Stone Circle and i've lost a few good friends along the way

AW - tags for reference <3

there was no rejoicing in indra's dulled gaze as she sat outside of the den, all but absent despite being laid silently across the sunstone. @Laurel was inside, and along with her, @Riley, charles and @Louie. indra could scarcely bring herself to look upon them; she either felt overwhelming hatred, or drowning guilt -- both of which rose up in her belly like a vitriolic cloud.

she skulked. she lacked the wherewithal to follow through with her convictions, and loathe as she was to admit it, she was too soft. her betrayal she spoke of to no one. the puppies were far too young to form coherent speech, and the only witness to her crime seemed to be the river.

crossing one thin limb over another, indra rested her head and reminisced. oddly, it was @Casmir that floated to the forefront of her mind, an inexplicable ghost that had not resurfaced within her memory for some time.

Steph was entirely unaware of what went on in the lives of the wolves she didn't know, nor was she particularly concerned with it. Valette had accepted them in, and they didn't seem to be causing any drama. She knew that one of the females had given birth, but she hadn't yet met that female, or her children. Regardless, they needed looking after and that's what Steph wanted to do. 

She had caught a rather plump hare, and it currently hung limp in her jaws. Blood trickled from its neck from where she had grabbed it, but it was otherwise unmarred. She approached the den cautiously, assuming the mother wolf would be on guard. She caught sight of the other female, and paused several yards from where she basked. Set the hare down on the ground. I'm Steph, Valette's daughter, she introduced. I've brought some food for you, she added, assuming she was the mother. I know new Mom's don't like to leave their pups, but I wanted to make sure you were cared for. Because Steph had not been properly introduced to these wolves, she didn't realize her mistake.

casmir, sitting alongside her, vanished -- ripped from her mind like soft smoke on the wind. indra's mahogany gaze danced upward, catching a glimpse of the svelte woman that had helped her chase the intruder from their borders. she made to rise, coming to a sitting position as she watched steph approach with a bloodied hare in tow.

as it turned out, indra was misidentified. she could not say she blamed the woman, for indra was lingering just outside the den, and she scarcely knew anyone in the pack besides her family and valette. offering a smile that was meant to be encouraging but lacked depth, indra replied. "that's not me," she motioned inside: "that's laurel that has the kids. i'm indra, her sister." she dipped her head, grateful but composed. "thank you though. i think she'll appreciate a fresh kill."

It seemed Steph had mistakenly identified the she wolf on the boulder, but it didn't seem as though Indra, as she introduced herself, was offended, thankfully. Her tail waved, Nice to meet you, Indra. If she prefers something else, just let me know and I can catch something for her, Steph offered. She didn't know of many wolves who were particular about what meat they ate, but Steph wanted to cover all bases. 

Sitting back on her haunches, she hoped Indra didn't mind some conversation. Have you been here long? she asked. She knew they had been here before she returned, but didn't have any idea beyond that.

indra was quick to brush by the mistake; it could have happened to anyone, and she faulted steph little for it. "one moment," she excused herself, taking the hare with an appreciative smile. she turned towards the den and a brief exchange was heard -- indra told @Laurel of the woman outside and how she had gotten a hare for her -- and then indra reappeared shortly.

"thank you --" indra smiled, knowing laurel would likely be relieved to eat something besides cache-food. "we haven't been here too long, no.. but i like it here. it's nice, and i like the stones. what about you?" as valette's daughter, indra assumed she was quite familiar with the place -- possibly even born here -- but she did not recall if she had ever met steph as a puppy during any of their easthollow expeditions from bearclaw.

Steph nodded as Indra excused herself and took the offering into the den. Hopefully, her sister would approve of it. She returned a few moments later, and Steph directed her attention to her, glad to hear that they liked the place. 

I was born and raised here, she explained. I did go off for a little while, and just recently came back, she confessed. Since I hadn't been out on my own, I wanted to experience it. And she felt she had. She was much more comfortable being back home. She didn't have restless paws, and she didn't wonder what was beyond the borders. Now she knew. Where were you before you came here? Steph asked, curious.

steph delivered a handy synopsis of her life; thus far, she seemed to have had some journeying under her paws. the mother in indra smiled, relieved for valette's sake that one of her stray cubs had returned home. but oh-- that made her think of merrick! the smile was dashed from her face and a shadow stole across it, troubled.

where was merrick? was he safe? was he okay?

she knew the answer -- at least, to the last two.. and quickly, thought of something else.

where were you before you came here? too many places for a short answer. indra smiled apologetically. drawing in a breath, she thought of how best to answer concisely: would 'everywhere?' suffice?

"we've done a fair bit of traveling." indra started, realizing she did not much want to relieve (or reawaken) the demons of her past. "but around the time you were born, i think laurel and i were in bearclaw valley. it used to be a pack, you know. back then it was very small -- we ended up having to leave, and lived in lost creek hollow for a while." thinking of the hollow, and terance, brought a sad flash to indra's deeply expressive eyes. "but we had to leave to look for one of laurel's children."

she had said too much, she thought: at least, so much that she likely had given rise to even more questions with her explanation. "but i like it here. i hope we stay."

Indra spoke of Bearclaw Valley, and Steph's ears perked to attention. Yes, indeed, she knew. She and her sister had escaped from the borders of Easthollow, intent on exploring the mountainside of the other's pack. Xan had caught them just before they reached the top. Steph had been weary of him, unwilling to follow his orders, unyielding to his threats of telling their mother. Steph would not have minded if he told. Yes, tell her that she refused to follow a stranger! Even now, Steph stiffened on the inside. She was still as stubborn as ever, even to the memory. 

Of course, it turned out Xan had been telling the truth, and that he was their Uncle. But, the relationship had never been mended after that day. Steph didn't think he was losing any sleep over that, because she sure wasn't. Yes, Xan is my Uncle, she admitted to Indra. There was no bitterness in her voice, just facts that came out of her maw. I'm unfamiliar with Lost Creek Hollow, though, she added. 

Steph smiled when Indra expressed her wishes to remain here. Me, too, she responded. Steph thought Indra was very nice, and while she hadn't met Laurel yet, the first impression was that she was a dutiful mother.

indra thought she detected the subtlest shift at the mention of xan; what was that fleeting expression, that darted across steph's inscrutable expression? she did not wish to chase it, but she was curious all the same. perhaps there were familial tensions at play -- indra certainly would have understood.. after all, did she not come from the most broken of families?

it didn't matter steph knew not of the hollow - it was a chapter in indra's life closed forever. "it's not that far from here." indra mentioned casually, belatedly surprised that for a pack so close by, steph did not know of it. "nice people.. but they had no room for laurel's puppies." an edge of bitterness cut her voice; were they truly nice, given they had turned her and laurel away to the dogs? indra tried not to think of terance's betrayal, for that was a knife that sunk deep and twisted in her thorny heart.