Broken Antler Fen Return to nowhere

Perhaps @Wraen could grace me with her presence ;)

He had returned to these wilds after more than a year away. He had come here with a purpose, to meet the wolves that his parents had been connected to. However, hearing about the Caldera wolves aunt Hydra had send him in their direction. He had never arrived, never found them. Jasper probably had taken a wrong turn somewhere. That also caused him to lose sight of his sister, @Dhalia. It made him most worried, mostly because she would be worried about him. He was pretty sure she would manage to save herself. Jasper did what he learned from his nomadic parents, offering wisdom for a bed and a meal. And though he had longed to see his family, he had continued his path, unable to find his home.

This time, he unknowingly entered Teekon from another location. Jasper looked at the mountain rage and realized it looked familiar, only this time, he seemed to be on the other side of it. His heart pounded, meaning that he could probably relocate his sister now he was back in the area he had wandered from. The golden male continued his way, until the scent of a pack caught his nose. He stayed respectful of their borders when he moved around their territory. It reminded him about the stories his father told him about Broken Antler Fen. The pack he once lead before he was together with his mother. He couldn't remember if they were friends during that time.

He stopped to marvel at the sun coming down over the territory. His golden tones catching the light as well, but as always the male was oblivious to that. His pale eyes took in the sight before him, hoping the pack here wouldn't be too defensive about him curiously looking in. He would respectfully dash away if that was the case.

Now and then Wraen would find clues telling her that Broken Antler fen had been inhabited by wolves in the past. Either old, whitened elk bones scattered around, antlers with teeth marks and long abandoned dens, where nearly scentless tufts of fur could still be found. She wandered the territory often, trying to imagine, who could have lived here, for how long and what had prompted them to leave in the end. Sometimes it was a sitcom-type of story, at other times, when she herself felt contemplative and thoughtful about the big schemes in life and the like, it was a drama with a bittersweet ending. The characters changed in each setting, but in the end she never felt satisfied with the outcome. It did not feel real enough and very likely she would never find out.

On one of those wanderings in solitude she had come near the borders and found a young, dashing, blonde fellow loitering near them. She stopped briefly to evaluate him from afar, then decided that he was no threat to her at present, and wandered closer. "Looking for trouble?" she asked him with a teasing smile, when she had come near enough for them to have a comfortable conversation.

When he spotted someone on the other side of the scent marked border, Jasper was quick to step back. He had not seen her watching him from afar, only once she approached. The golden male was quick to return her a charming smile when her tone was teasing. "Quite the opposite, actually," he spoke to her in return. "Say the word and I will vanish." He meant it. He didn't want to leave a stain of disrespect on their border. But he would be saddened to be send away so quickly.

"This territory is beautiful," he started. "It caught my attention and had to pause." He had his tail gently wagging behind him to display his friendliness. It probably had been clear from the start. He looked behind her for a moment. His father had talked of wetlands, and their locations close to a mountain range. He had not found other wetlands on his travels, so perhaps, there was a chance this could be it. "Would you mind telling me about our lands, and your pack? I am curious."

Then he realized he hadn't introduced himself. Where were his manners! He should have started with that. "I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I am Jasper Rochester-Ostrega." He realized it was quite a mouthful but in these lands the Ostrega name helped him. He found family at Moonspear after all because of it.

Jasper was not only good looking fellow, but also had pleasant manners and a sense of humour, thus he had already received some points to win Wraen's favour. She smiled to herself, when she thought that this good first impression weighed out the fact that he was at least part Ostrega. He complimented the territory (had he been here before? or was it a pleasant nothing?) and showed interest in her telling more about them (spy?), she simply nodded to show that she was paying attention, but not jumping at the occasion of impressing him. Because of two things - first, he was a visitor here and she was in no need to persuade him to come and stay. Second - she was getting to a point in her life, where she was very comfortable with, who she was. Even if it meant her being more selfish and not that willing to please others. There might be a third and fourth, but then this post would lose the right track and, how much fun would that be, huh?

"Name's Wraen and name's of this place is Brecheliant," she told him, beckoning over her shoulder. "We are a fairly recent settlers here - if you knew this place by any other name, then those people were long gone, when we arrived," she said. "I have found some old evidence of a pack having lived there once, but there has been so much change in the valley over the years, then the name has been lost to the history." Wraen paused, looking him up and down again. "Where do you come from and where are you heading to?"

Jasper was unaware that his last name didn't help him here. The female didn't show any sign of familiarity like others had done before. Especially with Hydra it worked in his favor. "Nice to meet you, Wraen," she smiled kindly, his tail swaying. "Brecheliant," he repeated the name to test it on his tongue. It was not the name he knew from his father. Perhaps there was a little disappointment, but the female then continued that there were some evidence of wolves settling here before.

"I come from the south, I've been a traveling nomad really," he spoke looking around him. "I recognize the mountain range," he explained. "My quest started a year ago together with my sister to find the Caldera pack our parents' lived before they had us. Only then there was no pack at the Caldera. So then I just traveled from pack to pack, and explored more of these lands, even further than these lands, to only return here again," he spoke with a hum on his tone.

"My parents lives in this area for a long time, and I just wished to see the characters and landscapes from their stories," he recapped in short. "Perhaps make my own story here, you know? Settle down," he added with a soft chuckle. His mother would love that if he settled, found his way. He still felt a little lost in that department sometimes.

Well, to be honest, Wraen hoped she had grown out of her all is "black and white" stage and had learned to judge people not by their family names, but by their characters and deeds. Plus, she had to remind herself that the two Ostregas, who had been villains in her story, no longer lived. And the rest - well, they were decent people. Jasper seemed to belong to those. She liked his polite manners and that it was very easy to be in his company. A genuinely nice guy at the first glance.

"Well, Caldera pack moved back to their base-camp, so to say, not too long ago, but a lot of changes probably have happened between your parents' time there and now. They have a sister pack South of here - Frosthawks - and the current pack is led by my good friend Towhee," she told him. As for the rest of names - she did not know, if it was worth listing them. If this guy had never been part of the Redhawk gang himself, none of them would make any sense. 

"Yeah... I am not sure about a simple sight-seeing tour - we are a colourful bunch here, some are more traditional than others and they might not understand, why a stranger is shown the land for no practical reason," she said with a kind smile. "What is that you want to have in your story? If I know the outline at least, I may be able to tell you, if this Enchanted Forest is the thing for you or not."

Jasper whipped his head around towards the direction of the Caldera. He looked at it for a moment before getting his attention back to the female, to Wraen. "Yeah, you are probably right," he agreed with her quietly. "My parents had us at a later time in their lives so if those wolves were older than them... Perhaps I am just too hopeful," he admitted, thinking about it. He got that mentality from his parents really, they were always pushing him to see for a solution and have a positive outlook on life.

Jasper nodded respectfully. "I would not ask that of you if that would get you in trouble," she assured her. She seemed wise enough to make a decision on that. Jasper let out an airy chuckle, and perhaps for the first time he looked a little uncomfortable. "I want to get to know... me? That probably sounds silly," he ended in a mumble. He looked somewhat guilty at the female and then committed to an explanation. "I have been a nomad my whole life. My parents going from pack to pack. So many customs and different rules with each pack we stayed with in exchange for healer instructions. I just like to settle in one place and just work on me. What I think and believe about the world," he spoke passionately.

"On a soul-searching journey then," Wraen concluded, remembering that in a not too distant past she too had needed to find herself again. That and purpose in life. And turned out that it did not wait for you gift-wrapped and shiny in some magical corner, but you learned it step-by-step, by trying and doing various things. It was okay, if you changed your mind about, what your true calling was. Or when you lost interest in a hobby or a passion of yours. The greatest thing she had learned was to embrace change and not fear it.

"Well, we have an experienced healer here with whom you can exchange knowledge," she told him, thinking about Eljay and how very recently she had told him to have a long rest, and what a hypocrite she was for hypothetically bringing him back to work. On the other hand - she was proud in her knowledg in stories and loved to share with an eager listener. There couldn't be harm in an eager student, could there. 

"And in return you can stay and help out as long as you want and, if in the end you feel that your calling lies elsewhere - we won't hold a grudge at you for leaving," she offered him. "Though it may be hard to believe it now - I was a young girl once. And I too was looking to find myself. Took around five packs to finally land here," she smiled.

Jasper chuckled and then followed with a nod. He really wanted to find what he was good at and what he liked doing. "Well.. My parents were really much of the healers. I know how to assist for sure. Not sure if it is my passion as much as it is theirs," he admitted to the female. "But I love to talk to him either way. I am sure he has some good knowledge for me,' he added politely. "Maybe even some good stories as well," Jasper hummed thoughtfully.

Jasper was surprised by the offer. But he didn't need to think long to accept it with a firm nod. Then he could really admire this territory up close and he knew the drill of joining a new pack. It was nice to know as well that he was allowed to leave if it didn't suit him. He had been roaming a lot these days and couldn't help but feel really comforted by a good night's sleep. "I will join your pack," he verbally confirmed as well. Jasper offered her a charming grin. "Not hard to believe at all, Wraen. But you traded age for some good knowledge and stories. I'm sure," he complimented. He was interested in getting to know her better.

Jasper sounded a soft 'oof'. "Well then you were faster than me. I've had around 11 packs so far. Guess my hope is now settled on Brecheliant," he chuckled. He also knew that their upbringing hadn't been the same. Their parents' livelihood and their children's wellbeing were because of all those packs that took them in.

"That's very well said," Wraen returned the compliment, repeating it in her mind one more time and enjoying the taste of words like a fine wine. "Eleven already? Pray, how old are you?" she exclaimed laughing. Some would have thought that this particular pack in Jasper's biography showed that he was a fairly inconsistent character to have around. But since Brecheliant had a fairly democratic policy and Wraen in particular enjoyed the presence of young people as long as they wished to be around, it did not matter. If Jasper decided to seek for pack no.13 soon after - she would be the first to wish him safe travels and ask him to stop by in the future to tell, how things had been going.

"Come along, I will show you around," she beckoned him to follow. 

You can wrap this up in your next post and we can have a new thread together soon after. :)

Jasper had to think for a moment about his age. "Two," he admitted and then chuckled. "I do count the packs I lived in as a child," he admitted to her. He wasn't aware that saying such things could backfire, or putting him in an unreliable daylight. The young male dipped his head politely. "I'd love to get a tour," he admitted, eagerly entering the territory and following Wraen. It really looked like the place from the stories.

END!