Stone Circle All the pain and the scars I’ve left behind

@Kove whenever ya have time :)

She was back from her small hunting excursion and was on her way to drop the two rabbits she caught into the caches. She tried her hardest to keep busy to keep her mind from wandering like it did so many times before. By hunting and doing patrols she was able to do so but sometimes thinking was unavoidable just like today.

Her young must be about four months by now and the thought of them thinking she abandoned them was creeping into her mind once more. The thought of them being raised by their father alone made her sick to her stomach.

As she was returning, Kove was on the way out; he’d yet to leave the territory since arriving there but, gradually, he’d begun frequenting the outskirts in an effort to fall back into the guardian lifestyle. He wanted to do what he could to protect this new home he’d made for himself and the family that lived within it. After all, he owed them that much—and he could think of no better ways to spend his time, lest the children are out and about and he happened to cross paths with them.

The steps he took were not rushed but calculated, each placement of his paws decided with care; by adjusting his gait, he could sometimes ease the growing pain in his hips. He was not so focused on himself that he did not take notice to the woman, eyes drifting from the path ahead of him to glance at her. Who was she? An incoming breeze carried her scent towards him, revealing a mixture of various wolves, his daughter’s smell included: she was a part of the pack. Who she was exactly, however, he hadn’t the slightest of clues. With a stiff nod, he slowed and silently greeted her, but did not stop entirely and would keep walking unless stopped.

She left her kills in the cache and noticed a wolf walking towards the borders. He seemed to be older than her, perhaps he had been here when she had been here first. When she resided here last she only had met a few of the wolves, she was determined to make this time around a lot different. She would try and meet everyone and get involved in the pack. “Hello, perhaps you could help me?” Every to her seemed to be acting strange more alert and she was confused as to why, maybe he knew. “I recently returned and noticed it’s a little gloomy here did something happen?”

Kove had little more on his mind than the patrol he intended to do—which would have to wait, it seemed. He came to a stop several strides away from the woman after she spoke, ears perked. If it was assistance that she required, then perhaps he could be of some help. But rather than a task needing to be performed, it was revealed that the help she sought was actually a request for information. He frowned, partially disappointed and partially suspicious. If she was of the pack, should she not have been informed of the recent issue upon joining? Although, if he were being perfectly honest with himself, he might have chosen to keep that information from a new member, too—at first, anyways, before any trust was built. Whether or not that was the reason for her having not been told, he couldn’t be sure but saw no harm in revealing the matter either way.

“There was an attack,” he responded, frown deepening. “One of Valette’s children was nearly taken and harmed in the process.” Assumed dead, actually, although they were all rather relieved to discover that she was alive in the end.

So something had happened and it was worse than she had though. A short sigh of sadness for the pup escaped her muzzle and she looked back at the man. “Thank you for telling me, things make a little bit more sense now. I’m Kiran by the way.” She felt it improper to not introduce herself to the man, perhaps he would do the same in return.

As a sigh escaped her, he wondered exactly who the girl was. She had said how she’d recently returned to the pack but, of course, the reason behind her original leaving was unknown. What had driven her out, and what had then pulled her back in? He was curious, if only to better understand this pack that he had cast himself into, but did not ask; the timing was not quite right and he wasn’t so sure it much mattered, at least not in regards to their current conversation.

“I suppose things are noticeably different compared to how they were,” he said, although he had little to compare to from before the attack. Kove was still new to Easthollow, after all, and had not been there for very long prior to the sea witch making an appearance. But, nevertheless, the feeling of the pack’s overall atmosphere was definitely different. No matter, life went on, as it always would.

“My name is Kove,” he returned then. “Valette’s father.” And grandfather to her children, of course, which was his reasoning for wishing to keep the borders secure.

Sorry this took so long!

He seemed to understand what she meant by her small indetailed statement. "Yeah its a lot different but I'll adjust in time i suppose." She offered him a small smile and when he said his name Kiran was to make sure she would remember it for future reference. "Nice to meet you Kove." When he mentioned that he was Valettes father she was a little surprised but not by much. "She had quite a big litter this year." She still had to meet them in time, but after hearing what happened she thought it best to let things cool down a bit first.

The woman would adjust, she assured him. Kove nodded, acknowledging her words, although he wasn’t sure how simple it might be. Personally, he found that he was still adjusting—but, then again, the world he had spent a good portion of his life living in must have been vastly different from hers. Either way, her adjustment or lack thereof would have minimal, if any, effect on him, so he did not linger on the thought for too long at all. Rather, he continued with the flow of the conversation and said, “It’s nice to meet you, too.” Slowly but surely, he was gathering the faces of those within his new home.

Kove nodded again when she mentioned the size of his daughter’s litter. “Yes, and they all appear to be healthy,” he commented. “She could have had only one child and I would still value their health above all else.” At the end of the day, the size of the litter did not matter, just as long as everyone was happy and healthy.

As they continued to speak, the conversation gradually came to a close. Kove shared a few more words regarding his children and grandchildren before dismissing himself and wishing the woman well.