Firefly Glen North Polar Bear

@Vela 

Wraen had kept her promise and had returned in few (or many) weeks time to the Great Bear wilderness. The coast had been a very pleasant place to reside, but with an ongoing conflict between two packs that had settled near to each other, the sisters did not want to risk getting in the crossfire. Therefore they had left the windy shores and walked more inland, where vast open fields and forests were abundant. 

Almost a year had passed, since she and her companions had left Moonspear for greener pastures elsewhere and the mutual dislike had begun. And though probably other troubles had come along, overshadowing the past grudges, Wraen still did not feel entirely safe, wandering near territories that Moonspear considered their claim. Still - a promise was a promise - and reassuring herself that there was at least one wolf in the ranks that did not hate her guts, she lifted her muzzle in the air and howled for Vela. 

If she did not respond within a specific time frame, Wraen would turn around and leave.

Vela had returned from her travels with @Jarilo but instantly left again. She let the others know that she was heading out whether they approved or not. She made sure to let her father @Charon know that she wouldn't be gone for too long. Perhaps it was curious that the normal homebound Vela was suddenly leaving the pack left and right. But for Vela it wasn't curious at all. Veeri had howled for her and Vela was keen to respond to it. Luckily she had arrived home before the female howled to her.

Vela dashed through the shadows and howled to the female in return to let her know she was coming towards her. Vela was careful to let the howl sound where Moonspearians wouldn't think much of it. She wanted to keep Veeri a secret. Veeri had made it known that she had not been a friend of Moonspear. Vela rushed forward, however, slowed down when she saw the female. She had been running hard, seeing by her heavy breathing sides. Vela instantly grinned when seeing her. "Hi," she smiled excitedly. "Good to see you."

It was not long before Wraen received an answering howl, which surprised her, because she had not expected to pull out a full lot this time. A while later she spotted a whirlwind of white dash through the glen and coming her direction and she too raised to her feet to come and greet Vela. The girl's apparent excitement to see her was contagious, even though this meeting could mean a lot of needless trouble for the persona non grata of Moonspear. 

Charon's daughter had not changed much, but she was a handsome girl and had some sort of attractive quality that her father did not possess. It was possible that she was raised to be worshipped and one day she would be just as selfish and egocentric as her dear old dad, but now her tomboyish, somewhat innocent nature was appealing to Wraen. Perhaps not all would be lost with her, if the guidance was right - Wraen wondered moments before she greeted Vela with a sincere smile and kind look in her eyes. 

"Didn't expect to find you here," she told her. "But apparently happiness is nothing but a pleasant disappointment. I am glad to see you, Vela. How have you been?"

Vela was a smitten little girl. She was not often feeling this, she realized. The speckled female took in every detail of the female that stood before her. She had been so eager to see the female. She thought for a moment that she hyped the girl too much and that she wasn't as pretty as last time, but the girl was not disappointed. Veeri was still as pretty as she remembered. "I have been listening for your howl," she spoke. Vela was always straight to the point. No point in hiding, she felt like.

Her heart made a few cartwheels in her chest when the female said that she was glad to see her. She was a love sick teenager really. She didn't realize it was so bad or where it came from. She didn't even question if it was possible to like a female so much. It felt just so natural to her. "Good. I did some traveling with my brother. We traveled through the hinterlands," she informed with a nod. "I even did some sole traveling, though within howling distance of my brother," she admitted. "But as you can see I survived," she grinned.

"And I congratulate you on that," Wraen said, feeling genuinely impressed by Vela's determination. Few weeks ago she had expressed a wish to do some travelling and she had wasted no time in achieving that. Or maybe - a little, annoyingly righteous voice pointed out - she was stubborn and always got, what she wanted. 

If it was somehow apparent that the freckled Ostrega girl viewed Wraen with different eyes and demeanor than other people, the older girl missed it entirely. For now it was calculated curiousity on her side and fondness of a more experienced sibling towards her. And a prospect of laying foundations for friendship that had proven to be impossible between her and Charon.

"Let's expand your horizons a bit more then?" she offered. With two journeys under her belt, the young Moonspearan hardly counted as someone, who would have to ask a permission to go somewhere. "Have you ever been to the hot springs?" she asked, because this place was further away from Moonspear, but close enough so that both of them would be able to reach it within an hour or so.

Vela raised her muzzle proudly, something she was rather used to doing. But if felt extra good to be complimented by someone she liked. It was basically like the same obsession she had with doing right by her father. She had been a daddy's girl. However, these last few months she had moved a bit away from that. She had become more independent and wasn't as keen to always please her father.

Now she really wanted to impress this female. The pretty Veeri. Vela wanted to get to know her and make sure she thought good about her. The speckled female shook her head when the other female started about the hot springs. "No. I have not been there," she admitted. She was clearly curious about them. The name sounded like something pleasant. Then again, who wouldn't want to take a dip in something warm with a pretty lady. Vela was definitely feeling like she was getting somewhere. "Show me the way."

"I like your spirit," Wraen told Vela, when she agreed to go without so much as giving the offer a second thought. The Ostrega girl kind of reminded her a mix between her two sisters - Maia and Sarah. The first was adventure-thirsty and up for anything, Sarah had always been the serious one, who - as she had become older - had refused to involve herself in any silly or impractical shenanigans. An interesting mix, really.

"Ever heard about Jason and the Argonauts? Famous group of travellers," she asked. "They did not have any girls among them, which I think is entirely unfair, and Jason was kind of a jerk for lack of a stronger word, because he left the awesome Ariadne behind on an island, but we can remedy that by making up our own story. Like theirs, but infinitely better. What do you say?"

Vela grinned. She did have spirit. The girl then asked if she heard about Jason and the Argonauts. It was something she hadn't heard before and shook her head. It was about famous travelers so it did sound interesting. Vela could listen endlessly to the female's voice. She was listening to every word she was saying. She frowned that they didn't have any girls with them. Stupid.

"I never made a story," she spoke. This female was so interesting. "Would it be story telling or do you see it more as going on an adventure and telling others?" She wouldn't mind to have a travel adventure with Veeri. She wouldn't mind being on the road needing to be close to her. "But yes, lets do it!"

"You know what - I think I messed the story. Ariadne was abandoned by a different hero/jerk, but Jason left Medea, because she was no longer young and pretty. Still a jerk, in my opinion," Wraen beamed at Vela, feeling suddenly giddy and glad to have her as company.

"Either way," she replied. "It's really easy, when you get hang of it. There are many ways of doing it and none of them are wrong. People find their own preferred style over time and with some practice." 

Vela didn't even mind that Veeri seemed to have made a mistake. The speckled female was just glad to be around her and hear her talk. Even though it was something silly as stories. She didn't think they had good use as like fighting and hunting but if she got to spend time with Veeri it seemed that Vela was happy. So curious.

"I had my fair share of knowing such jerks," she commented and then nodded at the female's explanation. "Okay, so I should make up a story now?," she wondered and tipped her head cutely, looking at the female with big blue eyes. "I don't think I can make up awhile story... Where should I start?"

"You have?" Wraen was surprised, wondering, who had had the guts to screw over a tough girl like Vela. She had been pretty lucky in dealing with jerks department - she had been spared from the bad guys and had had to deal with the good ones and moderately annoying fellows. The true jerks she recognized from her stories and maybe that's why she looked out for them unconsciously and avoided them.

"That's fairly easy... we can play Round Robin, meaning that one of us starts a story with something like "once upon a time..." and then leaves off at some place for the other person to continue," Wraen explained the rules of the game. "We can play a similar game - choose five random words and include them in the story and then we can toss it around between us to keep it going. Or there is a game, where you choose a random object or something else and come up with a story of it's origins," she went on.

"Or... we can simply practice with the question game, which means - I ask you, for example, tell me about the best day of your life. You do and then you ask a question for me that needs a lengthy answer," and this was about the limit of her creation toolkit.

Vela nodded when the female asked. She thought about Drogon and how he left her. He had been a jerk. Then again, she had not been that in love with him. She mostly accepted him as her friend. She was far too young to understand the true complications of having boyfriend at the time. Then there was also the dark stranger that she had been interested in but never gave his name to her. She pushed those thoughts away. She rather wanted to focus on her time with Veeri/Wraen.

That reminded her that she should find out if Veeri had a sister named Maia then she was pretty sure that Veeri's name was technically Wraen. Vela listened to her suggestions and slowly nodded. "I think I'd like the latter better," she spoke, she knew she would have to reveal things about her own life as well, but she was not going to make it a secret that she wanted to got to know this female better. She was not going to hide her interest by thinking of silly fantasy stories. "I'd like to know the best day of your life now," she asked.

"Telling real stories is esaier," Wraen agreed, thinking about her sister Sarah, who preferred biographies and accurate descriptions of history to dragons, unicorns, fairies and warlocks. Then Vela cornered her by being the first to ask for a story, catching her off guard, because she had sort of expected for Ostrega girl to speak first. 
 
"Let me think,"  she bided time, going through memories and realizing that it was neiter an easy search, nor were there any particular facts from her biography that stood out. Her life had been a happy one and therefore she took happiness for granted.

"There are quite few that are my favourites... umm... I recall an evening in late autumn, it was just before dark, cold and misty and me and my mom were walking through the forest and she was telling me, how once a year, after the fall equinox, spirits of the dead are allowed to roam the Earth and visit their living relatives," she told. "I was very young then and was scared, but having my mother by my side made me feel very safe. I believed that no mea ghost would dare to cross paths with her," she finished.

"What about you - best memory of yours?" she asked.

Vela nodded in agreement. She found that real life stories were interesting in telling since they already happened. Vela eagerly listened to Veeri's voice. She stayed quiet when the female wanted to think. She was not a wolf of many worlds really. Sometimes when she felt like talking but not that often. Now she felt that she wanted this Veeri to get to know her, to let her know that she wasn't so bad as she saw her family.

Then she started talking, it sounded like another of her stories. She wasn't really sure if this happened, then again, it could have been real for the female who was young at the time. She didn't really believe in ghosts. 'That is cute," she admitted. She had the same bond with her father really. So when the other asked her that question she didn't need to think. "When I was younger, I wanted my own place to sleep. My dad helped me look for a cool cave, and what a cool cave we found. There was a small running stream and beautiful colored stones. It was my secret hideout, something only me and my dad know till his day," she smiled genuinely, clearly fond of the memory. She was a daddy's girl after all.

"Did you ever have a relationship that didn't work out? How did you deal with that?," she wondered, mostly curious as too what the female wanted to date, and if she had dated. Plus if the question was returned then she could answer it herself too!

"That was very nice of him," Wraen replied, nodding and feeling pretty impressed with Charon. Perhaps, the sincerity he was unable to show to his subordinates, he lavished his children with. And maybe in an ever-changing world, investing in your own blood and kin was the right way to go. Hadn't he been orphaned young himself?

"That's something very personal. I will tell you that story some other time," she refused Vela's curious request, feeling that they weren't that close friends yet for her to open her heart to her like that. On the other hand - few weeks later, in a spur of a moment she would spill the beans about it to Epic on their first meeting. 

"But I have had some funny encounters... say, what was his name name..." Wraen furrowed her brow, trying to recall the dark-pelted male she had met at a lake and, who unbeknownst to her (but konwnst to her author) had drowned in the same place few days later after they had met. "Snout... Muzzle... Oh! Whiskers! That's it!" she laughed victoriously, when she got the right one.

"Anyway - it's a lovely autumn evening and I was hunting by one of the lakes in the wilderness and all of sudden, someone breaches my private space without warning, slobbers all across my face and ear and claims that he I am his love at first sight," she told. It was quite possible that the details of the story were not 100% accurate, but that's, how memory works. It picks out the outline and fills it with other colours, embroiders it and makes a legend of it.

"Well, I had heard that Cupid has a way to make fun of his subjects, but the second shot that should have hit me and made me like Whiskers in return had missed me. Nevertheless, I found the young fool amusing and tried to talk him out of marrying me on the spot and having a family with me," she explained, chuckling. "And we agreed to meet at the same spot a month later. To give him time and reconsider. I returned there, but he was nowhere to be found. So, I guess, that the love spell waned the moment I left and I hope that he has not been eaten by a more hostile and intolerant girl because of his too direct approach."

Vela nodded in return. Her father was not bad. In fact, she had been very close to him. She realized he wasn't as perfect as she felt about him before. But she still loved her father. Vela's ears fell back when she seemed to have ruined it with a personal question. Too close for comfort for the other female it seemed. Vela was just so eager to get to know the female. Instead of the the real story, Vela was not being left without empty paws. The speckled female tipped her head as she listened to the curious story.

She could appreciate the female smiling and laughing while she told the story. It was what Vela was focussing on the most. What stuck to the story was that it was a he she was talking about with the story ending her not returning his love. Would that mean she did like females as well? "So I can take from that you are not charmed by directness?," Vela asked, trying to sound a bit flirty. That would take some adjusting as she could be rather direct at times. The girl she described sounded a bit like her. She might have try and eat this male if he was too forward with her.

"Depends on, what you mean by that," Wraen returned with laughter in her eyes. "Definitely not a tongue in my ear on the first meeting. I prefer that people say "hello" beforehand and that I know their names at least," she explained, though it was not that plain and simple either. People were different - some you liked on the spot, some you found intriguing (Vela was in this category), some made no lasting impression on you whatsoever and then there was the last category of people, who you did not like. And there did not have to always be a reason for it either. 

"But it is your turn to answer a question," she reminded Vela about the game they were still playing. "If you could choose - what kind of superpower you would like to have and why?" and because she had an impression of Charon's daughter as being no-nonsense like of person, who did not burden her mind with such up-in-the-air thoughts, she added. "If you have never thought about it before, do so now."

Vela slowly nodded to let the other know that she realized this. She frowned at the question, not because she didn't like it but because she had to think about it. It was clearly a thinking frown. She had never thought about it. The female wondered what super power she would want. "I would want that wolves couldn't lie to me," she admitted then. She had many times that wolves pretended to be who they weren't or weren't loyal and said they were.

She then realized that she could have said that she wanted to be the strongest fighter female but that was who she was before. Dying to prove herself but she didn't feel that need so much anymore. She then looked at the other female. "What is the weirdest thing you've eaten?"

"Ouch - that's a direct hit," Wraen pretended to look ashamed for a moment and then laughed, though she did not know, if she actually counted to the lier population. She had told Vela that she was running under a fake name and had been quite honest about the rest of it. 

"Snake," she did not have to look far for the answer. "And you know, what the punchline is - I am afraid and do not like snakes. At all. It did not taste bad and there was a choice between having something to eat and nothing... but I was little and I was so afraid that the snake would come alive inside my belly and that it would writher and move and twist around there," she shuddered at the thought of it. 

"Can't stand them - either dead or alive," she concluded. "Do you have an idol and, if so, who is it?"

Vela perked up her ears but to then drop them while frowning. "I didn't mean it that way," she stated. "You have been the first wolf that has been honest about giving a fake name," she pointed out to the female and then offered a tiny smile. Vela had liked that about the female. She raised her brows when the female spoke about eating snakes. Vela never imaged eating them. Perhaps she should. "The lower range of Moonspear has some snakes. ever thought of eating them though," she admitted.

"But if you think the snake would stay alive in your belly what about all the deer you ate?," she tried to joke, she could imagine Wraen being all swollen with big extrusions of a deer's leg she might have eaten. It was rather a silly thought. She blamed Wraen for these silly thoughts. When the female asked who was her idol she first had to think of Wraen herself but that was embarrassing to answer. Her dad was one too, but before she could answer that she could hear her pack howl in the distance. Vela perked up her ears. She wanted to ignore it but it sounded important. She grumbled. "I have to go," she stated, clearly mad that her dutifulness. "Hopefully I will see you again." With those words she moved away from the other female, one last glance before she rushed off. Leaving the other was hard enough.

- Vela exit -

Why was it so that the most interesting conversations were interrupted and left hanging? Wraen thought, following Vela's disappearing form with her gaze, and then taking her own leave towards Firebirds. She did not realize then that it would be a very long time until she would meet Charon's daughter again. But she would not forget her as easily as she had some other people she had met in her lifetime.