Wolves of the Falling Stars Book 4: The Return

Chapter 19

In the morning, as her brother and sister were occupied with their playing, Quiet Ocean snuck out of the den again. Her mother often didn't raise too many questions when she stepped outside of the den, as she didn't linger far and was often easily spottable among the other dens. Besides, she and her siblings wouldn't be in the birthing den forever, and her mother trusted she would never go far.

Guiltily, Quiet Ocean decided to rest in the sun near the omega den again. Her conversation with Dandelion Puff had been on her mind lately. She knew it might paint the wrong picture visiting the omega den, but she was generally interested in what Dandelion Puff had to say and wouldn't mind speaking to her again.

In fact, she felt Dandelion Puff might be the only person she treated with her suspicions. Lately, as Quiet Ocean grew older, she felt less and less that her identity was valid. Just today, she had seen the way that Daffodil Bloom's pelt sparkled gold in the sunlight, like her mother. Once again, it had brought about a churning feeling in her stomach seeing the two look so similar side by side. Once again, she felt like she was an outsider, yet she couldn't describe how.

And she couldn't describe her fascination with the omega den, as well as Lily Petal, despite knowing how much the white she-wolf was to be avoided.

"Hey, what are you doing out here? It's definitely not as warm as it was the other day," came a familiar voice.

Quiet Ocean turned her head and widened her eyes at the sight of Dandelion Puff peeking her head out of the den. Cautiously, the brown she-wolf came and settled down next to her in the sun. They were sheltered behind a tree and not easily spotted by the other wolves, though Quiet Ocean knew there were no penalties to the omegas for merely walking around the den area.

"I don't know. I just felt like coming out here," Quiet Ocean said.

"Did you have a fight with your siblings? Lily Petal and Feather Wings fought all the time when we were younger. I usually just kept with my mom," Dandelion Puff explained.

"No. My mom doesn't mind when I go outside and rest in the sun. But I was kind of hoping to see you."

"Me?! Why?" Dandelion Puff asked.

"I don't know. Maybe now that I know that omegas aren't all bad like Shining River says, I'm more curious. Plus, you're easy to talk to," Quiet Ocean said.

"What did you want to talk about?" Dandelion Puff asked.

"I don't know yet."

Dandelion Puff chuckled. "Well, you and your siblings will train soon. Isn't that right?"

Quiet Ocean nodded.

"I can't really offer advice."

"That's okay," Quiet Ocean murmured. Her mind kept flashing to the image of Daffodil Bloom from the morning, the way the gold seemed to shimmer off her pelt under the light of the morning sun. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. 

"Everything okay?" Dandelion Puff asked.

"I was thinking about what you said the other day about Lily Petal..."

Dandelion Puff's eyes widened. "I shouldn't have said anything, and you really shouldn't repeat what I said."

"I haven't."

"What did it make you think about?" Dandelion Puff asked.

"Nothing really. I don't really know what I think anymore. But I know I was curious to come back over here," Quiet Ocean said. "I guess...I'm not really sure who I am."

"Huh? You're a member of the Pack of the Falling Stars, aren't you?" Dandelion Puff asked. 

Quiet Ocean laughed. "Yeah. I'm a wolf and all that, but I meant...family."

"Oh, are you having some fights with your mom or something?" Dandelion Puff asked. "Lily Petal and our mom always were arguing with each other. Sometimes it's easy to feel out of place. I know being less skillful than my siblings, I always felt separate from them."

"But it's not that. It's not that I can't play as well as them. I just still feel...separate," Quiet Ocean murmured. "Like I'm not in the right place."

Dandelion Puff frowned. "What made you think this?"

"Sometimes I look at my parents, at my mother, at my sister, and they look so similar. Daffodil Bloom looks just like my mother. I don't want to look like my mom's twin, but...I feel weird I don't look like her at all, or my father."

"Have you talked to Small Fox about this?" Dandelion Puff asked.

"Yes. She tells me the same thing. That sometimes fur color skips a generation or something, yada yada."

Dandelion Puff giggled. "Well, it's true. Neither of my parents had brown pelts like me."

"But did you feel left out?"

"Just for the reasons I said before. Not because I didn't look like them."

"I don't know. Sometimes I just don't feel like a member of the family. I love my parents and my siblings, but I just have felt like something was off for a very long time. I don't know. Am I being weird?" Quiet Ocean asked.

Dandelion Puff paused and thought for a moment. "I guess I understand. It can be hard finding your place, but maybe what's good is that you're unique in your family, at least as appearances go anyway."

"Yeah...I guess," Quiet Ocean murmured.

"Sorry. I don't know if I'm helping," Dandelion Puff murmured.

"It's okay. I just like when other wolves listen," Quiet Ocean said. She rested her head on her paws and let out a sigh. She should've known that Dandelion Puff would've had nothing really to say on the matter, and maybe she truly was just over-thinking. Daffodil Bloom never felt like anything was weird, and while Snow Fall had maybe verbally expressed his curiosity once or twice, it didn't seem to bother him anymore.

Dandelion Puff seemed to notice Quiet Ocean's distraught nature. She gently rested her tail on Quiet Ocean's back.

"Hey. I think...I think maybe one day, if she's doing better, you should talk to Lily Petal," Dandelion Puff said.

"Why? She just yells at me," Quiet Ocean murmured. "She can't help me."

"But I think she'd understand."

"What does that mean?" Quiet Ocean asked.

"I have to head back inside now. But just think about what I said. Maybe not now, but when you're older, you two might have a lot to talk about," Dandelion Puff said.

Confused, Quiet Ocean watched as the omega disappeared back into the darkness of her den. While Quiet Ocean had no intent to reach out to Lily Petal anytime soon, Dandelion Puff's suggestion lingered deep in the back of her mind.

How could a mad omega possibly help her sort out her identity crisis?