Phoenix Maplewood Once in a while

@Steele 

Jolly Blackthorn had been an unusual kid from the very moment he had left Apple's womb and announced his arrival with loud screams and wails that had not ceased the least, as the kid grew. Therefore - no wonder - that the tired mother was not amused the least, when her then husband nicknamed the cub "a jolly good sport". It had stuck and defined, what his whole life had not been. Jolly had been a self-proclaimed realist and a misunderstood ever-suffering philosopher, who had got on nerves on every single member of the family for the next two years. Until one day he had disapppeared. Out of respect and loyalty a half-hearted search had been done, but then with a sigh of a relief everyone silently agreed that this was for the best. And felt a teeny tiny bit sorry for, whoever had ended up with him.

In reality, this memory of Apple's son had nothing to do with the maple forest she had been staying for few days. But, when one is alone, one is prone to entertain him or herself with thinking and remembering. And, while she had not bothered about her missing son for a long time (because there is only so much a mother's love can take), she thought of him now. She had to admit that he had been a very annoying brat, but it would have been just a little funny now to hear his nasal voice and criticize everything that would have been wrong with this place.

The brute had been traveling for some time that he had forgotten what day he was on by himself. It felt a little better as the days went by, he felt as if he was becoming more of the wolf he wanted to be. He hit the forest and was light on his feet as he entered. Steele was wary, his ears perked and tail up for dominance as he walked through. If he were to come into contact with another male most likely he would have to fight and that was something he would like to avoid if possible.

When he was trekking along he smelled another's scent, it whafted through his nose and it smelled of female. He let his ears and tail relax as he came upon her. A small chuff came from him as he stopped just a little distance away, he wondered why she was out alone. He would let her tell him who she was first so he didn't seem too intimidating to her.

Thoughts were harmless until you gave them a name. And Apple froze the moment she spotted the silver-pelted wolf figure weaving through the forest and coming in her direction. It was difficult to tell the looks from the distance she was and yet, when half of your kids sport a silvery gray coat, and most of the male portion of them had been of tall and strong build, you can easily make a mistake. Add to this the fact that she had just thought of her long-lost and constantly complaining son, and you may understand, why the Blackthorn matron was alarmed. 

However, the closer the man came, the clearer it was that he bore no resemblence to Jolly or any other of her family members. Not a particularly handsome chap in her eyes, but a lady her age could not be too picky about who showed her attention, could she. Therefore she looked him up and down and said in a friendly voice: "And why are you staring at me like that? You do realize, that if you want to court someone, you at least give a name and a brief description of, who you are, to impress the lady."

Steele looked at the woman, her reaction seemed to be alarmed but she settled after a moment. The words she spoke after surprised him a bit. He raised his brows and then forgot what words he was even going to say. 

“And why are you staring at me like that? You do realize, that if you want to court someone, you at least give a name and a brief description of, who you are, to impress the lady.” She said 

Steele let a moment of silence fall over the two, it was a moment so that he could think. When he could finally think again his face turned blank again. “Hum. I’m not sure about courting. I’m Steele though, I’m just a regular wolf I guess. Who are you?” He asked curious to know who she is. The white wolf seemed nice enough and he let his guard down.

"A regular? I do not believe you for one second," Apple teased Steele and shook her head to emphasize her disbelief. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and stretched her back from head down to the sacral region. Here and there vertebrae popped, while the sound was disconcerning to most people, Apple seemed to be under impression that the more your bones and joints talked, the better. 

"Apple - Matron of the Blackthorn clan," she introduced herself with an air and confidence of a queen. "So, Regular Steele - you seem just like a tree to be felled, as they say. Anyone to prevent that?" she asked, giving him another all-over scrutinizing look and coming to a conclusion that - perhaps - she would not be against having "another tree" in her time of life. As they say.

wow I’m so sorry you had to wait this long for a reply! :(

Steele listened to her talk. Apparently she didn’t believe that he was just a regular guy out walking. He cocked his head to the side slightly as she said that. Maybe it was just the way he felt inside but hopefully some day he would find out he was more than ordinary. He offered a warm smile as she said her name, Apple, he thought that fit her she was as sweet as an apple so far. 

“There’s no one preventing that from happening.” He chuckled slightly and then shifted his weight. The popping of her back didn’t sound healthy but she seemed to be okay with it so he didn’t say much about it. Sometimes his back would do the same but rarely as much as hers. “Matron? You look to young for that” he said with a small wink.

"Matron is not exactly a definition of age - it is a status one earns," Apple corrected, "and being a mother of fourteen and grandmother of many more, not to talk about other grands... well, one cannot settle for less in my current position."

"What about you - young tree - what has life offered to you so far?" she asked, happy to have a comfortable conversation with a good looking stranger. "What have you earned so far?"

She talked with the nice man for a little while longer and then moved on to have new adventures.