Horizon Ridge West coast

This is dated after the upcoming strawberry moon.

It took several wrong turns and a bit of meandering before things clicked in Larkspur's head and she found the way to Horizon Ridge. When she and @Harlyn drew up beneath its shadow, a broad smile overtook her face. It was an expression usually reserved for her family's eyes only, yet Spur wanted to share it with @Deirdre too. She had brought something else to give the pale witch too: a pretty, round stone she had found somewhere in the bowels of The Crook. It was the least she could offer Deirdre for bringing her daddy home.

"Mommy, we're here!" she announced, halting in her tracks and beaming like sunshine at Harlyn. "Should I howl?" she wondered in the next breath. With her mother's assent, the pup tipped her sun-splashed muzzle toward the clear blue sky and summoned her one and only friend.

deirdre had watched the moon come in donnelaith. she wished to end her days of loneliness, but was unsure of how, yet. with emaleth gone deirdre fell into a state of quiet agitation... but removed herself from these negative thoughts, and instead took too quiet prayer, reciting the words her father had taught her to bring back nature. her magic was working--the other day, she had even seen a doe--and deirdre mulled on this for a moment, knowing that the next night she would meet with her newest of friends, larkspur. deirdre had well-tidings to deliver to the girl, and she was happy for that, at least... a sliver of joy in her broken days.

she left donnelaith due to her duty toward larkspur, and also her feelings. deirdre had truly enjoyed her time with her, and hoped for the distraction of one who knew nothing at all of the terrible days she had suffered in the span of a week. much time had passed, and deirdre still functioned as was needed. admittedly she had become withdrawn, but so too had all of donnelaith. it would soon be time to cease this, but she allowed it for now. she was not yet sure of tongue to speak of the day without succumbing to tears, and knew that none on this earth could offer her succor. she did not want pity, nor sympathy, not even empathy would do--she needed to be strong, needed to...

these thoughts came to an end as the pale beauty drew to the destination. there was a new scent on the wind, and as she broke through the cover of naked trees deirdre was brought to a pause. beside larkspur was a pretty wolf, and the witch sensed a wiseness to the woman there. a--perhaps false and certainly strange--sense of security came, and deirdre looked to the other with curious emerald eyes. hello, larkspur, she greeted warmly, tail waving behind her slowly. her eyes that had drifted to the honeycomb when addressing her fell now to the woman beside her, and she went on to greet her in turn with a polite dip of her head. hello to you as well--i am deirdre mayfair, she introduced, hoping that the other would do so as well in turn.

Skipping Stevie with permission (I think?!).

When she was finished issuing her summons, Larkspur slid backward onto her haunches, waiting patiently and exchanging small smiles with her mother every so often as Harlyn milled about the general area, sniffing here and there with mild interest. The young girl's bright blue eyes were drawn again and again toward the strangely undulating horizon, though they snapped quickly toward the movement in the distance that indicated Deidre's imminent arrival.

It wasn't in Spur's nature to behave exuberantly, even around family, but her smile was bright and her tail waved slowly as Deirdre came closer. "Hi, Deirdre," she replied shyly, smilingly, eyes dropping for a beat before she managed to drag her gaze upward again. "Thanks for coming." When her friend addressed her mother, Larkspur glanced at Harlyn and then made introductions, "Deirdre, this is my mommy." She had been raised with manners but didn't have much practical application, so she forgot to reverse the introduction.

If her mother hoped to chat with the girl, Spur unintentionally thwarted her by saying quietly but with understated enthusiasm, "I brought you a gift." She bent down to nudge the stone at her feet in Deirdre's direction. Its smooth face caught the sunlight, refracting, and Larkspur's smile grew. "It's for bringing back my daddy with your spells." Her cheeks ached a little—they weren't in the practice of being used this much—as she waited for Deirdre's reaction to the gift and good tidings.

deirdre moved to nose her friend in fond greeting, though would not move to touch the other if there was discomfort expressed. her tail waved slowly; for her sadness, there was also happiness. her father was still there, albeit not in his physical form. on samhain, such a thing could change... but as it stood, he was as there to her as harlyn was to larkspur. a small breeze seemed to encourage the thought, and deirdre understood she would have to get used to this form of him. her love for lasher was no different for his lack of tangible presence, and her own life must go on.

larkspurs mother introduced herself, and deirdre smiled, dipping her head politely. after this, harlyn seemed to think all was well and drifted away from the duo to surely leave them to their meeting. her eyes drew back to the pretty youth, tracing her features and admiring them silently, when the girl spoke and her emerald eyes fell to the others lantern-hued ones.

larkspur nosed something toward her, and deirdre watched it coruscate against the light. it was beautiful, and the first give from a friend she had ever received, and deirdre felt a tear of happiness well in one eye. larkspur, it is beautiful! she whispered, and moved to press her paw against it—

she felt an energy within it that gave her strength, and thought of the stones of magic that the wise owl had once informed her of. she would bring this one to him--perhaps this was one of them, and by the feel of it, she did not doubt it. deirdre looked to larkspur again, and whispered with love, i have never received a gift such as this. i will treasure and cherish it forever, and think of you always as i look to it. a warm smile was given, and though her heart ached from her recent loss, it felt fuller for larkspurs presence and her kind gift that had come from the heart. deirdre quite plainly adored her for it, more than she already had; she was never a woman to be bought, but larkspur had her adoration from the moment she had looked to her to begin with.

Deirdre reacted favorably to the good news and the gift, causing Spur's heart to beat faster in her chest and her tail to wave more enthusiastically. She couldn't say why the girl's words mattered so much to her, just that they did. She was so taken with Deirdre that Spur scarcely noticed Harlyn retreating into the background, surely a smile upon her lips as she watched her baby foster her first true friendship.

Speaking of which, a few soft words came rushing out of the younger pup's mouth. "Deirdre? Will you be my best friend?" She had her parents and her brothers but Larkspur wanted to add another member to her exclusive inner circle of loved ones. So what if they had only met once before? Deirdre had brought her father home, a favor which Spur could never hope to repay, simple trinkets aside. She already loved the girl as if she were an extended member of her family and truthfully hoped this encounter would stretch on forever.

as larkspur next spoke, deirdre nodded her head. i would love to! and truly, larkspur was her only friend and had promptly placed herself inside of deirdre's heart. it was not at all difficult to desire to be her best friend, and desire it she did without knowing so until the words had come. i can come visit you, and you can come visit me--i would love for you to see donnelaith, one day, if you would like to, she added, in case larkspur did not wish to visit. her [best] friend was truly a light in these dark and dismal times; deirdre was remembering happiness, and feeling it, forgetting about the pain she had been faced with for many days and nights now.

deirdre felt that as best friends, she ought to know more of her favored female companion. what is your favorite thing to do? she hummed, truly interested. deirdre herself mentally echoed the sentiment of larkspur in not wishing for their meeting to end.

Her normally anxious heart hardly had time to worry about possible rejection before the older girl accepted with the same verve and enthusiasm Spur had come to know and love in their brief companionship. It warmed the cockles of her heart, which lifted at the idea of visiting Donnelaith. Larkspur suddenly remembered her mother's presence and looked around as if to ask her permission to go there, maybe even right now, but Harlyn had wandered out of earshot (if not view), so the child returned her attention to Deirdre and smiled softly.

"I'd like that. I bet my mommy would take me." She paused, pondering. She wanted to invite Deirdre to see her home too, though Marauder's Keep still didn't feel that way to her. "One day, maybe you can come with me to Lost Creek Hollow. It's my old home," Spur said in a wistful voice. "It's so pretty and peaceful. I think you would like it, Deirdre," she breathed.

Next, her friend—correction: her best friend—wanted to know about her favorite activity. Larkspur pressed her lips together, giving the inquiry some thought before replying, "Spending time with my family." She blinked. "And you," she added, mouth curling into a smile. That made her think of something and she asked, "Deirdre, would you teach me more about spells?"

Of course, the pale Mayfair was more than willing to oblige her. The girls spent the remainder of their time together discussing magics and charms before Harlyn eventually beckoned Larkspur to her heel. They needed to head home before sundown and give Deirdre the opportunity to do the same. Spur hated to part, even after spending hours in Deirdre's bewitching company, and she held on longer than was strictly necessary before turning to head back to the Keep. She glanced over her shoulder no less than a dozen times, ceasing only when Deirdre dropped from sight.