Porcupine Island forsaken

It was this time of year again. For Cole, a part of her hoped it would be the last time, for she wasn’t exactly young, anymore. To be done with this pestering sensation permanently would be a blessing. Nothing ever had, or would come of it, for her. Children were not in the cards for her, the ghost had accepted that. But it didn’t help the feelings go away.

What was far worse though - he was back. She’d heard his call for Jethro yesterday morning. Presumably, Flair was with him. Was he here to join them, even after she’d told him she didn’t want him in her life? Did he not know Cole was with the group?

If he was just visiting, so be it. But if he was staying, then there was a decent chance she’d be going. Because if he was she was going to have to see him and Flair, and their relationship, every goddamn day. And if they were to be parents…?

Cole wasn’t sure that’d be doable.

She’d seek the answers she needed to make her decisions someday, sooner rather than later. But today was not that day. Hence her remaining distant and fleeing to the lake as soon as she could. Then, eventually crossing over to one of the islands in the middle of it.

Where she hoped it was unlikely she’d be found. Most of it was still frozen over, which made the journey relatively easy. But still, there were portions she’d been unable to avoid getting wet. But that was something Cole was alright with. The freezing cold water gave her something else to focus on as she wandered the fairly sizable island.

The snowfall upon it was deep, consisting of several frozen layers that had fallen, melted a little, and then refrozen, but that made it more traversable. Easier to cross without leaving as much of a trail, which was precisely her intent. The ghost had no desire to be found, here. Not until she had time to think and decide what the hell to do with herself now.

-anyone welcome - set midday Mar 12th. partly cloudy & 6F/-14C

(This post was last modified: Mar 13, 2023, 02:43 AM by Colette.)

Cas was off, exploring, or rather looking for signs of herds out on the snows near the lake. Their old home. He was glad he could still come back here, it made it easier to look forward to new things when he did not have to say goodbye to the place forever. Even though most of the group seemed to be staying together, Caspian was both excited and still apprehensive about such big changes.

Plus, lately for the last few days, the adults were all acting a bit weird. On edge, aloof, or distracted and he'd no idea as to why. It didn't seem like something he could just come out and ask about, or why wouldn't they say what was bothering them? But it certainly didn't make the atmosphere around the falls anymore 'paradise' like, at the moment. It was as good a reason as any to spend the day out and away from the budding pack's main territory.

He trailed along the trees at the edge of the lakeshore until he came across a set of faint but fresh prints leading out across the ice. Caspian remembered exploring one of the islands during the days of summer, but now they looked totally unfamiliar. What was familiar was the scent that still lingered on the snow, that of Colette who had helped him once. And so after investigating for a moment he set out across the frozen lake to follow. He wanted to see what the ghostly woman might be up to, not realizing that perhaps she might want to be alone out here.

The boy skirted the thin ice, carefully making his way to the frozen isle. Once he arrived, however, he was greeted with cold silence and little idea of which way to go next. Undeterred, the boy chose a direction and began to explore the island for himself. Hopefully he'd run into his friend of sorts, too.

(This post was last modified: Mar 14, 2023, 01:51 AM by Caspian.)

She wandered the island listlessly, though she largely remained close to the rocky shoreline. Or whatever bit of it there was. The ghost would sporadically pause to sniff something, examine it, but otherwise, there was nothing of interest - to her anyway - present upon the island. It was by pure coincidence that Colette managed to look back towards the mainland in time to spot movement upon the ice.

A figure making its way toward her island. Given their group had a surprising number of light-colored wolves, herself amongst them, she wasn’t entirely sure who it might be. And the wind wasn’t doing her any favors. But if they were from her pack, and had, for some reason followed her, Colette supposed she ought to greet them.

A bit reluctantly, the ghost turned to head toward where she thought the figure would land upon the island. And she was mostly correct, albeit just a little late. A trail was already heading off into the islands thick forest, one she recognized.

Caspian. The kid was probably about the only wolf that could actually manage to bring a genuine smile to her face right now, and she set off after him. She’d seen him at the meetings, and out and about here or there. But she hadn’t really had time to talk, to see how he was.

And Cole found herself strangely excited to do just that. After their last meeting, she had grown to like the kid.”Caspian?” She called out curiously, her voice carrying in the otherwise peaceful silence that occupied the space.

Ears perked up to catch a voice breaking through the quiet, and Caspian broke into a jog.  "Hiya, Colette!" The youth called out. He was glad she'd materialized, he'd noticed that she seemed to keep to herself a bit. But after that summer day by the lakeshore, Cas felt a connection with the ghostly woman, and besides that he thought she was pretty cool. And there was something he'd been wanting to talk about with her.

"I never really got to thank ya," he began as he slowed his pace, near enough to speak. "For tha time before, I mean,"

The conversation already felt markedly different than the last time they'd really spoken, when he'd honestly been embarrassingly helpless. Had it really been so long? Sometimes he felt like he was growing up a lot lately and learning all kinds of new skills and things, and others he felt like nothing had ever changed. These days, especially since the move, Cas was more determined at trying to fill the prints of the adults walking along before him. Mom, Jet, Flair, Colette... these were the wolves he looked to the most, to see where he might go one day.

Hiya, the kid called out, his greeting friendly. Something that managed to cut through the situationally and seasonally induced cloud her mind had been in for the last couple of days. A welcome distraction, though he was more than just that. ”Hey, bud. Lookit you, almost all grown up,” she returned his greeting as they grew closer, good eye giving the kid a once over.

Bigger, healthier,  older, and wiser - but still young and innocent. As unlikely as it was, a part of Cole hoped the kid would never have to experience real darkness in his life. If there was anywhere that could be at all possible, she believed maybe it could be in this seemingly secluded section of the lore. And as long as she remained here, Cole vowed to herself she’d do everything she could to prevent any such bad things from happening to the pack again.

Caspain, then, proceeded to thank her, too. Just as Flair and his mother had prior.

Gently, Cole shook her head once. ”There’s no need. That’s just.. what ya do, for those you care about.” It’d been a long time since the ghost had uttered anything like that and meant it wholeheartedly. It might not’ve been the case at the time, but.. recent weeks had seen her developing attachments to these wolves she’d never expected.

Present company highest amongst that.

”Lookin’ for ghosts again? Or just exploring?”

"Still..." his protest of her words was light and half-hearted, but he really did wish to deliver his thank you. The fact that she wouldn't hesitate to help someone she cared about, and put him in that category, made his tail wag and he wanted to thank her for all of it. The boy let the sentiment hang on his jaws as a grateful smile, ears perking up at her next question.

"Kinda, I guess," he gave a shrug. "The falls're nice but, I miss this too," Cas admitted, tipping his head to look at the trees, the silent lake encircling the small island. On a day like this you could almost hear the echoes of their past days here. Maybe he was looking for ghosts, but he didn't really know how to voice such ideas. Instead he looked back to Colette.

"What about you?" He asked. Everyone seemed weird lately, aloof or on-edge or silly or whatever, but the ghostly woman was the only one out here today like him, wandering their old home rather than settling into the new.

Seeing the kid smiling and happy brought joy to the ghost in a way she couldn’t recall feeling for a long while. In response to her inquiry, though, he offered a shrug.

And a kinda, I guess. The follow-up statement implied that perhaps young Caspian’s thoughts were drawn elsewhere. Perhaps he’d outgrown the ghost thing, maybe that’d been just a.. phase? Whatever it was, Colette offered a contemplative nod to his statement, and then the follow-up question.

”I kinda miss living here, too,” she spoke in agreement, sauntering forth a couple of paces to sniff idly at a bit of vegetation just starting to sprout through the snow, before returning her focus to Caspian.

”But I think I like this place better unclaimed. I'd rather be able to come here for an adventure than have to go somewhere else.” It was simply her personal opinion, but Cole preferred being able to venture to a place she liked when she needed to get out, rather than having to wander into the forests.

In response to Caspian’s inquiry, though, the ghost mirrored his shrug, though her smile didn’t fade. ”Guess I’m doing some exploring, and thinkin’.”