Whitestone Monadnock Foolish consistency

For @Sahalie - shitty starter is shitty.

Morganna had tried to give the new members some space, to let them settle before asking too much of them and things had been peaceful, but she had warned Sahalie she needed her to run and errand and it was time to ask if her rest had been long enough. She approached the girl with a smile and an easy wave of her tail, pressing her nose into the younger wolf's cheek in greeting before gesturing that she should follow the leader down into the tundra.

They walked in silence for a time, casually passing the borders and sniffing about for any scent of game. In other circumstances, she might wait to see if Sahalie would ask her first but she had been the one to invite her down here. "It's a bit different from th' south." She muttered conversationally, trying to bring herself to smile, but it was no longer a place she thought to bother herself with wanting to be and so the gesture was obviously forced. Sven had probably told the girl she had left, though whether he went into the why or if he even understood she hadn't been able to gauge on her last visit. Her last trip south had only bought up more frustration and more questions than answers. She had no intention of returning that way again.

going to say this takes place after the whole castel thing. (and the lorcan thing) just to keep me sane

There hadn't been anything particular that had kept Sahalie from wondering about this "job" Morganna had mentioned, as there wasn't any way the girl could be considered busy. But in the interceding days of a thousand new sights, smells, learning the pathways of the wind-worn stone, and all the worrying for Spieden, Alastor, Lark, and herself there had simply been no space in her mind for curiosity. Everything, now, was about learning—actually, more often than not relearning. Whitestone Monadnock was not like Oak Tree Bend. The expectations where more or less the same: that wolves should be contributing, but somehow it just felt different. The very atmosphere felt pressurize. The wolves were free to come and go but somehow it felt as though there was a mandatory attendance being taken in everyone's mind, like you had to be around and had to socialize. This was not necessarily a problem for the girl so much as she wondered why it felt so obligatory or where this rule came from.

There was nothing easy going about the Monadnock.

Sahalie also had given little time to think about all the willow wolves that had come up here, or what Sven would think or say to find out that she had come up here and found them all—all without a goodbye. She honestly didn't want to think about it at all, the situation felt so murky and confusing. Living in Oak Tree Bend, the girl had never encountered a moment in her life when she had doubted she was in the moral right. But now she had no idea where she stood. She had no idea if things were good or bad, and this might not have mattered to another wolf, but it mattered to Sahalie. She just wanted to do the right thing. She was not certain there was a right thing to be done.

She did not like the Monadnock.

Morganna finally came to her and Sahalie was surprised, barely remembering this promise of a "job" but as they walked and chatted aimlessly it began to come back to her. The girl was not sure there could be any particular duty that would fit her. She was small, young, and unfit for both inter and intra-pack relations. She did not know most of the Whitestone wolves and she did not know the north, besides Drestig—another face she was scared to see. Already her association with Askan had caused a bit of trouble, which she was trying to forget. "So different," the girl said, her laughter a little self-conscious, "I'm so used to trees and all, you know." But Morganna wouldn't really have known, would she? Had she seen the east? The willows were a forest in their own way but it was so spacious over there.

But Sahalie did not want to beat around the bush, really, because she did not want to spend an indiscriminate amount of time worrying about what she was there for or how guilty she should feel about her flighty confusion about the ex-Willow Ridge wolves. Or Sven. "So... what can I do for you?" Her voice was light but a little hesitant. She was just a girl after all.

Late night wine induced curve ball! wildly gesturing arms

That she was used to the trees was little surprise, she was not a northern born wolf herself, and though the willow's had been airy compared to some of the woods around it was downright cosy compared to out here. She could sympathise and an easy smile was all she could rustle to convey as much. Truth was, there was a lot weighing on her mind, with Mittani gone to fetch new wolves and Piety tucked away safely up here, she had to wonder if @Sven was aware of any of it? And there was still that niggling at the back of her mind, a suspicion she had raised with Sven but never managed the time to chase down herself.

"I met one o' yer pack mates on th' mountain jus' before we left, said her name was Catori, pregnant, silver woman, light eyes..." It had been impossible to determine more than that in the dark, "I'm guessin' it was a fake name since apparently m' brother gave th' same..." It wasn't so much a task, more just for curiousities sake. If she had more blood on the other side of the mountain it'd be worth tracking, just in case Skoll ever managed to show his face again, and for her mother's sake.

Instead of giving her a job outright, Morganna started to tell a story. Sahalie was not sure if this was relevant or not, but she listened, her ears flopping around when she heard the name Catori. This was no pack mate of hers, but at the same time Morganna wouldn't have mistaken her scent. Besides, she realized, her eyes widening with every descriptor: those adjectives matched at least one wolf she knew. And apparently Kyna's mother was somehow tied up in something with Morganna's brother—how many of those did she have?—and the implications were a little too much for the girl. She blinked, wondering if Morganna was trying to imply that this brother was the one that had... done the thing that eagles do with Aponi. It made her feel a little queasy. Was this her job?

"I don't know about any Catoris in Oak Tree Bend, even if we were big..." The pack was not big enough that a wolf could completely escape notice—especially not a pregnant one. "But we did have one...uhm...pregnant silver wolf." Should she give the name? It felt weird to with-hold it, but also this felt like one of those things that she should not be sticking her nose into, because it could cause trouble for Aponi. Sahalie did not hold any grudges, but she had also promised herself long ago not to keep secrets. Especially not secrets when she had no idea if they were even secrets. "Aponi."

"She uhm, she's actually the reason we all left Oak Tree Bend," her laughter was dry with irony, "She wanted leadership and she ousted Spieden. She gave birth to a girl in May, named Lila. Uhm... I don't actually know much else about her, to tell the truth." It was strange to suddenly realize that Aponi was a very secretive woman. "I think she used to live on the mountain. Used to be mated to some guy named Phineas." Kyna's dad, they had all lived on the mountain. There had been a pack, but she never knew the name. She shrugged.

"So...which brother do you mean?" Not Greer, certainly. Kyna wouldn't have appreciated her best friend shacking up with her mother.

I'm where you wanna be

Morganna Archer

Her suspicions were confirmed when Sahalie confirmed that there were no Catori's in the pack, instead, she gave another name. Aponi, who apparently now lead in Spieden's place. Well, that was very unlike her brother, to go after a woman with a backbone, but her amused expression quickly melted away as Sahalie went on to fill her in more. Lila, she had to wonder what the girl was like... Phineas? Her ears turned back in surprise at that one. "Phineas?" she spluttered with an amused chuckle, "It's a small world after all." But she hadn't seemed old enough to be mated with someone closer to @Elettra's age than her own. The plot just got thicker and thicker with each word to leave Sahalie's mouth.

She was pulled from her amusing train of thoughts as Sahalie questioned her which brother, M' age-mate Skoll, Sven's father," and wasn't that why she had pulled the girl away in the first place? "Speakin' o' Sven, I want yer ter go tell 'im where yer are. Let 'im know his mother is here an' she's safe." After all, she was still completely unaware that Piety had already seen her son. As far as Morganna was aware he hadn't caught a whiff of her since she left the cedarwood. "There's somethin' else..." But she would allow the girl to process what she had already said before she went dumping more on the yearlings shoulders.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

@Morganna

Morganna reacted in the manner one would expect from someone who was finally having a very bothersome itch scratched: amused, satisfied, wanting more. It was a relief to see that none of this information was offensive or inflammatory, because the girl never wished for her gossip to harm anyone. Aponi had things hard enough as it was, a pack halved by mutiny and hurt feelings in the dead of winter. Morganna just wanted to know the situation, she didn't really need the intelligence about Aponi for any particular reason. Just curiosity. The news was relevant to her but had no deep impact on her life, save for now she did not have to spend the rest of her life wondering who her brother had impregnated.

"He's dead now, though," she felt it was worth it to point out. Phineas was apparently a familiar name, and Morganna would have still been in Willow Ridge when the mountain pack dispersed, but maybe she had not been made aware.

Sahalie had never particularly given Sven's father a lot of thought. "Oh," she breathed, clearly surprised and more than a little dumbfounded. She had urged Sven to forgive him, to do better than him, but many of the details about Skoll as a wolf evaded her. He was a mystery. He was a ghost. And this meant Lila was Sven's sister. As much blood connected them as Sahalie and Treyah. It boggled her mind, though, to think that Attica and Lila were the same age. Same season. Spring was a maddening season and she still did not understand it.

Her heart made awkward movements in her chest at the sound of Morganna's request: half of her leapt with joy, the other half wanted to sink with guilt. The end result was a sickening lurch. But she had to go, she owed it to her friend to explain herself to her face, to make amends where they could be made. She could only hope that Sven had been so busy he had not even attempted to come visit. Maybe he did not even know she was gone.

"His..." she lost track of her fretting, aware that she was suddenly standing on even shakier ice. "Here?" Who? Sahalie had been here long enough to see all the faces. It had never occurred to her that Whitestone Monadnock held yet another wolf from Willow Ridge. Indecision gripped her: she felt herself, inexplicably, wondering what her reaction would be if someone told her they had her mother waiting for her just over the next rise. But Sahalie had not mourned the loss of Nayeli the way Sven had grieved and searched for his mother. Did he know she was here? Did Sven's mother know where he was?

"More?" She coughed, wondering how there could possibly be more. "Any more and I think Sven's head will explode." Or hers would.

A silent nod was offered when Sahalie said that Phineas was dead, "One o' our members was 'is daughter, but she wandered off when she was done gettin' what she wanted." It was a strained smile that she spoke with, she had liked Celandine but as soon as Maeve was found they were both gone. Maybe one day they would wander back onto the tundra, but it wasn't worth dwelling on with all they would have to face between now and then.

At the mention of Sven's mother the young wolf seemed to falter. Morganna maintained the same steady forward pace, finding the movement helped to settle her heart and mind when everything was a whirlwind around her. She even managed a bark of laughter when Sahalie coughed, "Don' worry, this one isn't fer 'im. I want Spieden ter feel safe, I was hopin' yer could talk to m' mother, see if she knows what happened ter Nonna Skana b'fore she came 'ere, so we can try ter avoid whatever happened at th' Bend." She wasn't sure Sahalie even knew the connection between the two Coho wolves. "Skana was Spieden's mother, she had a lot o' scars. She was quiet, an' protective, an' we all loved her..." It was after she died that Skoll had started to spiral out of control. She didn't want to upset Spieden by asking her directly. Hopefully her mother would have the answers they needed.

Sahalie was surprised to discover that Phineas had another daughter. Kyna had another sister. Kyna kept a lot to herself—her past seemed traumatizing enough—but Sahalie suddenly found herself in deeper, darker waters than she had meant to. How many other siblings did Kyna have, besides Lila and this other wolf? Her mouth hung open, and the dark girl considered asking more about Phineas' other daughter, but her lips pursed. It wasn't really her business: to pry into Kyna's past for no reason other than to know. Suddenly she realized that thinking Morganna was just curious for the sake of scratching an itch was wrong. The woman wanted to connect the dots for those that mattered, she wanted to use this knowledge to provide Sven with... with something. It would be useful to Sven.

This was probably Morganna's only way of saying sorry.

How would Sahalie say it?

Spieden's mother had lived in Willow Ridge? The plot just seemed to get thicker and thicker, doubling back on itself and strengthening the connections between Sahalie and the accidental friend she found in Sven. Skana sounded just like Spieden, right down to the scars. It made her heart ache. The thought of talking to Morganna's mother, Sven's Nonna, made Sahalie a little queasy. Elettra cast a long, intimidating shadow even from across the mountain. And there were...other things to consider, even if the dark girl herself was interested in learning about a woman that was basically her grandma. "Hhhhh," she exhaled uneasily, staring at her paws, "I gotta be honest. I don't think I'm going to be coming back..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for what you've done, the place you've provided..." Even if it was just a wind-torn rock on a vast sea of snow. Her read lifted and she steeled her body, though she was staring off into the plains rather than directly at the dark leader. "But. This isn't the place for me and I just feel like me... me and my friends are just taking up space and the herds are so sparse and. I don't want to be just another mouth. I've got... plans for myself." She hoped Morganna would understand, the woman probably could feel the uneasiness that she wrestled with. The Monadnock was just so full of... pressure and competition it was enough to compress her girth back into her ribcage. Sahalie had lost a lot of weight being here. "If you still want answers about Skana I could take Odin or Kara with me," she brightened, "Or someone. A scout or something."

I don't think I'm going to be coming back. The words weren't a surprise to Morganna, and she assumed Sahalie would be taking her friends with her. As she spoke of being grateful a smile tugged at her lips, a small shake of her head offered to show there were no hard feelings. She hadn't expected them to stick around this long and she was happy to provide temporary shelter from whatever storm had driven them north. "Nah, yer Sven's friend. Yer'll always be welcome here." Much as when she had arrived at the borders of the Willows with Wraith, the girl didn't present a threat and it was nice to have someone so optimistic around.

Her suggestion to take along Odin or Kara was met with a nod, "Probably Odin, he'll give yer less hell and won't drag 'is arse comin' home." She spoke with affection, a wry smile on her face. She did love her children but by all her mothers gods they could be a handful. "Yer'll have ter let me know where yer settle." She commented with a wave of her tail. "I'm sure yer'll make a fine leader." A little young, perhaps but there was no need to go discouraging the girl. Morganna was sure she had it in her.