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+--- Thread: AW and here i thought (/showthread.php?tid=12664)
and here i thought - KIVA. - 7/14/2026
(She is just outside the border of HH, with an intent to stick around for a while, but not permanently join yet)
The golden glade had been kind to her.
The towering trees, scattered streams, and sprawling woodland had offered enough familiarity that Kiva hadn’t felt entirely adrift since arriving in Mythris. It wasn’t home, not really, but every so often the breeze carried the scent of pine or damp earth just right, and for the briefest heartbeat she could almost pretend she’d simply wandered farther than intended.
Well, almost.
Curiosity had always been difficult to ignore. It had carried her across countless messenger routes back in Wind Haven, coaxed her over unfamiliar ridges and through forests she’d never seen before. Now it tugged at her paws once again. She’d already crossed paths with a few strangers in this peculiar land, each conversation answering one question while somehow leaving three more in its wake. So today, she wandered. No destination, no deadline, just wherever the trail decided to take her.
The dense woods of Golden Glade gradually loosened around her until sunlight spilled freely across the landscape ahead. Kiva slowed almost instinctively as the forest gave way to an endless meadow bursting with life. “Wow!” The word slipped free before she could think of anything more clever.
Fairmeadow Crossing stretched before her in broad waves of emerald and gold. Towering sunflowers nodded lazily in the summer breeze while wildflowers painted the earth in brilliant patches of color. Warm sunlight draped itself over everything, giving the fields an almost dreamlike glow that made the entire landscape feel softer somehow, peaceful and comfortable.
Like the sort of place one accidentally spent an entire afternoon. She could understand why, if she was being honest with herself. The breeze rolled through the grasses, carrying the sweet perfume of thousands of blossoms. Butterflies drifted aimlessly from flower to flower while bees hummed contentedly somewhere below the taller stalks.
And for a while, she simply walked with no urgency, no purpose beyond seeing what lay beyond the next rise.
The world had become very small these last few days—strangers, questions, trying to convince herself she wasn’t as lost as she felt. The meadow made it seem larger again. That was nice. Her gaze wandered across clusters of unfamiliar flowers before inevitably settling upon another patch of those strange blue blooms she’d begun seeing scattered throughout Mythris.
“They’re following me.” She narrowed her amber eyes dramatically. “I knew it,” the she-wolf spat out.
The flowers, predictably, offered no defense. Curiosity won anyway. She leaned down for another cautious sniff. Yep, just as she’d suspected. Sweet. Sharp. Almost spicy.
“Hmmmm,” Kiva straightened, “I still don’t trust you.” With one last suspicious glance over her shoulder and a huff, she continued on.
Eventually the sprawling fields surrendered once more to towering pines. Shade cooled the afternoon warmth almost immediately, replacing the perfume of flowers with damp earth, moss, and resin.
And then?
Something else reached her: Mint. Lavender. Chamomile. Yarrow. Her ears flicked forward.
Herbs.
Not scattered randomly through the forest, either. There were too many scents mingling together—strong enough to cut cleanly through the pine. Someone had once cultivated them. Without really thinking about it, Kiva followed the fragrance through the trees. The farther she walked, the clearer it became: a garden rested ahead. She couldn’t see it yet, but she could almost picture the overgrown herb beds from scent alone.
Then another smell drifted toward her: wolf. Several, in fact. Fresh.
Her pace slowed immediately. Amber eyes swept over the undergrowth before her nose confirmed what she’d already suspected: a scent border.
She stopped a respectful distance away. Old habits were hard to break.
Back in Wind Haven she’d crossed countless neighboring territories, but never without permission. You didn’t simply stroll across another pack’s borders because you happened to be curious. Well, that is, unless you enjoyed being chased. Kiva honestly rather preferred avoiding that whenever possible. She lingered where she stood, letting her gaze travel between the trees. Just beyond the scent line, she caught her first glimpse of the old inn nestled among the pines. Ivy climbed its weathered walls while herbs flourished in cheerful abandon around its foundation, their fragrance drifting lazily across the border with every passing breeze. It was beautiful. Whoever had once tended the gardens had known exactly what they were doing.
“Well,” she smiled to herself, “I suppose admiring from afar counts as respecting boundaries.”
Eh, mostly. She settled onto her haunches just outside the marked territory, allowing the breeze to carry the herbal scents toward her. Curiosity tugged insistently at the back of her mind, urging her to venture closer, to see what other forgotten plants might still be growing around the old inn.
Instead, she remained where she was. If someone lived here, she’d wait. If no one did, well, she could always come back another day after making sure the place truly was abandoned. Until then, the herbs, the birdsong, and the gentle whisper of the pines were more than enough company.