Secluded Spring there are days when i'm losing my faith

Your Gift is: An eerie fog rolls in from the nearby forest, so thick you can barely see your own nose.

With Aegir spending the day with his father and Kyrios doing explorations of his own, Pip was left to her own devices. Having heard of a nearby spring that housed fish in the warmer season, the little mute opted to hunt it down while carefully skirting any areas that scented heavily of White Fur Notch wolves. Though she would not be opposed to visiting with any, it was difficult without a translater - and last time hadn't gone so smoothly so she thought it best to just avoid interaction altogether.

Picking her way delicately through the forest, Pip enjoyed the time to herself. Or tried to. Her thoughts were heavy with worries for her family, namely Aegir. He was growing up too fast and she felt she was already failing as a mother in so many ways. He was alive. She could claim that, at least. But would he grow to be a good wolf? Or would he become a terror like the green-eyed demon that had plagued her and Kjell? He was young now and rebellious and so ready to be an adult in his own mind. She longed to tell him to slow down. To enjoy his puppy year while he had it. To not be in such a rush to be in charge.

She was so caught up in her own mind that Pip wasn't fully aware when the fog had started coming in. But when she realized it was there, it was coming fast and brought with it a chill that left her hackles lifted. The air was so filled with it that she couldn't even smell past it. Perhaps it was that her thoughts had taken such a dark turn that left her seeing dark shapes circling in the periphery of her vision. The mute tucked her tail and twisted to face whoever was there head-on, but each time she turned, the shadows would dart around to her other side.

Coming this way on her own seemed like a bad idea after all... But the fog was so thick that she had lost her bearings and had no idea from which direction she'd come. Had the thought of that demon summoned him back?

The notch was changing and the sea wolf didn't know if she was comfortable about it. Especially with the fact that Hawthorne was gone from the forest of pines and to do surprise her mother was gone too. Worst if all she felt was Jynx stepping down from leadership to second. It worried her what all these things might mean for the notch. The pale leader never spoke of how worried he was but Nauja wasn't stupid. She could hear it in his voice as he spoke giving her the instructions that had her outside the territory.

Once again he'd sent her on a scouting mission to search for food, his words from the meeting on her mind as she traveled. Winter was coming she could feel it in the morning chill and the way the heat from the sun had changed. It wouldn't be her first winter in the lore but this time she had a pack to worry about when before it had only been herself she'd had to take care of. Her duties were never put to the wayside with their numbers declining. She had her own worries though and the threatened to engulf her everyday but she was thankful to have Tyne with her once more.

She'd made it back to the land that surrounded the notch near where she knew the sting to be. It wasn't far from the borders but stopping to get a drink before crossing them seemed a good idea. Her mind was preoccupied as she picked her way along the border, so much so that she didn't see the fog rolling in very fast. Soon she became disorienting for a moment before she stopped and thought about the situation. She still needed to get to the spring so she turned in the direction he hoped it would be. The further from the border she traveled she went slower making sure she wasn't deviation from her course. As she scented the air for the strength of the markers as that would give her a good idea of her distance she caught the scent of another equally familiar smell. “Pip? Is that you?” she called out though she knew her cousin couldn't speak.

(This post was last modified: Oct 25, 2017, 04:50 AM by Nauja.)

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Pip hadn't heard her name in ages. Not since Grizzly Hollow. Now she was Signy or Ma, both of which she loved to hear. But in this place, when she was already afraid, it was terrifying to hear her given name coalesce from out of the fog. She whirled to face whatever ghost had come to haunt her, orange eyes blown wide in fear. Just there, she could barely see a wolf shape. With all the fog, it sure looked like a ghost! It was swirling around in strange eddies, pooling around the wolf's paws as if it had conjured the fog itself.

Her tail remained tucked, but she let out a nervous chirp to call the wolf closer. If a ghost knew her name...surely it wasn't a bad one? Right? At least, it couldn't be a siren beckoning her into the water - she wasn't near the sea. And ghosts, they couldn't really hurt someone, right? They couldn't touch anything? Only stand there and be scary...right??

Pip's heart beat fast like a frightened bird against the cage of her ribs until the wolf drew close enough for the little female to realize it wasn't a ghost at all, but a real wolf. And not just any, but @Nauja! Relief overwhelmed the mute and her shoulders sagged with it. She let out a soft whoosh of breath before wagging her tail in welcome to her cousin. The loner shuffled closer, her posture low in part submission. It was strange - doing it now, she realized she hadn't done it in quite some time. But Nauja had always been higher ranking than her and it felt as natural as breathing to recognize that as she used to do.

With the way the fog had moved into the forest Nauja was certain she wouldn't be finding the food that the pack needed. Even though she was close enough to the territory she wasn't sure she wanted to go home without any news for the pale leader. She did however make it to the spring where she was able to get a drink after hours of scouting. She would need to go back out and the den was calling her name but something else was calling for her attention too that she couldn't ignore.

The familiar scent of her cousin reached her nostrils and for a moment she wondered how that could be. Last she saw of Pip she was living outside Grizzly Hollow with her son. She wondered what could have happened to bring the sea wolf all they way down to the notch. She called out Pip's name though she knew her cousin couldn't call back but the mute did have other ways she communicated. One such way was the chirp that brought the notch sea wolf toward her cousin.

Through the fog she finally found Pip with wagging tail causing a smile to cross her dark features. “I've missed you cousin,” as she rushed forward to greet the lighter pelted wolf. With winter coming she thought she wouldn't get the chance to visit Pip for a long time. Nauja also noticed the scent of Grizzly Hollow missing from her pelt. “Are you okay?” She asked concerned that something might have happened to have brought Pip the way to the notch. “Is your son okay?”

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2017, 04:55 AM by Nauja.)

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Pip rubbed her face against her cousin's pelt and breathed in her scent. She still bore the scent of the pack she'd spoken about before. The one she'd invited her to. There was no hint of illness in her scent and it brought the mute relief. While she and @Nauja had never been especially close, she was happy to know she was doing well. She seemed to have found her own happy that had eluded her in Grizzly Hollow. For the first time in a while, she thought of @Blitz and @Niq'x and wondered if they, too, had found their own versions of happy. Had they found Bella Coola again? Or had they joined another pack?

The russet furred agouti pulled back to smile again at her dark cousin and nodded reassuringly. Yes, yes, she was fine! And Aegir as well. Kjell and Kyrios, too, though Nauja wouldn't know to ask about them. Pip could pretend she did, though.

She lifted her brows and inclined her head towards her cousin as if to ask after her in a similar manner. Was she alright? Was her pack treating her well? Did she like it still?

Nauja embraced her cousin when Pip rubbed her face in her fur. For so long she had worried that the mute sea wolf wouldn't forgive her for leaving her but she was starting to feel that they were on a good path. She felt she had found her place if she couldn't be in Bella Coola but more than that she wanted to be on good terms with Pip again. She wished her cousin would join the notch but she had to let her find her own way just like she had tried to do.

When Pip pulled away and nodded, the smile across her cousins face brought one to hers. Mother and son were okay, that was good news. “I am glad that you and your son are well.” She would have liked to ask what they were doing so far north but she knew Pip couldn't give a lengthy answer. There were times Nauja wished that Pip found talk but she loved her the way she was, she understood her just fine.

The incline of the mother's head was all the sea wolf needed to know what she wanted. “I am well too. I like the Notch, it's a good place. Tyne is there now. I found him, he was really bad off. He wanted me to leave him to die but I couldn't and drug him back to the notch. My alpha is a healer and he has him recovering well.” Nauja was so glad she could get help for Tyne.

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It was good to hear @Nauja was enjoying her time in her new pack. She did seem happy - much more so than she'd ever been in the Hollow. Maybe with her new mentality that Bella Coola wasn't the end-all, be-all, she would be able to enjoy their old pack together as well. But there was no need to wonder about that, she supposed. She was happy with where she was and that's all that mattered.

Pip's ears flew forward and then quickly back at the mention of @Tyne and her brows furrowed with concern. He'd been injured? Wanted to die?! Had that been why he never returned to Grizzly Hollow? She'd assumed he had wandered off like the rest of her family. Guilt flooded the little mute for not searching harder for him. All her previous searches for family had given her such heartache that Pip had simple given up on trying. How wrong she'd been...

But Nauja said he was recovering well. Grateful her cousin had been there for their agemate when she had not, Pip touched her nose with gratitude and dipped her head. Guilt crammed itself in every corner where self-pity had rained before. She had no right to feel sorry for herself when she'd not bothered to look.

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Nauja would always worry about Pip especially now that she didn't seem to be with a pack. She had a son now and Nauja knew she had to think of what was best for him. She knew that if she had a child of her own she would put her child first she just hoped that Pip was happy in her life. “You know I'm always here if you need anything,” she told her cousin to make sure that Pip knew she wasn't in this world alone even if they weren't in the same place.

The sea wolf saw the way her cousin's ears came forward as she spoke of Tyne and how she'd found him. That was a day she couldn't push from her mind and everyday that Tyne got better she was thankful that she had been there to bring him home. The thought of him dying in that orchard and alone bothered her, “I don't know exactly what happened for him to end up that way,” she admitted, “He hasn't told me yet. I'm waiting for the right time to ask him.”

Nauja was sure to make sure Pip knew that Tyne was doing much better so that her cousin wouldn't worry too much about him. The sea wolf smiled at her cousin's gesture, “I'm just glad I made it in time,” she said offering a smile. “I'm sure he would like to speak to you once he’s well enough to venture out. You could speak to my alpha about it. He's really nice and I am sure he would understand.” If Pip wanted to visit Tyne she thought Emrys would allow her to do so.

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Fade with your post? c:

The little mute nodded, grateful to know it. If she ever found herself in dire straits, it was nice to know she had someone she could turn to when she needed help. She couldn't imagine a time when that would be necessary, though. Kjell would be there for her. Aegir and Kyrios, too.

But for all her mixed emotions towards her sea wolf family, she'd help them as well if they needed it. Always.

Either way, the mute was relieved to know Tyne was doing better, and understood Nauja's hesitance in asking him about what happened. Opening up to others was a difficult task, especially for their agemate. When her cousin mentioned her visiting with the dark male once he was healed, she brightened and nodded. Of course! Her anger towards him had fallen away completely. It would be good to see him again. Hopefully he was as happy as Nauja in his new pack.

Speaking of...she really should get back to hers. While it was no true pack, her band of boys would no doubt be missing her. The fog had cleared, allowing her to see their surroundings much clearer and she saw her path back to them. She inclined her heard towards it, tail wagging in a goodbye. They would see each other again. Pip was sure of it.