Emberwood We keep on waiting for the miracle to come

Aw!

In one of his dreams, he was being chased by someone he recognized. A huge, bear-sized wolf with a white pelt and yellow eyes. His legs were tired, heavy and slow- no matter how he tried it seemed impossible for him to run and escape her. 

When he awoke, he forgot about the dream, but something that had appeared in the last, split second of his dream did stick with him. 

As dawn spilled through the forest, he made his way along the Northern fork in the river toward the borders, where his voice might both be sent out into the open and rebound off the mountains. 

For @Ingrid he called. Summoning her to the forest that lay at the feet of the mountain that stood apart from the rest, in the Emberwood where Arcana had begun to lay its claim.

she was not far from the woods, having crossed over the mountain some time ago.  she wondered if she would truly hear from him again; many wolves made promises, though few had ambition and fewer still had what it took to bring them to life. 

she howled back, a low one-note call, before she made her way to him.  as she made her approach it was clear that, from face value, he had chosen an advantageous position.  she wondered how she would fare, nestled up against the foot of that broad mountain.

she stopped a few paces away from him.  it is good to hear from you, bronco.

When he heard her reply, his tail immediately started waving. She was much closer than he'd anticipated. He'd figured his call would go unnoticed, and that he'd have to rove farther in order for his voice to reach her. The surprise was welcomed, though it took everything to keep him waiting patiently for her to appear. 

He uttered a few affectionate, rumbling growls when she came into sight, and he ambled forward with kind of a side-skip, tail up and waving. Given the fact she'd mentioned Nyra in their last conversation, he'd worried about what she might go through. 

"Good to see you too, Ingrid!" He said, and gestured. "This is, uh, where we're gonna live. Thought I'd make good on my promise, y'know, and give you a shout once we found a place. D'you wanna come check it out?"

he had such a youthful, boyish look to him that it made the ache in her creaking joints more apparent.  she could not hold it against him for long.  it was clear she was welcome here, by his body language, by his words.  it struck her heart. 

yes, she answers simply.  it looks like you chose well.  she would not know until she saw, had walked the perimeter herself.  she was eager to begin marking, claiming.  it was in her blood.  do you have a favorite spot?

It seemed like she approved of the Emberwood, which made him feel better. He still felt a bit as though he was pushing the others to like the place just because he liked it, and it felt safe. But with each passing day, he was reassured that he'd made the right choice. The forest had been kind to them, and he hoped it would continue to do so. 

"Actually, yeah," He said, and motioned with a jerk of his head. "I mean, there's a couple of nice places here. The river has two forks that run into the forest, so there's good water here but not too much that I'm worried about flooding." He admitted. His lips thinned for a moment, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled what flooding looked like. "But there's this really neat kind of...Ah, I don't wanna give it away, I'll just show you." He decided, with a light laugh. 

"How were your travels?" He asked, light concern edging in around his tone.

ingrid had experienced very little flooding in her life, and the thought perplexed her.  how could water rise enough to encroach on the land in a way that would truly affect them?  even though she did not give that danger the credit it deserved, it was still a comfort that he did not think it would be an issue.

she nodded, and should he lead her she would begin to follow.

she had run into not a single soul since she had parted with him last.  i talk to no body.  ingrid took in a breath.  i am here now.  her ears flattened as she realized she might have burdened him with this talk of her loneliness.  how many are our numbers?

He felt relieved when she said her travels had been solitary. She’d mentioned Nyra the last time he’d seen her, and that could have potentially been a red flag. Fortunately, she was unharmed, which likely meant that she was telling the truth, and that she hadn’t seen the scarred, white wolf. He hoped it was an omen that Nyra was indeed very far away, and would not reappear in his life ever again. 

She was direct, and it caught him off guard, but didn’t unsettle him too much. ”Pretty small thus far, but I imagine that’ll change over time. I travelled here with my mate, Fennec, her brother Fig, and our young friend, Blueberry.” He said. ”We’re all packmates from a previous pack so we’ve been together a while now.” He explained.