Lavender Ethos Switzerland

Did she enjoy it?  Probably.  The wolves she met probably weren’t so sad – and apparently, she’d found a big brother all on her own.  Mathéo was pretty certain she didn’t miss him; there was nothing in their relationship to this very point that would indicate she thought much on what sort of distress she caused him.  Even before their Mama died, she was a rule-breaker, no matter what the (slightly) older boy tried to do to curb Risaela’s enthusiasm.  But he’d ask her about her adventure.
 
For some reason, they hadn’t really…talked since she’d returned to Hearthwood River.
 
But Aleksei was asking him things, now, and the younger Tainn was starting to wonder if maybe he did actually want to know.  Not that he had a particularly enrapturing answer.  He offered a small shrug, mouth pulling to one side.  “Dunno.  Some of ‘em said we can’t leave them behind – but they aren’t…here.  They all said it’d be wrong to leave so Lack said okay…but…”  He shrugged.  The white wolf had a point about the sadness.  Everyone said it would work, but the blanket was still suffocating everyone here.  “But no one listened.  So they won’t.” 

He could understand why it would be painful for Lachesis to want to keep the pack so close to the Ethos. After all, his two closest friends (wolves he considered family) were buried there. It was a sobering thing to be confronted with every day. But was it so painful as to want to move an entire pack of wolves? The eldest frowned, before nodding with a small sigh. He understood where Mathéo was coming from. He’d never really believed in the afterlife, simply told himself that it had to exist. After all, everyone liked to say ‘they’re in a better place’. But, he’d felt awkward sitting by corpses underground, and he felt even more so talking to them.

Aleksei really couldn’t kid himself any more. The dead were dead, and nothing else.

“I get it,” he breathed out, “and you’re right. They aren’t here. I don’t understand why others speak as though they’re still around.” If they were still here, losing them wouldn’t have been so damn painful. “And I don’t understand why they’d be so against moving.” They would still be the same pack. Most likely, they’d remain in Kingsfall but not so close to the Ethos—not so close to the dead. “Like they would be offended.”

Really, had any of the wolves currently in the River pack known Maksim and Kisla as well as Lachesis had? Not even Inna knew them as well as the ghostly medic. Hell, Alek didn’t. Naia was buried here, too. There were too many bones beneath the ground, and Lachesis was the one who knew them all the most.

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

Like they would be offended.
 
Mathéo’s tail gave a tiny, hopeful wag, as if he weren’t quite sure that the topic was one that deserved such a reaction.  And it wasn’t to say that it was the young boy was particularly interested in that, but that he wasn’t alone in his thoughts on the matter.  That talking about his Mama and the others like they were still here--  If they were still here, the discussion would never come up.  It was such a dumb thing to say!
 
And, really…
 
“Who cares what they want?  They’re gone.  They aren’t gonna get it anyways…”
 
The pup shrugged, glancing down at the ground as if it held all the answers.  Frankly, he wasn’t quite sure why they buried dead wolves – he hadn’t seen them bury anything else dead, unless…  Unless…  The boy’s eyes widened comically as he stood, backpedaling to stare at the graves a bit more fully.
 
“They aren’t…  They aren’t gonna eat them later, right!?”
 
Eating other wolves just seemed so…so wrong!  If asked, Theo wouldn’t be able to explain why, but surely that wasn’t a thing they were gonna do.  It couldn’t be.  Lack would never do that, not to Mama, and not to the others.  

Aleksei hadn’t expected Mathéo to be so stalwart in his beliefs (because there was no doubting now that the boy didn’t believe in an afterlife, or something after death), and he couldn’t really decide whether he found it admirable or heartbreaking. Whilst Aleksei certainly didn’t want to parade around pretending that his parents were cloud skipping and smiling down on everyone fondly, he had decided to keep his parents alive in his heart and memories at the very least. But, the younger of the two … well, it was hard to say how he felt, or what he thought, other than nothing mattered.

He couldn’t be more different to his sister.

“I guess that, sometimes, wolves don’t want to let go of those they love,” he mumbled with a slight shrug. “I think they need to be let go, though.” Because otherwise you held onto the guilt and the pain of it all, and you never healed. That's why Aleksei had come here for one last time; to let go.

Aleksei would’ve been content to gaze off solemnly into the distance, had it not been for Mathéo’s surprising question. Jeez this kid had a lot of weird things to say! “What? No! Not at all,” he hurriedly sputtered, his own eyes wide. “What makes you think they’re going to eat them?”

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

Thank heck!

Mathéo really didn’t have any other words to express his relief, entire body sagging when the older wolf exclaimed they would be doing no such thing. Even his ears seemed to release stress, trembling quietly as he gave a small nod. Green eyes sought Aleksei back out as his thundering heart started to slow, struggling to return to a normal pace.

“‘cos. We buried them. Same as we bury squirrels and mice when we want to eat them later,” he explained, seeing no fault in his logic. That said, he had no idea what else you’d do with a dead wolf, but they’d even put them all in the same place, just like a cache. Just like a cache. He felt like he didn’t quite deserve the look Aleksei was giving him. His little tail gave a little twitch as he sighed, glancing back over his shoulders towards the inner workings of Hearthwood River. What was it like where Aleksei came from? Were there more things to do?

Less wolves to bury?

“Are you gonna come again?”he asked, eyes finding his brother one more time. The loss would fade, eventually, and so would the need to visit the bodies in the ground he assumed. So…would Aleksei stop, too?

Mathéo’s explanation … actually made sense, somehow. In fact, the more Aleksei thought about it, he realised it was a pretty reasonable thing for a pup to think. Still, he had to explain the difference. Maksim had taught him why wolves were buried, after all. It felt like it was right for Alek to pass it on.

“We bury wolves so we can return them to the earth, to keep the cycle of life going. It sounds cheesy, right? It’s important though. See, plants grow will from where mum is buried.” And his own dad. “Those plants will feed the prey that will feed us. We give life to get it back in return.” Energy never stops moving. Never disappears. Never fades. Offering Mathéo a warm smile in the hopes that it made sense, Aleksei felt his own pains were eased by the explanation.

Was he going to come again? Without hesitating, he gave a firm nod. “Of course I am,” he responded, “I’ll come visit. Some time before the snow falls. I want to see you again. Risaela, too. Maybe we can take a trip together? Hang out. Do something fun.” Like the wolf equivalent of a camping trip or something.

Aleksei paused. “Would … that be something you’d like?”

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

Huh.
 
That sounded…weird.  But even if it was weird, what Aleksei had to say kind of made sense.  And even if it was kind of odd, it was easily one hundred times better than the first thought that had come to mind.  His tail gave a stumpy wag, green eyes studying the man’s face – maybe not quite a smile, but it was darn near close.  Easily the best the little boy had felt in some time.  It was nice to have a real conversation, like another wolf, like he wasn’t something fragile, and like he wasn’t something so silly he couldn’t solve it himself.
 
Aleksei’s next offer was even better, though.  Theo gave a vigorous nod.  “Yeah,” he agreed softly, his emerald eyes sparkling.  “I’d like that.  Lots.”  Honestly, just a visit would be good – but the idea of doing something together?  An adventure?  That sounded darn near amazing.  “I’ll see you soon.”
 
Fade.