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SSWM - 463
The white spoke softly to her, his voice a comforting lilt in the darkness of the forest. Why do you fear me? Why do you run from me like a frightened doe? We are of the same blood, my child. You have grown into a beautiful young girl, courageous, smart. I am proud of you for being so brave, Brooklyn. Let me help you. He did not scare her. This time, he provided comfort and protection. She could see in him signs of family, but he was not someone she had met in this world. He seemed to speak as if from a great depth, his voice croaky. He looked old, but not feeble. Not at all. There was strength in his legs and muscles of his back. His coat was pristine, almost beautiful in the light of the fire. The female was awed. And then, slowly, the edges of the world started to blur. He smiled kindly at her and she opened her eyes, only to find herself on the porch of the mansion. It wasn't cold outside, not cold enough to warrant staying indoors. Brooklyn stood on her two legs and shook herself with vigour before putting her coat on.
She couldn't help but notice how ratty it was getting. It showed signs of wear and the sleeves were almost painfully short now. She would have to part with it and find a suitable replacement. It offered protection and she had to admit, she felt pretty wearing it. Brooklyn sat back down, her body weary. Sleeping on wood hadn't been the best possible idea, but it was better than nothing, she reasoned. At least she was home. Her mind felt much more awake and aware than her body. That wolf. Who was he? Why did he come to her? She had never seen him before, not in Crimson Dreams, nor in her wanderings or in exploring other packs. He was old, yes, but he carried his age so well. He was wise and he seemed to know her better than she did. There was an air of familiarity about him, like someone she had met in a previous life or a family member she couldn't quite recall. It was no use, no matter how hard she focused, his face was a blur now. Naniko would know. She had to. Brooklyn would speak to her, she had to ask. Who else would know?
Looking up at the sky, she sighed softly. It was a quiet night, but Brooklyn would not suffer for company. She glanced over her shoulder, at the darkened mansion. She was probably the only one awake at this point. That was a depressing thought. She resolved to wait for sleep to come back, or for boredom to close her eyes.
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Thanks for starting! 517
Lazy winter days, that’s what he called them. Those first few weeks when winter was finally beginning to overtake autumn’s grasp on the lands, Ehno always seemed to feel drained of energy. Much of the vigor that filled his every day seemed to disappear around this time of year. It was as if he needed time to adjust to the arrival of the colder season, and he simply drifted along until he felt attuned to the snowy season. That wasn’t to say the Marino man did nothing those dawning winter days, this winter especially.
In addition to his usual tasks around the pack, travelling had become part of his routine. Ehno had always been a fan of travelling, but those past adventures were always solely for fun—a way to occupy his never-ending curiousity. These days, travel became more of necessary thing for him. His life was split between two packs, two families. Crimson Dreams remained his permanent home, where his sisters and their children lived, but Phoenix Valley held quite a bit of sway over him as well. He spent much time there with his children and Naniko, and those lands were feeling less and less strange to him. It certainly felt more like a second home, the more time he spent there.
He still had yet to find a way to adequately balance his time between the two packs. At times, it seemed that he only departed on a whim for the Valley pack as soon as he felt a strong need to be with his children. Ehno missed those four little ones often when he was home in Crimson Dreams. After spending so much time with them when they were young and vulnerable during their first two months of life, it felt strange to be away from them. At times he felt particularly alone when he thought of them, despite being surrounded by his family here in Haven Manor. These thoughts kept him up some nights, especially during these winter days. He knew that Naniko and Geneva took wonderful care of the pups while he was away, but he still found himself often wondering how those little ones were adjusting to the change of the seasons. It was their first winter, after all.
Tonight thoughts of those four little pups danced through his head, keeping sleep at bay. He felt foolish for letting the thoughts keep him from his rest, but the Major was a family-oriented man, and it could not be helped. With a sigh, he pushed himself up from his bed and headed out into the hallway. He would take a quick walk outside in the cool night and maybe it would allow him to clear his head. He tried to shake the weariness from his shoulders as he reached the front door of the mansion and opened it up. The sight of Brooklyn sitting on the porch greeted him as he stepped outside. Ehno was so surprised to see someone else out there that he simply stopped in his tracks and stared for a moment. “Oh, uh… Hello, Brooklyn,” he greeted.
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Sorry for the delay! 341 - SSWM
She had been expecting to be alone. The past few months, Brooklyn had withdrawn more and more into herself, keeping away from the members in her pack. She had heard about Ehno and her mother, and Jazper and Ghita, but they were remote events, somewhere far away from her, completely removed from everything else that was going on with her. She had blamed her mother, in the long dark nights when she could not sleep. Who else could she blame? She missed her brother, her Haven. Brooklyn didn't go and see him any longer. Mati was still a question mark she couldn't quite figure out. On top of that, this white wolf had come to haunt her, although she was actually getting used to his presence now.
Brooklyn was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the sound of steps and it was only when Ehno actually spoke that she realised she was no longer alone. Slowly, she turned to him, resting against the banisters of the porch. He looked tired and weary. Was parenting that taxing on someone? It must have been hard for him. Although Brooklyn still had mixed feelings about her mother, there was no about how she felt about Ehno. The pack's carpenter had made her so many toys. The beads she wore around her neck, though worn out and half as colourful as they'd once been, had also been a present from him. Uncle Ehno! she whispered, the gratitude clear in her voice. She'd dreaded being around Anu. How did her mother feel about this? But Ehno was a comforting presence, someone who knew what she was going through. Someone whose life was also split between two packs. It's cold out here. How are you, uncle Ehno? She wanted him to sit down and talk to her, tell her about Naniko.
The white girl shuffled along, leaving space for the other to sit down. She smiled shyly up at him, a wonky sort of grin. I hope you weren't planning on going to bed again soon.
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No, I apologize for the lateness! :x 771
The Marino man had also been expecting to spend this long night alone. He was slightly ashamed to admit it, but he was beginning to grow used to these late-night expeditions, whether he was wandering aimlessly through the empty halls of the manor or through out the varying landmarks of their pack lands. Usually the entire pack was sound asleep while he took to his slight insomnia-induced walks, and he had somewhat grown used to the quiet that blanketed the land of Dreamers as he wandered. As such, Ehno was quite surprised to find the young woman sitting out on the porch this night, looking a bit tired but otherwise content to remain where she was and watch the night go by. Despite the surprise and how used to the lonely silence he had become, the Italian man was rather glad to find that he wasn’t the only one out and about this night. Ehno was a social man, and it brightened his mood to discover that he would not be alone tonight.
One the initial shock from this surprise encounter wore off, the Dreamer male found that he was quite delighted when he realized it was Brooklyn out here on this cold night. It was an odd thing to think that he was happy to find that it was the snowy pelted young woman, but he had not been able to spend much time at all with her recently. When Brooklyn was younger, he recalled that they had spent quite a bit of time together, playing silly games and creating little toys in his workshop. He hadn’t seen her around the manor so much lately, though that was of course due in part to his frequent trips to both Halifax and Phoenix Valley after Naniko’s incident months before.
A bit of that awkward feeling came upon him again at that thought, the same awkwardness that he had felt around Mati when he first ran into her after his initial return. Brooklyn would have had to have learned of what transpired between him and her biological mother, just as her sister had. Would she look upon him coldly, find him to be a crude man after what he had done? He almost expected it, after the initially cold encounter he had recently had with Mati. But Brooklyn turned and smiled at him, greeting him pleasantly with the familiar “Uncle Ehno” title. He felt that strange awkward feeling drift way quickly, relieved that she was still happy to see him despite all that he had recently gotten himself involved with.
He wondered briefly about the reasons why Brooklyn would be spending her time so late at night sitting out on the manor’s porch. It worried him to find the young woman out here alone, avoiding sleep for one reason or another. It occurred to him that he should perhaps also be more worried about his own recent bouts of sleeplessness, but being empathetic in nature, Ehno would always worry about others before worrying about himself. The Dreamer girl seemed rather content sitting out here during the quiet winter night, so the Marino convinced himself to push away his immediate worries until he could determine if there was more to her late-night star viewing than a simple want of fresh air.
The girl scooted over on the wooden steps of the porch, inviting him to join her in the space she provided. He smiled warmly at her as he took a seat beside her. She asked him how he was and he responded quickly, nodding briefly as he spoke. “I suppose I’m doing fairly well. How about you Brook? Have you been well?” The snowy-coated girl then threw him an amusing comment, grinning goofily at him along with it. The Marino man laughed. “Ah, no. I seem to be turning into quite the night owl. It seems you’ve caught me in the act,” he with a laugh, mirroring her silly grin upon his own features. The D’Angelo girl was the first to discover him during one of his sleepless nights. He hoped that it didn’t seem like too odd of a change within him. Ehno’s thoughts then drifted once more to the possible reasons why Brooklyn would be out here so late as well. “What’s new, Brooklyn? Is everything alright? Or are you just trying out the night life like I am?” Past the dash of humor he added to his words, there was that hint of concern. As far as he was aware, this was unusual behavior for the girl and he hoped that there wasn’t anything worrisome keeping her awake tonight.
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