Spectral Woods you can set sail to the west if you want to

and pass the horizon, til i can't even see you
far from here, where the beaches are wide
just leave me your wake to remember you by

backdated to 1/1. welcome to any OTB wolf who'd like to tell Sven where @Sahalie is. or, isn't, i suppose would be the case.
@Serach @Aponi @Ice @Lena @Dread @Lila

As far as he was aware, the only thing different today from any other time he came to visit his firebrand friend was the surprise he had towed along. As promised, now that she was finally grown enough that @Elettra wouldn't gripe too much about bringing her along this far with him, @Attica had accompanied him to finally meet his long-distance therapist. He'd told his sister to stay back, at enough of a distance that Sahalie wouldn't be able to pick up her scent at first. The bouncy Bend wolf would think it was just another hang out day, and then as he led her off to their next supposed adventure, his favorite little wolf would pop out of the brush at her and, hopefully, make her day.

Rolling his shoulders back, he took in a deep breath of the frigid air before exhaling in song. A brief summons, specifically for Sahalie. As many times as he'd done so, she'd always more or less found him swiftly, and certainly before any patrols combed through and questioned him. By now, they knew of him, didn't they? He had to wonder (though only briefly for it was a bit unpleasant), if she'd ever mentioned him to others as he had her.

(This post was last modified: Jan 17, 2017, 01:49 AM by Sven.)

@Sven

Along the scent marker's of Aponi and Serach she trotted. She wasn't much of a guard for her age, but it didn't stop her from patrolling. It was odd how many others had come to calling, and she often thought maybe she'd come across a stranger herself. One she could question, and inform to wait till her mother could come decide their worth.

As much as the young lady had a small hope, as the short call for someone made its way to her ears, she froze. No way! Now was her chance.

With guard hairs bristled she sought out the visitor. They'd be lucky she had greeted them first. Especially, with such a sorry excuse of a call. As dark, blue eyes fell upon the white wolf, with a smidgen of black on his nose he wasn't technically trespassing. She doubted Serach or Aponi would be pleased. He must be about Hal's age, maybe a friend from somewhere far.

She let out a soft bark of greeting. Walking with a tall stance, but her hair had relaxed, and her tail was stiff at her hocks. "What is it you want? Our leaders won't think it's funny to be giving such bleak requests." She made an effort to be soft in her tone.

(This post was last modified: Jan 20, 2017, 09:20 PM by Lila. Edit Reason: reasons )

He waited patiently, though he didn't expect the minutes to be multitudinous as they passed, for his friend had never made him wait for long. Yet as he stood, and gently breathed in the air and its scent markers, he couldn't help but noticed how they had changed. Just as his mind was starting to wander about it, a dark coated wolf did appear, but despite the similarity in height, it was immediately noticed that this was not Sahalie. It was one of this year's crop, and the midnight of her coat with those stray silver hairs set his teeth on edge. Sahalie's own family was dark, he reminded himself; this was very possibly one of her half siblings.

Still, he couldn't shake what @Morganna had told him, especially not when Renier had confirmed it just days before now.

Well, this was certainly new regardless, and he didn't much like it. Perhaps he should have wanted to better get to know his friend's pack, but as it was, Sven didn't much like socializing more than necessary. Subconsciously, he'd learned that the less wolves he was familiar with, the less chances he had of being disappointed by others.

"Bleak?" he questioned, quirking up a single wolfish brow. Whatever, he didn't much care what the leaders would think because he wasn't intending to summon them. Just like any other of his visits, he would just collect Halie and go.

"I'm here for Sahalie. Is she not home?"

Hope you don't mine Lena popping in? I'm assuming that this is after Lena and Lila get back from their trip to FTC?

She ran. In fact, Lena ran very, very fast. The call for Sahalie was a painful reminder to the Oak Tree Bend wolves of just how much they had lost. Where the others didn't want to feel or accept the pain of abandonment any more, Lena was far too sensitive and emotional to just let it go. She clung to it. But why? She couldn't justify it well in her head, but there was a little part of her, behind it all, that just wanted some form of explanation as to why they had done this to her uncle.

So when Lena arrived on the scene, disappointingly after Lila (but thank goodness she could make sure no one hurt her), she could only hiss. “Shhhhhh!” Lena's hush was crisp in the air, sharp and to the point. She stepped up beside her young friend, an attempt at kinship—I've got your back. With her ears tilted back, Lena cast a glance around to make sure Serach and Aponi weren't around before she stared at the stranger with a frown.

“She's gone,” was the first thing she said. “Sahalie left. Abandoned my uncle after leadership shifted and Spieden ran off.” It was … it was terribly cowardly, in her opinion. The moment things weren't going the way they wanted, they decided that was it. Time to pack up and leave a man who loved you and tried to do good by you behind. Lena wasn't a huge fan of Aponi's, from what little she knew about the black and silver woman, but that didn't mean she was going to gather her belongings and waltz away because toodle-pip, grass is a slight shade greener elsewhere!

Okay, maybe that was being a tad bit mean.

“So.” She eyed the large white male, glancing to Lila for a brief moment before squaring her shoulders and lifting her tail, Lena wore her most intimidating scowl. Which, actually, wasn't very intimidating at all. She could only feign aggression, because she truly felt not hatred for the man who came looking for a ghost. She could only stand as a pack wolf, at the borders of her home, before some stranger. On top of that, she could only ever attempt to defend it when she knew it was in trouble. “I'm sorry, but if she's all yer here for … well, you'd be better off looking somewhere else. I don't want my uncle havin' to deal with any more reminders of the people who left him when all he did was love 'em like family.” And that was the truth of the matter. She could explain it no other way. “And I'm sorry she didn't tell you.”

The call that rose from their borders that day was different from the others that had occurred since Aponi had rose to leadership. Instead of calling for the leaders it was just a call in general, the sound of a voice ringing through the trees. The silver leader finished burying the hare in the cache closest to the den, claws scraping against ice and snow before she made her way towards the call. It may not have been for her but the Aquila would be damned if she just let calls at her borders go unattended to.

Blue eyes swept over the scene that she arrived on, noting Lena's dominant stature and the presence of her dark daughter. Chuffing a  greeting to them both she offered a smile to the girls before turning her attention to the matter at hand. Tail rose above her back as her chin rose, gaze eyeing the large white male whose pelt smelled strongly of something that tugged at her memory. Catching only the last part of Lena's speech Aponi's eyes narrowed, the nagging sense of déjà vu ignored for the time being, "Which one of them did you come to find?" He looked to be about a year old, was he another one of Sahalie's tag-alongs or was he looking for her own teenaged daughter?

@Sven

Maybe, it wasn't the word she'd wanted, but it was what came out. Oh the look he gave her. "You know um...empty?" She tried to explain, hating to feel like he had the upper hand, that she was only a girl who didn't know better.

He made it clear who he sought. Sahalie. So, he was a friend. How much if he didn't know? The girl took a moment, wishing to break it to him gently. Which may seem strange given she didn't know who he was, and she found his behavior a little strange. But, she felt it would be a blow as it had been to rest of them.

Lena came to the rescue, though Lila's ears flattened. Was she shushing her? Uncertain what to think of this new development, she stared at the young man as Lena began to explain. No matter how badly she wanted to interject she didn't. Could she really speak up on Sahalie's behalf? She still didn't understand what had made them all leave. Her mother taking leadership yes, but not why. When it came to Sahalie, Marina, and Mako she felt it was all because they'd wanted to go with their mother. Just as she would have if Aponi had lost and made the same choice. Why would that paint anyone so ugly? She sucked in a breath, trying to keep face.

But, knowing Lena best, she saw through her bluff. Lena was many things, but not scary, not intimidating. Why was she trying to be? Could this young man really be a threat to them, when he'd just come looking for Hal? Her head reeled, and she wanted to skip away...not think about any of this. She felt there was no justification to be angry at him, and treat him rudely. Then Momma arrived, and her gut twisted. It was a relief because surely she would handle this, and yet Lila felt a twinge of worry about what was going to happen next.

(This post was last modified: Jan 25, 2017, 03:59 PM by Lila.)

Empty? He still didn't get it, and his blank stare showed that. Anyways, the younger girl didn't answer his second question, instead allowing a beat of hesitant silence pass between them. Then, something altogether came barreling in to fill the air with noise. Her loud hushing surprised him just as much as her sudden appearance, but his eyes began to narrow with it. What the hell was going on? It had never been so complicated before to pick Sahalie, so where the hell was she and why were all her pack mates so weird? She looked around as if she'd be in trouble if anyone else were to catch them speaking, and Sven let out an exasperated stream of air from his nostrils, ears slowly laying back against his skull as his brows furrowed.

She's gone.

With those two words his features opened wide with shock. His knees locked and the whites of his eyes were exposed, the twin moons emptying as he wished to retreat into himself then and there. The rest of the strange girl's words were fuzzy, barely registering.

Left. Left.

His heart was hammering within his chest and he even forgot that Attica was somewhere down the trail, hidden away. All he could do was desperately attempt to wrap his mind around a world in which Sahalie just left Oak Tree Bend and he was failing miserably at it. Abandoned, leadership shifted, ran off. The words tugged at him, tried to pull him back into the present but it wasn't until those final words that he felt that familiar anger begin to bubble up. Not yet could he be convinced that his bubbly friend deserved any of it. Instead, he directed it at Lena and her slandering, muzzle wrinkling as his tail curled and lashed around his hocks.

"That isn't the whole story," he hissed. "It can't be. Sahalie wouldn't-, she isn't like that."

She wasn't like them, every other woman he had known that had turned their backs so easily on him and on their home. She couldn't be, because if she was... his heart clenched painfully.

Another wolf appeared then, asking him a question and it was only for a moment that her appearance tugged at his memory, features smoothing with the recollection of both Renier and Morganna's voices. This wasn't the time for that, how could he think about Skoll's fuck ups when Sahalie had... had... what?

What had they done to force her away?

"Sahalie," he answered, his voice hard as stone as he fought back the bristling of his nape. He would be stupid to pick a fight with these wolves, but he couldn't just leave this as it was. He needed more answers, and the anger was clawing to get into the driver's seat.

"What did you do to her?"

His frustration wasn't lost on her, and, which caution, Lena responded by wrinkling her muzzle slightly. Watch it, mister. I can bite too.

“It is,” was all she could say in response though, frowning slightly despite the slight peeling back of her lips. “I wish I could tell you some other truth, but this is the only one. I could try to explain more? I just. It's all a mess right now.”

Truthfully, she felt bad. She couldn't image how hurtful it would be to come knocking for a friend, only to find out that they'd just left, that they weren't there any more. And why? Because someone else decided that they didn't want to play subordinate, and it'd be easier to leave than face the reality that wolves fought for a hierarchy. And yet … really, was Lena any better than Sahalie? She'd left her home, too. The only difference was that Lena had intentions of going back. But, wasn't that putting words in the other yearling's mouth? Did Sahalie have plans on returning to Oak Tree Bend eventually?

What a mess indeed.

And then Aponi arrived on the scene, and Lena could only drop her tail in the presence of the dominant female. It was weird, honestly—she'd never felt so uncertain in the face of a leader. Spieden had scorned Lena with her lie, and so deciding she didn't like the woman had been an easy decision to finalise! But with Aponi it wasn't as black and white. She hadn't actually done anything to Lena to warrant a sense of unease. Aponi had just spoken in a way that made Lena feel … strange.

The stranger's question was like an accusatory jab, aimed straight at Lena's chest, and she flinched before she took a step forward, desperate to try and soothe the tension that she had probably only made worse with her clumsy attempt at shooing him. She'd only wanted him gone, for her uncle's sake.

“Hey, no. We didn't do anythin', honest. I—well, there was a change in leadership and Sahalie's loyalty, or preference, or …” Casting a glance to Aponi, Lena winced. How exactly was she going to tackle this without maybe causing offense to the salt-and-pepper leader? She simply frowned once more, a whine in her throat. “Aponi, can you-” no, no. No demanding, Lena. Be polite. “Could I talk to him? I wanna explain, I don't want this to be difficult for anyone. He … he hasn't done anything wrong.”

He'd just been unlucky, and reacted to bad news badly, as you'd expect.

@Lila

Perhaps Aponi had given the girls reason to believe that she would lose her lid at the name Sahalie or this stranger's demanding tone. Perhaps the Donata's temper was something that had certainly been easily lit in the past. But the Tainn's name did nothing to fuel her fire, the yearlings departure had been perhaps the easiest for the new alpha to swallow. She had been following the paw prints of the woman who had raised her, even if that meant leading them off into the middle of the night. Sahalie had left yes, but she had done so days after Spieden had and it had been for a reason the silver woman could understand.

His demanding tone, was well quite frankly laughable. He had the underhand here and even he should know it, he was a yearling at the border of another pack. "Sahalie has left on her own accord to follow after Spieden, we have done nothing to her and I suspect if you find her she will agree that it was her own decision to leave." The words were formal and the tone matched as much, no use escalating the situation when there was nothing to be done. Sahalie had gone and obviously had not told her friend that she would be leaving, that wasn't Aponi's problem.

Lena's rambling had already finished before the alphess had spoke and now the blue eyes glanced sideways to take in the tawny appearance. Something about those green eyes and demand that had carried in her tone, underlined by the polite way of request that Aponi left her to handle the situation caused her annoyance to stir. Had it been anyone beside's Serach's niece and her daughter's closest friend the Donata may have given her a nip in warning to be respectful but instead she looked away, "Do you have any further questions or would you prefer to talk with Lena alone?"

(This post was last modified: Feb 01, 2017, 09:18 PM by Aponi.)

@Sven

Lila could see the news hit him full force. Those silver eyes emptied, his form suddenly still. She wondered if she had shown something similar when she'd been told of Kyna's leaving. She did not know.

Earnestly, dark, blue eyes clung to him, thinking he would disappear like the others to find Sahalie. He took a different stand. She saw the small lines begin at his nose, and the harsh motion of his tail. Her own form went rigid, readying herself. There was no need. It seemed the out rage was the description of his friend, and he felt to disincline she had left in that manner. The young wolf only grew more curious as he demanded to know what they had done to her.

Why words formed in her mind, Lena was still quicker. Seeming to want to give him further explanation. In Aponi's presence she seemed to falter. Asking for permission to speak with him. Lila was confused by her friend's behavior, and her brows knitted together. She briefly turned to look at her, if to ask what's your problem? Lila did not understand why she should act any different with her mother here. She understood she was a leader now, but still.

Thankfully, Aponi smoothed it over. Putting it the truth simply without tainting anyone. She even left it to him to choose to ask something more, or talk with Lena should he wish. It seemed fair to her, and she had not protest. It wasn't his fault he didn't know what had happened. She hated standing by, saying nothing. "It's true. Spieden is her mom, and she went because she did. We don't know where." She piped up, once more with her gentle tone. They had nothing more to give him.