Sacred Grove Nutbush City Limits

For @Maera

She supposed she could see the appeal, but somehow the place seemed less than what her father's tales had made it out to be. In the depths of winter there was no roaring river to drown out the ever darkening thoughts that were swirling in her heart, the unanswered why's and what if's. She missed spying on the Coho sibings playing in the water like oversized otters and laughing at @Mako's antics. She missed the games that @Aponi would play with her and @Lila and the ever watchful presence of @Serach. More than anyone though, she missed @Sahalie, because no matter what, the girl always had a smile for her and that was something that had been lacking in the days since they left the Bend.

A heavy misted sigh escaped her parted jaws as she looked at the stretch of ice before her. She tried to imagine what @Marina might do when faced with such a travesty. You couldn't splash in ice (to Treyah's knowledge), and you certainly couldn't fish. A tentative paw inched out, checking the firmness of the ice, ears cupped forward to pick up the tiniest hint of a splintering sound, one that never came. Growing bolder, a second paw joined the first, her tail taking up a happy wave as her back paws moved out with more certainty than the front. She had intended to take it easy but the excitement was just too much, she was actually walking on water! a playful bound forward, and she slipped, sliding across the frozen river on her chest with her rump still arched high over her back.

It was nice to be out of that forest, back in a stable area, and back in a place that she was familiar with. She’d become accustomed to the Grove and the Wildwood because that was where she’d spent most of her time, with some knowledge of Ghastly Woods and Heartleaf Creek and fairly scarce knowledge of Blackberry Fields and Stonewatch Timbers. Overall, she thought her knowledge was half-decent. Either way, she was back in the Grove, splitting off from Kerberos as they both spread out to look for dinner for the two of them… rather than being alone like she expected, she heard sounds of movement as she approached the river which had frozen over at that point.

She saw the girl, a pup by the looks of her and how she was behaving, sliding around on her chest, having slipped and fallen, a friendly smile on her features. “Are you alright? Where are your parents?” The last thing she wanted to do was step on toes with two others who were potentially dangerous, and especially not while Kerberos was off looking for food in a different part of the Grove. She would never underestimate the way a mother protected her young, especially with how fiercely her mother had protected her when she was little. “The ice can be dangerous… and it could break and you could slip through… it might not be the best idea for you to play on it.” She was fairly certain that with the temperature and how thick it appeared to be, there was little chance of that, but it was better safe than sorry. Maera had a side of her that she rarely showed... it'd stemmed from how she took care of Kael for the most part after they'd lost Papa, Pascal, and Lacey... and it was starting to show.

At some point she had started to laugh, pealing giggles filling the air and almost making her miss the strangers voice a it called to her. What was with everyone asking her where her parents were? She pushed herself back up on shaky paws to show the stranger she was more than big enough to look after herself some. But she shouldn't be rude, her mother would kick her ass across the grove if she caught wind of it. "I'm okay," she replied more gently than her initial cross expression may have indicated, "They aren't far, we've just crossed the mountain looking for a new home. Dad lived here for a long time, so apparently this is where we're waiting while they sort out where they want to go." She almost sounded bored with it all, and truth be told she was. It was no fun having just one sibling to keep her amused.

At the others suggestion of falling through the ice her joints stiffened and she started to slowly slide towards the bank once again, "Bet its colder than the snow in there huh?" she even managed to edge in a grin, thinking how the cold of the water never seemed to bother Mako or Marina. "So why are you here?" she questioned, genuinely curious. This woman cared enough to warn her of the dangers of ice skating, what was in it for her?

She was stubborn but confident in her abilities, and Maera could respect that… she’d been similar and it caused her smile to grow a little. She insisted that she was fine before explaining that her parents were nearby, that they were trying to figure out where to go from there and that her father had lived in the area… it was a lot of information to soak in. “I don’t blame him for wanting to return – it’s a very nice area.” She agreed though she couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle when the girl started to slide again. “It definitely is… I don’t know a wolf who could survive it without getting sick and with it being winter… sick is bad.” She was doing her best but honestly the last time she’d talked to a pup was when she was a pup. She didn't want to see this pup get in trouble, or sick like Lacey and Pascal... that was her motive for it.

Then she got that question in return and she shrugged, keeping her frame relaxed as she plopped her butt in the snow. “I’m here with my friend. We’ve been staying in the area… there’s a forest near here but I like the grove. It’s relaxing so I come here often.” She explained in the simplest manner possible. “I almost fell through the ice on my first couple days here.” She admitted softly – she’d been alone at the time and thankfully she’d been close to the bank… she was debating crossing it to get to the other side faster but evidently it hadn’t worked out so she’d taken the long way around.

@Maera sorry for the hold up <3

Treyah shrugged a black ticked shoulder at the compliments to the Grove, it wasn't her home, and not nearly all she had expected it to be but she supposed it was okay. An ear perked at the mention of a friend, thoughts quickly flitting back to the dark man she had seen the day. "Are you loners too?" she questioned rather bluntly, having never even met one before she left the Bend, it was suddenly a little overwhelming to think there were so many other wolves out there, and so many without a pack to call their own. Was this why her sister kept bringing them back to the Oak Tree?

She didn't have to think for long to know that @Sahalie wouldn't approve of anyone having to live this way, and the young girl found herself agreeing. It was deplorable, to be honest. Nobody should have to starve through the winter or struggle to sleep because they were too cold. This woman seemed nice, she had even worried about her, a stranger, falling through the ice (whether she had almost done the same herself a few weeks before or not mattered little to the not-quite-a-yearling). "You're nice." She suddenly declared. "What's your friend like?"

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

She had to admit children were strange in the way they trusted so blindly… or maybe that was just her and the way she’d been raised… and truthfully it probably was just that. The girl was curious, and asked Maera if she and Kerberos were loners as well and she gave a gentle nod. “Yes, we both are. We’re travelling together because it’s easier to survive if you travel with others… it helps you take down larger prey which can feed everyone more efficiently.” The girl had told her that they were new to the loner life, had she not? Or at least, that was what she felt the girl had implied from the way she spoke about loners, and about how they were looking for a new home across the mountains.

Either way, she doubted Treyah would be in this good of shape or this adventurous if she’d been raised in the life of a lone wolf. Then again, Maera was crazy so what did she know? She then made a comment that visibly took Maera back. She wasn’t use to getting that one. “My friend, his name is Kerb… he’s nice, a lot nicer than me… he likes to play with others, unless they make him mad and then he can get a little defensive.” Memories took her back to the day before, when he nearly went to tear Kobe’s fur out in the Ghastly Woods.

“And, he doesn’t quite see it, but he’s really good at finding food… he’s just not confident in himself and his abilities.” Was she seriously talking about this with a pup? Wow, she needed to get a life.

A quiet hum of acknowledgment rattled in her throat when the woman said that things were easier together. Hadn't @Kobe said something similar? And yet he had left her, even after she offered her band to hunt together, if only for the winter. The only silver lining left to cling to was that he had said their paths may cross again and so she grasped the maybe one day wisp of hope that she wouldn't have to call herself a loner forever with all her might.

If her friend was even nicer than her, well, what was there to lose? "My parents and brother are sulking around here somewhere," she offered the information freely, "@Leotie came with us too so I suppose I could be worse off, but dad and Leotie aren't enough to bring down something really big like we're used to and mums too old." The last was whispered conspiratorially; because she was certain she had never been meant to overhear the others saying so back at the Bend. As though to punctuate her statement about eating less than she was used to, her stomach gave a growl. How embarrassing. "Do you think you and your friend might be interested in meeting my dad? Maybe we could all hunt together and sleep on full stomachs for once?" She was completely oblivious to how loaded her question might sound.

Maera had to admit, she was curious… sometimes she was convinced her lonerdom had less to do with problems with authority and more to do with the wild and untamed curiosity that she felt sometimes. She mentioned a brother, two parents… and someone named Leotie… it was sounding more and more like a pack by the moment and it had her nervous, on edge even. Her mom was old, but she mentioned nothing of the age of everyone else. Perhaps she’d need to change locations sooner than she thought, especially if they were planning to stay in the area for longer than a couple days.

She needed more information, first and foremost, but she wasn’t about to let the child in on that because she had a feeling the girl was more keen than she might let on. She asked if she wanted to meet her dad and maybe hunt with them. She thought about it for a few moments and she saw it - opportunity. She put an uncertain look on her face. “I don’t know that your dad wants to meet with me. I’ve been told I’m very difficult to get along with, and that I might have a tiny problem with authority.” Perhaps that would answer her question – whether or not her dad was authority or not.

She let that hang in the air for a few seconds before she finished her thought. “But, if you really want me to… then I’d be willing to meet with him, and I could bring Kerb along too. He isn’t too far from here.” She found it odd that this girl’s father would just let her wander like she did, especially if they were lone wolves. She knew the importance of keeping young close, even if she’d never had any herself.

At the woman's mention of a problem with authority Treyah smile "Nah, he's not big on that stuff either I don't think." She was attempting to reassure the woman. At the suggestion she could bring Kerb too, her tail waved happily. "That'd be great!" She was getting ahead of herself, imagining the taste of a warm meal for once. Maybe, if they did really well, the pair would also stay? She could only hold her breath and hope. She plopped her rump down in the snow, tail flicking small chunks of ice this way and that.

As though to add further reassurance she began to speak again unprompted. "The pack we were in was really relaxed, and everyone just sort of mingled and whatever, but then my sister challenged and Spieden left so we left too. We were on the other side of the mountain. I think dad just wants us to keep living like we were, without having to worry about how my sister might take it if they don't duck low enough. She doesn't like mum much." She finished with a sigh, not quite able to wrap her head around such adult concepts as a puppy who was given so much leniency up until this point. "I just miss being warm and full," she ended with a smile far too bitter for one her tender age.

"So why do you have a problem with authority?" Treyah questioned, wondering if perhaps she would have the same problem when she was old enough to understand all the nuances of being an adult pack wolf.