Secret Falls It's a Long Way Forward, so Trust in Me

Backdated to November 28th. For my dear @Rory <3

Winter was coming.

It was creeping in on silent paws that left the world covered in a soft blanket of powdery white snow. Cottongrass decided that he liked it. And while he liked the warmer months like summer and spring more than he did the cold — winter wasn't too bad. It was just different. Full of drastic changes and transformation.

His tail wagged and he continued his shuffle forward. He crept between spindly trees with ease and only stumbled on some of the roots hidden beneath the snow. It was a good day. The air was crisp in his lungs and the skies overhead were clear. He could hear the distant rumble of rushing water and the sound of his own breathing along with the crunch of his own footfalls over packed snow.

He was content to spend the day that way. Just wandering aimlessly through the forest with an empty mind. Maybe later he could make himself useful and look for something interesting. Askan did tell him he was a scout. And it was hard to believe that he was a pack wolf. That he was the Third of Shallows Edge and he mattered. But for now he wanted to focus on the quieter topics. Like whatever he could find while he was on his nature walk.

In his wake he left a single row of big, round paw prints. His tail never once stopped wagging behind him.

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

While she didn't particularly hate the snow, she wasn't a fan of the tailspin the followed in its way. Wolves often went missing in the snow, food became more scarce, and the loyalty of pack members was tested during the coldest months of the year. Winter proved to be a season brought about for the strongest of wolves, and though Rory had proven herself most of the spring, summer and fall, winter was proving to be its own two headed beast. Hunting had become harder than usual and because of this her stomach seemed to touch her spine, hungry a constant nagging annoyance to her daily life but she understood it to be a daily need than a want. Without nourishment she would perish.

On days like today she would wander, particularly with the hope that she would come across food but also with a hope that someone of familiarity would run into her. She needed company more than she liked to admit and anyone at this moment would do. It didn't take her long to realize that someone else was nearby, and the scent was one she had immediately begun to favor. Without hesitation she galloped to where the smell had come from and came to a steady gait when she could see the sunkissed eyes of her bestfriend in the distance. She had hoped to find him again, and it seemed the stars had granted her wish. "Cotton! Wait up!" she yelled in hopes that he would slow down so that she could catch up. She hadn't seen him in weeks, surely there had been plenty to discuss since their last encounter.

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

From the woods there came a voice. One that was soft and warm and familiar. It was as familiar as the air in his lungs and the ground beneath his paws. Because he knew who that voice belonged to. He knew the girl and the fact that he adored her with all of his heart. And his feelings for her might not have been romantic but that didn't make him any less excited to be reunited with her. His paws stumbled to a halt and his yellow eyes scoured the forest before him. He didn't stop until he caught sight of her.

Aurora "Rory" Thanne.

His best friend and other half rolled all into one.

"Rory!" He barked. It was the only warning she got before Cottongrass was stumbling forward. The snow was powdery beneath his paws and he kept stumbling but he didn't care. Not when his friend was alive and well. She was real! She actually came and found him! (She wasn't a traitor like most of his other friends were...)

Laughter bubbled up from in between his parted jaws and his tail wagged a mile a minute behind him. He couldn't believe it! His rear end shook and he pranced on the spot before her in playful greeting. "You came! You actually came!" He called all while bouncing on the spot. And it was in that moment Cottongrass knew just how much he had missed her in the past month. His world just wasn't the same when she wasn't by his side.

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

In Cottongrass style, he greeted her with a wag of his bushy tail and laughter that made her own voice flow in a fit of giggles. She couldn't believe that time had passed so quickly since they had seen each other and yet they remained as true to each other as they had their last meeting. She loved Cottongrass for this, he was genuine and always true to character and this was something she loved most about their encounters. Each one was different and similar in every way, and when he was within distance of her alabaster friend she leaned into nuzzle him affectionately. It had been entirely too long! "I wouldn't have missed meeting back up with you for the world Cotton!" she admitted, nudging him lightly on the shoulder before bumping his cheek lightly with her wet nose. Goodness all this touching felt perfect.

After what felt like a intermission of hugging, nudging and nuzzling, she leaned back from him to roam over his physique and stopped when her gaze met the beautiful sun colored gaze of his eyes. She had always thought Cotton was handsome, even if romantic feelings had never sprung up between them. "You look well, I'm glad you were able to make it back in one piece." she said, leaning back once more to ensure that not even a hair was out of place. "have you been waiting for me long?" she wondered, knowing that her trip Southeast had taken her longer than she had expected. 

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

His tail wagged like crazy behind him and he let Rory greet him with her usual tactile ways. He never once stopped smiling. Because there was something perfect about Rory. He could see it when she laughed in the quirk of her lips or the brightness of her eyes. But he supposed she was his best friend. It made sense that she was the best in every sense of the word.

When she leaned back Cottongrass wasted no time in falling backwards onto his haunches. The snow crunched beneath his weight and the movement of his wagging tail.

His features were bright as he watched Rory talk. And he knew a thing or two abandonment. It came to him in the form of his ataatatsiaq's disappearance in the heart of winter to Rayza's much more recent betrayal. But there was a part of Cottongrass that knew his friend was different. She wouldn't leave him behind. Not like so many others had.

"Nah." Rory was Rory. "I knew you'd come find me sooner or later." Across his features there came a goofy smile. He reached out to bump her chin with his nose.

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

She leaned into his touch, chuckling when the feeling had grown too much. She had missed Cotton, there was no doubt about it, and the fact that he had come back in one piece made her even the more happier, she couldn't say the same about the friend she had been set out to find. "I'm sorry I couldn't find your friend Cotton," she admitted with sad eyes. She knew how much he had hoped to have found him and the fact that he had eluded her through each attempt had proved enough of a stress, but perhaps her friend had been luckier. "did you find any kind of clue?" she wondered, her head cocking to the side. During her travel from Heartwood River and toward the southern end she hadn't seen very many wolves that resembled his description.

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

'I'm sorry I couldn't find your friend Cotton.'

Whatever soft and warm emotions that had been plastered across his features withered and died the moment Rory apologized. His adoring eyes and goofy smile twisted into a pained grimace and his ears flattened back against his head. "It's okay." He said. His tail gave a weak thump against the ground. It wasn't like Rory knew that Rayza was the younger brother of Aytigin Delaney.

(But it didn't make him feel any better about what happened.)

And the urge to lie was almost overpowering. She didn't have to know about what happened while she was away. He could... Just not mention it and pretend everything was okay. But he couldn't lie to her. Not when she really did seem upset about the fact that she couldn't find Rayza.

"I, uh —" His tongue flapped uselessly in his mouth for a few awkward seconds. "I found him. Got him to where he needed to go." The smile on his face was sad and forced. He couldn't muster up a more convincing expression.

I'm sorry you had to wait for poop! ><

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

There was so much that Rory didn't know, so many secrets that had been kept from her but perhaps it was best this way. She had no idea the connection that Cotton had with Aytigin, the fact that at one point the two had shared something fairly magical between them but she supposed it was a part of Cotton that she didn't need to know. She did, though, care strongly for Aytigin and any bit of information about him would have caused her heart to leap and lurch in her chest but he kept this fact from her and therefore sadness overwhelmed her. He assured her that it was okay and the woman took it as being kind and understanding; modest Cottongrass."I love your optimism..." she said with a smile, ears pulling back tight on her skull. She still couldn't shake the disappointment, the fact that she had offered and failed to help a wolf she had cared so much about, and when he said that he had found Rayza and took him to his destination she found that her head had cocked to the side and her eyes grew wide. Why hadn't he mentioned that sooner! "Oh that's good Cotton, I'm glad you got so see him off then. Now I don't feel so bad" she smiled, nudging him softly and continued. "where did you take him?" she was dying to know.

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

It's fine <3

Rory said she loved his optimism but Cottongrass couldn't help but feel like she just loved one great big lie. Because that's what his happiness was. It was some horrible lie that he kept pushing and pushing until he even fooled himself. But he couldn't bring himself to admit that. Not when everything seemed to be going so good.

"Yeah." He mumbled weakly, and there was a smile on his features but he wasn't feeling it. His tail gave a lifeless thump against the ground behind him just to complete the pattern. "I uh — I took him to Hearthwood." It was more like Cottongrass pointed him in the general direction before abandoning the kid but the less Rory knew the better.

"Turns out that's why he wanted to go east." He gave her one last weak smile.

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2017, 02:11 PM by Cottongrass.)