Blackfeather Woods tied in deep

OOC: Set directly after this thread.

Nestled deep down in the hollowed out burrow beneath a tree, the two wolves who were but strangers to each other, bedded down for the evening. Just an hour ago, they had picked through the forest in search of old caches for a half decent meal. There was little to be found in the way of leftovers, but nature had a little surprise in store. They had been lucky enough to find the remains of an old deer, perished from the winter. Malila scavenged what meat she could, eating until the pangs and twists of hunger in her gut ebbed away. 

Following the meal, sleepiness overtook her. The spores she had been inhaling all evening could also be contributing to that too. Inside the natural den, it was surprisingly dry. Roomy enough just for two wolves their size to fit. And best of all, she thought, it was open to the sky. She need only to glance up to be rewarded with a view of the star dotted dark canvas.

In her sleep, as a ball of butter cream and chocolate fur, her delicate paws twitched. She was blissfully unaware of the position she had shifted in; tucked right up against the as of yet nameless male who had enthralled her. Had suggested a late night snack and a sleepover. His scent filled her nose heavily, while again, a back paw shifted, knocking against one of his lightly.

he had always been a light sleeper.

tonight was different. exhaustion overtook him in a unique way, dreams a fuzzy mess of muddled colors, his lungs offering soft wheezes and snores. oblivious to the toll the spores took on him in more ways than one.

all he knew was warmth, the peace of malila's side.

until his waking moments took him by surprise. his brain finally awake enough to register the knock against his own paw. who? heron blue eyes peeled back to see the woman asleep next to him. beautiful and peaceful and everything veran did not deserve to have by him.

why?

he recalled the tree, their foggy moments, most of it blurred by delirium and confusion.

slowly he began to unravel himself from her.

Malila curled closer, tighter in on herself. Her ears flitted back, fine brows knitting. All from when he began to pull away. She felt the warmth slipping, retreating. She wanted it back and whined slightly. She rolled to flip over on her other side, facing him. When she did, her eyes fluttered open sleepily.

Up at him she stared, a questioning but silly, tiny smile on her lips. Her dark slender forelegs outstretched, as if to reach and wrap around his neck. The fluffed tip of her tail tapped against the ground, a mixture of cedar shavings and dried leaves.

The spores had had their own effect. But they were freed from their control, now. Was it all a dream?

she seemed awfully happy to see him.

and veran wondered what exactly he had said to apparently charm her so much that she reached out to him, but he was too slow in his own tired state. suddenly arms were around his neck and he found himself still here.

good morning,

soft and slow. as if she might suddenly turn teeth on him if he spoke too fast.

She is happy to see him. The effects of the spores may be gone, but her mood wasn't. Even while inhaling that air last night, she had seen something through it. Something about him that she just...liked. She may be acting foolish again for feeling this way. Especially towards a stranger she knew nothing about. Not even his name.

She hoped she wasn't jumping the gun. That she had gotten her hopes too high, too soon. "Morning." She whispered back, almost shyly in that light voice that was unique to her. Up close, she stared at great detail at his scars. They made him even more distinct. Instead of meeting him with teeth, she, gentle as ever, nudged under his jaw softly.

"Tell me your name..." She wanted to know him. That was as good a place to start as any.

he wilted beneath her touch. sheepish and warm.

veran, he offered softly. part of him felt inclined to correct himself. well, actually, it's Ålesund until some religious woman renamed me, but it was far too early in the morning for that kind of sudden bomb to drop.

what's yours?

She rolled to shift her weight onto her stomach. Her legs slid down, off from around his neck. She did not want to crowd him if it made him feel uncomfortable. And in this very moment, in the snug space, she wasn't sure what he felt.

"Malila." She moistened her lips with her tongue. "Malila Solanare." Wow. When had she given out her surname, ever? This could quite possibly be the first time. Just mentioning it brought back thoughts. Memories. Wincing gently, she looked away. The faces of her family, Speedy, Emrik and Mohe, all lost to her. They flashed behind her eyes.

malila.

malila solanare.

she had two names and for a moment he forgot how normal that was. that sometimes other wolves had people and places they were proud of, proud to be associated with. veran could not relate.

but there on her face was discomfort, an emotion he could deeply relate to.

hey, uh, are you...okay?

She had grown so used to offering her first name only. So why did she offer her full name to him? Did her last name even carry any meaning anymore?

His voice snapped her out of her memories. Her head popped back up, soft eyes blinking with brief surprise. "Huh? O-oh yeah, I'm okay." She shuffled her paws on the bedding, fidgeting. "It is just...saying that...it makes me think of my family..."

Her voice was nearly hushed. "I don't know where any of them are. If...if they're even still alive..." She didn't quite sound sad. Just...lost. Wishing of what might have been.

cruelly, in his mind, he took some sudden comfort in knowing that she was not as perfect as she looked. or perhaps she became more perfect from that.

to know it wasn't just him who got the short end of the stick.

still he was thoughtful enough to know better than to take visible comfort in it. so he offered something kinder instead.

are you, um, looking for them?

Despite her looks and what others may think of her visibly, Malila was far from perfect. She had many flaws. What would he think of her if he knew them? She gave a shake of her head. A small sigh followed.

"No. My father has been gone for over a year. And my brother...even longer. I barely knew them." She explained. "I stuck close to my mother for a while. We traveled, when the pack disbanded. I think...well, I hope she is still somewhere in the Teekon..."

suddenly the den felt small.

as if he had crowded it with his invasive questions and her blooming discomfort. he shouldn't have assumed she'd want to find her family, he most certainly didn't want to.

i'm sorry, he exhaled suddenly in response.

what are your...plans? if-if you have any, suddenly fumbling over his own words.

She glanced back up at him, ears lifting again. "You don't have to apologize. I have accepted that I may not ever see my father or brother again. And as for my mom..." Her eyes shifted to the side, away from him. "Well, it might be for the best. I was...maybe a little too sheltered, growing up."

Another wince followed. This one of embarrassment, of admitting such. But what was the big deal? She had confessed to others before. Why worry of his opinion? "I really don't have any plans. Just roam and see what life has in store for me. All I know is I am happy to be free, away from my previous pack."

she was so...free. so vibrant in the face of her sadness. veran could not understand. he crumbled so easily to his emotions, everything he felt was so deeply and gripped him with a ferociousness.

she wanted to see the things life had in store. he couldn't relate nearly as deeply.

we have that in common, he mumbled softly. blackwater had not been bad or mean, veran had simply just not...fit in.

do you at least know which way you're going to go...? maybe what you want to see... he trailed off softly, tail offered a few sheepish thumps against the earth.

"I think I am going to continue heading north. Maybe check out the west, if that doesn't work out." A look of thoughtfulness crossed her face. Her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Actually, if I remember right, my birthplace is a little further north. I...kind of want to see it again." But on the other hand, Malila wasn't sure that was a good idea. She would only find out by taking the plunge and doing it.

"What about you? Do you have any plans of your own?" She had no one to travel with and keep her company. She assumed the same could be said for him. Maybe if he thought it worth while...if he enjoyed her enough, he would come with.

oh, wow, her birthplace. veran felt a bit like a stranger, so uncertain about these lands. everyone he encountered seemed so much more rooted here than him.

oh, uh, no...not really? i dunno. a shy shrug of his shoulders as his blue gaze roved to look elsewhere, away from her for a moment. wherever i can, really, i guess? some mild embarrassment tinging his features.

It looked like it would be her who would roll out the question. "Well then...if you want, you can travel with me. I wouldn't mind." She smiled some. "No pressure, though." She added quickly. Malila was by no means being pushy. She was trying to be laid back and casual about it.

"Part of me wants to find a pack again. But only if it is the right fit. Not like the last two." She didn't seem worried about her status as a loner. She would try to take things slow, one day at a time. "Veran...the two packs you left. What were they like?" She asked, not knowing that one of them had been Rivenwood, where she once lived.

you'd want me to? a question blurted out before he could even think about. eyes wide before they shrunk down to a shy squint, glancing between the ground and her face.

uhhh...well, one was...nice. but they got attacked and i — left, fled, was the world's biggest coward to the nicest faces. couldn't really stay. a soft lie. gentle. the other was out by the ocean, kind of...secluded. cryptic type of wolves.

There it was again. That heat beneath her cheeks as he stumbled, glancing bashfully from her face and to the ground. Malila's body shook with a silent giggle, her tail thumping. She reached out snuck her muzzle under his jaw, giving his chin a gentle bump upwards. "I do only if you do, too."

She listened to how he described each of the packs. "One of them was very nice too. But I just didn't quite fit. One day a stranger appeared out of nowhere, in the heart of the territory." She recalled. "I froze. I was so shocked and scared I didn't know what to do. After the leaders drove him off, I realized how useless I was." Rivenwood had had more than one coward. Malila didn't even try to drive that wolf away, even though he did not try to harm her.

"The other one...it was so strict. They taught me things, which I appreciate. But the only way I could stay long term was to be a warrior or to get married. Those were my only choices. It...wasn't fair, I felt and I wasn't going to turn into something I'm not just to satisfy someone else's rules." She took a breath. "That's the pack in the canyon I mentioned. They're called Mereo."

forever sorry for the wait wahhh, lemme know if you wanna wrap this and get them something new? :<

it seemed they were very much the same.

two wolves who had both tried two places. fled from one and unable to fit in with the other.

his smile, despite being small and sad, was also sympathetic — empathetic. i dunno that i'd wanna do that either...be a warrior or forced to get married. not really right of them to demand that...

maybe we, uh, skirt around mereo.

OOC: Fading here.

"No, it wasn't." She agreed. "But it was their traditions and I wasn't going to fight it. Removing myself from that environment peaceably was the best I could do." She stretched out her legs in front of her. Her mismatched eyes flicked up in thought. "I don't plan on going back in that direction anytime soon. I did have another route in mind, though." Malila began to get up, slowly. She knew not of the exact location her pre-planned path would take her. She would find out, in the coming weeks. And hopefully, Veran would remain to tag along.