Heartblossom [Kaori]

[Cascade]

The summer heat had long gone, blown away by the cool autumn breeze. The leaves had not yet fallen, still clinging to the trees in many hues of yellow, red, and orange. It was peaceful in the ruins, though Kanut had always found them mysterious, and it was there he lay in a broken-down archway, waiting for MoonFlower to arrive. Since meeting in the caves, they had seen each other fairly regularly. Though she was a loner and his home was with the Eternal Snowfall, they had managed to keep correspondence and meet regularly. Kanut supposed that made them friends, but the word had a certain strangeness to his ears.

Despite his best efforts, his past still hung over him like a dark cloud. All his questions remained unanswered, and his life went on, half-lived. It stung his heart, but the insidious thought kept creeping in that it would be better if Rhiannon were dead. If he could know for sure that she had passed away, he could have closure. As it was, he was racked with guilty every time he felt as though he was beginning to move on, and he knew that others had begun to notice. He didn't want to burden MoonFlower with his loss, so he hadn't told her a thing. He hadn't even had a real discussion about it with Piala, short of brushing off her concern.

Kanut pushed the thoughts from his mind. MoonFlower would be here soon and he had to try his best to act normal, for her sake. Even if he couldn't let himself be happy, there was no guilt in pretending to be happy. He groomed his fur, straightened his posture, and put a smile on. Today was going to be a normal day, even if only for her.

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Another breeze came, and it brushed against her light coat as she walked to their meeting place. Although he started as just another wolf whom she's had a brief contact with during her travels, she kept finding herself making appointments to meet with him again. Perhaps it was the odd air that hung around him, or maybe it was just the fact that he seemed to handle how little she spoke.

As her eyes looked over the many colors of leaves along her way, she made a mental note to visit the forest of love in the spring time. Though it was most certainly full of amazing colors, fall was here, and it heralded winter - a time where food was plentiful but having pups was nearly out of the question.And she felt the need to have pups soon, even if it meant going to go meet a strange wolf in a strange forest. She mentally shrugged to herself, knowing that she wouldn't mind the situation when the time came, and she found that one wolf that would be able to handle her silence and always know how to make her happy. When such a time comes, it will feel natural.

Her ears peaked as she came close, her pace quickening a bit as the other wolf came into view. Thoughts of mating would wait, she has a meeting with a friend to attend to. Quickly, yet quietly she padded towards him, smiling faintly.

"Good evening, Kanut."

[Cascade]

He nodded cordially to her when he saw her approaching. "Good evening, MoonFlower," he said, "You look well." He hoped he looked well too; he didn't want to have to make any hasty explanations. "Have you been eating alright? Winter will be coming soon and small game will become much more scarce." It was somewhat hypocritical of him to worry over her when the last thing he wanted was for her to worry over him, but he had always been a pack wolf. He knew nothing of the loner lifestyle, and it was amazing to him that so many wolves could even survive on their own. He had never wanted status in his life, but security was something he could never give up.

[Deleted]

She nodded a bit, "You look well too, as usual."

She casually looked him over, only offering him that faint friendly smile. She was glad that he was worried, though she was perfectly capable of handling herself during winter and didn't need him to worry, the fact that he did meant that there was enough connection between them for him to have cause to worry.

She came to sit close to him, looking out and almost seeming distracted for a moment as thoughts of pups and love forced themselves back into her cranium. "Winter is a good time. It is fall that is hard."

She vaguely expected to have to explain how exactly winter was easy...though it was probably easier as a pack wolf, as it was all the time, it was still a good time for food for her. Not only were the bigger animals weak and abundant enough for packs to often leave enough food left on their kills for loners like her to scavenge off of, but since she was white and light grey -and therefore easy to hide in the snow, she basically lived on the hunting plains during the winter months and would sometimes be lucky enough to spot one of those bigger game animals already dying, with no pack animals around.

Yes, winter was a good time.

[Cascade]

They had little in the way of conversation, as usual. Kanut wanted to think that the strength of their friendship precluded the need for much chatter, but he knew the real reason had more to do with his own emotional distance than anything. There wasn't much discussion because, quite frankly, he wasn't much of a wolf anymore. He appreciated the brevity of their exchanges, for after all it meant he didn't have to give much in the way of a response, and he really did enjoy her company very genuinely. He just wished the situation were different.

He noted her comment about winter and had a few guesses as to why she would prefer it, the advantageousness of snow to a white wolf being the most obvious. Still, he worried for her. Some winters were harder than others, and it was easy to go hungry if conditions were poor. It was easy to be lost. The last thing Kanut wanted was for MoonFlower to be lost to him too.

"I've been thinking." He said, breaking the silence that had followed her statement. It was probably a given that Kanut was always thinking. Certainly he wasn't spending that time talking. "I've been thinking that the Eternal Snowfall would be a good place for you. Especially with the winter coming. You will still have plenty of freedom, but you'll have a stable home to return to. At least give it some thought."

[Deleted]

Her ears twitched and swiveled a bit as he spoke to her and brought his own views to their conversation.

"Home..." she repeated quietly to herself, thinking it over. Surviving would definitely be easer..even if she did well on her own...she would have other warm bodies to sleep next to...and could enjoy Kanut's presence more foten. Then the thought of pup came to mind again. It would be easier to find a mate in a pack of wolves. Her tail swayer gently at the thought, and she smiled somewhat too as her eyes sparkled with the idea. "A home would be nice.."

[Cascade]

Kanut was happy by how receptive she seemed to the idea. It was certainly a big decision, and he didn't want her to feel like he was pushing anything on her. "Yes, it is a very comfortable life." It wasn't a lie, his home was one of the best territories in the valley, if not the best. "I feel like you would be well-suited to pack life. If you want, we can go talk to Piala, the alphess, about your joining. The packlands are quite a walk from here, but walking is good for one's health."

[Deleted]

It was quite a big decision, indeed. There were some things she felt like she would be giving up if she were to join a pack, but when she thought about it the reasons to join far outweighed the reasons not to. Eating would be easeir for all seasons, finding a mate would be easier, raising a family would be easier...and it seemed to make Kanut, her only stable friend (besides the moon) happy.

So, it was decided then, that Moonflower would join her friend's pack...if she was allowed to. But Kanut seemed decently confident in her ability to apply so her worries ebbed away into nothing. "Then let's walk." she said quietly, getting up to start. "would you tell me about the pack on the way?" she asked quietly, waiting for him to get up and guide her.

[Cascade]

Kanut nodded, getting to his feet. "We'll head north first, taking the long way around. If we go south we'll have to walk directly between the Frigid Plague and Dark Donoma territories, and I'd rather not get caught in the crossfire." He sniffed out the right direction and pointed MoonFlower in the right direction, waiting until she went first so as not to walk ahead of her. He hadn't forgotten his manners in all this.

"Eternal Snowfall is the oldest living pack in the valley," he began, giving his vocal cords the kind of workout they hadn't had in months, "Generations ago there were scores of wolves living in the meadow that is our home. In my lifetime it had never been so large, although recently its ranks have been bolstered due to the many newcomers from outside the valley. For a while, though, there were very few of us. It was just Piala, myself, and—" his explanation stopped in its tracks, and he was only so lucky that his feet didn't stop too. For a fleeting minute he had been able to push Rhiannon from his mind, but there she was, clawing her way back again. He hoped that MoonFlower wouldn't notice him swallowing the lump in his throat.

"...and another wolf. But then the remaining members of Bright Timber—another good pack that was struggling to keep its ranks—joined us, and we've been prospering ever since."

[Deleted]

She nodded slightly and began the walk- listening to Kanut as he spoke. She smiled slightly to herself for most of it, happy (for some reason) that he was comfortable enought o talk as much as he was. And it wa slike that for a bit, before he stopped.

Her ears twitched slightly as he paused, and she did notice what he didn't want her to notice, but she made no moves that might indicate such a thing. She nodded when he was done talking about the past of the pack. "And the alphess?" she asked,curious about what he thought of his leader.

(we can end now if you want and just let it be chatter as they are walking away )