The Wildwood what a waste of a lovely night

@Sven @Kerberos @Leotie takes place in the northern part of the wildwood, just south of the river coming out of bramble falls. **not near the border at all** also switch (@Triell) there will be another thread for daddy ;)
dusk, light snow—12 ° F, -11 ° C (-21.61657, -5.27344)

This woods was even more overgrown than the last, thickening after crossing a river hugged on either side by hear-leafed trees. It surprised Sahalie to discover that the west was more wooded than she had previously thought. From any of her few trips up the mountain the western valley had looked so open, full of rolling fields and grasses and rivers. But now that she was down on the ground and surrounded by trees she realized she was sorrily misjudged the dark blobs of forest green from her mountain perspective. It was a nice thing to be mistaken about, however, as the girl was not eager to be out in the open so soon after discovering the shelter of evergreens that grew out of the ground at careless angles. For a second she considered staying here, choosing here for her home, but her heart throbbed at the thought of giving up her dreams of returning to the east. She had no idea what else was out here. It was too soon to say.

One thing was sure: there were some wolves out here. The traffic of scent trails increased, crisscrossing her path with greater frequency than the last few days of empty forest. Sahalie was not stupid: she knew what this meant. Somewhere nearby—many miles, still, maybe—a pack had settled, which was interesting if not a bit disappointing. She wondered what they were like, if she should let a scent guide her to the territory or skirt it all together. Her travel companions were nearby, and she decided she would confer with them. Yet, before she could even lift her head the breeze changed.

(This post was last modified: Feb 21, 2017, 11:36 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: added in some ooc notes )

More and more, his visits north were beginning to feel routine, normal. Perhaps it was easy to fall into the habit because it was more or less the same visitation schedule that he'd committed to for so long with Sahalie. Maybe it was simply because the company was, plainly put, so nice.

He'd left early that morning to seek out Kerberos; they were just days away from the trip they'd promised to take together, and he wanted the other man to know that everything had checked out on his end as well. After a time catching up with him, Leotie had found them, and the three were now hours into their time together and the sun had all but set.

The sky poured down the laziest of snowflakes, the woods peaceful as the snow glimmered around them in the moonlight. Their conversation was light and effortless, shoulders bumping together occasionally as they kept close to one another. Touch now felt natural with these two in particular, Sven no longer shying away from the proximity. They were friends, and he was beginning to see what that actually meant, and how it differed from the relationships he'd had before discovering the Draw pack.

Kerberos had said something that struck the teen as funny, and his breathy laughter flitted through the forest. Anymore, @Attica had been the only one that could coax the sound out of him. It felt good to feel as relaxed with others, and his smile had not faltered once, until the wind changed.

His ears jumped to attention and his eyes snapped ahead. It was just a waft, but he could have sworn he'd just scented Sahalie. Heart picking up pace, he could feel the echo of it through all of his veins as he breathed deeper, trying to catch it again, but the breeze refused to cooperate. This had happened before, where he'd thought she was nearby, but it had been just something else, a sniff of damp oak bark or peat moss. Sven tried to forget it, to focus on his friends again, but he couldn't help his silvered gaze continuously scanning beyond where they walked. Just in case.

(This post was last modified: Feb 22, 2017, 12:04 AM by Sven.)

Her morning had been spent taking care of her duties which no longer took as much time as it had been taking over the past weeks. Her foot had healed despite the slight tingle in it every once in awhile and small limp she carried. Now that she felt fully recovered with no real permanent damage she was back to getting herself into shape, she would need to be if she wanted to be a scout. So it was after she'd finished hunting and a patrol she chose to go for a jog around the area. She thought it best to start slow and work her way into a run since she hadn't really been too active as of late, she didn't want to over do it her first real day back out.

She'd only just gotten started however when she caught Sven's scent and it didn't seem that he was alone. She could smell Kerb too which she thought interesting and decided to go find out what they were up to. Besides she didn't want to miss one of Sven's visits, he hadn't lied when he had told her he would visit often. She always looked forward to the days when he would show up and they would spend some time together.

When she came upon them she made some joke about them being thick as thieves before joining them. She was glad to have Kerb and Sven getting along so well as they'd spent the last three hours spending time with each other talking, joking and occasionally bumping shoulders.

Leotie hadn't really noticed the light snowfall having been too preoccupied with her company, it was the first time she'd really done anything like this and she found she liked it. Kerb had said something that brought a laugh out of the agouti woman. Until she felt a change in the wind and a scent came to her that she hadn't smelled since the bend.

“Sahalie,” she spoke the name on her breath since she wasn't entirely sure if it was actually the Tainn. She missed her friend and knew Triell had to miss her too and would love to see how she was doing. She glanced at the others to see if they had noticed the scent as well but she couldn't tell if they had. So she decided it had to be her imagination and tried to go back to what Kerb had said before.

<center>~Table by Switch</center>

(This post was last modified: Feb 22, 2017, 12:31 AM by Leotie.)

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Every day was another day closer to the trip with Sven. Kerberos made no effort to hide the fact that he was planning to take a trip with the pale Archer. He did make sure to hide the true goal with things like scouting or tracking being the mission because he would be scouting and keeping an eye out for any herds.

He was relaxed in the male's company. Jokes were shared and Kerberos always felt proud when he got Sven to laugh or at least chuckle. They weren't up to much so when Leotie found them he gladly accepted her presence. His usual nudge to her was given as a greeting. It felt nice being in a little group like this. It was if all of his worries were washed away. He didn't worry about Zerxes, the possibility of having a family soon, the dying need to prove himself. Between Sven and Leotie he was perfectly accepted for who he was now. That was all that mattered to him.

"and then the squirrel said YOU'RE NUTS!" His small joke about the fox and the squirrel was met with laughter. He felt good and proud. He had done something right. It had been a cheesy joke he had heard one time and the fact that it actually worked was a wonder. Yet it felt like something changed. Sven seemed to look ahead and before Kerberos could ask if anything was alright Leotie spoke up. Sahlie? He had heard that name before. "She's not here...right? I thought she was gone or something." He looked between Leotie and Sven. Kerberos was rather clueless on the Tainn. He only knew what had been said at the meeting with Triell and Sven that eventful day. "You know I'm sure it's nothing." He said with a soft smile as he gently bumped against each of them.

Joke courtesy of sarah

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The sound of laughter drifted lazily through the trees, and the dark girl stiffened. She had not expected to encounter another wolf—or wolves, it seemed—just yet. Her thought to signal to her traveling companions vanished, buried under the gently falling snow as her ears twisted back and forth. Even though she had been startled by the noise, Sahalie was not frightened by the prospects of encountering the wolves living in these wild woods. They were laughing, after all, so they could not be so bad. The sound was so pleasant that it began to draw her closer, and that’s when she began to realize there was a familiar quality to it. And, not only that—as she stretched her muzzle out as far as it could reach, as if those extra inches would amplify her sense of smell—it smelled like...she could smell—Her heart skipped a beat.

“Sven?” Was the first name she called. Her paws waffled awkwardly in the ankle-deep drifts, her movements urgent and hesitant at the same time. There was nothing intrinsically odd about another wolf being with Sven, except that it was a particular wolf. “Leotie?” Sahalie would not have expected to find her former packmate on this side of the mountain. If Leotie was here, here—Sahalie’s mind was electrified by the implications. There were a number of conclusions to draw:

1. Leotie had left Oak Tree Bend, too
2. Leotie had left with her father
3. Her father was here
4. The pack she smelled was his
   

It was enough to make her choke. But just at that moment she popped through the underbrush and there they were, a comfy trio standing together in the woods along with a mixture of emotions Sahalie never expected to feel. Her eyes might as well have popped out of her head. “What are….” You doing here? She directed at no one, at everyone.

Leotie said it first, and even though the thought was already within his head, Sven didn't trust his ears. His silver gaze slid her face, asking "what did you say?" before he could think better of it. Kerberos spoke up, assuring them both that they were wrong, but how could he and Leotie have made the same mistake? Sven realized he had stopped walking, frozen by indecision until that familiar voice called out his name.

His heart was hammering now as he looked ahead, knowing where she would appear from before she did. The girl also reached out to Leotie, and Sven vaguely remembered that she'd once been her pack mate. That his friend's father had come here with his family, unbeknownst to her because she had not approved and had not seen him since... since whatever had really gone down with Spieden.

When she stepped out of the shadows and into his vision, Sven wasn't sure what he felt. His ears leaned back and his eyes softened considerably. She started to ask a question, yet even as it hung in the air unfinished he felt it reverberate within him; knew that he wanted to ask the exact same thing.

"Halie," was all he could manage, vaguely realizing that he truly expected never to see her again. Part of him wanted to go to her, to touch her and know that she was really there. Another piece wanted to nod briskly and turn away, taking Leotie and Kerberos with him. If only he knew what was best for both of them. Regardless, he felt he should say more, yet what? I thought you were gone for good? What the hell happened? Why didn't you come to me? I missed you so much it hurt, yet at the same time I didn't miss you nearly as much as I should have?

His tail curled at his hocks and he managed nothing.

She was glad to see Sven smiling and having fun as they were, she had not gotten to see a lot of it in their previous visits. Leotie was so used to working so having this fun with two of the most important wolves in her life. It all seemed to end when she caught the scent of her pack mate and friend. She'd thought she'd been the only one but then her eyes met Sven's and he asked what she'd said. Then she knew he had smelled her too, it couldn't have just been in her head but before she had the chance to answer Kerb chimed in saying he was sure it was nothing.

Leotie didn't want to believe it, how could it be nothing when she and Sven had both caught the scent. It seemed like such a long time since she'd seen the Tainn so she hoped that it really was Sahalie. She had been so wrapped up in her shock that her friend could be there in the Wildwood she almost missed the fact that Sven seemed to know her as well. There wasn't any time for her to ask him about it because Leotie heard not only Sven's name but her own. There was no doubt in her mind now and a few moments later her friend came through the underbrush.

Sahalie seemed just as surprised to see them as they were her as judge by her unfinished sentence. Leotie didn't hesitate instead she ran forward to greet her friend and pull her into a wolfish hug. “I've missed you so,” she said to the girl, “Your father will be so happy to see you,” she added before pulling back to look at her friend, “I hope you are well?” There was the question of what Sahalie was doing in the Wildwood but that could wait as well as the question of how she and Sven knew each other.

It was funny how things worked, they had left the bend and Leotie didn't think she would ever see the Tainn again. Yet here only a few months later they were seeing each other once again but Leotie did have to wonder if this would be the last time. She looked back at Sven the question she wanted to ask him in her eyes before returning her gaze back to her packmate

<center>~Table by Switch</center>

(This post was last modified: Feb 22, 2017, 02:25 AM by Leotie.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

He didn't know any better, like usual. He had never seen or smelt her. How was he supposed to know it was really her? Somewhere between the passing of names his face grew a frown. So much for feeling comfortable in fitting in. It was a selfish feeling that grew somewhere in his stomach. He did his best to ignore it but his damn expressive face wasn't helpful.

He wasn't sure what to do other than stand by Sven as Leotie went to embrace the dark girl. She didn't look much like her father. Short and kind of pudgy. Maybe her mother had looked like that.

"I'll, uh, let you guys reunite." He shrugged and turned around to walk through the snow to a nearby tree. He could hide in the dusk's shadows while they talked about things he'd never understand. Maybe it was best for him to not include himself in this. Then he wouldn't hold anyone back with his jumble of words and or his trying to get to know Sahalie while everyone else already knew her. It felt really awkward even though he knew it probably shouldn't have.

He wondered if Triell knew that she was here in The Wildwood. Perhaps she was on his way to see him. It would certainly be a surprise for the dark alpha and perhaps even Naira.

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There was a lot to feel and not a lot of time to sort through everything. Instead of pure intentions and a clear heart all she had to guide her was a knotted ball of emotion. Sven's simple Halie—not Hal—brought all the guilt bubbling to the surface. His face told her that he knew, he knew somehow that she had left, otherwise he might have just been surprised and amazed to find her so far from home, so close to his—apparently. Thoughtlessly her body mirrored his, and her own tail curled up. He didn't know what to think, he did not smile he did not frown. Their friendship was even worse off than they had left it back in their tunnels, and she was to blame for that, too. Sahalie knew what Sven thought of deserters. Did he think that of her? Her mouth hung open, her face scrunching as she tried to form too many words at once. I miss you or I'm sorry was not even enough, and inexplicably she was reminded of being a cub again: no words for anything, just confusing, overwhelming sorrow and guilt.

She blinked as Leotie's body surrounded her, feeling even more confused because she had missed Leotie too but she also—Sahalie forced the thought aside and leaned in to the embrace. In her beautifully marked fur Sahalie could smell her father, Reiko, Treyah, the woman and more. The frustration returned in a wave and once more Sahalie swallowed it again. Wordless still, Sahalie stared up at her former packmate, and she wondered how she could still miss her dad and yet feel so angry. Slowly, her head moved up and down: she was well. But how could her dad have taken Leotie. How could he not have said goodbye? Why was this what he wanted? This forest, here. But of course: her dad was a ghost.

And this was the Ruins of Wildwood.

But Leotie was all smiles and everything Sahalie ever wanted to be. Her lighthearted face made it even harder to contend with all her emotions, especially with—she leaned around her marbled friend—that other guy here. Seeing him go lurk near a tree only added to her burdensome guilt. He had to be here for this spectacle that had nothing to do with him. Her eyes flicked back to Sven. She wished she could be alone with him, though none of the stuff she wanted to say had anything to do with the message she'd been sent along with. "There's.... So much to say, isn't there?" But still her eyes flicked back to the dark-masked man. They'd all been laughing together. They were friends.

What was she? She was the outsider, now.

"I'm... Sahalie" she said to the man by the tree. He seemed young, probably not much older than Leotie, definitely fully grown. His coat was the richest brown she had ever seen, and the copper markings on his muzzle and ears were striking. “You don’t have to go over there. I don’t wanna exclude anyone.” She looked back at Sven. Did he even want to ask the questions he had? Where did she start? “You’re here already, anyway. And if you’re a friend of Sven’s,” the smile she threw back at him was sad but genuine.

“Then you’re a friend of mine.”

Leotie rushed past him, clearly oblivious to the tension within her friend and packmate as her happiness in seeing Sahalie overclouded the rest. It made him feel all the more awkward, just standing there so unsure of himself and this sudden situation and his feelings. Reservation was the strongest thing within him, and he didn't really want to look at her, but his silver gaze couldn't help but be drawn to those gold gilded irises.

He wouldn't have noticed Kerberos souring if the other man hadn't moved, leaving Sven to stand alone and feeling utterly naked. Momentarily he watched him, and felt a mixture of something attempt to rise to the top of his chest, but it just sunk back down and he was watching Sahalie again.

And she was looking at him. It took a good amount of willpower not to grimace at her words, but they also elevated his heart, helped it to bob upward in the sea of emotion held back by his ribcage. At least she hadn't expected to actions to not have affected him, as many others had. And while she clearly wasn't excited by the prospect, at least that acknowledgment meant she was willing and he realized that despite the absolute loss for words within him, he was too. He wanted to talk about all of it, about everything that had happened to her and taken her away and all that she had felt and thought.

Then she reached out to Kerberos, kindly considering him. The smile she passed out was a shadow of what he remembered, but it brought so much flooding back to him all the same. The mistrust and the hesitation and the bitterness all fell away as suddenly he pressed forward, overcome by the affection he had always felt for his dearest friend. Without another ounce of trepidation he curled against her opposite of Leotie, burying his face against her neck and inhaling deeply.

"I missed you," he admitted, voice raw with emotion, and he wasn't sure if there was much else to say. The bricks he had laid after her disappearance to protect himself from what he felt for her had crumbled and fallen away that easily.