The Heartwood it wouldn't have been such a lie.

@Hieronymous

Liffey didn't usually wander so far from home. Her children were getting bigger by the minute, but they were still so small and so young in her eyes. She didn't like to leave them for so long. She was an alpha now with responsibilities for the pack as well that usually kept her homebound. But, there were three other alphas, and her children had their father. Plus she had learned at long last that excursions like these kept her head clear and heart happy. It balanced her to get out on her own and travel sometimes, so she made it a point to do so every now and again.

Still, the guilt followed her as she turned South from the Coast and made her way into the Wilderness. It was an exciting sort of guilt though--like she was a little kid getting away with breaking the rules. She smiled as she wandered through the Heartwood, memories flooding her of various moments in her life. She had come here when she was young and had first started adventuring beyond the borders. She had come here to spend time with Rannoch after they had first met.

After a while of wandering through the woods, she came to the Southern edge where the trees cleared away and the night sky opened up over her head. Deciding now was as good a time as any for some rest, Liffey dropped to her haunches and turned her nose skyward to spend some time on another of her favorite hobbies.

53°, currently it is clear and set at night. Located in great bear wilderness, the heartwood | ooc notes: omg i thought i replied to this! so sorry for your long ass wait! | tagging: @Liffey

The barren lands, swept by flame, were a heartache to walk through. Although he heard that fires were often good for regrowth, that the forest would flourish in a few years once more, bigger and healthier than ever in the remains of their ancestors - but for now, it saddened him to walk through such a graveyard of what once, he could tell, was a beautiful land.

In the barrens of the field, it was easy to spot out the light painted woman, her pale grey coat stuck out like a sore thumb in the starry lit night and with a warm smile he trotted up to her, letting out a soft chuff in order to announce his presence without startling her. He kept a respectable distance, not to invade her space, and sat just a little way to her side, looking up at the same sky as she was. 

It's a beautiful night to stargaze, isn't it?

no worries!

Liffey hadn't been at it too long when she heard the approach of a stranger. As usual, she tensed when she realized what was happening, but to a much lesser extent than was typical. Something about stargazing relaxed her, and due to the changes in her life, she was finding herself to be more at ease in general. So when she turned to the approaching male, it only took her half a second to settle and offer a smile to mirror the one on his face.

"It is," she agreed with a friendly wag of her tail, "You a fan of watching the heavens as well?"

She tensed, to his eye it was unmistakable, but he would remain as friendly as possible as to try and ease her concern for a complete stranger to be joining her while stargazing. He was all alone after all - to him, he enjoyed the company of others, and felt a natural draw to anyone he saw to try and become friends with them. The idea of joining a pack was present, but he would wait until he found the one that suited him most. 

I do. He chirped in a pleasant tone, eyes still remaining on the stars as he kept a smile upon his face. I don't know much of them sadly. I hear some can read them, listen to their patterns as though speaking like you and me right now. The thought was intriguing, he never had the gift himself to read the stars, the skies, his imagination was far too powerful to be thinking of anything than making up stories about their presence rather than anything scientific and useful.

The stranger wasn't deterred by her brief moment of unease, which pleased Liffey after she learned that he knew a thing or two about the stars. At least, he knew what could be known about them. That was enough in her book. She smiled.

"I don't know about listening to them, but they are a good read if you ask me," Liffey replied, her tail wagging gently, "I'm Liffey."

That's what I meant. He said with a chuckle, his speckled eye closing for a moment while his cheeks rose in the grimace. In a way I suppose - more poetically. Of course, he knew no one would speak to the stars, they were oh so very far away - if they weren't, the birds would crash into them in flight. Rest their wings on their constellations, and so yes, it was more of reading... but in a way, he liked to say they were speaking to the beings on the ground with their patterns. it sounded more fun.

Greetings Liffey, I'm Hieronymous. With a tilt of his head, he gave her a friendly smile before turning back to the stars, watching them twinkle, seeing nothing other than pretty lights rather than anything to read or understand. Still, such a thing baffled him, but everyone who could read them said similar things. There had to be some truth behind it. Can you read them?