Stone Circle No one there beside you

Arlette had been looking for a few weeks now. She had been searching for Nunataq. She knew her friend had to be somewhere and not just left her. But every place she knew there was no sign of the female. It made Arlette worry about her best friend, who probably meant more to her than she realized. The female had returned to Easthollow with a slumped body language. She was clearly upset that she hadn't found the mute girl.

Nuna had been her only friend that wasn't related to her. Most wolves in the pack were older or younger than her. She never had someone to level with that was her age. The girl sulked as she moved to the circle. Perhaps if she prayed to the broken stone she might be able to find Nuna next time. Still, the little flame inside of her that kept hope was slowly diminishing.

The stones had become a small sanctuary for the young boy. He felt more than ready to explore further, but he was still under the watchful eye of his parents...and Leta was still recovering. Every now and then he did manage to make his way back to the stones. It was nice there.

Sometimes he met wolves while he was out and sometimes he just sat there alone, looking at the bison or the stones or the sky, but this time a familiar pelt met his eyes. It was Arlette! He hadn't seen her as much lately, but now she looked so sad...that wasn't fitting of her, she was always so happy. Was everyone just sad now?

The round boy bounded up with a friendly bark, pressing into his sister's side. Hey, Arlette!

Arlette turned her head when she heard someone approach. She instantly smiled when she saw her younger brother. "Hi, West!," she greeted and bumped him with his nose. She glanced briefly at the broken stone before turning to him. She hoped that he was doing well, especially since his younger sister wasn't.

"How have you been? Are you being good to Mom?," she asked with a soft smile. She was pretty sure he was. Even though, she had heard about the bison ordeal since she noticed her mom limping. It seemed that the pup had learned from that though. Arlette instantly tried to hide her hurt for her younger brother.

He took a seat, eyes following to the broken stone before looking back to his sister, I'm fine. I'm trying to be good. I think I have been since I haven't been yelled at recently. He pressed a paw to his chin, tilting his head in thought. But he wasn't here to talk about that! Arlette looked sad, that wouldn't do. What about you? You looked sad. Did the stone do something? Valette had mentioned the stones were important, but she didn't really say how yet. He figured she'd just say what was wrong. After all, when Newt was upset he usually got an answer pretty quickly from him.

Arlette smiled at her younger brother. "Good," she approved. She had heard about the bison incident. She was never much of a hunter and stayed far away from the bison. She had been small for a wolf so the bison were immense for her. "I don't think I've ever been yelled at," she thought. "But you are lucky since you have a mom and dad. I only had Mom," she spoke. She had a feeling Greyback did more scolding. Her mother was nippier towards her children. Especially her last litter. With her siblings, Valette had been softer. Keen had been incredibly timid, and she was following her mom everywhere. Merrit wasn't as rowdy as West and Clay.

"What? The Stone?" Then she understood that West probably didn't know about the stones yet and what they meant. "No, it didn't," she assured him. "You have a good eye though. I have a friend. She is my age. However, she isn't in Easthollow. She was in another pack but she left it. Then she stayed around the Rising Sun Valley. You know, where we live. But I cannot find her for quite a while now. I think she left without a goodbye and that makes me sad. I miss her." She glanced at the boy and offered him a kind smile.

A frown pulled at the boy's lips as Arlette spoke of having no father. Wasn't Greyback her dad? They were all family after all. What about Greyback?

Arlette spoke of a friend, although now she was missing. Now that he thought about it the pack only really had adults or pups. Were all of Arlette's friends somewhere else? That kinda sucks, didn't life get boring without someone around to hang out with? There were times he wished his siblings weren't around, but when he found himself alone he longed for their company. Why would she do that? If she left her pack she should have come here! Maybe she's still around, I hear there's a lot of land out there past the borders. She might just be on a different piece than the one you usually see her in?

Arlette realized that West was probably not aware that Greyback wasn't her dad or didn't even think that she wasn't. Arlette licked her lips. "Well, I have another dad. He left Mama. It was a long time ago. I can't remember him really, only that he was black furred. After a while Greyback and Mama started to fall in love and then you came. So Greyback is like a dad to me," she assured him. She thought of Stark and wondered if Greyback and Valette still would end up together if he was around. They seemed like such a good match.

"Her scents are gone all through our region. I don't like to be too far away from Easthollow," she explained. "She knows that," she added. Arlette sighted and then shrugged. "She was always a wolf that liked adventure and to explore. So I guess she couldn't stick to one place very long. Our aunt Nanook is like that, same for our big sister Clary. She is Steph's age," she explained. "They like the life of being on the road."

Arlette had another dad? That was weird, but also sad...at least she saw Greyback like a dad. He couldn't imagine not having either of his parents or not having his siblings around. Did Arlette not have any other friends? What about other packs? Could she have gone to one of them? Or are there any other friends around you can play with?

What was stopping Arlette from trying to follow? If you have no one to play with, I'll play with you! His tail wagged excitedly behind him, but unfortunately, he did not realize that what the girl needed was someone her own age, nor did he realize the importance of Nuna to Arlette.

Arlette shook her head. "She is not a wolf that wants to be in a pack, I think," she admitted to her younger brother. Arlette then looked at her paws in embarrassment. "I don't really have other friends, my age. All of my other friends are adults. I do have Merrit but he is my brother. And perhaps Marten but he is busy with his new siblings I think," she shrugged. Wow, reality check. She really needed friends her age.

"Oh really? I do like to play!," she admitted and then instantly sunk through her front paws. Who was she to disappoint her little brother. Soon she would be smaller than him, she had a feeling. She would usually put others before her. She jumped forward to try and nudge him. "I'm going to get you!!"

West pouted as Arlette continued, how could she have no one to play with? He personally loved playing with her. What was wrong with playing with her brother too? Maybe she needed a girlfriend. After all, West usually played with boys and he was a boy, so maybe it was the lack of girls around her age? Maybe we can look for some new friends! There had to be more out there right? He'd gladly accompany her to make some new friends of his own.

When Arlette sunk down he instantly jumped back, rear raised with a wagging tail. He didn't expect her to really take him up on his offer right now, but he had no complaints! The round boy slammed his paws down in front of him as he taunted, only to run as his sister lunged again. You can try!

Arlette thought about it, it wasn't such a bad idea to go outside of Easthollow and make friends. Perhaps she would make friends, though she had never traveled outside of the Valley before. It felt exciting but also scary. She had no idea how to protect herself from bad things. She would have to talk with her mother about this. She was a seasoned traveler, at least, she was told. Now her mother never left the pack like ever.

Arlette had to smile when West as so cute. She loved that he still had some baby blubber to deal with. She had been chubby as well in the beginning since her mother was making sure she was fed, even as the runt of the litter. Arlette jumped before him to block his path, she wouldn't want to catch him right away, that would be bad for his confidence. So she would almost catch him a few times before winning, at least that was her planning.

He has been running about as fast as he could when Arlette jumped before him. West cried out in surprise as he skidded, quickly turning to run right instead. How was she so fast, she wasn't nearly as big as Greyback. But the young boy did not realize it was actually him who was slow and Greyback could actually be quite slow.

Maybe if he zig-zagged Arlette wouldn't be able to run in front of him, so that's exactly what he did. The only flaw in his plan is that it slowed him down too to turn and bolt again.

Arlette smiled as the pup tried to get away from her. However, because she was small she was quite fast. She got that from her mother. Valette was extremely athletic in Arlette's eyes. The way their mother hunted and just took down kills without fear. Arlette never really used her running skills that much since she didn't like hunting as much as her mother.

When West started to zig zag it was far to easy to catch up with him and she gently tackled him. "Got uuuu," she grinned and started to shower him with nuzzles and licks. "Thank you," she then spoke. It was good to have such a fun little brother around.

His brilliant plan had actually been his downfall as Arlette quickly caught up to him and knocked them both to the ground. He squeaked in surprise, but it quickly erupted into a fit of giggles as his sister kissed at him. He shoved a paw at her face to try and lessen the attack, but eventually, the round boy gave in nuzzling close. You're welcome! Welcome for what exactly? He wasn't 100% positive, but he was told to say things like please and thank you.