Stone Circle There is nothing holding me back

for all the wolves she hasn't met yet @Nikai @Alya @Evergreen @Thistle

Arlette was thrumming with excitement when she heard that there had been new wolves joining. One of them was the famous Nikai. Arlette heard her mommy talk about Keoni and Nikai before. Especially since her own sister was named after Keoni. Plus, there were also two completely new wolves, brother and sister. It was really excited to have new wolves that she didn't know yet. So the girl was going to actively trying to search all of them. At least to welcome them to Easthollow.

She was tracking wildly all the unfamiliar wolf scents. She was not sure who she was following, when she came upon another one she didn't know the girl instantly changed directions. Not very effective but then again, she didn't really have the tracking skills of her mother yet. She wondered if she ever got that. For now, the girl was just an excitable teenager eager to meet other wolves.

Nikai had been looking to meet his most recent siblings who'd been born this year. It was odd to view them as siblings, for although Valette had raised him Nikai had always been aware of the fact that he was not really hers. Then again, the siblings of the year before had always been really his too; the bond he had with Steph was like that of a big brother to a little sister. Keoni would always be his OG family, but Valette's children would always be his siblings in a way.

It just so happened that he ran into of them that day. He figured she might recognise him easily considering his missing leg, as he imagined Valette had told them about him joining the pack. She seemed young, but Nikai wasn't entirely sure what Valette's kids looked like, so he didn't want to make any assumptions. Hiya! he called out with a friendly smile as he approached her, and he hoped it would be enough incentive for her to share her name so they could make introductions.

Arlette looked up when she heard a voice. Her eye fell on a dark colored male with white tiny spots over his body. He has green eyes but they were definitely a different compared to her mother's green eyes who had brown in them. She instantly grinned when seeing him. "Hi I am Arlette!!!," she called out excitedly. Her tail was wagging. She was almost her adult size but she was not very big. She would always stay smaller than her mother.

Her red eyed were beaming. "Are you my brother, Nikai?," she asked, she was pretty sure she was right because her mother had said that her brother had three legs and this wolf definitely had tree legs. Arlette didn't care so much for that, it was exciting because he was different, just like her.

The name Arlette immediately clicked with Nikai, and a smile appeared on his face as she introduced herself as such. She was clearly Valette's daughter. Nikai thought it a nice name, which sounded a lot like her mother's name. It didn't surprise him that she had already heard about him, either. Yep, that's me, he agreed when Arlette asked him about his identity. She didn't stop and stare at his leg, which was a big bonus considering most wolves he met immediately looked at that first, then started asking questions about it.

Nikai was not entirely sure what he should talk about with his sister next. They'd never met before, and he was happy to get to know her, but he knew nothing about her. What sort of things do you like to do for fun? he asked, deciding that the best way to get to know her was to either talk about or do things she liked.

Arlette was excited to get to know her brother. And maybe he knew more about her family than she did, like telling her who was also white in fur coloring. It was important to her. "Yay," she gri nned excitedly and had trouble sitting still. She remembered her mother scolding her to be more calm though. She really tried to be but it wasn't always as easy.

"Umm. Many things!!," she spoke. "Mostly hanging out with my friend Nuna. I recently learned that she is family because Xan is her papa and he is Mama's brother," She chatted to him. "I don't like hunting so much because mama is always telling me what I should do. Oh! OH! What I also like to do is make others happy so that is why I want to be a mediator and therapist!" She glanced over her older brother. "What do you like to do?"

Arlette was quite an excitable girl, it turned out. Nikai smiled at her as she said she liked many things, and then started to explain she liked hanging out with her friend Nuna the most. He vaguely remembered Xan being Valette's brother but he had never actually met Xan himself. Wasn't the fiery furred girl from Xan's pack, too? Bearclaw Valley, he remembered that much.

It seemed that they had some things in common, since she wanted to be a mediator and a therapist where he was working towards being a coach and mediator. Nikai smiled and said, That's nice! I'm working for becoming a mediator, too. And I'm a coach, so if you ever need any help with anything, I can help. He thought for a moment, then asked: Do you know if there's any trouble in the pack between members? Maybe they could work on a mediator case if she had any materials to work with.

Arlette's eyes widened when the male spoke of also wanting to become what she wanted to become. "Wow! Yes! I would love the help or even work together," she admitted to the male. If they would work together then they could make wolves extra happy. Or at least that was her idea of it. The female smiled at the male.

"Oh yes. Greyback and his daughter Ira have a troublesome relationship especially after he became leader. Before that it was bad. But it is a long standing thing," she spoke. "And Mawk has been sad when Illecebra died. And um... Merrit has difficulty with our dad vanishing." Those latter were of course not really between existing members.

Nikai couldn't help but smile when Arlette agreed enthusiastically to work together. Great! he responded, happy that she seemed at least as excited as he about it. You could always learn from the experience of others. He contemplated telling her about Alya and Vespera and his plans to bring them together, but decided to hear if she had any stories about Easthollow first. Maybe there were other things going on that were a little less close to home for him, or more important things to focus on.

Nikai listened as Arlette began; it seemed she had some stories to share, indeed. He hadn't realised that Greyback and Ira were related until Ira had told him. Nikai wondered how they'd gotten together in one pack if they had such bad relations with one another. That's sad, he couldn't help but remark. It must be awful if you don't get along with your parent... Do you know what caused it? Maybe if they knew the cause they could think of how to help them get closer together.

Then there was Mawk. I've been looking for Mawk so I could help out, but so far no luck. Hopefully he would find Mawk soon; Nikai didn't yet know that his help would come too late and he would never find Mawk.

As for Merrit, that was a different case altogether. Nikai had met Merrit, but they'd mostly spoken about Keen that time and not so much about Merrit. I met Merrit briefly, but we were looking for Keen then so we didn't talk about that much. It had to be hard when your father vanished, though at least they had Greyback to fill some of the gaps, right..? How about you? What do you feel about your father's disappearance? He couldn't help but go in coach mode for a little bit.

Arlette thought about the reasoning why Ira didn't like Greyback but she wasn't sure if she knew the exact reason. "I am not sure," she admitted. "I think something about him leaving. That is usually the case, I think. My father left," she stated. She wondered what she would do if she found out Stark was alive. "If I found out that my father was alive and living somewhere else I would investigate and see why he did those things."

Arlette slowly shook her head. "Mawk is a difficult case," she agreed. "I don't think he will get ever over the death of his wife," she sighed. "I hope he will. But... I don't know how. Talking doesn't help with him," she explained. She slowly nodded when the conversation shifted to their father. "It is difficult. I have been angry, but mostly because I saw how upset mommy was when it happened. I still don't understand. But... I was never close with him as Merrit was. I went to explore and play with wolves that were around. Stark was sick so I didn't go to him. Sometimes I feel guilty about that but then I remember he left. Or well 'vanished'. I don't know. It is confusing. So I feel more for mom than for myself? Is that strange?"

Nikai nodded as Arlette explained about Greyback leaving. Nikai couldn't imagine what they must be like: He'd never known his biological father, and his adopted father had died. And Valette was still right here. He nodded, remembering from his talk with Ira that she had told him about Greyback leaving when she was born. Their stories were surprisingly alike, except the wolves surrounding them had changed everything in the stories.

Arlette confessed that she didn't think Mawk would ever get over his mate's death. Nikai frowned and nodded. You've tried talking to Mawk? he asked, since Arlette said that talking didn't help -- she must've tried already, then. Nikai had not been able to find Mawk so far, though considering he had also called for him he wondered if maybe Mawk didn't want to be talked to or found right now. Was hard to help him, then.

Nikai listened as Arlette explained about Stark. He nodded a few times as she explained. Then, as she asked if it was strange, Nikai shook his head and smiled reassuringly. Everyone deals with things in their own way. I guess that's why Merrit has more trouble with it, because he really misses Stark, while you were mostly looking out for Valette. And she's doing pretty well, now. Nikai had felt a little guilty when he had left because he wasn't too sure if she would be okay on her own, but he was glad to see that her other children had helped take care of her -- and also that she had taken care of herself, by finding someone that made her happy again. It caused a lot of friction in the rest of the pack, it seemed, but Valette was clearly much stronger and better for having Greyback in her life.

Arlette nodded. "I've tried but he wasn't very responsive to it," she explained to Nikai. She didn't have much contact with him after that. Maybe Nikai had some ideas about how to deal with Mawk.

Nikai was very helpful with his answers. She slowly nodded in agreement. "I guess so," she agreed with him. "I do care for mom a lot," she nodded. "Still, I wonder what made him feel so bonded to Stark. I didn't..."

Arlette didn't really think about her dad often, but she did find it strange that Merrit was so bonded with him and she wasn't. Maybe dad hadn't liked her as much as he did Merrit?

It was almost as if Arlette was worried that something was wrong that she didn't feel bonded to Stark like her sibling. Everyone is different, Nikai concluded on the matter. But I'm glad to hear you're not having as hard a time with it. She reminded Nikai a little of himself; he too had lost wolves in his youth but he had always battled himself through the pain by helping others instead. It seemed Arlette was good at that too. It's easier to help others that way. When you were feeling sad or lost it was a lot harder to help your family find their way.

Arlette slowly nodded at her older brother. 'It seems so. I was mostly upset because he hurt momma," she admitted. In fact, she could not remember her father that well only for a black mass with pale blue eyes. Keen had his eyes. Hence why she remembered. "I'm glad that we can get to talk about this. It is very helpful," she kindly smiled at him. It was good to have a sparring partner about these topics. "I find it difficult when I cannot help someone, like Mawk. I want to help but I am not sure what to do or how to make them feel better. Are some wolves incurable, you think?"

Nikai smiled when Arlette said that she was happy the two of them got to talk. He was always happy to help. I'm glad, he said. You're always welcome to find me if you want to talk. Even coaches and therapists need to talk about their own things sometimes.

Then Arlette went on to say she found it difficult that she couldn't seem to help Mawk. That she wasn't sure what to do about such situations. Nikai frowned, feeling much the same, but time had taught him to deal with it better. It's not impossible to help someone who doesn't want to be helped, but sometimes it just isn't enough. All we can do is our best, though. And sometimes the little things make the biggest difference for someone who has lost all hope, things we did that we didn't realise ourselves. Nikai hoped that Mawk would get better, but if he didn't want to talk about things then there was little he or Arlette could do for now, except be there for when he decided he was ready for help.

Arlette nodded and then smiled. "Yes, I think that is very important." Especially since she was new to this. Sometimes she would get down when she had someone that didn't want her help or who she couldn't help. "Thank you, Nikai," she smiled.

"I agree," she spoke after listening. "But I find it still difficult to deal with it. It is something I will work on," she smiled then. It was good to know what she wanted to work on. "You can also talk to me if you want to talk about therapist stuff."

Nikai smiled, glad that he could help Arlette out. It was amazing how much of himself he recognised in her even though he wasn't Valette's biological son and therefore shared no connections with Arlette by blood, that he knew of. Maybe upbringing had more to do with how you turned out than how you were born, Nikai concluded.

Nikai nodded as Arlette mentioned having a difficult time with Mawk. He felt much the same, but he hoped his words could inspire some sort of hope in his sister anyway.

She concluded with offering him help whenever he needed therapist talks, too. Nikai smiled softly, appreciating this reaching out muchly, and said: Thanks, Arlette. That means a lot to me. I guess that your siblings won't all like me just because I'm their brother, because you haven't met me before, haven't seen me when you were growing up. It's good to have a sister like you.

Arlette grinned back at the speckled male when he thanked her. It seemed their feelings were mutual. "I think they will be open to like you. At least I hope. Mother taught us that family is very important and that we have older siblings that were traveling. She would tell stories about Steph, Clary, and Ezra. They are all living their lives as well. She also told me about you so you aren't a complete stranger. I guess my other siblings are just more doing their own thing."

Arlette had noticed that she was more social than her siblings. Merrit was rather expressionless most of the time, or he was trying to hide his feelings. Keen had been very timid for some reason. Arlette was glad to meet other social siblings like her big sister Steph. "I am sure you will do great," she assured him.

As he had done before to her, if was now Arlette who comforted Nikai. He smiled softly at her words and said: Thank you, Arlette. He let the gratitude linger a moment before he decided, I should go find my mate -- I'll see you around! And with a friendly wave of his tail Nikai said goodbye to Arlette and made his way off, unless she had anything more to say or ask of him.