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a name she dared not find - Other Shore - April 27, 2025
Here in a corner of the taiga she thought safe, Other Shore felt more unsettled than ever. She picked her thoughts apart as she ran.
Yes, Ghenaya and Faliya and Caan were safe; yes, Ishmira was alive despite everything; yes, Morwenna had brought them to a little haven along with the man named Ksura...
...But she could only think of how close it had been.
So fast. Too fast. She had turned away for no more than a few minutes and suddenly Saatsine had split and was tearing upon itself. She heard Ghenaya's name and went for her - chased that thief all the way to some unknown direction - then barely, by some sliver of luck, retrieved the pup. And again, another slim blessing from above kept her and Ghenaya alive long enough to find Morwenna again.
But what if - if she had been there a minute too late, if she had been a little too slow to snatch Ghenaya... what would have become of her?
And so she decided that she must run faster, find her way faster. Here, where time had granted her a little solitude and grace, Other Shore would hone herself so nothing of the sort would happen again. She must be faster than it could all happen.
But first she must catch her breath after that reckless burst of sprinting.
She slowed, picking her way through the broad valley, creating a map in her mind. The others were there, Winsook's peak was that way, so this lake must be here then, tucked away in this copse. She sat and pawed at the fine water. Poked at her reflection, then tried to laugh to herself a little. Took a sip and savored the taste. She did not foresee herself to remain by this lake for long, given the present chaos, but it offered a kind interruption in her racing thoughts.
RE: a name she dared not find - Katmai - April 27, 2025
Then, past those woods, carve inward from the coast —
The chill was still biting in these lands. When Katmai reflected on it, he concluded that most all of his life had been lived in the cold. It made him eager to reach the summer lands that his grandmother had spoken of, even if there was not likely to be true warmth there for several months to come.
Morningside Cuesta. The place he took his name from. He'd been told that it was a place where the hills touched the sky — that he would understand what this meant when he laid eyes on it for the first time.
The woods that sprawled darkly at his shoulder seemed ever looming, no matter how carefully he kept his distance. Katmai kept his eyes high as he roved eastward, cutting south for a time before straightening out again, never looking into the trees for longer than it took to measure the distance — or to check for peering yellow eyes. But no one was watching him. He seemed quite alone, in fact, until he caught a fresh scent.
Warily, Katmai found the fading spore of a pawprint. Crushed vegetation heavily overlaid the scent of another wolf — an adult, he thought. Female. He measured his paw against the faint indentation before lifting his head once more, dark nostrils flaring. Something about her scent made him uneasy, but he followed it anyway, nervous when it found him twisted his way between trees.
The nervousness did not fade when he found her.
"Are you alright?" he asked the back of her, his voice hoarse from disuse, and hushed out of some unnamable instinct.
He'd meant to ask her for directions.
RE: a name she dared not find - Other Shore - April 29, 2025
And the peace was gone.
She lifted her head from the water at approaching footsteps. Her tail stiffened briefly, and for a split moment there she readied herself to run, run, run again.
And then she turned and found herself met with a boy - a yearling, the others would call him. Hushed voice, no less nervous than she was.
Then came a question she did not know if she could answer.
"Are you alright?"
Her gaze fluttered - somewhere, down to herself, around to the vegetation. Yes, yes, yes she must be alright - but her mind knew that was a lie, a lie, a lie, and nothing more.
Why? Why are you here? What do you want from me? Will you make me run for my life like all the others have?
She hated it. No injuries, little exhaustion, but her thoughts came all rushing back in, wanting, wanting, wanting answers as fear rose again -
Why was she scared?
This was an innocent boy who had asked her a question. He had not meant to interrupt her solitude. He had asked a question out of concern for her.
It was so simple.
Too many thoughts. Far too many. She needed - what did she need?
Something that would not stir trouble. Something that might root her in reality again. Something to remind her that not everything was about life and death all over again...
Perhaps she should speak to this stranger, after all. Let an unknown voice intrude her thoughts. Make her feel normal again, just a loner conversing with another loner.
Tired,she muttered, not knowing whether her response was for the boy or herself. She turned back to the water and lapped a little, letting the coolness ground her, steady her. Then she meet the gaze of the boy again with a few shreds of panic having been scraped away.
How do you fare?She looked to the distant peaks, the slopes that gave way to greenery.
What thread of fate led you here?
RE: a name she dared not find - Katmai - April 30, 2025
Though he had not come too close, the scent of the woman's flight was heavy and metallic on his tongue. His ears swiveled back against his skull when she turned her back on him to drink; he was unwilling to take his eyes off her, but he worried (as he always did in the woods) that there was someone or something sneaking up on them.
Had she been running from something?
Her answer — tired — seemed to bode ill. It was with bated breath that he awaited some follow-up, only to have the question turned back.
"Me?" he asked, as if it were quite unthinkable. He checked his tone a moment later and answered, quick and almost contrite: "I'm — well. I'm doing well."
He took a few steps closer, and then, hesitating, circled wide around the woman to approach the water himself.
"I'm headed into the valley," he said, addressing the gently lapping waves rather than the wolf beside him. He stole a glance in her direction, taking her in in increments. "I'm looking for the place where my grandmother was born."
Another glance. A flare of his nostrils. She smelled like other wolves; other places.
"What brought you here?" he asked her. What brought you here so fast?
RE: a name she dared not find - Other Shore - May 02, 2025
Looking for... a place...?She tried to recall what she could of her journey to the taiga.
What do you know of it...?Perhaps I can help?
The boy seemed to notice her cloak of odd scents, still draped around her after having charged so far north in one night. Any person with a shred of awareness would - it was foolish of her to think that no one could easily see that she had not been here for long.
I... hmm.Other Shore considered what words to filter out and what to keep.
I was once part of a pack. It tore itself apart. I -she cut herself off. Did she want the boy to know that Morwenna and the others were here?
- I ran. Hoped to find a familiar face.
She lifted her head higher now, no longer intent on lapping water between words. Eyes found the top of a slope that dragged upwards towards sharp peaks. Was that the domain of Darukaal? What had become of that pack, after....
Other Shore turned back to the boy.
I advise that you remain cautious. But do not involve yourself in the conflict.She didn't know where Sun Eater and the other Lanzadoii had gone, just that they were not here in this sliver of haven. All she could do was pray that they had left the taiga behind.
War is bloody. Messy.
But here. Here is safe. I hope.
RE: a name she dared not find - Katmai - May 14, 2025
What did he know?
Katmai was quiet for a moment. He felt sometimes that he could picture the place very clearly, despite never having set foot there. His father hadn't, either, but it was still a place of spiritual and historical importance to him, to his family. His grandmother had been born there, and she was the family's matriarch.
"I've been told it's a place where the hills touch the sky," he replied; the words were still precious to him. "I know it's meant to be a week or so inland from the sea, and I think I turned inland at the right place. I've day and days further to go."
But he would find it. Katmai was sure.
He listen, solemnly, while the woman told him of her fractured pack. He couldn't help but think of the darkwood where he'd been born, and of the plateau where he'd been partially raised. He'd been lost, however, for much of his childhood. These fractures seemed natural to him, even if they were no less painful for it.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied, not unkindly, and not without compassion, but without much concern, either. She was alive, she seemed largely whole, and she was young enough to find more for herself. Katmai hoped that she would. "And I'm sorry I'm not that face," he added, a wry smile stretching his black lips. "But thank you for the advice. I'll gladly take it. War doesn't sound like a good use of my time.
But still — he wondered what had happened. In his young eyes, the question was unfortunately clear.
"Will you be alright?" he hedged, hoping for more information, but unwilling to outright pry.
RE: a name she dared not find - Other Shore - May 14, 2025
A week inland from the sea...She tried to remember what she could.
I have never been to the sea, so I may not be of much help.A vivid image entered her mind.
I have been by a large valley. A lively place with many hills and lakes. I don't know where it is - just that it is away from where the sun sets. Perhaps that special place is tucked in there?
There was something in the eyes of the boy that told her he knew - he knew of the confusion of not knowing why, why was it all happening? But though it brought her some comfort, it was not important to her. Should the wrath of the Lanzadoii somehow turn upon him, she could do nothing but pray. Urging him to be cautious was the best she could do.
The boy's next question seemed unusual to her.
Alright?He seemed concerned, yes - but why? Still, she decided to give him an answer of sorts.
Yes, I will be alright. It is the other former pack members who I am concerned for. Compared to them, I am merely exhausted.
She considered. Perhaps the boy should know a little for his own sake - so he could understand the danger, at least.
Some familial ties were ruined that day. These lineages and loyalties are a deadly thing here - one bloodline will incite war for any reason.
Other Shore sighed.
These northern families. I don't know much of one of the packs, but two others I knew of here - I have not heard anything from them. Be careful. Darukaal and Saatsine will easily tear each other apart for anything.
RE: a name she dared not find - Katmai - May 14, 2025
He was touched by the woman's kindness; that she should want to help him when they'd only just met. His smiled warmed, and he said, "I should hope to see such a place." Was it his own place? He did not know. He wondered if he might seek it anyway.
But information about this brewing war was more interesting to him. His gaze sharpened as she expressed her true fears, and he asked,
"Are they being kept against their will?"
As he had once been kept, when his young body had not been strong enough to carry him away. He had meant it when he'd agreed to avoid the unrest, but he was not at all sure he could walk away from captives, were he to discover that they existed. He had wished too ardently to be rescued in his own time of need to think of such a thing.
"I have no dealings with these people," he told her, "And no interest in their war. So long as they are all there by choice."