Ghastly Woods Identity

All Welcome but special mention to @Lorcan. Early afternoon, rain snow mix, cold.

She didn't want to be Inna Baranski anymore…

The Raven had thought that after Hearthwood had died she could go on as Inna. She was wrong, Inna had died the day she'd been left in the Kingswood. Then she been put to rest in the Ghastly Woods.

Could she be someone different if she changed her name? Could she have a new life where the past didn't matter anymore?

Maybe just that small change would make her feel differently. Being someone else could help her to move on with her life and help her to not feel so stuck all the time.

She didn't want to be that girl who’d lost her parents and broken pack law. The one who had lost everyone she loved because of so many reasons that to think about them just made her head hurt. Most of all she didn't want to be that girl who had fallen in love with Lorcan and have a child with him only to feel like she'd been lied to.

Keeping the weight off her leg as much as possible the Raven moved through the woods until she came upon a promising scent. Following it she realized that there was something under the snow. Carefully she dug into the snow and as she dug deeper the scent became stronger. She realized it was a squirrel. Obviously it wasn't a live but in her current state the Raven couldn't be choosy about her meals. She continued to pull the snow away from what she knew to lay beneath it. Her mind continuing on it's train of thought and in time her decision was made.

She wouldn't be Inna Baranski anymore.

(This post was last modified: Feb 22, 2018, 03:28 PM by Inna.)

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Lorcan couldn't help but feel like things had been strange lately. Ever since he had moved away from the north and headed south in search of Willow Ridge, he had managed to stumble into a number of old acquaintances. Whilst he had purposeful sought out both Piety and Morganna, he had not expected to learn that his brother, Tikhon, was so close by, nor planned on ever seeing Cheedo again. The sudden appearance of Odysseia had caught him entirely by surprise and now it seemed as though he was fated for another unexpected reunion...

He had first caught sight of her familiar dark form through the trees of Ghastly Woods. Initially he had kept quiet, kept himself concealed in the shadows as he observed her for a moment from a distance. He couldn't see or smell Oksana anywhere nearby. Lorcan couldn't help but wonder why @Inna had travelled so far from Hearthwood. She appeared in bad shape, an obvious limp to one of her limbs as she pawed desperately at the snow. If she had left the north to hunt further afield for the pack, she surely wouldn't have much success now — in which case, why was she even still here, why hadn't she just returned home? He couldn't sit and wonder, he had to know. He couldn't just leave her there. 

Gritting his teeth, Lorcan moved in anxiously to approach her. Golden eyes scanned her up and down with genuine concern as his paws crunched through the snow towards her. Worried that she might not recognise him at first, with the numerous scars that no adorned his face, he kept his posture neutral, ears back and non-threatening. He was not here to confront or argue with her. He was just curious and concerned for her welfare. "Inna." He called out in casual greeting. "What are you doing so far from Hearthwood? Is everything okay?" It was clear that Inna was not okay, but if she didn't want to talk to him or tell him what had happened he wouldn't make her.     

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

So focused on trying to get the rabbit she'd found out from under the snow Inna had no idea that she was being watched. She'd managed to get a hold of a back leg and was pulling hoping that would release it from it's snowy grave. That however didn't happen as it seemed the rabbit was frozen in it's place. The Raven growled in irritation. It had taken her sometime to find this morsel of food and now it was so close in her grasp and still she couldn't have it.

The ebony work began to dig again still trying to keep her balance on three paws. She was going to have this meal even if she had to work at it all day. It was the first thing she'd found to eat in a while and she couldn't afford to give up on it. Her ear flicked at the crunching sound that reached it but she didn't turn. Her determination keeping her focused on the task as she dug at the hole she'd created in the snow with one paw. It was slow going but she was making some progress.

It wasn't until he spoke that she stopped digging but she didn't turn to face him. She knew who it was, she wouldn't ever forget that voice, his scent. He was calling her by the name she used to go by and she sighed before finally turning around still trying to keep the weight off her hind leg. “You can call me Runi now,” she informed as she sat down on her haunches. It would be much easier to have this conversation. She could hear the concern in his tone but she didn't know that he could believe it after what he'd done. “Hearthwood is dead and no everything isn't okay,” she replied quietly.

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

She turned to face him, deep orange eyes meeting his golden gaze once more.

“You can call me Runi now." His brow crinkled in confusion. "What?" He almost snapped, his chin jerking back awkwardly. 

Lorcan's expression remained confused as he observed her settle down to sit before him. Now the healer was even more concerned. The injury to Inna's limb with obvious, but he could not see what was going on in her brain. He considered if perhaps the stress of the past year had finally overwhelmed her, that she'd gone mad. The male felt his stomach turn as he quietly look a couple of small, uneasy, steps backwards in the snow. 

What she said next made his skin turn cold. "Dead?!" He repeated in disbelief, the dark fur along his spine bristling in anxiously. "What do you mean dead? Where's Oksana?" Lorcan could feel himself starting to panic. He had no idea what she meant and given her current physical and mental state he had no way of telling knowing what she was capable of. He began to fear the worst, numerous scenarios flashing through his head. His ears pressed back, his tail now curling down space between his legs. "Please, tell me what's happened!" He whined desperately.     

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

She didn't speak again until she'd settled herself in the snow, sometimes it helped to ease some of the throbbing. He seemed rather surprised when she told him to call her Runi. “Inna’s dead Lorcan she has been for awhile. I thought that I could on as her and it was foolish.” she did offer a half smile though, “You mustn’t worry, I haven't gone crazy yet though I imagine it might be an easier existence than this.” She shrugged, she would get through and she would make a life. She just needed her leg to get better.

The healer was equally surprised to hear about Hearthwood and he wanted to know about Oksana. It was Inna’s turn to look surprised, she'd smelled the other wolves on his pelt. Mostly females too, she couldn't imagine that he was that interested in what was going on with their daughter when he was surrounded by females and seemed to be living it up. All the while she was out there trying to pull a frozen rabbit from the ground and limping along the forest. It must be nice everyone who had ruined her life had such plush lives and she was out there starving and had to leave her daughter behind.

He wanted to know what happened which was fair enough, it was pretty clear he'd moved on. “Lachesis decided to move the pack, it's called something else now. It was time it seems after all that had happened. Oksana said the place that they were moving was rather beautiful. Somewhere around Turtleback I believe she didn't say much else besides that I would live it there. This was of course before Ayti made his threat to me and explained that I wasn't welcome with the pack anymore. I was forbidden to follow or else. Oksana is with them.” She looked down at her paws, it still wasn't easy to admit that she'd left her daughter.

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Lorcan's pale brows remained furrowed in bewilderment as @Inna proceeded to explain how she was dead and that was now called Runi — but that she totally wasn't crazy. The male's golden eyes widened for a split second as he tried to take it all in, his jaws falling slack as he fumbled around for some words, but found none. The healer remained silent and just gave a single, slow, nod to show that he sort of understood —  though really he didn't. 

It seemed like an eternity before Inna Runi offered him up an answer to his panicked questions about Hearthwood and their daughter. Russet ears perked forwards to listen intently as the dark female explained how the pack was not actually dead, but had simply moved its location. Lorcan released a visible sigh, his chest slowly decompressing with great relief. 

A single ear turned back as she mentioned how @Aytigin had threatened her and told her she wasn't welcome to join the pack on their move. The male's jaws clenched together and the bridge of his muzzle wrinkled. "So Aytigin threatened you and you just left, without Oksana?!" His voice rose and the fur now bristled along his back. "Did you let @Lachesis know what happened? Did you even ask Sana if she wanted to stay with them before you left?!" White fangs flashed out from behind his charcoal lips as his tail whipped angrily behind him.   

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

It all made sense in her mind about being someone else though she could see from us perspective how utterly ludacris it all probably sounded once she heard it out loud. He had not lived her life, in all the time he'd been absent leaving her there to deal with the fallout of everything while he came out smelling like roses. Of course he wouldn't understand how much she wanted to not be Inna Baranski her life was ruined because he couldn't tell the truth.

She saw it for what it was.

Oh and then as she explained to him what had happened to Hearthwood he wanted to act concerned about their daughter. “Don't start this fight with me Lorcan Artemieva. You have no right to judge my actions when it comes to our daughter,” she growled lowly on warning lip curling and eyes flashing she wasn't going to pup with his judgement when she was the one suffering the consequences of his actions. “No I didn't tell Lachesis what Ayti did. He would only take Ayti's side and tell me I was lying because Lachesis doesn't give a damn what happens to me anymore.” She returned to a even and calm tone as she explained what happened with Ayti and Lachesis. “As for Oksana I didn't just leave after Ayti threatened me. I went to Lachesis and asked if she could stay with the pack at least for the winter. I then went to Reid and asked him to look after her and Andre too. I made sure she would be taken good care of. Then I stayed with her until the day of the move and watched her go with the pack from Hearthwood's borders.” A tear fell down her cheek as she remembered the day she'd watched her daughter disappear into the cedars. “No, I didn't ask if she wanted to stay, I told her to go. It would be safer and I don't know what's going to happen to me out here. Clearly nothing good,” she said indicating her leg with her muzzle, “I don't want her with me of something really bad happens to me, I don't want her to watch me die.” Cause at the point she was at it seemed a real possibility.

(This post was last modified: Feb 25, 2018, 04:48 PM by Inna.)

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Lorcan grit his teeth together when Inna warned him not to start a fight with her and declared he had no right to judge her decisions. Lashing his tail out angrily behind him, the agouti male made an attempt to keep himself from lashing out. He moved his jaws from one side to the other, causing his molars to grind together as he listened to the mother continue to explain herself. Pale brows pushed together into a deep frown, cutting into his scarred features, as she mentioned that she hadn't even tried to talk to Lachesis before deciding to leave. "No, that's just what you like to think Inna!" He snapped, fangs flashing out from behind his charcoal lips in pure frustration. "It was one time, h-how have you not gotten over it already?! Our punishment wasn't even that bad!" The father exclaimed, fur bristling. Any chance at him keeping his cool was lost now. 

She'd sooner leave the pack than ask her own leader, someone who she once considered to be like a father to her, for help — just because he had punished her one time. It was pathetic. 

But that wasn't all. Inna had left their daughters care primarily in the paws of two males. Males which Lorcan himself had never met. "Who are these males, Reid and Andre?" He interjected quickly, head tilting to one side as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How long have they served under Lachesis?" This was all a lot to take in. The father's mind was full with so many questions and uncertainties. He just wanted to know if his daughter was safe.

Though Lorcan appreciated that @Inna had stayed with Oksana and made sure that she had relocated safely along with the rest of the pack, he paid no mind to the tears that had begun to slip down her dark cheeks. He refused to pity her. She could cry in front of his all she wanted, but that wouldn't change anything. She had made the decision to leave Oksana behind. The father remained silent as Inna explained that she had ordered Oksana to stay with the pack, at least through winter. That was one good thing she had done. Lorcan wouldn't argue with that, but still, it seemed wrong to leave their daughter there without either of them around to raise her. "I suppose she will be safe there for a while, but they can't stop her leaving if she wants to..." Lorcan's voice grew quieter then, more subdued. He gave another heavy sigh and a thorough shake of his pelt in an attempt to release some of the tension that had built up in his muscles. He would have to try and visit Oksana and the new pack before she had a chance to leave.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Sorry about her she got wordy.

The body language that he exhibited in response to her warning made it clear it had not gone over well. The words that fell from his maw only showed that he had not heeded her words. She wanted to make him regret ever challenging her but she realized she was tired of fighting with Lorcan and everyone else. What was the point of it when she had nothing to fight for? She had lost him and her daughter, her home, everyone's trust, and her character. She knew they all thought she was crazy but none of them ever took the time to understand or they didn't care to. “I don't care about the punishment Lorcan I never did. They all think that I was mad about that but I never was. As for what happened at wild rye and after I'm over that what's done is done. I know Lachesis doesn't care because I was told so. I have tried so many times to talk to him I tried to earn his trust back Lorcan and he doesn't want to hear it because I didn't tell him you were Oksana's daughter when I had the chance. I should have told him as soon as I found out I was pregnant then none of this would have happened. Reyes wouldn't have been able to do what he did because Lachesis would have trusted my word. It was the one and only time I ever kept anything from him and now I have nothing Lorcan. Everyone else gets to live in their packs and have their families and their loved ones close to them and I'm out here with a leg I can even use eating frozen meat if I can find it. I have left my daughter behind so that she can start a life away from my shadow because I know that she would be better off if no one knew I was her mother after what I did. It's why I don't want to be Inna anymore, it's too painful and I need to start over and try to rebuild my life and I can't do that as Inna because I'm a joke. You know it and I know it."

When he asked about the males that she had left to look after Oksana she didn't hesitate in telling him. “Reid is a man that Oksana met he hasn't been with Hearthwood long but he's not there for the pack he’s there for Sana. He loves her and I believe he would die for her and she loves him too. I've seen them together and the way they are with each other, she's in good paws with him Lorcan. Andre he’s a healer and really nice, I trust him and asked him if he would teach her about healing if she would allow it. Before I had to leave her I tried to make sure she knew as much as I could in case she did decide to leave but as you know I don't know anything besides what you taught me about healing. Andre seems to know his stuff and I asked Lachesis to teach her too and he agreed. I tried for her Lorcan I really did, to make things better for her and to make it work so that I wouldn't have to leave her but they had decided and there wasn't anything I could do but leave her because it was that or have her watch me die.”

The images of watching Oksana disappear into the trees still brought tears to her eyes and she hated remembering them. Inna shook her head, “Lachesis won't make her stay if she decides to go, that is up to her what she does after spring comes. I hope she stays though and makes a life for herself in the new place, something better than what I had. I tried to teach her everything that would make her a good subordinate and maybe one day she can be held in the standard I once was. You should go see her and try to talk things out with her sooner would be better than later.” No matter what she thought of Lorcan she hoped that Oksana would talk to her father.

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