Greatwater Lake Let my heart be your shelter

The woman was leaving the woods. Well, she'd left.
It made no sense for her to stay and she feared greatly for her friend out in the winter. What is she had no joined with a pack and was alone? hunting would be hard enough in the snow, let alone with her mangled paw. Besides, her friendship allied her with the girl and, with no pack binding her, she saw it fit to keep to her promises. Her silent vows she made to protect those she cared for, especially when they could not themselves.

Any hope of tracking would be lost in the snow, the woman had no inkling on where she would've gone. To go out herself was madness, but the dark witch, Enchantress, had left. So she did too. Built for harsh conditions, the woman didn't know why she was fretting so much; probably the fact her homeland was much warmer even in winter. Alas, she just had to go and pray her Fathers genes withheld and protected her. Alongside the presence of Mephala, the Night Mother. She hoped she'd be accompanied by the invisible form that seemed to follow her inside the woods; more so after her offering.

Her offering to Peryite. The twisted crow that had been lain upon the altar, the woman could've sworn it'd beak opened and closed to form words. Yet no sound came. She thought it's black, sunken eye had turned to her; controlled not by the mind of the deceased. But the one beyond that. Peryite. Her presence had been there that night, and she watched as Flicker backed up from the over-grown altar and ran. Of course, she knew not it was just the creatures already making the corpse a home that had caused the movement; but she wasn't about to double check.

Now, stood up to her elbows in snow, Flicker looked across the expansive lake, contemplating everything that had transpired before this event. And what would become of her next.

It seemed that Rue would be revisiting her past frequently, now that she would call home these lands she had passed through on her initial journey into the Teekon Wilds. Rue remembered this lake well, even though it had been the height of summer when she last visited its serene shores. Rue had met a wolf here--Coriander-- who had seemed a little aimless, much as Rue had been at that time of her life. Perhaps this lake had magnetic effect upon the wanderers and waifs of area, drawing in all those lacking any direction of their own. 

The champagne woman's gaze was drawn to a spot of fiery copper amidst the washed-out scenery of snow and ice. Rue watched for a long moment, but the owner of the conflagrant coat simply stood, unmoving. Curious, the Disapora scout moved closer. When she was within earshot, she carefully settled the duck carcass she had been carrying into the snow. She then sent a friendly woof in the direction of the cherry-coated woman, her tail sweeping behind her invitingly.

A woof snared her attention, drawing it from the lake to the source, a wolf of grey with a puppyish face. Young, yet old. Wise. The woman took in her posture, the greeting. Warm in the frozen land. She tilted her ears before moving to approach, mirroring the others tail.
It wouldn't hurt to make a friend.

"Hey there," she greeted, hoping that this being would be as welcoming as she seemed. "Congratulations on your hunt,"  she decided to comment. Opening up and being friendly was only a good idea, besides winter hunting was hard. Any catch made was worthy of praise, even from strangers.

The copper-coated woman succeeded in her endeavor to appear friendly, and Rue picked up her prize to close the gap between them. Percpetive as she was, Ruenna detected a certain dissonance threaded into the woman's contrived words, but this did not alarm her. It was a wolf's nature to hide vulnerabilites from strangers, and it was quite possible that that the carmine woman had been confronting some manner of inner pain when Rue approached her. 

Rue settled the duck into the snow once more as she reached a comfortable speaking distance. "Thanks, neighbor," Rue returned. "I was hoping to trade half for a conversation, if you don't mind the company." Sharing her meal was a small price to pay to strengthen neighborly relations, and the collection of scents the stranger carried had piqued Rue's curiosity.

The woman smiled softly yet with melancholy. Neighbor perhaps not for much longer, for the woods were home no longer. “You don’t need to share your meal, a conversation is welcome enough for Blackfeather Woods is no longer occupied.” There. The inner turmoil that had chased her black-tipped banner to this lake and abandoned the fallen kingdom. 

Other packs would find out eventually but hopefully not before the others, the dark master and the two youngest members, had left. “I trust you take to ill intentions with that. There is no harm from those who stay there.” It was true, for as far as she knew those still there had done no one wrong. But with the grudges between packs, it seemed almost certain for something to happen.
The woman took a slow breath, waiting for the response.

The woman declined Rue's offer to share the catch, but she welcomed the opportunity to converse. Rue's tail waved amicably. She wouldn't push the stranger to eat if she was uncomfortable with the offer in some way, but Rue left the rabbit in the snow between them just in case she changed her mind. Rue supposed she could understand the woman's inclination to avoid being beholden to strangers. 

"I'm sorry to hear this of Blackfeather Woods," Rue expressed, her brow furrowing in an expression of true empathy. "I also lost my home in Blacktail Deer Plateau recently. It still feels like.. like a giant hole has been carved out of my heart." The edges of Rue's mouth tightened against the stab of pain she always felt when speaking of her former home. Although... she had noticed that each time she shared a little of her pain-- even with a stranger-- the stab was not quite so sharp the next time around. 

The woman seemed nervous about Rue's reaction to hearing that she had been a Blackfeather wolf. "I've heard the whispers," Rue allowed truthfully, "But I prefer to make my own judgements." Rue reassured the woman with a small, friendly nod. Even if there was truth in the rumors about the dark practices that took place in Blackfeather Woods, this woman would not be judged overmuch for the associations of her past. Life was too short for that, especially when so many wolves were just simply trying to move forward.

The woman nodded in understanding, she too felt the soft pang of where security should be yet it wasn't bad. Not as bad as the time she lost her home.
Home, so far to the south; she'd been so long gone from there that she'd lost her ways. Her accent.
The woman sighed softly, the only sign of her mourning the loss.
"I am sorry to hear that you too have lost, I trust you have found a new home?"
Faintly, the scent of others was on the coat of the stranger. She must be new to the group she'd joined.

After a few moments, she introduced herself, "I'm Flicker, and I thank you for not judging me for the pack."  Her ears tilted slightly, listening to their surroundings. It seemed safe enough to keep talking. 
"Say, I don't suppose you've met a Maegi Melonii. A memorable character with a deformed front left paw and torn face."  Concern was etched into her features. She prayed that the woman may have an inkling of the whereabouts of her friend.
She supposed this would be where her search started.

The woman was quite perceptive, it would seem. "Yes, I have settled among the wolves of Diaspora. We reside at Arrow Lake, for the time being." Rue gave a small toss of her muzzle in the direction of the territory. 

"Ruenna Redfern," Rue returned. She obsevered that Flicker was aptly named, as the colors of her pelt seemed to dance like fire with her every movement. She tilted her head curiously as Flicker glanced around, clearly about to say something that she did not want overheard.

"Maegi?" Rue answered softly, racking her memory. "I did meet her awhile back, and she said she was journeying to her 'old home.' That would have been Blackfeather Woods, I suppose." Perhaps Flicker was looking for Maegi, as displaced wolves often looked for former packmates after a disbandment.

"She was resting from her travels in the hot springs northwest of here. It is possbile she might revist the spot... she seemed to like it well enough." Rue gave a shrug, wishing she could be more helpful. At least it was a direction.

The woman nodded, reserving the information. It may come in useful later on for her. Especially if she didn't find what she was looking for. A friend and a pack. Something to give her a lead, something just to make sure her friend was safe.

But it seemed hope would work in her favour today.
It was the thing the woman clung to; if she didn't she wouldn't have a direction, a goal. Something to make and mold life from.
The hot springs. Siqsa. She turned her head in the direction, her brows furrowing. Her eye still hadn't healed fully, she didn't know if she'd see fully from it again. The snow certainly helped the swelling but she didn't see much else that could be done. There would be a mark there forever, and perhaps her eye would be kept a quarter shut forever. "Don't suppose you know of a Siqsa, too?"
She wondered if the man of hell-fire still roamed or if he indeed had gotten on someone else's bad side.

"Siqsa?" Rue echoed, expression clouding as the woman mentioned the name of the young hellion who occupied a soft spot in her heart. The way Flicker had asked, it sounded as if she wasn't aware that Siqsa had lived with Rue in Blacktail Deer Plateau. "I suppose I do. But I haven't seen him around these parts in a moon or so." Rue was certainly more reserved on the subject of Siqsa than she was when they had been discussing Maegi, but that was only natural. Maegi had been Flicker's packmate, and Siqsa had been Rue's. 

"If you have a list of wolves you seek, you might consider joining with Diaspora," Rue offered casually. "We range all of the Sunspire Mountains, which would give you the opportunity to continue your search while enjoying the safety benefits of a pack." Just as she had respected Flicker's choice to decline the meal, Rue would also not push if Flicker dismissed the offer of asylum. But Rue had to at least try... Diaspora could use a perceptive wolf like her.

The woman nodded thoughtfully. He wasn't around here then, perhaps, but it didn't matter much. "I don't know if that's good for me or him," she grinned. It didn't bother her much to joke about the fight the pair had. 

Then, she was offered a pack. The woman furrowed her brows and softly shook her head, "No, I still need to go back to the woods."  She wouldn't disclose why, even if this woman didn't care; others clearly did. "I appreciate your offer greatly, however. Thank you." She smiled softly, her tail stirring, "I'll make a point to visit when I can." 
Perhaps one day, when her thoughts settled more and summer returns, she would. If she didn't find a place before, but she'd keep in mind the pack Diaspora. It seemed like an ideal pack for a wanderer such as herself.

Flicker's words seemed to hint at a less-than-amicable encounter with Siqsa, but judging by her grinning expression she hadn't been to bothered by the boy. Siqsa had a habit of rubbing others the wrong way, so Rue wasn't altogether unsurprised that this was Flicker's experience. It was the main reason she had hidden her connection to the boy-- she wasn't sure the sort of impression he would have left on a Blackfeather wolf. 

Flicker offered a vague excuse as to why she couldn't join with Diaspora, but Rue accepted it without question. She wouldn't push; Flicker would come to them when she was ready, if a pack like Diaspora was what she sought. 

"Please do," Rue returned with a small smile of her own. "The red sand canyon east of here is a good shortcut to Arrow lake." Noting the reddish hues in the woman's fur, Rue added offhandedly, "..Also good hunting grounds for a wolf with your pelt."

If Flicker did indeed travel the red sand canyon to visit Diaspora, it was likely Amsu would find her first and offer her a home in his sanctuary. However, this possibility did not bother Rue in the least. What was important was that Flicker found her happiness and her best fit, no matter whether that was in the Redsand Sanctuary, Diaspora, or anywhere else in the Teekons.

The woman tilted her head, in curiosity. She'd heard of canyons, seen the red sands in the distance but she'd never gotten close enough to them. She'd have to take a visit to Diaspora, then, if only to hunt in the canyon.
She supposed it'd be a surprise to see if there was anything worth hunting in a canyon, too.

Her mind stirred. She needed to hunt again, at least fill another cache before turning to the Wilds. Perhaps she'd find herself again, go back to her roots. She wondered what she'd find out there.
She tilted her ears, "I should be going now, got to make a few catches of my own," she explained with an offhand smirk, starting to turn to her familiar hunting grounds; the meadow where Arana healed her. Or at least tried to. Things liked to bury themselves there, it seemed.
"I'm glad to have met you, Ruenna. I'll be sure to see the canyon too." 
The woman waited for any response before, with a parting dip of her crown, the woman started off to hunt, picking up the pace the further she moved from the woman, as to not seem to be running off.

Flicker made to dismiss herself, and Rue nodded in understanding. She regretted that her company had to depart, but Flicker's kind words brought a spark of warmth to Rue's eyes. She was also glad to have met her flame-pelted company. 

"Good luck with your hunt, and your search. Stars guide you, Flicker." Rue gave a parting nod. She watched Flicker depart for a long moment before turning her own course eastward.