Wapun Meadow Remember not to forget

@Arlette - thread title inspired by Audiomachine song of the same name.

Sleepy Fox Hollow and the surrounding mountainous areas did not offer much diversity in terms of plants. Elfie had found more patches of moss that were the sole green things in the area, but he had come to a conclusion that Mahler did not need a den full of the soft, blood-soaking stuff, if there were no injured people around. He therefore memorized, where the useful herbs could be found and hid them under the snow again.

With Maegi not in the immediate vicinity, Elfie decided to take matters in his own capable paws and explore the lands that lied at the foot of the mountains. There was a narrow, winding path trodden by diasporan wolves that led downwards and just to be sure that he would find his way back home again, the boy left scent marks every now and then. He first arrived at a dark forest, but not feeling very comfortable with the narrow field of view, he walked through it and arrived in a wide open field that was Wapun meadow. 

It was warmer in the valley than it was in the mountains and snow had thawed the previous day, revealing patches of yellowing grass and frost-blackened stalks. Intrigued by the discovery, the boy drew closer and began to meticulously inspect the patch in hopes of finding something useful for Maegi and Mahler.

Arlette was not one to really wander too much outside of their territory. She was very satisfied with their lands and the different feel each part of their territory had. Though, with her new lessons with Kaito she was trying to explore further and outside of the territory. She always stayed close enough that she could find her way back. The last time she wanted to travel she ended up in the opposite direction of where she wanted to go.

The female found the new subject hard. Medicine and herbs required an eye for detail. One kind might be good but the other one might be extremely harmful. But Arlette knew if she studied hard then she wouldn't make those mistakes. The female had her nose close to the ground. Curious as to what she might find. Perhaps she would just bring back certain plants to see if Kaito could identify them. When she looked up she noticed another wolf just a few paces away.

Arlette was always eager to socialize and let out a chuff in greeting. "Hi!,' she called out and wagged her tail. She always waited with coming closer until she was sure the other would be friendly as well.

Dizziness overcame Elfie and he had to sit down to stop the world shaking and his head whirling. With the help of, whatever aid Mahler and Maegi had been able to find, his headaches weren't as bad as they had been, but these spells that made him feel as if the world was spinning, had come instead. They were less painful, but not very pleasant. 

When a bright and cheerful "Hello" broke through the mist that was enshrouding the boy's mind, he opened his eyes and beheld the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. White as snow, unusual set of eyes in the colour of sunset. He was speechless and confused for a moment there, looked over his shoulder quickly to reassure himself that she was talking to him and not somebody else. 

"Uhhmmm..." Elfie tried to gather his words, his heart fluttering inside his chest and his cheeks burning. "Hi!" he smiled at her shyly and looked down at his paws, utterly embarassed.

Arlette smiled when the other looked over his shoulder for a moment. There had been no one around them so it seemed silly that the other was looking around. The female wagged her tail to seem even friendlier. "I didn't mean to startle you," she commented, watching his flushed expression. It was very familiar with it. She wondered why he was flustered though. It was only her after all.

"I'm Arlette! Who are you," she smiled at him. The young male was about the same age as her younger siblings. "No need to be scared of me," she offered. "Do you need help with anything?," she asked curiously.

I am not startled! I am not scared! The bold and burly teenager inside Elfie's shook his fist angrily at Arlette, but the boy outside, who was gangly, painfully thin and far from couragous wanted to either sink into the earth or run for the hills. It is just a girl. With a capital G though. He was not afraid of girls, but that capitalization made a difference. She was different.

"I am," he began bravely and waved his tail a bit, but then the courage failed him and his name fell flat, "Elfie."  Arlette asked, whether he needed any help and the boy had a difficult time remembering, what he had been doing here in the first place. He had almost got used to the fact that he was an amnesiac, but it usually followed a different pattern. Had he blacked out again and not noticed? "Ah... no, not really. Just..." he racked his mind for a good (impressive) reason, "... I don't know. Do you need help?"

Arlette watched him curiously for a moment when he started. She offered him an encouraging smile but then the boy seemed to stop midsentensae. The female tipped her head, eventually his name came out from his mouth. She grinned. "Elfie, nice to meet you," she hummed with a happy smile. The female found it disappointing that she couldn't help the boy. She was doing nothing in particular, well, she had been looking for herbs but it was far more interesting getting to know this young man.

"Which pack are you from?," she asked curiously. "I don't really need help," she admitted to him and offered and apologetic smile. The female wagged her tail. Wondering what pack he would be from, perhaps they were close and they could be friends.

So much for giving attempt at showing himself from the good side. In the past few months it had not really mattered to Elfie, what others thought of him, but suddenly, in front of this girl, he felt that it was very important to leave a good first impression. And despite her being still nice and cheerful with him, he did not believe that he was making much progress.

"Uh, oh, okay," he nodded, feeling a bit disappointed that Arlette did not need anything from him either. Then he remembered that she had asked him something about... what was the second question that came after introductions? Where do you live? "In the mountains. With Mahler and his people. Ummm... uh, yeah, Diaspora," for one horrible moment he believed that he had forgotten the name of his home.

Arlette nodded slowly when he spoke about his home. "Oh so cool," she grinned. "I tried to cross the mountains once but I got terribly lost," she admitted to him. "So I didn't get to my destination," she shrugged with a chuckle. She had not liked being alone in the mountains. It was very unfamiliar terrain for her. "Perhaps if I never need to cross the mountain again you can help me," she offered with a smile. She was doubtful if she would ever dare to cross the mountains again. She liked it in the valley.

Never need to cross? Elfie did not understand, whether it was a genuine mistake on Arlette's part or she had meant it to be some sort of super witty remark that he was unable to comprehend. He just nodded, promissing himself now to learn the mountain terrain very, very well and, when that "never" time came, he would be there to escort her. He really wanted to impress her with something, because as far as he was concerned at the moment she was everything he was not. All girls and boys were.

"What is Easthollow like?" Elfie asked shyly.

Whoops that was a typo, my bad!

Arlette heard what she said then blinked. "Oh! I mean if I ever need to cross the mountains you can be my guide," She corrected with a soft smile. How silly of her, she never really misspoke. Luckily the boy seemed to want to know about Easthollow. Arlette gladly would tell him about it.

'We are a family based pack. My mom leads there. Her name is Valette," she explained. "She leads together with my dad Greyback," she hummed. Technically he wasn't her biological dad but he felt like her real dad. "Most of my family lives in the pack with me,' she smiled.

That was a wonderful typo - it opened a window on, how very insecure Elfie feels about himself. :D

Arlette went on telling about her family at Easthollow and suddenly Elfie felt lonelier than ever. Where was his mother and father? Maegi was his friend, gentle, kind and loving, but she was not his mother in the sense that it was supposed to be. Diaspora was a rather nice place to live, people were reserved and such, but was it family based? He decided that the next time he met Stag, he would ask about his parents.

"Diaspora is not like that. I joined it with Maegi and she found me," he had wanted to match Arlette's story in length, but he did not have that much details to share. "And I do not know much about before that," he added, so that it would not appear, as if he had been conjured out of thin air.

Aww yess but Elfie shouldn't be so nervous, poor baby <3

Arlette listened curiously to the other. He was found and then joined that pack? It seemed that he wasn't sure who is family was, probably a sensitive topic. She decided not to touch too much on it. The female nodded. "I don't know a lot about Diaspora," she admitted. "But I think our packs are alright with each other. Perhaps they could become allies!," she offered to him. She figured their pack could always use an extra ally.

"Then you could come visit Easthollow and see our lands," she offered kindly. She really liked Easthollow, but then again, she was biased. She wondered what it would be like living in a mountain pack. "Are you tired all the time from climbing the mountain?," she asked curiously.

Elfie wanted to add that he did not know much about Diaspora either, because he lived a fairly isolated life with Maegi and Mou in the centre, and occasional encounters with either Stag or Mahler. He acknowledged the other packmates, but never initiated a conversation or anything of the likes. But that would not sound right at all, especially, if he wanted to make his home sound just as cool as Arlette was. 

Elfie would have followed Arlette back home right away, if she had so offered. He decided, however, once home to find out, whether Diaspora was an ally to Easthollow or not. He hoped that they were for his own selfish reasons. "I don't come down here very often," he explained. "I do get tired, but that's not because of climbing. Do you travel a lot?"

Arlette nodded slowly to the other. "I understand, I never really leave Easthollow either. But I am trying to identify plants for becoming a healer," she explained to him. She was not that skilled yet, but she was trying at least. She would usually get lost if she got too far, at least last time.

The female shook her head. "I'm pretty homebound but I'd like to travel more," she returned. Often she didn't really know where to travel to, and if she did, she usually didn't arrive.

"Mahler is a healer too. And Maegi knows about plants as well," Elfie was glad that he had something to add to the subject, otherwise it would come to an awkward end. Just because you liked someone very much, did not automatically mean that he knew, how to keep a conversation going smoothly. 

"They live in the pack," he explained, in case it was not obvious, why he knew them in the first place. "I could introduce them to you, if... you could come up there," he was not sure, if visitors of any kind were welcome to cross the borders. He had a feeling that just by telling "she is nice and good-looking" he would not get the permission. "Why don't you travel more, if you want it? You are an adult," he asked, curious. It was not like Arlette's mom could boss her grown up daughter around now.

Arlette's eyes widened eagerly, perhaps they could teach her something about healing. That would be great because she was really looking forward to continue her skills in that trade. "They do? I would love to learn from them," she admitted to Elfie. She was not sure how open his pack was for strangers that wanted to learn.

"I would love that," she admitted. She was also curious about Elfie's pack now. The female dipped her head gratefully. "Oh-- well.. I like to stay home. I did try to travel but then I got lost for a few days and it was kind of scary," she revealed and flushed a bit. [b]"Plus I like to take care of my family. I have younger siblings and I often would help my mom.

Arlette's contradicting statements confused Elfie a great deal. The girl wanted to travel and learn and at the same time she wanted to stay home and did not like travelling at all for the fear of getting lost. How could you get the better of her, huh?

"Uhmmm... okay," he shrugged for the lack of anything better to reply, because truly - he did not know the answer to this conundrum. "Do you have a lot of siblings?" he asked out of interest, because he had none that he could remember.

Arlette was the wolf that would always put the needs of others before her own and seeing that her mom or the pack needed her made her want to stay. Still, now she had free time she was out and about working on her medical trade. She tried to remember as many plants as she could but it wasn't always easy.

"Oh yes," she chuckled. "There was a litter before me, and then my own litter mates, and then last year my mom had a big litter. She probably will have pups again this year," she commented thoughtfully and then chuckled. "I do like our big family," Arlette admitted with a smile. "And with that the pack needs all their wolves," she explained.

"That's a lot of children," Elfie remarked, trying to wrap his mind around the exact number of Arlette's siblings and not having the slightest progress. All he could come up with was a vague idea of a huge pack of shadowy wolves standing behind his white-pelt companion in front of him. 

"Doesn't it get too crowded?" he asked, thinking about Diaspora and the sparse numbers there, but just enough for the barren land to sustain.

Arlette dipped her head, it was. However, she had not met everyone, especially from her mother's first litter. "Most of them went their own way though. Especially the first litter, the oldest, they all have lives of their own now," she commented to Elfie. She never felt alone that was for certain.

"So not really too crowded. I actually like having so many family members. And that is not even counting the extended family," she chuckled warmly. She always had siblings around and she felt very loved by all of the members.

Elfie wondered, what it was like to have related wolves surrounding him. He was content to have Maegi's friendship and hardly any Diasporan wolves seemed to have any familial ties to one another. As a group - they did not appear very friendly with each other. Not - here he looked briefly at the open and kind face of Arlette, who had just spoken about her siblings - like this anyway. And for a moment there he felt as if he was missing something very substantial from his life, which had not been alltogether too bad up until this point. 

"You are very lucky to have them," he told her in a moment of truth and a bit of envy as well. Not the bad kind, more like the one that comes from longing and loneliness. Again he fell silent and felt awkward, because he did not know, what to tell or say her next.

Arlette nodded in agreement with the other. "I feel lucky, hence why I usually say around to care for my family," she admitted and then offered a soft smile at him. She was really happy with her family and her life at Easthollow. "Well you can always come visit," she offered with a kind smile to the other.

sorry short!

"Okay," Elfie nodded in agreement, but he was not so sure that he would be able fulfill that promise. There was a chance to ask, whether he could go now. Or hope that he will come down from the mountains anytime soon to visit another time. Neither seemed likely, he felt a little bad for lying, but Arlette did not have to know this. 

The silence had become awkwardly painful again, he did not wish to go yet and at the same time he desperately tried to come up with something cool to tell her. Such as... he shifted from one foot to the other, drew in breath and babbled: "D'ye-play-gamz?" His heart fluttered in his chest from anxiety and anticipation.

Arlette noticed the silence that fell, but for her, it was not that awkward. She just thought that their conversation ran out. Perhaps it was time to say goodbye and continue to look for plants to bring back to Kaito. She hoped to impress him after all with what she found. She hoped that he would think of her as cool. She was unaware that Elfie was trying exactly that.

"Uhh games?" She asked. Well, she did play with her siblings, younger ones. She usually let them win to have them gain confidence but ever since they were teenagers she hadn't really played with them at all. It reminded her that Elfie was also younger than her. "Uh. Not in awhile. What games do you like to play?," she asked kindly.

Yeah, what did he like to play? Elfie had to admit that aside from the one time he had spent with Stag, when he had failed at every game the other boy had offered, he had not dabbled in the business much. Now he realized that he had prepared himself that Arlette would decline and therefore he had had no plan B, if she said "yes".

"Uh... Sorry, maybe another time... I... uh... I have to go," he mumbled, shot her a quick and apologetic glance and was on his way. It was a long time after, when he stopped feeling so embarrassed. 

Thanks! And I will look forward to another one in the future! :)