Overture Downs And someone called me by my name

@Valette You can set this in your timeline as you wish, since Saena's is already messy. ;)

The sky was a hundred shades of blue and grey as Saena padded across the open meadow. The uniform green of summer gave 'way to straw-coloured grass and trees whose boughs mimicked fire, and Saena knew a more splendid sight could only be found at her present destination. Far ahead was Jade Fern Grove, not so jade in these autumnal months, and beyond that, the stunningly gorgeous maplewood she had called home for nearly a year before Reek and his avarice had necessitated their departure.

Before she would ever make it there, though, the clouds opened up and rain poured out. It wasn't an all-out deluge, but it was enough that within minutes she was soaked. Ordinarily Saena would seek shelter when the rain was thick enough to haze out the horizon, but this time she pressed on. This wasn't just any scouting mission, after all. She imagined there was a deadline to this journey, as if not making it on time would ensure that she could never reclaim her daughters, and the thought made her heart ache far worse than the chill of any rain.

Great! Thank you!

Valette had split off from Ezekiel not because she didn't like his presence but because splitting up they could cover ore ground. They might have found a possible spot but Valette did want to look further. She disliked to settle for the first thing they liked. Valette found a meadow she had not been before. She was pretty sure that the rout she took was past the small like with ducks. Now she looked at the landscape from a higher hill she was pretty sure the lake was to her left.

Valette trotted on as the rain was starting. She was rather indifferent to the rain but she imagined an open space like these open plains perhaps might not be a good location for the mountain wolves she lived with. The darker colored girl trotted on. A fleck of white appeared in her vision she briefly wondered what brightness would live here. However the girl realized it was a wolf like her traveling with a mission in mind. Valette let out a howl to the other, wondering if she might be willing to stop and talk to her. As Valette moved closer she started to recognize the wolf's shape. She knew this wolf. "Saena!," she called out in shock. Instantly feeling so bad for losing the maplewood pack on their travels. Where they here? In the valley? That confused her.

Plod, plod, plod, went Saena's feet as the ground began to grow slick. Soon she would need to stop, if only for her safety, but the mantra in her mind was the names of her children, and the beat of her heart was a ticking clock. If she stopped and let her heart beat without movement now that she was so close, she would never see them again. The irrational fear that they would float out of reach forever dogged her steps and kept her moving.

A nearby howl caught Saena's attention and she turned her head, scouting the horizon for the caller, but in the rain she saw no one. Darker wolves blended in with the hazy surroundings. It was only when Valette drew nearer and called out that Saena actually stopped and squinted, and finally was able to make out the figure cutting through the downpour. Saena's ears flipped forward as she stilled in place, and when the girl was near enough for recognition, she squared her shoulders as well.

"Desna," she greeted coolly. Some of her memories were lost forever, but others she recalled with crystal clarity, including the majority of her life in the taiga, with some exceptions for more stressful and traumatic events, not that she knew that. Desna's and Luke's disappearances during the pack's relocation had not been forgotten, and she could feel little else but disappointment as a result.

Valette was rather excited to see Saena. Perhaps now she could find out where they eventually went too. And to tell her that she didn't leave on purpose. She had genuinely gotten lost. The woman however greeted her rather coolly. The darker female flickered ear ears back in uncertainty. "Saena... It is good to see you," she spoke, her tail having a bit of a guilt like wag behind her. "I --" Where should she even start? Saena has tend to react in a certain way.

"I got lost during our travels and then when I found the location were were camped out you were gone," she spoke, trying to not sound accusing. "I couldn't find you guys anywhere and then the famine hit-- I'm sorry that it might have looked like I left but, that wasn't my intention," she started speaking. She hoped that she would be forgiven by the female. If she wouldn't it would be a pity but not the end of the world. "How-- How are you?," she asked.

Saena's ears and brows both pulled higher when Desna claimed she was happy to see her, at least in some respect. Saena wasn't happy to see the smoky yearling, but thought better of stating it aloud. It surely showed in her aloof stance and the bite behind her greeting. She only knew Desna as an unfaithful wolf who had disappeared like Luke, and she no longer had any time for that sort. Unfaithful wolves had made her life a living hell since months ago. It was an unfaithful wolf who had stolen her daughters.

She'd once considered it unfair to lump wolves under the same category for mere similarities in their traits, but now she did exactly that with Desna. "I don't want to hear your excuses," she said tiredly. "You could have found us if you cared to. You have a nose. You have a voice. It's not like we got up and flew away." In conclusion, Saena had every reason to believe Desna simply hadn't wanted to find the slow-moving Phoenix pack, or maybe hadn't even tried. There'd been no howls. Desna had been an aspiring hunter, like Saena, but last Saena checked, she could track a wolf for miles if she wanted to. There was no compelling reason for her to believe Desna had been unable to find them.

Still, as chilly as she was toward the now grown wolf for what had happened, she could understand that when the famine hit, her options were to starve or find another pack. For that reason the ex-Alpha wasn't as acidic toward Desna as she would be to any other wolf who had left the Phoenix pack at another time. "I've been better," she grunted in response to Desna's well meaning question, with eyes that grew hard at the thought, but she was polite enough to at least ask, "you?" in return.

If Valette was honest with herself she could have expected the reaction she was getting from the pale female. Still the young girl felt bad now she actually saw her former alpha. Perhaps she had not searched hard enough, but the bugs crawling everywhere were also quite scary at the time. Plus feeling so detached from everyone was also not helping her case at the time. Saena faced her with brutal honesty which Valette rather liked. She wouldn't really want someone to tell her it was okay. She knew the truth that it was not okay. Maybe she was just giving excuses hence why she just shut up instead of making even more excuses.

Valette frowned lightly as the other said she could be better. Now the girl looked at the other woman's state it could indeed be better. Valette didn't know what happened to her. She had not be there perhaps that is why she did not feel entitled to ask about it. "Not sure if you want to talk about it, but if you feel to share then I'm open to listen," she offered. The young female was still curious about what happened or where the maplewood wolves were now. "I'm doing well. Steady, a friend of my mother, took me in during the famine. I am working on my hunter specialty while I became also a scout along with the ranger specialty. I've scouted out the Sunspire Mountains, The Flatlands, The Taiga and the Rising Sun Valley," she explained, only to show the other that she had been searching, although perhaps not specifically for her previous pack. She was happy at Silvertip. She felt valued.

"Where did you locate too?," she asked curiously. She had only a few directions to go. The south was mostly undiscovered. So it was most likely in her mind that Saena's pack was located to the south. However it would be nice to know the exact location. It meant that she could perhaps pay a visit.

She received Desna's news impassively, listening but not feeling one way or another about it. The girl had become a hunter and a scout, and Saena fought back a biting desire to point out that she was clearly not suited to either of them if she couldn't find an entire pack, but Desna had not sunk into pettiness and neither would she. The woman still had a bit of maturing to do but she was at least growing to show more maturity in the presence of younger wolves. It wouldn't do to behave poorly when her companion was behaving well.

Desna asked about the location of the pack and Saena stiffened. "South," she said noncommittally. "No offence, but I'd rather not share more than that." Desna would need to find them with her nose if she wanted to meet with them. Saena was far too cautious to give out information about her pack's whereabouts, especially considering the reason she was so far from it in the first place. Before it wouldn't have been an issue, but now...

That made her pause. Desna may have "betrayed" the pack by never returning to them, but Saena had known Desna since she was tiny and still fresh to the world. She didn't trust the girl but neither did she distrust her as readily as she would someone she didn't know. Certainly she knew that Desna posed them no threat. So she breathed a sigh and murmured, "sorry," paused again, and then shared, "Reek found them somehow. He kidnapped Laurel and Indra." Whether someone had tipped him off or he'd just magically stumbled upon the pack hundreds of miles from his own, Saena didn't know, but she wasn't willing to expand the network of wolves who knew where to find them. Reek already knew where they were and clearly would stop at nothing short of his own death, and that thought opened a whole can of worms Saena was not willing to face at the moment. She hoped Desna could understand that.

Valette was not offended by the other's words at all. She knew bits of Saena and how she reacted before. The girl knew that she was in the wrong before, yes she had left and showed a lack of loyalty. Valette shook her head. "None taken," she spoke. Besides she still wanted to scout out the hinterlands. It would be her private mission to find Saena's pack. She knew she could do that as a scout. She already was a ranger by now. Plus she had to visit Charley Pryor too who also lived in the south.

Her ears perked up at her apology, one she didn't expected. The words that continued made her wince a little bit. Very softly. She met Reek before he was trying to find his kids and bring them back home to Larksong. He had told her so. Then at the time she was so busy with her future mission that it didn't really occurred to her that he was basically telling that he intended on kidnapping them. Jesus. These kids. They were juggled between fighting parents, which could not end too well for them. If she looked at her own broken family. Perhaps she wasn't as kind and nice as she thought. Maybe she was just as selfish as her father had been.

"Saena... How awful. Is Milo still okay?," she whispered feeling really ... bad. Perhaps she could have changed Reek's mind? Though, could she really? "I would never imagine that he would do such a thing." Her face fell into a bit of a frown. "That is why you are here aren't you? To get them back." It was more a statement than a real question. This was a mother on a mission.

If nothing else, Saena could rely on Desna to be an understanding wolf. Already the former Creek Alpha's chilly exterior was melting away in the younger wolf's presence. Her shoulders sagged slightly as the weight of her mission once more lifted, but it was far from over. She had many miles left to go, and when she got to her destination, she had one hell of a battle to fight for the right to take her children home. It was a right she had by virtue of being the one to labour and birth them, but she didn't expect Reek to give them over easily. The mental preparation for it was bound to be extensive, and already the task exhausted her.

A wrinkle of true confusion marred Saena's brow at the name Desna offered. "Who's Milo?" she asked. She searched Desna's face carefully, looking for any sign that she should know who this individual was, but there was no way she possibly could. She couldn't even fake knowledge to get around the conversation. She'd never known a Milo in her life, though the way Desna asked it almost suggested that Saena had another child instead of just two girls. But that was impossible. She'd never forget her child... and perhaps that would be what tipped Desna off to the fact that something had happened to Saena, as well.

"Yes," she affirmed, her face set into a mask of determination. "I'm bringing my girls home, whether he likes it or not." He didn't have a choice anyway. They belonged to her, and she had renounced his involvement long ago, and that was her right as mother.

The girl watched as the other seemed to relax more. Valette kind of knew how to behave around Saena but it was perhaps also true that their personalities matched in a certain way. Where others might defend themselves Valette often tried to see another perspective. Her question about Milo was rather shocking to her. The young girl looked at her with disbelieve and swallowed. "Uh... Well, the last time I saw you I was helping you carry Milo, Indra and Laurel," she spoke to Saena. She was not going to turn around those facts.

She looked wit curiosity at Saena. Was she alright? What had happened to her former alpha while she wasn't around. Valette was not really informed after all. She had not been in contact with the female. She felt bad for Reek, he only had his daughters for a little moment and now they were taken again. She was surprised that Saena even let him take her pups which was a valid question. "But, if you don't agree with him taking them then why did Reek manage to kidnap them?," Valette asked. Her bond had been better with Reek after moments of doubt. She did not want to go there again. She looked at Saena with a sigh. "I guess it isn't my business," she spoke for herself.

Valette still wanted to help out though, if that was possible or at least let Saena know that she had a friend in her. "Are you alright though? You seem... different," she admitted softly. "I am not your enemy, Saena. Perhaps I can help. Be friend to you."

Desna's words settled into the pit of Saena's gut and weighed her thoughts as well as her features down. The sinking feeling in her heart only grew when she recognized seriousness in the younger wolf's face. She could have handled being tricked, albeit not gracefully, but Desna showed no signs of lying. That only left one question: where was Milo? Spring had mentioned only Laurel and Indra, and Saena remembered only Laurel and Indra. She didn't remember having a son, and didn't understand that he had died. That memory remained locked behind a grief she scarcely could recognize.

"I..." She faltered, smacked her lips and shifted her paws, then said, "I don't know. I got sick, lost my memories and got some back, but there's stuff... I don't remember. I don't remember a son, I don't know where he is, he's... he's not..." It came out lamely, like a poor excuse, and so her words trickled off. It was a poor excuse, even Saena knew that, but it was also her only explanation and it was real. Nightmarish, but no less real. She sagged on the spot, overcome with new feelings as she contemplated the fate of her alleged son, and it was Desna's voice once more that lulled her back from a brink she didn't know she was fast approaching.

A more reasonable wolf would have seen the innocence in Desna's question. Saena was anything but reasonable, though, especially with new knowledge that she might have more to deal with than just the kidnapping of her daughters. Desna's question came out like an implication to Saena's ears and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're right," she snapped, voice chill and closed off, "it's none of your business." The truth, bitter pill that it was, was that she had failed her family. But Saena was never one to take the full blame for anything. She blamed herself, of course, as evidenced by her response, but she blamed the others just as much if not more. They let Reek take Laurel and Indra, where she never would have let it happen if she'd been there.

What warmth had existed between them was snuffed out as Saena reminded Desna that, "the last friends I trusted let this happen in my moment of weakness. I have no need of more friends to disappoint me."

Valette got some information from the female, about a sickness and how she lost her memory. Valette was surprised that Saena still remembered her. Perhaps because the female saw her as a traitor that she remembered her. She seemed to remember Reek too. The girl nodded slowly when the female spoke. She was not sure what to say, whether to be diplomatic or not with this female. Then perhaps Milo had not survived the trip, which was more than likely because they were so young at the time. "Perhaps he is no longer with us," she spoke.

Saena continued but rather harshly, something she didn't really expect. Surely she did predict the comment of her saying that it was none of her business but she also continued that she didn't need her as a friend. Valette felt some pity for the female, she was like this too when she had been alone. Surprisingly she could see a bit of a connection there. She inhaled softly, followed by a firm nod. "Alright, don't trust me. But if you ever seek a friend I guess I would be open for a friendship," she spoke to the pale female. Saena taught her how to hunt and had been a role model for her for awhile. Valette was not one to give up quickly on others.

She stepped back, quickly scanning over the large meadow and quickly knowing in which direction she would need to go from here. "I will leave you to your mission then," Valette spoke, most of the time polite. Conflict was not really her thing anyhow.

Something about Desna's ability to just accept things got through to Saena on some level. While she continued to grump and bristle both internally and externally, her eyes widened a fraction at the girl's easy acquiescence to her rejection and her lips quirked lightly. Maybe Desna wasn't beyond saving after all, but it wasn't a door Saena intended to open now. Perhaps in the future, when her circumstances weren't so dire and she wasn't being torn up inside by the kidnapping of her children, she could revisit the offer.

"Farewell," she grunted, but even though she wanted to, she was unable to put the same biting chill behind it. Desna had grown into a wise woman, wiser than Saena, and probably more mature as well. It left her with something to think about. An attitude adjustment could be in her future, but for the present she could only think about her one goal, and she turned promptly to return to her pursuit of her daughters. She spared one backward glance at Desna's retreating silhouette, but knew it was unlikely she would see the girl again, and pressed on.