The Heartwood the dark half

her days were blended with her nights; she knew she had been wandering for at least a moon, if not more, but that was the barest bit of logic to which vuk was able to cling. her mouth whispered nonsense that her mind did not consider as she walked, moving across the lands until she dropped from exhaustion, or until her body forced her to seek meat and water. raas was alternately cursed and praised by vuk, who had seemingly lost all reason.

that night found her in a dead place, ash rising with each footfall to coat her guard hairs and rattle a cough in her throat. it is what you deserve, the girl told herself, laughing hoarsely in the darkness.

Xan had hurt him.
And it was not the comfort of Potema, or another that he sought. He wanted something greater, he wanted the home that had instilled memories of security and comfort, of a mother and a father and a Reek. And thus he had run, with no specific direction, from the borders of the dark wood, away. Simply away. To here. Barren, a wasteland, it instilled even more fear in him, kept him running even as exhaustion dragged at his paws. He was torn, between the faded, comforting memories of the Grotto and the recent, exciting memories of the dark wood. But Xan was there, and Xan, he knew, was bad. 

He stumbled upon the shape soon, bedraggled and covered in ash and dust, travel worn and unidentifiable. And he, covered in earth and blood, though dried now, sapphire gaze clouded and conflicted. But it was a wolf, or so he thought, and when he found himself a short distance from it, he stopped, watching it and trembling from exhaustion and fear. Silent, he made no noise but simply watched, wary, fearful, unnerved by this creature in this dead land.

vuk lifted her head to cough, to shake the coated ash from her pelt; it rushed away from her in a cloud, returning to the choked air and to the ground. she sighed, lowering her muzzle to search for tracks in the dead earth once more. but all vuk could scent was death; how fitting for her stature as a failed mother, a horrible wife. her last hours would be spent choking upon her tears in this place, vuk decided, and upon a whim she stumbled forward, searching for any beam of light.

the turquoise of her gaze alighted on the burning gems of a small figure some distance away. vuk froze, eyeing the form with fear rising in her veins. surely there were not demons here, come to carry away her soul. "raas," vuk whispered, unable to tear her eyes away.

He trembled as the other latched her haze onto him, whispering something lost to the space between them. This horrible figure, the dead setting, and his own fear rose. He took a step back, tense muscle longing for the release that running now would bring. But he did not run now, though his fear of the creature before him was great, something invoked him to ask something of it.

"Who-Who're you?" Was is question, gazing at the creature with wide blue eyes. His ears were back against his skull in fear and a submissive Ness brought on by exhaustion and fear. Should this encounter had taken place a week ago, he would have been behaving very differently.

the spectre loomed; it did not depart, but spoke instead, and vuk stiffened. it was a child's voice. something nipped at her; it told the woman she should know the sound, but vuk had no recognition left in her. her steps began again; she moved toward the small form stiffly, stopping some feet away. "i d-don't k-know," the patchwork wolfess murmured, surprised at herself. "i h-had a s-son, b-but h-he is g-gone."

why was she telling the ghost this? vuk paused, shutting her jaws with a click and peering warily at the spectre-child she did not believe she was actually seeing. "why?"

the stuttering tone, the voice that suddenly sounded familiar to the boy's eyes. He quivered, eyes wide as if someone had struck him, the words awakening memories withing him. He did not move until her final words had been spoken, his gaze on the creature before him as he cautiously took step after step forward, seeking familiarity in the bedraggled shape. "Mama?" But why didn't she recognise him? Worry and fear mingled with the excitement and shock in his gut, making him a quivering thing. 

He spoke no more words, forgetting his careful stalk and his face splitting into the oddest expression, parts happiness and shock, yet fear. What had his supposed mother become? What if he was wrong and this wasn't her? Fear rose in him, and he stopped, watching her. Where was the Vuk he remembered?

mama.

the voice shook her, the word trailing through her fractured awareness, and vuk blinked. raas -- or the voice she believed to be raas -- whispered insistently behind her ears that it was a trap. her skepticism intensified, and she stared coldly at the child, though at once her vision cleared and she warmed to the small presence. "seff." that had been his name, after all. but he had died, had he not? "did you ... come for me?" vuk ventured in a tiny voice, fearing the pain of death. but her boy -- if this was him -- surely he had not suffered? and here he was, come to bring her over to whatever plane upon which he existed.

His question had been met with a cold gaze that rooted him in his place, ears folded against his skull. But when the voice changed, warmth and his name, did he suddenly see what of his mother remained in Vuk, and approached, cautiously looking upon her with blue eyes filled with hope. "Yes mama." he stated, tail wagging slowly behind him. Then did he broach the final distance between them, cautiously reaching up to plant a kiss on her chin, tail wagging faster now. 

"The white lady took me away, she said we were going away on an adventure. I liked it there, but I didn't like the red-eyed one. He was mean and I ran away when he hurt me. I've been looking for you, mama!" he exclaimed, telling his story in quick bursts as he gazed at her happily, though twisting wory remained as he realized something was not right, something that he couldn't name.

she had not yet come to the realization that this indeed was her son, whole and live. the voice whispered again buk vuk was focused on the lilt of the ghost's voice, the touch of his kiss. he was warm with life, tangible, his young scent filling her nostrils with a familiar perfume, but the girl remained unconvinced that this was seff at all -- what if he was a spirit come to claim her off to some fiery and tormenting place.

"red eyes," she whispered, her fears becoming realized. "how ... how did he hurt you?" vuk murmured, not realizing her stammer had fallen completely away as her entire being fixated upon the small wolf.

He was horribly unaware of how his words may very well be fueling his mother's misconception of their reunion, and though he had been made bold by her presence she shrunk again as she asked of Xan, feeling oddly shamed. she was fixated on him, yet had not responded to his touch as he hoped she would. He too did not realize the absence of her stammer, though dimly something registered with him that something was off. Too invested in other matters was he to take notice, and as the familiar scent of his mother reached him from below ash and grime, did he speak. 

"I-I wanted to go into the cave, but only special wolves could go in. I had to do things for him so I could be special, but I couldn't catch the moose and he was mad!" he exclaimed in fright. "And he attacked me and I was angry and I attacked him and he hurt me!" he finished in a rush, stepping forward to seek his mother's comfort, tear glistening in his eyes as he sought to breathe in her scent, lean on her, comfort himself with her presence.

vuk did not know how to process what seff told her; this was evident in the sudden fear that leapt to her face. yet the woman managed to control her features quickly and gave the ghost-son of her body a gentle nudge. "i am s-sorry that y-you w-were s-scared, s-seff," she murmured. gingerly she made as if to embrace her son, his warmth soothing some broken part of herself. "i am t-tired," vuk whispered then, her voice faint, her eyes roving the wood around them. this was no place to rest, not for either of them, even if seff did belong to this ashen place.

Her reassurances were all that he needed, and at her gentle words and embrace he sighed happily. The boy was not the same one that had left the grotto months ago, yet he was content. His mother spoke of her exhaustion, and he glanced up to her. "me too, mama. Can we go back now? Back to the grotto, and sleep?" He asked innocently, ignorant of the many miles that lay between there, memories of his journey faded.

The name, grotto, was the only title he knew of his home. He knew of places, people that stuck out of his mind, but most importantly, the sense of security and comfort it gave the boy.

*destroys this family meeting*

She had woken in the middle of the night, her body stretching. She found no tiny warm presence, nor heard a soft snuffleing snore. Potema rose, her nose twitching. She searched her den, and without finding him, moved to the herbstore. She moved up to the surface, a fear that had been lingering in the back of her mind since Seff had arrived. What if he left? What if he disappeared like Qilaq had? It was something Potema never wanted to happen; she had grown attached to the child. Perhaps Mephala had brought him to her; her training for the children soon to come, but regardless Potema had become attached. And like a proper mother, she sought out after him.

She moved quickly and quietly through the Woods, unwilling to wake up anyone, especially not Damien. As she moved closer to the border she found his scent, moving outward west-and-north. Potema scowled, wondering why the child decided to leave so suddenly, but she moved after him, urgency driving her body towards her apprentice.

She was no tracker, but his scent was unmistakable. Potema latched onto the trail, half aware that she was now in the Heartwood, only focused on his scent growing stronger and stronger with each passing step. It wasn't long before she heard his voice. Her ears cocked up expectantly. Seff! The woman called, trotting towards the soft sound. She didn't fail to notice the other, older feminine voice answering his. As his form became clear in the darkness, she ran to him, tail hiked over her back as she snarled at the pathetic looking woman. Who are you? She hissed vehemently.

there was a

demon

vuk's eyes widened and she pulled away from seff and his piping voice, his talk of the grotto. there was a pale creature approaching them before she could spirit her son away -- her mind broke within her, and suddenly the veil fell from her eyes. vuk looked upon seff with dawning comprehension. "seff!" she exclaimed, for now she saw him for the first time! now she knew this to be her son, but there was not time for the tears of realization.

and this was no demon, no spectre, only a cold wolfess smeared in what appeared to be blood. vuk's lips parted in a small gasp, but in the next moment the girl found herself between the pup and the stranger. "i am his mother," she growled without her malady apparent, "and i am taking seff home." her eyes burned with a fire that frightened her, for at its edges licked the madness she carried after so many long days of searching.

the boy simply wanted to go home.

His life had been thus far a confusing wreck, unsure of what he felt or of those around him. This, coupled with his mindset, still very much that of a child, had come to him realizing two things. The grotto, wrapped in faded memories of warmth and comfort and simply happiness, was good and full of things he missed. The wood was an exciting place, and there was Potema, but at the same time there was Damien, who he always felt pressured to, somehow, impress, and there was Xan, a figure that still made him tremble. He was responsible for the many gashs that surrounded his throat, the first anger and fear and panic he had felt in earnst. 

But Potema was almost like another mother-figure to Seff, and her commanding call had him freeze and lower his ears against his skull, fearing this would not be as magical and easy as it ould have been. But at the same time, his mother. Something flickered, changed, and she called to him in a voice that was reminiscent of a childhood lived happily in the grotto. He was spent, yet at his mothers vemour did he find strength to move catiously beside her, eyes wide as he beheld Potema. His mentor, his mother-figure, but not Vuk. "I'm s-sorry, Potema. But-I can't stay. N-not anymore." He admitted, fearful to broach the topic of Xan as his faint voice drifted out warily, in contrast to his mother's anger. But Potema had perhaps done more then she thought to have. No matter his future, things learned in the wood would ensnare the boy, and he would remember much of what he had learned under the woman's tutalige.

Her lip curled at the woman's response. A coarse, humorless laugh barked from her throat. Mother? What kind of mother lets her child wander alone in neutral territory? She hadn't smelled a whiff of her on Seff when she had found him. Nevermind the hypocrisy she was committing now; she wanted her boy back.

She stepped forward, prepared to wrench Seff from her or tackle the woman down herself, but the boy's voice stilled her. Her ears flattened against her head, her eye went from cold stones of fury and contempt to a watery pool. No... She murmured. After everything? After the lessons, the stories, the cold nights tucked beside her. It was one of the few times Potema was close to tears. If he himself was telling her no, what was she to do? She had no manipulating words like Cic', no strength to wrench Seff away — would he ever forgive her if she did that? The witch bowed her head, accepting defeat. If anything Seff, She met Seff's eyes sapphire eyes, so similar to hers she might have claimed him as her own if not for her age, Remember what I taught you. Do not forget what I taught you, She stepped forward, defying the woman who claimed to be his mother, placing a kiss upon the boy's forehead, then stepping back, watching them as her heart broke to pieces in her chest.

vuk watched seff with a growing sense of worry as he prostrated himself before this potema. she glanced between the pair of them, tense but unwilling to assert herself unless it was necessary. the pale, fierce warrior seemed to love seff, and while she was hurt by potema's words, she was not going to deny them.

seff's words sounded and vuk felt relief flood her -- she looked to the savage face of the warrior who had kissed her son. "t-thank y-you," she murmured. "i h-have b-been s-searching f-for a  ... l-long t-time," she added quietly, gesturing seff to her side. she wanted nothing more to be home and in terich's arms, reunited with her family.

then she could grieve.

he could see the changes in Potema as easily as the change from day to night. he was hurting her. his throat constricted as saddness battled with joy in his gaze, and he leaned into her kiss with a whimper. but he would promise, for never would he think to forget all that he had learned. "I promise, Potema. I'll always remember." he told her earnestly, and if wolves possessed the ability to cry tears may have leaked from his eyes. he stepped forward, planting a kiss laced with affection and the sadness of parting on her muzzle, eyes bright with emotion. he loved Potema as he would a family member. as he would a mother. 

yet Vuk was truly his mother, and the events of recent had left him shaken, though now longing and sadness tore at him. in a tiny voice, he added "bye-bye, moon-lady" with a small smile, remember the first name he had given her. then he turned, ready to follow his mother to a home he had dreamed of, to be with his true family once more.

She had never felt this heartbroken. Even with her mother, she knew it was to happen. She had prepared for it. But this? She never wanted him, her child to leave. That's what he was; her son. No matter what this woman said; even if she had bore him and nursed him, she had raised him. Her throat was tight with grief, even has he stepped forward and kissed her. She swiped her tongue over his forehead; if tears could fall from her eyes he would be soaked in them.

A sad smile crossed her face as he spoke his first nickname for her. Bye, Seff, She sat, watching as he walked away with his mother, his birth mother. A pang continued to throb within her heart as he faded from few. She turned away, walking back home without a second thought, trying her hardest to forget her first son. Damien was right, then.