident. "I wish you could have met them, Halie. Corinna was a great leader. She was fierce, uneasily swayed, with good humor and a brave heart. Ice, he would have made you laugh, took you on an adventure and taught you to fight. See just as you are named after your grandfather, Drift is named after him. I miss those days. My home. One day you shall see it. You are a Tainn after all and with that comes responsibility to have your own adventures in the Lore." There he gave her a wink of mischief, and playfully nipped at her ear. "Now, how about we find something decent for breakfast together? You have been practicing right?" He waited for an answer, letting her take the lead to show him where they ought to hunt, all the while a smile on his lips, thankful his life had lead him here.

Triell Tainn

are you with me through it all?

Her father's chin landed softly on her head, and she leaned in to the touch now. The beginnings of a pout worried at the corners of her lips when it sounded as though her father would not answer her question. She cared not how long the story was, but she realized vaguely that she was lucky to be hearing any of it. No one did a lot of talking here. Greedily she listened to the small epic that included Corinna and Ice again, names her father mentioned with such unconditional love that Sahalie was jealous that she could not meet them herself. Could she? They loomed like legends across the tapestry of history woven from her father's mouth. 

Just like that the story seemed to cut off, though. It picked up again sometime after The Most Tragic event. Her mouth opened if in protest, as if to say, "Hey, I'm old enough to know about bad things," but she stopped herself. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe she'd just have to find out later. Take what you can, she told herself, begging with her heart to stop aching for things that weren't hers to ask for. 

Did they thrive? Something told her this word was misplaced. Corinna and Ice were not with them anymore, after all. How long before she had been born had they vanished? Her father elaborated on her silent questions for her. She frowned, wishing that she could have known them too. If she had been named for her grandfather, it only made sense that Drift would have been named for someone else as well. Knowing more about Ice than Rihael, she had to wonder if perhaps Drift had gotten off with the longer half of the stick.

Thrusting out her chest with what she imagined was the pride of a Tainn, Sahalie eagerly barked, "Yeah! I can show you this one thing Spieden taught me...."

-- AND THEY RUN AWAY INTO THE SUNSET TOGETHER HAPPILY EVER AFTER @ FADE CENTRAL STATION---