Larksong Grotto lonely

all welcome!

Laurel's moods came and went, and she often went from enjoying her time here the one day to missing everyone in Silver Creek the next. What was worse, they didn't even care for her, as they had just left her here. Yet other days she enjoyed her time here, and loved playing with Reek, who was almost as good at games as Shreya had been. Most of all, Laurel felt very detached from everyone except for Indra, the only consistent factor in her short life. Her sister was all that was keeping her here, but there were a lot of days she felt like just taking Indra and going off on their next adventure without Reek and the stupid stephmother that she didn't even want. Reek didn't even really love her; he wanted Jhala more, and he wasn't even willing to get rid of her for Laurel.

She sat staring at the lake, feeling unloved — her mother had ditched her, her father had ditched her, silver creek had ditched her and even though her father was back now, it just wasn't enough to make up for the abandonment of before. Laurel sniffled as she looked at the lake with a bitter frown, the autumn sun accompanying her and warming her fur. She wished she was like Indra, who at least had striking eyes and special and pretty fur. She stared at the water at her utter blobliness — she looked like nothing, like a big pile of grey, like a rock — and said, "I hate you," quietly to herself, only after checking that no one was looking, followed by a sniff of stifled tears.

She was only hours at home before the scent of another tickled Nova's nose, and the golden pelted woman recognized it as one of Hiram's daughters, the one she had yet to really meet. With a limp rabbit dangling from her jaws from the cache she'd just been at, the black faced elder again found herself heading for the lake. Everyone seemed to like it there, and Nova had to admit that it was a very beautiful place, blessed by the light of Raas. 
With a friendly chuff, Nova padded up behind the darker form of.... Oh, what was her name? Indra was the little red one.... Laurel! That was it. 
               "Hello, Laurel. We haven't officially met yet, but I'm Nova Rose." And I'm the reason you two are here instead of Silver Creek.
The little Redleaf's words were missed, but Nova was perceptive, and the pups body language just screamed distress. Like Indra, did this girl not feel at home here? Golden brow furrowing in confusion for a brief moment, the smooth pelted woman offered a sweet, warm smile.
                               "Are you alright?" 

Laurel wasn't really looking for company, and turned her head with a look of disdain on it as someone approached and instantly started talking to her. It seemed everyone already knew who she was, but they hadn't been out looking to meet her properly yet. Just so happened they ran into her now. Still feeling hateful towards her boring appearance, Laurel said, "Why do you have two names instead of one, like a normal wolf?" She hadn't met anyone that had multiple names that weren't last names and instantly thought of this as weird, if not only to soothe her own self-hatred a little.

"Whatever," she answered to the question, not turning to the new female but instead keeping her eyes on the lake as if she was doing something interesting.

Laurel's greeting comment to her was asking why she had two names, and if the tone of her voice wasn't venomous enough to tell Nova of the girls discomfort, her body language surely was. The golden elder took it all in stride, feeling only the slight feeling of irritation rise within her. Kids would be kids, she knew, and the smile didn't even twitch from her friendly mask of grey.
                  "I don't have two names, Rose is my last name." 
Hiram's daughter didn't seem as talkative now that the spotlight was focused on her problems, and Nova layed herself down a foot or two from the tan puppy at the waters edge. 
                                    "That didn't sound like you're happy: mind me asking why?"
Larksong Grotto was amazing, as far as she'd experienced. Why didn't the little girls like it here? Sure, it wasn't Silver Creek, and there would always be people they missed, but it really was lovely here.

Laurel though this woman to be weird, introducing herself with two names -- whoever did that? Laurel sure didn't, that's for sure. She squinted her eyes and stared the woman down, but didn't comment again.

Again she pried and Laurel hissed at her. "I hate my stephmom, she's stupid and ugly!" Laurel complained, and she defiantly stared at Nova, waiting for a reply.

The little girl spat hate against Jhala with such venom that even Nova was taken by surprise. What had the Vicar done to the young one to deserve that? So far, Laurel seemed willing to at least speak-Nova didn't reprimand the daughter of Hiram, but instead sought out her own answers-and hopefully help the girl settle such hate.
        
                    "How come?"

Laurel looked at Nova as though she thought her stupid when she asked why she hated Jhala. "She's ugly and stupid," Laurel repeated matter-of-factly, as though there was a research to back this information up. "And she thinks that Reek's hers but he's ours and he loves us way more than her." Laurel didn't like any claim laid on her father's time, but especially by someone like Jhala, who was, as aforementionedly said, ugly and stupid.

Turned out, Laurel didn't have a real reason - or at least one past jealousy - but at the same time Nova understood very well. She'd never been a jealous one herself, but to let hate brew in such a young child was like ruining her mind. From where she lay beside the pup, she tipped her head and spoke gently to her. 

                    "Well, that's not nice of you to say such mean things, but I understand. You want your dad to yourself and Indra, right? He'll always love you more, you're his eldest children; but that doesn't mean he can't love her, too, in a much different way. Don't you want your father to be happy too?"

Laurel thought it was weird that Nova would say it wasn't nice to say mean things, but then said she did understand Laurel saying them. "Yeah!" she confirmed as Nova asked if she wanted Reek to herself and Indra. Indra was the only wolf in the world that Laurel wanted to share anything and anyone with. She certainly wouldn't share with Jhala, who hadn't been nice at all.

"Ya it does!" Laurel countered when Nova said that Reek could love Jhala and Laurel & Indra. "I want all the love!" Laurel frowned and pouted then, looking at Nova. She ignored the last question, easily shoving it aside in her childish selfishness.

Nova was correct in her guess, and Laurel seemed pleased with that - until the elder suggested sharing. She couldn't help the laughing thought about the little princesses spoiledness, but in truth was a little put out by the girls selfishness. Had Hiram not bothered to try and remedy this situation?
     I guess having one parent for the first part of life makes spoiled children. 

                           "Why don't you want your father to be happy, too?"

Short and crappy post is short and crappy T_T

The answer to the question was easy, of course. Laurel did want her father to be happy, but she knew the way that she could make him happy and it was good for the both of them. "My daddy's happy when I'm happy," she exclaimed, a grin on her face. "That's why he gives me everything 'cause I'm a princess!" Well, almost everything — maybe not getting rid of Jhala for her.

Little Laurel seemed quite pleased with her next answer - and indeed, Nova nodded as a peal of sweet laughter escaped her. 

                           "You are very, very right, Laurel: you are a princess. But you should try to give Jhala a chance... even if only because you're gonna be living with her and your new siblings for a while!"

Chuckling, Nova was excited to see how that played out - if she didn't like her stepmother, how would she feel about the new kids who would get all the spoiling and the attention?

Laurel snorted with indignation as she was told she had to live with Jhala and children soon. "They're not my siblings, and they never will be," she hissed venomously. "Indra's my only sibling!" Whatever Jhala would bring to the world would not be Laurel's brothers or sisters. And if it were up to her, Reek'd come live with them, and Jhala's brood would never even see him a whole lot.

This time, Nova really was struck silent, but she was not surprised - how did she convince the child that these were in fact her siblings? Even her comment of Indra being her only sibling was a surprise - hadn't Grace said Saena had THREE pups? This, she didn't mention, correctly assuming the worst.

                   "They're your half-siblings, since you share the same father. Indra is your only littermate - but you can't chose your siblings. They didn't do anything wrong to you."

Laurel was growing more and more irrational and childish by everything that was being said to her. She snorted as Nova said that the pups hadn't done anything wrong to her, as though that was some sort of argument as to why they were her siblings. "They are gonna be born, that's what they're doing wrong to me!" she said, raising her voice to the point where she was almost shouting as if that would make her arguments more valid.

Nova shook her head, but could tell there was nothing more to do to persuade the child otherwise - the woman shrugged and only said her polite goodbyes before taking her leave. 

              "You'll see - one day, you'll like them."

Laurel didn't like that she was being told what she would do in the future, and vowed to herself that she would definitely never like them now; even if just for the sake of proving this woman wrong. "I'll never like them!" she snootily said and she turned to walk away, then, without even saying good bye.