Stone Circle my middle name, my goodbye

for @Valette

The sun had vanished behind the thick wall of clouds again, and Mawk's spirits dampened with the flurries of snow tipping like a sad celebration of confetti at a party that he wasn't invited to - he no longer appreciated winter for what it was, and started blankly at a pile of the cystals gathering at his paws, lowering down to let his breath steam over them, purely to watch the dusting melt and dissolve into nothing.

He felt like that sometimes, morbid as it was.

The scout moved onward, dragging his gaze across the white in search of something, anything else; his eyes were once filled with the burning of red fires, scorching flames and sparks of life that reached to the sky and danced with the stars. Now? Now they lay dull in his pallid skull, and the fiery amber had been quenched, drained. He wasn't quite sure he cared.

Now to find... something. He still didn't know what he was trying to find - Illecebra had always been his guide, but who was to lead him now?

Valette had been looking for Mawk. She had scented the Mawk around the territory but hadn't really seen him as of late. The female was wondering about the male, and curious to know how he was doing. She was pretty sure that he wasn't doing well so that was why she went looking for the male. She caught a fresh trail and followed it. She almost missed him as he was lying down in the snow.

Valette trotted closer to him, a dark shape approaching him. "Mawk," she called out softly and trotted closer. She nudged his muzzle with her nose. He was one of the longest members in the pack. He had stayed loyal after all these years. Valette wanted to do something in return for him. She knew what it was like to lose a mate, these were the critical months.

The sound of Valette's voice caused golden brows to crease together like a scar between his eyes, leaving silence to linger as a pallid ghost beside him before attempting to roll his head around and peer at her as her nose made soft contact with his muzzle. Though he'd been content to wallow in his own self-depricating dispair, the gesture was somewhat welcome and he appreciated the sudden pull from his thoughts. Thoughts could be dangerous.

"Valette," he murmured, lifting his head from the ground before dipping his chin with respect; no matter his woes, she was still his alpha, and, he hoped... his friend. He was in dire need of friends, when even the wolves of easthollow seemed distant from himself.

Valette noticed that Mawk's reaction was muted. The female wished that he would try to continue on living. She approached the sad male. The female went to lie down before him in the snows. She knew he was feeling down after Cebra's death but as harsh as it sounded, he should give her a spot and let it rest. "I noticed that you were fading in the background, Mawk," she started with a soft tone. "I know it is not easy to continue life after the death of a mate but this is not what Cebra wanted for you," she spoke.

Her hazel eyes looked straight at him. She wanted him to know that she meant it and that the male should believe her. "I know what it is like to endure such a loss, so please talk to me. I at least know how you are feeling. I endured it, twice," she spoke and then offered him a comforting smile.

He let the alphess take her place beside him, and strained to focus on her words; he knew them to be true, but his spirit was so dampened, so dark... he just couldn't seem to take the necessary leap. Hell, he'd promised his late love that he would move on, but it wasn't so easy as just getting over it - if it was, the scout would've done it already.

"I know," he murmured, sucking in a frigid breath. "I'm sorry for your losses - if i'd lost a mate twice... I-I can't imagine that pain." If valette had felt the same terrible curse he had, then she was near enough one of the damn strongest wolves he knew; to survive such horrible fate, it was unfathomable. "I just... I don't know what to do anymore."

Valette offered a kind smile at the other. She felt a bit awkward with the fact that Mawk seemed to compliment her. That wasn't what she wanted at all. She didn't need the recognition. She was here for Mawk. She moved forward and nudged his muzzle. "You are strong too," she instantly spoke. "I am not here for me though, I am here for you. It is very normal to feel lost and unsure what to do," she returned to him.

Valette sat before him. "Mawk, what is something you like doing?," she asked the male curiously. "It has to be something you truly enjoy. It is important that you start to do the things you like doing, so you will feel happy. You should allow yourself to feel happy since Cebra wouldn't want you to be sad," she spoke to him.