Fallen Tree Cove Leap of Faith

@Anaia

The dark man felt badly for returning with Anaia and then leaving her to go and find Moonshadow before she'd had the chance to settle in. Now with Moonshadow back and staying close to home he'd gotten back into a routine. It still wasn't normal though with Lunette not being home.  His worry that she wouldn't return grew with everyday that she didn't return though he supposed this was her way to show him.  He still looked for her everyday not wanting to give up on her. The pack needed him though and as always he was going to be there for them.

He made some time to find Anaia had have a full conversation with her about how she was doing. Now that she was in the pack he wanted to talk to her about her plans.  Did she want to learn some skills? Maybe she wanted to learn to do something better.  He'd made a promise to help her and so far he hasn't kept up on that promise so he planned to make it up to her somehow.  He searched for her first thing in the morning deciding to take care of his duties later.  He soon found her and called to her to get her attention before he finally caught up to her. “Hello Anaia, I thought it was a good time to check in with you and see how you were  settling in.” He said once he'd caught up to her.

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OOC!  

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Word Count: 211

Anaia usually spent her time aimlessly wandering about the territory.  She wasn’t sure what to do, and she wasn’t sure how she might be able to help the pack.  She hunted for herself; she didn’t feel right taking from the caches when she herself wasn’t contributing to them.  She wasn’t much good at catching much more than small rodents.

Today she was headed down to the lake to see just how big it was. A voice behind her startled her. Kajika’s Back! She thought with excitement, stopping and waiting for him to catch up.

His greeting seemed a little formal to the girl, but what could she expect? He’d been gone.

She shrugged. “I’m okay, I guess. I saw Neha for my paws. I haven’t really met anyone else yet.” She shot him a sideways glance, her voice becoming glum. “I couldn’t find you either.”

She didn’t mean to be accusatory; he was a well-established member of the pack, and as beta she was sure he had a lot to do.  Especially since there didn’t seem to be that many wolves in this pack.  It was a nice change from the overwhelming numbers the Monadnock had sustained for such a long time, but she wished the beta had been around more.

"Speech"  Thought

Now that he was back he could concentrate more time on Anaia and helping her to fit into the cove. He knew that was something she had been worried about before she came. He meant to show her the ropes and help her with anything she needed. He didn't want the cove to end up like Whitestone had been for her, she deserved better.

When he finally caught up with her he was glad to see her out and about since her paws had been injured but he grew concerned as she spoke of how she was doing causing his brows to furrow. He was glad to hear that she had gone to see Neha, “What did Neha say?” He asked with curiosity in his tone. The glance and tone that she had caused him to worry more but things were starting to fall into place. Though she didn't out rightly say it he felt she was upset with him for abandoning her.

“I'm sorry Anaia I didn't mean to leave you like that. It's just two of my packmates that I care a lot about have been missing. I had to go look for them I hope you can understand.” He moved toward her and brushed his muzzle against her cheek. “I'm here for you now. You shouldn't worry about not meeting the others yet I can help you with that if you want and anything else.”

He was worried about the she wolf and he hoped that in time he could help her to really settle in. “Is there something that you would like me to help you with?” Perhaps it was too soon to be speaking to her about her plans since he felt she might not be ready yet.

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Word Count: 213

Though he had left, Kajika did seem to be showing interest in how she was doing, which helped the girl to relax again.  When asked about Neha, she just shrugged. “She got some stuff for me to use to help them feel better.  She said the mountain terrain was hard on those who aren’t used to it.  I guess my paws got softer at the Monadnock than I thought.” She let out a short snort of ill humor.

His response to her snide comment made her feel bad.  She hadn’t known there were pack members missing. Her ears fell back in guilt. “Oh.  I didn’t realize.  I’m sorry.  Did you find them?” She wondered just who had disappeared and why.  Did they get lost? She imagined it couldn’t be that hard up here, where the trees surrounded you and there were no landmarks visible from far off.  It was for that reason that Anaia didn’t go out of the pack borders to hunt.

“Well, uh…” She hesitated, not wanting to admit her fear. “Are there any good places to hunt? I’m afraid to leave the territory because I’ll get lost and there’s not much inside the borders beyond squirrels…” That she had been able to find, anyway.  She’d never been the best hunter.

"Speech"  Thought

He had failed her but he planned to make it up to her in whatever way he could. First he wanted to know if her feet were doing okay now that she'd been able to get some treatment for them. “Good, are they starting to feel better? That is true, I had some difficult when I first came​ to the cove but it will get easier. You just need a little time to adjust.” Kajika frowned at her snort but didn't comment on it. She had a right to feel as she did since he was sure his absence hadn't helped.

He apologized for not being there which was something he would have done anyway, she deserved it. “It's okay,” he told her as she apologized for not realizing they had missing packmates. “We found Moonshadow, she's in bad shape bit resting in the den. We couldn't find Lunette though and I'm really worried about her.” He usually his how he felt about Lunette's disappearance but not with Anaia.

Kajika wanted to know what she might need help with so that he could help her to better adjust to life in the cove. He didn't have to wait for her to ask for his help. He was glad that she was honest about her fear of getting lost. “There's Poison Path that's not too far and Spectral woods isn't too far either. If you would like I can go with you to those places so you can see where they are?” He offered so that she didn't feel like she had to stay in the territory.

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OOC!  

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Word Count: 256

Anaia shrugged off the mention of her paws, mumbling something unclear.  She had grown up on a mountain, so her paws should get used to it again quickly, but the tundra ground was so much softer than the unforgiving stone that made up much of the mountain land. She didn’t feel like mentioning it, however, because of the topic of the two who had gotten lost.

The name Moonshadow she recognized, as Kajika had told the pale girl she would likely get on with the other woman. She didn’t want to ask how bad of shape; it was clear the dark man before her cared quite a bit about his packmate, and she didn’t want to force him to continue thinking about it.  She couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous.

At the mention of Lunette and how concerned the beta was for her, Anaia offered a quick lick of comfort. She didn’t know how close the two were, but she could shove down the betrayal she felt at being left alone. He’d been doing something important, after all.

Anaia perked up a little when her friend offered to take her to two places she could hunt.  She nodded eagerly.  If she could start contributing to the pack caches a little bit, she might be able to start working towards a goal.  She still liked the idea of being a scout, if the pack didn’t already have one, and would have more time to focus on it if she wasn’t constantly trying to feed herself.

"Speech"  Thought

The dark beta was glad the Anaia had gotten treatment for her paws while he was away and they would be getting better soon. He knew from experience that a little more time and her paws would be accustomed to the harder terrain if the mountain. It would be just another adjustment that she would have to make to live in the cove.

Kajika was glad they had found Moonshadow and brought her back safely despite her injuries and loss of memory.  He hoped that in time she would regain her memory and would be able to get back to her normal life, well as normal as it could be with puppies on the way. Lunette on the other hand, he didn't know where she was or where to even begin looking despite his best efforts to find her. The lick that Anaia gave him as he spoke of the young Vuesain was reciprocated with a nudge to her cheek.

In an effort to make up his absence to the girl he offered to show her a couple of places that she could hunt for the pack.  That way she would have something to hunt other than squirrels and she would be able to find her way back once she left.  He smiled as she nodded, “It's settled then,” he told her as he brushed his muzzle under her chin, “Follow me.” He then turned and led her in the direction of Poison Path, they could go there first.

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OOC!  

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Word Count: 231

Anaia had to admit she was pleased to finally be getting some attention from the man who’d brought her here.  She’d left her pack – and her sister – to come with him.  She still felt bad about abandoning Sara; maybe some day she would be able to return just long enough to say hello.  She hoped her sister understood; she had spoken with her about leaving, after all. Her biggest regret was that Morganna hadn’t given her the chance to say goodbye.  She couldn’t even tell herself the matriarch had forgotten; her overly-loud jibe about how Sara would be disappointed prevented that.

Guilt stabbed at her again, and she felt her ears, which had pricked up when Kajika said to follow him, wilt again.  She was never going to really escape that place, what she? She still had nightmares about Morganna and Craw tracking her down and dealing her the Traitor’s Punishment.  She hadn’t shared any secrets; she wasn’t a snitch or a traitor.  She just wasn’t happy there.

So far things in the Cove had gone well, at least.  The few wolves she’d met were nice.  The alphas weren’t scary or intimidating, and they let her have her space to figure out what she was going to do.  They weren’t pressuring her to find something to benefit the pack.

So why couldn’t she just forget about her months at the Monadnock?

"Speech"  Thought

If he were honest he was surprised the little she wolf wasn't angrier with him for abandoning her on the cove without help just instructions, see Neha. He had hoped she'd get along until he could return and do as he promised but it didn't sound like she had been. He couldn't go back and change the past, all he could do was make it up to her. Like Moonshadow he did care what happened to her and wanted to help her succeed and he felt confident he could. She reminded him so much of his ebony friend and she had done well in the pack so far, even serving as leader for a time.

The first step was to show her where she could hunt and to show her around the outlying areas so she could get to know them. So he led her in the direction of Poison path, through the territory and across the border. A glance at her drew a concerned expression across his dark features, “Is there something you would like to talk about?” He asked not sure if she would be willing to share but it didn't hurt to ask after all, “If not that's okay but you should find someone that you can talk to,” he told her. Though he hadn't been able to say much to Moonshadow when he'd needed her most what he had talked to her about had helped some.

“We have a little bit before we reach poison path.” He announced do she would not only know how far they were but also that they had some time to talk if that was what she needed.

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