Bramble Falls the crow and the kingfisher.

Set 3/16. For @Lenae.

She knew she ought to go back – her run in at the charred ash stand should have sent her back home. He was a jerk, and she wasn’t much better. But Namir didn’t want to go back. It wasn’t home. It didn’t speak to her the way her desert had. Crow’s Crossing wouldn’t be any safer, though. No more welcoming.

The wolf didn’t know where she was going. Played with the idea of visiting Fallen Tree Cove, visiting her Mama-- But that was farther than she wanted to go. She clicked her teeth, trotting until she reached the edge of the falls. Fresh water. It wasn’t icy. She’d have a drink, and then…

…and then deal with whatever was happening at the Scowle. Ugh.

It's a bit shit, sorry

Sometimes it felt as though no one wanted to be Lenae's friend. Those she valued just seemed to fade away, slipped through her grasp as though she was biting at empty air. Aleksei had been the worst. Lenae thought they had been close, that he valued her companionship. But if that was the case then...where was he when she'd needed him the most? Perhaps Lenae was being greedy, she already had Piety, Cheedo and Cyril, what else did she need? It was just sad, she supposed, that so many faces came and went without even uttering a proper goodbye.

Lenae never expected to see Little Crow again. For all Lenae knew the loner had scampered off south to Fallen Tree Cove, just as she said she would. And yet, the scent that lingered on the snow was somewhat familiar to her, as though she'd encountered it in another life. Curiosity got the better of her and Lenae found herself inching closer, using the tangled foliage as cover. Considering her condition she ought to have been more wary but...Denial was a powerful thing, as far as Lenae was concerned she was fine, her scent had faded on its own accord. Nothing more and nothing less.

It was then she saw her, and Lenae's body language perked. She stood a little taller, her tail untucked itself from between her legs as she took in the sight of her friend. She was as skinny as ever, rugged and unkempt, but aside from that she looked good, a sight for sore eyes.

"Crow?" Lenae cheeped, choosing to reveal herself, slowly, hesitantly so that she didn't spook her friend. Her tail began to wag in earnest as shy smile worked it's way onto her lips. It was her, wasn't it? Oh she was glad, this had made her day.

(This post was last modified: Mar 22, 2018, 05:55 PM by Lenae.)

“…Annabird?”

Well, shit. Hadn’t she left the little shy hummingbird back north, where that big, stupid rock was? Namir lifted her head, water dripping from her muzzle as she gazed over – but sure as all get out, there stood the little tawny female, right out of her memory. Despite herself, she gave a little smile. Not what she was looking for, not at all. A welcome change, maybe. It was good to see a wagging tail instead of raising hackles and bared teeth.

She hummed and shook out her thinning winter coat. “Yer a far ways off. Y’get lost, ‘er y’lookin’ fer some air, too?”

At first Lenae feared thar her greeting wouldn't be well received, that Crow might have forgotten her. After all, she was pretty bland, wasn't she? It wouldn't have been Crow's fault if she had, it would have been okay...And yet, the sound of that nickname, of which she hadn't heard in so long, made Lenae's smile grow in earnest. Not only did she remember her, but Crow seemed glad to see her! This was good, more than she deserved really.

Lenae shook her head as the smile died on her lips. If only that were the case...she would have done anything to turn back time, to right so many wrongs.

"No I-" She snapped her mouth shut, her teeth grazing the tip of her tongue. Crow was her friend, but did she want to drop all of her burdens on her like that? Probably not. "My pack disbanded. Wraith he was-"her voice shook, Lenae pulled in a deep breath, hoping to settle her nerves."He died. I ran away, I was scared and...the other's found me again. We're here now, on the mountain." She turned a little her snout pointing at the distant shadow.

She already felt as though she'd said too much, revealed all in one fell swoop. Well...everything but the elephant in the room. Her condition.

"You look well...not as skinny as before." Her ribs and hips were not as prominent as Lenae remembered, that was good, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved. She took a step forward and sniffed. Crow sort of smelled like a pack, but it wasn't strong, as though she'd been wandering by herself for some time. She hadn't changed at all, had she?

“Oh.”

For a moment, Namir’s face went blank – though her mind was anything but. Her alpha died? Shit. That was seriously bad news. Well, she wouldn’t have given a elk’s ass if Orin decided to croak, but Annabird seemed awful gentle, and like she had an okay alpha. Okay for her. But what was she supposed to say to something like that? Heck, she hadn’t shed a damn tear when she’d found out about Desideria. Not one.

Sometimes, she wondered if she was broken. If she should have.

Thankfully, Lenae changed the subject quickly. The dusty female was all too happy to jump on the opportunity, even if it was a topic she’d otherwise avoid. As it were, it was met with a mild shrug and lukewarm expression. “Eh, joined a pack south an’ west a’ here. Pookastone Scowle. Stupid name – no idea what a pooka-stone is, ‘er a scowle. Thought maybe it was big enough it’d be alright but s’all family. An’ I ain’t. Not any different than th’ pack I left, in th’ end.”

She paused. “Don’t think ‘m gonna stay, not really. I got fed, I guess, but – I ain’t real fond of existing like some kinda ghost. Like I exist in theory but maybe not in really real. I don’t like it.”

As soon as the words left her mouth Lenae felt bad. What was Crow supposed to say to that? She'd no doubt-though unintentionally- but her friend on the spot and for that she felt ashamed, guilt ridden. She dipped her head as her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. It was sort of old news by now, but that didn't make it hurt any less. She'd come to realise, and to a degree accept, that she was always going to have hurt in her life, in one form or another it would follow her like a shadow till the end of her days. It wasn't as difficult to shoulder as before but it was never going to be easy, it would always be an uphill struggle. At least now she didn't have to go it alone.

Crow's pack sounded...Lenae had never heard of those words either, but she was sad to hear her friend felt as though she didn't belong. That she was an outlier amongst many. She could see it though, Crow seemed so resourceful and clever, perhaps pack life just wasn't for her.

"Were they mad at you for leaving?"She asked, nervously pawing at the snowy ground. What if they came after Crow, what would she do? There was only so much a lone wolf could do to defend itself....against a whole back the little corvid had no chance. "Maybe...you could stay with us for a while."Her ears flattened against her skull as her eyes widened in alarm. Oh no."Not that I-I'm not trying to tie you down or anything. I just....it's an offer, to think about. If you want."

Were they mad? Probably. The loner gave a small shrug, huffing softly. “Probably? Crow’s Crossin’ is probably real mad at me still, too. I was jes’ supposed t’find out what happened t’Mama…an’ here I am.”

Of course, it had taken much longer than she’d expected to find out what happened to Desideria – Orin had been ambiguous at best about the timeline for mission success. But there was one thing he was clear about. He expected her to come back, and she didn’t. Morganna probably expected her to come back, too.

“Huh? Oh – s’okay. Tyin’ down s’different.” The sandy wolf shrugged – offers were different, she knew. Still. “Y’all probably don’t want me around, though. I ain’t real good at stayin’. Clearly.” It made her shoulders slump. Crow didn’t like being bad at things, she just – well she valued being alive more than she valued being good at Morganna’s pack. “Where, um – where is it, though? So I can visit. ‘Cos I can do that, ‘specially if y’ain’t so far up north.”

You realize that two coyotes have been following you.

Lenae tipped her head, as a sincere smile graced her features. It was as clear as day that Crow believed her own words, that she didn't think she amounted to much. It was easy for Lenae to brush those concerns aside , because they weren't her own. The little Selwyn understood it wasn't easy to just get over underlying faults that were part of a persons foundation. Crow was a wanderer and Lenae was silly, that's just who they were.

"It's okay." She reassured, her tail waving to match her sunny exterior. Even if it was all just for show, for Crow's benefit. She could do that, it was okay. "I'd really like it if you visited. It's up the mountain little, nestled between the peaks. There's this lake, it's all really flat with trees on either side."

Hopefully that would be enough, Crow was clever though, if anyone could find it it'd be here.

Her tail drooped as a thought occurred to her, though she did her best to maintain her smile. Where would Crow go now? From the sounds of it she didn't have anything in mind-which was fine but...Lenae worried, she wanted the best for her friend. In a sense she felt as though she still owed her, for saving her that day and for putting up with her....Lennyness.

Up the mountain a little. Flat. Trees. Lake. Okay, that wasn’t too hard. The mountain was pretty hard to miss, after all. And she wasn’t that bad with directions (or so she thought).

Namir’s tail give a little wiggle. It wasn’t exactly like she had places to go – except she kind of did. She was still a Scowle wolf, after all, until she did something about that situation. Which was largely what she intended to do – intended to make action instead of just disappearing (but oh, how fickle were those intention things).

“Okay. I gotta…do this stuff, but. ‘ll come visit ya soon. Promise.”

The younger wolf stepped close – just close enough to give the tiniest of little licks across Anna’s snout – and then she’d stepped back, ready to head back from whence she came.

“See ya soon, Annabird!”

@Lenae -- Fade with yours? <3