Grizzly Hollow all the way to hell

Departure thread for Cinder. <3

Something had changed. Her time spent with Veho had become more minimal – not by his doing, but by her own wandering paws and drifting mind. She would cringe as scents of Rook would mingle to her nostrils, and every form of revenge she thought to seek – from seducing the man she now realized was mated to her sister’s ex to simply trying to tear the life vein from his throat – became more and more unappealing.

She couldn’t quite place why, at first, until one day her eyes had flitted to Veho – the handsome wolf had been doing mundane tasks, and she realized then that her feelings for him had changed. He had become far removed from a pawn piece in her game of calculated chess, and she now cared at what her actions might do – and how he might perceive her. Selfishly, the desire to take the one thing she wanted now was at the forefront of her mind – but as the days past, the swarthy she-wolf found herself considering repercussions to any of her actions. The idea that Veho could ever become privy to her original intentions absolutely gutted her – and to try to entice him in to her arms would only mean she would need to open up to him.

She couldn’t let anyone in. And she could not bring herself to admit her intentions to the grey wolf.

And so it was with a final hint of endearment that the girl dropped the fish upon the entrance of his den – a final goodbye and thank you, as she recalled fondly the quick trip they had spent. She longed to instead press a lingering kiss to his cheek, but she was not a magician of words – not unless they were ones to conceal. She almost retched at the slimy feel of her tongue from the creature, but she composed herself. With one last stolen glimpse of Grizzly Hollow, Cinder turned from her past – and moving past the borders, and throughout the Lore, it would be the first time the she-wolf had left the land with the intent to – and this time, it was to start a new life, rather than dwell on the misery she felt had followed her like a dark cloud.

The weight of the fish was not lost on him.  It smelled of Cinder, the girl who did not fish, despite being raised on a river.  He had the sneaking suspicion that she did not like fish, but there was no knowing now.  The scent trail led away, out of Grizzly Hollow all together – but at least the Attaya had said goodbye, unlike so many others who’d gone (and come, and gone again) from the home he’d tried to make for the wolves of the cedar wood trees.
 
With a heavy sigh, the alpha male sat, silver eyes tracing the lines of the fish.
 
Truthfully, he’d had no hunger lately – if it wasn’t Cinder who’d left it, he’d leave the fish, or store it in the cache.  But she was a special wolf, and a friend, even if he hadn’t known her for long, and he was very sorry to see her go.  It would be wrong to waste the one last gift from her, as if it somehow tainted the memory of the dark shadow.
 
He only wished he could have made a better home for her.