Sun Mote Copse Danger days

Setting inspired by this video.

Life was, in a word, idyllic. Wildfire's lips twitched into a smile as she sat beside the western creek, simply enjoying the sound of the water, the backdrop of birdsong and the foliage bursting with greenery around her. She yearned to return to her pups, yet she told herself to simply sit still a few moments longer and enjoy the tranquility.

There was something else that compelled her to linger here. Life looked perfect on paper, yet Wildfire had unwittingly stepped on an emotional landmine the other day, when helping the hormonal @Niamh. She had walked away from that encounter feeling like her insides were on fire. All at once, it felt so right and so wrong to be drawn to the blonde this way. Niamh was currently carrying Colt's pups for one (and probably wasn't into girls, for another), but, much more importantly, she had @Eljay, who was currently sitting their two growing children.

Wildfire swallowed, eyes dropping to her petite paws pressed gently into the damp, stony soil beside the creek. She could feel it happening: she was falling for Niamh. And how could she possibly control her emotions? She couldn't, she could only choose how to behave in response to them. And there was absolutely no reason to suspect Niamh might ever reciprocate her feelings. Wildfire knew she must absolutely suppress them and never tell a soul.

She sighed, then rose to all fours. But instead of going home to her mate, she began strolling south alongside the stream.

The delicious scents of Finley and Niamh had teased Wraen's mind for a while. Then had come a week during which her brain was more obsessed than usual to have a male companion and those non-available fellows at Firebirds had been viewed as potential husband materials. And then it was all over, her former infatuations now seemed silly and laughable, and she was back being her happy and content self. All romantic dreams were safely reined in by an electric fence called rational mind. 

It had been the second season for her, she had known, what to expect, and knew that by the third, fourth and fifth, should she live that long, it would be even easier to weather them. She enjoyed the elation, the consciousness that she was beautiful and attractive, the giddy feeling of being nearly in love. In her first year she had mistaken these hormone driven emotions as something real, now she understood the workings better, took it as an inevitable spell, but knew that she should not be making any life-changing decisions during this time. 

And all this two paragraph long premise to tell that, when Wraen came across Wildfire, she had no beaus or beautettes on mind. Quite the contrary, she revisited a lovely old story in her mind, now and then speaking the best quotes out loud and playing the "movie" before her eyes. Quite like her writer, who has a small list of feel-good books that are reread time from time, just to get the feel and simply be happy. "Hey!" she called out to the russet pelted leader, when she took notice of her, and therefore left the heroine of her story on the brink of making a very important decision. "Haven't had a chance to chat with you for a while - how is motherhood treating you?" she asked with genuine interest.

She was alone with her thoughts as she meandered, though Wildfire tried to guide them away from the so-called forbidden fruit. As she was trying (and mostly failing) at this endeavor, a distraction presented itself in the form of a pack mate. The instant Wildfire noticed Wraen, she immediately thought of her father. The Tradesman's coat was paler, yet the color scheme was familiar and the resemblance sort of uncanny. She had never taken such notice before. Wildfire had already liked Wraen well enough, though this made her feel even more endeared to the woman. She ruefully observed the utter lack of romantic nuance to this particular bond.

"Hey Wraen!" the Sovereign greeted, black tail fanning the air. "It's been too long," she agreed as they closed the gap. "I haven't had many grownup conversations lately," she mused with a chuckle. "I can't complain. Everything's more or less picture perfect," was her answer to her comrade's question. She felt a flicker in her gut, almost a guilty sentiment, as if that was a fib. It wasn't, really... Wildfire was happy with her life. And she couldn't let this little crush overshadow that.

"How're you?" she demanded in the next instant, very genuinely curious about the latest goings-on in Wraen's life.

"Spring's definitely treating me better than winter," Wraen replied, smiling. There were still less sunny and warm days than she would have liked, but food was not scarce anymore. She had fattened up a little, no longer reminding a skeleton with a plush fur coat. And she had Maia - the jolliest, wittiest and most loyal friend a girl like her could wish for. In brief - life was good. 

"How are the little ones doing? Need a hand now to look after them?" she asked. Up until now she had taken a polite distance from the two newborns and the little family, not wishing to disturb them and seeing no use in her help. However, now that five weeks had passed since their birth, she wondered, if Wildfire would like to have her or Maia as nannies time from time. Little kids could be overwhelming and she remembered fondly and proudly as well, how she had given an "out" for her mother at that time.

"That's good to hear," Wildfire said cheerily when Wraen mentioned the turn of seasons. "Winter can be quite a bitch," she added. She wasn't usually one for swearing but it really was nice to converse with an adult without having to fear the pups overhearing and picking up naughty words. She punctuated this comment with a cheeky smile.

"Visitors are always welcome, sitters especially so," she quipped in reply to the Tradesman's question. "I'd love for you to meet them. They're starting to socialize and I want to make sure they know everyone in the pack and vice versa." Wildfire paused, then invited, "We could go see them now, if you'd like?"

"That would not make much of a holiday for you, would it?" Wraen smiled, assuming that Wildfire did not get much away-time and that such moments of freedom should be cherished. Especially now, when the little brutes were teething and each feeding time must be painful. She had her own mother's patient, but weary look in vivid memory, when nearly two-month old Maia and her comrades had almost pushed her off her feet in their attempt to eat as much as possibl. 

"We can hang around - if you are in no hurry to leave just yet - and I will visit Eljay and the little chics later in the day," Wraen offered her own plan. Maia was away for the time being and she would enjoy company in the evening. Plus - perhaps, the lucky father would be interested in continuing his education at story-telling. "I can be even so generous as to invite you over for a lunch!" she went on. "I have some grouse remains hidden and, if I remember correctly, I owe you some, don't I?" another reason to visit her and Maia's "apartment", if Wildfire had not already done so.

Wraen pointed out that Wildfire shouldn't abbreviate her free time for the sake of a visit that could happen anytime. Wildfire bobbed her head at her pack mate's suggestion and replied, "Sure, that's fine too." In the next beat, the Tradesman was inviting her for a meal, to which the Sovereign added, "I wouldn't say you owe me but I'm happy to take you up on the offer!"

She urged Wraen to lead the way with a point of her smudged snout, black tail waving. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until food came up. Now that she was aware of it, Wildfire realized her stomach was veritably pinched. She wasn't surprised—nursing rapidly growing puppies was a big ask on her energy reserves—but it made her all the more eager to get to those leftovers.

Wildfire agreed to come along and Wraen winked conspirationally in response to the argument that she did not owe her leader anything. Not in a very strict sense and she knew that there was no debt whatsoever, but still - her conscience would be much better off with the lunch shared.

As they walked towards her home, Wraen was having an inner battle of, what she wished to ask Wildfire and what was considered appropriate to ask. The reason being very simple - another season had come and gone, and she had a feeling that there were couples settling down and popping children out all around her, while she was the same as the spring before. 

While she kept telling herself that she had enough to do and had a full life, that she was well-off a husband and a bunch of children, the fact that she had never been even in a semi-serious relationship bothered her a little. Not as naive to believe the perfect-bride, love-at-first-sight and they lived happily-ever-after stories to be true, a romantic in her had not entirely given up on the hope that one day she would have it all.

Time was her enemy though - next year she would be in her golden years. If she wished anything to happen until then, she had to do something about it. If there was anything at all. "Ummm... Wildfire - mind if I ask you a personal que... advice?" she asked, sounding a little unsure on, how to formulate, what exactly she wanted to hear.

The copse really was splendid. As they walked along toward their destination, Wildfire marveled at the changes spring had wrought, until Wraen's voice drew her focus back to her. There was no way the Tradesman could know about her crush on Niamh, though the Sovereign abruptly wondered if Wraen knew somehow and was going to press her about it. A beat later, she realized she was being totally irrational. Surely the woman's question had nothing to do with her personally.

"Of course. What's up?" she asked, forcing casualness into her tone.

Wraen was so wrapped up in her own troubles on, how to tell Wildfire exactly, what she wished, that she missed any hint of unease in her comrade's features. Even if she had, she would have written it down to the fact that the leader was not so eager to help out in the personal matters after all.

"Well, you have experience in relationships and having a family," just as she said this, she knew that she was not to a good start. But this was a beginning at least and she just had to keep going. "Umm... how do you get there?" another seemingly silly question, but she had no better way of asking. "I mean, it seems so effortless and easy, how the right people meet and mateship happens and everything and somehow... aside from few crushes here and there... I am watching this from the sidelines. If you wish for it for yourself... where do you start?"

As she waited for Wildfire to make sense of, what she had said and asked for, Wraen thought that at this moment Maia's offer to help out with anything would have come very handy. If only... if only she had the experience. But both sisters, though with an age difference, were still playing on the same side of the field.

Wraen's reminder (although not meant as one) made Wildfire's insides pinch with a flash of guilt. How could she obsess over Niamh when she had Eljay and their kids now? It wasn't enough to forbid herself to tell another soul, she should banish lustful thoughts of the other woman from her mind altogether, starting now.

She gave her pack mate's remaining remarks her fullest attention. Wildfire's mouth opened, then closed, as she thought back on how she'd acquired her three mates. She and Floki had been youthful sweethearts, friends become lovers; Thuringwethil had been a slow burn as the two came to terms with their feelings toward each other; and she had crashed into Eljay, longtime kin, genitals first. No one method had secured them and she wasn't entirely sure she could answer this question.

But she didn't want to leave her friend hanging, so the Sovereign thought on it a bit longer before saying, "I guess the one common theme in my relationships has been knowing them a while before things turned romantic. All three," Wildfire said, clearing her throat a little awkwardly, "were friends first. That's not the only way to find a lover, it's just how it's happened for me. Maybe if you have any friendships where you feel there could be more, you could test the waters?"

Wraen's impression about Wildfire had been close to one a person might get, when they watch sit-coms. A common theme: after 100 girlfriends (or boyfriends, depending on the character) - ranging from random hook-ups to few serious cases that do not work out - 10 seasons, spanning over many years, comes Mr. or Ms. Right. For a split of second, therefore, she was perplexed by the simple explanation, because she had expected a more detailed history. Then came the realization that it had been the same for her parents - they had known each other for a very long time and come together not as people drunk in love, but rather two mature people, who had found out that they preferred and enjoyed being together rather than on their own. 

"Not really, no. Maia is my best friend and... I do not have any other to choose from," she admitted. Epic had been an object of interest for a while, but these feelings had mellowed down to a degree that she viewed him more as a reckless and funny younger brother than a possible mate-material. Besides him... no one else came to mind. Which was a surprising revelation to Wraen - she had assumed that she had many friends, but in reality there were very few.

Wraen confessed that she didn't have many friends, which surprised Wildfire. She was so charismatic, it was really hard to believe. But she wasn't wrong about her prospects, at least here in the pack. All the mature males were spoken for and, as far as the Sovereign was aware, not a one of them would be remotely interested in any sort of polygamous arrangement, should Wraen even entertain the possibility of such a thing.

That made her wonder if Wraen was traditional, therefore seeking a mate because it was "the thing to do" or if she truly wanted a partner and family. "This is something you want for yourself?" Wildfire decided to clarify, "A mate? And children?" There were other callings in life, though obviously, the pursuit of a mate and pups was a strong and natural one.

"I entertain myself with that thought occasionally," Wraen admitted. Truthfully enough, but she also wondered at times, whether this was her wishing for progeny or wether this was the in-built clock inside her, reminding her about the time that was passing by. Maybe... when that mechanism stopped going, she would think differently.

"It would be nice to get to experience and feel for once, what it is like," she clarified. "I do not wish to have a mate or children just because everyone else does," though in part she was concerned about this "lack of" in the relationship department, while everyone else seemed to have it so easily. "Family... I see it as a big project with two people that trust and like each other involved," she mused, her thoughts drifted off for a bit, but then she went back on track. "But I also accept the fact that this does not happen for everyone. And that I can fulfil my wish for a family a different way," she finished, though on the latter part - she did not yet know, how.

Wildfire listened without comment. Wraen wanted the experience and reassured the Sovereign that she didn't merely want it just because and that she knew there were other merits in life. She sounded extremely pragmatic about it and Wildfire realized she must have been thinking about it a lot, and thoroughly, to approach it with such a level head.

"There's definitely more to life than the cookie cutter mold, though if that's something you desire, you should pursue it," Wildfire rejoined. "You could try getting to know some of the eligible bachelors in the Redhawks or maybe go scouting and see what you can find out there... just as long as you bring him home, once you find him," she continued with a wink before thinking to tack on, "or her."

"That's the problem, really," Wraen replied with a smile, appreciating Wildfire's positive encouragement. "I have wished this for a year now, I have met many people along the way. There were nice and great people, kind and interesting and yet most of them I have never met twice," she recalled the last summer, conveniently forgetting that she had had no leisure to think about, what she wished for herself, then. 

"And there were hardly any that I felt the special spark with," she explained. "The one, when you know that this is a person I would like to keep. When you know that you will become good friends." Come to think of it though she was not entirely correct in her assumptions. Tambourine and Bernard had been pleasant distractions, they had not minded her whimsical manner of speaking and expressing ideas.

There had been Sunny, which she had viewed in an entirely pragmatic way - she had had a feeling that she could have him, if only she wished to reach out and grab him. There had been Dune at Moonspear, who was a bit of an opposite to her, because he had never wasted much words, but had not minded her throwing them away lavishly. Finally there was Rannoch, who had been her friend and who she had liked in part, because he reminded her of her own father and also was a walking definition of what she was looking for in a possible mate. 

"The older I get... the pickier I become. I do not wish to settle for less," she added with a merry chuckle of person, who knows herself very well, flaws particularly.

Wraen explained that she had put her feelers (and herself) out there, to no avail. None of the wolves she'd met had sparked even a friendship, much less a romantic interest. Wildfire's lips pursed as she listened. This was where any feedback she offered would be purely hypothetical. She had never been looking for love, it had always just sort of happened to her. And it would feel like a platitude to insist Wraen just sit around and wait, surely it would simply happen for her too.

"And you shouldn't," the Sovereign opined, "settle, I mean. But you should keep putting yourself out there, continue meeting people, if it's something you really want. It may not happen as quickly as you like or even how you picture it, but you give yourself the best chance by... networking, for lack of a better term."

Despite herself, Wildfire's mind began to circle back to Niamh. To stave off that train of thought, the Sovereign wondered, "What traits are you looking for in a possible match? Maybe," she suggested, chestnut eyes suddenly taking on a little bit of an impish gleam, "I could keep an eye out for you."

There is a fine line between I can't and I do not want to do it and Wraen had half-hoped that Wildfire would be in the reassuring mode, telling her that all will happen in due time and she just had to wait. However, her cousin turned out to have a more practical view of this and instead of offering to do nothing, there was an option to do something and right away. It had been a while, since Wraen had left the comfy quarters of the Firebirds' nest, quenching her own thirst of adventures from stories Maia brought back from her quests. And, frankly speaking, she was more inclined lying comfortably on the figurative sofa in her pyjamas and slippers and soft duvet, instead of going out in the world and creating her story. 

"Thank you for your offer," Wraen found the idea of Wildfire keeping an eye for the possible matches endearing and amusing, but she appreciated the good-will none-the-less. "Ummm... trustworthy and someone, who won't make me feel silly, because of my love for stories and sometimes childish ways?" were the first two things on her mind. "I don't wish to find someone exactly like me or someone, who would adore the very earth I am walking on... rather, a person, who has his own interests and passions in life, and who can - therefore - respect mine and not belittle them."

"The rest is up for the gods to decide and play with," she finished on a cheerful note. "What about those eligible men in Redhawks?"

Wraen's stipulations were broad enough that Wildfire was sure there were hundreds of eligible partners that met her parameters. She made no mention of particular physical attributes, which was both a bad thing (it gave Wildfire nothing concrete for leads) and a good thing (perhaps it simply didn't matter). She then queried after those Redhawks candidates the Sovereign had mentioned a moment ago.

"Finley has several sons still living there," Wildfire said, thinking immediately of Tegan. She didn't know him well but, from what little she did know, she didn't think he fit the bill. He had disrespected Kiwi, after all, and there was the matter of Bat as well... "We could go visit sometime and I'd be happy to meet up with them with you, if you like?"

"Ummm... okay, I guess," Wraen was a little uneasy with the whole visiting Redhawks with marital prospects in mind. "But, maybe not in that straightforward manner? Uh... have a different purpose in mind and mine as a side-thought, so to say," she was stumbling through words now, her embarrassement with the matter obvious.

"Anyway, thank you for your advice and offer," she decided to end the subject, but then another thing occured to her. "If you do not mind... Any advice on "do"s and "don't"s, when it comes to getting to know new people? I mean, it's not that I have not met a fair share myself, but I realize that my way of talking and witticisms might be difficult to digest on the first take," she was rambling now, but after a little thought something else came to mind. "Uh... how do you keep a conversation going, when you feel it's stalling? Especially with people you do not know well?"

She could see she'd put Wraen on the spot with her suggestion, so she smiled warmly and reassured, "I won't take you over there to parade you around, promise. We can visit in the name of sisterhood." Hopefully that took some of the edge off her comrade's embarrassment.

Wraen closed that subject, only to open another. Wildfire was happy to lend an ear. She listened astutely as the Tradesman requested interpersonal advice of a different but related nature. Wildfire felt a little more confident about this matter, seeing as she'd spent a good deal of her life working to be an ambassador.

"Respect goes a long way when it comes to first impressions. But unless you're on official pack business, there's no need for formalities. You should be yourself. And sometimes that may mean you don't hit it off with this or that individual. Not everyone is going to get along and that's okay."

She paused, thinking briefly, wanting to answer Wraen's actual question more pointedly. "But if you want to keep the conversation flowing, it's always best to ask the other person questions about themselves. It'll help you get to know them and hopefully get the conversation flowing naturally."

"I like that better," Wraen nodded, feeling grateful for Wildfire's willingness to help out and not realizing then, that they would never get to carry out that plan. It was very likely that on her quest to find a husband/wife material Redhawks would not be her first stop either, because she would lack the courage to approach people from unknown house. 

"What is safe to ask them? Especially on the first meeting," she asked. She had been a chatter-box from early life to this very moment, but it was good to gain new insights and learn new tricks. "I mean, in order not to step on their toes by accident? I recall one meeting with someone and I made a joke about grandparents and he replied morbidly that they were both dead. Made me feel awkward and stupid, really," she recounted.

"What is the best way to get out of a conversation that is struggling and not going anywhere?" she had had plenty of those as well.

*quietly hopes this thread goes on for ages* I think it's one of my last active ones before she got sick!

What were some good icebreakers? Wildfire nibbled on the inside of her cheek as she considered. She huffed a quiet laugh at Wraen's anecdote but did not say anything for a moment, picking her own brain for some topics to kick-start a conversation with a new acquaintance (and possible romantic interest).

"I guess you could ask the same questions a leader would ask a joiner at the borders, really. Only instead of grilling them about their skills, you could ask them about their interests. Or where they came from and what brought them here. Everybody has a story of some sort, right?"

In regards to the Tradesman's hypothetical scenario about a conversation going nowhere, Wildfire said, "You could always bow out gracefully if it feels too forced. Life's too short for boring conversations," with a little bit of a cheeky smile.

We can make that happen. My longest thread (and I think it was the longest on the board) was 110 replies long, took some months to finish, but it was fun. :D

Wraen smiled at the thought of her grilling a random stranger about such topics as - what's your age? what's your relationship history? do you have a mate now? the brightest points of your biography? the lowest? and do you want to have children next season? She could well imagine that the poor person would run from her screaming at top of his or her lungs. In the aftermath she would be deemed a threat to all people in 10 mile radius. Nah... Wildfire was right. You had to deal with these questions carefully and ask them in the right way and at the right moment.

"That's true - about boring conversations," Wraen agreed. "Though there have been exceptional situations, where the person is very interesting, but I cannot squeeze much out of them," she shared, recalling meeting one of the Blackfeahter woods wolves a year or so ago. A guy, who had climbed out of a story-book, mysterious and captivating and... she had not the least thing in common with him. "By the way - how do you deal with Eljay on daily basis?" she asked then, knowing that she was treading in somewhat personal territory, but still. "I like the guy, but, whenever I converse him, I get a feeling that there is nothing I can say that won't embarrass him. In the end I am not really sure, what's safe to tell him and what's not."

I remember that! I totally know I can count on you to help. After this, it'll only be 50 to go! :)

They could probably dive into a wonderful philosophical discussion about whether it was worth one's time to try to crack the shells of others, whether the risk was worth the reward and all that. But Wraen steered the conversation in a different direction, a more personal one. Her question actually caught the Sovereign off guard and she felt momentarily slightly offended. But Wraen was totally on the nose, of course, and Wildfire could certainly admit that. It was a totally fair question.

Snorting quietly over the relevance of her thought just a moment prior, Wildfire said, "Some shells are worth the hard work it takes to crack them, Eljay being a good example. You're going to make me eat my words," she observed with a laugh. "Eljay isn't boring but we've certainly had some forced conversations in our time. We've known each other literally all our lives, so we have a comfort level he's not achieved with many others aside from his parents, I guess. It's up to you whether it's worth your while to keep coaxing him but I can personally vouch that he's truly wonderful, once you get past all the anxiety... and fumbling... and nerves..." She trailed off with a laugh that was entirely fond.