Stonewatch Timbers Rivers and Roads

For @Draven and participants in the vision quest plotline!

January 26th, Karina has been traveling/ lost outside Hearthwood River between 1-2 months.

Starving and weary, the young traveler almost didn’t notice the familiar scent brought to her on a northwest wind. Had she been a typical yearling she certainly would have missed the scent, but fortunately the medic-to-be had been formally trained to scent minute discrepancies. Recently all her nose had been good for was rooting out edible vegetation, which had been her primary source of nutrients on her mission thus far. Even in summer, when plants and fruit were in full bloom, a wolf would struggle to survive on vegetation alone.. so needless to say Karina was not doing too well for herself, and her waking hours were all but consumed by sniffing and scratching in the dirt for anything even remotely edible.

This time the wind brought a different scent to her; the unmistakable smell of pack wolves. It was Kova’s pack too, the girl was sure of it. She had a natural talent for scenting, and she prided herself on never forgetting a smell. Malnourished as she was, she had only been traveling for a few hours per day, slowly sinking into a daze that blended one day into the next and made her nearly forget her purpose for being out here in the first place. With this new clue though, the traveler’s mind felt clearer and her resolve strengthened. She was on the right track. Soon she would find a wolf who knew of Kova and his possible whereabouts. 

Leaving is vague his pack status since that depends on how his thread with Gent goes. If he has left the pack it was only 2 days ago and he has been hovering in the mountains not sure what to do

Though he would be much taller than she ever was Draven was growing into his mother's form, sleek with lean muscle like a well practiced runner. On the outside he was picture of perfect health, as a pup he had physically wanted for nothing and had been fed and sheltered as much as possible. Mentally though his childhood had left him with deeper scars than should have ever occurred to such a young wolf. He had never met his true father and only knew him through the stories his mother would tell him and his siblings at and then his mother had been snatched away by the world. Perhaps if it had not been for these invisible scars he would have walked with her grace, with her confidence but as it was his tail dragged lifelessly behind him in the snow and his gaze never wavered from the ground.

The pack territory fell directly behind him though it would take nearly a quarter of an hour to walk there at a healthy trot. He could call if he ran into trouble but Draven knew that he would not call even if something was to go wrong. The pack had served the Lagina's before his mother's death and now they served Gent and Raela. The latter he had always felt close to though the former made him wary, something about the cold blue eyes always set him on edge. It was as if no matter how long had passed all he would ever see in them was the image of his mother's body reflected in their depths.

It was her scent that brought his mossy eyes up from their position on the snow. Seeking out the stranger he stopped mid-pace as if this would be enough for her to not notice his black coat contrasting their white backdrop. He stood frozen, unsure of what he was supposed to do in this situation.

"Speech."

Karina scanned the treeline with her blurry vision, and a flicker of movement caught her crystalline gaze. The doe pranced out of the forest, looking as radiant and energetic as Karina was lackluster and drained. The shimmering creature halted her approach, stomping and huffing at her, and then fixing her with a pointed look. She then turned to trot back into the trees, casting one more look over her shoulder before disappearing. Karina inhaled slowly, gathering strength as well as breath. The doe had clearly found something interesting she wanted to show Karina. The yearling forced her body forward, senses on high alert.

The princess froze in place as her eyes fell upon an obsidian-pelted male before her. "Kjors!" her hazy mind screamed at her, and the girl inhaled sharply, eyes widening in fear. After a beat Karina realized that the figure in front of her was bulkier than Kjors, and he didn’t carry himself at all like the proud and confident older male. She released the breath she had been holding with relief. The young male also had two verdant, intact eyes.. he was nothing like Kjors at all.

“I- you- ..frightened me. I thought..” the girl stammered out, squinting at the stranger. She took a few steps forward to see him better. He was only a child, Inna and Lekalta’s age, and smelled of Round Stone Crest. Could this be Kova’s brother? “You’re Minka’s son,” Karina said, this time with more confidence. Her expression clouded as she remembered the reason she sought Kova in the first place; to comfort him for the loss of his mother, father, and his heirship.  This young man would have experienced the same world-shattering events as Kova, and Karina’s heart broke for him. “I'm sorry for your loss,” she said finally.  

   

    
 

His strategy to stay still and hope she wouldn't find him proved to be foolish as she froze when she saw him as well. It was only when her eyes widened that Draven realized that he had been making continuous eye contact and he immediately dropped his gaze to his own paws.  Cursing himself internally he cringed slightly, waiting for her to pounce on him or otherwise harm him. It's not like he had been beaten or grew up that way but he had long since started expecting only the worst to happen. It was when she sighed that the green eyes flickered up briefly, chancing a look at her expression. The look of relief on her muzzle calmed him some but he still stood stiffly, not sure what he was supposed to be doing in this situation.

Suddenly she was speaking and walking towards him and instinctively the pup took a step backwards. He frowned at her words though, he had scared her? All he had done was stand here, it was she who was coming closer now and clearly had the edge up on this meeting. Suddenly the mossy eyes widened and flew upwards to stare incredulous at the stranger, "You knew my mom?" It was only then that he truly took in her appearance. She looked to be about Kova's age, but scrawny and her fur was not especially well groomed as if she had been by herself for some time and her eyes looked cloudy somehow. How on earth did this strange wolf know his mother? Was it possible that there were wolves besides the Crest that knew her well?

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Karina halted when the stranger took a step back, clearly unnerved by her approach. She blinked her crystalline eyes, a little taken aback that in this exchange, apparently she was the scary one. After a moment the boy’s curiosity seemed to defeat his apprehension, and he squeaked out a question. Karina wagged her tail encouragingly. “Yes.. I did. Your mother and my father were close friends. That’s why our packs were allied for so long—Round Stone Crest and Hearthwood River.” The words felt strange in her mouth, and as soon as she said them she knew why. Truly, Round Stone Crest and Hearthwood River were never allied.. not the way Black Thorn Downs and Cut Rock River had been. A much as everyone tried to insist they were the same pack, Karina could not shake the feeling that her family had changed dramatically along with the relocation and name change. She wondered if it had happened the same for Black Thorn Downs.

“I just met her once, when she brought Kova and Noble to meet us.” It said a lot about Minka that she was willing to make that long journey with two children in tow just to introduce her young to her allies. “Friendship, family.. that was important to your mom. She wanted the second generation of Laginas and Baranskis to be as close as the former.” Having only met the Crest matriarch once and never spoken to her, perhaps there was a little bit of presumption in Karina’s statements.. but what harm could come of the boy hearing praise spoken of his deceased parent?   “I.. would like that too.” Karina added with a slight stammer, eyes shifting downward demurely. “Oh!” she said after a moment, eyes lifting once more.   “My name is Karina. Baranski.” Her head tilted expectantly as she waited for her companion’s name in return.

   

    
 

The words that the girl presented him seemed strange, she claimed to be from Heartwood River, their allies but Draven knew that they weren't allies anymore. On top of that she didn't smell of any other wolves at all, let alone a whole pack of them. His frown deepened and his head tilted slightly, a trait he had unconsciously picked up from his mother, "But Heartwood River isn't our allies anymore..." Did Karina know that? Had she left her home just like every single one of his siblings had?

However his suspicious and curiosity was thrown out the window with abandon as the yearling began to speak of his mother.  The black tail began to sway behind him and emerald eyes lit with excitement, the frown being replaced with a small smile. Nobody talked of his mother much back in the pack, at least not with him, not anything he didn't know about her. Taking a step closer Draven felt more comfortable around this strange yearling than he had with anyone but Calanthe and Raela for a long time. If his mother had trusted this Karina and had wanted them to be friends that had to mean that she should be his friend right?

The frown began playing on his mouth again at the mention of Kova and Noble, his brother had left with Kino and never returned and before he could stop himself he mumbled, "I never met Noble, I don't really have a family no more." Realizing he had told this girl he had just met one of his deepest secrets the pup looked to his paws in shame, he was letting his mother down. All she had loved was friends and family and now he had neither, he had only himself and the memories of the months before she died. Without lifting his head the boy began to blink back tears threatening to fall, "Draven Lagina," the words were barely audible and his voice cracked halfway through but it was all he could muster.

“Draven,” she repeated with a sad smile. She turned his words over in her head for a minute, her mind moving a bit slower than usual from lack of nutrients. No family? At all? Minka and Tokino had joined the Mother's pack-- this she knew-- but what had happened to Draven's brothers and sisters? Karina had thought that her journey to find Kova would end at Round Stone Crest, but according to Draven this was not the case. The Baranski girl's ears flattened in dismay. She knew that she chanced upsetting the boy more but she couldn't help herself. She had to ask,  “But.. where have your brothers and sisters gone? What about.. where is Kova?”  She had begun this journey with only Kova in mind.. Noble had been lost since before she was Draven's age and Karina had no idea that a second litter of Lagina pups even existed. Now that she had met @Draven and seen his pain, she knew that the Mother had sent her here to help him as well. He was just as broken as Kova if not more so, considering his age.. The Mother would want her to take care of this boy as she would take care of Kova.  “Draven.. the All Mother doesn't care if our earthly packs are allies or not. We are all brothers and sisters in Her eyes, and we all belong to Her pack and Her family. I consider you a brother in faith.. you have a family with me and the All Mother, should you desire it.” She closed the rest of the distance between them to rest her muzzle on the prince's nape, drawing him into a reverent embrace.

   

    
 

The girl seemed confused by his words, with her ears flattening against her skull Draven was left wondering what he had said wrong. Had he already offended his new friend? Would she leave like all the others? Oh. Dropping his gaze back to his paws once more he realized what he had done. Scuffing his dark paw into the snow he murmured, "They all left after she died. They all left me behind." They had turned on him in his grief, attacking him as if it had been all his fault and then they had disappeared. First Kino and Kova had left and never returned and then Ari into the snows one night. This time he could not blink fast enough and the tears spilled over his lids and cascaded down his dark muzzle before splashing on his paws.

She was speaking again but her words were half drowned in his embarrassment at being such a failure and breaking down in front of her. Suddenly her body was wrapped around him and his muscles tensed, when was the last time someone had embraced him this way? All at once his reservations dissolved and he pressed his face as deeply as possible into her grey fur and sobbed. "But why did she have to go? Why did mother leave us?" He had not realized that she had been talking about a figurative mother instead of his own mother. Other than saying that his father was all around him in the wind and sky nobody had talked to him about faith before.

The older wolf tilted her head and listened to the boy’s words with silent sympathy, her expression tensing a bit when he spoke of being “left behind”.  Isn’t that what she had done—“left behind” her parents, her brother, her friends, and Kjors? Karina felt a pang of guilt as she watched Draven struggle. She pushed the feeling aside, telling herself that what she had done was completely different.. those she left behind still had others in the pack to care for and comfort them.. and besides, she had left a message with Davin, so they knew she hadn’t abandoned them. It’s wasn’t about you, it wasn’t your fault. “Everyone has their own journey,” Karina murmured, hoping to reassure the boy.

Karina felt Draven’s breathing hitch when she embraced him, and she held him tighter, knowing there was very little she could do for his pain except be there for him, because no one else was. She swiped her tongue rhythmically over his nape and shoulder blades, as a mother might do to calm a child. The boy sobbed out his bitter question, and it all but broke Karina’s heart. “Oh, Draven.. she didn’t leave, not by choice.. we all must go when we’re called, wherever we’re called..” Death is a hard thing to explain, even for a priestess, especially one so young and experienced with the topic. What did Karina really know of loss and grief, after all?