Phoenix Maplewood the seventh horcrux

Maaaaaybeeee @Sebastian or @Aviana? Other tags for reference, but AW!

Things were getting better. Her leg, namely, but other things as well. Although she and @Desdemona did not talk much, the other girl was still a companion of sorts, and her presence helped soothe the burn of loneliness. Her infrequent chats with Aditya and slightly-more-frequent run-ins with Kasatka also helped to sustain her, but she needed them less now that she was a little more able to move around.

Her days, as they had been in Moonspear, were soon filled with border patrol and pup corraling. Although she prefered not to interact with them physcially unless it was Kasatka or her personal favorite, @Timberlake, she felt as though her looming presence was deterrent enough for some of them. For the others, she simply kept her eyes out. They were not her pups, but that didn't mean she wanted to see them hurt.

Today, she was lingering near where the children often played, patrolling the outskirts of the area for the scents of any straying children. None of them would be getting kidnapped by bears on her watch.

Tag for reference!

Sebastian was in the pup playing area as that was where his niece often hung out and where he tended to @River. He wanted the grey pup to be with other young wolves of his age. Perhaps it would make him want to play more. Sebastian had been looking after River ever since the child got injured. Perhaps he bounded more with the child as he could recognize some parts of himself within the boy. He had a tough life recently, with the injury and the fire. Sebastian went through that same parallel with his shoulder injury and trying to rescue River from that fire.

He pushed the paste with an anti-inflammatory to the wound on his neck. It looked much better. Sebastian wiggled his docked tail. River also had a docked tail, he wanted the boy to know that living without a tail was more than possible. Sebastian limped over to his tiny stash. He feared his limp was probably permanent, and with the fire burning his stash he didn't have a lot gathered yet. Luckily he had stumbled on a patch of marigold to help River with. His head lifted when he heard someone approach. Was it someone he knew?

Speaking of bears - there was a bear of a wolf poking through one of the herb caches up ahead. Alya thought there was something familiar about him, but she couldn't have known that she'd once attempted to romance his son on the slopes near her home. "Hello," she said once she'd reached polite speaking distance. "Is this your cache?" 

She'd been wondering about it, but had figured it belonged to one of the women around. It was weird to think of male wolves having any skill aside from fighting, scouting, and being kick-ass dads. Alya associated the finer arts (and most other worthwhile skills) with hers and her sisters' superior feminitiy.

Sebastian offered the female a smile as he moved in closer. "Hello," he greeted the female. He was not sure if he had ever seen her before. The male gave her a good glance but decided that she was unfamiliar to him. The grey tank dipped his head in answer. "Yes. I've been trying to build one after I lost my other one in the fire," he explained. Sebastian would lose his herb cache any day if it would mean he could save a life.

He had gone through the flames to fetch the boy. The medic had not even thought about his cache until after the fire. "It is not much. I am not familiar with this territory yet," Sebastian explained to the other. "I do not believe we met. I'm Sebastian. I'm the medic at Morningside together with Pema," he introduced.

When he mentioned the fire, Alya couldn't help but flick a glance over his large frame, taking note of his injuries. She had wondered if some might be from battle, but something about his demeanor made her think the flames a more likely culprit. That didn't make her any less admiring of his form, but it changed her opinion of him slightly. "I have a small cache of my own. I'll move anything useful to yours when I go," she offered, seeing another opportunity to repay the Morningsiders for their kindness.

And then, ah - introductions. Alya, by then, had decided to shed her pseudonym. "I'm Alya Ostrega, of Moonspear. Aditya has kindly offered me shelter until my leg heals enough to make the journey back." She eyed him keenly for a moment, hoping she had not introduced herself to an enemy. Was there a reason Sebastian was familiar to her? With the luck she had been having lately, Alya wouldn't be surprised if he was a Redhawk spy or something outlandish like that.

Sebastian was surprised that the female had knowledge herself about herbs and gathering them for a cache. Then again, he had not met the female before so that he didn't know was not that strange. "That is very kind of you. Would you mind showing me beforehand? If there are ones I don't know then you can explain the use of them to me," Sebastian questioned. He was still on his way to get his mastery in healing.

"Moonspear?," Sebastian sounded. Instantly his heart jumped. "My mate lives with that pack, Andalusia," he spoke. Though they could hardly be called mates if they were in different packs but her being his mate was a recent development. Sebastian instantly thought of the possibilities. If she could travel again, he could travel with Ayla to see her again. She didn't know about the fire. Oh boy, and if she would go look for him... Sebastian didn't want her to be worried about him again.

"Now I come to think of it, her last name is Ostrega as well!! She must be family then," Sebastian commented and offered her a smile. "Small world, then. I plan on visiting her. I could travel with you to Moonspear when you are ready. Then you won't have to put too much strain on that leg by needing to hunt,' he offered kindly.

"Certainly," said Alya with a dip of her head, glad that someone around here was being pragmatic. She did not, of course, believe that she would have anything to teach him, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

What a small world. Sebastian was not a Redhawk sympathizer, but a mate to one of her own family. Admittedly, Alya did not know Andalusia very well, but her being an Ostrega was all the background she needed in order to accept the woman as one of her own. That made Sebastian family as well. "Well, nice to meet you, cos," she said with a soft laugh. "I might take you up on that - but I expect my sisters will be by soon enough to escort me home." That didn't mean that Sebastian couldn't come, but it was something to think about. Along with all the other things she'd had on her mind.

"If she is your mate, why do you live so far from her?" Alya asked then, curious about the nature of their partnership.

Sebastian dipped his head in thank you once more. In a way, this female was now family to him. He would need to show his good side, especially if Andalusia was in a pack with wolves all related to her. He wondered if she had known, as they had been together at the Caldera pack and lived close to this Moonspear. "If I could travel with you that would be convenient," he admitted. Sebastian would have to talk to Aviana about this then. That he would be away for a bit to see Andalusia. Perhaps she would be willing to live here, if not, then he might have to move. Aviana was in good hands, or she could join him.

"It is a long story," he spoke. "We only recently decided we wanted to be mates. We were friends, that grew into something more. I thought she died, but it turned out she was only lost. Then she found me, here. At that moment, I realized that she was more than just a friend. I wanted her to be mine. My other half," as he spoke he realized how sappy that sounded. "Sorry about that," he chuckled. "But she had to return to Moonspear first, as her loyalties were there. I had mine here as their medic. We would decide later where we would go together but then the fire happened..."

What a dream - to have such a hunk so in love with you! Alya was, at once, jealous of her cousin. But she supposed she could not begrudge them their love. "I hope I can find something like that, one day," she said with a soft sigh. And then, with a look halfway between mischief and embarrassment, she admitted, "My sisters and I tend to scare most boys away."

She recalled both Bruges and Vaati's initial wariness of her, as well as all the men in between that had not been around for long. "I'm sure you'll be able to accompany us, when we go." How was she supposed to turn him down? It would be good for Andalusia to be able to see him again, anyway.

Sebastian smiled warmly at her. "I am sure there is someone very special out there for you," Sebastian assured. "I didn't find Andalusia instantly. In fact, I was mated to someone else while being friends with her," he spoke. "Who knows, maybe you already know your future life partner," he smiled. He could be a bit of a romantic himself. "Should I be scared of your sisters?" he asked, with a light chuckle.

"Perfect thank you. I will also inform my sister. She might want to join Moonspear as well," he spoke with a dip of his head. "Does Moonspear have place for us all?" he asked curiously. Maybe they pack was already full?