Sacred Grove please don't bother trying to find her,

Sitsi was at a loss. She had lost one of the most important wolves in her life, and the only other female besides Vtsi whom she cared for. Sitsi didn't get along well with other females, given her competitive and top-dog sort of nature. But her siblings, she did love them. She had grown up with them after all. Her sister had been with her for only a year of her life, and then she had departed. But the year had been an important one, one where she watched Feather flourish and rebel from her fathers oppressive demands. And then, one day, her sister was gone. Her brother brought Feather halfway back, he had said, but he had returned with many nasty wounds from their sister. Evidently she had forgotten who she was. That he truly was her brother. Ink never had the best of intentions, but he did care for his sisters. When one needed help, he was there to offer it.

It had been Sitsi who departed her home to find Feather again, and she found her sister ripe with the scent of some male. Sitsi had influenced Feather that she had known who she was. Took her back from these here lands exactly at this point. Why she had found Feather here, she hadn't known — not until it was too late. There was no bringing her back again. Bringing Feather back made her (read: Feather) sick for reasons unknown to the wolves of her pack. But it was so, and it was only when the life was fading from her sisters eyes that she remembered anything at all.

Her last words were sad, and disappointing. At least to Sitsi, who had hoped to be recognized by the older sister she had always loved. But no, the wolf she spoke of was a stranger. Tell him, she had said. Him being some Indru figure in which Sitsi had no idea how to find. As she walked through the Forest, Sitsi couldn't help but feel empowered by the land around her. Her tail lashed left and right and she inhaled heavily, but she couldn't exactly remember the scent of the male upon her sister. But this was where she had found Feather. Something had to give.

Keeping the borders strong and powerful with the dominant wolf's scent was something Indru had been taught as a pup, it was fundamental if you wanted your pack to avoid intruders — but even then it sometimes required muscle to keep out such arrogant wolves who crossed them anyway. Indru was content at the moment, the pack was strong (it was shown from the constant remarking and patrols of the borders) and it had a leading pair meaning that this season it would only get stronger. A frigid, late-morning breeze blew through the trees as Indru left the pack den, pausing briefly to stretch, before lifting his nose to the air and inhaling deeply the scents that clung to the land around him like a skin. The comforting scents of his pack, even more closely bonded now that they had survived through the winter so successfully. Spring was here, it was coming, and winter's hold was slowly slipping away.

As he neared the edge of the boundary, something that was being slightly extended with the growing numbers in the pack, the unfamiliar scent of another did not go missed. She was not trespassing (not even too near the borders), but it captured Indru's attention for a reason he was not sure why. She was a female, and a lone wolf, which were not the best combination at this part of the year during breeding season, but she clung with a stale and faded scent of another that he recognised. It was too indistinct for him to identify, but the lure that she knew someone he once did drew him from the pack's territory as he loped towards her. Faintly, with a thrill of both fear and excitement, he wondered if it was one of his missing family members but he felt certain he would recognised the scents of his siblings however weak they were. The female came into sight and Indru slowed his gait, raising his tail over his back and walking proudly towards her, assuming slight dominance over her here due to their proximity to his pack lands. Hello, he inquired politely, though his posture did not relax just yet, and he met her familiar green eyes quickly before they would either drop in slight submission or harden in challenge.

I am Indru Tainn, he offered, still somewhat suspicious a wolf he had not met (as he could not recall her features or scent above the familiarity they had for someone else) had come here, smelling of another. Had they been directed this way? If so, he wanted to know why and by whom. What brings you so close to my pack? It was an innocent question, and his tone did not hold the aggression that could make it a demanding one, but his curiosity was too strong to not ask as he peered at the female why he waited.

Sitsi wanted no trouble here at all. But that didn't mean she wouldn't be irate when a wolf came her way on the land of the free with dominance — but she understood borders changed, and weren't ever a straight line. Still, she had assumed that anyone she had talked to... but this was good! Indru had been a leader, she recalled. Or this could be that other wolf that had been in charge at the time... not allowing her thoughts to best her, she minded her manners. Her ears fell backwards and her eyes drifted to his paws, and she managed to not bristle at the thought of being subordinate to male. But in truth, she'd be subordinate to anyone just about now — she was a lone wolf, after all. It bothered her greatly, but she herself did have some power. As a young lone wolf, she had opportunity on her hands. Opportunity that she'd undoubtedly follow, if she could.

Hi, she responded immediately, her response short but by no means unkind or snarky. Her own plume swayed gently at her hocks, and as he greeted her the Northwind girls eyes turned to him at last. Indru Tainn. This was him. She smiled prettily, the expression an evident ersatz of her sister — but there was no doubting that Sitsi, oddly enough, had more charm and charisma. Feather had been awkward, reserved. Sitsi was comfortable enough in her own skin at the moment to not allow her own features not be taken note of. After all, if he was going to go about flaunting his own brawn and power, why could she not take a more subtle approach to have him appreciate her own given goods? She had been named to be the number one female of her pack — even with Feather about.

Indru, she breathed in a manner that was familiar, but then she remembered herself. I'm sorry — I don't know you. My sister doe- did, she said, sure to use the past tense. It was hard to, and sometimes, she messed up. She did what she could to not visibly wince. She's why I'm here. I'm Sitsi Northwind, younger sister to Feather Northwind. I collected her from this very spot just a short while ago. My cousin collected her from here even longer than that, but she ran away from him to here, where I found her. We knew she didn't know who she was, and we didn't know what brought her back here. So I came and found her. Anyway, we wanted to help her remember. But that only happened when a moose kicked her in the head. The impact... ended up being fatal. She didn't die quickly, she said, her voice miserable. While she could talk... we had her talk about things that made her happy. But she only spoke of here — more specifically, of you. She drew in a shaky breath, shaking her head in slight resignation. She didn't say to tell you, she was really... out of it. Going to another place. But Feather loved you, with all of her heart. She came back for you. My family interfered, but we didn't... we didn't know, we couldn't. She was our pack before she was yours. But Feather... Feather never loved anyone as much as she did you.

She fell silent, a slight whimper rising from her throat. I didn't mean to take her from you, said the normally fiercely stubborn Sitsi. But she could not have known what she had done. That all the while, Feathers heart had belonged to someone else. If I had known, I really... I wouldn't have. She was anxious now, and felt as if she had done some great act of insubordination. She lowered her head a bit more, and her ears melted atop her head. The gesture was an apology in itself, but she couldn't bring herself to speak any further. She didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

The submission made Indru feel more confident that she was not here to challenge or cause trouble and he relaxed slightly, the tension dropping from his muscles and his fur lowering back down, but like normal he was on guard and ready. She greeted him he responded with a curt nod, noticing with a slight frown that she did not offer her name in return, a slight breech in etiquette he felt. The female had confidence, it was no doubt, and coupled with her alluring scent due to breeding season her pretty features did not go entirely unobserved, but she was a stranger, a lone wolf, and at the moment Indru's interest lay much more firmly in finding out her purpose and — when she spoke — her familiarity with him and his name.

Her sister knew him. Without her offering a name this did not help trigger Indru's memory to a specific wolf as he could think of the many females he had happened across who must have had sisters, but he listened politely and intently regardless. He noticed her correction and nodded just slightly in understanding, he had suffered with the same slip up himself. Then she mentioned her and her sister's name and shock flooded Indru's face and it took a moment for him to connect the past tense with the use of Feather for a moment and he was stunned to silence as she continued to speak. It had not been so long since he had seen her reappear in Relic Lore and then disappear as quickly as she had returned. After a few words he missed Indru gained the awareness back to listen as she told the missing pieces of the story that had left him confused since her abrupt return and absence once again.

He let the silence hang that had appeared once Sitsi had stopped speaking, caught up in his thoughts, before she broke it herself with words that spoke of her guilt and actions that supported the feeling. She left me a long while ago, and I did not know why. I then had to leave as a drought struck these lands and my family would have perished if we had not left. He explained and though he did not verbally hint at any feeling they had shared before both his and hers departure from Relic Lore his weaker voice suggested otherwise. I did not know why she left, and Indru left out the feelings that he had felt at her absence as he did not feel comfortable confessing anything to this wolf which was a stranger and seemed to know so much about him, but then she returned not too long ago. She was very different, she did not know who she was though I do not know why or what caused this. I directed her to the borders of this pack to seek acceptance as I was not the leader at the time but she never arrived. It felt only right to offer any details he had on Feather to this female, who was undeniably grieving the loss of his sister and he felt a small kinship with her over the loss of his own brother and parents, he knew the hollow, sharp pain that it caused. Thank— Thank you for telling me. Indru's feelings towards the female had been complex and confusing already and he did not know how he felt at this news, or even how to respond. He felt sorrow though, it was undeniable, he had cared for her greatly and to know that she too was gone was strange and surreal.

The female who had delivered the message was young, though most definitely an adult, and he gathered that she was not from the same litter as Feather had been. Do you need shelter? A home? It was not an offer Indru offered lightly as by doing so he was offering his protection and the protection of his pack and welcoming her into their family, but this female was strong and he felt that she would pull her weight. Besides, he felt duty bound in a way to offer her comfort and safety when he had been unable to help Feather, and he knew what she was feeling. I have lost my parents and a sibling too, recently, he hoped that this information may help her too feel the same kinship they had over their grief, if you want to a home you can seek one with my pack.

Indru did little to expose how he had felt or once felt for his sister. For that, Sitsi was only slightly annoyed — but the feeling was shortlived. They were wolves, after all. Love might not have been for them, or for him. Sitsi herself laughed at the notion — though this was because there was no love within their past home. It had been strictly political, power, and brawn. Whoever was the strongest led and bred. Sitsi herself had been the strongest female, and wondered if she would in fact return to put the other women in their place. But she also pondered about the idea of remaining here, if even for a short while. She knew how quickly it took her to establish herself back there. But what of leading here?

His proposition seemed to be something of a sign. Don't take offense to this, Indru, but for the moment I'll have to say no. I don't want to pledge loyalty and fealty to you when I don't know what I'm doing yet, or where I'll be going. I've half a mind to return — but I want to better learn of this place, of my options. I never have explored them before, she rumbled, her plume swaying left and right. While it was her season, it wasn't her time. Sitsi grinned and pranced aside, exposing a muscled flank to him.

In the meantime, she drawled, very nearly flirtatiously (but keeping her own leash tight), What say you to a game of... a dramatic pause, a flourish of her thick plume, a careful reach forward (not drawing too close) and a nip that connected to nothing (if anything, the edge of golden guard-hairs) but air... and then she reeled backwards in a graceful, feminine display — chase?! It was all in good fun, really. 'Twas the season, after all — and Feather had taught her that playing nicely with others was a way to their hearts. At the very least, she could entertain Indru and get him to smile some to make up for that depressing frown she had caused earlier.

Epic fail on my part. ♥

The female was a stranger to him but their shared loss of Feather (though he didn't doubt her loss was greater, having known her so much better than he had) had left him with a feeling of kinship and understanding. After all, she was probably the only wolf he knew now in Relic Lore that actually knew Feather enough for it to affect them so he was grateful for her presence in ways. But she was still a stranger, and he would not trust her so easily from just words alone so Indru kept himself guarded, not truly showing how he was effected.

She turned down his offer and he nodded in understanding, he had only wanted to offer her help in respect for his memories of Feather but he did not mind what she did with it. Maybe you'll feel attachment with Feather here as she spoke often of how much she adored Relic Lore, besides, Indru (and countless others) had only experienced the pull for himself that the vast forest had and it was a place Feather had remained — and been happy — before her death. Quick memories he had not thought much about popped to his mind, their discovery of the creek in Cedarwood and their first meeting when they rolled in the flowers bringing a small smile to his face, I have many memories. I can show you where she enjoyed some time if you like. Feather's smell was unlikely to linger now but Indru was certain he could remember the places if Sitsi wished to see them another time. If you find yourself tempted by a home here you are more than welcome to call by Swift River. It was still hard months to be alone after all, as winter had not fully relinquished its icy grip on the forest.

Sitsi's demeanour changed rapidly then but her tail gave away her innocent intentions so Indru watched, bemused, a grin curving his face handsomely at her sudden swap to a playful banter. As she spoke, almost a slight tone to her voice that seemed even more prominent given the season, she leaned forward to nip at the air nearby and Indru growled playful in response, his own tail waving behind him in long, swooping arcs. With a quick bark Indru dropped the front half of his body and rested on his elbows, even in play his movements trained and measured like he was taught, his rump held aloft in the air before he lunged forwards towards her to start the game. The Tainn aimed a gentle nip at her shoulder, hoping to catch her before she swiftly departed and he gave chase, woofing lightly again as he was caught up in the heady scents of the season.