Duck Lake capsize

@Aria

The stocky wolf licked his chops roughly, cleaning the fresh blood from his broad muzzle. The duck lay at his paws now – the kill made with more luck than skill, for the only reason he had caught the creature as it began to fly away was because it had been injured with a thorn in its wing.
 
His blazing eyes cast a quick glance in the surrounding area. He was still unfamiliar with much of the Rising Sun Valley, given it was more east than he had been prior. Durnehviir had been insistent to raise their children here, and he wasn’t about to argue with his mate. It had worked out for the best, so far.
 
All was quiet in the summer air. The sun was higher in the sky, indicating the lateness of the morning. Humid, the Mayfair gave a brusque shake of his thick pelt, trying to ignore the uncomfortable heat, Leaning down, the wolf’s muzzle scooped the duck up in his jaws, eager to deliver it to Durnehviir and the pups.

no... it couldn't be...

this early on in her return? aria hadn't dreamed of it. but here she stood, around the edge of the lake, staring at the man she'd come back to the wilds to find. but, the coast. aria remembered the coast. she remembered donnelaith, and undersea, and ravensblood forest. where were they now? in the valley? constantine was not from the valley. he was from the ocean.

and yet here he was.

and though once upon a time aria had been known for her grace and poise, she was no longer that wolf. she was a creature of anxiety and impulse, a creature of desire. and right now she had wanted nothing more than to find something familiar. to find constantine. and here he was. so, instead of calling out-- dignified and collected-- she began to run. at first unsure, because she was still convinced that there was just no way that this was him. but then, at full speed, her gait as long as she could make it and her feet pounding against the ground. 

"constantine!!" she called, as if her stark white pelt and loud movements weren't warning enough of her presence, "constantine!" would he remember her? if, for once, she remembered him, surely... surely, he hadn't forgotten.

He was set to leave the shores of the lake behind, eager to cross back in to his own territory and spend the rest of the morning with his four little savages pups.
 
His name was called, though, and because he had not expected it, nor had he seen another here, his muzzle shot upward in surprise, his eyes falling upon a streak of pale fur. He would recognize her anywhere – his heart gave a lurch, once in relief, and then in guilt. The duck fell from his jaws, and he blinked, watching as his past literally ran straight for him. “Aria?” It came out as a question, though it didn’t need to. She was safe – he had worried, when she had disappeared from Ravensblood Forest. And yet, here she was before him once more, and he began to move himself forward, to close the distance between them.

her name. how good it felt to hear her name come from the mouth of someone she knew. someone that knew her, better than even she knew herself. even faster she propelled herself forwards, especially as he began to move towards her, and suddenly she had to stop herself from crashing into him. even so, aria pressed her nose into the side of his neck, her ears pressed to her crown. easily he could've growled and chased her off-- for by now they were strangers? weren't they? but aria didn't even consider that, there was just no way... unless, of course, he no longer considered her friend.

so unless constantine did warn her away, in which aria would merely fall silent and submissive before him, she held herself beside him, drinking in his scent and presence before eventually stepping back to stare at him.

"you're here," she murmured softly, tail daring to wag at her hocks, "i thought you'd be at the coast-- i prepared to travel so much further-- i... i can't believe it." worlds tumbled so roughly from her tongue, as if she was speaking in a foreign language. for a moment, she was quiet, collecting a single, coherent thought. "i've remembered so much more since i've left-- so much more, constantine," she told him. what would that mean to him?

While they didn’t crash in to one another, the darkness of her fur enveloped the white of hers, a yin and yang of excitement and awe. She buried her nose to the side of his neck, as if seeking comfort and he felt a pang once more – the guilt of unleashing her lost life when she couldn’t remember it. The burden had likely been so great that she had left, unable to process it. Somehow, despite his desires to do right by her, the Mayfair somehow always managed to muck up her life bit by bit.
 
His own nose dipped down, nudging against the tuft at her ear, taking in her scent that was so wildly different from when he had first met her in Donnelaith, and yet achingly familiar. She spoke, and he stilled himself, pulling his muzzle back to better study her. “We moved here in the spring. We’ve claimed a creek just west of here,” he began, inhaling sharply as he was about to reveal that the ‘we’ he referred to was he and his mate – not just he and the pack. What would she think, knowing he now had a mate and children? At one point in time, he had envisioned that life with her. It was moments like these he truly missed his father – as if the man could impart wisdom to what he was feeling in that very moment.
 
But she continued talking – claiming she remembered. He swallowed, feeling his mouth go dry. “What do you remember?” Was it possible that he was about to gain his friend back? The only part of his past that he had left?

aria blinked, not thinking much of the word we, at least, not as constantine fretted she would. "you and your wolves from the forest?" she asked him, clarifying, "but why?" that was a better question, perhaps. the coast had always-- always? been his home. at least, aria assumed, how was she to remember that he was not born in the redwood forest? and so why would he leave it now? aria had intended on returning to the ocean, it was home. but, of course, looking at constantine she wondered if it had just been who she was with that made it home. how corny.

"not everything-- but from the stories you've told me i can actually put my side to some of them. i remember a lot of you, of our traveling, a lot of your father, and some of your brother," she told him, starting somewhere vague. it was, after all, the easiest to explain. he could ask questions now as he needed to. she smiled, a little weakly, and before he had the chance to speak, she said, "i had one memory of us talking back at donnelaith... not our exact conversation, small pieces, but it was after dante and osprey left, and we were both so lost and frustrated." the memory was one of the few good memories that had resurfaced. in fact, most of her memories were painful and heartbreaking, only adding to her stress. even this one, which showed the struggle the two wolves faced before leaving donnelaith, was wrapped in a silver lining. "i just remember being so happy with you-- after we talked i felt so much more at peace... you were always there for me, weren't you?" she said, staring at him with a pale gaze that only grew sadder the more she thought-- and you could tell she was thinking, "god, why'd i forget all of this? i wish i remembered it all-- i wish i hadn't left, i would've just stayed in the forest with you, my memory would've returned, and you still would've been there." and then what, aria? even she didn't know what she expected if she would've stayed. but, if anything, she knew she would've had a friend to help her through all of her own inner turmoil. wandering alone and confused just... wasn't ideal.

 

@Aria sorry bebe

“My wolves and I, yes,” he confirmed, about to clarify now that his mate was the one that had initiated it – it shouldn’t have been an issue, for Aria had never revealed any interest to him romantically. His feelings before had more or less been reciprocated – and now that she could barely remember her past, it remained to be seen how their friendship would continue.
 
But he very much wanted it do.
 
She remembered his father—his brother. He hadn’t expected the words that came next – that she had been happy with him. The two had been quietly ambitious, in retrospect – each desiring to find their place in the world, but not willing to step on others to achieve it, namely Deirdre. If anything, he believed it had made them grow stronger, though they hadn’t always made the wisest decisions. They never should have left Donnelaith.
 
His lips were grim as she finally lamented her leaving, and the swarthy wolf, whether through habit of old times, or his need to somehow protect her and make it up to her that he had left, smoothed his muzzle along the top of her crown, giving a small shake of his head and a soft rumble. “You don’t know that you would have remembered if you had stayed.” He paused then, pulling back, ignoring the fact that the warmth radiating off her felt a little too comfortable. “And I don’t know that you were always happy with me.. but our friendship stemmed from the need to move on from loss.”
 
Studying her, he considered the pale dove before him, recalling quite vividly Durnehviir’s jealousy of Aria. He would need to placate her.
 
“Come back with me. I’ll try to help you remember. You can..” He licked his lips. “You can meet my mate and kids.”

aria was so glad to hear that constantine was still leading. after all of their failed attempts to move on from donnelaith... and though he didn't seem so convinced she would've remembered if she'd stayed-- and also that she was happy, aria shook her head. "it was after you left moonspear... i don't remember why you left, i just remember feeling like i lost everything-- like i was nothing, even if i wasn't happy i was happier with you," she clarified, with a gentle frown. she didn't remember much of anything from moonspear, but pieces of it pointed to constantine being her rock. "i just want to feel happy again," she added as he rested his head upon hers, quietly, sadly. this comment, if anything, was the biggest indicator of her mental health since her leaving of undersea. 

and then, he invited her back. and then, he told her he had a mate. and kids. aria had not been sure she had had feelings for constantine-- now or ever. but something inside her stirred, something that could've only been jealousy. if she had had one dream in life, it had been to have a family. constantine was all she had and remembered-- so naturally, that even he was not as she remembered... stung. but what else could she do? and it wasn't like she knew that she had had feelings for him or not. but that was always the problem, wasn't it? she just couldn't remember.

"please," she said softly. it was, after all, what she'd come all this way for. "and i'd love to-- i'm sure they're beautiful..." she added with a soft smile, her tail waving gently at her hocks.

He winced outwardly at those words – the memory she had gained back was that he had left her. Exhaling slowly, she remained still under his chin, and he considered what to reveal to her – what words would ease her with his honesty, and yet not betray his mate. Already he knew he walked on a thin line – his fiery counterpart had already made it clear she had found his relationship with Aria unsettling to their own relationship.
 
“I went to visit Donnelaith – the pack we left to my younger sisters. It had burned to almost nothing.” He swallowed then, ignoring the rawness that began to rise in his throat. “Emaleth and Deirdre were gone – I had to look for them.. I never should have left without telling you, but I was jealous of your relationship with Floki.” He paused then, pulling back and giving a shrug, realizing now he felt even more responsible for her current state than before. Clearly, Floki hadn’t been able to look after her.
 
He could have. He should have.
 
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I let you down, Aria.”
 
When she agreed to come back to the creek with him, the swarthy male straightened, already in his mind trying to figure out how he could ease her in to the pack without angering Durnehviir. “Come on,” he coaxed, beginning to lead her back. “We have three litters this year – not on purpose. And you were always the best scout I knew. We could really use you, right now.”

the fire. aria remembered the burning territory but... only barely. she had told it's story to a stranger-- but only now did she remember telling it. her brow furrowed as she thought back. memories now were so bizarre, aria remembered them but... they were like reading a book. she could only look through as an onlooker-- she understood them and knew them but they did not feel like they we're truly hers. she almost missed his sentiment-- about floki. had she and the ostrega man been that close?

had she and constantine been that close?

"please," aria pleaded softly, her ears lowered and her eyes wide, "don't say that, none of this is your fault-- this is not your burden." in fact, if anyone, it was floki's. aria did not quite remember it now-- but it was not constantine's disappearance that drew her from the safety of the mountain-- it was floki's.  but, of course, it was also the building of one wolf after another leaving her. abandoning her. perhaps it was good she didn't quite remember that feeling. it lingered, as always, but she did not feel that abandonment as she so did back in the day. "i'm just glad you're here now," she added. 

of course, aria was never that great of a scout. aria had never been that great at anything. she'd never found a passion-- not truly. she was born into medicine and used scouting to escape her problems at donnelaith. she loved neither, not truly. but did she know? hardly. to hear she was a scout was... well, news to her. her ears pricked at his comment, but she merely nodded. "please, lead the way."

finally, aria january would be going home. she hoped.

He pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth as he contemplated. Were any of his words fair to the pale dove? No. Neither were they fair to his dragoness at home.

With a tip of his muzzle, the swarthy male lead her to her new home.