[ AW ] not so fond memories

Traveling back to the fae forest was not such a pleasant memory. The last time he stepped foot in the darkened woods he was met by a self proclaimed fairy. One who whispered sweet nothings, aided him in bed, and then left him for dead. The thought still turned him sour, the fact he allowed himself to succumb to such foolishness only made him more mad at himself than anyone else. He hadn't seen her since the encounter and he wasn't sure he would be so kind if they did cross paths again. Was that what brought him here now? Did he subconsciously want to find her and if he did than what? Words would fall upon deaf ears he was sure of it so how far was he willing to go to prove such frustrations?

A heavy sigh left his lips as he traveled deeper into the forest, the breaking lights through the trees shone off the black of his fur. When he reached the middle clearing he sat, golden eyes scanned the area before him as he took in the sounds of the surroundings. The cool winds rippled the fur upon his name, a subtle chill ran down his spine though in the moment it was relaxing. He much appreciated this weather in comparison to the scorching summer sun.

"Talking."

table by argent 2017

T

he air was brisk, as the winter Solstice was fast approaching, and with it, all the tidings of cold and snow and difficulty to bear. Sure, it was fun to build snow wolves and make tunnels in the drifts, but now that Willow was approaching adulthood, she was beginning to see the season a bit differently. The drought had killed the Fritz family garden; winter saw fit to keep it dead and useless, at least until spring came along. For now, there was not much for the girl to do around home, so she spent her free time exploring, before the snow made it nearly impossible to do so.

Today, curiosity and boredom had lured her to a place not too far from her humble home with her mothers and siblings. This forest had once been a source of intrigue, of mystery. But now, Willow was less certain that magic did exist, not after a particularly harsh lesson by a particularly opinionated, closed-minded professor. ”Magic does not exist.” The idea kept ruminating within her mind, wearing away at her confidence – at her sense of self. She was a foundling, but… ”There is no such thing.” Because every wolf had a mother, as well as a father. Except for Willow. It was very confusing, indeed, and such thoughts filled her skull with doubts.

If magic was not real, then fae could not exist. So why did she feel so on edge, so… weird in this forest? Lost to her imagination, the tri-color youth failed to notice that others were near.



@Anteros

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Shifting among the leaves demanded his attention towards the sound. Golden hues narrowed in at the base of the forest, the sight of another was there but was no so clear. He stood as his paws beckoned him forward, words threatening to leave his lips in question, but his nerves would find themself more lax when the creature did not sport an equally dark coat. Wouldn't have that been ironic? Running into the very woman who left him for dead prior. Never mix business with pleasure, another lesson learned for sure. As he drew closer, however, the pelt did seem familiar to him and while the memory was not as bitter as the witches he could feel his stomach turn into knots. He did not see the face of the individual right away, instead the pelt. Golds and darks, a very unique pattern that he had only seen on one another.

"Ky—,?" He stopped short when he did see the face of the other, and they did not sport the same glare that Kylar had. Clearing his throat he backed off a bit, "Pardon me, I though you were someone else," a soft sigh escaped his lips, his heart fell to his stomach momentarily for reasons unknown to him. It had been a long time since he'd ever seen Kylar, and there last meeting...well, didn't end the best he supposed.


"Talking."

table by argent 2017

O

ut of nowhere (or so it seemed to the Lowlander girl), a voice sounded, masculine and alarming. "Ky—,?" It caused Willow to visibly jump to be surprised in such a way, and she remembered the lessons of her mothers about being too trusting of others she did not know. It was likely a byproduct of being a student, being around lots of others most of the time. Hazel eyes darted about until she caught sight of the source of those baritone vocals: a dark wolf, the colors of smoke when there is a big fire, draped in a gray close to black itself. He was looking right at her with haunting yellow eyes, with a strange expression… Willow stared back, brows arched in silent inquiry.

The brute offered, "Pardon me, I though you were someone else, as a gentle sigh parted his maw, the sort of sigh that meant loss. Even Willow knew that sigh. A frown tugged at Willow’s dark lips as she regarded the stranger curiously. ”Oh, um, that’s quite alright. Are you – lost?” It stood to reason that if he was searching for someone, and how evidently not yet found that someone, that he was not in a place he knew.

Well, Willow was not exactly on her home turf, either, but being the helpful little thing that she was, she offered a soft smile. ”I’m not really from around here, myself, but if I can help…” Her voice trailed off before she was struck by a realization. ”Oh, my name is Willow! Willow Fritz. There, now that you know me, what can I do to be of assistance, sir?” She smiled, ignorant of who she was talking to.



@Anteros

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

It seemed she missed his misinformation, either that or she chose to willfully ignore it. Either way, he found quiet relief in their silence, his orange hues drawing away from her however as it was hard for him to see anything but Kylar. Why? Hell if he knew, and while she was not a bitter memory he often liked to forget what transpired before he took a break from this place. "Lost?" He mirrored back as his gaze fell upon her once more, "oh no, not quite, I am pretty familiar with the area but I thank you." A forced smile found his lips though short-lived as he turned his head away from her once more, his attention would be snagged when she supplied her last name.

Fritz.

He had only ever known two. Lucian and Kylar. "Oh," he cleared his throat, "no, no it's quite alright...actually," he shifted his weight uncomfortably beneath his paws. "I am not sure I should be speaking with you anyways," his stomach churned uncomfortably, a feeling he was not so familiar with and one he often tried to avoid.


"Talking."

table by argent 2017

T

he broad smile slowly vanished from her darkened muzzle as she watched the stranger’s odd reaction to hearing her own name – while he continued to keep his own moniker a secret, it seemed. The grown-up appeared very uncomfortable, very sad, or very… something. Willow was not entirely certain what was going on, even as the male had admitted he was familiar with the area. Something was definitely amiss here, and for a second or two, Willow wondered if she should be leaving. Grass green eyes darted away for a second to determine if there was somewhere else she should go to.

But the next words to greet her senses was all the more puzzling: "I am not sure I should be speaking with you anyways.” Twin ears pricked forward as the brute spoke, her eyes squinting a bit to get a better look at the stranger before her. ”What – why?” As she peered at him questioningly, she noticed something unusual. The dark fur with white markings on his features seemed oddly familiar, though she was certain she had never met this wolf before.

So then… why did he look so much like Anthe?

Willow blinked hard as she peered at the stranger, while images of her littermate, Anthe, filled her mind – dark with white markings on her features. Anthe had their mother’s eye color. Anthe looks like Kylar – but then again, she looks like this nameless brute, as well. Her eyebrows knit thoughtfully. Her other mother’s words about where pups came from swirled within her skull: ”Well… it's kind of like how a flower grows. First you need a seed… “


”The seed,” the girl mused aloud, still staring at the male, but with a peculiar expression, as if she were seeing a ghost. ”Is that – you?” Realizing this likely made no sense, Willow paused to think of how to better phrase her inquiry. Her eyes were wide as she addressed him again: ”Do you – do you know Kylar?”



@Anteros

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

There was never a moment in his life where he wished to be somewhere other than where he was at. Though she was a face that held nothing more than innocence he found himself spiraling into a place he did not want to revisit. He did not want Kylar to know he had met her kin, he did not want her to know that he still inhabited these areas. She had long forgotten about him he was sure, but now she would be reminded and the last thing the ebon' brute wanted to do was impede on her life...again.

Her confusion was well understood, he made no sense to even himself, but even with this, he didn't know how to back petal. She asked why and he had no response. His mouth gaped open slightly as he looked for the words, but there was nothing, only silence. His head shook softly, and the beating of his heart in his chest rang within his ears as well.

The seed.

"The what?" His nose curled slightly, seed? What was she talking about?

Is that you?

His brows furrowed with confusion, he was about to answer but quickly his mind pieced together what she was really asking. "No," he responded bluntly, and rather quickly to add. Just like all his top-tier traits the best one of all was his inability to lie. "I do," he responded dryly, his head began to hurt from the whiplash of emotions.

Maybe she wouldn't ask how, especially since he did not claim to be the seed.


"Talking."

table by argent 2017

T

here was a long, tense silence following the tri-color youth’s question – he either did not want to share why the two shouldn’t be talking, or he did not know himself. She matched his silence with her own, wondering if an answer would come. But an answer never arrived, and Willow began to feel more confused, and more curious.

The reaction that her following inquiry had inspired was more than interesting to Willow. His denial was swift and firm. Her features were skeptical, however, as she watched the stranger with whom she held some sort of connection. Being a student, she had been taught how to look for little details, and she searched his face for the truth. His odd reactions only piqued the girl’s curiosity further as she continued to study his features. Willow could not guess the dread the male felt deeply, though his expression was one of unease. Something was definitely amiss here.

She could not know the question he dreaded most, regarding Kylar Fritz. ”How?” Bright green eyes were glued to his golden sights. ”How do you know my mother?”


@Anteros

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

With their put-together pause he assumed that maybe his answer was good enough for her, but alas he would swiftly be proved wrong.

How.

Simple, to the point. Curious.

How do you know my mother?

Stubborn.

He let out a long sigh, his brows furrowed together while golden eyes laid upon her. There was a slight moment where he considered turning around and walking away to leave her question unanswered. It would be better than lying which he already couldn't do, but she also hadn't been so rude that he deemed her company distasteful. Another sigh, and internal battle for sure. How was he to go about this without her running back to her mother, or mothers he was sure if Kylar was still with Nephele. He knew very little about that situation as an entirety.

"Some time ago I loved your mother," he finally was able to let it out with a swift breath, but to ramble onto into flowing details, well, he wasn't quite sure that was what he was ready to do. "Are we squared away with the questions now?" It could have been considered a rude question, but his tone did not solidify that was his intention. Emotionally he was spent, he could no longer think of her without remembering the mistakes, and hardships, but at the same time the beauty of what she was to him a long time ago.

He would never allow himself to love like that again. It was the one time he allowed himself to be vulnerable and although it was no fault to one of them in particular that things did not work, he was unwilling to ever try it again.


"Talking."

table by argent 2017

A

couple of long, drawn out sighs parted the lips of the male stranger. The young femme was surprised that he had not simply walked away by now, or lashed out in his apparent anguish, but her gaze never wavered from his haunting eyes. Finally, he admitted what Willow had already suspected: "Some time ago I loved your mother.” It was strange to think of her Mum’s life, years ago, who she had once known and loved. Even more bizarre was the notion of her mother with a male! But life was just full of surprises.

The Fritz girl did not venture to ask his name. If she had not heard of him before, then maybe it was for a good reason. Maybe he had performed actions that were truly terrible? Or, what if it was Mum that had done something wrong?

Despite all these curiosities, Willow simply shrugged her shoulders when the dark brute asked if there were any further questions. ”That’s all,” she murmured softly, finally allowing her focus to turn away from the odd stranger, so full of secrets. Maybe it was better to leave the past behind. And maybe it just wasn't her business, anyway. She offered softly, ”Sorry for bothering you, Sir.”

The wolfess turned to leave this place, still feeling the weight of the unexpected and still mysterious meeting. Willow did not intend to speak to either of her mothers about this odd encounter.

Still, her heart was not so cold that she would not offer a faint smile as she left him behind. ”Whoever you are, I hope you find good things ahead. Okay?”

[exit Willow]



@Anteros

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck