Wapun Meadow i am close when they are far

@star! thanks for the thread

He still hadn't made up his mind on whether this was a good idea or not. Dovev had every intention to snake his way back into the Creek, but for now, there wasn't a drive to cross the border- yet. He needed to dip his toes in and test the waters. Make some apologies. Mull things over. The usual.

The meadows and slope lands were no stranger to the male's opalescent gleam, and he swooped into them like a gyrfalcon returning to it's key perch on the cliffs. Even if being a loner was pretty damn lonely right now, the arctic wolf had his benefits, such as the freedom of movement. When he was in the Creek, Dovev spent plenty of time inside the packlands and little else- except to chase the odd loner south. He missed that. There needed to be more opportunities for the white wolf to flex his prey drive. Why was he feeling so edgy? Dovev blamed the cold weather. It always brought him to life.

no need to match length, I started writing and couldn't stop.

Her dip in the Creek last night scared her. Her father had been mean and abusive- but not enough to drive her to ever think of suicidal thoughts. For now it scared her, but soon these dark thoughts would become the norm for the new Star. The dappling on her forehead and back was gone, but the the darker, heavier stained were still there. It had been late, and she hadn't stopped to check if all of the blood had washed out. The bloody pawprint like a beacon on her forehead was still somewhat visible. The scar the silver eyed beast had carved in her skin was still there. The blood still showed on her shoulder, a crimson spiral with a line through it. She was a little less scrawny, yet still scrawnier than she'd ever been before. The dark circles were still under her eyes, and although she no longer squinted, she was still getting used to light. Star had left the Creek today again, she didn't want to face her packmates. Sure, Scimitar and Kieran and Falwasi had been in a fight with them, and were mad at her. But she felt like they were just freakin' sorry for themselves. She'd had to stay with these wolves and more- underground- for weeks- tortured and almost starved and interrogated and almost driven insane and drugged. She'd survived. They could survive one measly little fight. Soon she noticed a canine figure up ahead. White, and if she could see correctly from here, pale blue eyes. Was it Bazi? Oh, she wanted to face Bazi the least of all. Bazi was a friend, at least in her mind, and Star had pretty much brought war upon them. But it wasn't her fault, she was drugged when it happened. She stopped her mind from wandering and trotted forward. Once she was a few yards away, she recognized him. It was Dovev. A search had been sent for him, but he had seemed gone. How long had it been? Did he even know she was missing? "Dovev?" She asked, as if she was hallucinating him.

What little snow remained on the mushy ground was churned by Dovev's multiple paws as he trotted swiftly down the hillside and into a wide glen rimmed by pines and bare trees. He knew he was on the edge of Wapun, and what he saw next surprised him. Star. Dovev had to admit it to himself- seeing the little female made him pleased as punch. The scent of Creek was still strong on her, even as they came to terms on the far borders of the meadows. Striding quickly to her, Dovev allowed himself to greet her as an old friend would. And there was reason to, for Star had been a remarkable creature for her size.

The male's tail lifted to wave jauntily at her, pressing his nose briefly to her muzzle in a hello.

Star, he spoke in reply to his own name. Dovev stepped back to cast his silvered eyes upon Star with perked ears. What he saw was disturbing- a young wolf growing up in an unusual manner. He didn't know how old the snowy canine was, but he had always guessed Star to be an adolescent due to her small stature. But whatever ghost reflected in her pools was no angst. Something had happened while Dovev was away, and it made his hackles bristle instinctively.
He wasn't entitled to know, but Dovev would easily seek his revenge if someone had harmed Star, a wolf he had taken respect to.

She was relieved to hear she was not dreaming, and that her old friend was back. "Oh, Dovev, where had you been? I heard that recently they searched for you." She told him, her eyes worried. Was he okay? Had something happened? Her mind was completely gone from her own "incident". She saw his hackles rise. She cast a glance over her shoulder, checking for tornadoes or bears or Blackflag pirates or whatever might make him nervous, but nothing was there. Was it her? She turned to look back at him. "What's wrong Dovev?" She asked him, her eyes still somewhat empty, but with some concern as well for her respected friend.

Nothing's wrong. You looked upset, Dovev responded, directing the conversation from him. He didn't have much of an excuse for his absence, even if it made him feel like a deserter. Dovev didn't go off to visit any friends, or tour some far off locale. He wanted to return to his new home that he had found in the creek.

Something then caught his eye, and the male let out an involuntary snarl as Star briefly turned to glance over her shoulder at something. It was marked, desecrating her ivory pelt. There had been some symbol on Star's forehead, faded and dull, but the spiral burned into Dovev's sockets. That insignia of his natal family, the spiral... who had dared take it into blood and paint it onto the female's pelt?

What is this? He looked cross, his anger welling to the surface. Dovev didn't care if Star had done it herself (it seemed highly unlikely as the spiral was well out of the reach of her muzzle), the male took personal offense to the brazenness of it all. The spiral was life to them, representing the eternal cycle of birth and death. Had she done this?

The anger faded as Dovev was reminded that they came from two separate worlds, yet he couldn't help the feeling of residual fury rippling from his initial shock.

"Okay. I am upset." She stated in a dull monotone, not explaining anything. Her ears flattened as he snarled. She glanced at his eyes to see where they were directed- to her left shoulder. In bright crimson shone the spiral, a scar underneath it, carved deep into her skin. "This," She said, her eyes narrowing, anger flaring in the empty dark pits, "is a souvenir from Blackfeather. From a silver eyed torturer who believes it is fun to carve into me and decorate me with my own blood." She snarled. There it was. Star didn't stop to think that it might confuse him, since there was no real explanation, only hatred for that man and all the others in Blackfeather Woods who had tortured her, among other things.

Blackfeather Woods. He scrounged his mind, trying hard to remember the last time he had heard that name. Dovev knew it was a pack, southwest and held themselves in some dinky forest, or whatever. But how did Star get down there? What had transpired that she was captured and harmed? The growl subsided, but the male's face was still clenched, and his hackles bristled.

What happened? he almost demanded, his furious outbreak subsiding. The wolf didn't mean to upset her in anyway, and his ears flattened. Since Star was out talking to him now, Dovev could only guess she had either escaped, or was rescued. An anxious flash crossed his face. What if someone else had gotten into this mess? Falwasi?
He didn't care if it was no longer his place to get caught up in the pack's affairs.
Was anyone else hurt?

Star sighed deeply. "Lots happened. I'll tell you... Everything. I think I trust you more than most of my packmates right now 'cause they hate me. I haven't told them reasons though." Star said. Then she took a deep breath before she began, making eye contact with Dovev. "One night I was hungry. I was kinda trying to lose weight, but I hadn't eaten in a day or two, so I was hungry. Paarthurnax was here, and I don't know much about pregnancy and stuff, but I figured her kids would be born any day. I didn't want to take away the newborn's food from the caches, so I decided to catch something small for me. A mouse or something. This is embarrassing for me, since I'm trying to be a gamekeeper, but I couldn't find or catch anything. Bad luck. So I figured I'd just eat some plant, I heard some are edible. So I walked along the Creek and found some mushrooms. I ate them. I fell asleep really fast. I woke up the next day... And this wasn't really me like normal, the 'shrooms must have been weird. I felt restless... Bloodlust.. I felt like causing trouble for fun. So in a haze I went and trespassed. I don't remember many details, but two wolves beat me up, one of which I came to hate. A lot. Anyway, he knocks me out, I wake up underground somewhere. And for the next few weeks, I'm nearly starved, and often tortured or interrogated, mostly tortured. I hate them all, Dovev. They hurt me so much... One man painted me with my own blood, which is the reason for the pawprint on my head and spiral on my shoulder. It was terrible. And the one I hate the most, he brings me out one day. And there's Scimitar, Fal, and Kieran. And they have to fight three of the ones who hurt me the most. They got wounded and lost, but got me back. So all in all, we may have a war on our paws. All cause of me." She sighed. Tears gathered in her eyes, which she willed to stay in, but they fell anyway. But she hated to look weak.

He didn't know what disturbed him more- the story, or the fact that strange little droplets of water pooled in the bottom crevice of Star's eyes. It wasn't like Dovev hadn't seen tears before, but the physical manifestation of emotion that the female showed conveyed the trial and the annoyance the Blackfeathers had wrought on the Creek.

There was a lot of information packed into Star's little spiel, from Paar's newborns to mushrooms to the hatred she felt and the hatred she got in return. Why the pack had shunned her for these events was unknown to Dovev, for he would do anything in his power to stake the claim that the pack had made- they were not to be messed with, and to hear of the war was to pronounce the Creek's willingness to defend themselves. That he was appreciative of, but the white wolf was still bothered that Star felt 'hated', for it was deeper than the blooded markings upon her coat.

You're not to blame for this fight, he reminded her, reflecting his own new opinions as an outsider. They were the ones who kidnapped you, rather than just chase you off outside their borders.

The male lifted his gray eyes, frowning and flattening in his ears. It was a troubling, albeit superficial.
It was hard to tell if Dovev was genuine, or only trying to sympathize with Star because of his lust for a fight- something to which he would never say no.

She sighed. He was probably right, even though her mind didn't agree. She had fought with the wolves- had that been the mushroom, or Star? The voices in her head argued over it, but she silenced them and continued, ignoring them. "Especially Fal," Star grumbled, her eyes narrowing. "She kept looking at me like I'm the one who wounded her. I'm not the enemy!" She sighed in frustration. Go throw yourself off a cliff. The Voice chuckled in a mocking tone to Star. Shut Up, her thoughts silenced the Voice. She looked at Dovev. "Are you coming back home?" She said, looking into his eyes. Perhaps he was the only one left who didn't blame her. And maybe Kaskara, although she wasn't sure.

wrap up here?

Everyone made mistakes, and he knew Star was one of the younger members of the group. Still, it was a serious infraction when she reported there might be a war brewing. There was little anger in the white female's eyes, just a touch of sadness and confusion.
From what he had seen though, Dovev thought it of a simple matter: the bastards at Blackfeather Woods had lain a claw on a packmate, and they should pay. He might be overlooking the sympathies and worries of the others, though, in exchange for his defensive attitude.

Dovev nodded in response to her last question.
Yes, I was heading there now. He nudged her, but avoided looking at that desecrated spiral that was carved onto her shoulder.

sure. thanks for the thread!

Star, despite her depression, slowly wagged her tail when Dovev said he was heading to Swiftcurrent. Well, if that was what he thought of as home. It was certainly Star's home. She had no where else to really go if she were rejected from the Creek. To where, The Sunspire? Duskfire? No, these places could never be home, but the Creek was. "I'm glad there will be someone there who supports me." She sighed. "I guess I'll see you there, Dovev?" She said with a thin smile made with effort.Without an official goodbye, she turned and began to slowly walk back towards home.