A sense of trepidation kept Wildfire at home for close to a week before she decided to venture out again. She was on higher alert than usual as she crossed over the borders, especially because she was headed south. She saw no sign of Rig as she roamed past Nocturne Summit but she didn't really start to relax until she reached the stream that fed into Lake Rodney to the east. She turned to follow the waterway to the lake shore, amber eyes squinting at the caldera in the distance. Surely Fox had given birth by now, yet it was still too early to visit them. Wildfire deliberated, then decided she would give it another month or two before she went knocking again.
Instead, she forded a shallow part of the stream and then began to lope across the open plains. There was an oasis up ahead, one she had visited a time or two in the past. But as she approached now, intending to reacquaint with the fen, something gave her pause. There were scent markers on the breeze. Wildfire slowed, eyes widening slightly when she realized the strongest scent of all was familiar. She hadn't seen
@Sebastian in what felt like forever. Had he found himself a girl and settled down here?
I tagged for visibility but anyone's welcome. :)
Yay!
Sebastian was starting to become more comfortable in his newly chosen territory. He had spend a few nights here, getting used to the surroundings. The large male was still pretty impressed by the land that hadn't been taken by any pack. He still had to find something wrong with it. In Sebastian's eyes it was perfect. He was even starting to mark where he planned his border. Only lightly seeing that he did not have that many recruits yet that could strengthen that scent. But he did want to send out a signal that a pack might start here.
The grey male trotted past the water back to the edges of the land he was intending to claim. The woods that sheltered part of the fen were perfect for marking. Sebastian was close to the spot he entered the fen when he ended another wolf close by. The male sniffed the air and let out a soft chuff. He was not sure if he knew this scent or not, it smelled familiar in a way. He trotted towards it, when his eyes fell on the reddish coat he instantly knew who it was.
"Wildfire!," he let out, sounding surprised and extremely happy about seeing her. His tail started wagging as he trotted closer.
Their last encounter had taken place nearby, during the search for Finley. Wildfire remembered how Sebastian had promised to come back to Redhawk Caldera after spending some time away, searching for a lady friend. The scent markers indicated a plot twist, though it wasn't one that perturbed her. She wasn't even living at the caldera herself anymore, so she could hardly fault Sebastian for finding his own place. An overwhelming sense of curiosity swept over her as she wondered what series of events had led him here to the fen in particular.
She wouldn't have to wonder for long, as the man himself suddenly appeared, breaking from the trees. Their tails began to wag in unison as Wildfire let him come to her, mindful of his newly laid borders. "Seb!" she shouted, reaching out to brush her smudged snout against his neck when he came within reach. "It's so good to see you! I was in the neighborhood when I caught your scent," she explained, a note of inquisitive delight in her voice. "You settling down here?" she asked, although the answer was rather obvious to anyone with a working nose.
Sebastian greeted her back with the same amount of affection. She had grown so much since she last saw the young girl. She was more of an adult now and it was just impressive to see her like that. When he thought of her he had to admit that he only saw the little girl he knew when he was at the Caldera. How times had changed. "How nice of you to come by!," he spoke in return. He followed with some nodding. "I am trying to," he explained with a hint of a smile, looking quite proud actually, especially seeing that he was so smitten with this piece of land.
He remembered how he told her that he was going to look for a female but that story had ended rather quickly. Sebastian tried to stay more positive lately. "But! How are you? You don't smell of the caldera? Did you find a new home?," he questioned before she could switch and ask about how he failed getting a girlfriend and ended up becoming a big brother to the brother of his ex. Sebastian really was too nice sometimes, still, he knew Aduin was a good guy. "You look really good Wifi," he complimented.
He confirmed her suspicions and she shot him an encouraging smile. Sebastian was quite different from her parents and Charon (the Alphas in her life), yet she thought he would probably make a pretty good leader. He had a good heart and would rule firmly but fairly, acting as the pack's gentle patriarch. At least, that's how she envisioned it in the brief seconds she had to contemplate it.
He quickly deflected the question back to her and Wildfire readily answered, "Yeah, I left the caldera last fall to join my friends' pack at Moonspear. One of those friends is actually my mate now, as of a few days ago," she shared, a tooth digging into her lip to keep a smile from splitting her face wide open. "How about you? How'd your quest for love turn out?"
Sebastian sat down, interested in her story. The male hadn't realized that she left the Caldera, but it seemed natural for the girl to go her own path. He was surprised that she found a mate already. His eyes widened a bit but soon his face was covered by a smile. "A mate? I'm happy for you Wildfire," he spoke, genuinely happy for her. "I am sure you will have a great life with this guy." He didn't know the male she mated but he knew Wifi's judgement. It would be a good one. Sebastian's face fell a bit when she asked about his love life.
He shook his head slowly and then looked down. "Um...," he mumbled. He felt a bit pathetic. "It didn't work out," he spoke then, scowling a bit. He had decided to skip the whole mate thing, sure he wanted to start a family and he wanted more responsibility but he realized that if he kept looking for it, it probably wasn't going to happen. He looked kind of sad about it though. "It is okay, you shouldn't seek for those kind of things."
There I go again, Wildfire chided herself even as Sebastian looked sadly at his feet. Always with the foot in the mouth! She sighed inwardly, then bent to give her "big brother's" cheek a nudge. She then decided it felt too formal, facing off this way, so she scooted to sit beside him instead, leaning companionably against his much larger, bulkier frame.
"I'm sorry, Seb. But you know what this means?" Wildfire said, tone upbeat. "It means that the love of your life will just show up on some—I don't know—some idle Tuesday, when you least expect it." A smile curled her mouth as she gently dug her elbow into his ribs in another affectionate nudge. "You're too handsome and charming and stuff to be forever alone. And now..." She straightened her neck to look around them. "Now you've got this nice patch of land to call your own. That'll definitely lure in some ladies, I'd think."
Sebastian glanced to the side when Wifi cheered him up. He smiled at her sadly. "It is okay, Wildfire, don't feel guilty," he spoke to her and nudged her back. A long sigh left him. "Probably one day. I had a girlfriend briefly but she was younger than me and... Well not ready for what I wanted. She kind of left, or well we broke up. So I guess you are right. When you are not paying attention it might happen. Probably without me knowing seeing that I have no clue how to deal with this," he pointed out to her.
He had to smile when she spoke about Broken Antler Fen. "I hope it will work out. I would like to have my own pack. I don't have much experience but as you know I will give my full 100%," he spoke to her, not that he needed to prove that to her, it was more for himself, to assure himself. He shouldn't be all sappy about not having a girlfriend. He could do this by himself. He had been by himself for a long time. Aduin was loyal to him, a good friendship, just like Wildfire. He could always go to her. "Friends like you are most important," he then decided with a bit of a smile.
Sebastian said he would give it his all and Wildfire replied easily, "I know you will. And things will work out, where they didn't work out before." Her lips twitched into what she hoped was an encouraging smile, then she leaned over to give him another nudge when he mentioned the importance of friendships. "You mean little sisters," she corrected him, golden eyes flashing playfully.
After a moment, Wildfire couldn't help but wonder, "So, what led you to choose this place? You don't have to take me on a tour." His claim might not be formal but she still wanted to observe etiquette here; a wolf did not tread on another's territory unless they were part of the pack. "I've been here once before, though I honestly don't remember too much about it. What kind of... features does it have?"
Sebastian smiled back when she handed him an encouraging smile. The young male nodded in agreement to what Wildfire said. Things would work out and when he was leading his pack maybe one female would catch his eye, and having the same values as him. He did not have do to everything by the book. Sebastian's smile widened when she spoke about being his little sister. Yes. "Little sister," he agreed. Then Sebastian realized that he had adopted another wolf as his sibling recently. This gave him hope that he could make a family out of the pack he was creating.
Wildfire worked magic on him because Sebastian instantly beamed when he was asked to talk about his new territory. The big male nodded. "Well I wanted to return to the Caldera so badly but I also wanted more responsibly and my own family. I am not a wolf that would challenge Finley or Elwood from their position. I would not even think of doing that to your parents. It made sense for me to stay in the south since I the north that terribly Saena woman roams. I can't go there if I want a death wish. I've been at the coast before whole searching for a girlfriend and there lived this crazy sea coywolf that wouldn't leave me alone. To the east my father lives. The south was the only place really."
Sebastian had done quite some thinking about it and once he started to roam around the south he found this place. The male took a good breath of air. "Then I reached this place and it felt... Home. There are these wetlands and you know how much I love water. These wetlands and fens give much greenery. This also includes herbs and flowers. I really want to be a medic to honor Tiger and since I like helping others. It is so serene especially now there are still some layers of frost in the morning. I think the territory will help me settle down."
It came down to a process of elimination, it seemed, with Sebastian exhausting his options when it came to other areas of the wilderness. It kind of amused her, the way this gentle giant had somehow managed to make so many enemies. And did he really still think of Saena as a threat? That old spat seemed like ancient history, though if memory served, he had been badly beaten. So maybe it wasn't quite water under the bridge for them.
"Sounds like you made the sanest decision for location," Wildfire quipped. Her expression softened somewhat as she added, "I haven't thought of Tiger in a long time. I don't remember her very well but she was a pretty cool lady, wasn't she?" Her eyes roved his face for a moment, hoping she hadn't accidentally picked at a sore spot. She did have a bad habit of doing that (always on accident!).
FallenStar walked the edges of her new territory, sniffing things out and finding landmarks. Her silver eyes spotted to figures in the distance. She took a deep breath and recognized the scent of her soon-to-be alpha and an unknown female. She padded towards them softly, trying not to come over as one who barges in. Her black maw had a smile on it, this would be fun. Fallen doubted that this female was a member of their pack though, for she had no scent of Aduin or Sebastian. "Salutations," she called out from around 20 feet away. Her deep voice easily carried to the other wolves as she padded a little closer. She wagged her long tail and stepped forwards but didn't want to get to close. The she-wolf was very petite compared to the tall stature of the sleek she-wolf. She looked like she would be fun to race with though, she had long legs and could probably match Fallen's intense speeds. "Alpha." She dipped her head to him. "Hello there, it is my pleasure to meet you...?" She trailed off, asking of the she-wolf with blazing red fur to speak her name.
Sebastian did have a talent for pissing other wolves off, and mostly without intend to do so. With Saena, The Sea Witch and his father he had never intended for it to go that way. Still it had happened. He nodded when Wildfire agreed with him on the location. Sebastian realized that he might needed to pay a visit to Wifi's parents too. They always had been good to her and he liked to thank them for that, and catch up how they were doing. Maybe after he settled, or maybe before. He would need to think that through.
Sebastian nodded once the topic switched to his first crush ever. Tiger. "She was... amazing," he admitted with a smile, not sad about it anymore but grateful. "Thanks to her I am a healer, or was inspired to become one," he explained. "She was--" He wanted to talk more but then someone called out. Sebastian's ears fell back and turned to who came and interrupt his catch up conversation with Wildfire. Sebastian was not too glad to be interrupted when seeing Fallen. Still Sebastian was not the one to be mean about it. He put on a welcoming smile on his face. Then she also had to greet him with the alpha title, which was too kind of her really.
"I am no alpha yet," he mumbled a bit modestly and then looked over Fallen. Sebastian smiled at Wifi letting her introduce herself to Fallen. He was happy to rekindle with Wildfire. He realized now how much he had missed her. "Wildfire, this is Fallen or FallenStar in full. She is one of my new members," he introduced.
He began to reminisce about the late Tiger, a distinct fondness in his voice. Sebastian didn't get very far before another wolf appeared on the scene, calling out to him. Wildfire tensed slightly, turning her upper body to look at the stranger. This was one of Sebastian's recruits, she realized as the two briefly conversed between themselves.
"It only takes one follower to be an Alpha," Wildfire playfully disagreed with Sebastian's remark to the other she-wolf. "And a good territory," she added, scanning the fen with her amber eyes. "So I'd say you're two for two, Alpha." She reached up a paw to swipe playfully at one of his muscular shoulders.
"Hi," she added for the newcomer's benefit, "it's nice to meet you, Fallen. I'm Wildfire, Sebastian's little sister." She didn't bother mentioning it was a more or less unofficial, adopted title because it didn't seem important to make that distinction.
The girl smiled playfully at the way the she-wolf, Wildfire, acted towards Sebastian. She hoped that she could have such a relationship with him when they became a formal*** pack, as with the others. When she referred to herself as his little sister, she smiled and chuckled a bit. She seemed like someone Fallen would love to get to know. What a kind wolf.
(sorry for the short post, I have a lot of characters to check up on :P)
Sebastian smiled at Wildfire when she spoke about him being an alpha. If that was the case than he had been an alpha for a long time seeing that he had some followers for his sea pack before. Sebastian hummed, letting his pride show for a moment now Wildfire had pointed out that he was in fact one. Sebastian would need someone like Wildfire around to remember those things. Too bad that she had found a home somewhere else. He had already pulled Pearl from her pack and he was not intending to steal another pack wolf. "I guess you are right," he smiled.
Curiously Fallen did not reply anything to Wildfire when she spoke about her being his sister. Fallen did smile though. Sebastian was a bit confused for a moment. "Uhh.. Is there anything you needed me for or did you come to meet Wildfire?," he questioned then.
Fallen didn't say much—she said nothing at all, actually—and Wildfire got the sense that she had come here with some specific purpose that involved speaking with her leader. She might have been Sebastian's (adopted) little sister, yet Fallen was his subordinate whereas Wildfire was only a guest. Although she would have liked to hang around and talk with Sebastian a bit more, about Tiger and other things, she decided she would make herself scarce. She knew where he lived now and could always come by for a visit.
"I'm gonna head out, get some more exploring done while this good weather holds out." She flashed Sebastian a smile. "I'll drop by again sometime, since you're not that far away. See you around, Seb." She reached forward to nudge his cheek, then turned to add, "Was nice meeting you, Fallen. You two take care." Wildfire turned and trotted in a random direction, which happened to be east.
"Take care! Good hunting to you!" She called to the female as she trotted off. She looked over at Sebastian apologetically. "I-I am so sorry for interrupting, but I would like to ask where we should begin to mark the borders.There have been many coyotes roaming the land, I am worried about them hunting our prey." She looked to him, She had been wondering about this for a while now. There was no reason to leave coyotes to wander around, plus, they wouldn't have to worry about coyotes repopulating in their area if they marked there territory well enough. "I'm sorry." She repeated again, her ears back. Her thoughts went back to Seb's 'sister'. She felt bad for driving her out, she would've liked to to get to know her better. "I, um shouldn't have interrupted."
Sebastian stepped forward after Wildfire. "No, Wildfire, don't go!," he called out for her, but she already went east. Sebastian let out a soft whine. Because he wanted to talk with her some more. This was a perfect example of how an alpha could not be selfish, the pack would come first and seeing that Wildfire wasn't in his pack. Sebastian let out a sad sigh, luckily she didn't live far away, so Sebastian hoped he would see her again soon. He turned to the apologetic Fallen with a bit of a disappointed expression. He couldn't help it. He had not seen his little sister in like half a year, autumn had not started yet, and now they moment was cut short.
The matter she needed him for was something silly as coyotes. Yet, Sebastian couldn't find a reason to care for them now, maybe in an hour he would want the want to drive them out. "Coyotes don't pay attention to out borders. They live their own life, loners or as a mated couple. They scavenge on our big food. Chasing out, or killing them is the only option if we want them gone. Still I would only result to those things if they would steal our food,' he spoke to Fallen. She apologized again. He wanted to assure her it was okay, but actually it was not really okay. Still she was looking out for the territory so Sebastian couldn't really blame her or be mean to her. She had been helping him out. He let out a soft sigh. "Don't worry it is alright. Hopefully she will be back soon..." With that said Sebastian walked back with Fallen into the territory. He might be visiting Wildfire himself later.
- end -