Overture Downs You're picking up the pieces to the ghosts that will haunt you

Hope this is okay! @Valette

Kieran was wandering again. He enjoyed exploring very much, especially know that he had a pack - one that wasn't going to vanish any time soon. This, in itself, gave him much more peace than he had previously had in his life. But then again, after meeting various other youngsters he had come to the conclusion that not everyone had experienced the same things he had. He thought it was normal to lose so much, so many, at a young age (he had been 1-4 months at the time), but clearly he had been wrong.

This time in his travels, he was not all that far from Morningside. He could make it home before sundown, he was sure. The boy did not know why he was here, but he liked it. The plains were beautiful - it was dotted with leafy trees (he did not know what kind) whose branches hung low, and there were thin streams flowing downwards to a place he was unfamiliar with. The banks of the water were surrounded by odd looking plants, ones that he found rather interesting. It was so simple, yet so complicated.

And he loved it.

Works for me!

Valette needed to keep her mind off the death of her mate. Naturally, the female started working hard. She had her work to do as a hunter. One of their herds had crossed their borders. Part of their territory was plains, those plains became 'Overture Downs'. Valette crossed their border into neutral lands. She was quite keen on herding their deer back to where they belonged. Luckily the big group left tracks and droppings.

Yet, at she started tracking the dark female noticed that her mind started to wander. She thought of her mate. She missed Steady. She missed him so badly. A tear rolled down her cheek. Now no one was around, or so she thought, she felt that she could cry a tear or two. Soon, sniffles started. She realized that she wasn't tracking anymore and stopped. She needed to be a strong leader for their pack, correction, her pack... The keen hunter was so in her own mind that she didn't notice the younger close by. She was filled with grief.

<3

Kieran raised his muzzle to take in a whiff of the air, pausing once he caught scent of a stranger. He did not believe the scent was one he knew, anyhow. Curious, the boy wandered closer to the source, eventually seeing a chocolate-coated wolfess. He perked his ears, padding ever so slowly closer, hoping that this woman was no threat. He was on high alert - you never knew what strangers were like, after all.

But, as he approached, he noticed that this wolf... was sniffling. Kieran tilted his head, watching from a few metres away. What was wrong? Hopefully it wasn't anything like... death. The young hunter had come to realise that above all, death pained most. He knew from experience. He had lost his mother at such a young age, but he continued to remember. He looked up at the stars every night (he believed they were the passed wolves), and at sunset he would bury some prey for her. Not just her - for he had lost others, but most were not dead. Or, he did not believe them to be dead. Just missing.

"Um... miss? Are you okay?" he tried to talk to her, feeling sorry already without even knowing what the problem was. The boy hated to see others sad. He walked closer still, noting now the tears rolling off the woman's cheek. He had to know what the issue was now - he wanted to help.

Valette hadn't realized that there was someone around her. She thought she had been alone, and that meant that she could let go of her sadness for once. However, she had been wrong. She had not been alone, hence why she was so startled when there was suddenly a voice.

Her head snapped up and she was ready to protect herself. Valette's eyes then fell on the youngster. She blinked her tears away, at least, she tried to. "I'm fine,' she quickly spoke, not wanting to burder anyone with her trouble. Yet it was clear that she hadn't been okay at all. She missed Steady. Her heart was broken and missing her mate.

Kieran could see that she was most definitely not fine. He gazed at the chocolate woman, and with a small perk of his ears, the boy padded closer, sitting down beside the stranger. He found, it times like this, that talking helped. Silence was good sometimes, but everyone needed a chance to let out their feelings.

"I find that ranting to a stranger is good. I... I speak from experience." He did not stare at her. That, alone, might make her uncomfortable, and the hunter did not want that at all. While he may not be able to help the woman with her troubles, he wanted to at least give her the chance to vent out her frustrations, her worries, her sadness. Nobody should have to keep it to themselves.

Valette glanced at the younger boy and was doubtful. What he said was quite true. "I wouldn't want to rant against a nice young man like you," she admitted and battered her sad eyes at him. It felt strange to her to even open up to a youngster. Not that they would have less feeling but she wasn't sure if he could even understand or if she wanted to saddle him with her burdens.

She had swallowed her grief before, and it was made better by being around her friends. Those friends turned into loved ones. Perhaps, it was just better to share her grief with Nikai and Keoni. She didn't look certain though, because she felt that she really needed to share her grief with someone.

"Do it. I don't mind - really." Kieran smiled at the woman, but it was laced with concern. This was what he hated about the world - all the pain, all the suffering. Clearly, something was bothering this wolfess and he wanted to help her. He didn't want to see her like this, even if he did not know who she was.

"Holding it in would be worse," he added, gaze turning to the horizon momentarily before returning to her face. "Trust me, I know."

Valette listened to the young male. She knew that keeping everything to herself wasn't going to help her. Yet, it still felt strange to cry out on the shoulder of a youngster. "My mate died recently," she spoke quietly then. "And I've lost most of my family before, so it is quite a harsh blow for me," she admitted. Still, she knew that she needed to be strong for the pack. They needed her guidance.

She sucked in some air and then glanced at the younger male. "I'm Valette. Who are you?" Valette was curious who this male was. He should have a home somewhere right?

"I'm so sorry," he replied, brows furrowing in sympathy. "I know what death is like. My mother died when I was young. My sister went missing too, so it's just me and my dad now, but I'm here still. You'll make it through." He added, touching his nose briefly to the woman's in an attempt at comforting her. "I like to think the wolves who passed are up in the stars... and every time a wolf leaves us here, they go up there and a new star is born." Kieran admitted his beliefs with a sheepish smile. "I bury food for them every now and then. It helps me feel settled, and I go on with the belief that all those who once lived are watching from above. So just know that you're never alone..."

He gazed up almost instincively, only looking back down once he remembered it was still light out and the stars were not yet visible. "My name is Kieran - I come from Morningside, over there," he gestured toward the direction of his home, smiling faintly. "Nice to meet you, Valette."

Valette was surprised to hear how much the young boy already had to endure in his short life span. He still seemed kind enough even with all the heartache of losing the ones he was close with. "I am not doubting I will make it. Losing him was unexpected, hence why I feel quite lost," she explained. With her mother, she realized she wasn't going to get better and was able to say goodbye. With Steady, she never got to.

"You are in Grayday's pack then? Your scent was somewhat familiar," she spoke in realization. "He was our Beta before leaving," she spoke with a bit of a frown. She never understood why he left the way he did. The female glanced over the younger male. "Nice to meet you, Kieran," she returned politely. She realized also that Grayday had settled close by. Meaning that there were three pack in this valley now.

Kieran nodded. "It's not often expected." Perhaps it would give her some comfort knowing that she was not alone in feeling lost. "I felt lost too, for a while. But I've still got friends and my dad - you're not alone in anything you do." The boy smiled and nodded for the second time, confirming that he was indeed in Grayday's pack. A flash of recognition washed over his face momentarily.

"You're from... East-something, then, right? I've only heard a bit about there from a few conversations around Morningside." He had no clue that this was the alphess of that pack.

Valette nodded, yet the death she encountered were expected. She could say goodbye. Perhaps death wasn't the worst of all. Now there was no hope that would make her believe Steady might return. With Ezekiel, it was another story. She waited for his return for months. Steady didn't abandon her, she realized that now. Steady's death was unexpected but probably also couldn't be avoided.

"I have friends too. A whole pack even," she admitted and then nodded. In a way talking about Steady's death helped. Perhaps she should talk more with her packmates about it. "Easthollow," she corrected. "Grayday was in our pack before he left to found his own. If only he told us and not just left," she muttered. "Sunny and Dawn grew up there."

"Oh yeah, that's the one." He nodded, faintly remembering the name Easthollow. "He just left?" The boy knitted his brows in slight confusion, but shook the expression off quickly. After all, he knew barely anything about how to leave a pack. He would never dream of being on his own. He didn't think he would have had the guts to leave and start his own, either.

"I know Sunny and Dawn! I hunt with Dawn a lot, and I've hunted with Sunny before too, because I'm learning how to hunt like an expert. Grayday and his sister do a lot of hunting, so does dad. Dad and Grayday run the pack together." He smiled, thinking back to his mother and how proud she must be of Sylvas. Was she proud that he had managed to keep going, and had brought Kieran to a safe place?

Valette glanced uncertainly at the boy. "Well, I don't like to talk bad about others, or gossip. So why don't you ask him how he left his previous pack. At least he didn't say goodbye to me," Valette pointed out. She didn't want to spread some wild rumor about Grayday even though his way of leaving hadn't been appreciated by the female.

Valette was delighted to hear about the youngster and his love for the hunt. "Oh, look at you. I am also a hunter, and I have a specialty in being a deerstalker," she smiled to the other. "I taught Grayday to hunt with his decreasing vision," she added. She then paused, perhaps that wasn't something she was allowed to say? She wasn't sure.

Kieran nodded, aggreeing. Talking bad about others was not good, he knew, so her unwillingness to explain the man's departure from Easthollow was expected. "Oh." He furrowed his brow, wondering why Grayday had not said his goodbyes to his old family before leaving to make a new one. Oh well, it wasn't really his business.

"That's so cool!" He chirped, interested about what a Deerstalker was. Meeting a fellow hunter was always fun. "What does a deerstalker do? Do they just hunt deer?" He could learn more! Learning about hunting was great, especially since it would help him in the future. The boy took no notice of the comment on Grayday's vision.

Valette was glad when the topic shifted from her personal self to an interest of hers. The dark colored female sat down. "Well, a deerstalker focuses on large ungulates, team coordination, and scavenging," she explained. "At least that is what a deerstalker does in our pack. I often coordinate hunts, I have done this even before I was an alpha. My mate knew I was good in it. The key is to take all the members on a hunt and know what they are good at. Then when there is a pack hunt you can give them the task they like to do and they are good at," she explained. "Especially with large prey team work needs to be on point."

Kieran listened with his ears perked curiously atop his head. Learning, although it could be tiresome, was something he enjoyed, especially when it came to hunting. A Deerstalker. He'd have to remember that term, and perhaps he could tell his father of all the things he had discovered recently! Would he be proud?

"Ohhh, I get it now! I've helped in a big hunt before. Sunspot - Grayday's sister - led me and Dawn and we got to take down a cow elk! It was so much fun, even though Sunspot did the most work. I'll have to remember what you said. Is it fun coordinating hunts?" He was curious, indeed.

Valette always liked to inspire young wolves. It seemed that she inspired one today once more. "Every bit of help counts. If it wasn't for the charger or the wolves tiring out the deer first the lead wolf couldn't make the kill. It is a team effort so nonsense about she doing the most work," she scolded in a friendly matter.

The female wolf swayed her tail. "I like doing them, and I like to think of strategies. We have one prey animal, the Bison, and they are extremely tough to catch. I haven't found a method that works to catch them."