Stone Circle Oh, misty eye of the mountain below

@Mara Susi


Valette's absence, while at first a constant thorn in her side, she had now grown accustomed too. Though to say that it did not bother her was a lie, for she longed for the prescence of her mentor and idol and mother, now. She had a tendency to wander from the den, and today was no different, when she chanced upon a scent trail. This was new, for sorting through the mental catalog of scents and faces offered no results. Brow furrowed, it was after a beat that she decided to follow the trail in the snow, wondering just who had laid it.

Mara had been getting to know the new terrain of East Hollow, and she couldn't help but reminisce of her time back in Silvertip Mountain, it was disappointing to know she threw that life away for a second time...but this was her new start. She would continue to work for her friend Steady, even if it was with a heavy heart. Her wonderings didn't cease until a new scent filled her nose, the wolfess lifted her head and spotted a young wolf following behind her. She instantly smiled at the yearling, this must of been one of the puppies Steady was raising. "Hello, there." Her voice was upbeat and kind.

Her tracking proved successful, and soon she caught sight of the rump of what must be the newcomer. She hurried to catch up, and obviously the other heard her, for she turned t the young girl with a smile. At the other's greeting, Keoni chirped a "Hi!", and offered a grin in return. 

"Who're you?" She intoned with a curious tilt of her head, wondering just when and how the woman had become a part of Easthollow. It seemed to her like ages had past before another had joined her small family, of Steady and Valette and Nikai and Adeline and Grayday, and of course, the male's own family.

She enjoyed the yearlings curiosity and lowered her head to be more toward their size. "I'm Mara Susi, but you can call me Mara." The wolfess exclaimed, tilting her head to the side with curiosity of the young one. "I'm the newest member of East Hollow." 

"You must be one of Steady's pups, right?" She wasn't aware of the other children amongst the pack with an entirely different group of parents, but the most she knew was his. "What's your name?" She asked.

The girl looked to the girl with a smile still, tail wagging amiably as Mata introduced herself. Commiting the name to memory, she, after a moment, prepared to introduce herself in turn, but was cut short by the further words of another. She nodded quickly to the question, pipping up quickly after. "I'm Keoni! My brother is Nikai and Valette is our mama" she rattled off, introducing the whole of her family in a breath.

On a roll, she continued in an excited rush, "Day is my friend and so is Adeline and Amber was fat but now she has pups and Mirabelle is nice but she did a misunderstanding." she breathed with an excited grin, unknowingly butchering the usage of the word learned from Valette ages ago.

Mara couldn't help but laugh, she loved to see the mind of a child in action. Their rambolings were always entertaining, and she listened best she could. She didn't answer her question directly, but Mara was aware Valette and Steady were raising the pups together, so put two and two together on her own. She furrowed her brows for a moment, wondering what the misunderstanding could be. "Your family sounds wonderful." She insisted.

"What kind of misunderstanding?" She questioned, wondering whether or not she should pry. It likely wasn't too big, so she'd let her answer first.

Keoni, it seemed, was a rather dramatic storyteller, and the opportunity to tell such a tale, though it remained murky in her own mind, was certainly very exciting. "When I fell in the river I got sick and I was really really really sick." She begun with gusto, body stilled as she plopped onto her rump to better tell the tale.

"Belle took me and gave me yucky things. But Steady was really really really mad so he bite her and everyone was mad but Valette says it's okay now. It was misunderstanding." She informed the woman matter of factly, the event not affecting her as it had in the heat of the moment weeks ago, as such was the resilient (and often forgetful) mind of a child.

Mara was somewhat shocked by the seriousness of the story, and decided to lower her haunches to the ground as well. Part of her wished she'd returned to Teekon earlier, as pups were a specialty for her, and she likely could've been of some help. Her ears lifted in curiosity as the child continued the story. 

"That's...intense." She wondered if the kid would understand the word, but nonetheless decided to say it. "Well, I'm glad you're okay now." She said, a warm tone to her voice.

She seemed shaken, which, oddly, pleased the girl, who decided that the shock factor was rather fun. Her brow furrowed momentarily at the new word presented,  asking immidietly after,  "What's intense?" chances were, should she be told it's meaning she would use it excessively for days, as was habit with words deemed exciting and new. She found herself rather liking Mara, a welcome distraction from the fact that Valette was gone.

Yup, she thought right. The child didn't know the word and she found it difficult to explain without using other foreign words to the yearling. "Well, uh...it means extreme force. Do you know what extreme means?" She held an uneven smile, wondering if Keoni was old enough to understand. Her ears lowered, by wanting to put her in an even more confused situation.

"I know! It means...veryveryveryvery." she explained confidently, tail wagging. Extreme wasn't a word she used often, almost never, but she found that it's meaning came (somewhat) easily. After a moment, she continued. "So intense is...veryveryveryvery too?"

Mara paused to think, before giving in to the less accurate answer. She couldn't help but smile at the young ones mind, and finally nodding. "Yes, that's exactly what it means." It was always fun to teach someone something new, it gave her a sense of meaning she had lacked when leaving Teekon.

Mara's approval brought a smile to the girls face, setting her tail wagging. After a moment, she grinned, then pipped up. "Gonna go find 'kai now. Bye bye Mara! " she had a habit of abruptly ending conversations, and this time was no different. Beside, she was hungry, and the thought of hunting mice with her brother was certainly enticing. Thus she spun with a final grin, trotting off to play with Nikai and perhaps teach him the all-new word.

thank you for the thread!!