The Valle man had learned from his co-lead that they had been joined by a couple more members of their extended family. Modesto’s children to be exact, he didn’t think the old bat had it in her. He had kept the thoughts to himself but liked to amuse himself by imagining the children being born covered in dust rather than usual birth matter. But, it wasn’t their fault who their mother was, just as it wasn’t his fault that his mother was always chasing men rather than taking care of her kids.

They had not been with them long, and so far Viorel had not had more than a few passing greetings with them. Today he was determined to make that change. These were his cousins after all, and members of the pack, and he should at least try to get to know them a little.

Still, he had not expected Ozark to travel quite this far out when he had started following her trail. It led through the woods that always gave him the creeps before opening up into a beautiful Glen. He didn’t want to startle the teen so he stayed back near the foliage and let out a chuff of a greeting since she seemed determined to go for a swim. Bit too far into the winter season to be smart in his opinion, but he would keep his mouth shut about that.

She had been so involved with her swimming and splashing that the Valle man almost felt bad for interrupting. Still, the label of captain brought out a laugh, that sounded like the Modesto that he remembered from his childhood. Now that they were a little older and a little more removed from the situation he was able to see that his aunt would have never been happy here, not without her salty air and her ocean waves. He still didn’t agree with the things he said and how it ended, but he could accept there was no other way.

He looked around at the glen, it truly was magnificent. He could imagine it was even more beautiful in the summer, ”If only it wasn’t surrounded by the creepiest woods I’ve ever seen, it’s the only thing that keeps me from visiting this place more often.” The journey here truly gave him the heeby jeebys, like someone or something was always watching and just waiting to pounce as soon as he let his guard down.

He took a few strides forwards until his toes touched the water. It sent a cold shock up his legs and he felt better than to move any further. He would wait until spring to start swimming.

The Valle man grinned back towards his cousin as she described the woods as ghastly. He couldn’t have put it better himself, and her mood was infectious and it made him wish the water was just a tad warmer. Her words brought back memories of chilly swims during the winter, but he didn’t remember it ever being quite this cold. It felt like the coast had always been much more temperate than their current home, though the storms had been worse.

He felt it building in his throat and turned his face in time for one of his coughing fits to take over. It took a minute until it subsided and when it did he cleared his throat and looked back towards Ozark apologetically. It felt like they were getting more and more frequent, and harder to ignore. But, rather than address it he moved on, ”I do, I was there until I was about 6 months away from my second birthday so my whole childhood was there.” He missed it from time to time.

Brightening he added, ”I told all of my children old sea tales while they were growing up, Neander and the sun, and… all of the others.” He couldn’t say Sephrina so casually, but that had been where her name had come from.

The coughing fit passed quickly enough, and the father was relieved that Ozark didn’t mention it despite the worry on her muzzle. He wanted to move on quickly, and other than a few glances from packmates that showed their concern he had refused to acknowledge it. He knew as soon as he did Clover would have him choking down herbs every day and it was just a cough. A loud, wet kind of cough, that came and went as it pleased. But, just a cough.

The topic was changed quickly enough, ”Never heard of a Shipwreck Cove before, what was it like?” Was it all that different from what the Estuary had been? Did they have as many members? Then he grinned, ”I’ve been dying to ask, who is your dad? When Modesto left here she was alone, and I was surprised to hear she settled down so quickly.” Which was the nice way of saying he had always assumed that she was going to die an old bat all alone. He knew better than to say that to her daughter though, he remembered his manners from time to time. Yellow eyes scanned the surroundings, it really was beautiful here.

The salt and pepper wolf’s face became dreamy as she described the place where she had been born. Part of him did miss the sea of his childhood, not enough to ever think about going back, but it felt nostalgic, wistful. He knew he was most likely looking through his past with rose coloured glasses, but was clear that Ozark also loved her childhood. The harsh winters were not something that he missed though, wet and long, and stormy in a way that was violent.

A plan and a man. That brought out a snort, ”Having a plan does sound like Aunt Modesto.” Smart like a whip, sometimes too smart to be pleasant, and unable to hold her tongue. He should have known better than to think the woman was just going to wander away into the cold all on her own without a plan and a man as his cousin had said. At her comment he nodded once, waiting for the woman to leave the water and come to his side before beginning the journey back home. The woods felt slightly less creepy alone.