Stone Circle You make me want to scream

Dusk's light peered from over the horizon, bathing the sky and trees in a sheen of orange that raged like a forest fire only to also settle onto the man's face. He was sitting alone, a stone platform beneath him that warmed by his heat, the sky above and the Clone Forest as his backdrop.

Snow had begun to drip from the clouds, settling onto the cold ground in specks that soon would erase existence within a few mere hours if it continued. It had even begun to stick to his fur, coating him in flakes that would roll off with every slight breeze only to return in a few minutes.

He liked it there- silent, stagnant, serene.

@Dianne

Sleep wasn't something that came easy to Dianne, and her dreams were too-often full of nightmares when she did finally fall asleep. So she stalked through the birches to occupy herself, still learning the ropes of navigating them. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, leaving behind a trail of orange light that bathed the land in its warm glow. Except it wasn't warm — well, Dianne wasn't, anyway. The cold was tolerable with the sun high in the sky but particularly fierce in its absence.

Snow silently drifted down to the earth below, and the tiny crystals clung to everything they touched. Dianne found it astounding how such tiny blips of ice could pile up to create a solid blanket on the ground as quickly as they did. She lost herself in her thoughts, mindlessly weaving between white trunks like a thread through a needle's eye. Ideally, all the walking would make her tired soon. Warming up would also be nice, Dianne thought dryly as a particularly strong breeze tousled her fur and chilled her to the bone. The cold wind brought with it the scent of another wolf — Greyback, was it? — up ahead, but she didn't think much of it.

It wasn't the scent that carried through the winds that caught him, no. It was the soft padding of paws on dampened earth. Swiveling an ear to it, he listened closely to the drum of its walk. It was too light to be any sort of large prey, far too heavy to be small. Whatever it was- was heading towards him.

Turning his head around, snow falling from his fur, Greyback peered into the forest with squinted eyes. It was then that he saw the reflection of another's and their awkward coloring of head and body. Dianne? He smiled and called out to her "Dianne, is that you? Why don't you come join me?"

how dare u call her markings awkward she'll fight u, gayback. >:(

The man spoke out to her, so she stopped, turning to face him with a blank expression. Inwardly, she cringed at the idea — but she found it unwise to treat such a high-ranking member with disrespect in the blunt way she'd usually respond, and she couldn't think of any decent excuses to say no, so she kept her mouth shut while her paws brought her closer. Memories of... someone from her past cropped up, but she beat them down. Greyback seemed... not like that, at least. From what she could tell, his mannerisms were genuine. Yet, she couldn't help but to feel somewhat on-edge, regardless.

Dianne leapt onto the rock beside him and sat down, albeit a bit rigidly. She made sure to keep a decent amount of space between them, neatly curling her lengthy tail around her paws. In an attempt to make conversation, she asked, What are you doing up here? He was probably just relaxing, but she figured it was worth asking since she had no idea what else to talk about. Small talk was not her forte, to say the least.

Greyback silently sat, turning his gaze back to the sunset while listening as Dianne approached. He heard her sit a decent distance from him, her form higher as she sat on an elevated rock. He found it rather odd, but brushed it off as her being new and a bit weary. Many wolves tended to be a bit uncomfortable around him for one thing or another- his scar, his size. He had gotten better over to years when it came to pushing the awkward feeling off and away.

When she spoke he turned to her with an attentive gaze. "Why, im waiting for stars," he replied shortly, a smile on his face causing the corner of his eyes to wrinkle slightly. "Plus the sunset is always a bonus...What about you? Why are you walking in the forest all alone, you might get lost if you're not careful."

His answer was pure and innocent, as was the smile that followed. If she were someone else, they would be comforting — inviting, even. But Dianne wasn't someone else; she was a girl, once — a girl who was fooled by feigned innocence and niceties, a girl who wanted to believe wolves could be trusted, despite everything.

She wanted it to be true, but life had beaten it into her skull time and time again that it wasn't.


"What about you? Why are you walking in the forest all alone?" He asked. The words that followed didn't register as Dianne was sucked into the deep recesses of her mind like light into a black hole. A memory once hidden away for months now flooded her senses.

"What are you doing out so late all alone, Dianne?" The voice asked. It was deep and rugged — unmistakably masculine. Unforgettable. She couldn't forget his expression that appeared so full of concern. She couldn't forget the sickly sweet smile, nor the lunge forwards that followed. How his teeth stung. How she just barely got away.

She couldn't forget.

Dianne's eyes were wide open, but she could not see.

Greyback's nose twitched as there was no reply, only the raggedness of breaths. He looked her up a down, taking in her stance that was even more rigid, and the wide shock of fear on her face. Her eyes seem opened, but unfocused, not even looking at him. He felt something deep within him, a fear.
"Dianne?" He asked, slowly, very slowly getting up and walking so he was beside her. "Dianne, can you hear me?"

No reply.

"Dianne do you know where you are? Who I am?" He added, his voice soft, but not a whisper.

The memory faded, and her dark mind finally released her from its grasp, allowing her to float back to the surface of the murky water. When the world came back into view, the first thing she noticed was that Greyback was much closer than before — dangerously close. Dianne reeled back with a start, panicked eyes glued to his worried mask, honing in on that wretched scar.

"Dianne, do you know where you are? Who I am?" He asked in that deep, unmistakably masculine voice. The faces merged into one.

William... She breathed, eyes unblinking.

Run.

Run!

Run!

Her mind repeated the word like it was the only one she knew, and she backed away from the monster before her, eyes locked on him so that she could react to anything he might try to pull. But she ran out of rock to stand on and tumbled to the ground. Dianne scrambled to her feet, unfazed by the pain from the drop. The adrenaline pumping through her body made everything but Greyback and her rushing thoughts fade into the background. Run and run she did, twisting and turning aimlessly through the trees. It didn't matter where she ended up as long as it was away from him.

"William..."

The voice was hushed like a whisper, a breath easily swept up in the tense air between them. Blinking, Greyback looked down at her in shock. William? Who was that? He perked his ears and opened his mouth to reply, only for Dianne to stumble back. "Dianne-!" he shouted, alarmed at her sudden movements. "Are you ok-"

Stilling, he watched as her form jumped and disappeared into the trees. He was confused. What had happened? Had he done something? He was half tempted to follow her but remained still where he stood.