Kingsfall far and away

More silence, for a time. But it was an attentive, thoughtful silence. He wouldn’t press further, and Jethro was in no rush to go anywhere. This conversation could take all night if it needed to - he’d happily make and take the time for that.

Ryder relinquished his perch atop the fallen tree, casting a look around before he spoke another question. A good one.

”Not just one thing, no,” Jethro answered with a gentle shake of his head. ”Some’ll stay with their birth family or group their whole lives, and be happy. While others might decide t'leave to explore or search for adventure. Or maybe to start and lead their own pack.”

There were many options. While he hoped he wasn’t overstepping with Finley, telling her son all of this.. and Jet certainly didn’t want Ryder to leave, the kid did deserve to hear it.

From Jethro's answer, it kind of seemed to Ryder that wolves could simply do whatever they wanted. It was a nice thought, but also still an incredibly vague one. The child had no idea what his choices would be when that time came. Another moment was taken for reflecting, and then Ryder looked up at his caretaker once more.

"That's what you did then? Left to do... this?"

An ambivalent gesture with his paw to everything around them, Paradise Falls. Did Jethro leave behind a mom and brother then? What had his home looked like? What had Jet been like when he was Ryder's age? Continuously filled to the brim with questions, but not of the nature to let them all out at once. Even if his mother hadn't driven home how rude barraging others was.

(This post was last modified: Jun 03, 2023, 11:12 PM by Ryder.)

Ryder posed another inquiry after appearing to contemplate the answer that’d been given. Another simple, yet loaded question, that left Jethro contemplating just how much he ought to divulge.

As before, Jet answered initially with another shake of his head. ”No. The idea of doing this didn’t come to me for a while. When I first left.. I just wanted to get away and be left alone. My home wasn’t like here. The wolves there were mean. And bad.” He took a breath, to keep emotion out of the answer and recollection, and to think.

”They didn’t care about me at all. Even my ma hated me. If y’can see these scars?” He murmured, adjusting his frame to try to display the almost entirely faded marks along his torso and shoulders, but they’d filled in well during his time here. ”Most of these were from them. They’d hurt me just because they could. Sometimes they enjoyed it.”

Such a thing might be jarring to a kid, to hear, to know that sometimes wolves were mean just because they wanted to be. But it was also something he probably needed to know. Not everything was a paradise.

Get away and be left alone, the child thought he could understand that. The rest of it, though? His brow furrowed deeper with each revelation, all of it likely only a fraction of what Jethro had really gone through, but he was struggling enough to wrap his mind around what he'd just been told. 'Bad,' 'hated.' Confusion twisted his features and shone within his eyes. Why? The child had of course assumed that everyone's mom was the same, loving and supportive. The worst Finley had ever done was made him feel nagged. Jethro's mom had hated him? Hurt him?

'Sometimes they enjoyed it.'

Ryder's features rippled with disgust, and he looked away.

"... that's messed up."

Isla had yet to introduce him to f-bombs, otherwise he likely would have dropped one now. His tail gave a few agitated swipes, and he glared at something off in the grasses. This lesson that wolves could be outright cruel upset him, but he wasn't sure how to express that.

(This post was last modified: Jun 17, 2023, 02:33 AM by Ryder.)

The kid looked confused, sad, and perhaps even angry at what he’d been told. To speak of these things to Ryder and witness this reaction hurt, but it was better than him not knowing. And finding out that not all wolves were good in a much harder way.

”It is..” Jet agreed softly to Ryder’s statement.

”But goin’ through stuff like that makes ya stronger. It taught me how not to be. Wouldn’t be here if not for them, and I like where I am.” The dark one added, hoping to dispel any negative feelings the younger wolf might have, now. It was a tradeoff - there was almost always something positive to be had in even the worst of situations, though it was not often readily apparent. In this case, it’d taken him literal years to recognize some of the lessons his childhood had taught.  

Some things, he was still discovering.

It was a lot to digest for any child, and Ryder was exceptionally thoughtful in his chewing over of all topics. This certainly would not settle easily nor quickly. His silence stretched on, eyes never quite landing on Jethro but rather continuing to take in their environment. This wasn't to say he was reacting poorly, however- quiet was Ryder's main mode of operation.

When he found his voice again, it was to steer them away from talking. This had been enough emotion for the time being, at least for him.

"Wanna go for a run?"

good to wrap this up if you are <3

A run, Ryder proposed, breaking them away from the discussion they had been having. Jethro was beyond content to leave it at that. Happy, even, to have something else to focus on besides his troubled past. Though it seemed he’d taken it well - for a kid - and Jet hoped he had managed to glean something from it, the kid had heard more than enough about the bad things in life.

Ryder deserved to enjoy some of his childhood innocence while he still could, and Jet would attempt to protect it for as long as he could. Within reason.  

To the proposition though, he offered a wry smile and a nod. ”Oh yeah. After you, bud.”



--indeed, fade ^^