Secret Falls Gone Gold

For Mr. Grump @Askan || Late morning, Cloudy, 40°F (4°C)

Adventuring was tiring. That much she had decided almost from the start. At the end of every night she was usually asleep within moments and in the morning she woke up late. Sometimes she panicked if no one was around but it was easy to bump into one of the other wolves around here. They hadn't left her beyond yet. That was good enough for her.

She stretched out before leaving her spot under a fallen tree behind. The young girl wanted to find one of her friends today. Exploring wasn't too fun alone even if it meant she could do whatever she wanted to do. "Hey?" She called out vaguely at first, wondering if someone might answer that. When nothing but a bird call and the rushing water nearby was heard the girl scrunched her masked face. Orange eyes scanning the area.

Hawthorne poked around the general area, humming softly. She was pretty sure she caught a strong whiff of a familiar scent and her tail instantly began to wave behind her. "Askan?" The young girl called out. Maybe he'd wanna explore with her. They hadn't spent too much time together and he seemed to be close with the nice guy who helped her. Which left her with little else to believe other than he'd be like super nice to hang out with.

Even then, days after the deed had been done Askan wasn't entirely sure what to think of Hawthorn. It wasn't as though Reyes had pup-napped her, but would the wolves of the Notch see it that way? As far as he was aware she was about the same age as the Rye pups, maybe a little older? But that wasn't the point he was trying to make. She was old enough to have a mind of her own, to make choices, but was she really old enough to leave home and live with-what was practically-a group of strangers?

Under their care she would be safe, there was no denying that, but Askan couldn't help but question the morality of the situation. What was the right thing to do? Take her back to the Notch and pretend none of this had happened? Or welcome her properly into their fold as a member of the gang?

Dropping to his haunches, Askan raised a hind leg and began to kick and itch away at the thick fur around his throat. It was a dilemma he hadn't expected to encounter and honestly, even if he had he wasn't sure that would have helped.

It was all so tricky tricky tricky. The sooner they settled the better, but as of then they would just have to make do with wandering these woods till they found something worthy of them.

Speak of the devil. Not long after he'd been thinking of her, Askan heard the grey smudge call out to him, her voice soft and tentative. Not a note of alarm or worry, good.

"Yeah?" He asked, as he placed his leg back on the floor. "You hungry? Bored?"

The young girl found him itching away at his neck and she gave a soft smile, ears standing tall to catch his words. Hungry? She thought about it for a moment before her head shook softly. A snack wouldn't hurt but she could easily wait till this evening to eat something. Bored. That was something the ebony and grey girl certainly was. It wasn't something she had been a lot lately but the feeling certainly crept back in every now and then.

"Bored, yeah." Her head shook up and down in a yes motion as her tail kept swaying behind her with friendly excitement. "Was wonderin' if ya might explore with me? I, uh, kinda didn't wanna go alone today." She admitted with a sheepish grin and shrug of her shoulders. He didn't look busy which was helpful to her request but maybe he didn't wanna go - which would certainly suck but she'd be alright. There were others to trail after. That was if she could find them first.

She took a few bounds towards a fallen tree before hopping up on its slippery surface. Her orange eyes looked over to the muddy colored male, inviting him to start their exploring session with a bit of adventure.

"Explore huh?"

That wasn't how he'd usually spend his free time but he didn't see the harm in it. Perhaps it would do them both some good. Stretch their legs and in turn help familiarise themselves with the terrain. If they were going to settle here like Askan wanted then it would better if Hawthorn learned her way around sooner rather than later.The last thing he wanted was for the pup to get lost. Temporarily or otherwise,Askan had taken her under his wing, therefore it was his duty to ensure she was safe. No natter what she would be safe and well and most important of all, happy.

"Yeah, sure. Don't see why not."Askan told her, a slight smile tugging at his lips as he pushed himself to his feet.

Joining her atop the fallen tree, Askan walked along it as though he was a tightrope walker, but not a very good one. He'd never had the best sense of balance, nor was he very lithe or agile on his feet. His sisters had him beat in that regard, especially Lenae. Damn, she'd been like a little bolt of lightning, like a flash and she was off doing whatever. Chasing after butterflies probably.

Damn, he missed her, so much more than the others.

Shaking his head-which was a mistake-Askan wobbled and fell, or rather stumbled off the tree. To his credit he landed on his feet, so he didn't make a complete arse out of himself. But seeing how easy Hawthorn made it look, well he couldn't help but frown and for once curse his bulk.

"Let's pretend you didn't see that."Askan told her, trying and failing to look deadly serious."So come on, pick a direction and we'll go, see what there is to see and all that."

She smiled wide, having to hold back all of her buzzing excitement. Hawthorne wasn't fully expecting him to say yes but oh boy was she glad he did! He was big, and although she was certainly growing herself, she couldn't fully protect herself. Safety aside she felt like exploring should be more than just a one wolf thing.

As the duo moved across the fallen log she kept her balance fairly well until Askan fell off. Concern spread across her face before an amused look took over. He was fine and didn't seem upset which made it okay to have a little chuckle, right? "Hmm," She exaggerated the sound as her orange eyes looked around. There were all sorts of directions to head. Yet the still young girl wasn't interested in the specifics of directions. With a bark of "This way!" she bounded off away from the sound of the water. She wasn't in the mood to go for a swim or even dip her toes in. Hawthorne wanted to explore the dense parts of the forest.

Her tail playfully waved in the air acting as a flag for her exploring partner to follow. She wasn't dashing off but she was certainly covering a fair amount of ground. The young girl's head was tossed over her shoulder for a brief moment to make sure Askan was close by. Hawthorne didn't wanna get lost again. Not yet, at least.

Askan's ear twitched at the sound of her laughter. Being laughed at was never his idea of a good time, but he supposed he could let it slide. It was harmless, really, even he could see that. So with a dramatic roll of his eyes, he followed after her like an oversized shadow.

She was certainly in a hurry, but considering he'd looked after the Rye pups more times than he could count he was more than used to this sort of thing. He kept pace with her easily, slowing down when she stopped to sniff at things and speeding up when her attention was snatched by something rustling around in the undergrowth.

The only difference now was that this wasn't his home, nor was this one of Drestig and Jessie's children. Hawthorne was a bit of an oddity to the Selwyn. Aside from the fact that Reyes had found her during a storm at the Fjord he knew next to nothing about her. Not who her parents were or even what pack-if any-she'd come from. If his mate knew such things then he'd neglected to tell him. But that was neither here nor there

"So," Askan began, his tone as casual as he could muster."Where did you live before Reyes found you? He said you got lost but...you're not missing home are you? Being missed in return?"

Maybe it was a little too much to ask a kid, but she wasn't a baby anymore. She had a mind of her own and if she wasn't being missed then...They'd just have to make up for that fact and look after her twice as better than before.

Her pace slowed down as the brown toned male asked some questions. "I was in the Firs with Mom and Em and Elwyn and..." Well she could go on and on listing the name of those she lived with but her mind wandered to the other questions Askan had asked. Sometimes she missed home but honestly, this right here was a lot of fun. She liked exploring and the wolves here were happy to explore with her. They were good company; in good company, it was hard to miss home.

"Miss it sometimes." She admitted as her face shifted into a conflicted look. "I like it here, though. You guys are fun." Her shoulders rolled softly as she looked back at Askan after sniffing the base of a tree a weak smile tugging on her features. Was it wrong of her to not be desperately missing the Notch? But what about her family back there? Did they miss her? Mom? Emrys? She would shrug off that question for now not wanting to think into it too much. It would probably give her a headache figuring it out.

Orange eyes looked out into the forest foliage, her pace was nothing more than a brisk walk. She wanted to say something but she wasn't sure what.

She was a Fir wolf? Well then...that would explain a thing or two. When he'd first met her there had been a lingering scent on her coat, one he couldn't quite put his paw on. He recognised the smell but hadn't encountered it enough for it to be particularly memorable. What'd even had happened to that pack? From what he'd been told  Gent and his mate didn't lead anymore, that Emrys and his lady friend had taken over, but aside from that he knew next to nothing.

What had they been doing this whole time? Their presence was so minimal in the north that in all honesty, he'd entirely forgotten about them. Gent had been a force to be reckoned with, a big black beast that emitted a staggering sense of authority. Askan wasn't surprised that it was he alone who made the wolves of the Notch seem strong. And that without him the pack had withered into a shadow of its former self.

It was kind of pathetic really, but he wouldn't hold it against the pup. None of it was her fault, nor could she help that she'd been born into a-if Askan was being brutally honest-dump of a pack.

"It's okay to miss home sometimes...Between you and me, I miss my home too. Miss my family, wish I could have done things differently but there's no use in thinking about the past all the time. It'll just make you sad, you know?"A feeling he was very familiar with.

Bending down, he picked up a stick and tested its strength between his jaws. The wood cracked and splintered and he spat it out, squinting as though he'd just licked something sour. He nosed another stick towards her, wondering if she'd want to do the same, a game of tug of war perhaps?

"It's important to have fun. As long as you're having plenty of it and you've got a full stomach everything will be fine, or at least that's what I think."

That was over simplifying things of course but it was a good start. Once she'd worked out those things then it everything else that followed should be as smooth as silk. Or at the very least Askan would do his best to ensure it was so.

@Askan sorry for the short post! and letting this sit forever

Her head nodded in agreement. She did know. She felt sad now just talking and thinking about it. Lucky for her, Askan seemed fairly content to keep the conversation moving and not let the bad feelings simmer in her. "Well I'm havin' fun and I'm not very hungry!" Hawthorne admitted with a large smile before picking up the stick. She waved it about a safe distance from the dark male before holding it out towards him. Maybe she could get him in on a game of tug of war.

Sure, he could likely overpower her but she wouldn't go down without a fight! Not to mention a good little tussle would help get her mind off the sadness of missing home.

Np, my woof muse has been dead also

Askan didn't know how she'd respond to his-feeble-attempts at cheering her up, but to his relief they seemed to have worked. Having fun and not very hungry, what more could he ask for? He eyed her as she picked up the stick and swung it about, as though she was wielding a sword and fighting off invisible foes. The thought made him huff in amusement but her silent offer for a game of tug=of war-made him break out into a grin. Oh yes, this was something he could do with ease. Kid or not he was willing to kick her arse....in terms of tug-of-war anyway.

Turning to her as casually as he could manage, he paused for a moment as though he was considering it, only to bend down and grab the stick with his jaws. He adjusted his grip, chomped down hard and bowed down, his butt and tail wiggling as he did so. Without warning, he yanked back and started their little war. He was going to win, but he damn well hoped she intended to give him a run for his money. It'd been a while since he'd had a good tussle with anyone who wasn't Reyes these days.

"'Um on."He muttered around the stick."'Ull."