Bearclaw Valley One year later...

Open! :D

Valette crossed the valley and came upon the ridge that hid Bearclaw Valley. The girl never thought she would be able to find her way back here, but she had. It seemed her memory was pretty good location-wise which she could definitely use as a scout. The young female looked down into the valley below, this was where she was born, this was where her mother had her children. Her and their broken family.

The girl moved around the edge, because she knew there was an entrance somewhere down into the valley. Valette couldn't remember much only that there was a big path with boulders. Maybe it looked different from the top. The dark coated female moved down to a boulder, from one to the next. It seemed she had found the path, and with little time she was down into the valley looking over the plains. She gasped. Everything looked so much... smaller than she remembered.

She continued through the grasses, scent marks had vanished meaning that there was no other pack here, that would be bad because then she would be in their territory. She came upon the lazy river that went through it, the one that overflows in a flash flood. Something her parents hadn't known and why their den flooded. She remembered it vaguely... Valette looked at herself in the stream, she was an adult now.

Though the ghost held no particular purpose in his mind when he wandered, there was a tiny part of him that enjoyed it. The tiredness that plagued his long limbs after several days of travel, the ache in his muscles, the beautiful scenery that he was only beginning to appreciate and enjoy, even if it was only a tiny bit. There was something thrilling in exploring places that he'd never seen before, or hidden things that no one came across before him, or so he liked to think. Nevertheless, Icarus still felt empty, and he wondered wearily if he would ever feel full again.

This time, his explorations took him to a secret valley. He'd found the entrance after some probing and examining. Gracefully, he went down the boulder path, unknowingly following the route of a pack wolf who'd been there before him moments ago. Her scent still lingered, but it was only after he stopped at the entrance and sniffed around did he notice. Icarus chastised himself for not noticing, resisting the urge to bite into his forearm, something his master forced him to do whenever he made a mistake, something that was almost second nature to him now even though his abuser was no longer here.

Icarus followed the scent trail then, not knowing why he was purposely trying to encounter a potentially aggressive wolf. But then again, the ghost didn't know half the things he was doing nowadays, having lost everything he knew, owned and had.

It was only a matter of time when the albino found the stranger, dark furred and female, staring into the river. Ica padded forward, his movements silent and sidled up to her, staring into the river at his own reflection before flinching. He'd never gotten used to seeing his own face, even when distorted by the water. Especially those blood red eyes.

Valette sat by the river, looking down at her distorted image. Still, it made her think. What would her relationship be with her father and her mother if they were still living here, having a pack. She might not have met Mason or Steady. She would never have Hiram as her father figure. Maybe her sisters would be still together. It was tough to think about, but on the other hand she didn't want the lose those wolves that she had been close with.

She was so in thought that she didn't hear the ghost approach. She didn't expect any other wolf to be here since the entrance was such a difficult find. However when she spotted movement next to her she was startled and jumped. The other seemed to jump too but not because of her but because of his... refection? The girl instantly had her hackles raised and stood defensively across from him. Her hind legs in the stream.

Her hazel eyes fell on the ... male. But he looked just like his mother. She blinked and became confused. Those red eyes she had trusted, pale fur, yet dark pigment. He was like her mother. For a moment she wished he was her mother. Her heart was racing, growing sad that he wasn't her. That he was someone else. Yet, maybe he was related to her? Could it be?

She didn't find those blood red eyes scary, she looked right into them as she stood across from him, rather shocked looking. "You look just like my mother," she spoke, trying to recover from her shock. For her it was like seeing a ghost because she had passed away.

Icarus spared the swarthy female a glance as she started and jumped, his red gaze scanning over her face with a certain sort of gentleness, before quietly asking, "Are you alright?" in his lilting accent. The wolf noticed her bristling hackles and her defensive posture and almost instinctively, shifted his own to a neutral, bordering submissive one, lowering his head in deference. She was not his master, but she was not his mission either which made the wraith unsure of how to act, though for the most part, he was completely respectful. "I'm.....sorry," Ica said, red eyes widening in what appeared to be confusion, the word of apology slipping easily from his tongue. "I did not mean to startle you, miss."

Icarus took a step forward, then another, closing the distance between them before stopping abruptly, cocking his head as he analysed her expression. She looked confused...but why? The ghost fixed his eyes on her, his gaze searching, as if by looking he could somehow find the answer to his question. It was soon apparent that he did not need to, for the next words to slid out from her open maw answered it for him. Icarus breathed out softly and half lowered, half turned his head away in a gesture of apology and deference, "I'm sorry," he said once more, unsure of how to act for she did not seem happy that he resembled her mother and bowed his head. "I...I...Is it a bad thing?" 

It seemed that the pale male was rather friendly and submissive, trying to apologize. Just like her mother. The girl slowly got more her senses back. "I'm alright," she spoke to the other and then nodded. She relaxed her hackles making them return to their normal state. She looked more curious now, and how the male was getting closer. She was not so sure how to react to him. "It isn't bad or good. I loved my mother, and she died half a year ago. So seeing you just remembered me of her," she spoke.

"What is even stranger is that I was born here, and now I return here and I see someone who looks just like her!," Valette explained. She looked at him in a more friendly matter, instead of such a startled expression. "Who are you? Might you be family?," she asked. She didn't want to scare him further. Maybe that would give her some more insight. "I'm Valette. My mother's name was Scarlett, is that name familiar to you?"

The boy twisted his head, lapping at his shoulder fur as he attempted to process his thoughts. The dark girl told him that she had loved her mother but she died half a year ago and seeing him provoked memories of her mother in her. For that, Icarus smiled tentatively, still unsure of how to react. "What is it like to have a mother?" he blurted out suddenly, before shutting his maw immediately and looking away, a pink tint colouring his pale cheeks. "Forgive me," the man said a moment later, straightening himself and glancing at her apologetically, unknowingly giving her the puppy dog eyes. "I did not mean to be rude," Icarus said, almost automatically which in a way, he was. Manners had only been taught to him for the sake of manipulating others, using it in a genuine situation was strange to him and he was doing his best to grasp the idea of it.

The stranger spoke again, and Icarus, almost startled by the amount of words she was saying, almost took a step back but resisted the urge to. His face remained blank as a slate as he gazed at her, confused. "Um..." Icarus lifted a shoulder in a shrug, unsure of how to explain his predicament. "I've never known my blood family. I was taken away, kidnapped, as a young pup and trained by another to become an assassin. I remember nothing of who they are except for my brother, who is my twin." The ghost's tone was almost apologetic, as if it was his fault that he could not say for sure that he was family to this female. "I'm sorry," he breathed out abruptly after a moment and shook his head, trying to clear his head of troubling thoughts. "My master gave me the name of Icarus Asphodel," the wraith introduced himself after a moment, then offered her a smile, red eyes lightening, "But you can call me Icarus, or Ica, whichever you prefer. Pleasure to meet you, Valette." Those words had been taught to him to be used in situations where he had to charm his way out of it, but for once, Icarus was using it sincerely and his shy smile morphed into one with significantly more charm.

Valette was surprised by the answer he had given her. How did this pup not know what a mother was like? Was he taken from her? The girl heard it all relatively soon afterwards. She shook her head lightly when he asked her to forgive him, because there was nothing to forgive she would be happy to explain it to him how it was to have a mother. "You weren't rude,' she spoke to him before he continued.

He explained that he was taken, which was what Valette had thought moments ago. That was horrible. So it could be that he was related to her mother, and they would never know. This male didn't remember. The girl grew a bit tense when he mentioned that he was an assassin. Hopefully not to assassinate her, because well, she was not good at fighting. She was diplomatically right, and knew how to behave but actual fighting.

The girl nodded back. "Good to meet you Icarus," she spoke in return. "You can stop apologizing to me. However I do hope you are not here to assassinate me," which sounded surprisingly steady coming from her. "I am sorry that you were taken as a pup. Sorry for asking. I can however explain to you what it is like to have a mother? If you want that,' she returned.

Valette greeted him back and told him to stop apologising. He opened his maw then, ready to apologise for apologising before shutting it, realising that firstly, it was a stupid move, and secondly, it was not needed. He cocked an eyebrow however, when the dark furred female told him that she hoped he was not here to assassinate her. "My master has abandoned me," Icarus said carefully. "My master was the one who gave me targets to kill. As He is gone, I am purposeless. I have no one to serve, no one to kill. Even my brother-" he stopped then, and swallowed thickly. "Even my brother has left me." Perhaps Phaethon had not meant to leave him on purpose. In his mind, Icarus knew that his twin would not willingly ditch him, but subconsciously, Icarus felt that it was easier to play the part of the victim.

The ghost shook his head, "Do not apologise," he stated calmly. "You have nothing to apologise for. It is I who is sorry, for unsettling you." He had been taught by his master that he was always the one who was wrong, never anybody else. Ica would always be the one who had made a mistake, who caused someone to turn against him. Master had made sure that if he ever blamed somebody, it would be himself. "I would like that very much," Icarus nodded, "I have always wondered what it is like to be raised with love." He said the word 'love' in a doubtful tone, the word very much strange on his tongue. It was a word he had always known, before never truly understood the meaning behind it, for he never had love, except, perhaps from his twin.

Valette listened to him, and calmed more as he spoke. She gave him a nod to show that she believed him. "I know a great deal about loss too, Icarus. You are not alone. I have lost a lot of wolves I was close with," she spoke to him on a sincere tone. "Though, we look at this positively you can make new friends," she added. The girl nodded when he said he wanted to know to be raised with love. The girl got to her feet. "This way," she spoke, heading into the forest on the western part of the valley.

"My mother was very sweet and soft spoken. Often I think too soft spoken, yet she was more assertive with raising her kids. My father was away a lot, leaving my mother alone to care for four pups. It was not very nice of him," she started to explain. "A mother... A mother is someone you can always go to. One that would be there for you and what ever you did she would forgive you for it, and love you like only a mother could. Mine had this warm voice that always calmed me. If I was sad or angry she knew how to calm me," she spoke. "I think your mother would be devastated knowing you were taken."

The girl entered the forest. 'This is the forest, where the stream continues. We had a den next to the stream, but after a flash flood the stream became bigger and it flooded our den. My mom saved us all from drowning," she spoke, and just as they were finished they arrived by the collapsed den site. It felt good to talk about her. "My mother adopted several orphaned babies too. She loved being a mother for them," she hummed. "Eventually she spoke up to my father for never being there, and they spit. My only brother went with father to a very bad pack. One that also does assassinations and treats other wolves badly. They certainly don't have your manners, Ica," she spoke.

Valette flushed a bit, seeing she revealed so much to a stranger. She turned more to Icarus. "After they split we joined another pack. My two sisters left fairly quickly, not sure if it was our parents break that caused that. Then my mother died of a cougar attack. It was a rough time. I was all alone, kind of like you are now. What I realized is that you don't need your blood family. You can make a new set of family from friends and wolves you grow close to," she advised him. "So, therefor I offer you my friendship," Valette smiled. "Would you like that?

A frown creased the ghost's brow as Valette told him that she knew of loss too, except Icarus hadn't lost anyone but his brother. He cared for no one else, he didn't know how to care for anyone else. Ever since Master abandoned them, Ica had travelled and wandered, never setting down ties, never attaching himself to anyone or anything. Perhaps he did so subconsciously, for fear of unknowingly damaging them, as he had with his parents, and because he too, was broken and Icarus was scared that whoever he touched would be broken as well. A heartless killer he might have been trained to be, but he had a heart bigger than most who had never suffered like he did. Except Icarus didn't know it. "But I have not lost anyone except my brother. He was, is the only one I have ever....cared for. My master tortured me, beat me up, he cared nothing for me, and I cared nothing for him. And I-" Icarus's voice broken then, and he exhaled sharply, stopping abruptly in his footsteps.

The ghost's facade broke, and for a brief moment, all the pain he carried, all the burden and confusion he felt was shown for the world to see, or perhaps, more appropriately, for Valette to see. "I have never known friends," he said quietly, after pulling himself together. "I have never really understood the meaning of that word. In my life, I have only known my brother and my Master. Others, I have killed, or no not their names." He breathed softly, before he began to walk again, indicating that he was fine now and listened raptly as Valette told him how a mother was like. The ghost's red eyes took upon a wistful look as he looked around his surroundings, imagining what he would be like to be a child with a mom who loved them.

Ica smiled when Valette told him that her brother had joined an assassins pack and that they did not have his manners. He knew though, that if they had joined willingly, then they were like his master, an able assassin himself, but also one who tortured others. The ghost did not share his thoughts, however, but kept them to himself, unwilling to tarnish the female's thoughts of her family. She then turned to him and told him the rest of her history, giving him advice of sorts that he did not need his blood family and could find a new one for himself, before offering him her friendship with a smile.

"I...I..." Icarus swayed gently on his feet, his mind troubled. "I'm honoured," he began, "but I don't have friends for a reason. I'm dangeorus, to everyone I meet and I don't want...I don't want to hurt anyone." His eyes had taken on a glassy look then. "My master told me to assassinate two wolves with my brother. We went, charmed our way through, but before we actually went to kill them, a wolf from my master's group informed our two targets of who we were. Turns out they were the wolves of my birth pack, and those my brother and I had been sent to kill were our parents. They rushed at us in joy, but we'd been taught to only complete our mission and we....." he swalloweed, lowering his head bitterly and in shame. "We killed them, I killed them. I can't...I can't...be friends, I don't know how." He shook his head helplessly.

Valette listened to him, listend to the assassin that didn't know how to have friendships. It was not really a surprise, after all the was, as he told her, trained to kill. The young female listened. She was pained to hear that he didn't understand the meaning of having friends, and that, that he was told to kill his parents. That he had killed them. How sorry she felt for him. She did not wish to pity him. Still she thought it was horrible that he was so desensitized that he could have killed the wolves that turned out to be his parents.

Valette smiled kindly at him. "I can help you, and show you what it is like to having a friend. Of course if you really think you are too dangerous and don't want me around I will accept that. But, you saying that you don't want to hurt anyone is already a big step," she complimented him. The male should want to have a friend. She didn't want to force herself upon him, and make the male feel more uncomfortable and upset. "A friend is someone who knows you well. You have already told me personal things that happened to you , and I shared some in return. That, I think, is the beginning of a friendship. You are doing well," she continued.

"You might have done some very bad things, because you were in pain and tortured by your master. But that doesn't mean you are a bad wolf and you don't deserve friends," she hummed. "I could help keep you company," she shrugged. "I am in a pack, Silvertip. It is quite a bit away from here. But if you are in the area you could come and visit me. We could hang out, talk some more, or do some hunting, share a meal. We could do loads of fun things!" The girl looked at him, her green hazel eyes kind. Because in her eyes this male was allowed to have friends. "If you don't want me to be your friend I understand. But you should know that I am willing to be one for you," she explained. "Explain you things you might not understand, or help you feel at home somewhere. Things like that," she offered.

Despite what the wraith thought of as a terrible and fear inducing story, the swarthy female still smiled a kind smile at him and Icarus couldn't help but feel....strange. That she could still be so....nice and welcoming even though he'd just told her that he was a killer, a kinslayer, if you will, which was just about the worse crime someone could commit. Icarus knew if he was looking at himself from another wolf's persective, he would feel pain for them, but would definitely not be as welcoming, but guarded. He looked at her now, and a glint of admiration descended upon his blood filled orbs and he sighed softly, wondering if this place were full of wolves like her, or she was simply one of a kind. Ica settled on the latter. He hoped dearly that she would find what she wanted and have a good life, wolves like her deserved it.

Wolves like him? Not so much.

The ghost listened, pale ears pricked attentively as the girl spoke, giving him advice. She told him she was of a pack going by the name of Silvertip, and invited him to come visit her so they could hang out. But she also understood, saying she would not be offended if he did not wish to make friends with her, and for that, he was shocked. How could someone be so understanding? Most wolves, Ica knew, would push themselves on him, attempt to make friends with him without his consent, but she? She did no such thing. And in his eyes, that made her an angel. He looked at her with reverence in his eyes and Icarus shook his head, almost disbelievingly, "Dear god," he murmured, a smile on his lips, "has anyone ever told you you're an angel? Granted, one with dark fur, but an angel nonetheless." 

Icarus cared not that he appeared to look weird in the moment, because he had to express how sincerely grateful he was to have met her, and how he respected her so much. For a girl like her, she sure was more than she looked. "I will be honoured to be friends with you," Ica said, hesitance lacing his lilting voice, the word 'friend' coming uneasily off his tongue and his face contorted in confusion for a second before resuming it's normal impassive countenance. "Will you really do all that for me, Miss Valette?" And with that, came a rush of fear, that she too would abandon him. In his heart, Ica was still a child, yearning for someone to teach him the ways of the civilised world. The ghost shook those thoughts away, but they lingered at the edge of his conscious, probing for a way to invade him once more. 

Icarus was still weak, mentally. He was a ripe target for his own demons. And oh, oh, they were biding their time to attack...

Valette knew she could talk a lot, but apparently with her words she had said something right. The young female smiled when he called her an angel, a shy smile nevertheless. "Oh stop it," she flushed. She felt like he might be a bit exaggerating the fact that she was just understanding and kind. "But I will thank you for your kind words. See, already making me feel super valued as a friend!," she complimented him back. "I think you are a natural and you don't even know it!

The girl smiled when he called her miss Valette. They were still standing in her old home. Her mother would have been accepting of him too. The girl would invite him in her pack, but she was not sure if Steady would be so accepting of having a former assassin in his ranks. She also wasn't sure what the others of the pack would think. "Of course I would do that. I always stay true to my word," she spoke. "If you need me I will be at Silvertip Mountain. Though, since I am a scout it can be I am away. Are you planning on joining a pack? Then I might be able to visit you!," she spoke to him. She was not sure if he was open for that, willing to live under someone else command.

She felt that he needed a pack where his assassination side wouldn't be triggered. Maybe Silvertip was a good pack for him? She wasn't really sure. She also didn't have the rank to assure him of a place. What if they wouldn't accept him? She would feel so bad. "Anything else you want to know? That comes to your mind?," she asked.

He watched, red eyes glittering with barely concealed amusement as a shy smile adorned the dark female's features and a red tinge tinted her cheeks. The ghost bowed his head, hiding the smirk that threatened to cover the entirety of his pale face. Icarus lifted his head up, however, when she thanked him for his compliment. There was a look of careful hesitance on his face, but a small smile touched his lips, "Are you sure?" Ica asked, his voice almost pleading to be told that he was indeed going to be alright as a friend and a...normal wolf because deep inside, the ghost knew that the assassin inside him was still living there, emotionless, and ready to strike back at any moment. He was a wild card, at best.

"I don't think I can ever join a pack," was Icarus's honest answer. "I've never really been in a pack before. I know nothing of how they work, what the hierachy is. I'm afraid....I know nothing." He flushed in embarassment and turned his head away, unwilling to meet the nice girl's eyes at his moment of complete humiliation. "I don't know what to do with my life anymore, Valette," Ica exhaled softly, red eyes meeting her evenly, a flash of fear flitting over his crimson orbs. "I can't fit in anymore. Not with me..being me."

Valette instantly nodded when he asked if she was sure. "Yes. Ica, I never say something I don't mean," she explained and then smiled. However then he started to explain he didn't know about packs and how they worked. She felt that she should explain it to him how it works. "Of course you can," she spoke. "I could explain it to you," she offered. Valette had mostly lived in a pack her whole life. Several packs even. So that gave her quite a bit of experience with how certain alphas were. All had been different.

"If you know the hierarchy then you will be fine!," she explained. She was not sure if he wanted to know about it thought. "I would bring you back to mine. My alpha is really nice. The alpha is the one who is in charge. Like... a master!," she explained briefly and looked at him. "Being alone on the road can't be fun either?," she sympathized. Valette stepped forward and nudged his shoulder with her nose to comfort him.

"Nonsense!," she spoke with some enthusiasm. "If you are willing to try hard enough then i am certain you can adjust to a normal life," she spoke, wanting to motivate him. "Maybe you do have a place in my pack...," she spoke. "Though I am not in a rank I can assure you a position," she admitted.

The albino tilted his head almost thoughtfully and regarded the darker female with intelligent crimson eyes as she told hm that she would never say anything that she didn't mean. Icarus didn't know if he believed her on that. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he knew, for a fact, that despite what anyone said, sometims one would say something that they didn't mean, perhaps in the spur of the moment. He did not comment on that, however, but smiled gently and nodded, as if silently agreeing with the yearling's statement even if internally, he disagreed.

She explained to him that as long as he knew the hierachy within the pack, he would be alright. The Alpha was like the master; Icarus grimaced at the analogy, memories of torture flitting briefly through his troubled mind. Outside, he hid his grimace behind a mask of a muscle twitch in his jaw and looked away for a moment, mentally pulling himself together. Icarus was sure Valette did not mean it in the way the boy's mind thought of her words as, but the damage was done either ways. He didn't show it though, for fear of upsetting her, which was, for an assassin, a weird thing to do.

"Don't worry about it, my lady," Icarus murmured quietly, lifting his pale crown to meet her gaze, a hesitant smile adorning his lips.

Valette looked to him, only replying so quietly. Her eyes roamed over him for a moment and then nodded. She worried that she had said something wrong, without intending to hurt him. She looked away too. "Anyhow," she started, clearing her throat. "You don't have to join if you don't want to. Just let me know. I won't push you into doing it or something like that," she spoke.

After all the male hadn't commented on the fact that she wanted to come with her to Silvertip or not. Maybe she had been a bit forward with the male. Or the mention of a master might not have been the right one, she realized now. The young female wagged her tail a bit. "I'm sorry if I have been too forward," she spoke, looking at him with a genuine expression.

"Uh yeah, thanks," Icarus murmured softly, before meeting her eyes. "I don't want to compromise the safety of your pack," he began, "so I think I'll just wander for a bit, see who I meet. Maybe, by then, I'll know what I want to do." Something about his tone said that his decision was final. He wasn't going to change his mind, probably because he sincerely thought that was he was going to do was the only right thing to do for someone in his current predicament. Icarus didn't want to ruin his life, or anybody's anymore.

"Ah, don't worry about it. You haven't," he reassured her calmly, with a gentle smile.

Valette nodded in agreement. It seemed like the best way for now. "Soon I will be on my way back, so know that you do have a friend at Silvertip. You should come by," she spoke. She would like to see him again and hang out see how he is doing. This valley was rather save, if he wanted to take a break from the world. So it was a good thing he was here.

"Alright. I am going to go then. I look forward going home. You are welcome to visit me," she commented to him. "Do know that," she pressed on again. She smiled softly at him. "Well, I wish you a good day Ica. You made a new friend today," she hummed.

@Valette feel free to reply again or archive! thanks for the thread :)

Icarus nods vaguely in reply, his lips forming a ghost of a smile. "I shall come and visit when I have the chance," he murmurs with a gentle cant of his head and a blink of his eyes. "Maybe by then, I know what I should do and have regained my purpose and perhaps will have a chance of joining this Silvertip pack." While his words were optimistic, Icarus himself did not hold the same resolve his words did. Inside, he wondered if he would ever be like those wolves who resided within normal packs and had normal wolfish lives. A part of him was damaged, Ica knew that, maybe even all of him and he knew with a sinking feeling in his heart that he would never be enough. 

"Thank you for your help, Lady Valette," he says and bows. Icarus lets none of this frustration and confusion show, however, but offers Valette yet another smile and a few sweet words of farewell as he turns to walk further into the woods, intending to explore this valley before leaving once more.

Valette smiled at him. "I hope so," she spoke. "And even if you aren't sure what you want you can visit Silvertip too,"she offered. With those words said it was time for her to leave. He thanked her and Valette dipped her head before going towards the exit of the valley. She had met this female wolf Minna and was curious to go to her pack. She had heard interesting things so now the ranger was going to look for that after telling this male bits about Bearclaw Valley and a pack's life.

-end-

Amazing thread! Thank you!