Northstar Vale You are the nighttime fear

The grieving mother, grandmother and Lady was fairing well in the vale they had chosen. Closed off from the world, she had claimed a ridge as her resting spot where the sun felt so nice and warm whenever it was around midday. Spring had come, she could smell it, but the stress of losing her lover had not gotten her into heat. She still had some time to, but she didn't even want to be in heat again without her Burke. No man would ever please her the way he had done.

She wandered through the vale then, wondering, looking. Nothing was on her mind anymore. She felt more dead than her mate's dead body.

mona had come home to roost for a time, having taken several extended patrols out of the vale since tindome's arrival. the days had grown somewhat warmer, and the collar around her neck had grown familiar. mona busied herself learning the lay of their new territory, her long strides and thirst for exploration leading her to several details other wolves might overlook.
today, however, the yearling found herself rather fatigued, perhaps from overexertion. a need for solitude overcame the little mayfair — she too sought out the higher reaches of the territory. but here she was not alone; the chocolate-hued frame of a she-wolf she should have met long before came into mona's vision. malice.
saddened suddenly by the realization that the woman had scarcely been able to mourn burke before the pack swept on, leaving behind the fresh mound of his grave, the nuro gave a soft chuff, stepping into malice's eye-range, though she was unsure of what to say.

She recognized the female draped in a fiery coat. She had been there when Burke was lost to the stars. She had helped her, no matter how short their time had been together. Malice blinked her dull yellow eyes when she saw her, no strength to force a smile upon her scarred face. She let her tail wave a greeting, sort of as an invitation and sort of a way to tell she was as okay as she could be.

feel free to powerplay mona in malice' reaction! <3

still without the proper words on her tongue, mona inched forward some several steps, waving her own plume affably and settling on her haunches a polite distance away. the girl's murkwater gaze traveled out across the details of the vale, a jewel tucked into the glittering expanse of stone and snow. here she felt tindome would thrive, and though she did not know it in the moment, for a heartbeat, mona touched the tendrils of energy that had enriched northstar vale over its existence as home to her kind.
letting out her breath in a low sigh, mona turned her eyes upon malice, tracing the somber lines of the still-beautiful face. mutely, mona found herself inching closer and closer, nerves tensing; she knew little about the she-wolf, and they were rather strangers. every moment she anticipated the snap of the wolfess' warning, and if it did not come, mona would seek to groom very gingerly the fur along the woman's shoulder.

Malice did not particularly crave touch. Though she would quite literally die to see her family together and happy again - oh, where were her boys

A coarse tongue ran through her chocolate fur and the woman whimpered softly. There were no words left to be spoken, the sadness spoke for itself, and all she could do was bring her own muzzle close to the fiery coat of the other wolfess and nuzzle it softly.

~Adopt Avalon!~
~Fake name: Absinthe~(Guardian)(Astronomer 1/10)

relieved that she was not immediately rebuffed by the woman's teeth, mona preened carefully, unsnarling little knots here and there, smoothing unkempt places. buoyed by the pressure of malice's own muzzle, the girl drew back after a while to inspect her handiwork. presently, however, the murkwater gaze lifted to the sun-colored eyes and she gave a small smile.
"have you eaten? i could bring you something," the nuro offered, attempting to keep the worry from her voice, ensure her tone was as light and airy as ever. the thought occurred to mona that perhaps malice would not eat because she wished to join burke, and the mayfair was suddenly unsure if she should interfere. but she pushed such thinking aside: malice was her packmate, and therefore had mona's devotion.

Malice was smarter than to take life and death into her own paws. She wanted to pass on naturally, like Burke had done. But her appetite was simply gone. She felt empty, but not in a way that made her want to eat. She didn't know what could fill the hole Burke and her children had left when they disappeared. But the offer was appreciated. And she didn't want Mona to worry.

I haven't. She answered honestly, nodding to indicate she would either come with her to find something or wait there for Mona to come back.

mona frowned gently, gathering herself to her slighty gawky height. "i'll be back." retaking the footpath by which she had reached malice, mona disappeared into the verdant trees of the vale. some handful of minutes had passed before the girl reemeerged, climbing back to the stone shelf where the woman lay with a grouse in her jaws. taken from a cache, it still held crispness to its vibrant feathers.
mona lay it near the widow and backed some few steps. her murkwater eyes lit with a gentle plead for malice to eat above the encouraging smile she offered.

She watched the red woman leave, feeling guilt in her belly but also the emptiness of her hunger. She didn't want the others to pity her. She was a strong individual, she had simply taken a pretty bad beating. She sat her herself, remaining on their meeting spot, until the other's figure reemerged from where she had come from initially. As soon as the meal was near her feat, she hesitated just a little while, before she dug in.

She tore a chunk off and nosed it to her companion for if she were hungry too, pale yellow eyes looking up from under her brows.

malice, perhaps encouraged by the mayfair, began to tear at the flesh of the bird. to the woman's silent inquiry, mona shook her muzzle gently and settled herself to the stone, prostrating herself along it. forepaws crossed, the girl glanced out over the vale; she did not wish to stare at malice and risk dissuading the widow from a well-needed meal.
yet mona became engrossed as the moments passed; truly delight had chosen a beautiful place, its budding verdancy apparent even from the height she shared with malice.