Memories Past [Kaori]

[Juice]

The summer was about to merge into fall and the weather was beginning to get cooler. The cream and brown colored wolf stared down at her paws as she walked along and didn't get a chance to enjoy the lovely colors of summer before they slipped away. The wolf was young, she had only just seen her first year but it seemed she'd experienced enough tragedy for a wolf twice her age. Juniper thought often of her dad and sister but lately it seemed to be eating away at her. What was life all about if it could so easily be snatched away?

The wolf sighed and stopped a moment and realized she had wandered very far from her packlands. The towering Adoette tree came into the view of her deep brown eyes. She remembered this place from puphood and she had last come here with her father. The memories were nice but they still stung in her heart. Juniper looked around to make sure she was alone and walked up to the tree and stared up into the foliage thinking about life and what it was all about.

[Deleted]

When the weather started cooling down and the leaves started to change color, Venge had made his way to the forest. Like some form of big deadly pup, he let loose and spent his entire day running between trees and pouncing on falling leaves and skittering squirrels.

But even for those meant to be running, constant movement like that was tiring.

Now he gently loped across the valley, aimless, but looking for a place to sit and relax for a bit. he should sort out his feelings. He had been enjoying eing alone and fending only for himself and his interests (even though those interests were sometimes to help out others) but today had been a product of only one thing- boredom.

and loneliness....and irritation...and restlessness..and a strange emptiness...

Ok so alot more than one reason, but still he felt, the big problem was that he was bored- and he needed to figure out what to do about it.

Coming up on the single tree, he paused as he noticed a younger wolf just sorta...staring at it. He watched her a bit, wondering if he should ask if she was ok or let her work out her problems alone.

A wind kicked up, and he sniffed out more out of habit than to pry into information about her. She smelled pretty young. A mild form of concern arose in him and he found that he just HAD to approach her, though he did so slowly.

[Juice]

Juniper's off white ear twitched back as she thought she heard someone approaching, or was it just the wind? No she definitely heard a crunch of leaves and she turned her head. Juniper was still so young and therefore not very well traveled or knowledgeable about the ways of the world. Perhaps a more experienced wolf would have been more wary of strange noises but Juniper had yet to learn those lessons. Her brown eyes beheld a male wolf. He looked big and somewhat intimidating but Juniper hoped he was nice. She didn't move from her spot in front of the tree but sheepishly wagged her tail. "Hi there." she said.

[Deleted]

Once he was seen, he sat down so he didn't cause her unnecessary fear. For a moment he simple beheld her. She seemed more sheepish than afraid of him, a new and unknown wolf.

"Hey there." he answered in kind, "don't wanna pry, but aren't you just a bit too young to be out alone?"

certainly, Venge knew better than the young wolf about the dangers of being a lone wolf, because that's exactly what he's been for more than a year. Life was harsh for him, and it gave him the character he had at that very monment. He generally likes to think he's a good guy, but he wouldn't wish the same experience for any other young innocent wolf.

[Juice]

Juniper was relieved that the wolf seemed nice and non-threatening so maybe he was nice. She flattened her ears and furrowed her brow at his question. "Well...maybe..." she said, a little embarassed he was asking. Did she really look that young? "I wandered up here without really knowing where I was going until I saw the tree." Juniper looked back up into the foliage of the tree and admired how the leaves were already starting to change color. "My name is Juniper. Who are you?"

[Deleted]

He glanced at the tree when he turned to look at it. The colors changing sure was nice, but it made him make a mental note to find someplace in the forest to settle down and make a den in. Of course he was not one to make a permenant home, he found that prey was easier to get when they don't know that you're around. But winter was a harsh time, a time where one needed to have a den...and frozen ground was impossible to make a den in.

"Name's Venge." he answered, "Nice ta meetcha."

[Juice]

Juniper shivered as the cool wind blew her fur. She was reminded that winter would be coming soon but she didn't worry too much about it. After all, she had a pack with warm dens and a team of wolves to help feed her. "Hi Venge, nice to meet you." Juniper wagged her tail, she liked meeting new wolves. Being born into Eternal Snowfall meant she was subjected to the same wolves all the time and she hadn't met any new ones in quite a long time. "You know, I haven't met any new wolves on my own before. I was born into a pack so I only know the wolves I've grown up around."

[Deleted]

He regarded her for a moment but then smiled, "That tends to happen when you're in a pack. Only adult packwolves can wander because they can take care of themselves.." he raised an eyebrow at her, "Would you be able to fight if I attacked you?"

It wasn't condescending or anything, Venge wasn't like that. But he wanted to guage thwe other's personality and confidence. He already saw that she appeared to be friendly and a bit on the naive side..and he might have to escort her back to her pack, but he knew all too well that some young or newly fully grown wolves wouldn't take such kindness from a strange wolf such as him.

[Juice]

Juniper looked at Venge doubtfully. She didn't know if this was some kind of ploy to get her alone or to agree to do something unsavory. "Well...I don't know..." Juniper said sheepishly. She started to back away from Venge slowly, feeling uncomfortable. Maybe her judgement had been off about him and he was actually dangerous? She didn't have any world experience so her instincts may be underdeveloped. However, she didn't want to run away from him both out of fear of what he might do and fear that she would get lost. Juniper hadn't journeyed out on her own before and she had only been to Kai Lake with her parents once before, she knew she would get lost if she wandered any further. Maybe if she kept talking she could get a better feel for Venge and whether or not he was trustworthy. "Nobody really taught me how to fight. It isn't necessary, or I mean...the need just hasn't come up." Juniper felt a little better hearing her own voice.

[Deleted]

He noticed the sudden nervousness, half expecting it already.Most wolves didn't seem to be able to talk about fighting without the suspicion that they were soon to be attacked. He wondered briefly if he was naturally intimidating, the thought was both sad and amusing.

"The need to learn to fight is always present...but I suppose some wolves don't recognise that. If no one teaches you how to fight, I guess hunting skills work well enough as a base skill." He sighed , his tail sweeping the ground and curling up closer to his body as another cooler breeze came by. "Do you have anything else to do out here? I might escort you back to your pack so you don't get hurt."

[Juice]

Juniper relaxed when she saw that Venge wasn't making any movements to advance towards her. So he was safe and wouldn't attack her. "I guess I should learn to fight...I never really thought about it. I'm glad you were the one that found me and not someone else." Juniper was truly grateful for Venge's kindness and would not forget it. At the mention of escorting her home she felt even better about him. It was nice to have someone looking out for her other than her mother who seemed to be misunderstanding her lately. "I don't have anywhere to be but I don't think we have to go to my packlands just yet." Juniper thought about suggesting getting something to eat when she caught a familiar scent on the wind. "Mom...?" she mumbled

---

A chocolate colored wolf could be seen cresting the horizon towards the monolithic tree. Her eyes were a soft yellow and they looked kind. As she was trotting along the scent of her daughter that she had been following got stronger. Marley spotted Juniper and a strange wolf sitting by the Adoette Tree and she ran forward. "Jun!" she called, excited to have found her. Marley bounded up and began licking Juniper and nuzzling her, realizing how worried she had been before. "You can't wander off like that! It worries me." Marley then turned to to the other wolf and said "Hello. I'm Marley, Juniper's mother. And this -" she said turning to Phoebe "Is our packmate, Phoebe."

[6dewdrops]

Phoebe followed closely to Marley. The new scent of her was starting to become familiar and even comforting. Marley's back looked like the strong back of a protective and kind mother. She almost ran into that back when Phoebe was startled by Marley's sudden stop. Looking over Marley's shoulder, she saw a cream and brown female wolf standing with a yellow and red male wolf. The cream wolf must be Juniper, but who was the other. Marley must not have known either because she introduced herself. Wait! She introduced me to! Phoebe smiled and was able to stutter out a few lines. "H-Hi! Nice to meet you. You must be Marley's daughter, Juniper."

[Deleted]

He nodded, also glad that he had been the one to find her. He never liked the idea of naive and unprepared wolves getting killed...but that was how the wolf world wored- either you were able to take care of yourself or you ended up dying.

Mildly surprised by the appearance of two other wolves, Venge got up, backed up, and sat back down. He was going to give the obvious mother and daughter couple a moment to connect before they settled down. His tail wagged a bit as the mother was considerate enough to introduce herself and the other one. "My name is Venge." he said, nodding a respectful greeting to her.

He wondered though, what was going to happen next. Juniper seemed somewhat hesitant to return to her packlands, even though she had wandered off and was lost, and surely, her mom who seemed to have been worried, would want to take her back. Either way it happened, Venge was sure the young wolf would return to where she belonged and they did not need Venge to help escort.

[Juice]

Juniper's brown eyes widened as her mother came bounding up to her and nuzzling her in her motherly way. The young wolf was incredibly embarrassed to be treated like a little pup and pulled away from her mother. "Geez Mom." she said grumpily before looking apologetically over at Venge. She looked over her mother and saw a blue wolf behind her, she looked like she was the same age as Juniper. The wolf smiled at Phoebe, happy to meet a wolf that she could have more in common with than the other pack members that were her mother's age. "Hi Phoebe." she said, forgetting her embarrassment for a moment. She then turned back to Venge and smiled sheepishly. Mom, Phoebe, this is my new...friend Venge." Juniper hoped it was okay with Venge to be claiming him as a friend.

---

Marley suppressed a giggle at her daughter's obvious embarrassment. She wondered for a moment if Juniper was embarrassed by the affection in front of Phoebe, who was close to the same age and a potential friend, but then she remembered the male wolf. Marley shot Juniper a sly smile before turning to Venge and saying "Very nice to meet you Venge." Marley had originally been worried about her daughter's disappearance but it seemed she was doing just fine on her own. Plus it was nice to have all these wolves that were close to her age in the same place. "So...did we interrupt?" she asked more to Venge than Juniper.

[6dewdrops]

The situation got a little awkward for Phoebe, but she didn't know what to do. She shifted her weight between her paws. Marley hadn't said the code word, but she looked a bit distracted by this Venge guy. Phoebe absentmindedly sat down and cocked her head. Juniper didn't look very interested in Phoebe. The way she looked at Venge made Phoebe feel like she had interrupted something. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come. Phoebe looked longingly the way she had come. Perhaps she should dismiss herself. No, again, Marley hadn't said the code word. She looked at Marley with almost an emotion like pleading. Phoebe continued to think in this circle as the three other wolves conversed.