Phoenix Maplewood Returning to you

AWareness Month. Valette could tell a lot about this territory, if a wolf who wants a scout trade is interested! :)

Valette made her way south to an area she knew very well. The memories flooded her brain as she came closer and closer to the forest she grew up in. She was alive after talking to Sleeping Dragon. She made sure to stay far away from them. The dark colored girl trotted further crossing their old border which had vanished by now. So strange that this forest was without its wolves.

She had a mental map of the Taiga now. She felt like a successful ranger. She managed to come back to the place she grew up traveling through unknown lands. Now she had several landmarks that would guide her here. She was proud of herself. She wondered if her mother would also be proud. After visiting her mother's grave she would make her way down south even more. Perhaps even visiting Bearclaw Valley.

The girl ended deeper into the forest until she came to her mother's den under a thick maple tree. They had closed off the entrance and let her body rest there. Valette sat before it, tears popping in her eyes. "Hi mom," she whispered. "I miss you. But-- I am doing so well. Hiram, which is Reek said you would be proud of me, and well, I am proud of myself too. I have become a scout next to becoming a hunter. I live with Steady and Mason. You knew Steady. He is a good friend." Valette laid down before the sealed off den. "I miss you so badly, but I can't be selfish because I know you aren't hurting anymore," she whispered.

The girl then stayed silent. She needed her rest anyhow and felt comfortable in this forest. The girl curled up. Her eyes were closed but she was still listening to her surroundings. She tried to imagine that her mother was laying right there next to her.

so cute <3

He was not so sure what drew him to Phoenix Maplewood that day. It was a place of ghosts, he knew — he had met a girl from Silver Creek, where the pack had moved to. Desna was no longer with them and he wondered if that was what pulled him in or if it would only make him more reluctant to go here. Summer was good to the maplewood, and it looked more alive than when he had last visited it. To tread across its former borders felt strange. Only remnants of his earlier trip remained in his head, for it had not been truly him; Sheogorath had been in control then and although Cicero to this day knew only little of the male's actions, he knew that he'd been here.

As he stepped deeper into the woods he heard a voice in the distance, though could not decipher anything that was said. The scout's step carried him closer, curious, but the voice died down before he reached it. As he stepped closer, finding a thick maple tree, he saw the girl before it. She had grown, but he was fairly certain that it was her even as she lay down on the ground. "Desna," he said, his voice soft and barely more than a whisper as he looked at her. He smiled wryly and stood for a moment, as though unsure whether to approach or to simply turn away and leave her to her peace.

Oh this is so interestingggggg!! :O

Valette was curled up by her mother's grave. Yet because she was just resting there with her eyes closed she instantly heard a brief whisper. The girl snapped her eyes open, showing off the hazel green irises. She instantly saw the multicolored traitor. The girl instantly flattened her ears. She let out a soft huff in response, not the good kind. She remembered him well, how he tricked her and how it somehow wasn't his fault. She wondered who she was seeing now, Sheo or Cicero.

The girl had indeed grown, no gangly teenager anymore but an elegantly shaped female form. Just like her mother, only taller and longer legs. She was still a bit sunken in from the famine and her travels now, but nothing that would be a big concern. "Who are you this time?," she let out to him. She didn't want him here. This was her mother's resting place, though she was unaware that her mother always had liked the polite Cicero.

A sad smile befell his face as he watched her take offence to his presence here. He did not realise this was her mother's resting place, but he could see why she would come here, even after it was no longer claimed pack grounds. Her words were harsh and unforgiving, but he could not and did not blame her for any of them. It made sense that she was angry. He remained standing where he was, his face sunken and cheekbones visible, the aftermath of the famine still very much present on him as he looked at her.

"Cicero," he said. He remembered now, shreds of it. How he had talked to Desna, pretending to be someone he was not — well, sort of — and he had pretended to join her pack. He frowned in thought while he tried to piece the pieces together, but all that he kept seeing was the white wolf walking away from him; an act forever associated with Desna, now, for it was while searching for her that this had happened.

He just stood and stared, uncertain what else he should say to her. He knew there was little use in apologising; it would bring her nothing to do so.

Valette looked over him, and frankly the male looked really bad. The dark colored girl had her eyes scan over him, it seemed that the famine took a toll on his body. She could take him if it would end up in a fight. She was actually a bit scared of him if she was really honest. He was very unpredictable.

She pushed herself to her feet, feeling protective of this place. "I am not coming with you to the Dark Brotherhood. I've been there, and I don't see Kove as my father anymore. I have other wolves that are my family, so you can just give up trying," she huffed. At least the female had a lot more confidence as she had before. Her being alone for awhile and being a ranger was something that toughened her up more. Making her less timid.

Cicero watched her, curious if she would leave again or if she would simply wait until he would leave. Perhaps she would even try to chase him off, he reckoned. She got to her feet, but she stayed in place as she firmly told him that she wasn't intending to return with him to Blackfeather Woods. It was not his intent to do so, but as she spoke he realised that must not yet have been clear to her. He'd never officially given up on the plans, but as she grew older had thought she would not wish to come with him anyway; especially after what happened.

He said, "Cicero has no plans to bring Desna back to Blackfeather Woods any longer," he told her. "Is Desna doing well?" Perhaps he could not bring her back, but the least he could do was see if he could tell Kove about how his daughter was doing.

Valette showed him a firm nod when he spoke that he was not here to bring her back to black feather. The girl would not be willing to follow him. "Good because I would not follow you," she spoke to him, sounding rather unkind towards him. It sounded even weird for the female, knowing that she was most of the time polite and kind towards others.

The male wanted to know how she was doing, which was probably going to be told to her so called father. "Desna is dead," she spoke with a light glare at the male. "You can tell him that." She was done with her father and how nasty he was the last time she came to visit. So had changed her name because of it, and that she wasn't going to tell to Cicero.

Cicero smiled weakly when Desna said that 'Desna was dead'. He knew she would not come with him and he had given up on trying. Besides, he did not think Desna was a bad wolf, and though perhaps she might at one point have been better off at Blackfeather Woods, it was clear that her path lead her in a different direction now.

"Cicero will leave the wolf with no name now, then," he said, the wry smile remaining on his face — glad she seemed to be doing well enough, but sad with the knowledge they'd never see eye to eye — as he rose to his feet, preparing to turn away.

Valette watched Cicero. He seemed to have understood her message. The girl's fur bristled a bit, mostly because she was very uneasy around him. Her mother would have probably assured the young female that Cicero was not a bad wolf as Valette seemed to think. But, Scarlett wasn't around to tell Valette so. The girl watched him leave. Valette also had her bad moments. She was not quick to turn her thoughts around if she had an opinion on someone.

With the boy leaving she turned back to her mother's grave and laid down again. She missed her, but she also knew that her mother wasn't coming back. She let out a soft sigh and then closed her eyes. She decided to spend the night here in the forest that was her home.