Cercelee had taken up the habit of sleeping a long time and when she awoke, every morning, afternoon, or evening (whenever she awoke), she went through the same routine. First she tried to remember where she was and when she realized that she was still in Twilight Vale she wondered why she was there. And then she rediscovered the pain in her neck and remembered the coyote, Ember and Naniko. Then, trying to forget the memory and ignore the fact that she had not returned to Dahlia de Mai in a numer of days, she would move her back leg. It worked just fine and the wound was healing nicely, but it still hurt. Then the most dreadful part of her waking ritual came. Cercelee would turn her head this way and that, stretch (or try to) her neck forward, to test how well that was healing. Some days it felt better, some days it felt worse, but most days Cercelee didn’t notice a difference. It was always painful. The other wounds had were just superficial, though not painless. And she was sure it looked just as horrible as she felt.



After that she would stand, favoring her two front legs and the good back leg, and wander off until she deemed it time for another nap, in which case she would find a nice spot in the field, or sneak back into the house where Naniko had fixed her up and make herself scare in one of it’s many rooms, or just find anywhere that was acceptable for a nap, and fall asleep. Today however, she felt awake. More awake than she had the past week. And so her wanderings, a limping walk, took her farther than she had before. All the way to the lake, Rabbit Lake. The sun beat upon her pelt and Cer found that if she focused on the heat on her skin that she could ignore the discomfort of her broken body, and this allowed her to keep moving. However, once at the lake she collapse at it’s shore, far too tired to go on, and far too tired to go back. Sighing audibly, the small female, not a member of Twilight Vale but unable and unwilling to leave all the same, stared out at the water, not thinking, just relishing in the exhausted feeling of a job (merely walking) well done.

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It was yet again another beautiful day in the territory that belonged to Twilight Vale. The weather here was wonderful, and Savina had little complaints. That might change when the winter came, but as of now the Italian wolf was unaware of the cold that would creep upon the lands in a few months time. She was simply basking the the beauty of sun. On this day the femme had decided to make the journey to Rabbit Lake. The wolfess had been there once before, when she had found Naniko there and they had shared the sorrow of their separate tragedies. Today she was hoping to go to the lake for a bit more upbeat and relaxing time. A nice dip in the lake would help the sable girl cool down. That was one downside to the shade of her coat, in the strong summer sun she could get very hot.



When the Pyxis reached the lake she took a nice long drink, re-hydrating herself. Her green eyes inadvertently looked up while she was lapping at the water and she noticed a white form laying on the shore across from her. Her sleek head quickly lifted and her ears shot forward. As she took a closer look she could see the wounds riddled across the other wolf's body. Concerned, the jet black female rushed forward through the shallow part of the lake. Water sprayed up behind her paws and she streaked across. Savina came to a halt in front of the injured lupine, her emerald orbs thick with concern. "What happened to you? Do you need to me call for help?" The girl's voice was somewhat frantic, she didn't want to waste time that could not be spared. Savina didn't bother to ask if she was alright, that would've have been a silly question it seemed to her.

fweee.



Cercelee had not noticed how zoned out she had become, staring out into the water her mind had gone blank. She had not noticed the arrival of another until the wolf was charging through the water towards her. Snapping out of her day dream she looked at the wolf, a ebony colored female, and her heart beat a bit faster. She had not run into any Twilight Vale members aside from when she was with Naniko, so what if the others resented her presence? What if the wolf was coming to tell her to leave? Where would she go? Yet the words the other spoke were not angry or demanding, and Cer took a minute to let the small fear that had built up in her slide away. Even if she had wanted Cer to leave, Naniko would have overruled. Yet the female’s voice was full of concern, and her words worried. Cercelee knew she must look like hell, probably worse than she imagined, and she felt embarrassed for that. If she saw another who looked as badly as her, she would be worried as well, especially to find them relaxing on her pack lands.


"No, no, I’m alright." And then she paused, almost feeling the urge to laugh at her own words. Of course she was not alright, but what she meant was that she would be soon. However she did not laugh, did not want the kind stranger to think she was laughing at her. "What I mean is, I’ve gotten help. Naniko has been healing me, that’s why I am here.” That and she didn’t want to face her pack. Didn’t want them to see her broken, ugly body, didn’t want them to develop more anger for the coyote clan than they already carried, for those of Dahlia de Mai that hated the coyotes. "My name is Cercelee, I’m from Dahlia de Mai." Cer smiled politely at the girl as she offered her name and dipped her head as far as she could without causing too much pain. And then, remembering the female had asked what happened, Cercelee sighed. She wouldn’t ignore the question, but she didn’t really like the answer to it either. "I ran into a coyote, and I guess he wasn’t having a very good day and decided to take it out on me." More likely though, the coyote was having a wonderful day and Cercelee just stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time and she happened to be from the wrong pack.

Welcome back
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Once the ivory female said that she was alright, or at least had been tended to and on the road to recovery Savina relaxed. Her shoulders slumped, releasing all the tension she had built up. Her rump splashed down in the shallowest part of the lake. A deep breath filled her lungs, and slowly escaped them as a sigh. The wolfess had been ready to sprint as fast as she could back to the house to look for Naniko, but luckily there was no need. Now she just needed to calm herself back down. "Thank the heavens you are alright. Well, at least that you are healing that is." The onyx girl smiled as she mentioned Naniko, the adrenaline still slowly leaking from her veins. "Naniko is a good healer. She took care of this leg of mine when I first joined." She nodded to her bandaged back leg. "It wasn't anything too bad, just a sprain, but I think thanks to Naniko it's almost healed."



As the other wolf, Cercelee, introduced herself Savina followed suit, bowing her head slightly as well. "I am Savina, a Twilight Vale member obviously. I'm very pleased to meet you Cercelee." Her smile widened as she lifted her head back up. The Italian girl was happy at all the new people she was meeting. It was always good to have friends in other packs, not just your own. As the ivory lady answered the other part to her first question her smile melted into a more somber expression. This was the first time Savina had met anyone that had actually had a run in with a coyote, and it shocked her. This put a face on the war, and she did not like it. The green eyed femme couldn't understand why any creature would so viciously attack another that had done it no harm. "I'm sorry. That sounds horrible. I knew that there were problems with the coyotes, but I don't know many details. All I really know is that we're trying to stay neutral. That is wrong though, for someone to attack another that has done them no wrong." The beast that was Savina's anger bubbled under the surface. It didn't show its ugly face often, but when it did it was dangerous. She always tried her best to keep it controlled. "I'm still very new to this continent, and I don't know much outside of the Vale. What is your pack like?"

Thank you!



The female visibly relaxed and Cercelee let a soft musical laugh out as the other splashed down into the lake. The day was becoming increasingly hot and the other probably felt it more than Cercelee did herself, and though the water would feel nice, with so many wounds half healed and some of them stitched, Cer did not want to get wet. The female spoke of Naniko’s skills as a healer, which gave Cerclee a little more reassurance. Certainly Ember wouldn’t have brought her here unless she too believed in Naniko’s ability to heal. Knowing that the leader of Twilight Vale was recommended by more than one put Cer a little more at ease. Maybe the scars wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined. Maybe they would heal over time, as Naniko had said.


Savina. The name was pretty and the female good tempered. Already Cercelee felt at ease with the stranger, like they had been friends for ages, or at least the potential for friendship was there. "I agree, I see no point for the war, but if Inferni doesn’t back down what can we do? I can’t hand my pack to them, so I will let them defend themselves how they see fit." How Haku saw fit really. Hopefully it would all be over soon, although not until both sides had committed great hurt to the other. The idea made Cercelee sick to her stomach, even defending herself had made her upset. How others willingly invoked that sort of violence, she couldn’t understand. Cercelee was glad for the change in topic. "Dahlia is very nice I think. We have a harbor, lots of vineyards, lot of human buildings and forest even. Lots of different things to see. And the members are all wonderful, though our numbers are growing which makes it hard to be as close as I would like them to be." Cercelee would have liked the pack to all know each other on an individual basis, but the bigger they got the harder that became. However more numbers was always a good thing, so it was hard to find a good balance. "New to this continent? Where did you come from before?"

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Savina hadn't heard either side of the story, so she obviously hadn't taken any sides. Though hearing how that coyote attacked this very pleasant wolf made her want to side with Dhalia de Mai. Not only that, but when she spoke and what she said, it was obvious that this is not was Cercelee wanted. The sable girl could tell it pained her, to be in this situation. But she also understood that if they were being attacked, they couldn't just put up with it. They would have to fight back and defend themselves. That's what she would do if it were Twilight Vale instead of Dhalia de Mai. She cared so much about the wolves in this pack, she would fight to the death to defend them if it were necessary. "I understand your predicament. It's too bad, but you're right, you can't just let yourself be attacked." That was all the more she said on the matter. It was obvious the other wished to change the subject as much as Savina wanted to.



As Cercelee described her packlands it reminded the femme of Italy. Admittedly she had lived her whole life there in the wilds of the forests, far from the civilization that most of the lupine population there had created. However she had crept to their borders a few times, to observe how they lived. Many lived in port towns, vineyards were abundant, as they had been when the humans still lived there. She had found it all fascinating, yet still didn't have the desire to live as they did. "It sounds very nice. Perhaps when you return I could help you along the way and you could show me around. I'd love to see your pack and you might need some protection on your journey back." The Lacerta was already becoming quite fond of this wolf, and she would hate to see her get hurt anymore. She would be more than happy to help protect her on her way back to her home. "Yes, this pack is quite large as well. I have only really gotten to know a few members really well."



Savina cocked her head slightly at the ivory female's last questions. She assumed that it would be easy for anyone native to these lands to tell she was a foreigner from her thick accent. But perhaps there were more wolves around here with strange accents besides herself. "I came from Italy, it's across the sea to the east." Her head turned in that direction for a moment before looking back at Cercelee. "I've only been here for about a month now. I'm really lucky that the elder in my old pack taught me English, or I would be having a lot of problems living here."

Savina’s words made Cercelee pause, the realization (which she had refused to acknowledge before now) sunk in. When she returned Savina wanted to come? When would she return? Of course she had to return at some point, Dahlia de Mai needed their leader and while Haku was fine for a while she did not want to leave the pack in his hands for too long. There were weeks before she really had to think of it, her neck healed so slowly and still she couldn’t put any weight on her hind leg, but she had been avoiding the idea of returning since she had come here. Naniko and her mate, Conri, would of course grow tired of housing a wolf that wasn’t really a member of their pack, or so she assumed. Of course, Colibri stayed here as well and she was not a Twilight Vale member. But Colibri had no responsibilities to return to, Cer did. She had to go back, and she missed the lands, the wolves there... yet she didn’t want to return. Not for a while. Not while she looked like a monster. And when she did return who would welcome here? Of course they would notice her gone, she was their leader and her absence in the middle of war would be noted, but who would miss her? The idea that she wasn’t missed made her want to stay away all the more.



"You are welcome there anytime. I don’t know when I am returning exactly, but I’ll let you know. I will need some help." Her musical voice was warm and cheerful, the inner turmoil never showed on the surface. Cercelee had no idea if any of her pack members would come to fetch her when the time came, but if they didn’t at least she knew that Savina would follow her there to see her off. Cercelee exhaled and listened to Savina’s explanation. She had noticed the accent, but others had accents too and Cer really didn’t know enough about the lands across the sea to match accents with places. Firefly had an interesting drawl, she came from Ireland, but her knowledge stopped there. However, the country that Savina mentioned was familiar at least. Pilot had mentioned it, when he had told her about Insieme, now disbanded. "Italy? Did you know of the Insieme pack? I heard that their leaders had come from Italy... I don’t know what happened to them though. The pack’s gone now." Maybe Savina had come from Insieme before Twlight Vale? A month was a short amount of time to switch packs, but if she had lived in Insieme and they disbanded, she would of had no other choice.

I hate my allergies >< Damn you Zyrtec start working *shakes fist*
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Insieme. Wow, she had almost forgotten about that place. She had been there for such a short amount of time, and had only met one of the wolves there. She had become so involved in Twilight Vale that it felt to her that when she joined here was when things started for her on this continent. "Yes! Insieme! That was actually the first place I ended up! I washed up on a shore that was part of their territory, and it was their alpha male who found me on the beach. I don't know what happened to them either. Guiseppe, he was the alpha, carried me to a house to recover and when I woke up one morning I couldn't find anyone. I wasn't able to fend for myself so I traveled west along the coast until I came here." Savina had wondered what had happened to Guiseppe and whatever other wolves lived in that pack. It was so weird, it seemed as though they had just disappeared into thin air. Thinking about how she felt when she had washed up on shore made her realize how much she had improved. The wolf had been in really bad shape when she arrived here.



Thinking of when she first came to Twilight Vale and met Naniko made Savina think about the fire that the Andromeda had told her about. She wondered if Cercelee had endured that tragedy as well. The ebony female thought about bringing it up, but decided best not to. This ivory wolfess was going through enough turmoil without bringing up such a horrible event. "So have you spent all of your life here? I think I've heard that some wolves travel around. I know some Italian wolves must, because there was Insieme here and that boat I came over on. I'm not sure though, my pack stuck mostly to the forests and avoided the towns that most Italian luperci live in."

The story of Insieme perked Cercelee’s interest. Her eyes became more alert and tilted slightly forward, as if to subconsciously make sure she did not miss a word. Vanished into thin air? At least with Labyrinth Glen Cercelee knew that many of the wolves still existed, Iskata came from there, as did Ember, so it was not as if that pack’s disbanding was such a mystery. Yet Savina was the first wolf Cercelee had met who had any connects to Insieme at all, even while the pack was still solid. "Perhaps they never had many members to begin with? Do you think some of them went back to Europe?" The alabaster female couldn’t help but muse out loud. Pilot had informed her that he did not know much about them at all, that they had kept to themselves. The fact that one of their own pack members did not know what happened to them was startling to Cer. What if she returned to Dahlia and no one was anywhere to be found? And what if she never found out what happened? The thought was unlogical, their pack was much too large for that and she knew the members well enough so that at least one of them would wait around to tell her whatever it was that needed to be told, but the idea still scared her. And intrigued her. Vanished into thin air. How she would like to learn that magic trick.


Cercelee had to divert her mind from disappearing acts, as Savina posed another question. Storing the unsolved mystery in the back of her mind (to be dug out at a later time to daydream over) she smiled at the girl. Where she came from? As far as she was concered Dahlia was the only home she had, but that was not completely true. "No, I was born much farther away from here. Far, far to the north. Just me, my parents and my brothers. However, you may have heard others talk of the old packs? Clouded Tears, Storm, Jaded Shadows? Well after my mother and brothers passed on my father took me to live with relatives in Clouded Tears." The words were slightly sugar coated, not for Cercelee’s sake, but Savina’s. The story was no longer bitter for the year and a half female, it was just “what happened”, but Cer found that when retold, if told with full details, others took pity on her. And she did not want them to feel bad for her. Mommy dead and daddy left, it was a sob story that she told with a normal voice. "I met a friend there and after we were a little older we left and found her father. He took care of us and we wandered together until I felt like returning to Clouded Tears," More sugar. Coli’s father, Haku, had started to act strange, to scare Coli and herself, and Cercelee had left because she had been scared to stay with the male. And yet now, Haku was her co-leader. Life was funny. "Yet shortly after I returned there was the fire. So here I am." No sugar, but no details, yet this was only because Cer lacked details. She had not lost anyone she loved, and Clouded Tears held no emotional attachments either, so here at least she hid nothing, even if having nothing to hide made her cold.

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When she thought about it hard, she believed she remembered Guiseppe saying that it was a small pack, basically just his family members. But she couldn't know for sure. It was plausible that they could've returned home, however Savina hadn't seen any ships on the shore there. Much less a ship big enough to be able to traverse the ocean. And if they had indeed decided to go back, why wouldn't they have asked her if she wanted to go too. After all it was her homeland as much as theirs. Not that she would've returned anyway, but it was the principle of the matter that bothered her. It really wasn't logical for them to all just disappear, no matter how few they may have been. And to leave an injured wolf all on her own, that wasn't right. The dark femme hadn't thought of it in that light before, but now that she did it made her a little resentful. But it didn't really matter she supposed. Either way those luperci were gone now and she was happy where she was. "Now that you mention it I believe it was a rather small pack. And I suppose they could've tried to return home, though I did not see any ships there that would be capable of making that journey. I was on a very large boat and even it didn't survive the whole way over." It was an odd mystery indeed.



Savina listened attentively as Cercelee relaid the story of where she came from and how she ended up here. If more had been revealed the Italian girl would've seen the similarities in their pasts. Savina had lost her mother, which turned out to be the sort of catalyst that lead to her ending up here. First there had been the unpleasant run in with that despicable wolf that had sired her and disowned her. That had not ended well, for either of them. From that she assumed she would no longer be welcome in the pack she had grown up in. That had lead her to wonder to that port town, and inadvertently end up on that ship. The ship sank in the sea, and she somehow managed to survive and wash up on the shore to Insieme. Those wolves had disappeared and she had wondered more until she found Twilight Vale. Her life recently seemed to be just one long domino effect. "Ah yes, the fire. Naniko told me about that." That was all she wanted to say on that matter. Best not to open up old fearsome memories. "It's funny isn't it? How much it seems we are out of control of our lives. I know that's how mine had felt before I settled here. You and I also seem to be in the same category, having lost our parents and siblings." It wasn't necessarily uncommon, but that didn't make it any less true that it was something they shared. "Were you...very close to any of them?"

Cercelee nodded at Savina. Yes, they were in the same category. Of course, that was the way of life, parents weren’t meant to hold on tightly to their children anyhow. After one litter was grown, there had to be room for the next, at least in theory, so many times the children went off to join separate packs anyway. Sometimes families stay close, but Cercelee hadn’t seen any in a long time. She had come to the conclusion that you couldn’t really rely on family, if her mother and brothers had lived would she still be with them? Probably not, but that realization did not hurt anymore. She had her friends and pack members, and some of those happened to be family as well. Ember who had saved her life, but had she done it because they were friends, family, or both? It was hard to say.


"I was close to all of them. My brothers especially. And I adored my father, thought he was a hero. After my mother died though, he didn’t want me. Left me with strangers... others that he said were family, but they weren’t my family. People don’t always end up who you think they are." Can’t trust family, no matter how strong you think the ties are. Mates maybe, after all, weren’t they suppose to be for life? Soul mates? Partners? The idea was nice, and in a way Cer could even forgive Adrastos for shutting down when Lyla died. But Cer didn’t count on those either, because she didn’t have a mate and probably would never get one. Especially now that she looked like this, and though the scars would fade and be covered by fur, they would always be there, underneath. As would her commitment issues. Who wanted someone who was broken inside and out? Savina was right, there was very little one could control in their own life when so much depended on nature and the nature of the others around you. "What about you? Do you miss your family?"

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Savina's heart sank as the other spoke of what her father did to her. The onyx femme hated her father, that was true enough, but at least he had been consistent in his lack of concern and affection. She couldn't imagine being close to him and then having him just offload her like that. That had to hurt worse, do more damage. It would be like if Savina's mother had just decided she didn't want her one day. The one time Serge had been inconsistent was right after Amata died. She still didn't understand what possessed him to think that he was allowed to care for her. That he could just pretend that he hadn't spent her whole life ignoring her, acting as if she weren't his. By that time though, she wasn't his. She wanted nothing from him, especially his pity over the woman he had abandoned. The girl would never forget the blinding rage that took over her as he tried to comfort her, or what she had tried to do to him when that happened.



Then as her ivory companion asked if she missed her own family her heart sank lower, and her ears gently rolled back against her head. The Lacerta was doing better about missing her mother ever since her talk with Naniko, but it was still a dull pain in her chest. Honestly it was her brother, Ehno, she missed the most now. She hadn't set eyes upon him for over a year, she didn't have any idea whether or not he still lived and breathed. Yet still she missed him. The two of them had always been close, two parts of the same whole. The ebony wolfess would do anything to see his amber eyes again. "I miss my mother, and my siblings. The wolf who sired me I don't. He abandoned my mother and disowned us all before we were even out of her belly. I'm very sorry about what your father did to you. It must be worse to be close to him and then have him leave you than to never know his kindness." Gently she set her sable paw on top of one of Cercelee's ghost ones. "My mother died trying to protect me just before I came here. My brother left not long after we turned a year. He needed a male to look up to, and there was nothing for him in our pack. And my sister disappeared after she had a miscarriage. I just hope that the two of them are still alive and well, even though I know I will never see them again." It was the one bitter pill she had to swallow about coming to this new land. The only thing she would truly miss was the hope that one day she would see her siblings again.

Cercelee smiled at the kind gesture, it made her want to share more with the sable girl, but at the same time Cercelee didn’t know where to start. She was done with it and when one dug up the past it was hard to know where to begin. "That’s okay. You don’t need to feel sorry for me," She had gotten enough of that when she was younger, she had grown up, raised by others who felt bad for her. "It’s over with. The funny thing is, if he came back, I know I wouldn’t refuse to see him. I should, for how he just threw me away, like I meant nothing, but I would grant him an audience, and even if I didn’t believe what he said to me, at least I would hear him out." Cercelee would hear them all out, she couldn’t help it. Even those that had wronged her, she always wanted to be fair and just, always wanted to give them every opportunity they could possibly have, even if she had already made her mind up.


Tilting her head slightly at Savina’s next words, she left out a sympathetic sigh. "Don’t say you’ll never see them again, how can you be sure? No one knows what life holds in store for them, and funnily enough it’s always the people you expect the least that end up crossing your path more than once. Besides, maybe someday you’ll return?" It was true, she wouldn’t have expect the cast of characters she had about her now, when she had returned to Clouded Tears she had envisioned living there until circumstances swept her away again. She had thought she would be with Laruku, to some extent, see him in passing, follow under his lead. Now she lead a pack herself and Laruku she had seen only once since the fire. Life was funny, it did what it wanted with no help from the living. "Would you want to return? If you had the chance, I mean. Or is this your home now?"

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Dark sleek head nodded at the other's words. "I must say, you're a bigger wolf than I. I will never forgive him for what he did to me, to my mother, and to my siblings. Even being willing to give him that chance shows your strong character." She was very impressed by Cercelee. Savina was not that forgiving, not that level-headed, not that willing to let someone in who by all rights didn't deserve to be. It spoke volumes about this other wolfess. With others the Italian femme was more forgiving, but not with Serge. Never with Serge. She was convinced that the horrible anger she had deep inside of her was his fault. His genes and his doing. Amata never got angry, she was the most patient wolf Savina had ever known. It had to be him. It was always him. The constant shadow that always hung over that happy family. The beast inside of her growled, but she calmed herself and moved on to another train of thought.



The next words that came from the ivory female's mouth were sweet like honey. The sable lady wanted to believe them with all her heart. She wanted to see Ehno again, she wanted to see Ghita again. To be able to look in their eyes, smell their scent, nuzzle their necks. "I suppose you're right, I never would've expected to end up here, yet here I am. The chances just seem so much less now that we have an ocean between us." Then she spoke of returning. A month ago she might've said yes, but not now. Love for the new pack she had would keep her here. Love for Naniko. Love for the pups Apollo and Sirius. Also shame would keep her away. The shame of what she had done to Serge. Not that it was him, not that he didn't deserve it, but the fact that she had been capable of it. Nothing really had happened, but she had felt it, that white hot anger. If she hadn't stopped herself she would've done more, and it scared her. Shaking her head she looked back at Cercelee. "No, I don't believe I would. This is my home now. I care for those here. All that is left for me in Italy are Ehno and Ghita, and they might not even be there." The Lacerta couldn't bring herself to say they could be dead. "But I don't despair. I really do like it here. This is a good pack, with good wolves. And there are other good wolves on this continent too, such as yourself." A smile once again cracked onto the onyx maw. Savina was growing quite fond of the Dhalia wolf.

If Cercelee could blush, and if her furry face wouldn’t have hid it, she would have at that moment. Savina spoke of her character, that it was courageous to grant an audience to the man who had abandoned her on a stranger’s door step. Yet Cercelee had never thought of it that way, and she wasn’t sure if she could, even if it were true. Her father had hurt her, more than anyone else in the world ever had. And while she didn’t love him any longer, she didn’t think she hated him, not truly. At times she believed she did, or that she had. After waiting a month, pathetically missing him, wishing him to come back and take her home again, she had tasted hatred, or as close to hatred as a four month old child could. Yet as other things began to grab her attention, she had to let go of that feeling, and she decided at a very young age she wouldn’t hold on to any negative feelings. It was his fault she became a master pretender, excelling at keeping feelings, thoughts and actions she did not want to share with others, let alone herself, hidden.


Smiling and shrugging, she was grateful for Savina’s kind words, but she wasn’t quite sure how to respond to them, and she was grateful when the female turned the focus back on herself. Nodding at the words, Cercelee knew what Savina meant. Even if her siblings did cross the ocean, it would be hard to find her here, a tiny little pin in a huge bale of hay. Cercelee too felt as if there were those she cared for, never knowing if she would see them again. Coli. Her father was here, her grandmother, but not the young girl herself, and while she knew her brothers would never be able to show her face again, not knowing where Coli lived, or if she did, was hard. However Cercelee could just take those longings, her loneliness and hide them, from others and from herself. If she could teach Savina that, she would, but Cer wasn’t sure if it was a gift. Speaking more of her pack, Cer perked up and smiled. This was something she could comment on without feeling too awkward. "There really are a lot of good wolves here. Naniko is very kind, as has everyone else I’ve ever meant from Twilight Vale. My pack too, the wolves there are loyal and warm and living here wouldn’t be worth much without them. Have you met many wolves from the other packs? I really hadn’t until I came here, a few here or there but no one I tended to speak with much."

Shall we start to wrap things up? Figured I could have Savina help Cer back to the house and they can talk more on the way.
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The female's onyx tail began to wag softly, making the water ripple behind her. "No, I haven't met many. There was one I met over on the shattered coast, but I believe he was a loner. Asmodai was his name. Also a pup named Sirius, he used to live here though. But that's it. I haven't made many treks outside of the pack borders though. With my leg injured I figured it would be safer for me if I mostly kept myself from wondering. I do want to do some more exploring once I've healed up. And as I said before I'd love to accompany you back to your pack when you are ready to return there." It would be good to see another pack from these lands, and meet the members there. The femme believed that one could never really have too many friends.



Savina noticed that it seemed as if the light in the forest was becoming dimmer. Looking off to the west she realized that it was getting pretty late, as the bright sphere was making its slow descent to the horizon. Wow, I had no idea that we'd been sitting here talking that long. Being injured as she was, the girl figured Cercelee would need assistance making it back to the mansion. It was true that she had obviously made it here on her own, however the wolfess was not about to leave her new friend to stumble back to shelter by herself. The Lacerta would know the quicker routs back to the house, and it would be much easier to help her with some daylight still to light the way. "Looks like its almost dusk. We should probably head back to the mansion. I know the best way to go. Do you need help getting up?" The sable lady stood up and moved to the ivory femme's side, ready to assist her stand if she needed it.

Yeah, that’s fine ^^


Cercelee nodded at Savina’s words. There were few outside of her own pack Cercelee knew, those she had met with the meetings had been brief and she hadn’t really heard from the wolves again. Iskata made it her business to keep on top of what happened with Haku, so she had run into her aunt again, and Pilot and Naniko she had met before but only due to the leader meeting. Laruku she knew from before the fire, but she had only seen him once since, and he was becoming like the rest of the strangers as well. Everyone else was just there one moment and gone the next, and Cercelee wasn’t sure she’d see any of them again. A few had been from Labyrinth Glen, but the phantom like female assume that many of the members had disappeared with the pack. Or perhaps the pack had disappeared because the members had, either way, she was sure that they were gone. There were other names and faces, she would remember them, just in case she did chance upon them again, but it was unlikely.




"I’d like to introduce you to some of my pack members." Cer felt silly saying it, like a child who was bringing home a friend for their parent’s approval, but it was true. Aside from Haku and the ones she didn’t know well, she would like Savina to know her pack mates and feel welcome there, give her more than one person to come visit if ever she felt the desire. Cer turned her head to the sky to confirm it was growing dark now. Smiling she shook her head, she could stand on her own, it was walking that was sometimes tricky, and rose to her feet, quite gracefully for using only three legs. "I suppose we should be off now?" Cercelee took two steps forward with her front feet and made her awkward little hop with her back leg. She hadn’t really walked in front on anyone like this before, but hopping about was easier than putting weight on her leg, at least for now. She knew it looked silly, but she also knew Savina wouldn’t laugh at her. "Do you stay in the mansion too?" She knew that many of the Twilight Vale members seemed to, at least some of the time, though Cercelee had kept out of their way and to herself, hidden in her allotted room almost invisible to everyone else. Perhaps if Savina did, she’d have some to look out for next time she was entering or exiting the manor.

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The ebony female was impressed with what ease Cercelee was able to get back to her feet. It made her feel good though, it was obvious she was already well on her way to recovery. She noted that one of her back legs must have been quite injured for the way she had to hop around. It was no big deal though, the pace would just be slow. With a smile she began to lead the way back to the house, though keeping mind to stay close to her new friend and make sure she didn't stumble. "Yeah, I stay in the house too. I'm still getting used to it, living inside a human building. Back in Italy my pack lived as a normal wolf pack. We never shifted and never had anything to do with anything human made. I have to admit, sleeping on a bed is more comfortable than the ground, but it still just seems a little odd to me." Savina had slept in the house to please Naniko and to not seem rude when she had first arrived, but she was beginning to see the benefits of it. It was nice to have most of the pack sleep in one space, yet they still retained their privacy. It also was good that Naniko had a nice big, covered area to help heal injured wolves like Cercelee and herself.



Slowly and carefully her slender jet legs picked the best, unobstructed path through the underbrush. If there were any sticks or rocks in the way the femme would pick them up in her mouth and toss them out of the way. She wanted to make sure there was nothing that could trip up Cercelee. Remembering what her ivory friend had said a while ago about wanting her to meet her packmates the girl smiled. "I'd love to meet your packmates, I'm glad you'd want to introduce me. Is there a big house in your pack that you all sleep in? Or do you sleep outside?" The Italian wolf found it fascinating how the different packs lived around here. In Insieme they had all lived in little huts on the shore. In Twilight Vale it was the mansion. She was interested to hear how Dhalia de Mai lived.

oocness



Cercelee hopped along, grateful that Savina didn’t push her too quickly. Savina actually stopped often to move stick or rocks or other debris from the path, which slowed her and they kept a similar pace without too much effort on either wolf’s part. Savina’s words somewhat surprised Cercelee,a s all the Europeans wolves, especially those that had shifted, were much more accustomed to the human ways of life than their American counterparts. Yet, silently Cercelee chided herself for assuming that they would all live that way. Certainly not everyone here lived in the same manner, so why would it be so over there? Cer did have to agree with Savina about the bed, she knew that some of her pack mates slept on beds but before coming here she had never tried it. The first few nights she had been left alone in her allotted room, she had attempted to sleep on the floor as she normally did but Cer quickly found the aching in her leg and neck weren’t quite as bad if she slept on the bed. She didn’t know if she’d go back to sleeping on the ground once she returned home or not.

The continued the trek back, and Savina questions about her pack pleased her, if only that it showed the girl was really interested in Cer’s life pack home and the pack she wasn’t with. "Well, my packlands are mostly made up of two old human towns, so we have a lot of buildings, some big like the manor but the big ones aren’t usually dwellings with so many... many... bedrooms?" Cer couldn’t quite remember the word that was used to describe the rooms with sleeping furniture, but the furniture was called a bed and the room a bedroom. Smiling at herself she continued. "With so many buildings though, everyone could have their own and we’d still have plenty buildings left over... so that’s what a lot of them do. I suppose it’s like having their own den? I haven’t picked one out for myself though, I often sleep outside. If there a really bad storm I will slip inside one of the buildings, but no... the pack isn’t as close to all sleep in one big place together. I like that about Twilight Vale.” Cercelee smiled, finding her explanation longer than she had intended, but as she spoke she came to realize she didn’t quite like how spread out everyone was, but if they weren’t going to claim and use the buildings, what was the use of having so many? "We have other things besides buildings though, vineyards and orchards, and a harbor. And we do have a little bit of forest in our pack, but not much. I’m afraid we don’t have as much nature as I would like." Colibri had picked the lands and now she had left it all to Cercelee, who probably wouldn’t have settled in such a developed area herself. But it was home, and the more she spoke of it the more Cercelee realized she missed it.

Maybe 2 more posts after this? They can get into the house, and say goodnight and such
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Savina listened attentively to Cer's description of her packlands. The more she said about it, the more the two year old wanted to see it. She wanted to see all the little houses and buildings, and what the areas around them looked like. Some of the terms she recognized, like vineyard and harbor. They were things the more "civilized" Italian wolves had. After all, it had been at one of their harbors where she had accidentally stowed herself away on that ship. As far as vineyards, she had never really seen one herself, but she had heard about them. They were fairly abundant in Italy before the humans died, and so it had been fairly easy for the wolves to pick it back up. The femme had learned some things about the more humanized culture from being told and observation, but really not much more than to know what things were. "That is interesting, I can't wait to see what they look like. It does sound like a den. Sometimes I miss sleeping outside. I should do that before the weather starts to turn." As she was getting used to the "new" way of things, she was missing some of the old ways. Luckily there were no rules against them, so she could still live that way if she wanted. "I'm interested in the vineyard too, there were many of them in Italy, but I never saw one. I wonder if the harbor is like they are there as well."



It seemed like it had hardly been any time at all, but before she knew it they were through the clearing and on the outskirts of the white picket fence that surrounded the great house. Now that was one thing that Savina really didn't understand, that fence. It wasn't big enough to keep anything out, so what good was it? Small animals would've been able to squeeze through the spaces, and larger ones could easily jump over it. Sometimes humans seemed like they had been such silly creatures. The femme looked back at Cercelee to make sure she was doing alright and smiled. "Here we are! You doing okay?" She thought her ghostly friend looked fine, but it never hurt to ask and make sure.