Sacred Grove stop, i could have dropped my croissant

Azra wasn't on his own per se, now. But he felt very adrift without the friend he had roamed the east side with. Sita and Walleye were perfectly fine, but they weren't the ones he wanted at his side for certain things. He had made so many plans in his head, so many places he had wanted to visit. Marian wanted nothing to do with him, anymore—actually, she probably did want to do something, something probably very violent. So Azra was left to wander the ancestral Tainn lands by his lonesome.

At least there was no one to tug on his ears or nibble his rump.

Because Azra was Azra he spoke to himself as he wandered. "Boy it feels different here." The earth felt weird beneath his paws as they sank through a thin crust of old snow and into some mud. The river bed lay sensually out before him. Swift River lay on the other side, most likely, wrapped in the fork of the river. "Do you think Grandma walked here?" Probably.

Surely?

Arcus and Incus were.. fine on their own. They'd made the exact same journey that she and Jasper had made, they'd found enough food and water to stay alive, and they'd somehow been able to navigate these strange lands without getting separated or killing each other, so they really didn't need her, which left the soot-stained girl in an uncomfortable position, because regardless of how hard she tried to fight it, she craved the validation that being needed brought. Maybe she should have stayed home, after all. 

Snow fell lightly though the trees, re-blanketing the earth where patches of of thaw had begun. Juniper had set out that morning without any real destination in mind. Okay, so maybe the yearling was hoping to stumble across Charred Ash Draw, but not really. It was more of an 'if it happens, it happens' kind of thing, since she could have probably asked Arcus for directions, but she didn't want to make a thing out of it. Honestly, she just felt like being alone, or without her siblings, at least. 

A voice on the wind told her that she wasn't alone, and oddly enough, she felt drawn towards it. From what she could tell—and smell—he seemed to be talking to himself, so she called out as if the stranger were talking to her. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Oh!" he barked, wheeling around quite suddenly to meet the voice that answered him.

Through the trees he could make out a tall, feminine shape. Craning his neck to see around a thick clump of undergrowth, he got a better look at the stranger. She looked so much like "Ma—Marian is that you?" that, for a second, Azra thought his friend had come back. Had she forgiven him? Her fur was dark and her eyes were yellow. They seemed kind. Too kind, too soft to be Marian. She would have torn him apart on sight. Now that he looked closer he could see that this lady's cheeks were bright cream, framing her face in a nice way. Marian's face was all dark, her eyes oranger than these.

Quickly he shook his head, as if to clear away the image of the dark Selwyn scowl and sound of vengeful insults being hurled at him. "S...Sorry. You looked like... uhm." He really didn't want to think about her.

"Someone I knew. I thought I'd seen you before."

(This post was last modified: Mar 28, 2021, 07:45 PM by Azra.)

He seemed a little startled, or perhaps excited as he whipped around. Her lips parted to loose an apology, but she didn't get the chance before he mistook her for someone named Marian. Dark brows knitted themselves together as her head fell lightly to the side. Clearly there was someone out there who looked at least a little similar to her. How weird. "Oh—"

He was quick to cut her off with an apology, but Juniper felt that an apology of her own was in order. "Oh, no, it's okay. Uh.. I'm sorry I snuck up on you." She hadn't meant to be rude, or inconsiderate, and his use of the past tense made her feel even worse about it. Oh god, she hoped that whoever this Marian wolf was, that they hadn't died or something, and she'd given the stranger false hope. "Were you... we're you looking for them?" The youth regretted the words as soon as they'd fallen from her maw, because if Marian wasn't alive anymore then it was going to be terribly awkward, and if they were alive, well, there was nothing she could do to help anyway. The only wolves Juni had met thus far were her siblings, and that pregnant lady by the river.

They were apparently cutting each other offer as Azra vaguely half tip-toed, half tripped towards her. "No, no I mean. Its my fault I'm—"

His mouth abruptly shut so he could let her ask her question. Was Azra looking for Marian? He took a deep breath. It was a more complicated question than the stranger seemed to realize, although as he considered her she did seem a little uncomfortable and hesitant. He would be looking for Marian if there was any sign or hope that she would forgive him, or get over herself—either one of those would do for him—but otherwise he would have just been looking to get beat up. Perhaps, though, he was looking for the good times they were supposed to have here. He would have shown her Swift River, they could have tried to find Copper Rock Creek, and gotten lost in search of Secret Woodlands. They'd see all the places that their families were from, and Marian would have pushed him into every body of water.

Shrugging, his head shook slowly as he started down at his paws, "Oh no, we got into a big fight, see. So I wouldn't look for her unless I had a death wish. You ever piss someone off so bad you're afraid to ever see them again?"

(This post was last modified: Mar 28, 2021, 10:46 PM by Arcus.)

She took a step towards him as he half stumbled in her direction. "No, it's—" She was cut off by her own giggle as they once again tried to speak at the same time. Clearly neither of them were good at taking turns.

She stilled as he contemplated her question, trying her best not to cringe, while simultaneously running through possible responses should the stranger reveal that Marian had passed on. When he finally answered, saying that they'd simply had a fight, she nearly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god. "I think everyone does at some point." Though she had no way of knowing the magnitude of his problem, she could at least empathize. Not even Juniper was immune to hurting her sister's feelings, or saying hurtful things when she was frustrated. That was just.. life. "But avoiding her won't solve the problem... if you wanted it solved, anyway." She offered a non-committal shrug.

Does everyone? Azra made a face: lips twisted off to one side, eyebrows pursed together but not harshly. Azra didn't really get into fights. Maybe with family, a long long time ago but not that he could remember. Just with Marian, who seemed like she had wanted to fight almost all the time. This fight had been much different than "Why are we taking Sita over the mountain" and more like Why are you such a terrible fucking slut? He gulped, averting his gaze from the strange woman. "Yeah... I guess."

"I think I'd rather avoid her though," he said with something between a cough and a laugh. Normally all this would have been very good advice, Azra was sure, but at the moment it seemed to ironic. He opened his mouth briefly, as if to tell this woman why he didn't want to repair Marian's shattered respect in him, before he thought the better of it and cleared his throat. How do you say, "Well, you see, I didn't have sex with my friend, instead I did it with a friend that she hates. Because I'm a dumbass." Did he regret it? No....not really...kind of?

He just regretted how complicated it made everything.

He definitely couldn't tell this random lady all that. Not while she was... clearly still in heat. Damn. Was it all of them? "I don't think we're friends anymore. It's fine.... I really didn't ... I'm sorry," he shook out his whole pelt, "I'm Azra."

(This post was last modified: Mar 28, 2021, 10:58 PM by Azra.)

Juniper had no idea what the problem was, and yet, she felt bad. Worse than usual, even, that her advice had been unable to fix whatever his issue was. He seemed so sad, but maybe she was just imagining it.. 

Dark lips pursed, but her brows kept themselves knitted together. "That's ok, too. Not everyone is meant to be in our lives forever." Some wolves were there to teach them lessons, and some were there to flicker through, and perhaps, sometimes you were there to teach someone else a lesson. There was no way to know in the moment, who was who, and which was which. At least, not until after the fact.

She chanced a step closer as he apologized, but halted before she got too close. For some reason, she wanted to reach out and comfort him, but that was weird. Juniper certainly didn't know this man, and her comfort would probably mean little to him. "You don't have to apologize." Azra hadn't done anything wrong. "I'm Juniper Leigh. It's nice to meet you."

"Not everyone is meant to be in our lives forever." seemed like such a cold reminder of everything Azra had ever experienced. Marian, his mother, his sister, his father, his family... Was no one meant to be in his life forever? Azra had never believed in fate per se, but something very close. He had tried to tell Marian about it when they first met: the force that pulled him and everyone along. He swore that he could feel the strength of something tying them together, but it had since unraveled. And now he could feel only the vague suggestion tugging at his paws like the feeble breeze.

The girl—Juniper—told him he didn't have to apologize. He took a deep breath, pulling in the breeze and stirring the naked branches around him almost imperceptibly, "I'm... " he stopped himself from saying sorry yet again, and just tilted his head at her, laughing a little that he couldn't help himself from that word. "I struggle with being present sometimes. I have a lot on my mind, Juniper." This seemed like such a weird thing to say.

"I came here cause this is where my Grandma used to lead before she took Swift River over the mountains. Then they became Oak Tree Bend." For some reason that seemed important to justify.

Having absolutely no idea what her words might have meant to him, Juniper watched and waited for him to respond, hoping that it might have been the right thing to say. Unfortunately, Juniper's wisdom didn't seem all that helpful in remedying whatever situation this man was going through. She worried her lip as he spoke, but listened intently, because sometimes a wolf just needed someone to listen to, and while it really, really wasn't her problem, or any of her business, it was in her nature to help.

The stranger continued on, talking about his grandmother, and some place called Swift River, and Oak Tree Bend, and it was all she could do to say, "I'm sorry. I kno—" She cut herself short, realizing that he had said Oak Tree Bend and that was a name that she recognized, but Juni wasn't exactly sure that this was.. the right moment to say something about it. She wrestled with herself for a moment, before finally caving, because curiosity had gotten the better of her. "I know that talking about it helps sometimes, but you also don't have to talk about it until your ready, and with someone you trust..  And uhm.. Did.. did you say Oak Tree Bend?" Her voice was small, but her tail gave a hopeful wag.