Stone Circle i. you were loved

all welcome! tags are for reference.

those days of childhood had passed, and in their wake had been left the maturing mind of an adolescent. rosewood’s fascination with flowers, as they were, had melted into something more concrete and tangible: a yearning for knowledge of their use, and how they could help those around him.


his limited time spent away from @Polaris was often used surveying his small collection of plants, most of which had been planted by their own volition and the others having been stuffed haphazardly into the soil as a collection of experiments. he would ask questions to anyone that might answer, primarily @Arlette since their time watching the bison, but he was equally willing to approach any of the other adults.


sometimes, rosewood would bring floral arrangements as gifts to the matriarch’s den where his friends @Ikiaq and @Kallik rested. while he hadn’t come to know the other pups very well, he had taken a liking to that particular pair. rosewood often mused to himself about the adventures they would embark upon once the boys were old enough. 


this evening in particular was chillier than some of the others. rosewood knew of the changing seasons, but couldn’t fathom what it might mean, going into his first autumn. he sat behind one of the stone pillars to watch the setting sun, his thoughts exploring the horizon so far from his touch.

Things were... quiet. Perhaps not for the entire pack, but for Ikiaq, life passed along in a slow, quiet blur. It wasn't a bad thing. Better than that one night, back when Nanook had left for the last time and never come back. Ikiaq preferred not to think about that too much, because it often left him terrified and unwilling to leave his siblings, and he was getting bigger now. He couldn't just cling to them whenever he was scared. 

And that was the funny thing. Ikiaq had had to become braver. Kallik was quiet and timid, and he'd needed someone to be braver. So... Ikiaq had done that. He didn't always feel brave, but... he could be brave, regardless. 

Ikiaq forced himself to adventure a bit further out, each and every day. And he'd made progress, too. Found lots of beautiful flowers and seen some interesting creatures when it had rained so much. He'd found a particularly pretty yellow lily today, and had decided to pick it and give it to someone. Flowers happened to be his favorite form of gifts now, and he knew someone else who liked flowers just as much as he did.

Running into the older boy wasn't intentional, but Ikiaq was happy to see him regardless. His tail wagged and brown eyes crinkled in a smile as he trotted up to the other boy, setting the lily down at his feet. 

"I think the flowers grew more because of the rain," he voiced, flicking his gaze up to the older boy's own. "They're really bright."

rosewood had hardly settled into this contemplative state before one of the aforementioned friends came to keep him company. he shared a friendly smile with the boy, even offering a gentle thump of his tail in greeting. where did you find this? rose asked, kneeling down at the waist to investigate the lily. stone circle seemed to reveal a new part of itself each day.


turning his gaze back to ikiaq, he said, i’m glad that they got to blossom before autumn came. for a brief moment, rosewood wondered to himself if his parents had ever seen autumn, but came to the conclusion that they must have.. right? wherever pele might have been, was she watching the seasons change, too?


a breeze blew over easthollow’s canopy, chilling rose where he and ikiaq sat atop the gentle hill. he wondered if the younger boy might grow cold, and so picked up the lily then walked to be at his companion’s side. do you want to find more flowers? he asked, i know a place where they’re always alive.

"In a little meadow back there a little bit," he told the other boy, gesturing behind him with his muzzle. "It was the only one, so... I figured you might like it." Rosewood did a ton of stuff with flowers. Maybe he could use this one too. Or maybe he'd just like it. Either way, Ikiaq was happy to relenquish his prize to him. 

He hummed in response, nodding his head. "I like the yellow," he admitted, looking over to the lily again. It was such a bright and happy color - like sunshine. Maybe some of the leaves would turn yellow when they fell. Maybe the bright colors wouldn't go away. 

A chilly breeze swept over the grass and Ikiaq frowned. He didn't like that - that meant it was probably just gonna get colder and colder. And Iki vastly preferred the warm. However, the boy's ears perked up and brown eyes flickered back to Rose, head tipping to the side. "You do?" he asked, tipping his head to the side. Maybe this season changing thing wasn't all bad, if some of the flowers still grew. He got to his feet and hesitated slightly. "Is it... really far?" Part of him was still struck with terror at the idea of going too far away from his siblings and Valette. He wanted to be where it was safe... but... maybe it wouldn't be all that bad if Rosewood was there with him.

ikiaq would be right then, as rosewood would confirm with a nod. he did like the gift, and took note of the younger boy’s thoughtfulness. you brought me the last one? rose asked, tilting his head with the slight raise of brow, i think we can share it, then. he would keep it inside of the den he shared with polaris, allowing his friend to visit whenever he wished.


the yellow is pretty, rosewood affirmed. it was bright, warm — similar to the autumnal palette, but reminiscent of a time now past. he frowned gently, allowing only a small furrow to show. would he miss summer?


he nodded his head, then stood to begin walking, but not without first bumping ikiaq’s shoulder. it isn’t too far, but it is past the borders, rosewood replied, is that okay? leaving the territory had never been an issue for him, from birth until now. he was a natural wanderer, though ikiaq had become known more as a homebody. 


rose continued walking for a few short strides, then turned over his shoulder with a look of concern. we don’t have to go, if you don’t want. there’s other places. despite this, he did hope ikiaq would join him.

A smile crawled onto the boy's maw and he nodded his head. "Mhm. You showed me the purple flowers, first, and it was nice. So you get the last flower," he reasoned out, only pausing when Rosewood said they could share it. His smile brightened at that and he tipped his head to the side. "Are you sure?" the boy asked hopefully. He wondered how long they'd be able to keep it, or if it would fade away all the way.

"Do you have a favorite color?" he asked, eyes round as he looked over at the older boy. Ikiaq thought his was yellow, but he wasn't sure just yet. There were so many beautiful colors - in the sky, in the flowers, in the leaves as they changed colors. He loved them all.

The field with the flowers that never died was outside the borders. Ikiaq had never been out there before, and the idea was frightening. But... Rose went outside all the time, didn't he? He wasn't even born here, so he'd been outside before for sure. It was a scary thought - how could they be sure it was safe out there? - but... Ikiaq wanted to do it. He wanted to see the flowers with Rosewood.

He had to clear his throat to be able to speak again, but he managed. "I wanna go," he murmured, trotting to catch up to the older boy. Determination settled in his gaze, and an unsteady smile grew on his maw. "The flowers don't die? All year?" He wanted to get him talking about the flowers again, not thinking about how scared Ikiaq might be. Because he was brave! He wasn't scared. He was just concerned.

rosewood nodded his head with a quiet chuckle, then stopped walking after noticing that ikiaq wasn’t yet beside him. the easthollow children weren’t always as adventurous as rose, but he didn’t mind; pele had been the same way, typically content to spend her time at home, with family.


rose didn’t have any family left, though, none beside polaris. he subtly shook those thoughts from his head, then responded, green. it was a familiar color, though he couldn’t quite remember where he’d first seen it. surely, it’d been before they were out of the whelping den, if based solely on how ingrained those vague memories were in his mind.


seeing his friend’s approach, rose turned back toward their border and gave ikiaq a moment to catch up. he knew that he couldn’t really promise year-long flowers without having experienced it himself, but wasn’t it possible? i haven’t been alive a whole year yet, rose mumbled with an honest shrug, but there’s so many of them, i don’t think it’s possible for so many things to die at once.


rosewood swallowed sharply, knowing well just how possible such a feat truly was. to have lost everything, and at such a young age.. anyway, i think they’ll live right up until winter, if we’re lucky. because then, once the frost came, every living thing would be struggling to survive.

Green! Green was a great color. It was all over the place. "You get to see your favorite color all the time," he told the other boy, trotting so that he could keep up with him. Ikiaq was a late bloomer, his legs still unfortunately rather short, so it took a bit of effort, but he managed. 

Iki looked over to Rose when he spoke again, his fuzzy brown head tilted to the side. Not possible for so many things to die at once? Ikiaq tried not to think too much about death. He knew it had happened around him - multiple wolves, on the same night. Of course, he hadn't seen anything, but the smell and the sounds were still vivid in his mind. There'd been a monster, and his mother had tried to fight it, and she'd won, but she'd also lost. It had been loud, and the smell of blood was thick...

The boy blinked a couple times to snap himself out of it. It wasn't something he liked to think about. It made him sad - made it hard to move. So it was often pushed to the back of his mind. 

"I hope they stay all year," he said aloud, padding up to press his side against the other boy's. Rose looked so... sad, all of a sudden. And he wanted to fix that. "I bet they will! And... there's cold stuff that's gonna fall from the sky and make everything white and the flowers would probably look really pretty." Was he talking too much? Probably. But it was a nice distraction - for himself, because hey, they were crossing the border and that was so stressful and his heart was pounding in his chest. But he was also trying to help Rose, too. Ikiaq didn't know about the other boy's parents - just his own mother - but perhaps if he did he might find that they had a lot in common.

you get to see your favorite color all the time.


rosewood turned away, hiding his distressed expression from the unaware boy beside him. ikiaq couldn’t have known the extent to which green haunted the tonrar son, hiding in his nightmares behind obscure veils of dismemory. it was only his favorite color by default; the others of the array held no significance, none like that verdant mourning.


his mind drifted for a long moment, distracting him from ikiaq’s hopeful comment. hm? rose asked, finally glancing back at his companion, oh, i hope so, too. it would be nice to have a year-round hiding place to return to whenever life overwhelmed him. ikiaq, too, if the boy so wished.


musings about wintertime brought a jovial laugh. it’s called snow. someone explained it to me, i think, rosewood said with a subdued flinch. it could have been any of the whitebark wolves, or even one of the stragglers he’d met beyond pack borders. there were many conversations lost in his cavernous mind that now felt more dreamlike than real.


i’ve been collecting all kinds of plants, just in case winter takes everything away. it’ll help. they were closer to the territory’s center now; not far from where they walked was his shared den with polaris and the cache he’d begun to build for his own personal store. you can pick your favorites from the perennials. that’s the word, right?

I'm sorry for the wait <3

Ikiaq didn't have the insight to know that Rose had lost both of his parents. He was fortunate to have Siarut, himself, and Valette, even though she wasn't really a mother to him. He loved her - really, he did - but he'd never made that connection. Probably never would again, to anyone. And that was okay with him. Not that Nanook was gone - he still thought about her, from time to time, and he still missed her terribly, but the pain wasn't as intense anymore. Ikiaq had more to do now - like protect Kallik and help Rosewood feel happier. 

"Snow," the boy echoed, humming in thought. It was weird to imagine the whole world covered in white, but he bet it was pretty. Maybe it would cover Rose, too, and make him a white wolf. That'd be funny, he thought. "I bet it's really pretty. Apparently it's gonna get a lot colder than it is right now." And it was chilly already. The wind blew again and Ikiaq suppressed a shudder - he had to look like a big tough guy around the older boy. 

He was collecting flowers? Ikiaq felt a bit of pride swell in his chest. Maybe he'd keep the lily Ikiaq had found. "I'll get you more flowers too," he said, almost absently, as they walked. He was a lot farther than he'd usually go from his own den, and found himself lingering a bit closer to Rose the further they went. Subconsciously seeking comfort. "Are we almost there?"