This is the end of the world that you know

That went... better than expected. He was disturbed by Eclypse and Leo's absence... and now that he was wandering through the territory, he realized he couldn't smell them here. They'd been gone for some time... when had that happened? How had he lost his middle daughter and his steadfast guardian during his absence? How had he managed to screw things up so badly trying to do one good thing?

He stopped to grab a reasonable fresh hare from a cache on his way to Magg's whelping den, sure she would like a snack. "Magg," he called after dropping the offering, "please come talk to me. It's important." His voice wasn't a demand, not like the meeting summons had been. He was too tired to fight his eldest daughter right now.

WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BURN

Given not only the howl, but @Matos unfortunate attempt to fetch her, Magg had been expecting him to come by eventually. She heard the carcass drop and could smell him just before he spoke, and she moved a bit more swiftly than she normally did even when in a good mood. Of course, her brother had been gone just as long, but she'd always had a soft spot for her parents. Or maybe it was still that gut instinct of giving enough affection to keep herself in their good graces, given how much power they'd always held in her life.

With so much happening, Magg had finally begun to start questioning her own motivations. Attempting to peel back a few of her own layers. It was a painfully slow process, her grip shaky with deep apprehension of what might be revealed.

"Welcome back Dad," she cooed as her face appeared, brown eyes nearly pinched shut with happiness as she beamed wide. Her tail could be faintly heard knocking against the earth as it wagged.

YOU HAVE TO SET YOURSELF ON FIRE

Given her refusal to attend the meeting, Nash was surprised when Magg darted out to greet him with affection. He could hear her tail wagging, and when he looked into her beaming face he felt a little bit of his apprehension bleed away. He smiled at her, the first genuine one in ages. Three of his six children remained in the pack, and he was glad Magg was one of them. He loved all of his children and each held a unique place in his heart, but he had to admit a particular fondness for his eldest daughter.

"I'm glad to be back," he said softly, leaning forward to kiss her crown before laying down before her and nudging the food toward her. "I brought you something to eat, and... there's the meeting to discuss. I think everyone is in agreement, but I want your opinion before things are set in stone." Just because she was Lowest didn't mean he didn't value her thoughts. Especially when it was something that would so drastically affect not only her but her children.

WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BURN

Maybe he knew it and maybe he didn't, but Nash was buttering up his daughter perfectly. Returned from an absence, with a gift, speaking to the importance of her opinion? It meant a lot, especially given everything that had happened and the rank it had landed her in. She gleefully took hold of the meal with her teeth and pulled it onto her wolfish lap, forelimbs bending to accommodate and better manipulate the carcass.

"Sure, lay it on me," Magg answered easily, brown eyes watching him as she began to tuck into the meat. She was definitely curious, what was so big that the whole pack had needed to agree on it? That didn't seem to be the way things usually went. Still, there wasn't really a sense of apprehension, not expecting this to lead to any kind of bad news. That came much more singularly, not through group action.

YOU HAVE TO SET YOURSELF ON FIRE

Nash watched as she tucked into her offered meal and couldn't help a small smile. At least he'd managed to do one thing right, despite his exhaustion, and she appeared genuinely happy to see him. And hungry, as expected, with two little ones to feed. She didn't seem overly concerned about whatever he needed to talk to her about... he wondered if her good mood would sour, if his welcome might suddenly be shut off and he would have to return to his den once again beaten down.

Might as well come out with it. Just because he'd said it during the meeting didn't make it any easier to speak the words now."We are considering leaving the mountain," he said. "The rest of the pack is in agreement, but I need your opinion on the matter. We of course would not set out until the girls are old enough to travel." He added this last bit on, hoping the assurance would help soften any reaction she would have to the revelation.

WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BURN

He didn't beat around the bush. Magg's eyelids lifted higher with surprise, one brow inquiringly lifted. In all honesty, she hadn't expected that to ever be an option. It seemed certain that this would be where her parents lived the rest of their days, and in turn the pack as a whole would continue here. She'd even thought of what her part should be in the continuance of the community that would outlive them.

That didn't mean this was bad news, though. Especially with her only real concern allayed, that it would only be once the pups were ready. After everything that had happened... maybe leaving all the memories behind were exactly what was needed.

If she'd yet learned who else they would be leaving, Magg would have promptly asked after @Eclypse. Her most reliable source of news, however, standing right before her did not yet know himself.

"Yeah, okay. Where would we go?"

YOU HAVE TO SET YOURSELF ON FIRE

Nash blinked in surprise. He wasn't sure what he'd expected from his eldest daughter but it wasn't such easy acquiescence. Like it was nothing, leaving their home and finding somewhere new. The others had agreed more readily than he'd expected, too, so perhaps he really was the one clinging on to a dead dream. He had to swallow the notion down. Maybe if he'd heeded Chan's advice sooner they wouldn't have lost so many.

And maybe they couldn't have left until after his mother died anyway.

"I was thinking somewhere northwest, as far away from everybody else as we can get." He only knew of the two packs and both of them held some sort of hostility in his mind. He wanted to be done with both of them, family or no. He wanted to be safe, he needed his family to be safe.

He missed his mother. He wished more than anything that he could talk to her right now. She would know what to say.

WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BURN

Once she asked the question, it occurred to her what one possible answer might be. That permanent weight in her stomach began to sink, but again she seemed to have nothing to worry about. Everybody, her father said.

"I think that's an excellent idea. The biggest appeal."

She still wanted her revenge on the wolf who had maimed her, but with @Aven and @Neva in the world and their mother now actually attached to them? She'd let it go if it got them as far away from that danger as possible. Still... she couldn't quite move past the fact that this conversation was really happening.

"Whose was it, though? The idea to move? I mean... how do you feel about leaving?"

YOU HAVE TO SET YOURSELF ON FIRE

Once again Magg surprised him, although this time he really shouldn't have been. Magg hadn't been particularly attached to anybody in either pack as far as Nash knew, and he also knew how angry she was with their family in the Falls. It was why he hadn't yet mentioned Micaden's inquiry after her health; he wasn't sure how she'd receive it.

He most certainly wasn't about to tell her the idea to move had come from his brother a year ago. There were multiple reasons that could quickly go south, most importantly because she was absolutely furious with her uncle.

"It was my idea," he said. "The mountain is no longer the shelter it once was. Everywhere has its dangers, but the mountain does not seem to care for our presence, and I can no longer justify staying and putting our family at risk just because we were born here." His mother had been buried, and in the end that was the only link to the mountain he truly cared about anymore. She would understand his leaving.

WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BURN

Nash continued to surprise her by claiming the notion. Not for disbelief, but rather the aforementioned assumptions. He continued on with justifications, but not necessarily his feelings on making such a large, permanent change. Magg wouldn't push, though. If her father wanted to keep emotions close to his vest, she wouldn't blame him.

"Well... as long as we're going together, I've got everything I need."

While that suggested stronger bonds than she really felt with certain individuals, it was a truthful statement. Magg was far more invested in her family than the mountain itself, there was nothing that she would truly be losing by the pack changing environment. Right?

YOU HAVE TO SET YOURSELF ON FIRE