Phoenix Maplewood LV

the bloodwood forest was pleasant to augur. it was where he and his family had briefly stayed during the tensions in the rise, and he had visited often since returning.

this was also the place his first children had been conceived with new snow.

the man's instincts were sharpening, not only for the winter to come but the spring to follow. the pack stood to burst with redtail pups, and augur was heavily wary of more conflicts.

this cold morning, his breath forming a plume in the air, augur searched for a densite, protected from the elements and watchful eyes alike. it was the first time he had ever considered his children born another place, and ultimately it would be the choice of new snow.

breath rising in another cloud, augur licked his jaws and glanced back toward the rise. there he had a name, given to him by a man who had gone. the pack had changed. new snow was constant.

and so his second name fell into the dirt beside his paws, and mountain boulder pressed on in his search.

It had been almost two moons now, since Esma had lost sight of her home and was unable to find a way back to it. The thing she had feared the most had happened. Lost in an unfamiliar world that felt so big to her. The sky in the plains was vast and never-ending, she would often look up to make sure that it would not fall on her head at some point. There were little known scents and very few of those belonged to other wolves. But even meeting a brother of kin would not do her any good. She had seen some from afar, but had not dared to approach. Strangers that did not belong to the Riverclan's ranks scared her. 

The sight of the forest line at the end of the meadow gave her hope that this was her home and she run towards it eagerly, without realizing that the distance between her and Riverclan was increasing. She realized her mistake the moment she recognized that the trees were hardly anything like she knew. They were not her friends, they felt foreign and unreal. Then the disappointment was overshadowed by fear, when she caught sight of a stranger walking nearby. Having nothing better to do, she crouched, practically flattened herself to the ground, hoping that the other would not catch sight of her. The only problem was that, while her dappled coat would be good to camouflage her during autumn or early spring, where the various shades of browns and yellows of the old grass and leaves interspersed with patches of melting snow, now she stood out starkly against the white background.

he was not alone here.

it was by luck she had discovered mountain boulder. he left the den search and began to track through the foliage for the unseen wolf, who by scent was rather young.

as predicted, her pelt gave her away; mountain boulder spotted a child pressed against the ground, similar in age to flame stalker and moon runner. 

his ears fell back and he offered a fatherly croon of worry and reassurance, tail swinging at his hips though he did not press his approach any further.

Esma had had very little interaction with strangers. Nearly all of the time it involved her spying her mom or any other Riverclan adult dealing with them. On few occasions they became part of tue group. In others - much to Esma's relief - they left and never returned. 

Therefore she was not prepared to meet and greet the giant stranger and she would have very much preferred, if he had ignored her and left. Now, however, he had initiated and she felt the pressure to repsond. Because that's, what kids do, when they are addressed by adults, right? They have to be polite and well-mannered. In the back of her mind the "stranger-danger" bell rang dimly, but she had always imagined that all of the dangerous people in the world were obvious.

The man was large, but her fear of him made him appear even bigger than in reality. Esma gulped, sighed and attempted to straighten herself from the crouch, though her joints felt stiff and almost paralyzed. "Whh...ho a..a.are you?" she stammered.

there would be no answer in words.

instead mountain boulder leaned closer, rumbling once more. the instincts of the young often attuned them to the older.

on his pelt he carried the scent of the rise, and flung his tail high for a moment to say that he held rank upon this land.

the yellowpaint eyes were curious.

The man did not reply, instead he leaned closer to Esma, who in turn flattened herself against the ground to avoid him touching her. His silence scared her and his sudden expression of dominance made her avoid his gaze completely and hope that he would step back and give her much needed space.

So far the world outside the Riverclan had proved to be as worse as she had imagined. The only difference was that she could leave daydreams behind any time she wanted, but the her miserable situation in reality was there to stay.

she was too frightened to communicate.

mountain boulder sang toward her with the note of an adult who has meat in their craw to share with young.

if she followed, he would lead her back to the sorted den and bestow upon her the ivory of a deer still hanging with shreds of meat and skin.

Esma was very hesitant to follow the large brute. All her better judgement and instincts screamed for her to take off again. But then she had been on her own for too long already and, though naturally not fond of strangers, she did not want to lose the sight of this one either. 

Therefore she let him walk off and began to follow him at a safe distance, stopping frequently and looking over her shoulder constantly, ready to bolt at any moment.

when they arrived at the bloodwood den, true to his thought, mountain boulder gifted the young one with the foreleg bone of the deer.

he stepped back, from her and the piece of carcass.

her slinking movements and variegated pelt earned her the name ermine.

quietly he wondered what the others might make of this girl.

Many times Esma pondered bolting and disappearing and this reflected in her movements all the way to the place the strange big man called his home. She was following him in a half-crouch, tail-tucked to her belly, ears drawn back and her head turning nervously left to right. Often she would stop in her tracks and lie down, panting and trying to calm down. 

Often she would wonder, if this whole trek was worth the mental and physical struggle, and only when the man threw a piece of meat her way, did she consider for a moment that he might not have bad intentions in mind. Still she waited until he retreated, watching carefully his every movement. Then with her gaze still trained on the guy, she slowly came to the gift, grabbed it in a swift moment and ran to put distance between them again. 

Once feeling relatively safe she began to chew and gnaw and pick on the frozen piece, pausing time from time to look up at the man, just checking, if he was staying, where she had left him.

ermine was fraught with nerves. mountain boulder settled chin to forepaws as he watched her.

in time though, he did not stare; he dozed, ears open for any sound she might make, or the footfall of another approaching the bloodwood den.

here she was safe.

Esma finished her meal, picked up all the morsels she might have left and licked her paws clean. It would take a while for the satisfaction of the meal to kick in, but the pleasant weight in her stomach already made the outlook of her life happier. She would find her way home eventually. 

She then remembered that the stranger was still there, watching her. Their eyes met briefly, but being the subordinate in this situation she turned her head quickly away, sprang to her feet and took off. Time from time she would steal a quick glance over her shoulder to see, if he was following her. 

Last one from me. Thank you!