Mountain of Dire Connect the dots straight to the stars

Lenae moved over the steep, rocky terrain with ease, her footsteps steady and sure. Not once did she falter as she climbed ever higher, moving further and further from the safety of the Tarn below. This was Lenae's element, like all of the Selwyn's who were lucky enough to be born in the Homeland, scaling terrain like this came naturally to her. As easy as one two three. And yet...Lenae slowed to a stop, her brows knitting together as she let out a long puff of air that clouded from her lips. Why was she even here? Hadn't wandering off landed her in this mess to begin with?

She liked to think things were different, that the Tarn would serve as a new begging but what if she wasn't good enough? What if she wasn't a good mother to the little lives growing inside of her? The thought made her nauseous- or perhaps it was just a continuation from the general sense of blehhh that had been bothering her for the past couple of days. She had thought the fresh mountain air would help but- what if she really was sick? Should she hurry back down the mountain and seek out Lorcan's advice? He had been a healer once, surely he knew of a plant that could settle her stomach.

She started to move again, a little quicker this time. If she wanted to find something to bring back to the Tarn's caches before nightfall then there was no time to waste, she had to be swift, sleek and clever if she wanted to catch anything that lived upon this rugged terrain.

He was still annoyed. Bitter. Whatever. He was trying not to care so much. Being indifferent had always worked out better for him. It was easier than allowing all of his stupid emotions to bubble to the surface. Repressing them wasn’t good for him—Cyril knew that—but he didn’t know how to confront them. Didn't want to. Whatever. His yellow eyes rolled as he stomped further up the mountain, a deep grimace etched into his dark features.

Was this how Sven felt after learning of Cyril’s existence?

Was he supposed to be happy? Supportive?

How?

Sure, the sullen boy was happy to see that his mother was moving on from the death of her mate. She was certainly doing better than he was. But he hadn’t expected her to seek out another mate so soon. He’d always been wary of the tawny male but he hadn’t expected this. A loud, exasperated huff escaped him as he continued his way up the mountain, leaving the Tarn somewhere behind him. He’d return—he couldn’t leave his mother just yet—but he needed space. Fresh air. Time to regroup and accept his mother’s decisions because there was nothing else he could do.

His features softened at the familiar shape in the distance. She smelt like his mother—which meant she, too, was carrying pups this spring. He was curious about who the father was but dared not ask. It wasn’t his place. None of his business, really. Not unless Lenae decided to share that with him. Otherwise he wouldn’t pry. His pace quickened as he made a beeline for his former teacher, his yellow gaze never once wavering from her tawny frame. He did not say anything as he approached. Instead the boy offered a low woof as he sidled up next to her. Where was she hurrying off to…?

As flighty as Lenae could be she would never turn Cyril away. Her ears twitched at the sound of his approach, then perked at his woof. He'd grown into his big puppy paws well and as such no longer thundered about, instead, his footfalls were calculated and careful- befitting of his cool cucumber persona. Lenae slowed to a crawl so he could catch up, her tail wagging behind her as she ducked to give his chin an affectionate lick or two. She had been distant as of late and...well, Cyril deserved so much better. Yet another wolf that she'd let down. When would it end?

She pulled back a little, taking in the sight of his frown. He was troubled and every right to feel that way, but Lenae wanted to soothe him as best as she could. She had no idea how but she would try, after all that was half of the battle. Licking her lips, maybe she was a little nervous, she gestured for him to follow with a bob of her head.

"It's been a while since we last hunted together."She uttered, knowing that it was her fault. If she had stayed rather than ran away like a coward he wouldn't have missed her so. "I'd really appreciate it if you joined me but...only if you want to."

Lenae wouldn't force him to do a thing, a nod or a shake of his head would suffice. But she hoped that he would accept her offer, not because she was scared to do this alone but company didn't seem like such a bad thing. Not when it was Cyril by her side.

His own plume wagged softly behind him as she pressed a few licks to his chin in greeting, her demeanour changing immediately upon his arrival. She seemed pleased to see him, which eased the frown tracing his troubled features. Cyril knew it was still an adjustment for her; she had not been doing well since she’d left the north. But he wasn’t surprised. He had barely kept it together after the death of his father. The only reason he hadn’t completely crumbled was his mother. She had needed him to be strong in order to move forward from Wraith’s untimely death. But, perhaps he had been too strong. It seemed as though his mother had already forgotten about the ebony Kael.

Anger threatened to bubble within his chest as he dismissed the thought with a flick of his tail. Now wasn’t the time for negativity—not when Lenae appeared to be doing better.

A hunt? He nodded softly at the suggestion, his gentle smile returning once more. For a moment he was reminded of better days on the monadnock—days he’d spent scouring the territory with Lenae at his side. Despite her timidness she had been a wonderful teacher; the best Cyril could have asked for.

What do you have in mind? He hummed, his voice soft from lack of use as he regarded her once more. He was getting better-ish at hunting prey on the mountain, although he still preferred to use the forest below as his preferred hunting grounds. But, if they were going to make the tarn their home, Cyril would need to learn how to hunt on every type of terrain—especially the mountain. There were going to be a few more months to feed in the coming months; even though Cyril was pleased about one of the upcoming litters he could never let them, or their parents, starve. Two able-bodied wolves would also be out of commission for a few weeks as the puppies adapted to the outside world. He knew that his mother would be taken care of by the pale agouti; it was Lenae he worried about. But he would do whatever necessary to ensure both she and her children were fed and taken care of. She was like family to him.

Lenae hummed, a little smile forming on her lips as she her tail swished behind her. Whilst it was true that Cyril had grown tall in the past few months it went without saying that they weren't going to be able to drag a moose all the back to the Tarn. As impressive as it would be...Lenae knew that were would have to aim a little lower if they wanted to have a reasonable chance of catching something to bring back to the pack's caches. A few ideas tumbled about in her mind, if the Mountain of Dire was anything like her homeland then there would be a few little critters on the menu. They just had to find them first, which was easier said than done.

"I have an idea. Have you ever heard of Pika? They're like um...little mousy things, but bigger? They live in colonies like rabbits, so if we're lucky we might be able to catch a few."Lenae broke into a trot and clambered over the rocks with ease, her nose to the ground as she sniffed and snuffed.

"One time my sister and I, Kaela, found a whole borrow of them between some rocks. Never heard so many paws scuffling about, there must have been a lot...Fifty maybe."

It was a silly story really, one of very little subtance. She felt a little foolish after the words passed her lips, what if Cyril thought she was boring. Things were different before, when he was a pup, now he was in that moody teenager phase- what if she annoyed him? Licking her lips nervously, she hurried on ahead, glancing over her shoulder every now and then to make sure Cyril was following behind.

He regarded her carefully, a worried expression etched into his dark features. She had always been timid; cautious; almost tentative in her actions, but determined nonetheless. It was one of her (many) qualities that Cyril liked. He mentally kicked himself for being so distant toward her since they settled into Clearwater. She had always been there for him and had done nothing wrong. The brooding Kael-Santoro was not angry at her for running away after Wraith’s death. Hell, he wished he could have done the same, but he knew he couldn’t leave his mother. Especially when what was left the monadnock crumbled around them. Despite being his teacher during his younger years, the tawny woman had no obligations toward him or his family. There was nothing tying her to the north—even if she had pledged her loyalty to them.

His ears twitched as she spoke. Pika? The corners of his mouth drooped as he tried to recall the creature that matched the name in his memories, but nothing came. Cyril gave a soft shake of his head in response, his chin tipping to the side as she began to describe them. Little mousy things, but bigger. He blinked, slowly, as he followed her with tight lips. Well, if they lived in colonies like rabbits they shouldn’t be too difficult to find, which meant they could bring a pawful of pika back to the Tarn caches.

A rare smile broke his dark features in response to her short story, his tail swaying behind him in amusement. Y’think we could find a burrow like that here? If they were as dumb as rabbits, or mice, stumbling upon a pika borrow nearby would be beneficial to the pack. Fast food.

Lenae nodded. "This seems like the sort of place they would want to live, up high, plenty of rocks to scramble between. They eat grass, things like that, so we need to find somewhere wide and open. Somewhere they could forage, but close to cover for safety."

If she had been small enough Lenae would have done the same. It reminded her of Cyril's little watch point atop the Monadnock, how they had to scramble through gaps to get there. How things had changed since then, so much, it almost seemed like a life time ago. One she wanted back with all she had.

She continued on, trotting over rocks as her tail swished behind her. More out of habit than anything else.

Soon-time seemed to pass so quickly in Cyril's company- she came upon a crag of rocks, jutting out of the mountain like a mini-monadnock. This would be a good place to start. Bending down, she sniffed and snuffed at the gaps between the rocks. It was apparent that something had taken up residence, but what? A pika? Or another little rodent.

Standing tall, or at least as she could manage, Lenae beckoned Cyril over with a soft woof and a flick of her tail.

"There might be some in here"She told him, her voice quiet as to not scare their potential prey. "I think I smell them? It's been a while, I can't remember the exact scent." A sorry rippled on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back in case it was unwarranted.

"We need to lure them out....Maybe we should dig?"

He followed behind her attentively, his yellow eyes sweeping the rugged terrain around them in search of the little creatures and potential burrows hidden among the cracks in the stone. Lenae claimed that this was ideal landscape for them… an abundance of grass and rocks littering the territory; it shouldn’t be too difficult for the duo to track a few of them down to bring back to the Tarn. The almost-yearling nodded silently in response, despite his hunting partner not being able to see him, but he dared not break the silence with his voice. Cyril didn’t want to scare away their prey by being too loud, although that was an impossible feat for the sullen boy.

They continued their scramble without many words being exchanged between them, but Cyril didn’t mind. He preferred it—especially with Lenae. Not that he didn’t want to talk to her, he just didn’t need to. Physical cues and facial expressions were enough to convey messages; he didn’t like polluting their time together with nonsense words.

His tawny companion’s pause caused his ears to perk up. Something had captured her attention. He sauntered over to her side, his brows narrowing softly as he glanced down at the gap in the rocks. Something was down there, but what? His chin tipped toward her as she spoke, mentioning that it kind of, sort of smelt like the creatures they’d been tracking, which was good enough for Cyril. He nodded immediately at her question—digging was a good idea. Hit 'em from both sides? He suggested, his voice soft as he motioned to the other side of the rock.

"Good idea." Better than hers, probably. She'd never been much of a thinker, a planner, if anything she'd just regurgitated what she'd heard someone say before. "I'll start here. Maybe you can go behind, in case they try to escape?" She gestured with a dainty flick of her tail.

Pacing back and forth, Lenae's gaze roamed over the ground as she tried to pinpoint the best place to start digging. There were all sorts of nooks and crannies, she just had to find the right out. Bending down, she sniffed at the ground and- aha, this seemed like the best place. The pika scent was strongest there, as though they were just out of reach. Lenae began to dick, her front paws displacing dirt as she hurried. There was no time to lose, they had to be quick lest the litter critters tried to make an escape!

"I'm digging! Tell me if they head your way." There was no point in trying to dig the whole warren out, they only had to trick the pika into thinking they were all in danger. That way some would try to escape and the Tarn duo could snap them up in their jaws, a tasty little snack.