The Wildwood colouring of pigeons

@Chulyin

She wasn't far from home, and had never gone any further south of the creek who's banks she now stood upon. No one had ever told her not to venture out, but she had self imposed this limit. How easily, and how long Mercy and Aponi had gotten lost for... It would be all too easy for Nova to get stuck out there all the same. Just as she had finally resigned herself to the supposed fact that the two would never return, they had appeared on the borders.

She thought she would be overjoyed by their return, as Mapplethorpe had assured her that they eventually would. However, Nova couldn't help the sick pit that formed in her stomach when they had. Nova could do nothing right before Aponi, and now Mercy was surely under her sister's paw. The pack had become a swirl of energy as soon as the two had come back, Nova doing her best to keep well out of it lest Aponi make her bring her food or water or whatever else the princess deserved. Nova groaned, trying to remember a time Aponi had ever been nice to her... The memories were there, but from a time when all was fuzzy and indistinct. It might as well have never happened.

Before Nova had even a chance to run across Mercy, her friend, Aponi had whipped up a storm over something Nova wasn't quite sure about, and now her, Mercy, and Karpos were gone. She'd never talked much to the Slayer boy, not that Nova was very talkative to begin with, and now she probably never would. All because of her stupid sister.

Nova stepped into the creek, now contemplating crossing into the unknown beyond it. A blackened forest tinged with the vibrant greens of new growth lay on the other side, and something about it called to her. Maybe it would refresh her mind to get away from all of the drama of the pack... At least for a little while.

The Slayer boy had been left at the borders of the River and Chulyin put the whole ordeal behind him. The child was an enemy now, but the man did not linger on that. He was surprised at how quickly he simply didn't care. He had bigger things to deal with. His sister, her children (both born and unborn), the Keep in general. Not to mention his own problems. For this short moment, Chulyin let himself be selfish and concerned with his own affairs: the child that he might have sired, his waning mental state and how he was all too aware of it all. It felt hard to believe that life might inevitably go on as normal. But it was incredibly likely that in a few weeks time it would be. He would be quiet and diligent, ever present and obeying. The damned woman would be forgotten about and gone forever. It would all be over and Chulyin would be thankful for it. But right now, as he stood at the cusp of the Wildwood, staring towards Ghastly Woods, he was so damn unsettled by everything. Something in his body, perhaps his heart, commanded that he run. Reclaim his life while he still had life left to live, and yet his brain, yes he was certain it was his brain, told him to stay. This was his duty and everything he had ever worked for and he was selfish and a fool to turn his back on his family.

He lingered quietly on the fringes of this unfamiliar land, before turning his back on his home for a moment, wandering towards the creek that wound its way through the damp wood. His heart skipped a beat when he caught the scent of his remaining niece, Nova, within the wood. No, this was unacceptable. As he approached the creek, he saw her treading into its depths. "You aren't leaving too, are you?" He called out to her, not yet at the edge of the creek. His voice was so desperately teasing, as though he wanted this to be a joke. But it wasn't and as he came up to the water, he began to follow her, though only his forepaws found their way into the water thus far.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

Nova waited in the creek a moment, the cold water filtering past her long legs, the icy feeling seeping upwards and cooling her thoughts. Without her notice her eyes closed as she breathed deeply. She stood and listened to the trickling sound of the brook, stress that she hadn't realized she'd been carrying soothing out of her stiff muscles. She didn't expect Chulyin's voice, but it didn't surprise her, either. She opened her eyes again, peering over her shoulder at her uncle, standing half on the bank and half in the water.

What he said, however, did surprise her. "What? No," She answered, confusion tinting her voice. A joke, maybe, but he wouldn't have said it if he weren't already thinking it. How could he think she could just leave, too? Nova didn't value her family so little that she could just leave like that. "I was just... going for a walk. And I'm not going to get lost." Nova elaborated. Now that the words were out of her mouth, they sounded like a lie. Not even a good one. But he would just have to believe her, and assume she hadn't taken a sudden turn towards obliquity. "Maybe, you can come with me?" She offered, a small light in her eyes and a swish of her tail, hoping that he might say yes.

As he watched her from the bank, there was a quiet pleading in his brain. It chewed at him guiltily, bore sadness into his veins. There had been Karpos and Aponi. The two he had bonded with the most, the former of which had not even shared his blood. Now both had left, abandoned their home like spoiled treacherous children. It stung to think such things, but he knew it to be the truth. And then there was Nova, his niece, whom he had barely spent much time with at all...And now here he stood, suddenly caring because she was the only one left. It was selfish and awful that it had come to this. But she spoke up, giving an answer that he had not expected. She was just going for a walk. The man blinked, a smile creeping up his muzzle. Just a walk, that was all, and did he want to go with her?

The sole child left in the Keep, though hardly a child anymore. Chulyin pushed out the encroaching dark thoughts, and moved further into the water, following her. His own tail wagged enthusiastically over his back, "Yes, I think I will." Was his answer, accented with a slight chuckle, recalling her insistence that she was not going to get lost. No, she certainly wasn't, not with him tailing her. Treading through the creek, he realized that he knew very little about Nova. What she liked or anything she was even remotely interested in doing when she reached a year in age. Luckily, the man found no discomfort in silence, and if she wanted a quiet walk through the woods, then her unspoken wish might be granted.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

Nova smiled as he chuckled, her black tail swinging at a quick pace, happy that he would be coming with. It had always seemed like Aponi hogged the limelight and left Nova in the dust, but even while her sister had been missing Nova still felt like she was on the sidelines. It made her feel as if she wasn't really worth anyone's time, and only had herself to blame for that. It was too easy to retreat into nature and into her own thoughts, leaving social opportunities unexplored and underdeveloped.

While Nova crossed to the other side of the steam with Chulyin, her long legs gave her the appearance of a heron moving through the water. Unfortunately, the girl lacked the coordination of one and when her paw met a slick, algae covered stone, she was unable to hold steady and slipped. She caught herself, but felt the skin under the dark fur of her face warm with embarrassment as she avoided looking back to see if Chulyin noticed. Hopefully he wouldn't guffaw and tease her as Aponi had loved to do.

Once her paws were on more solid ground, Nova quickly yet carefully scuttled up the bank and into the forest proper. She set a slow pace, curious eyes and nose lighting upon the strange scenery. Dark scars curled around the larger trees, yielding an acrid scent when probed with a sniff. Some even had the leafless, naked appearance of a tree in midwinter. Never had she seen something like this before, unable to even invent a phenomenon to explain it.

Nova paused when they came upon a blackened stump, a single leafy sapling clinging with spindly roots to its jagged crown. She stared at it, her head tilting side to side with the accompaniment of a confused whine. "What's wrong with the trees here?" She finally asked, turning her head to look at Chulyin, baffled concern furrowing her wide brow.

In the end, family was all that mattered, and if he thought only that, then perhaps he would survive. If family wanted to abandon him, was it not still his job to ensure that they might still live on, wherever they went? He'd done so for Naira. Aponi would not be an exception. But as it stood now, she was an adult, and he would leave her be to survive on her own. In time, he might search her out, knowing that she likely would not leave the area. Or perhaps she would. Either way, it was not Chulyin's immediate concern. He would concern himself with the family that currently remained, one of which being Nova. He followed after her through the water, half-lunging forward when she slipped, prepared to haul her out of the water, but she recovered, and he gave her space. Hard copper eyes watched her quietly as they eventually both left the water, and he followed her into the trees, pausing for a moment to shake the water from his still winter-heavy coat.

The trees in this place were strange, and though he had not been here when the fire had claimed most of them, he could say with certainty what had happened, though he could not say how long it had been. There were many smaller trees, saplings, finally finding their way above the surface, and older trees that had survive the event, but not without the scars to show. It was somewhat haunting. Coming up beside his niece, he gave the stump a sniff, ears twisting back at the scent that still hung heavy on it. "There was a fire here some time ago, it seems. The forest is still recovering, it seems." Nostrils flared as his stomach clenched, the idea of fire increasingly terrifying to him.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention