Jade Fern Grove guiding us home where ever we are

Beneath the canopy, the earth was damp, and the air was still, save for the occasional rustle of leaves stirred by a gentle breeze. Elowen padded carefully along the forest floor, the cool dirt beneath her paws grounding her in the calm of the night.

There was something about the night, the quiet of it, that brought her peace. Away from the sharp edges of the world, she could let her thoughts wander and simply be. The wind soft against her fur, the stars above flickering like the distant lights of forgotten dreams.

She paused, eyes narrowing on the horizon where the trees parted to reveal a small clearing bathed in silver light. The world felt infinite here—open, but without pressure. She could hear her breath, slow and steady, and for the first time in days, the tension in her chest loosened.

With a soft, almost inaudible sigh, Elowen settled into the grass, the chill night air pressing around her. She closed her eyes, her heart beating in time with the whispering breeze, content to simply be.

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all welcome!

forward-dated to dec. 21

snowwoman moved from the plains, now. again, she sung as she went, ever the melodic lady. the winds carried her southeast, and so that was where she would go ; past woods, wetlands, marsh and maplewood. it was another grove that she had stumbled upon, now, and yet something within it called to her, so she would listen.

it was with perked ears that the huntress would move. the grounds here were verdant, vibrant in all of its emerald vegetation, even through the winter. winter blanketed the ground with mercy, the thin sheet of snow allowing for plants to break through in even the slightest of breezes. and even then, there were patches of dirt and grass where snow had not landed at all. as if the season was merely a distant memory, something long-ago.

night shone overhead, and so pale fur seemed almost aglow in the light of the stars and the moon. and as the trees begun to thin, she continued forwards, the sight of a clearing sitting before her. though, it lacked solitude ; a woman, with eyes closed, seemingly relaxed, laid within it, bathed and painted in silver light. rala tilted her head.

hello, she tested, her voice a hushed murmur, as if she were to risk breaking some sort of spell should she speak too loudly. she would break through the treeline, then, though she kept her distance from the stranger. a girl, only half a year younger than her, she estimated. a blink of dawn eyes as she circled against the perimeter of the clearing. she would sit, then, a few ways in front of her. watching.

nanuralaaq's next words came with a northern accent. those of the muskox grounds. you look relaxed, a careful, almost sheepish smile upon pale features. although, she was anything but sheepish. rather, this was an attempt at being considerate.

you like the night? and a friendly tone.

it was the voice that first stirred her, pulling elowen gently from the cocoon of calm she’d wrapped herself in. for a fleeting moment, she hesitated, a flicker of tension bristling beneath her skin, but the tone was soft, almost melodic, and it smoothed over her nerves like a balm.

when baby blue eyes fluttered open, they met pale fur bathed in moonlight, a figure who seemed more like a dream than reality. she studied the stranger quietly—no threat in her posture, no sharpness in her gaze. soft in stature. the tightness in her chest melted comfortably at the sight, meeting the woman's gaze gingerly.

her lips twitched into a small, almost shy smile as she shifted to sit upright, though her frame remained loose, unguarded. “hello,” she murmured, her voice soft like the rustling of leaves. the she-wolf’s accent carried the lilt of distant lands, foreign but not unpleasant, and her words held a careful warmth that put elowen at ease.

"oh, yes—" she stammered when she realized she was only staring, following her words with a nervous laugh. Her gaze lingered on the stranger for a moment before drifting upwards, tracing the stars scattered across the indigo sky. "the night often feels kinder, somehow. softer."

she hesitated, her tail curling lightly around her paws as if seeking some anchor to the earth. "and you? you sound like you’ve traveled far. do you always follow the wind?" there was a gentleness in her question, genuine curiosity paired with a soft, timid smile.

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sorry for the delay!!

<3

nanuralaaq listened with perked ears, eyes raising to the sky, following that of the strangers. stars dotted the vast navy, the darker lavenders, and for a moment she found herself almost ... saddened, for the stars would never be quite as bright, now that she had left her homeland. nor the dancing lights that would grace the sky on some particular nights. her pale gaze returned to the stranger. yes, she answered.

though ... usually not this far. we wander around my homeland, once pups grow. ah, now i have left in search of bigger things, and to get away from the loss, the black sands and the raging sea that drew in your loved ones and spat them back out, broken, barely them, like some awful replica of someone who once was. rala moved the thought from her mind ; it was a wound still raw, an incident that she had not wholly processed yet. she gave a long, hard blink, and sighed. my name is nanuralaaq.

a friendly smile painted her pale face, now: what is yours?

elowen listened on as she spoke. there was a heaviness tucked beneath the surface of her friendly tone that she recognized, a familiar pang of sadness she, too, felt. she didn’t pry for the same reasons. she knew the sharp ache of loss, no point to bringing up old pains.

"nanuralaaq," she repeated, testing the name on her tongue. it was long—a tongue-twister, surely— but it was beautiful, a melody on its own. "elowen," she introduced.

she tilted her head slightly, "i think it’s brave," she murmured, glancing back up. "to leave the familiar for something bigger, not knowing if it will be better. ’s no easy feat."