All in all, the little family squad had enjoyed a fairly uneventful adventure since departing Grizzly Hollow. Kjell wasn’t sure what he expected – the alpha had never liked him, but the guy had seemed like he thought it was a good idea. Maybe he really was that messed up, watching his daughter die like that. But if anything happened to Ægir, then-- No. No, he was not going to paint the devil on the wall. His son was fine, his mate was fine, and they were going to see the woods and teach the kid a few things.

Speaking of which.

Kjell stretched out, long and lanky, stretching his toes before shaking out his dark coat. Small hairs flew out in every direction and he sighed – fall shed would be coming soon, and after fall came winter. Him and Signy were gonna need to decide if they’d join another pack then, so their kiddo would be safe when the snows came and the temperatures dropped. But they had plenty of moons between then and now, and there were still some delights of some her had left to teach Ægir.

“Oi, boyo,” he rumbled, nosing his son’s shoulder. Damn, but this kid grew like a weed. “Wanna go see somethin’ interestin’?”

“Uh huh.” The older male leaned forward to tip at his son’s ear playfully, something bright in his single eye was he watched the kid’s sheer joy at the idea. See, this was the reason they left Grizzly Hollow. It was too morbid, there was too much death – what was the point of staying with a pack for protection if the alpha’s own daughter wasn’t safe? Out here, there was a whole world to see…and hopefully, that would help him prepare Ægir for whatever else he might meet. Good or bad.

For now, though, Kjell intended to keep the surprise good.

“C’mon, then. Follow me,” he urged the boy, looking back to make sure his son was following before setting away from the small site they were using for their night’s rest. Even in the fog, it didn’t take him too long to navigate; a long, long time ago, he’d stayed near the Lagoon with an old friend. A friend he thought he had feelings for – how foolish he was. But he had no idea Signy was out there.

Soon, small little lights began to blink through the fog, near the water, where the lightning bugs made their last attempts to find mates and make little children before the chill set in. Kjell grinned and glanced down at his kid. “Whaddya think?”

It was a good thing that fireflies weren’t spooked easily, or they’d have a problem. Kjell’s mouth twisted into an amused smile, wondering where this clumsy puppy had come from. His mate was so dainty – he didn’t think it was possible for her to thunder anywhere – and the dragon lord himself had always been careful in his comings and goings. You never knew if a friend or foe lurked just around the bend.

But his son would learn, in time. Let him enjoy puppyhood in a way the older Sørenson hadn’t.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” he agreed, taking a seat near the water’s edge. “Those ‘re fireflies. ‘er lightning bugs. Depends on who y’ask.” But they were the same thing, and if they got close enough, Ægir would be able to see the little legs and wings sticking out of the floating glows. Not stars, but…something equally as interesting. “I used t’ try an’ eat ‘em when I was yer age.” Which was not recommended, but he’d let the kid make that mistake if he wanted to. Not like it would hurt him or anything. “But my Da told me that they ain’t fer eatin’, so. Mother sends ‘em down for light, but only during th’ summer time. We know winter is comin’ when they start t’ disappear again. They’re real sensitive t’ the cold and the snow.”

Sheesh, Aegir. Right in with the hard questions.

The wolf’s mouth tugged in one direction, idly amused by his son’s burgeoning curiosity. He didn’t blame the kid. His own dam might have whacked him upside the hide for questioning anything about the Mother, but he didn’t exactly share the convictions the rest of his family clearly had. “Nope. Don’t think y’meet her in this life.” Ah, but he should have known this was gonna come up eventually. Death. Didn’t make sense to a pup. Didn’t make sense to him when his father was killed, and he couldn’t imagine it made much sense to Aegir now.

“Well, goes like this – she ain’t got her paws in everythin’, meddlin’ all the time. Think of all th’ wolves, right? She ain’t got time for that. We gotta take care of ourselves. That’s why we got teeth an’ claws.” Kjell grinned then, if only for the effect of a row of white razors. “‘sides, sometimes bad things jes’…happen. It’s our job t’take care of ourselves…an’ our family.” His single eye shifted, watching his young son for a moment. Especially Signy. She was small, she didn’t have the same tools most wolves were useful – she could take care of herself, but a little backup never hurt. “‘s why we don’t let ‘nyone bully Ma, yeah? ‘s why I let yer cousin come with us, too. All skinny an’ lonely an’ shit. Family’s important. First an’ best gift th’ Mother ever gives ya.”

“Mmm. Only if y’gotta. Fightin’ fer no reason is how y’end up with one eye.”

Which wasn’t entirely true in his case, not personally – but then again, if he hadn’t gone out to satisfy his own wounded pride (even years after his brother had tried to leave him for dead), he wouldn’t have been on that mountainside with Kjors, and he wouldn’t have gotten between a cougar and her cub. He didn’t know how his older brother had wound up with one eye, himself, but he was pretty certain the dragon had sniffed out the trouble, himself.

“We’ll teach ya, though. Make sure yer good an’ ready if y’ever gotta. Once yer a bit bigger, though. My Ma said it wasn’t real good for growin’ pups to hurt their joints.” He shrugged. He supposed it made sense – a broken leg or sprained ankle couldn’t grow anymore, and she’d said Kjors had gotten sick and stayed small like he did. There was no reason to stunt Aegir’s growth if he could at all help it.

So it could wait. Let the boy grow and explore and get stronger before the real hard things came along. “Thought we might try a hunt t’morrow, me an’ you. ‘er we can ask yer Ma t’ teach y’to fish. That’s her thing. Think maybe she grew up with it?” But now that he thought about it, he supposed he never asked, despite Signy’s excellent ability. “You’ll learn both, either way.”