The gully was still the best place to acquire rare herbs. Though Novel had been absent from these lands for a long time she had no doubt that fact still rang true. Though spring was now with them Novel was still upset at the loss of her companion, she didn’t know that she would ever stop grieving. Now that a little time had passed the emotions came and went, she didn’t cry constantly anymore at leas. Thoughts of him always made her eyes misty, but she was controlling herself better now. He wasn’t on her mind constantly, only during those moments of the day where the two of them shared their daily routines. That was the hardest part.

An herb gathering trip seemed to be a perfect opportunity to get her mind of things. Novel guessed that she was struggling with depression, and struggled to get out of the den in the mornings. She forced herself to emerge today, the weather was too pleasant for her to simply ignore. She might have just lingered in the pack lands, but despite her motivation to do anything her body was feeling rather spry.

She asked Ara along with her, because likely the trip would be a few days with how slow she moved. Having alone time with her mate had sounded good as well. So eventually she stepped foot in the lush gulley, her bright eyes sparkling as they fell on the greenery around them. Novel felt better today than she had since the fall, her heart and her body both.

One final trip sounded like a nice distraction from losing Elohim. Even the beauty of springtime - now fully in bloom - couldn't fully take their minds off of him, though it was about as good a distraction as anything else. One last trip outside of Lirim's lands, she told herself as the two of them readied themselves to go. Surely she'd said that before, but this time seemed more permanent somehow. The aching in her bones was growing too persistent to ignore and Novel's cough couldn't be blamed on a cold. Their bodies were failing them, and she knew the signs as any experienced healer would. Neither of them had much time left, though she couldn't gauge any specific timeline. Novel seemed closer to the end than her, though she found it hard to think about her mate's passing in such matter-of-fact ways; treating death as something inevitable had seemed easy until now. Now it felt impossible. Ignoring it was far easier, especially when Novel showed some initiative and suggested they take a trip to the gulley. She eagerly agreed to accompany her, glad Novel was feeling well enough to consider going so far from home. Fern Gulley was easily one of the most fertile lands she'd found and by this time of year, she had no doubt that herbs would be flourishing throughout the landscape; surely that would lighten their moods, if nothing else could. The journey wouldn't be an easy one by any means, but with the two of them taking their time they eventually made their way there. Getting away had been a good idea, Ara was sure of it, as much as she wished to spend the last of her days among Lirim's willow woods. Her own attention was cast outward as the gulley came into view, roving with interest over the various herbs and plants that grew. She had no need for anything in particular, but she caught the strong scent of lavender on the breeze and began to trail after it, navigating carefully down into the ravine to wander through the growing grasses.

Octave was making it a point to try and track down some of the better places to gather herbs. He would need to start building a store soon. The gulley he found himself in seemed to be one such place, he had already noted some herbs he'd struggled to find in the past and even some he'd never encountered before. He was smiling, content with the discovery he'd made and basking in the warmth of the early spring day, the comfort of Noko's weight as she dozed between his shoulders.

Octave had decided to take a brief break for a while and was just about to return. He allowed a yawn to pull at his jaw and rose to his full height. He was drowsy, not totally out of it as he'd not napped but the warmth and contentedness was making him less aware than he might otherwise be. So it was a surprise when he pushed from the thick grasses and found himself within the company of two unknown wolves. There was still a distance between them, enough so he could escape if he wanted and that they may not have noticed him yet but suddenly he found his legs locked, his whole body frozen. He silently prayed that he would go unnoticed.  

Octave & Noko

Novel found herself often trailing after her brother after he'd found her. Though sometimes, and more often than not, she would wander away to be alone with her thoughts. Even so, she returned to the company of her brother at the end of most days, and when she didn't, she was usually within the vicinity. Today she followed his scent to the gully where she figured he'd be looking for herbs or probably relaxing the day away. She hadn't been in his company long today, so she was relieved when his trail grew stronger and fresher. Her broken leg had healed, but it left a noticeable limp.

As she got closer, she spotted him standing stock still and she wondered why. "Octave?" She approached at a slower pace until she stood beside him, her eyes locked on him until she caught wind of the others that were there. Her gaze turned to the two older women. As, so that was it? She stood there quietly, watching the pair and feeling quite shy to say anything.

She hadn’t been forced to work hard to get Ara to come with her on the little trip. Years had passed since she had been here, and when she was honest with herself, she wanted to see it one more time. Novel could feel the end approaching, the feeling had been there for too long now. It was getting closer. There was no set day, but she doubted she would see the leaves change again.

She coughed heavily as her paws carried her frail frame through the dense underbrush. Ara made the path ahead of her, but it was still anything but easy. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and steady her footing when she was surprised with the face of a man she thought she’d never have to see again.

Her heart suddenly started to race and her breath refused to come easily as her blue eyes stared the boy down. She didn’t realize how young he was, or even that the markings were not perfect. This was Lel, come back to hurt her one more time.

She didn’t know what to do, but felt herself panic as she frantically sought out Ara’s side. Novel aimed to bury her features into her mate’s coat. She would make him leave her in peace.

Allegro had been out tracking down prey again. He was hoping to bring something home today, something a little on the bigger side, but he wasn't having much luck so far today. His plans were to leave the deer herd near Abaven alone, so they would stick around and continue to thrive for when the pack actually needed a bigger hunt. So Allegro would travel away from Abaven territory for his normal hunting which is what he was doing today. Although when a familiar scent crossed his current trail it drew his attention away without hesitation. With a grin he changed his course and fallowed after his brother. He found he hadn't been to far off and when his Blue eyes landed upon the scene he was quite surprised. First to notice was his sister, standing at Octave's side and staring ahead of them. When Allegro came up beside Octave (his other side) his eyes noticed another familiar face. He had met Ara before and she was standing with a women that Allegro didn't recognize. He grinned and moved forward past his siblings to greet his grandmother and find out who the other women was. "It's good to see you again Ara!" he greeted once he was close enough and stopped. "Speech"

Admittedly, Ara was distracted, feeling a determination fill her chest as she trudged through the grasses to find the lavender that had piqued her interest. Occasionally she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Novel was making the descent close behind, though her attention was mostly on navigating forward. The scent of the herbs had grabbed her attention so thoroughly, and the wind was nonexistent, so when the sudden scent - and sight - of a stranger suddenly hit her. She was to close to avoid the attention of the white and black wolf, and before she had a chance to react there was another wolf trailing close behind him, similar in size. Though she felt her own nerves begin to rise, she was acutely aware of the way Novel all but flinched beside her and moved to press tightly into her. Her fear was palpable, and she knew precisely why, though her breath hitched uncomfortably in her throat before she could rationalize anything. This wasn't, couldn't be.. A familiar face seemed to rouse her from her sudden stupor, though it took a moment for her mind to catch up to her present. This was.. their grandson. Hymn's son. Slowly she began to relax, though her cautious demeanor didn't entirely fade as she pressed back against Novel's touch.  "Allegro, it's good to see you too," she admitted, letting a slow grin sneak over her lips as she turned to nudge Novel lightly.  "My love, this is.. Allegro. One of Hymn's sons. Our grandson." She'd told Novel briefly that she'd met him, when Novel had first come to Lirim. "And Allegro - your grandmother Novel," Ara gestured from Allegro to Novel, her own gaze brightening considerably now. Who the other two were, she had a hunch, but she wasn't going to take a guess until she was told.