Secret Falls You don’t need me

For @“Sachiel”, daddy’s Home ;)

Draven had taken what the girl had said nearly three weeks ago on good faith. She hadn’t seen him and he wasn’t to the west either. The dark male had accepted this to be fact and after leaving one more silent present for Treyah as he had been doing he had set off across the mountain. Unfortunately for him though, he had never been the best tracker but to add insult to injury the heavy snows had set in while he had been ascending the rocky peak.

He had made it over eventually, but he still needed to find Sachiel. If he was on this side of the mountain at all, or even alive. This thought heavy and nagging like an ever constant headache, throbbing with every sudden movement. But, he had found him. Or at least Draven had found the smell of him. Him and some others, a pack really and this had caused the father pause. Was Sachiel being held here against his will? Or had he just chosen this to be his home? So close to the Vale where his parents had been, how could he be here without a word?

So, instead of making a call at the borders as he probably sift to have done Draven had left a gift. A bundle of tree branches with the same bark and needles that the father had taught his son about so many months ago. He hadn’t called, just left the bundle near the borders and then trotted away into the woods. This had been last night and without making any attempt to hide his tracks he had laid in waiting. Sachiel would know who they were from, and if he wanted to come see his father he would. Or, Draven hoped he would.

Things had changed drastically for the agouti cub since leaving the orange-filled trees of the south. It had been his choice to leave, despite claiming he was leading poor, unsuspecting Diego in the right direction. He had left in pursuit of adventure. Of something more, beyond the orange. The boy had meant to come back—to his parents and Castel. But the adventure just kept getting bigger; the colours brighter. Aside from Pumpkin Eyes and the dead leaves littering the ground, Sachiel had not encountered much orange, making it easier for him to breathe. To think. No more dull headaches and jumbled thoughts.

He felt bad for not saying goodbye. But then he wondered if they noticed—if they even looked. In his younger months he had been able to slip away, unnoticed, for hours at a time. Able to explore the neighbouring lands as long as he returned before dark and kept out of trouble. He had been the poster pup. Obedient and well-behaved.

Perhaps his obedience was what lead him to straying so far.

Since the formation of the pack Sachiel kept himself busy. Tending to the borders, looking for food to fill the caches, scaring off loners. Most of the time Pumpkin Eyes was not too far behind, or he was trailing after her, but the tawny boy also pursued time on his own.

Like today.

A familiar scent caught his attention as he neared the borders, his oversized paws skidding to a clumsy halt. He blinked, his brows pinched together as he raised his nose to the air, his mouth agape in disbelief. No. It wasn’t possible. The Vale was miles away from the waterfall he called home. He shook his head, a frown gracing his dark features. Definitely not possible.

But the closer he got to the border the more pungent the scent became. Visions of deep mahogany and rich emerald consumed him, causing his pace to quicken. Laying at the edge of the border was a bundle of branches waiting for him. His frown deepened as his head fell to the side. White fir. His nose quivered as he stepped away from the bundle, mismatched eyes falling to the snow-dusted ground. How? He shuffled after the prints, his ears flattening against the back of his skull as he peered through his trees, searching for the brilliant emerald jewels he knew better than his own paws…

Dad?

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

Maybe Draven should have slept, he felt the exhaustion of the last four months to the core of his very bones. But he didn’t, he didn’t even really think about it. Sleep wasn’t an option now that he was so close to his runaway son, he couldn’t risk dozing off and missing Sachiel. Even if he didn’t want to see his father that was okay, the man just wanted to know that he was okay. If the pup found the bundle of branches and ignored them then the Leigh would just wait until he was ready. He would stay here in these forests until his son decided that he wanted to see his father, even if it was just to chase him away.

He just had to know that he was okay.

When the pup came into his vision Draven was sure that he had fallen off into a nap and that he was dreaming. Sachiel was so big now, he almost looked like an adult from the distance. Suddenly, similar to how he felt when he came to his senses with Treyah the man became very aware of how he looked. Just as his son had grown so much in the last few months, Draven had withered. He had not been feeding himself regularly enough, or sleeping nearly enough. He was thinner than he was before, exhaustion clear in his eyes and his pelt had lost some of its shine.

So he held back. Instead of jumping from the trees and embracing Sachiel as he longed to do he shuffled awkwardly onto his feet. ”You came.” Despite the way his hoarse voice cracked the awe in it wasn’t veiled. Sachiel had come.

The man before him didn’t look much like his father anymore. He was frail in appearance, his fur hanging off his thin body, his features sunken. A frown creased his dark lips as he took a tentative step forward, maw canted to the side. But it was his father. Those shining emeralds amongst all the ebony fur, there was no replacing those, even if they had lost their previous shine. They were still the same green pools the boy had stared into as he memorized each individual fleck of shamrock and moss that entwined with each other to make Draven’s eyes. And the fur—while it was dull and lifeless—it was the same mixture of umber and onyx he had snuggled into as a child.

Despite taking a step forward the boy remained where he was, transfixed by the appearance of his father. He’d come looking for him. Sachiel was positively dumbfounded, for he was positive that he would have been forgotten. But here Draven was, a little unkempt, but present. He had gone looking for Sachiel and succeeded.

His creamy paws vibrated with excitement but did not step forward. Not yet.

You came.

He nodded. A small smile had found it's way onto his tawny male, tugging at the corners of his mouth. You came, he repeated, his ears tucking against the back of his crown. Sure, it had taken the father a few months to find his son, but he had still come. He had still looked.

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

They stood there, assessing each other and all the changes that had happened over the last four months. Sachiel looked better than he ever had, his eyes were bright and engaged and he had lost most of his puppy fat. It was like seeing his child turned from the baby he had remembered into a yearling. Draven knew that his son’s assessment of himself must not be nearly as positive, he had put all that he had into finding the Leigh cub and had let himself go.

Neither one of them had ever been good at talking to each other, as was demonstrated with the parroting of the two simple words, you came. It was all that they had said to each other in the last four months and yet it seemed to sum up everything that needed to be said. Mirroring the small step forward the space between them got smaller, only a foot or so stoof from each of their leathery noses touching. Nodding his lips twisted upwards into a smile, ”I’ve been trying since the day you left but,” But what? What excuse could he really give that would make up for the fact that it had taken him so long? ”But, I got turned around a little.” And I was afraid of what I would find.

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2017, 06:14 PM by Draven.)

The boy remained where he was as his father approached. His heart was beating so quickly he feared it would burst out of his chest, spilling into the snow between them. Thump, thump. He swallowed in a feeble attempt at calming himself down, but it didn’t work. Thump. There was only a few inches between them, his mismatched gaze never once straying from his father’s lean frame. It was disheartening to see the once muscular wolf become a shell of himself, but travel did that to a wolf. Especially three months worth of travel.

But what had taken the older Leigh so long? It had only taken a week, give or take a few days, for the boy and his travelling companion to make it up to the northern forests. What route had his father taken?

He listened patiently as the older wolf spoke, his own lips mirroring the smile that unfolded across Draven’s ebony maw. Since… since the day he left? His heart sank, the erratic thumping finally ceasing. Guilt swept in, hungry and desperate for something to latch on to. Sachiel felt bad for thinking nobody back home had cared about his absence. That nobody would even bother looking for him. His father was proof of that. Not only had he looked, but he had been successful. He had found him.

I-I— he started, lamely, his ears sweeping back against his crown as he averted his gaze. I’m sorry. His tail fell slack between his legs, the scarred tip flicking absently. For leaving. But he wasn’t really sorry. He had found a better home here. Even if his parents weren't present.

Where’d you get turned around? He asked, suddenly, as he returned his brilliant stones to the ebony Leigh. A half smile had found its way onto his dark features, although his posture did not change.

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

It was the dropping of Sachiel’s tail and ears that was the final straw for Draven and all of his restraint faltered. Stepping forward and closing the last of the gap between them the father draped his head over his son’s shoulders. Pulling him close in an embrace as if he were still a small child and upset over losing a mouse or squirrel rather than the teen battling complex emotions. The man didn’t know whether it caused the smaller Leigh any comfort but he hoped that it would, because it made his heart feel a little bit more whole again.

His voice gruff with unspoken emotions he dismissed Sachiel’s apologies, ”You don’t need to be sorry, I’m just happy you’re safe.” All of this time he had wondered what would have been worse, if there was a reason his son couldn’t come home, or if he just didn’t want to. Now he realized that this was much better. Draven didn’t want to return to the Vale anyways, and with a guilty conscience he realized that he probably wouldn’t.

Pulling away the dark male smiled, this time unreserved, ”I got to the creek and lost your scent. At first I tried searching farther north but got turned around and decided to cross the mountain.” Then, deciding it was better to lay everything out bare now he continued, ”My friend Treyah was helping me look, but she’s the leader of Charred Ash Draw so she couldn’t go too far from the pack.” All of this was easy to say and probably easy for his son to digest but this next part wouldn’t be. ”Your mother and I… We aren’t together anymore and I left without her the day you went missing. I don’t know if she stayed in the Vale or not and I don’t plan to return to the pack either.” Please don’t let his son hate him for that.

(This post was last modified: Dec 19, 2017, 11:11 PM by Draven.)

He had not been expecting that. At first he tensed up, unsure of how to react, but as the comforting waves of emerald washed over him the boy slunk into his father’s embrace. The tawny Leigh had intended to go back, eventually, to tell his parents where he had gone. It wasn’t supposed to be permanent. He was supposed to come home. But that was before he met Pumpkin Eyes and the other Edgy wolves. His other family. Now he couldn’t imagine leaving them—not even for his father, no matter how much he still loved the darker Leigh. He had always done his best to provide for the boy, even if he had an awkward way of going about it. He still tried.

Pressing his nose into the soft fur behind his father’s ear Sachiel savoured the moment for a second longer, before Draven spoke once more, dismissing his apology. Safe didn’t even begin to cover it.

Meeting his father’s shamrock gaze as he spoke once more Sachiel remained quiet, digesting every word that dripped off the tip of his father’s tong. The creek. Where he had washed the blood off his tail before disappearing into the forest with Diego. … decided to cross the mountain. He sighed in amusement, his ears still tipped to the side. Oh, dad. That’s where he had gotten turned around. The mountain was another adventure—one that Plant Boy (and his sidekick, Pumpkin Eyes) weren’t quite ready for. Treyah. The name sparked a burst of berry red, like fresh juniper berries, and he tucked away for future reference.

The next bit intrigued him the most, his maw tipping to the side. He was not surprised to learn of his parents’ separation. They had been too young to be parents, rushing into things before actually deciphering their feelings for each other. I— he started, his brows pinched in concern, I’m not planning on returning, either. Never, actually. I… I meant to come back, I really did. I wanted to. He sighed, his shoulders sagging as he dipped his nose toward the ground. A loner, Diego, saved me from a nasty feline. Not before it nicked my tail, but I took some of the white fir and it made it not so ouchie. He was going to take me home and… and I led him the wrong way. On purpose. He dared not look his father in the eyes as he spoke, for his cheeks flushed with shame. I just wanted to get away from the orange. It was so loud. And… and I wanted to see more. Do more. I met these wolves here and they invited me to stay with them. So I did.

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

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

Draven wasn’t sure what his son was going to say to his announcement about himself and Neha. He wasn’t sure of anything in this father and son relationship or even how it was supposed to go, but it definitely wasn’t supposed to be like this. Sachiel explained what had happened and that he wasn’t planning on ever leaving this pack that he had been staying with. It was in that moment that Draven knew that he couldn’t ask his son to leave the live that he had built here.

His heart sunk in his chest, but this was better than not knowing what had happened to the child. Draven nodded, his eyes sad but trying to display the understanding that he felt, ”Well, I guess I only have one question then.” Swallowing the lump that lodged itself uncomfortably in his throat, ”Are you happy here?” If Sachiel was happy that was all that mattered to the father. No matter what his own feelings were about the subject.

Smiling sadly the man awkwardly shuffled his paws again, ”I’m going to stick around here for a couple of weeks, if you’re okay with that.” Looking up to meet his son’s eyes he was ernest, ”Then I’ll cross the mountains once the worst of the snowstorms are finished and go see if Treyah will have me.” He paused before quickly adding in case he hadn’t made it clear, ”But you can come visit whenever you want, if you want.” Would he want?