Stone Circle it took every ounce of faith i had to keep on keeping on

maybe @Valette if you have the time? <3

their procession was settling well into the hollow, and after a few days indra's fitful sleep became less fitful. she worried for laurel the most of all of them; her belly grew bigger by the day, and indra could not help but feel a choking resentment any time she thought of what had happened. her sister was not the same - understandably -- but indra held tightly to her, checking in often, and keeping her distance when told to do so.

today she was by the stones, which were set in such a bizarre way that indra felt the need to admire them. she had seen rocks chiseled away by glaciers and time before, but these stones seemed different -- they seemed arranged with care.

setting unknowingly before the 'mother stone', indra looked at its surface with quiet interest. whatever had been placed here was unknown to her, but she could tell by the way the area was tended to, that it must have some great importance to those in her new home.

Love to!! <3

Valette was often found by the stones. If not to sit by her mother and Steady's stone, then she would use it as a vantage point to overlook the bison herd out on their fields. The leader was there at least once a day, now with the pups it made it a bit more difficult. Luckily she had Arlette who wanted to babysit a lot. The female approached the stones and realized she was not the only one that was there. Another one of the newcomers had shown interest in their stones. Valette couldn't blame them. Plus she didn't mind talking about them.

Valette greeted the other with a chuff as she approached her. She noticed that Indra had picked the mother stone to sit by and smiled kindly. "Settling in okay?," she asked. She hoped that the adjustment wasn't too much for them, or worse, that they wouldn't feel at home here.

YAY thank you!!<3

indra hadn’t realized that valette had slipped close — not until the matron chuffed softly to announce her presence. like a child caught studying something they ought not have seen, indra startled; glancing from the stone to the matriarch, her expression seemed mixed with chagrin and surprise.


oh! hi. indra breathed, her fur settling once she regained composure. yes — fine, thank you. her answer came across as clipped, which was unintended, but indra disliked being the chief focus of attention, and was eager to shift the topic elsewhere. what is this place? she asked, her gaze traveling upwards as she glanced at all the sternly faced stones. it seems.. i don’t know.. she fell to silence as she grasped for the word, finishing quietly moments later: it has a weight to it.

Valette gave the female an apologetic glance when the female was startled. She had not intended to make the female jump at her presence. In fact, that was the opposite what she wanted. Valette nodded, it was good to hear that she was at least settling in well. The matriarch smiled calmly. She had a sense the question was coming, luckily for Indra Valette loved talking about the stones.

"It has some weight, but hopefully not a depressing one," she admitted. "This is our stone circle. It is the central place of our pack. Most of the stones have a meaning that we take from the wolf that is buried at the foot of the stone," she explained. "See the tallest one? That is the Father stone, our founding leader is buried there. He stands for judgment and justice. Additionally, he protects “his children” he left behind. He is our symbol of protection and treating each other the right way as he would have done," Valette spoke and glanced at the stone with admiration. "I try to take inspiration from his leadership, protecting the pack with the skills that I have and to be fair and just to those who ask for a place in our ranks," she smiled kindly.

It was just one example. "I can continue about what each stone means, but the bottom line is that they are there for you if you might need them. For me, it is more personal as I knew all the wolves that are buried with each stone. But some come here for some quiet contemplating. Others might actually ask for advice to find that they might have the answer to themselves. When one of our loved ones dies we try to learn from their lives and remember them for who they were. We also hold most of our meetings here so we can be conscious of the wolves before us and how they made certain decisions." Valette realized she had been talking all in one go and Indra might have questions about this or wanted to voice her opinion. Some wolves thought the idea was stupid but there was just something about these stones that made them special and the reason why was for each wolf to decide for themselves.

it didn't take long for indra's fur to settle as the matriarch spoke. even though she scarcely knew valette, indra could tell there was a sense of fondness in the woman's voice when she referred to the stones. listening with a cocked ear, indra's gaze roved each of the stones, from smallest to tallest, drinking in the view with the detached wonder of a tourist.

once valette had finished, indra tentatively placed her thin paw on the rough face of the mother stone, taking a moment to let the words sink in. they were stones to demark the dead, but also stones that stood as a reminder for what the dead once stood for; a bolt of a thought struck her then as she glanced over each monument.. would she someday have one of her own? valette?

removing her paw with great care, indra's solemn gaze sought valette's briefly. "who were these people?"

Valette smiled softly at seeing the respect Indra showed for the stones. The dark-colored female really appreciated that. "Well, the father stone is our previous leader Steady but none of the current members, except Nikai, knew him in person. He passed many seasons ago. Before I had my first litter," she explained, which said something because this year she had her third. "The one you touched is the mother stone. My own mother, Scarlett, is buried there. A mother at heart, always kind. Sometimes too kind. Next to the father stone is the Warrior stone. One of our members Illecebra is buried there. Even with all her hardships, she kept fighting and died protecting those she loved. Her mate Mawk is buried with her," she spoke.

Valette turned to the most broken and smallest stone. "This will be the only one that won't have a body since it represents the wolves that vanished or have not returned back to us. Stone of the lost souls. As you can see, behind it runs a trail of rocks all the way until over the border in hope that our vanished loved ones might return one day by just following the path," she spoke while looking into the distance. She was not so sure if she wanted Stark to return to Easthollow. What drama it would create. "I created it for my children when their father vanished,' she admitted to Indra.

indra seemed almost apologetic as valette mentioned the stone she had touched belonged to her mother; mustering a smile, she kept her paws at bay, though her eyes wandered past the stone pallisades. something in indra thought this encampment of rocks, barbaric and crude as it was, was incredibly beautiful.

when valette mentioned the assorted stones that rose in a tiny trail past them, indra's expression took on one of longing pain. glancing to the matron, she could not help the entreaty that burst from her lips. "can anyone place a rock there? can i?" she thought of all the souls she had lost along the way -- her mother, her father... casmir... blondine, tadec ... merrick...

a thin frown appeared on her lips and her brow furrowed - what she would not do to know he was somewhere safe, alive.. and hopefully happy.

Valette frowned slightly when Indra spoke about placing a stone. She wondered briefly where Indra would get such a massive stone and set it upright but then she realized she probably meant the trail. "Oh!!," her face lit up and instantly nodded. "Yes, of course!," she spoke. "We are trying to extend it and teach new generations that if they lost the way home they can follow the trail of stones. Only takes quite some work to place all the stones. One day I'd like to have several trails going past our borders in neighboring territories."

It was a big idea and she wasn't sure if she would find enough stones to make such a trail but still, the idea was nice and perhaps one day she would realize it. She saw Stone Circle, as their territory was called, as her forever home. Perhaps the only thing that could scare her away was fire. Still, she would try to return to her beloved Stones.

at first indra misinterpreted valette's frown, much as valette had initially misinterpreted the redleaf's question. her ears slid back ever so slightly in doubt, wondering if the stones were family only and she wasn't family yet -- turns out that fear was unfounded, and to the surprise of no one who has ever paid attention to indra, she was being insecure.

relieved she could put a stone there, indra smiled and rose stiffly. "i'd like that," she said, looking where the trail bent. "i'd like to place one for merrick.. my son." she frowned, looking away again -- where was he? was he alright?

she sighed and composed herself, readying to go find a stone suitable for her purpose.. but she realized valette probably would be bewildered if she just up and left. "i'd like to help make those trails someday." indra offered with a brief, thinly stretched smile before she started searching for a stone worthy of bearing her hopes of merrick's eventual return within it.

Valette instantly dipped her head when the female spoke that she liked to add a stone for her son. "Of course," she instantly agreed. "I'm sorry he is lost. Hopefully, he will return home. I also don't know where half of my children are but I have hope they return to Easthollow one day," Valette spoke. It helped that they have been here for quite some seasons. This was their home base and it had been for a while.

"You are more than welcome. I'd like to help as well, but once my children are a bit older," she spoke. Now they often wanted to follow her and she didn't want to take them outside the territory yet. She felt that they were too young to explore that far away from safety.

indra glanced briefly at valette when she spoke of her own missing children. a sadness tinged her gaze, communal and emphatic. she knew too well that mourning, and felt sorry valette had experienced that brand of grief as well. i hope they return to easthollow too, the redleaf murmured, managing a soft smile before moving her vision to the stones. thank you, valette. indra dipped her head graciously, and then excused herself — she would spend the next few hours searching for a stone that suited her purpose, and would then place it upon the last trailing extension of the rocky path.

merrick, where are you? please come home.