Broken Timber Pines i heard you were back in town

Backdated to 2/23 after this thread
@Sachiel <3 

Retreating west away from his sister, he put distance between him and the skeleton filled forest where dark, dark ghost lied. He wasn't sure if he wanted to continuing seeing his family as he had been alone for so long, relying only on himself without the worry of what others thought of him and what he did. The Vuesain was a survivor doing what he needed to do, but this whole seeing family again brought on a odd sense of wanting to see what he missed out on during his years away from the Lore. He was lonely, though too proud to admit it. He found himself drawn to stay within the Lore no matter how much his head screamed at him to retreat.

As he was traveling further away from Neha, the terrain grew more treacherous as he traveled closer to the mountain. Pausing for a moment as he came upon a small clearing, his mismatched eyes looking up at the mountain. A sigh fell from his lips as he stood there contemplating whether or not to travel any closer. 

 

The days were starting to get warmer, slowly but surely, but the ground was still covered in a thin blanket of snow. A frown creased his dark features as he trekked forward, his lanky body weaving through the trees as he meandered closer to the mountain. He’d slunk away from the falls without his grey shadow once more, seeking solitude among the towering trees. He was a little confused by his grandmother’s appearance. Mostly because she carried the same crimson smell that Castel had. Ruby-coloured sickness. He feared that she would meet the same demise as his friend, and that he wouldn’t be there for her either.

But that was a part of life, wasn’t it?

His pace was slow and disinterested as he continued forward, his mismatched gaze hanging low. The boy wasn’t paying much attention to the colours today. They were all muted from the snow anyway. Instead, it was a scent that caught his attention, causing his chin to lift as his brows snapped together. Instinctively the fur on the back of his neck stood up as his pace slowed. He hadn’t realized he had stumbled upon a familiar graveyard of trees. It was where he had encountered Hawthorne a second time and had sort of made up his mind about staying in the north. She had certainly been a factor in his decision to stay.

A flash of dark fur caught his attention as he continued forward, his awkward limbs shuffling beneath him. As he caught a glimpse of the stranger’s face Sachiel stopped, his maw falling to the side. There was something familiar about the loner but… he couldn’t quite put his paw on it… Huh. He kept his lips drawn tight, for he wasn’t sure if he was in the mood for conversation, but he was still intrigued by the dark agouti… 

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

As his eyes lingered upon the towering mountain, he was unaware for now of the company that was slowly approaching him. Instead, he settled upon his haunches as he thought of his next move. Did he really want to cross the Dire or should he just travel further north and go around it, avoiding any possibility of seeing any family he had left in the Cove. Though he craved to see what was going on without it, he wasn't ready just yet. Aleister had spent so long away in solitude and in the presence of strangers, he was reluctant to give that up. Nobody knew who he was and he liked it like that. They didn't how much of a screw up he was. Nobody knew how terrible of a son he was.

However, it turned out he would never get everything he wanted. As his mismatched gaze lifted from the mountain and back to the forest that surrounded him, Aleister could almost feel the heat of his gaze on cheek. Peering out of the corners of his eyes, he caught sight of the lanky boy with his head cocked to the sight. Pausing for a moment, he decided whether or not to give the kid attention. Eyes shifting back and forth, he finally sighed and turned towards him to get a better look at his admirer.

If he didn't know any better he would of thought he was staring at splitting image of himself in the reflection off the water. Squinting closely at the boy, the Vuesain took a tentative step forward as his curiosity spiked. He knew he didn't have any kids, but he sure looked like he could be his son. Weird...

 

He realized, as he stood among the fallen giants and watched the stranger from a distance, that it was definitely one of the creepier things he had done in his short life. Especially when he hadn’t even bothered to conceal himself. Mostly because he was transfixed by the older male’s familiar appearance, but he couldn’t quite make out where he had seen the wolf before…

Aw, shit!

He had been spotted!

He stumbled backward as the older male turned toward him, his mismatched eyes widening. However, the boy wasn’t greeted by an angry expression. No—the one that the dark stranger was similar to his own. Almost identical. He blinked, his head twisting from side to side in confusion. Was… was he dreaming? He blinked again, this time faster, as though he was attempting to wake himself from a deep slumber. But the wolf was still there, standing among the broken trees, dripping in shades of brown and yellow; of confusion. His tail went slack between his legs as he cleared his throat, struggling to find words to put together. Uh, he started lamely, his ears twitching as he studied the dark patterns etched into the stranger’s fur, why do you look like me? It was possible that this was one of the relatives that Namid had told him about. Maybe he was a façade, or Sachiel’s doppelganger. Are you—am I dreaming?

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

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

As he turned to face the kid who seemed perplexed by his appearance. Do I have something on my face? He thought as the boy staggered backwards from being caught staring. The broody Vuesain would normally tell the lad to piss off and find something better to stare at. But, he was struck with shock at the sight of the boy. Slowly curiosity replaced the shock as the doppelgangers continued to stare at one another.

It was the kid that spoke first, breaking the awkward air that hung between them. His own tawny tail limp at his hocks as the kid struggled for words. His brows raised as he asked why he looked like him. "Good question, kid." He said bluntly before the boy continued to ramble. Shaking his head, he stepped towards the kid to get a closer look at him as he raked his brain. He definitely didn't have a kid. That wasn't something he could easily forget about, but the lanky boy had a good point. Why did they look the same?

Did his mother have another litter after her second? The kid had his eyes though they were flipped and he had the same dark agouti coat that rivaled Vespertio's. Was kid that Neha called him when they met? Mismatched eyes squinting in his direction, he took another step forward before pausing again. "What's your mother's name?"

 

sorry for the shorter post <3

The older male appeared to be just as confused as Sachiel was. Until the boy had broken the silence with his bizarre question they had stared at each other, completely dumbfounded by each other’s appearance. However, the stranger was quick to respond, but his blunt tone earned a deep frown from Plant Boy. He realized that it wasn’t the best question he could have asked—Pumpkin Eyes would have given him a nice bop on the head if she had been present—but he hadn’t known what else to say.

What’s your mother’s name? His nose wrinkled once more, his tail lashing out behind him in blatant frustration. Don’t have one, he responded with a quick shrug as he dismissed the older male’s words. Why did it matter who his mother was. Sure, there was a good chance that they were related and that the wolf standing before him was one of his uncles or cousins or whatever, but as far as Sachiel was concerned he didn’t have a mother.

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

Mismatched eyes observed the boy as his question reached the boy's ears, his dark tail lashed behind him in what seemed to be anger or frustration. His dismissive answer of having no mother received a chuckled from the older doppelganger. Raising his brows at the boy, he smirked as he studied his expression. He didn't need an answer from the boy to figure out who this was. This was the "Sachiel" Neha had murmured about and mistaken him as. Would make sense as he's never once seen another that looked identical to his own looks.

Planting his haunches upon the ground, his eyes squinted towards the boy. "So, you don't have a mother, huh? What about a dad? Do you have one of those?" He countered, trying to see what information he could get out of his nephew. An uncle would like to know who his sister had a kid with and why he was out here and not with them. Though, he had been no better.

 

His frown deepened as the stranger chuckled at his response. Whatever. His weird doppelgänger could laugh all he wanted, Sachiel didn’t care. Perhaps Neha had been too young to be a mother and that was why she hadn’t spent much time with her son, or tried looking for him. It shouldn’t have taken her this long to locate him. His father had taken longer than expected, but at least he had arrived at the Edge borders within a few months of his disappearance. Neha? It had almost been six months since he had left the obnoxious orange trees behind and he had not seen or, or even come across her scent. Maybe she had given up. Or, maybe something had happened. It didn’t matter. He had his family in Shallows Edge—that was all that mattered to him.

Yeah, I do. He paused, his mismatched eyes narrowed as he observed his older twin. Does it matter? Who’s your mother? Your father? Now he was just being a brat. He should have walked away as soon as he first saw the stranger, but there was no going back now.

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

The Vuesain man couldn't of known why his nephew held such distaste and refusal to recognize the relation he had with his older sister. Whatever happened hurt the boy enough to where he didn't seem to want to talk about his mother or that fact he even had one, however, he did recognize he had a father. Perhaps once his sister was in better health and mind, he could ask what really happened between her and her son. For now though, he would let it be. Really wasn't all his business after all. This had been his sister's doing not his.

Mismatched eyes watched as his young twin squinted and countered him with questions of his own. "They are your grandparents," he said bluntly at his sneered questions, his ebony lips formed into a thin frown at the news of his mother's illness. Neha had told him the grave news, but the Vuesain couldn't bring himself to approach his birthpack and see if his mother was there. There was so much he was gone for and he was just now coming back when his mother was dying. It was all almost too much for the nomad to handle all at once. Somehow he was coping. Somehow...

Right now, he figured he ought to leave the kid be, he seemed to be through enough already. Raising a brow, he took a deep breath before meeting his young doppelganger's gaze again. "Stay safe, kid." Letting his gaze linger a little longer, Aleister turned from the boy and began to make his way towards the mountain range. 

Aleister EXIT - unless stopped