Heartleaf Creek the next chapter

Now that she was thinking about the past, how could she have forgotten Kyna had settled on the mountain. Was she still there? With her own family of sorts? It should have been a happy thought, but it only made her feel more conflicted. If Kyna wasn't there, she would feel devastated all over again. She wasn't fond of the feeling.

With her gaze to the ground for a moment, she collected her composure.  Once she managed, she glanced up to see that despite her lack of knowledge he couldn't blame her for it. He again was the thoughtful wolf she'd met. It helped alleviate some of her guilt. Though she inclined her head as he mentioned his brother, and the word mountain. "I don't know, I had visited a pack who lived there in my youth," she softly chuckled remembering that trip, and how young she'd been. She went quiet, holding back. In the end she felt there would be no harm in telling him."My sister had a pack there too."

He threw her another question. One that didn't exactly surprise her. "Not exactly, but I thought it might be." She was glad he didn't hold that back. Saving her from taking a trip over there. But she wasn't about to tell him how she she was putting it off. Knowing damn well she wouldn't be able to handle it no matter how much she missed the Bend. The Bend was never going to be the same. "It was pretty empty when I left two years ago," she murmured, almost hoping he wouldn't hear. It was evident she didn't want to repeat it or say more. She thought Chan would be kind enough to leave it at that. Wanting to talk of better things, she gentle nudged him with her nose. "So tell me about this brother of yours."

(This post was last modified: Jan 17, 2021, 08:25 PM by Lila.)

It sounded like Lila might have been just as well-traveled in her youth, her connections here and there greatly piquing Chan's interest. He wouldn't interrogate, however, perfectly willing to wait in time for each of his friend's stories. After all, mystery was the spice of life, right?

He did catch the bit about the Bend as well, but while empathy entered his gaze, it was clear that she did not want to delve into the topic. If whatever happened to her home might have had something to do with their current puzzle, he trusted she would say so rather than hide something from him, and so he let it slide.

Still, it sucked to know that she had gone through something so sad.

Chan smiled at her touch, and booped Lila back on the cheek before obliging; "Nash. He looks so much like my mom it's crazy."

A brief pause, before continuing with "he's a good kid, strong as hell. That's... about all I know though, honestly. I kind of, missed everything."

It was clear Chan wasn't exactly proud of that.

"I'm sticking around this time unless something comes to chase us out. Maybe bring the Cove back, or find a new home for him down here... What about you? Got a plan, or are you wingin' it?"

CHAN EASTFALL

Thankfully, he did as she asked and she hoped to be distracted. She didn't think she'd met his parents and now was curious what they had been like. It would be nice to meet, and see Nash for herself. The way he spoke she could tell he wasn't Chan's litter mate, but younger. She wanted to ask if he'd been the one he was looking for the day they last saw each other. She held back. As he finished she could tell it was disheartening to him not to know more, and she understood all too well. "I'm glad you found him now, it would be nice to meet him sometime. Which implied she hoped to see more of him. Get to know him better. He made it quite clear he had no intention of leaving again. She found the idea comforting since she didn't plan to either. Or so far so good.

But she'd never thought how they'd been part of Fallen Tree Cove, or maybe she just didn't remember. It was harder these days to keep things of the past straight. So maybe she had she met his parents? She couldn't really recall names or faces of them either. Why she thought to straight out ask him if his parents had been leaders, she herself had not been the daughter of a leader when she'd been born. She wasn't ashamed of it, but felt like her circumstance might haven been unusual. Serach and his uncle were kind to let her and her mother stay. In the end all of them had ended up family in one way or another before falling out. So if he still spoke fondly of the Cove....maybe. "Who were your parents? If you don't mind me asking. I might have met them."

It was clear he was catching her off guard by his second set of questions. That was only because she felt at ease in his presence, instead of needing a tall wall to remain. She hadn't really had much of a plan. Which was probably stupid on her part. She'd just wanted to come back to see what was here and go from there. She slightly grimaced, "I'm glad it's not obvious, but I must be wingin' it," and she laughed, a faint smile lightening her face. She had to look back to the creek. Trying to collect her thoughts. She still felt the need to be careful with her words. With how much to let go. "I've avoided this place for so long because I thought I never wanted to come back. But it hasn't left me alone, and I had to see what's here. I just figured it would be a lot easier for some dumb reason." She smirked then, and shrugged her shoulders. "It beats staying in a pack full of rabbit brains at least. Not to mention it means I was lucky enough to run into you again," her gaze slipped to his. "Well not literally this time..."

"Definitely," he answered her with a broadening smile. Chan would be more than happy to share his family with her, and if it meant her visiting the lake that was such a big fixture of his childhood, all the better.

The notion that she might've known one of his parents clearly interested him; he found himself hoping silently that it was Tagg that Lila knew, as through others was now the only way for him to learn the rest of his father's stories. It was possible she was thinking of the Vuesain patriarch and his wife, however.

"Moonshadow and Tagg. My mom led with Kajika, dad was a guard."

Nothin' wrong with that, he thought as she admitted she was without a plan. Chan had been in the same boat many a time, and probably still would be if it wasn't for @Nash.

What came next caused him to somber with sympathy, at least until she lightened the mood and made him laugh with referencing their very first encounter. The replay of that moment came to mind easily, Lila kickin' and spittin' like an upended snapper. Still she remained, in his mind, one of the nicest wolves he'd yet to meet. She could've been a dick about the whole thing, really; Chan's time away from the Lore had taught him a lot about how uncommon kindness could actually be, despite the loving & carefree world he'd been raised in.

"I'm really glad you decided to come back," he spoke earnestly as he held her denim gaze, glazing over the past to focus on the here and now. It was all they had, really; another lesson learned up on the frigid mountain ridge.

"You're always welcome at the lake, you know. To visit, to stay... whatever fits."

Regardless of if she needed shelter for a night or for life, Chan trusted Lila. He didn't want to pressure her, however, knowing very well how just knowing that you're tethered can make commitment unbearable. That meant leaving out that he genuinely wanted her to stay, because that only mattered if it was what she wanted as well.

CHAN EASTFALL

I don't know if you want to wrap it up with them parting ways or you post and I can? I'll have to start a thread with her up there looking for him.

"Good." Now, when she would she wasn't sure. She still wanted to do a bit of scouting here. Especially, because when she got to the lake she'd be closer to the Bend. Maybe seeing it up there would be easier.

Letting the names sink in, she hoped to commit them to memory. They were unique names she wished she could put to faces. So far nothing of memory came to mind. Maybe something would when she wasn't trying to search for it. "I think I went before your mother must have lead, but I'm not sure." It was evident she wished she knew, but could do little about it. "Do you get your good looks from your father or your mum?" There was a hint of a tease in her voice, but her face was perfectly serious. It might help her memory if he took after one of them, and he surely must know he wasn't terrible to look at. Though in her opinion that was all the more for his warm hearted disposition.

His next words, took a moment to sink in as she felt like he was looking within her, not just at her eyes. No one had done that for a long time, and she didn't know what to say. Out of instinct she wanted to withdraw. Protect herself. But Chan wasn't going to hurt her, and she held back her knee-jerk reaction. "Me too," was all she dare let out. Obviously taken back, and yet there was a small smile she'd mean that much despite not quite understanding why.

It was so tempting to just keep him company now. Counting his brother they could actually get a decent meal with some work and patience. She could actually sleep without feeling the need to check her surroundings so much. She did just tell him she didn't have any plans. Her problem was she didn't want to join him just to later disappoint him even though he offered it to be whatever she needed it to be. She felt like a letdown to others. Not to mention she'd have to consider the Bend business. A thought she wasn't ready to face this moment. Would his brother care if she joined them? @Chan must think he wouldn't mind either, but family complications arose at the damndest of times. She was quiet, carefully taking it all into consideration. "I appreciate that, in fact I'd take it up in a heartbeat, but I feel like I need to do a little more scouting on my own." Whatever strange inkling she had, she wanted to check a few places, and then she could meet up with him again. "Are you staying at the lake for the most part? With some directions I bet I could find you, or at least get close enough to call for an escort." She still had her sense of direction, she'd just never made the journey this way.

(This post was last modified: Jan 24, 2021, 04:18 AM by Lila.)

Chan's cheeks warmed at the the compliment, but he tried to feign a more casual response than it truly elicited.

"I uh, definitely take after my dad."

In fact, if she did come visit them, looking at himself and Nash would give Lila a pretty solid picture of what his parents had looked like. He wondered if he'd ever get to see something similar in Lila's relations one day, or if she'd always be half mystery.

That she intended on taking him up on his offer, even if not immediately, clearly lifted his spirits even further than her presence now already had. His tail wagged at a lazy pace and his grin grew a little crooked.

"Yeah, we've been using the old pack den up there. The creek branches toward the mountain, if you follow it you'll come to some falls. The path from there's still pretty obvious, just take it all the way up, or you can wait for me. I'll be down every three days at least, I gotta keep looking for info," he told her, doing his best given that he wasn't exactly familiar with the paths on this side. That way in particular he had taken on his way here, however, so he was certain in its viability.

"Don't rush yourself on my behalf though, alright? And... stay safe out there," it wasn't a sentiment he was used to expressing, having not really had a need to before. His relationship with death had recently changed, however.

Chan stepped forward and embraced Lila briefly but firmly. Who knew, right?

"Bye, Lila."

CHAN EASTFALL

He took her compliment well, and she nodded. She was quite sure she'd never seen a wolf like Chan. But, she hadn't met a wolf like him in any similar characteristics exactly either.

He had great instructions for her, which she was glad for. Her mother had been a mountain wolf, and her sister but she hadn't done enough to know if that was an inherited gift or something she'd get better at with practice. So knowing she could follow his steps eased her mind. He made it clear if she didn't want to go allow that he would be back still checking on things. "I'll see what works best then." That's exactly what she planned to do. No point hurting herself if she felt like it was out of her comfort zone.

He did something else for her which meant the most. He let her know she didn't need to come too soon just to please him. It was nice she wouldn't have to carry that thought around. "Ok, but you do the same," she replied, in a more serious note. Good bye." She stood a moment, faintly dazed by the whole encounter. They were friends now, he'd made it clear. Taking in a long breath, she continued her trek, knowing she needed to remain focused on the present instead of reliving, and sifting through what had just happened. {fade}