,Wishing on a Shooting Star, :MB:

Exodus looked from Vaarak to Echo. Her head shot up and she rolled her eyes. Females, pups or not, were too damn emotional. When she looked down to Echo she smiled. "A good hiding spot I'm guessing so. But she did a no no and ran from the lands and stopped playing with us." she didn't know how to word what she wanted to say, instead she turned to Vaarak and smiled. "Do you wanna take a trip, with us?" she asked softly, her golden orbs danced like liquid gold as she asked. "Maybe we'll find Navi on the way, but who knows. Echo, would you like Vaarak to come with us? Big strong wolf to come with us two so we know we'll be safe" she winked down at Echo then smiled back at Vaarak. "Please..." she said softly and bent her head down a little showing the back of her skull, submitting a little in a begging manor.

Navi would approach and listen to Exodus and Varrak as they spoke for a moment. She would then flick her tiny ears forward at Echo’s sneer. Navi would then stand and narrow her eyes at Echo and pin her ears flat against her skull. “ HEY, LISTEN!” A low growl deep in her throat. “You don’t know anything you piece of bear dung. Nobody wants you here anyway.” She would say snarling at her, hackles raised, banner high over her back. She would look at Exodus and then back at Vaarack and flick her tail and would storm off.

Anger flooded her.

She HATED ECHO.

She came in and stole Damean Jr. from her and now Exodus and walked around like she owned the place. She would flick her tail this way and that. She was unhappy here. Her eyes would look for her mother and she would grit her teeth. Everyone ignored her…was it because she was so little? She fumed and smacked at a sapling with her paw leaving claw marks in it.

No one showed her respect….she would run to the border, a lot further than she was supposed to be away from the clearing. They could have Echo…they could have Damean too…she would snort and would flick her tail. Her nose caught a familiar scent. It was that bru……Despair. He had been nice to her. He understood. She looked back over her shoulder. She would miss her mother and father but she couldn’t stay here with Echo. She hated it. Someday she would find Damean Jr…and he would be sorry he forgot about her.

Nose to the ground she followed Despair’s scent and headed out into the lone lands.

Echo popped back onto her paws, following Exodus to the dens. It was difficult to slow her beating heart, full of a new kind of excitement she had never felt before. She really didn't feel like sleeping because the hare Cinder had caught for her gave her energy instead, but she listened to Exodus nonetheless, watching her draw the line in the dirt. When she was done, Echo walked up and put her toes on it, barely over the edge. She looked up at the wolfess, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "I'm not crossing it..." she teased, tail wiggling. Exodus kissed her on the top of the head and went to talk to Cinder about stuff.

Echo looked around the circle that Exodus had drawn, sniffing out the dens. It had her scent all over it, and some of Damean's. She turned thrice in a circle and curled up in a place that she could smell them both, but did not close her eyes just yet. She would watch the mouth of the den, either until Exodus returned or something happened. She liked the darkness of the den, which also happened to be dry and cool compared to the marshy spring outside. She wondered what it was like in Damean's lands, in his home... Were there blooming flowers? Was there emerald grass? And what about blue skies and purple mountains and crystal streams? Though Echo had only traveled a little in her life, she knew that not everywhere was the same... It was why she felt more at home in this den than anywhere else in Midnight Meadows.

Navi

Navi would look up at Vaarak and give a sigh. “I do miss him. I won’t lie about it.” She would say softly and her ears would flat. “I know I will see him again someday but I miss him now…and he…he…” She tucked her nose between her paws and would give a heavy sigh. Damean left after running after that new pup Echo… was being friends with her more…forgetting Navi. He did that with the other one too. She was beginning to thing she wasn’t important in his eyes. A soft whimper turned growl would come to her lips. “Doesn’t matter now…he wont come back to see me anyway…he will come back for Echo…but not me.” Her ears pinned and she would give a heavy sigh as a tear rolled down nose.

Cinder would watch Echo move off toward Exodus and gave a heavy sigh. She wished the pup would open up to her a little more. She took her in before even the alpha or Zelda had spoken for she loved the pup enough not to leave her in the hands of Evon. She would glance over at her own blood, Navi, who was talking with Vaarak and shake her head slightly and then seemed very intent on grooming a paw.

She was doubting her abilities as a mother at the moment. Her children leaving her…Damean…though not of her womb was of her heart even if he never did call her mother….Navi, child of her womb born out of hurt but Cinder never told Navi that. As far as Navi knew, Link was her father….and now Echo….Evon’s get more than likely. But she couldn’t allow Evon to have her and twist her. She cared for the pup to much.

Lost in thought she would look up at Exodus as she approached and would let her tail sway back and forth. “Hello Exodus.” She would greet her friend only to have her ears flick to the sides at her next words and she would push herself to her feet. She licked the end of her nose and knew that Exodus would be a good ‘mother’ for the pup. That wasn’t the issue at all. She would nod her head slowly and place a smile upon her lips. “Of course Exodus.” She said her voice not betraying the slight hurt she felt inside. “I am glad she bonded with someone. I just want Echo to be happy.” Her last words weren’t false…she did want Echo to be happy; she wanted her family to be happy and healthy. She would nod again, keeping her tail from being limp so it wouldn’t betray her hurt. “You have my blessing.” She would say. “Excuse me though…I thirst.”

Echo brightened the second Exodus mentioned taking the role of her mother. For some reason, she connected with her more than anyone else, at the moment. Maybe it was they had similiar pasts, maybe it was that she was Damean's sister (or close enough), or maybe it was just that deep down inside, they were of the same heart. When it came to actually telling this to Cinder, she paused; she knew that the problem had been that she just didn't connect with the fem, but it would probably hurt her just the same. "Yeah... But, I'll still be around, so I won't really be leaving, will I?" she considered. There was a streak of optimism in her. "But I'd like to be with you."

Exodus leaned into her ear, pulling her close with a paw. She listened, and when the notion that the surrounding pack was afraid of her, something within her stirred. She wasn't sure what it was, but it felt exciting. A thrill. "I guess you're right about me being a pup and stuff..." she admitted. "But! I'm strong and smart and fast. Doesn't that count for something?" She cast her shining blue eyes up at her newfound guide, twinkling with admiration. It was a look of hope, one not commonly seen on her features, but right now it was as present as it had ever been.

Echo's lips pursed at Exodus' mention of opening her heart to Cinder. "But... She's already got Navi... and a family to take care of..." Echo said softly, ears flickering back. "I don't wanna cause her any trouble... I know she took care of Damean and stuff too, but... I don't know." She knew that even if she willed herself to love Cinder as an adopted mother, it... something about it still felt vaguely off to her, but what it was at this moment, she could not define. But she smiled as Exodus nudged her chin, and her ears perked forward to listen intently to what she had to say.

"There are two Dameans?" she asked about halfway through, her brow furrowed in confusion, but it disappeared as Exodus went on. Oh, there was the Damean she knew, and then his dad was also named Damean. Her smile, however, faded as the tale went on... She suddenly felt very sad for her friend, but at the same time, comforted; he never got to know his parents, and neither did she. No wonder they had connected so easily. Though she had not yet witnessed death herself, it was already an understanding of hers that not everyone on the earth remained where they were. Her ears perked when Exodus mentioned sharing a home in Jabbar. "But... I thought I had to stay here? I mean, I wanna go, but..." She looked over her shoulder at Cinder and the rest of the wolves. Now, she definitely wanted to go. "But I can't. Everybody says so, and nobody's telling me why," she pouted, snorting out of her little black nose.

She wasn't sure why she was here. It broke Exodus's heart. She had no children so hearing this little female talk so casually about not knowing a thing about why she was here, it sounded more like she had no idea who she was supposed to be. Then her remark about Cinder made her stomach drop more. "I'm sure she does... Maybe just open up to the idea?" she was skeptical. Cinder was a good wolf, and Exodus had defended her many of times, had almost killed herself for the fem, but she didn't... know... her. She knew of the stories and what had happened in Jabbar back in the day when Lacuna was around. Her mind was racing around thinking of her father and that fem, how they had been so close, and Havoc. That old fem that wandered the lands. Akiko. They all were gone now, either back home or death itself had claimed them.

Exodus leaned forward and nudged Echo on the chin softly. "Buck up child. It'll be okay" she leaned back and smiled softly but the smile broke slightly and waivered on a frown when the young thing asked about her father and mother, Akiko... she let the smile turn into that of a memory before her maw fell open and lips moved to tell the young lady a story of her life.

"When I was born the pack of Jabbar were staying in Muerta. My mother, Lilith, was Damean's mate. Damean is the name of your friend Damean's father. My mother and her sister brought just Legend and I there. We were raised just by our father and when we went back to Jabbar we had one new wolfess with is. Jaded. She was a timber looking fem, more dark coat then not. She raised Legend and I as her own and eventually our father took her as a mate. That was our family. Damean was our dad and Jaded was our mother. Later some mean wolf came and told us he was our father. I came here later, and my brother came here, did some very bad stuff, Jabbar has a treaty with your pack here. So you're safe in either lands. But when my brother was killed by Link it was just me. I had no idea my father, for though he may not be my father by blood he was still by father. Jaded and him had started a family. A wolf went to Jabbar and killed him, Damean. And Jaded was left to raise a litter of pups on her own. Jaded, my mother, died giving birth to your friend Damean. So both my parents aren't there, and Akiko would be considered Damean's legan guardian now, though the whole pack must look over him for he is going to be the future king. The pack was attacked when Damean was here with Navi and Cinder. It was a sad thing. But now since they took their home back, he went home. That's his home, my home, your home, anyone is welcome there... they are dark wolves, and can be very mean, but they are all kind in heart too. Neutral Darkness is what I see when I look at them."

Her voice was bright when she finished talking to Echo. She let the moment stand alone letting the pup understand what she had just said. She would let her ask any questions she wanted, Exodus wasn't afraid to answer them, for the pup seemed older then she actually was, and Exodus was now fond in this short time, to have someone to talk to. Pup or Adult. Echo was a cute little thing, and eager to learn even if she looked so reserved and not very open to things...

Echo sat back on her haunches, her brow furrowed. She looked at the ground, scratching at it with her little black nails. "I don't know why I'm here, actually..." she said, pawing at a sprouting dandelion. She hesitated... Was the white wolf that had brought her here... Taken care of her... Spoke words about what she would be one day... Was that her mother? "I don't know if she's my mother... I just remember her always being there when I was younger. But I don't remember a lot." She guessed that the white wolf could have been her mother, but if so, then where was her father? And why did she abandon her here? Again, the questions spiraled in her young mind. And if she was... then what did Exodus know about her? The majority of the pack seemed to have distaste for her, and Echo couldn't understand why. "I guess Cinder's my mother now... I don't know if she wants to be, though..." she said, trailing off. She didn't want to think about that very much; something about it made her hurt on the inside.

Upon hearing that Exodus was somewhat of Damean's older sister, a curious question popped up in her mind. Her blue eyes flickered up to Exodus'. "Do you know your mother? Is she with Damean and Akiko now?" She couldn't recall Damean saying anything about his parents. Did he not remember too, like she did? But he seemed very important to them... Echo did not know that he would one day be a king, but whether he held that status or not, did not particularly matter to her. They were friends.

Exodus was waiting, and her heart ached for her 'mate' though they hadn't quite established that still wasn't back yet. She grew impatient and when her mind had come to a comclusion to go to Jabbar... back to Jabbar... she hadn't been there since her father took her here... no since she had come here and her father had worked out the treaty. She felt hot tears swell in her eyes at the thought of him. Oh how she wished he were still around, and Jaded. She could still hear him, ' if you wait on a male you'll be waiting your whole life Exodus, we don't like to settle down, we'll mate for life, but we'll always be busy protecting the pack', she sighed and was going to stand and leave when the snap of a twig made her ear curve round' then her head followed.

She smiled down to the pup and laughed slightly. "Well yes I am. You must be Echo. He was fond of you. I'm Exodus. We're not quite... blood related but I am his older sister by family." She smiled and layed her body down getting ready to talk to the young female. "Can I ask why you were brought here? I know your mother, if she is your mother that is..." She smiled to the young pup and waited for an answer, hopefully it wasn't to sore of a subject, because if it was, she had good news for the young fae, she had decided she'd bring little Echo to Jabbar when she made the trip.