The Wildwood tell him, quickly

for @Treyah
January 9th, 2018 Clear, -38C/-36F

He could have been there sooner probably. Draven had told Sachiel that he would hang around for a couple of weeks and it had been much longer than that. The man knew he couldn’t winter out by himself, his hunting skills were average at best and he had suffered a lot of weight loss in his travels. But, he still couldn’t bring himself to leave. It would be intentionally leaving his son behind and that felt wholly wrong to do.

Draven had been so wrapped up in finding his son that he had crossed the mountain without even thinking of speaking to Treyah. Now, as he descended the craigy stone he wondered if she would be upset, or if she had even noticed at all.She had a pack to run and he was just a loner who hung around for a while and left her herbs and had a missing kid. Except that one time they had run into some kind of shrine, that didn’t happen everyday.

Now, he stood there at her doorstep again and this time he had actively sought her out instead of bumping into her. With a small bundle of pine at his paws he raised his muzzle and called for her. Now all he could do was wait.

All of your flaws and all of my flaws

Treyah Tainn

Maybe they didn't want to be found! he had spat at her, his face contorted with anger, the angry slash across his back end standing out in stark contrast to his silky golden fur. I'm not coming back so just leave me alone. I don't want you. None of us do. We don't need you. She had been so shocked she had let him go, and allowed the stormy feelings of darkness to roll in.

The words had been playing on repeat in her head for days, after all, he had only given voice to her deepest fears all along. She walked the borders but there was barely any life to her steps, people talked to her but for all that she could hear, she may as well have been underwater. But the voice howling at the borders somehow cut through the fog and she blinked, her eyelids sticking for a second before she blinked again. How long had she been just staring off into space for?

With a short shake of her head she made her way to where Draven was waiting, forcing a grin to her face that looked more like an awkward baring of teeth. "Draven, you're back! Did you find your son?" Even her voice was giving her away, slower and far flatter than it had been before.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

Sorry about the delay, I actually had this post written and thought I had already uploaded it?

When Draven had seen Treyah’s approach at first his tail had started to wag lazilly behind him. At least she wasn’t mad enough to leave him out here without answering his call. That had to be a good sign right? But, the closer she got the slower the movement behind him became until it stopped altogether. He wanted to move forward and press his shoulder to hers as he had once done when they have been frightened by the shrine. Lifting a single paw as if to push past the boundaries, he placed it gently back down. That wasn’t his place.

Concern swam through his mossy green eyes as he looked over the way she carried herself and as he registered the flatness of her tone. Suddenly, a sick twist in his gut suggested that his appearance might be why she was acting this way. Maybe he shouldn’t have come back at all. Dropping his gaze to her paws he nodded conservatively, ”He’s safe and happy with a pack over the mountain.” She seemed to be trying to smile at him but Draven wasn’t sure what that meant in this situation.

Part of him suddenly wished that he hadn’t come back. He had held this picture in his mind of Treyah looking worried about Lacey but otherwise optimistic and the wolf before him now shred the image to pieces. His dark ears dropped back flat against his skull, ”Treyah, what happened?”

i carried compassion to the point of self destruction
and learned that too, could be a sin

Treyah Tainn

Treyah visibly sighed her relief to hear that Sachiel was fine, but the tension was back when he asked her what had happened. "Uh, well we found Lacey, she was fine too, but then Suka went missing almost straight away, and there was blood everywhere." Even just the memory was enough to leave her short of breath. "I ran into him a few days ago, but he didn't want to be found. He said the rest of them probably didn't want to be found either." She managed a shrug, since she didn't know what else to do. The words had rung true of course, first her brother, then her mother, and how many others since then? "But you must be exhausted! Do you plan on staying long?" After all if what her brother had said was right, he'd be on the move again before she knew it too, right?

Treyah seemed relieved that Sachiel was okay and this Draven took as a good sign, this short meeting had already been a rollercoaster of emotions. This time he could not restrain himself and he stepped forward to press his nose into her neck to comfort her. Her life had only been a year long and she had clearly faced more hardship than was her fairshare; something that Treyah and Draven had in common. Softly he spoke while his nose was still in her scruff, ”What others?” How many more had they lost?

Pulling away the man ducked his head in respect, awkwardly fumbling the bundle of herbs forward towards the leader. He had never joined a pack in the ‘proper’ way before he supposed. Fallen Tree Cove had taken him in with a broken ankle as a child, Quaking Vale had been run by his brother, even now he wouldn’t call Treyah a strict leader. ”Well, if you’d have me I’d like to join you and stay as long as you’d like.” Unlike the others, he wouldn’t leave her.

Feel free to post as being accepted into the pack

i wear my heart for all to see

Treyah Tainn

What others? Her smile faltered for a moment but it was hardly worth holding onto the bad, "My mother, and brother Reiko, Zerxes, Lacey, Suka..." She managed a shrug, "Lacey was found and Suka didn't want to be found apparently. Maybe he was right? Some people don't plan on somewhere being a forever home I guess." It was with his next movement that she took notice of what he was pushing forward, remembering the other offerings that had been left upon the border before he went off in search of his son again and the smile grew on her face as he spoke of his intentions. "Of course! We'd be happy to have you!" She stepped forward to brush her flank alongside his. "So how are things over the mountain, was he with the Bend?" She wasn't sure outside of that and Sahalie's pack if anyone else had settled over there.

sorry I'm the worst 

The list was long enough that Draven stiffened against the teen but he kept silent, she already knew her losses she didn’t need him to lament them. The explanation that some might not have wanted to be found brought a small sad smile to his own muzzle, ”I left my birth pack when I was still very young, far too young to be out on my own.” And yet none of them had tried to stop him nor did they search for him probably. It was only in this moment now as a father himself did he realize just how wrong that was. For somebody who had claimed to want to be a father to them Gent really was shit at it.

Well, for something that was supposed to be a big deal this meeting seemed almost anticlimactic. At least the part where he was actually accepted, it was only a casual brushing of their sides and then he was admitted. Thankfully, Treyah was quick to fill the exchange with what seemed to be a genuine smile and a question. Smiling gratefully in return he offered, ”He had a scar on his tail from a close call with a mountain lion but otherwise he seemed happy. He had joined a pack called Shallow’s Edge, it was probably only a day or two from where the Vale is.” Or was, but Draven didn’t know of the pack’s demise.

i wear my heart for all to see

Treyah Tainn

The thought of a mountain lion left a worried expression on her face and the hair along her spine fluffed. She had only encountered smaller felines down this low but even they had been formidable enough, "And cat scratches really hurt! He must be brave like his dad huh?" She half teased, butthere was sincerity in her tone as well. The pack that he spoke of, she hadn't heard of herself, but that was little surprise, she hadn't spent that long on the other side of the mountain since they had moved. "I should probably make a trip over there once the snow melts, to the Bend to see my sister. Maybe you could come with me?" After all, at this point the two leaders had agreed to one litter and she was sure it would be between him and his mate. There wouldn't be anything to hold her back once the snows had thawed.

Treyah’s face twisted with worry and Draven felt bad that he had even brought the cat up, he hated seeing the way her expression looked when she was concerned. So when she brushed it off with a joke and a laugh the man smiled gratefully, though he felt some colour creep up his neck. It felt almost, flirty but he wasn’t sure if that was true or if he was just making things up in his head that he wanted to be true. There were times when the night was cold that he missed Neha and everytime that happened he felt guilty because he knew that he didn’t miss her he was just lonely.

So the thought that Treyah was suggesting that they make a trip together felt somewhat like a dream come true. Now his smile spread, actually reaching his eyes for perhaps the first time since he had actually found his son, ”I would love to escort you, but I have to warn you I’m not the best scout out there.” As seen clearly by how long it had taken him to find his son.