Wapun Meadow oh, and the time is at hand

@Fraxinus (other tags just for reference)

it had been hell leaving @Nunataq and @Merrick behind. each step taken further away from them was another chip in her brittle heart. never in indra's life had she looked at @Laurel with such hurt mistrust in the hours after; leaving her children behind shook her to the core, and made indra feel plumb rotten.

not even stigmata had managed to rip so rough a wound in her; she felt as if she had been skinned alive and set forth through blistering rain. god, did the guilt ever go away?

morose and not feeling generous enough to hunt for laurel, indra slipped off while her sister was sleeping. wapun was a familiar territory for her, and as she sat underneath the cold mantle of wintry stars, she felt even more wretched than ever. glancing up at the milky constellation of distant gods, indra wondered if her children were looking too -- and if like her, they felt miserable unmoored from their tethers.

Fraxinus no longer spent his days and nights worrying about being pursued. The shadows were no longer filled with threats from his past, but his yellow-blue eyes were wary yet. Wolves of the past might well have torn him limb from limb and been glad of it, glad even to watch the carrion birds strip him clean of his flesh, but that did not mean he was safe. Fraxinus did not smell the markers of a pack boundary through here, but he smelled other wolves, and crossing other wolves was always a gamble. One might be friendly, or neutral, or perhaps it might be a particularly bad day and he’d run into some vicious savage. He hoped to not run into the latter anytime soon.

Fraxinus still had no idea where he was going. After a moon of travelling, the silvery wolf was still without a home, and his dull unkempt fur, showed he was not faring as well as he had when he was a high ranking enforcer of Azure Ridge. To have a choice share of the kill was definitely something he missed, as well as a meal larger than a hare. At the very least, his pale coat allowed him to blend into the wintery surroundings, giving him an edge in this harder time.

As he stepped out into a meadow, his tread grew more hesitant. He looked about furtively, head high as he scanned the area, ears flicking to and fro, nose twitching as he inhaled the scents on the cold, crisp air. The night wind ruffled his thick winter coat. He stiffened and his ears laid back against his head when he spotted movement ahead of him beneath the starry sky. Another wolf.

He took a step back, holding one paw lifted. He wasn’t sure if he dared continue onward, but it was just one wolf. Just one. Not a pack, and he didn’t see or scent any others. Fraxinus glanced around again, just to make sure, then he stepped out onto the meadow. A mask of confidence held his head high, his ears erect, and added a spring to his step.

As he neared the stranger, Fraxinus felt as if he could read a cold melancholy hanging over the she-wolf. Perhaps it was the way she sat staring up at the stars, all alone. He himself had done the same, and it was often with sadness in his heart that he was now alone. Stars were little solace, though; cold, distant specks of light. They offered him nothing.

“Good evening,” Fraxinus greeted, several wolf lengths away. He stopped and wagged his tail in an attempt to appeal to her.

marten's moral compass was completely out of whack. it pointed in directions that were the complete opposite of what he was told. marten don't come. but marten had to come? he blatantly disobeyed his mother and his aunt and his alpha. but it was for his own good. for their own good. indra needed marten, whether she wanted to admit it or not. marten refused to leave his mama behind, she needed him.

papa was strong, nuna was adaptable, merrick was independent. marten was none of those things without indra. he would not let her leave him. 

he snuck out. early one morning. he followed indra's scent trail until it was nightfall, and then he kept pushing onwards. until he saw her, in the middle of the snow-covered meadow. and! ugh! and a stranger! he approached his mama with nothing but amiable movements, but marten was upset that he couldn't reunite with his mama in private. she would be so excited to see him! he knew it. he tried to not let it show that he was upset, instead calling out from a distance-- trying to steal her attention away from the stranger, marten deserved her attention-- and beginning to race forwards. 

"mama!" he barked, tail wagging as he sprinted towards her. almost a grown boy! oh, he grew up so fast. still young, by many accounts, but bigger now than he ever had been. as he approached her rounded on indra defensively, pressing to her side, turned the opposite way she faced so he could see the stranger. "i'm here mama," he said quietly, bi-colored gaze focused on the stranger with caution, despite all the shows of friendliness he displayed.

a silver-furred wraith moved across the snow, and indra kept his presence noted in the corner of her vision. she thought he might pass her by, but he did not leave her wondering for long, for his course adjusted and he approached. the redleaf's posture held the faintest thread of anticipation, but she remained neutral -- almost pleasant -- until another figure caught her attention.

marten. no, "MARTEN!" indra sucked in a gasp of shock, rising at once to flank him. she pressed her nose to his lifted muzzle and snaked around him assertively - she was half furious, and half relieved to see he had followed her. discreetly she cast her gaze about them, wondering if nunataq and merrick had come as well. from the little evidence of scent on marten's coat, it seemed they had not and indra's stomach settled coldly.

yet she could not be unhappy in this moment, seeing the cherubic face of a child she had left behind. laurel would be furious - but indra had always been the softer one, and she was overjoyed to be reunited with marten; so much that she nearly forgot the stranger that had just moments before greeted her.

realizing her error she straightened up immediately, and her posture went from pleasant to coldly protective. unless he made it clear he was benevolent down to every last guardhair on his silver pelt, indra would be on alert. "evening. who are you?"

there was clipped small talk, and after a few measured moments indra decided this man was likely not the company they sought. sparing him a slender smile, she ushered marten away - eager to return to laurel's side.