Larksong Grotto as the sun sets

Ever since the birth of the young pups, her life had gone downhill. She was often out on her own, some days shunning even @Indra (though her love for her sister was eternal, she was also jealous of the way she looked with her fiery fur and outstanding features). Yet whenever she was with her family, Laurel was rude and loud-mouthed, brimming with confidence and loving to Indra. She was mostly demanding to Jhala and the tiny potato pups and demanding attention from Reek; yet she knew whenever she saw him with the babies that he would never love her as much as he loved them. It hurt her and it made he even ruder and even more confident on the outside while her time romping around alone was spent wallowing in the hatred she had acquired about herself and the way that she looked; the way that she never seemed to be enough for anyone but Indra, never enough for even her own father. Not now that he had his babies.

But where was she to go? Some days Laurel considered her options. Some days she wished to murder Reek's new children. Some days she wished to run away with Indra and find a place for just the two of them to live.

Yet, most days she would just stay here. She would just hate herself because Reek didn't love her, not really, and because Indra was more beautiful than her. She was stubby and short while Indra was really growing into her body now and her fur and eyes were so beautiful. The only colour that she seemed to have was tan, and though Laurel kept telling herself she would find her growth spurt it never really did seem to come around. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Today was another day like most days. Just romping around pretending to have a blast alone, pretending to be better than everyone, while all she was doing was waiting... Waiting for something to snap, for something to happen that was so terrible that one of her scenarios would come true. Laurel ran until she could run no more, until the tears had flown from her eyes by her sheer speed, and then she stopped. Her sides heaved, her tongue lolled from her mouth, and she looked down at her boring tan paws, her stubby short legs that refused to carry her any further, while in the distance the sun started to set between the trees, painting the sky a beautiful orange and pink.

It was beautiful. Home. And yet...and yet something was missing. There was a piece of him at forever lurking in the dark wood, all excitement and opportunity and adventure. It would take him time to settle, for his scars to heal-quick literally. Only a few of the many scratches circling his neck would scar, very few, if any, would stay with him to adulthood. 

He wandered, feeling something like homesickness whenever he spotted one of the many herbs Potema had taught him. But he was happy here. Home. Yet a tiny part of him whispered
was he?

He shook such thoughts away as his gaze fell on something interesting. A girl. Not a woman, but one as young as he, he quickly deduced. He approached silently, the scent of Larksong thin on his fur but there all the same. He didn't remember a girl. This one looked distressed. 

"Are you alright?" His words, trepidation and soft, drifted toward her as he paused a short distance away, scanning her. Perhaps a little shorter then him, long legged and well built from his time in the wood, tan fur a few shades darker then his rapidly lightening fur. His blue eyes, youthful yet piercing watched her carefully.

An ear cupped on his direction as he approached. Laurel wished that they would all just go away and leave her alone. She didn't want to be bothered. She hated everything and everyone. This guy didn't smell familiar. She didn't like wolves she didn't know. She hated this pack. Everyone would just leave her.

Her sides heaved with the exertion and as he asked his question, she snapped her head upwards and derisively snapped: "Of course I'm not alright, dumb-ass!" She frowned angrily at him, but as she looked up at him she saw suddenly that he was a boy her age, and she was taken aback, surprise overtaking the earlier anger showing on her face. She'd never met a boy her age. And his eyes were like beautiful oceans to drown in.

dumb-ass. his ears flicked back a moment in surprise at her harsh words and the name spat out from her maw, the anger so evident in her features. she was rather pretty, he thought, but the thought was fleeting in his shock at her words. yet he did not retreat, standing his ground as her gaze flicked to his eyes a moment, as anger drained from her face and surprise filled it. had she been expecting someone else, perhaps?

he could not bring himself to be angry in turn, not when she had seemed so upset, and thus he merely said, "My name's Seff. Not dumb-ass." he informed her, gaze travelling over her a quick moment before returning to glance up at her own hazel eyes a minute. "who're you?" he questioned softly, not wanting her to become angry again. he remained quite still as he looked over her a moment again, trying to place her in his memories yet failing.

Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she stared at him incredulously, wishing she had something witty to say. His eyes were so beautiful, as though she could easily drown in them, and she swallowed dryly when he spoke to her, responding nicely even though she'd just called him names. Seff. She stared a bit longer before realising he'd asked for her name. She considered giving a fake name for a moment, but the silly thought struck her he might be looking for her later and he wouldn't know where to find her then if she gave a name nobody knew.

"Laurel," she said as her breathing started to slow down, the feeling of her lungs burning slowly drifting away. "I'm a princess here." Just in case he didn't realise who he was talking to. Laurel was bursting at the seams needing to talk to someone about how ugly and useless she felt, but she just couldn't tell anyone the truth. What if they'd realise it was true? It was better to pretend to be a beautiful princess, and maybe they would buy her charade.

she claimed to be a princess, and Seff, unsure of how exactly or why she fashioned herself a princess, did not attempt to prove her claims false. "oh" he said, rather dully, cursing at himself at not finding anything beter to say. this girl interested him, and already he found himself being quite boring. He could not think of anything of great interest to say to match her statement, and thus he pressed on. "Laurel's a pretty name." he offered sincerely, he did rather like it.  

the initial shock at meeting one his own age, and a girl, had worn off, leaving him oddly nervous. she seemed less upset, he noticed, that was good. yet he was curious to why she had been so upset in the first place, and against his better judgement, he nervously, trepidantly asked. "I'm sorry you're upset, Laurel. Maybe...I can help?" he asked, glancing at her gaze a moment before averting his gaze almost sheepishly.

She liked him, all the more because he thought her name was pretty. She had never met a boy her own age before, and she found herself intrigued. Laurel cared little for anyone that wasn't her sister, but this Seff seemed interesting. She liked his striking eyes and she thought Seff was a nice name too, but Laurel didn't say so, because she was used to bartering with these kind of things and wasn't about to let anyone know that they got to her in some inexplicable way.

He offered help, though Laurel had no clue how on earth Seff'd be able to fix things. So instead of telling him how he could help, Laurel asked: "Do you have baby siblings?" Maybe if he did he could understand, but if he didn't it'd be hard to explain. As though it was relevant she added, "I hate my stepmother. She's mean and nothing like a mother at all." Laurel didn't really know what a mother should be like, but she was pretty sure that it was better than what Jhala did (or didn't) do for them.

"No" he admitted as he drew nearer cautiously, sitting back on his haunches and looking to her. He had been born alone, he knew. His parents had never explicitly said so, yet it had always just been him; even in the furthest reaches of his memory, there had always been simply him, alone. It did not bother him in the slightest, for he was fine on his own, and he had never brought it up with his parents.

at her next words, his expression turned empathetic. "I'm sorry, Laurel. That's horrible." He said sincerely, looking to her. He could not imagine growing up with someone that was "not like a mother at all", and could only imagine how she felt. "But you won't be a pup for much longer, right? Then, you could go anywhere you wanted, if you liked." He suggested softly, expression turned to hers.

I'm so sorry for the wait in this!!

Everything sounded so easy when Seff said it. But then, he hadn't been in her situation. He didn't have any stupid baby siblings. Possibly not even any stepparents. She didn't dare ask though, fearing that he might have the perfect family picture that she wanted so badly; Laurel wouldn't be able to handle that.

He suggested that she could 'just leave'... But where would she go? She looked away, frowning, and said, "I guess... I don't even know where we'd go." She wasn't just supposed to keep herself safe and happy, but Indy, too. They could travel around 'til they found something, but then what would they do? And what if there were no other places but the ones that she had visited? "I just know this place and Silver Creek."

"There's so much out there, Laurel.  Maybe...you could travel. Explore." He suggested at her words, eyes on her as he spoke with a small smile. Even from his short adventures between here and Blackfeather, and the occasional jaunt from the borders, he knew that the Wilds were vast, and a great number of packs existed within them. "There are mountains south of here, and a valley and flatlands. And so much more I haven't heard of, I'm sure, let alone seen." He elaborated, wondering if she was the kind to travel. he had no idea the relationship she had with others in the pack, nor of her situation here, and thus probably wasn't the most qualified to suggest a course of action.

Everything he said sounded so very strange and out there, like something of her wildest dreams, but not something she could ever actually achieve. She needed food and shelter, a pack — Laurel might not know much of the world outside of the places she had been, but she wasn't dumb. She knew she needed other wolves to keep her alive. Maybe one day, when she was older and better at hunting small game; maybe after the winter...

"Will you come with me and my sister if we leave?" she asked him, wondering if she'd stand more chance at survival if she wasn't alone. But Seff didn't seem that much older than her, and her stomach wouldn't be able to thrive on just a pretty boy's eyes.