Stone Circle There it stood silent

Sven lifted a leg. He stared at the world sround him. Quiet, anxious alone. He had moved through the nearby areas. Also silent. Where had all the wolves gone?

Seal had fled from the Caldera's borders, into Sunspire's wilds.

She stopped only when she realized there was nothing out this way... nothing for her, at least.

Maybe I should seek moonwoman's guidance, Seal thought to herself. Just as she was about to turn, the silhouette of a wolf in her peripheral caught her attention.

"Hello?" Seal called tentatively.

It had been so long since Sven had heard another voice, that at first he thought it was a trick. But he tilted his head to study the far wild anyway. Grey eyes narrowed.

He was surprised when it was another and quickly settled his leg. He dipped his head. Cleared his throat it felt funny to speak.

Hello.

The figure turned and addressed her.

Hello. The simple reply and husky timber elicited a memory.

Seal leaned forward and realized she recognized this wolf. She had met him upon these very borders. They had hunted together when Seal needed to craft a skin to repay a debt owed to Montage du Cigue. Kvarsheim, was the pack name she recalled.

"Sven?" Seal queried, hoping she was remembering correctly. "Your name is Sven, right? Of Kvarsheim?"

She took a few paces forward to meet him properly.

Her accent drew his attention. He rooted through the memories he kept quiet. Turning them over quietly. Feeling the usual sense of nostalgia that always accompanied them.

A wag of his tail. Yes. And You're Seal, correct?

A small smile. Warmth in steel grey. Moved to meet her halfway.

Sven’s name elicited another memory – of crossing paths with Chani as she was on her way to visit the Kvarsheim brothers. A double date! Seal had once jeered.

His kind smile anchored her anxious spirit. She had been tumbling like a stone through a river for so long… it felt good to reconnect with someone, even if they were only acquaintances.

“Aye,” Seal affirmed with a smile big enough to conceal the shadows that haunted her heart. “Remember the marmot we hunted ta’gether? I turned it into a fine pelt. I should’ve returned sooner tae thank you,” she said sheepishly – for she had honestly forgotten to return to the Stone Circle at all!

Seal changed subject. “How have you been? How is your pack?” she asked with a curl of her tail.

Sven did not see Chani when she had wanted to visit. Perhaps she had gone further or met someone else along the way. But he thought of the sea wolf fondly. Hoping she was alright. Wishing her all the blessings. 

He nodded with a small laugh. The smile meeting his eyes this time. yes I remember. Ah no need to worry about that. Life tends to get in the way. And the world spins fast.

Her next question and he felt his insides go cold. He grew quiet, introspective, unsure how to answer a question. 

they are all gone. Kvarsheim fell and there was nothing I could do about it. So now i just guard it's ghost. I am breathing.

Sven’s warm demeanor visibly wilted before he spoke a word. Seal’s ears pinned back against her head as her brows knit, concerned something terrible had befallen Kvarhsheim.

He was vague about the circumstances, but it didn’t really matter. Kvarsheim had been whittled down to a single member: Sven, who proclaimed himself a ghost of the Stone Circle.

It was macabre. Seal chewed her lip, sullenly. “Oh Sven, I am so sorry…” she said quietly as her carob eyes skimmed over the young man’s face and its withdrawn expression. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be the last one standing. It made her consider @Treepie and Alaric upon the Spear…

Briefly, she placed her smaller paw upon his. She didn’t know quite what to say. The problem-solver in her wanted to blurt out possible solutions.

Come with me to Moonglow! Kukutux will know what to do.

Redhawk Caledra might be looking for members?

…But saying these things didn’t feel right. In fact, it felt like it would have discredited Sven’s legacy. Maybe it was okay to not try and fix things right away. Maybe it was okay to be sad in the moment.

She withdrew her paw. The sun began to sink.

“Want to hunt dinner with me?” She suggested, hoping he would accept her company. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go, anyways. Maybe she was a ghost, too.

Sven didn't not know how to word. He had failed. His siblings had failed. Their fathers legacy gone. He the last surviving member as far as he knew. It made him ill.

Sven had thought of other packs. Had started to walk away hundreds of times. But always stayed. Couldn't make himself take that first step. He had nothing waiting for him in the beyond places wither. So what was the point?

He squeezed her paw. And then nodded. I'd like that.

When Sven squeezed her paw a sudden flutter of butterfly wings tickled Seal’s stomach. Her gaze shyly skipped across his stoic expression. Now attuned to him, she noticed little details for the first time… like the white hairs that freckled across the bridge of his nose and striations of granite in his silver eyes.

“Okay,” she agreed with a soft smile.

And maybe her response also affirmed their pact to let their dogs, their problems, lay sleeping for a while.

Seal turned, ready to go.

“Which way would you recommend?” she asked Sven.

Sven smiled shyly. Grey eyes alight with sincerity and the gentle kindness his father had cultivated inside him.

He tapped a paw in thought. Well more rabbits towards the meadows and bigger game like small deer and such towards the forest. What are ya hungry for?

He was not large wolf. But he was hardy and had begun to learn to survive on his own in a variety of ways.

It was evident Sven intimately knew this land by the way he explained where prey could be found. Seal hardly ever had luck catching rabbits (their pelt was difficult to skin, anyway) and so her ears perked at the mention of deer in the forest.

“Venison sounds good tae me,” Seal said and she fell in step at his side as they began to meander towards the woodlands of the Stone Circle.

She walked in companiable silence. The waning glow of dusk traded for a cloak of darkness. Not even the light from the thin sliver of crescent moon reached them beneath the canopy. Crickets chirped – but there was no other sound besides the shuffle of their paw steps.

It dawned on Seal just how alone they really were.

She found herself gravitating toward Sven – the track of her strides ebbed closer to his until the fur of their shoulders brushed together. Her heart began to gallop

Sven had naughty much to do but traverse his fallen kingdom. Learn all it could offer him and all it could take. It made sense to do so, to wander.

A small smile. A little tightening of shoulders. Deer it is
 

Sven was hearty. Weeks of living on his own he had learned different ways to take a prize 

A small smile a gentle bump of anout to her shoulder. He walked beside her. Shoulders brushing. Grey eyes alight with laughter and the presence of someone who felt older than his age