Cedarwood Forest a burden lifted

<i>Before midday. Clear — Current Temperature: 50° F/10° C</i>

<blockquote>That fateful day - that fateful decision - had erupted into something that Trisden had far from expected. She had told Hocus not to expect her home if she did not return by sunset. And while the afternoon had progressed quietly enough to begin with...

Well, she had not returned by sunset.

To this day she was unclear what she had seen, though had spoken of it to no-one, not even her brother, who had loyally set out in search for her despite her request. It had still taken him some time to find his ponderous sibling, but reunite they had - and, in truth, he saved her life.

Trisden hadn't realised that the world was so cold outside of her mother's influence.


Why it had taken them so long to return was all Trisden's fault, and she accepted the blame without hesitation. It was no secret that her brother was angry at her, but that didn't matter either; out in the wild, Trisden had sought revelation, and had not been disappointed. The only trouble was deciphering what the revelations actually meant. She needed guidance and the wisdom of her betters, and while Hocus was a good start, neither of them were old and experienced enough to really be of help. Trisden sorely needed her mother, or Kiche. Whereas she did not expect to know where to find the latter, she did know where to find her mother.

That's when the guilt hit. She hadn't been keeping track of the days... how could she have abandoned her family? It was with their best interests at heart, she tried to tell herself, because she could not bear to tarnish them with the evil following her - but she thought of her mother's face, and the worry she must have felt, and hated herself for causing any pain. That was not supposed to have happened.

It was just another subtle sign that Trisden was returning a slightly different wolf to that which had left.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b>"Come on, Cirrus,"</b> she said warmly, the eagerness plain in her voice. Going home! For a child who had rarely stepped foot outside of 'home' until that day, the notion was almost alien; never before had she felt this incredible tug to one place, and the satisfaction of seeing familiar landmarks. Best of all was when her mother's scent hit her nose and everything was automatically a thousand times better. <b>"We're almost there! Don't fall behind now."</b></blockquote></font>

<blockquote>Families, you can't live with them and, apparently, they couldn't live without Hocus saving them from falling into streams, tumbling down hills, losing their grip on shale mounds, eating five-day old rabbits... Specifically one very inept one. Hocus had no doubt that Arlette wouldn't have had these problems. That said, Arlette wouldn't have wandered off into the wilderness in search of something. Hocus could understand why she had gone, Creater Above, he had encouraged her to find her spirituality, but he hadn't though it would involve <i>physically</i> finding it. Surely the answer could have come to her? A good night's rest and a full belly would have clearly brought her an answer.

The thought of food momentarily lifted Hocus' cynicism from his sister and dumped it onto another topic. Finding food had been difficult. They were barely trained to hunt, and they weren't following any specific prey for most of their journey. Hocus had been forced to hunt down the lion's share, not that he got that share when he brought it back. Hocus almost shocked himself with his bitterness there, but then the numbness of his paw reminded him of the cost of some of the kills. Ugh, stupid sister, stupid Creator, stupid... everything else.

Hocus barely recognised the familiar landmarks as they passed them, weary as he was from missing three out of every four of his naps. It was only his sister's voice that reminded them that they were near to home. His eyes were drooping shut, but he managed to force them open, following his sister a little less eagerly, if only because he was tired. He could smell his mother, which gave him a small spring in his step but he quickly found himself hobbling and swaying, so he slowed to a light trot. Ugh, she'd probably be fine this close to home, she could go ahead a bit. He gave her a malevolent glance, although immediately rued it. She didn't deserve his malevolence, she'd suffered just as much as him. Ugh, the things Hocus did for love. </blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Feb 05, 2012, 09:20 PM by Hocus.)

the war outside the door keeps raging on.

She paced. All the internal chaos she had to do something. She'd patrolled the borders, she'd tried to find a meal, and she even thought about finding someone to talk too. When trying to follow a trail she had instead stopped, and drifted back to the den. If Trisden and Hocus came back they would come here first she kept telling herself. She continued her rough motion with her body rigid, walking from one end of the hollow to the next. Very soon the whole open space was nothing but tramped snow. Would her last strings of sanity be ripped from her? She had searched high, and low for any whisper of their scents. It was the past repeating itself, as she had went on a wild goose chase first for Propser than Borden. She would not let herself think of them as dead. She would deny that fact until she saw proof, melting into herself to avoid what pain this would further do to her heart of shambles.

She marched on starting once more to ignore the pain of hunger, and thirst wondering to call and see if anyone had found anything. She was starting to tremble by the building pressure, but she did not slow trying to think what she hadn't thought to do yet. They had to be found, they had to be somewhere.

In the distance she was sure she heard voices, and she froze. It was soon quiet, and she flicked her ears, her pale crown rising to strain for the truth. Her hopes sank, feeling it was only her imagination being cruel. Wait..there it was again. That voice. It was not Lettie's, it had to be...

She tore through the woods steering clear of all objects to reach that sound hanging on the edge. There they were, safe and sound. Eyes swelled up with unbidden tears at her relief. "Trisden! Hocus!" She did not halt until she came upon Trisden first, and she swooped her eyes over her coat making sure she was unscathed. "You're alright!" She barked, trying to ring her emotions in, but the tears were already falling. She nuzzled her nose to her daughter's cheek before turning to her son. "Hocus!" A smile was eager to cross her face, and she bounded over to him giving him his own warm nuzzle.

(This post was last modified: Feb 05, 2012, 10:48 PM by Jaysyek.)

<blockquote>Having experienced Hocus' downtroddenness for a long time, Trisden didn't particularly notice it. As far as she was concerned, it was the norm for him nowadays; call her unobservant, but when he was grumpy all the time, it was damned hard to take all that seriously. As such, even if she had seen the glance, she would not have been too offended by it; there was a new strength growing within her, a cautious strength, and she knew better than to believe that Hocus could do harm to her.

Her mother, though, in a very strange way, could do harm. Emotional harm. Trisden's heart leapt into her mouth as she heard the oncoming footfalls, hardly letting herself believe it, but then came that voice and the unmistakable white pelt which signified everything safe and happy. The distraught relief on Jaysyek's face tore the girl apart, for she had known her unannounced absence to be cruel beyond measure, and this day had been so hard to get to grips with. A vicious cycle had worked its way into her habits, forcing her to think of nothing but returning, but with every day that passed, it had become harder.

In a moment of determination, she had led them back, and her barriers washed away as her beloved mother swept towards her.

<b>"Mother,"</b> she breathed, meeting the affectionate greeting with enthusiasm, tears threatening to swell in her own eyes - but she repressed them. She watched, suddenly breathless, as their leader went to Hocus, and Trisden found she could not fit everything she wanted to say in her mouth at once. It all accumulated into one feeling: <b>"I'm so sorry."</b></blockquote>