Stone Circle mourning dove

@Arlette

whatever remedies might have been offered had proven ineffective. alsek’s nightmares hadn’t stopped since they’d began, leaving him sleep deprived and detached. he often drifted here or there without aim, simply content to move, to be awake. 

alsek stumbled over his paws toward the seemingly distant border only some yards away. polaris hadn’t seen him yet on this day, allowing him some time to wander without worrying about his next excuse. he didn’t want her to worry; after everything he’d done, what good would further burdens do?

there was a blackbird there, an apparent fledgling. alsek blinked to keep himself awake enough to observe.

It had been tough after burying her loved ones. But it made way for her to start taking care of herself again. She had tried to clean her wounds as good as possible. When she couldn't reach a spot she would ask for help. She had cleaned herself too, not walking around like some dead corpse herself. Her fur was white once more, but the wounds on her one side were still raw and open. They were especially deep on her neck and shoulder.

The girl usually was awake at night since during the day she didn't really want to run into many other wolves. She didn't need to hear how brave they thought she was. She hadn't been brave at all. As she was wandering - slowly walking really - to keep good blood flow and have her shoulder not be permanently stiff, she saw a young wolf. She frowned, who was this? She woofed softly to let the other know she was there.

Arlette was not used to her new look yet, so the one where her neck was scarred on one side, from her neck to her shoulder. Deep marks by her throat and her face littered with small scatches. That along with her ghostly pale fur and red eyes, probably have an eery sight at night.

approaching footsteps caught alsek’s attention almost immediately. carefully, he turned around, his body using its final energy store to grimace at the woman’s condition. there were wounds on her body, easily seen against the backdrop of otherwise stainless white; are you okay? he asked, forgetting to even introduce himself.

alsek wanted to take a closer look but had recently learned more about boundaries; in a situation such as this, one would do good to keep their distance. still, he couldn’t help but to shift himself sideways for a quick glance before returning to his original position.

he adjusted himself, wincing at the numb pain in his hindlegs. they ached from standing to long, but sitting wasn’t an option because of how easily it could lead to sleep, and sleeping could lead to—

so he decided to deal with the pain, reminding himself that eventually, it would go away again. my name’s alsek, he told her, what’s your name? she was a beautiful woman, just like their matriarch, and so he couldn’t help but to ask.. what kind of flower do you think you are?

Arlette's ears swiveled forward when the youngster spoke. She slowly nodded. "I'm coping," she admitted to the other. If she said that she was fine that would have been a lie. The female stepped closer, he did smell of other wolves here in Easthollow. Mainly Polaris, it seemed. It was clear that he was part of the pack. "Are you okay?," she asked in return, he seemed to have some discomfort as well.

The female nodded softly, though quickly stilled her head when that movement hurt her wounds. "I'm Arlette, nice to meet you Alsek," she greeted in return. She was glad that he wasn't too startled by her looks. It made her forget for a bit that she was so heavily scarred now. The female was surprised at the question and opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself. "A trampled flower," she then returned softly.

what’s that look like? alsek asked, trampled flowers are very pretty, probably. how else could arlette liken herself to one, if not based partly on her appearance? although scarred, she was alive, and that meant (in his mind) that she could be nothing but stunning.

then, he realized that arlette’s original question went unanswered and said, oh, i’m okay. it wasn’t a whole truth, but it was good enough. i’m just taking a walk, but you can walk with me. that way, he’d have an excuse to stay awake longer.

Arlette swallowed thickly. "Well, a flower that has been damaged, some leaves missing, knacked stem but still alive and trying to survive," she admitted honestly. Since well, that was kind of how she saw herself. Someone that was trying to survive and cope with all the loss she had suffered along with the physical wounds. "What kind of flower are you?," she asked the other.

She dipped her head in a nod. "I'd like that," she spoke and then started to walk with him. "Are we walking to anything in particular?," she asked curiously. Perhaps the young male had a goal to walk towards.

arlette’s explanation didn’t quite match alsek’s expectation, but it did make sense, given her obvious trauma. maybe i’m trampled, too, he mused with a subtle shrug of his shoulders, but.. i don’t know. could he describe himself that way? was his experience really bad enough to compare to something physical, something which had left actual scars? he was too young to understand the varied levels of pain and only knew that whatever it was, he didn’t like it very much. 

she accepted his invitation, much to alsek’s delight. i don’t think so, he told her, do you want to go somewhere? while awaiting her response, he released a small yawn, subdued by his own effort to keep his tiredness secret.

Arlette looks dover the other. She didn't expect that answer form the young boy. She didn't think that he was that damaged but perhaps from the inside the boy was wounded. She looked at him with understanding. She could understand how he might feel. "Perhaps one day you will find out," she spoke with a soft nod. "You know, maybe we can find a flower for each other? You will find one that you think looks like me, and I will do the same for you. How does that sound?"

The female then looked around. "I might know a good place," she commented to the boy. She turned and looked over her shoulder. She didn't catch the yawn but she felt that the boy would tell her when he was tired. The girl started to walk. She had the slope in mind that was on their border with Bearclaw. It had such a nice view over the forest, stones and fields below. It was a bit of a climb but perhaps that made the boy tired enough to sleep.

okay, yeah! alsek’s tail began to wag behind him, gentle then quick as his mind wandered to the topic of flowers. despite his slowly fading interest in aesthetics, he was still fascinated by the idea of medicine, and couldn’t feasibly pass up the opportunity to learn more.

alsek didn’t want to ask what this place looked like (what if he annoyed her?), so silently he would muse about the topic to himself until the pair’s arrival.

Arlette walked with him towards the border. She noticed that he was a little quiet, but that was perhaps because he was tired? She stayed quiet as well. The slope was soon starting and it reminded her of the time she climbed a real mountain with Kaito. She missed him terribly. She felt lonely. Perhaps the only one she could talk to was Siarut but he seemed to be busy with raising his pups. She climbed the slope which was soon crowning. It was already dusk but the view was clear.

Out on the plains were the dark flecks grazing in the distance. Their bison. And a little bit more parallel was the smaller hill with the stone circle. The forest was close to hugging the circle, and spread out far beyond their territory. She looked at Alsek. "This is Easthollow, from the plains with the bison, the heart with the stone circle, and the forest around it." She hoped he would like the view.

alsek’s eyes widened with interest as he leaned forward, into the view. everything? he asked, his voice small and breathless. this was their home, easthollow, which meant that all of this was now his home, too.

sun continued to set, but he was too focused on watching the bison to notice. those are bison? alsek asked, what’s.. a bison? he couldn’t remember ever seeing one, and couldn’t imagine what they might look like up close.

Arlette nodded in answer to the boy in confirmation. The pale female let out a soft sigh. She had not known better than these lands. She had never left the pack until recently, and that had not been treating her well. She thought at first it had but... it brought a lot of baggage back.

"Yes they are," she confirmed. "Bison are big and massive. They are not like a deer, they don't run when seeing us, if fact they often grow defensive when seeing a wolf. That is what makes them very dangerous. I find them a bit scary but most of the adults help with hunting them. If you want to see them up close my mother, the Matriarch, can explain more about them," she admitted.

She was not on good terms with her mother but if Alsek was curious about them, and wanted to learn then Valette would have been the best bet for the youngster. "She watches them daily from the circle," she pointed out.

do you want to fade with them talking? sorry i’ve been slow with him :(

arlette’s words painted the bison crimson and black — dangerous, to quote her, were the stone circle’s guard. alsek continued watching them move, his mind weaving tales of what was and could have been, all the while growing more drowsy.

Sure! No worries at all we can fade here!

Arlette looked at the other, casually chatting with him and if he might grow tired she would there to watch over him. She was glad that the pup found somewhere to sleep. He would need it. If not then she would just keep chatting with him. It would keep her own mind occupied.

-end-