Cedarwood Forest these broken wings

Karina’s cloudy blue eyes met Kjors’ golden single, so full of sadness and concern for her as he brushed away her tears. She blinked, too surprised to continue crying, feeling as if she was staring at the only person who truly knew her. He backed away and their moment was over, and the pup wagged her tail with uncertainty. Her eyes trailed back to the ground as Kjors began speaking of babies, and she nodded along although it was hard to believe what he was saying was true. At least there was one wolf who wouldn’t think the new pups were better.

Karina perked up at the mention of the badger woman. She hadn’t actually seen a badger before, but she acted as if she understood the swarthy man’s description of his lady. She felt a strange smugness when Kjors described this other woman as “grumpy,” and the pup got the impression that badgers were not the most sociable of creatures. It surprised Karina to say the least that this badger-woman “wasn’t interested” in Kjors.. if anything it ought to have been the other way around. She wasn’t worth a man like him, and if Karina had been more confident in her opinions about love matters she might have told Kjors so.

He turned the conversation back to her, and she felt instantly guilty at his question. ”Oh!  No.. no,  my family loves me.. my parents..” for now. “..and Aleksei.” until there’s a new sister.  “..and my teacher, Lachesis.” until he meets Amisun. “I should go. They will be wondering, you know..” The pup dashed back to the lavender patch and began digging, channeling her guilty feelings into the action. She had come all the way out here, and she wasn’t about to go home without replenishing her stores. She had been burning through lavender very quickly as of late.

Yes, there were people who loved her, but nobody who really understood.  She wished she could bring Kjors home with her, but she knew her parents wouldn’t approve of a wolf who wouldn’t submit. Cut Rock River might be a family, but they were also a pack, with rules and a hierarchy. Kjors didn’t have a prayer of fitting in. “Will you be around? Here?” the girl queried, turning her attention away from her task. “I.. I think we’re moving soon. My family, I mean.” Child though she may be, she had heard the adults whispering. These woods were too crowded, by too many enemies. It didn’t seem fair to talk of leaving the Cedarwoods right as Karina was making a friend here. “What if I can’t find you again?”

   

    
 

The situation with Urotho did not please him. As delighted as he'd been to be reunited with the female he'd formerly been courting, it seemed that things had soured-- No, that wasn't quite the correct word for it. Things had chilled between the two of them, sliding backwards down the hill after they'd been torn asunder and tossed upon different trails. In that time apart, something had changed between them, and the dragon was certain it hadn't been him. Whatever it was, he would ignore the cold shoulder he'd been receiving. There were plenty of other fish in the sea, as it were, and plenty of other wolves for him to meet.

The princess before him only made case in point.

With a soft sigh, he focused back on the youth, unmoving as she scavenged about the flower path. "Mhhm," he rumbled, voice noncommittal as she quickly jumped to her family's defense. The sooner one could admit to the fault in their blood, the sooner they might overcome it. It wasn't his place to judge – the family probably did love her – but if she was alone, crying in the woods, they were doing a shit job of showing it. Likely, they didn't care as much as they said they did – but that was always the way with runts, wasn't it? Assured you it wasn't a problem until they were poisoning your food and planning your demise.

Shifting uncomfortably, he rolled a single shoulder. "Didn' know Cut River Rock was leavin'. Ah'll be around, Princess. Not here, though. Ah was jes'…y'know, checkin' things out. Ah'll tell ya a secret though, y' gotta promise not t' share with anyone, y'hear? Ain't interested in gettin' involved in other wolves' fights." The dragon paused for a moment, waiting until he had the pup's full attention before he continued. "Me den's in th' Ghastly Wood, alright? Bit north a' here. Tend t' keep t' th' area. If ya need me, y'can always fine me there, yer always welcome, alright? Y'take care of yerself, Princess."

No one else will.

Yay! You're welcome to make one last post or you can just archive it, now that they've said their goodbyes. Excited for thread #2!

Kjors made a noncommittal sort of noise when Karina attested to all those who loved her, as if he didn’t quite believe that they really did.  His doubt only furthered that of the pup, and she dug all the more furiously at the lavender shoots. Her face lit up when her new friend confirmed that he would be “around”  and just as quickly her expression fell when he didn’t promise she could find him here again. The lavender patch was nice and all, but it was really Kjors who had cheered her up. In fact, Karina thought perhaps if she could just see Kjors every now and then, she wouldn’t need lavender at all. His presence and his words had the same calming, reassuring affect she sought from chewing on the scented plant.

She abandoned her task in the lavender patch when the swarthy man spoke of a secret. “I can keep a secret,” she promised, paws carrying her forward a few curious steps. Her shoulders lowered and her tail fluttered against the ground, the girl the very picture of an excited beggar. He imparted the location of his den in the Ghastly Wood, a place she’d never heard of but would no doubt visit soon.  Perhaps by then he would have grown tired of a solitary lifestyle in a “ghastly” forest, and he might think about moving a little closer to the lively Cedarwood Forest. After all, it seemed everyone else in Relic was moving in.

“I.. I’ll try,” she vowed, a little sad as she sensed her dismissal. It had been her idea to go back home, but now that they were saying goodbye she felt the desire to linger. After heaving a resolute sigh she scampered to the lavender patch to grab up as much of the pile of dug-up plant shoots as she could hold. Mouth full, she said her goodbye with her eyes, giving her new friend a last, wistful look and a whine farewell before trotting off through the Cedarwoods.

   

    
 

I can't wait for the next thread either!

"Good girl."

Ah thought as much.

A princess, a daughter, and a sister. This was not the first secret she'd been told – and the dragon had faith she knew what to do with it. Ultimately, it held not such a hefty weight that if the words passed from her mouth he would be sunk, but it was a fair test. If his confidence was rewarded, the timber wolf would know he'd found a true gem. One uncut and hidden in her raw state, and perhaps all the better, for the world around her had yet to influence her and form ugly flaws.

With a smile toying at the edges of his lips, he gave her a small nod. "Remember, lassy. T' th' north. Hard t' miss. Me den's a bit ugly, an' it's under a tree. Y'know. A dead one." And with that final instruction, Kjors watched as she would not quite make a promise. A good sign, he thought to himself, that she was worried if she could keep it, and, perhaps, a hint that she would do her damnedest to do just that. The youth scooped up her bounty from her journey. She was a smart young thing, knowing better than to return home with empty paws, and then Karina was off, back towards her pack lands.

Perhaps, if he were a younger wolf, more reckless and foolhardy, he would have followed her. But he was no such thing. Once the she-wolf was gone to the horizon, he finally turned northward, content to find his den once more. Time would tell if Karina would come to visit him again.

{i}Exit./i]

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health