Sacred Grove Phoenix

@Blackmoore

Time had passed and Leotie wished she could say that she was getting better that she was finally getting over what had happened. She feared she wasn't and that she never would, having been betrayed by Kerb like that. She had not been surprised by the fact that Naira could do that to her. She would be glad to see the day that woman no longer placed paw prints on the ground. So many times she had thought to take revenge on the woman and then wondered where those thoughts had come from. It wasn't like her to want that sort of thing but maybe she was changing. Maybe she was dealing with it, just not in a way that was like her.

She knew she would have to make a decision about what she was to do with her life eventually before she wasted away to nothing. Her appearance clearly showed a wolf who'd been on her own for sometimes. More weight had been lost since her appetite was not what it once was and had not returned since the day of her ousting. Even more she felt so very alone in the world after learning if what happened to Sven. His absence from the ridge was what had caused her hesitation but she was starting to reconsider her decision.

She stood in a clearing in Sacred Grove looking up at the trees and the cloudy sky above them. She had been in disbelief of what her life had become but now maybe it was time she moved on. To finish dealing with the repercussions and take the leap into a new chapter of her life. “I can't keep going on like this,” she said firmly to herself as her head dropped to look at her paws and a sigh left her. The sound of a breaking twig caught her attention causing her ear to flick and the agouti woman to look for the source.

~Table by Switch

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2017, 05:12 PM by Leotie.)

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It took him a few more days to traverse the serpent's pass, before Blackmoore have emerged on the other side of the mountain range. Perhaps he could do it faster, but being a loner had it's perks like not being on a schedule. For now at least, male was leisurely traversing the unknowns. It was a joy of exploring, filling the blanks on an empty map. For now there was not much on it, just a solitary path on a dark piece of paper. Path which bend and snailed among the unknown peaks and grooves, sometimes narrowly avoiding dangers that the male had not been even made aware of. Though perhaps he'll learn of them one day...

But not today. As Blackmoore have emerged from the serpent's pass into the Heart. Tired but victorious and unscathed. The latter he owed to lack of any rush to get through the pass. The former he owed to same thing which had made him took roundabout routes at times. Well, every stick had two ends as they say. Sometimes more, if it's a very tangled stick... The male though, have quickly dismissed the thought as the Sacred Grove have appeared before his paws. And old forest he had seen for a first time few days ago from one of the peaks as he have lied his eyes onto the lands beyond the ridge for a first time. He could not see the details then though, and the male had to admit the groove seemed to be far more impressive from up close than it was from the distance. It was hard to describe, but moss covering the old, tall fir tree's have made quite an impression him. To a degree, male have felt respect for this place - though he would not be able to explain why. He just felt it.

It was late morning when Blackmoore have entered the forest. Morning dew was drizzling his fur starting from the chest with which the male had been pushing through the taller grasses - spooking an occasional bird or two. It was quiet, for a most part at least, with an occasional muffled patter of a deer somewhere to the sides. In other words, it seemed to be a quite idyllic morning so far. And Blackmoore have wanted to keep enjoying it, sadly despite his all efforts to stay quiet - the male have miscalculated his own weight as he stepped on a treacherous twig.

He did though, quickly dismissed the error and kept on his leisurely trek through the wood.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Why she had such a tie to the forest that she stood in gazing up into the sky through the trees she had yet to figure out. Her pack didn't want her and Sven was gone, what did she really have let there? Perhaps she hoped they maybe if she stayed longer enough Kerb would come and try to explain himself. Maybe it was she wanted to give him a piece if her mind, let him know how he had hurt her. Was it worth it really to go through all that? If he could send her away as he did and not defend her at all to Naira then how much did he actually care for her?

Leotie had been worried before her ousting when it seemed that something was wrong with their friendship. So maybe that was it, maybe she had become less important with the prospect of fatherhood looming. If that were the case she had no reason to stay for the loyalty that she had toward them was not shared toward her. It saddened her that a friendship she thought could get through anything had not been able to make it through the spring.

The thought that she was afraid to leave sacred Grove and the Wildwood had also crossed her mind. It had been her home for a while and she felt she would have felt the same had she not had Triell to follow to this place. Now she didn't have a definitive place that she could go so she wandered through the trees. With no place to call home anymore she settled under the stars most nights thankful the cold weather had finally passed. She wasn't sure she could have made it through the winter without her pack so she could at least be grateful that she had not been ousted before spring broke. That did not help to make the situation she found herself in better.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a breaking twig which brought her attention to the direction it had come from. She wasn't sure what to expect, would it be another of her former packmates wanting her to return and not understanding what she'd been put through? When the dark man appeared to a moment she thought of Triell, had he come to make things better? Bring her back and put her back in her rightful place? Would she be able to go with him if he asked her? Questions that would be very helpful answered for when she caught the scent of the male she knew he was not of the draw. Her gaze dropped to her paws, if it had been Triell she could have at least said goodbye to him and thanked him for what he had done. It just wasn't meant to be she supposed.

The gleam that was once in her eye was long gone and now all she could muster was to lift her head to look at the man. Now she had no pack to defend from a stranger such as him so what was it she should say to him? Leotie was at a loss as to what to do causing a panicked look to cross her features. “I shouldn't be here.” Eye mumbled to herself but loud enough he could hear her she was sure. “I should have left a long time ago. Why would you want to come here?” She finally said to the man not realizing how she sounded.

~Table by Switch

(This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2017, 06:58 AM by Leotie.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

The male however did not went far before something have stopped him in his tracks. A thought, or a premonition of sorts - as the forest did not have changed in those few paces he made since stepping on a particularly dry and fragile piece of wood that have fallen onto the grass. The world was still at peace, to put simply. Birds were going about their business just like few moments ago. Blackmoore's ears could still hear the distant hoofed patter of a deer-like creature.

For a moment, it all felt like caught in a freeze-frame.

Then his sapphire eyes have caught an oddity in that freeze-frame. A shape, no, color standing out, flashing like a torch or a flashlight in the dark. For now, the male was too far to tell what it was, as too many shrubberies and grass have obscured the view from where he stood. But that of course, could have been remedied by a simple thing like taking another step. And another. Blackmoore didn't even had to change direction as his point of interest have lied directly ahead in his path. So the male have resumed his walk, perhaps a little slower than before and for sure more mindful for where he was going to place his paws. For a split second he'd felt an urge to bent his joints a little lower, like a feline stalking it's prey - but the male have dismissed the urge as quickly as it appeared.

For now, the male have been simply curious.

He heard her before he was able to finally recognize the shapeless blob among the shrubberies. A silent mutter, distinctly female. “I shouldn't be here.” His thoughts swirled, confused for a second about the origin of the voice. It did sound kind of... detached. Like it could have been some kind of spirit whispering into his ear. The thought have passed though, as the shapeless blob was beginning to gain "substance". Form. Shapes. Colors.

“I should have left a long time ago. Why would you want to come here?”  His ears twitched nervously as the words have reached him in the moment he have cleared the last shrubbery and have finally been able to clearly tell "who" it was before him. A woman apparently, tad smaller than him - as his eyes have inspected the stranger that sat before him just on a double length of a tail. A part of him, being a male, have been quite pleased with what he had seen. The other however, was ringing all the bells and whistles about the situation. The girl looked sad, depressed even judging from the way she was composing herself. She did, quite frankly, presented quite a pitiful sight to him.

"Why?" Blackmoore have asked out of the blue, with a strong baryton belonging to the towering male. There was little emotions in it, no anger, no reproach of any kind. Perhaps a trace of surprise could have been found, but only if she have looked to see his head curiously tilted to the side as well as his aggressively green eyes locked onto her.

(This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2017, 08:36 PM by Blackmoore.)

The longer she stayed in the Grove and the wildwood traveling between the two the more obvious how much of a mistake it was. She knew there was nothing left for her there but painful memories. Yet she couldn't pull herself away only putting herself through it day after day because she couldn't let go. A question that had flitted across her mind on multiple occasions once again reared its ugly head. Was it possible she was losing her mind? That she was so far gone she could not make a decision as to what her next step in her life should be. Leotie didn't want to think that was what was happening but it would lost certainly explain why she wouldn't force her paws to carry her somewhere else.

There wasn't ridge, she thought she could go there and live her life in peace but why when Sven wasn't there. Had he been there she would have went without a second thought and not cared about what Naira had said. Leotie had been strong and she refused to beg for a pack to take her in no matter how close she may be to one of their members. She'd only begged once before but that was when she'd been weak and starving, she wasn't that girl anymore.

Or was she?

If she were strong she would have been able to move on from it all, to forget them and find a new place to belong. It wasn't so simple for her, not when she had been so close to some of them and saw them as family. Until the draw she'd never had a real family and she hasn't wanted to let them go. So many times she could have went back to the ridge with Sven and yet she didn't, her loyalty and love for the wolves of the draw had been much too strong. Who was to say it wouldn't happen again with the next pack she joined. Leotie didn't know if she could take another round of betrayal.

Her words seemed to echo a little through the trees as didn't sound of the breaking twig her attention immediately draw to where it had come. A panic like she'd only experienced two other times in her life came over her and left her breathing heavily, her sides heaving. She could not see the one who had caused the sound at first nor could she scent him and it only.sent her into a deeper panic. What if they had come to do her harm? She could not defend herself after not having eaten very much in weeks. She shifted her weight on her paws nervously unable to turn tail and run.

After what seemed to be a lifetime he came it view a large dark male that at first glance made her think of her former alpha. Her mind went imagining so many scenario's until as she reached out with her nose to take in his scent she knew it wasn't Triell and he had not come to make amends for what had happened. Her whole posture fell at the realization that she would not get the solace she sought.

Words came from her mouth that she didn't know what she was saying and they were thrown at the man. A question, why had he come? What wasn't he hoped to find in this place? It was better to not hope for that had only brought her misery as her hopes were dashed the day she'd been ousted. Now she had to wonder would the ridge wolves even want her in her current state, Leotie knew she wasn't herself, the well put together wolf she'd been when she first appeared on their borders.

The question the large dark man asked caused her to shake her head to get the confusion that was taking over out. She looked up at him once more a realization of just how much bigger he was washing over her. Almost immediately her posture curled in upon itself as she took a nervous step back. “This place only brings pain,” she whispered loudly before her eyes darted to each side of the man. Was he alone? She had not detected others with him but could her senses be trusted? “You should go before it doesn't go so well for you here.” It was her warning and whether it would be true for the man time would only tell. It could also be the words of a clouded mind of a wolf that was slowly losing her grip on what was the truth and what truths her mind made up.

~Table by Switch

(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2017, 05:17 PM by Leotie.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

As soon as his words have sunk into the troubled girl, she had gave him a frightened look and tensed up like she tried to flee. Ultimately she didn't but it have only raised up an another question beside the painful pinch that male had felt because of the display. Was he so scary, mean looking brute or what? He did not know, but his mind nevertheless reeled about this for a good while. In the meantime, since Blackmoore had no vile intentions towards the girl, the male had decided to refrain from doing any swift movements in hope to avoid spooking her again...

“This place only brings pain,”  The girl spoke, or rather muttered like it was him who brought the pain. Her frightened gaze haven't gone unnoticed either - and have only induced another painful needle to pinch into his scruff beyond the reach of his paws. The whole situation was going out of paw pretty fast, turning more and more awkward by a moment. “You should go before it doesn't go so well for you here.”  Lady have spoke again, giving him another fearful look which pierced through his shell and grazed on his flesh uncomfortably. Especially since his thoughts have begun to form very unpleasant assumptions as to why he'd been witnessing a beauty being... so out of touch with the reality. Some of the thoughts were certainly providing a good enough explanations to why the girl was like that. But neither of those had made the male to shake off the needless paining him so uncomfortably since the first fearful gaze from the woman. On the contrary, the male's misgivings have only grew.

It took a short moment, but have finally broke his motionless stance as tilted his head slightly to the side and spoke calmly, reassuringly even. "I don't plan on staying," It was true to a degree. After all, Blackmoore haven't yet found his place in these lands. What he said though, was also a play, as the male begun to pity the girl slightly... And hate the man who broke a such beautiful flower as she. "But I don't see myself leaving now either..." He continued, while slowly lowering himself on his haunches to bring his head lower and give the female a spark of security by having him in a position from which it would be impossible for the male to catch her if she decided to jolt it. He'd only hoped that the girl wasn't so detached that she would not be able to understand this.

Once on the ground, Blackmoore have took another look upon her. His eyes discretely looking around for any marks of violence upon the woman's pelt. In meantime, his mind was reeling painfully about 'what next? what should I do?'. There was no straight answer, neither question he felt comfortable with. After all, what - was he going to ask 'are u okay? are u hurt?'... Blackmoore wasn't an idiot, and the woman was obviously hurt and unwell mentally and most likely physically as well... "Who..." He begun suddenly, without thinking. His voice calm, hopefully pleasantly deep at the same time. One you could trust. "Who did this to you?"

He couldn't imagine himself leaving without at least trying to help...

(This post was last modified: Jul 20, 2017, 08:15 PM by Blackmoore.)

Not Triell. That realization echoed in her head for a long g moment her mind drifting the the kindness the man had shown her. She wondered if he even knew he was gone or had those cowards not told him what they had done. A flash of anger crossed her face but then as she looked back at the man the panic returned. Leotie was almost certain they had done it behind his back, perhaps waited until he was sick and couldn't do anything about it. Everything about her posture had dropped and closed in on itself leaving her looking much smaller than she actually was.

She was apprehensive about the large man and what he wanted, no longer did she have a pack to back her up if she needed. She was on her own now and her body screamed at her that she couldn't protect herself if it turned out he wanted to hurt her. Worse of all as something reminded her, Sven wouldn't be showing up to save her either. The man spoke one word that had cut through the numerous thoughts and confusion that swam through her mind. She'd given her warning, which didn't make much sense but there was nothing she could do about that. He would have to make what he could if it. Leotie averted her gaze to the ground in front of her. Maybe if she didn't look at him he would take her advice and go away from this place.

Her ears flattened against her skull as he spoke his words lessening her hope for him for it was best he leave as soon as he could. She could not make him go so her warning had been given and he would find out soon enough. “Suit yourself,” was all she could say if he would not heed her words and turn tail on this place. Maybe this was her purpose now, to warn travelers of the dangers the forest they now stood in held. Then her head canted to the side as she heard it once more confirming this thought. Telling her it was the reason she couldn't leave. Before also telling her that the man was talking again asking who had done something to her.

A look of confusion crossed her face as she met the man's gaze once more. Done what to her she understand what he meant with his question. She turned her head away from the man “What does he mean?” She asked speaking to the air behind her to speak to the voice. “I don't understand,” she told it. Finally she looked back to the man,”I don't know what you're talking about,” she admitted to him, “Nothing's been done to me I'm perfectly fine.” Had she not been in her current state she might have even let a smile cross her maw. Leotie didn't remember the last time she had smiled or laughed it felt like a lifetime ago to her now.

The voice spoke again directing her in what to asked him, “It wants to know what you think has been done to me,” she told him.

~Table by Switch

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2017, 12:57 PM by Leotie.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you