Wild Berry Meadow we are not the weight of all our memories.

Liffey had been watching the sky all day. As she was usually seen with her head tilted skyward, this wasn't exactly too unusual a thing but for the fact that it was still daylight. More often than not, it was only ever at night that she spent her time looking up, and that was because of the stars there that drew her attention. Day lacked the specks of light that fascinated her so wholly, but on this particular day, there was something else brewing that fascinated her.

She'd noticed it at first simply because of the birds overhead. They were flying low over the ground as though something higher above was driving them down. Something in the wind grew familiar as well, in the direction it began to flow and the steadying rise in its strength. She had suspected then that a storm may be coming, but it wasn't until the faint scent of rain came to her that she knew she was right.

And now, Liffey was watching the clouds just outside the edge of the Heartwood where the wreckage of the old woods gave way to a meadow. She didn't want to wander too far from the rest of the group, but her curiosity had sent her a little further than she'd originally intended and kept her out even though it was clear to her that a storm was coming.

Invades!

It was supposed to be a day trip, just him and his friend Lagan, in and out of the Bramblewood. The very idea that he'd been picked for this totally cool adventure - and not his siblings - flew right over his head. The boy wanted to show off to his older guardian; he wanted to take the same path through the trees as he had before, when he'd met the runty stranger in the dark. So when Lagan's back was turned, Titmouse bolted. It wasn't a smart move. It was a half-baked idea more than anything, as was every thought that crossed through his little mind; however, the fallout would be epic.

The trees were a-maze-ing. But really, they were a mess of twisting paths and jutting roots, of dark patches of heavy bough and whispering gaps; Titmouse became so fixated on chasing shadows, or bugs, or the sounds of birds, that he lost track of his original goal. The wolf he had encountered wasn't here anymore - and apparently neither was Lagan! A momentary panic tried to correct Titmouse's judgement call, to reel him in towards the Caldera and out of the forest, but he was all turned around. When he finally found his way out of the fern-infested mess of murk and newness, the open air yawned around him.

And there was no Lagan. Or so he thought, as he took on an erratic twisting-turning-spinning-searching routine. Titmouse bolted around the last remaining trees, climbed over a big stupid log which sat distended from the forest, and finally came to a halt when there was nothing but field around him - because in the distance he could see the silver body of the boy! His friend! How had he gotten that far away so fast? But the child's concern was short-lived. He was too enamored by the sight of the familiar wolf to really care about the order of events; and thus Titmouse went charging after that silhouette, filled with vim and vigor, and came crashing on to the scene.

It wasn't until after he'd collided with Liffey's slim legs that he recognized her as separate from her brother - but that didn't matter either, because Liffey still smelled like home, still meant Caldera to little Titty, who was as dumb as the stump he had left behind.

Liffey could feel electricity in the air as the sky darkened. The clouds roiled overhead as a low, foreboding rumble of thunder spread through the air. The aspiring naturalist couldn't help but smile at the sound, beaming with pride that she had been right. Rain had not begun to fall quite yet, but she knew it was coming. Her lithe frame tingled with anticipation for those first light drops to fall into her fur and for that first flash of lightning to streak across the sky.

What she did not anticipate was the sudden impact of a smaller form against her legs. With a startled yelp, Liffey spun about and struck a defensive pose towards what her panicked mind told her was probably another wolverine there to avenge the one she had gotten murdered. With bared teeth, she snapped at the creature that fell backwards away from her, the fur along her spine bristling as she tensed in preparation to throw herself at the...

Titmouse.

Titmouse?

All aggressive posturing fell away to utter dumbfounded astonishment as she recognized the boy. Her brain told her that this was completely impossible, but her senses spoke the truth. It looked like him, smelled like him, and had run headlong into her legs so it was stupid enough to be him too. But again... "What the hell are you doing here?" Liffey asked, annoyed but also very curious for he smelled rather strongly of Lagan and her heart was suddenly aching with desperation to see her twin again.

Her reaction wasn't what he expected. Then again, he didn't know what he was expecting. She spun around all sticky-uppy, big-teethy, kinda badass, and then upon realizing it was him, ceased everything. Her scathing tone was more surprising than any of the aforementioned displays and upon hearing it, Titmouse shrank back and down; his instincts pulled him to the dirt for a minute or two.

Wanna go! He responded, his voice a little shakey but otherwise.. very Titmouse, booming out of him with the strange rasp he'd been born with. I-sorry, thought.. Thought you were Lagan. His ears slicked back and he pouted; but he got up and idled a little bit rather than mope in the dirt, staring down at the soil then behind himself at the trees - wondering what he should do. Then it dawned on him that Liffey was far from home - that they both were - and he turned to her again to say, Why are you here?

Maybe one day she would be okay with kids. Someday in the far, far, far future. She would never see it coming, though. It was one thing when they were small and needy and annoying and they bit her nose and refused to ever let go, but something entirely different when they were all of those things plus clearly more important to her mother than she was. And now they were apparently stalking her when she was trying so hard to move on with her life and leave her troubles behind.

Still, she did feel a tiny bit guilty when he shrank away from her. Her ears fell slightly as she frowned at the pup, listening as he responded to her. Well, sort of responded to her. Jesus, when were these things going to learn how to talk? Liffey took in a deep breath as thunder rolled above their heads again. "I live here now," she replied before pausing, "Well, not here exactly. But I left the Caldera and I have a new pack now. We're staying nearby for a few nights. What are you doing here? How are you out this far from home by yourself?" Not that she cared... He was really small, though.

As she explained, Titmouse left behind whatever fear had been present. It was swiftly replaced by a sense of incredulousness; he stared at her, imbibed with more awe than anything else, when she admitted to leaving the caldera. This was a subject he knew little about - couldn't really fathom to any great extent - but he began to grasp at this, deduce some sort of understanding... And it was inspiring to the spirited boy.

He didn't know you could leave - the type of leaving where you didn't come back! Wow! Nobody else had done that! It was such a new concept that Tit was distracted, too distracted to reply, until a void settled between them. He sort-of twitched and returned to himself, and glanced towards the dark trees behind him, where he'd emerged from.

Laggy was taking me on a feed-trip, he'd meant field trip but lets ignore that. I wanna'ted show him my fwen, but he isn't there no more. At this the boy pouted and looked back to Liffey, but upon seeing her he remembered how brave and amazing she was, and seemed to chill out within seconds. I wanna stay with you! Liffey seemed like the opposite of her slow, easily-lost brother. Titmouse had made up his mind.

Liffey's brows furrowed as she listened to Titmouse's voice over the low, rumbling thunder that seemed disinclined to end. There was a charge in the air causing the fur along her spine to prickle, and she was quickly growing more and more aware of it. This storm was going to be bad...

I wanna stay with you!

The young Blackthorn's attention snapped to Titmouse with a jolt. "What? she asked, incredulous and confused. How could he possibly want that? She had done her best to ignore him all his life and while she'd never treated with open contempt, she had always been rather cold. How could he possibly want to stay with her? And what the hell was a feed-trip?

Lightning chose that moment to strike, this time flashing uncomfortably near them. A sense of urgency overtook her need to drive this little shit back to wherever he had come from. "Come on," Liffey urged him, turning quickly to head further into the open meadow before them and away from the trees. She set off at quick trot, hesitating only to make sure her adoptive brother was following. They needed to get to low ground and away from the trees of the forest behind them. She didn't know this for sure, but instinct was driving.

The storm overhead was an anomaly for the sheltered child, but when the light flashed and the boom sounded, Titmouse felt an instinctual fear. It thrilled him beyond comprehension; more importantly, it cemented his bond to his current caretaker. Whether Liffey liked it or not - Tit was racing alongside her, emulating her snaking posture, and kept close to her feet as if to block the strange noises with the bulk of her larger self. It mattered little to the boy where they were headed. He just knew it was best to stick with the adult  (or next best thing!).

Liffey had partly expected Titmouse to run away or stay behind or do something otherwise contrary to what she'd asked. To her surprise however, he obediently followed closely at her heels as she wove across the meadow. Lightning flashed twice more by the time she found a satisfactory dip in the land where she felt it would be safe for them to shelter. She stopped at the edge of the small shelf to nudge Titmouse down the wall first as thunder echoed loudly at his heels. The rain was falling steadily by now and so she landed with a small splash beside Titmouse from the puddles that had begun to gather.

"Let's stay beside the wall," Liffey told him, shifting back to settle beside the steep slope of the ditch, glancing up at the sky again.

When more light cascaded across the sky Titmouse stared up at it, pausing in his romp. When the boom followed he let out a garbled screech, something like a yelp, and dove for the cover of Liffey and the wall before she gave any instruction; he wouldn't have heard her anyways, his attention was so focused on the sky. The rain hadn't reached them yet - if it even would - but there was still booming and flashing above them, and it was strange enough to lull the child in to an unnatural disquiet.

This seems like a pretty okay place to fade :) Hope that's kay! <3

Liffey shuffled uncomfortably as Titmouse leaped for cover beneath her. She glanced overhead as thunder pulsed and the rain swayed like a wave with a sudden strong gust of wind. Rolling her eyes, she scootched him with a hip so she could drop to her haunches beside him. The storm didn't bother her at all. She sensed there was danger in standing right out in the middle of it, but this seemed like a much better place to be.

With a sigh, Liffey resigned herself to spend the night there until the storm subsided. Thankfully, the weather seemed to have quieted her usually noisy cousin, so there was that. She would have to decide what to do with him in the morning, however, and would spend much of the night considering options. Well, half of it considering options.. the other half praying Lagan hadn't gotten too far and could just take the kid back. Only dawn would tell.