Turtleback Lake Vos non merentur

She was just like her own mother. Words the she wolf never wanted to admit to herself or anyone else. It echoed through her head every day since her encounter with @Emerys. The small ebony wolf sat on the lake’s edge, her ears perking as she listened to the frigid waves  slap against the snow and mud covered shoreline. Every so often she’d shift positions, no longer a silent sentinel guarding some distant land’s entrance..

“I’m disappointed in the wolf I’ve become.” she murmured dejectedly repeating the white wolf’s words. Hazel brown eyes rimmed with tears as she looked onward, thoughts of @Zilas and @Hawthorne came flooding back as the loner let a sad sigh loose. Her family, one of the few things she had wanted in life, gone and scattered throughout the lands in unknown directions.

A rumbling of the female’s stomach caused a soft grunt to escape and a sad smile to form as it brought back old thoughts “I remeber when it was just you and me.” she said, glancing down toward her underbelly “Hiding under the trees….you kept me company at night.” she said quietly, looking out at the distant islands that dotted the lake’s surface.

ThoughtDialogue

She was taking a small trip without anyone by her side (or so she thought). Askan was still away, Reyes was holding down the fort and Plant Boy was probably busy with patrols or staring at the water. Hawthorne just planned on heading up towards the lake. She had only been one other time. The calmness of it all had been refreshing - even if she had never admitted such a thing openly.

Orange eyes looked out into the distance. There was a smudge of black against a mostly off-white background. A stranger? Hawthorne wasn't fond of strangers but at least this one was a good distance away from the Edge. Her pace picked up as she kept moving closing. The form slowly became familiar before she halted a few yards away. The small, leggy, lithe form was her mother. Truthfully the pumpkin eyed girl thought she was gone for good.

Her stomach clenched and her paws awkwardly gripped the cold earth. What was she supposed to say?

Sylva’s ears perked slowly,a first a flick, and then another. It was the strange scent that first drew her attention. Sylva hadn’t been around the lake before and had thought she had done a good enough job of scouting for pack scents, but it seemed that she hadn’t. Slowly, she stood up, taking a deep breath as she prepared what she was going to have said to a pack wolf well in advance.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been close to your land, I was only passing through while searching for-” Sylva’s explanation turned into a startled squeak when she caught sight of the monochrome fur pattern. A pattern she had seen so many times before. Brown eyes blinked in disbelief as Sylva croaked “H-hawthorne?” quietly, disbelief, fear and doubt filled her tonse as if this was all just a dream, if it was, then she didn’t want to wake up.

"H-hawthorne?"

The name falling from her mother's lips caused her ears to shrink back. A lump formed in her throat. Feelings of guilt built up in the pit of her stomach. She probably looked dumb standing there, eyes locked onto the small form of her mother. "Yes?" The Edge wolf weakly called out. What did she want? Why was she here? What had taken her so long?

She couldn't blame her mother, though. Hawthorne was the one who had gotten lost in a storm and followed a stranger to a new life. That had never been her intent even if it was what had happened. She liked it down south in the falls. The wolves down there liked her back. This was a giant mess. She should have just stayed home.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

Sachiel was never far behind the greyscale girl. Occasionally she would leave her to explore on her own, as he did not want to smother his friend and have her grow to dislike him. Truthfully, he liked spending time with her. He’d never had a friend like her back in the Vale. The pair made the perfect adventure duo. Which was why he ended up following her north to the lake—he couldn’t find anything to occupy his attention back in the forest.

As he spotted her dark shape along the shore another figure, in the distance, caused the fur on the back of his neck to raise. His oversized paws hurried over to his friend’s side, his mismatched eyes widening at the obvious discomfort radiating off her. He pressed his shoulder against hers, his bright gaze sweeping over to the stranger. Who’re you? He called out, his upper lip curling to reveal a row of ivory teeth. Nobody messed with Pumpkin Eyes, not on his watch.

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

Sylva swallowed quickly when she saw her daughter’s form shrink. It sent a pang of guilt through the mother, no child should ever, ever have to do that. Sylva felt the overwhelming urge to just curl around her daughter, she wanted to keep her safe from the harshness of this world, and yet, instead she had exposed her child to it and had left her there, alone for months. She took a single step forward, her mouth opening, words on her lips when suddenly, another wolf appeared at Hawthorne’s side. That’s when the scent became clear. packmates.

The medic turned toward the new arrival, her brown gaze narrowing instinctively when she saw just how close it appeared the two were. “I’m Sylva Riverflow, her mother.” she said the words, though there was little pride behind them, laced with the guilt and pain she tried to hide. Sylva turned her attention back toward Hawthorne, breathing slowly as her breath misted the air around her snout. “Honey...I’m sorry, I’m sorry that it’s taken me this long to find you, I’m sorry for everything that’s happened...it’s all my fault.” twice now, in a week she uttered those words, the words that caused pain for her to even admit, to peek at the scope of how deep her actions had affected those around her, especially her daughter.

While she had been looking for a trip alone, she had never been happier that Plant Boy was by her side. The pressure of him against her shoulder giving her a bit more footing. She didn't stop him from being defensive if anything he had a right to be. As pack mates and friends they had to look out for each other.

The apologies only made her head slink down. It didn't matter if her mother took fault, the guilt still pecked at Hawthorne. "Don't apologize." Her shoulders shrugged slightly. Having her mother apologize to her seemed too strange. If this had been a stranger Hawthorne would have taken the apologies in full and perhaps even played them to the best of her abilities.

"So..." She trailed off, eyes avoiding the muddy pools of Sylva. "Whadda ya want?"

Her mother? His nose immediately wrinkled, his expression growing grim. The boy did not know much about the girl’s history or how she had ended up with the Edgy crew. He had never wanted to pry. If she wanted him to know she would have told him. However, his greyscale friend did not look pleased at her mother’s appearance. Not like Sachiel had been when he had discovered his father lurking around the Edge territory. He had never seen her look so glum, or out of place, and he did not like it one bit.

He listened to the dark woman’s apology with a sneer still pressed to his dark lips, a sour taste filling his mouth. Some apology he wanted to retort, but the boy kept his jowls shut. He just wanted to offer his support to Pumpkin Eyes, for he could sense how uncomfortable she was. He remained where he was, his shoulder pressed tight against hers, as he listened to his friend respond. His gaze remained fixated on the dark stranger—mother, pfft!—as he waited for her to respond. He hoped this Sylva didn’t think she could reclaim Pumpkin Eyes after being gone for so long. He wouldn’t allow that to happen. 

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

Well, Sylva wasn’t sure how she had expected this meeting to go, but Hawthorne’s sudden cold nature, that wasn’t something she had been anticipating. Her words caused Sylva to blink slowly. The mother let her gaze drift toward the ground. She had been dreaming of this moment for months, this, wasn't how she had expected it to feel. Joyous, maybe, bittersweet even but not..not this awkward silence.

“Finding you Hawth...that’s all I’ve thought about up to this point,” she took a moment to breath, collecting her thoughts as she looked upon her daughter carefully “What I want..is just to be with you, to see you grow into the wolf i know you’ll become.”  and to keep you from falling into the pits that i’ve fallen into. she added silently.

(This post was last modified: Dec 12, 2017, 12:53 AM by Sylva.)