Mid-spring was her favorite time of year. The frequent rains put everything in bloom, delicate petals perfuming the air around them. Colibri Haki was just beginning to put the pieces of her new life together, very slowly, but the springtime made her feel a glimmer more optimistic than usual. She wasn't a loner anymore; she had packmates, few but loyal. She tried not to think on the untimely loss of her brother, Conor, and instead focus on her newfound sister, Lilin. She had even been entrusted with a house of her own, a luxury she had not enjoyed for close to two years. All in all, her confidence was building. It was enough that she decided to steel her nerves and make her first trip outside of Vinátta territory since its founding, and head south.
The one indulgence she had always enjoyed, and that gave her a measure of inner peace, was gardening. Now that she had finally let her guard down enough to choose a permanent place to live, it meant she could take up her hobby again. If she could prove her usefulness to her new packmates, it might even become her official job. But her justifications masked her real purpose; sentimentality. It had been in Crimson Dreams that she last laid her hands to soil, nurturing the seedlings in the orchard or carrying water to the flowerbeds. Apple trees and pumpkin patches, it had all been so industrious and fruitful. She would have stayed there and lived happily ever after. But stress, and war, and panic, and her boundless negativity intervened, fear driving her away from the best thing that had happened to her. The downward spiral had continued since she left, and only recently were things finally looking up. It felt like she needed the closure of returning to the southern territory, and bringing a small piece of it back with her to represent the good memories.
Colibri walked through the night, keeping close to the treeline whenever possible, moving swift and silent. She did not want to run afoul of any loners in the lawless lands between each pack border. Strange to think that not too long ago, she had been one of those antisocial drifters. The lean werewolf carried a light pack strapped to her shoulders, borrowed from Saul's moving gear. Her plan was to reach the orchards by sunrise and gather a few small plants and cuttings, then spend the day carefully transporting them back north. She would cultivate them in the grassy knoll where her house was built, and if they were successful, she could spread them, decorating other homes with flowerbeds and planting apple saplings along the edges of the overgrown vineyard. It would make Jordheim village feel like home.
True to her plan, morning sunlight was just streaking the sky as Coli arrived at the former pack borders. She padded lightly between the trees, not anticipating the wave of nostalgia and regret that tugged at her heartstrings. Time had erased the scent markers, but the landmarks were all still there. Haven Manor was visible from here, a lonely smudge on the horizon. Rabbit Lake shone like glass under the morning sun as she moved further in, heavy heart sinking in her chest. It was so sad. Where were all the Dreamers? This land was so vibrant in her memories, and now it felt so wide open and empty. There was one wolf in particular she had hoped she might find here still, haunting the orchards she had so lovingly raised. When the sweet scent of the apple trees reached her, though, all it did was make her eyes well with unshed tears. Why had she been such a coward and run away from this place...? She hadn't realized how much she missed it.
Coli stepped into the rows of wizened trees, sad to see the marks of deer cropping the leaves and branches, and the weeds overtaking the soft loam. Nature would reclaim anything abandoned, she knew, but the clear signs of it were depressing. She unslung the pack from her narrow shoulders, hanging it on a low branch. She needed to distract herself with the task at hand -- locating any seeds or seedlings sprouting from the ground, so that she could collect those first. Then she would take cuttings from the main trees, and attempt the more risky propagation that way. It would take years before the new trees could bear apples, but Coli could not bear the thought of leaving the orchard behind without bringing any of it home with her. If she could stomach it, she would swing near the manor on her way out and bring home some of the perennial flowers, too... but remembering whose hands touched them last made her want to cry again.