Fallen Tree Cove Tell me you're strong, tell me you see

@Vespertio - Cernan needs to talk; so much so that he's spawned a novel for you here.

12/16/2016

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-13° F, -25° C

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11:36 AM

He had really thought about just leaving it there, and in the end he sort of had. That last parting gift from @Nathaniel, it felt so heavy in his jaws. It felt wrong to take with him, and wrong to forget it. Cernan spent many long, indecisive and tortured moments just staring at it, before finally deciding to bury the thing in the ground and cover it with a rock, just in case some creature or pack mate found the trophy enticing for whatever reason. It certainly couldn't belong to anyone else. Sometimes the prince would wind his way back to that place; fairly often in the wake of the personal cataclysm that swarthy man had created for him. He'd dig the thing out, after a few long moments of deliberation; perhaps just to look at or carry a short way to some other meditative place. He had withdrawn from the pack a bit, even @Neha. It wasn't just the guardian's departure and the mixed feelings it had stirred. It was what that had meant for the pack. They'd lost their great gladiator, and he didn't even know why. He had said things that made Cernan's parents angry, and he hadn't seemed so righteous at all to them after that. It only added to the prince's turmoil. He couldn't sort out the thoughts in his head. Al's second departure had made things easy. All of Cernan's emotions had fallen away but his anger, and anger wasn't too bad on its own. It was simple and straightforward. After Nate, he had been angry, hurt, confused, scared and all manner of other uncomfortable things, not that he would admit it aloud. Nate had even urged him to take up the heroic role in his absence, a prospect that he had been both flattered and terrified by. The tumult was too much to deal with for such a long time. The yearling's mind soon fell back on its old solution: ignore it and it goes away. Well, at least for a while. It seemed like it was working, and that was really all the yearling wanted; for it all to just stop.  Now his second winter was here, and soon it would be his second spring, and when that happened, he would no longer be just the Cove prince. He'd be a full fledged subordinate, with the duties of one too. He would need a role, and that knowledge in itself always threatened to drag up the ugly things. Neha had chosen long ago, and had been training all year. She would be ready.  His paws reached down, dark claws raking against the snow and the earth under that very specific rock. He couldn't keep it buried all winter; the ground would be much too hard soon. Slowly, the object's smooth black surface appeared in the wet dirt. He paused, as if registering that it was indeed laying before him, and wiped the surface clean with a single paw. His toes curled, freeing the claw from its confines and leaving its perfect mold pressed into the ground. It crept toward him beneath his foot, and then lay still in the powdery flakes. They were so much less threatening when not being swung by an angry bear.  He knew what he was supposed to do. He always had. But... Cernan's golden eyes fixated on it as if in a trance. But, but, but... It was useless wasn't it? Nate had believed in him, Pa believed in him, the former owner of the claw sure did, though he had fought with a lot of backup. He had fought though, and in the thick of it, he'd not been afraid. There was no time for fear in that moment, only action. Cernan Vuesain had charged at that bear, just to get it away from his sister. He'd even faced a swan for the sake of a boy he barely knew. A single tawny paw reached out to rest on the artifact's surface, and lingered.  No fear, only action. The prince stood, sliding the claw back into its hole and pushing the snowy dirt back over it. Yes, perhaps it would freeze into its hiding place until spring came. When he dug it out again, he'd have more trophies to add, or there it would stay. The rock was replaced, and with a final glance the hefty yearling spun towards the lake, trotting briskly to the place the demon birds made their home every year (it seemed), and where Nathaniel had first saved his life. He took a moment to look out over the lake's frigid surface and take a deep breath before turning his muzzle to the sky and summoning the King with his strong, low tones. His rounded ears came up to listen, tail hovering at spine level. The prince made quite the picture standing there tall in the winter sunlight, with his muscles finally overtaking all that chub and filling out his once lanky limbs. It felt so good.

 

(This post was last modified: Dec 16, 2016, 08:13 AM by Cernan.)

Patrolling the boarders came to an immediate halt the moment russet ears picked up on the sound of Cernan's howl breaking the silence of the frigid air, a look of perplexity washing over the man's facial features as his head tilted at an angle. Regardless of the reason why his son had beckoned for his presence, it was a call that could not be ignored and swiftly Vespertio altered his path of travel to abandon the stretch of borders yet to be marked for the second time that day, fresh flakes flinging out behind creamy limbs with each stride.

A few minutes passed and eventually molten gold irises caught sight of his progeny standing beneath the winter sunlight, his stance exuding confidence that brought a wry smile onto the man's dark lips. The father wasn't sure when his son had changed from the nervous boy that clung to his sister's side and into this new and improved man; no longer a boy as much as Vesper tried to deny the fact his first litter were mere months away from becoming adults and full fledged subordinates within the pack, albeit he was still proud Cernan had finally come into his own.

Parting his jaws slightly, a low chuff was issued to alert his son before closing the remaining distance that laid between them, charcoal dusted tail wagging at his hocks. "Cernan, what is it my boy?" He asked, a brow quirking curiously.

The call went up and then silence reigned. His tail was held aloft partly with nerves, though there was little reason to harbor any apprehension about meeting his father of all people. No, this tension was his own, the last squabblings of his personality now grappling with its own shift. Whenever it rose up in his chest, the prince drew a long breath and scanned the pines, the rocks and boulders, and the shoreline. He was mulling over just how to say what he'd been thinking, not quite satisfied with each attempt, when at last the King of the Cove appeared onto the frigid white landscape. The boy's tail set to wagging immediately, and he found the movement actually helped relieve his small bit of anxiety even more. Instead of loping to him like an excited child, Cernan waited patiently with a smile on his maw to match @Vespertio's own. His rounded brown ears cupped forward to catch the older man's greeting, prompting a few, more enthusiastic wags in return. When at last the distance between them became conversational, the prince dropped his skull and tail according to his rank and youth, at last stepping forward to quickly touch his nose under his Pa's chin. He was a tad larger than his sire now, and certainly so in bulk. For the first time Cernan was able to register just how strange that was.  Pa had probably noticed that a while ago. The yearling then withdrew himself, standing upright once more, though with his fluffy tail now very still at his legs. "I wanted to talk to you," Cernan began, surprised at how easy it was to start, but finding the next bit harder. He hesitated. @Neha's probably gonna become a healer, and I think I want to be a Guardian." His golden eyes, having momentarily fidgeted off of the King's face now returned seeking reaction. He felt like he should have decided long ago, but no one had really pushed the boy to an early decision, and perhaps he might have chosen differently out of fear when he was younger. His sister had certainly outpaced him vastly by now.  It was not as if the prince expected rejection, but there was always a slight concern that something unexpected would come off of his father's lips in response, and that tiny hint showed in his gaze. He was truly curious more than anything.

 

Indeed the agouti patriarch had come to notice just how large his youngest son had come to grow over the past year, the younger male now easily standing a tad higher than himself and just as easily outweighing him as well. There were no doubts within Vesper's mind just who's genetic line Cernan inherited more from, but still the thought of having a child that dwarfed his own sire brought a bemusing smile to his facial features and the corner of his eyes wrinkled accordingly. He wondered if should Namid and himself ventured into thoughts of a third litter come spring; the under completely foggy due to Namid's still lowly state, if any other boys born to them would come to rival the tawny boy's massive size.

Humorous thoughts were soon cast aside for the time being, though, as molten gold irises watched his son adhere to the rules of pack hierarchy and lower his towering frame in a state of proper submission according to his age and rank in reflection to the man before him, accepting the light bump of a nose to the underneath of his chin with a low rumble of a growl sounding within the depths of his chest in response. Charcoal dusted banner gradually slowed its pace then, gaze watching as his boy withdrew to stand upright before Vesper adjusted his posture to take a comfortable seated position. The chill of winter beginning to affect the aging man's joints to a certain degree and with today's temperatures reaching an awfully bone chilling low it was no surprise the agouti man could feel a soft ache begin to creep in.

Cupping russet ears forward, he listened closely to what Cernan had to say; noticing the nervousness that clung underneath his words, and what he heard warranted a wider smile to tug back the corner of his lips. So he had finally come to a decision about what he wanted to do in life and the thought filled his sire with pride. "I'm pleased to hear that you're wanting to seek out an official role within the pack and take another step closer to becoming a full fledged member." With the untimely departure of Nathaniel; a wolf who's moniker left the most bitter taste in his mouth now, there was a short supply of wolves capable of fulfilling the tasks of guardian considering Kajika had a passion to seek out the role of Teacher and one day Advisor and then Draven seemed to be following in Neha's shadow toward possibly being well versed in the art of herbs and healing. This left a wide opening for Cernan to take the more muscle heavy alternative and the lakeside king had no doubts his son would make an excellent guardian with the proper training.

@Vespertio

He was happy to watch that fatherly smile on the King's face grow deeper; stronger with the declaration Cernan had made. He felt his own lips pull gently back in return; a bit relieved that this pleased his sire so. With Nathaniel long gone, Pa was the new greatest and most honorable warrior in his mind. He'd not forgotten the Alpha's part in dealing with the boar, or the bear. There was a reason this man still commanded the mountain wolves.  The words that flowed from the patriarch's mouth were even better than the sight of his grin. Cernan's tawny plume of a tail set into motion again; wiggling joyfully at its tip. His ears even flinched backwards a hair when the man had finished articulating his thoughts. He really should have decided on this sooner, he knew, but neither of his parents had ever been pushy with him, and the boy was glad to have not been pressured. It might have taken him longer to get there, but he had managed it on his own. That was an important experience in itself. He looked forward to joining the ranks of the adults, to proving himself the best that he could. As it was, the Alpha's two elder children brought up the very bottom of the hierarchy, next to the pups of course. The prince himself couldn't say he enjoyed being ranked below Draven, though he had no personal qualms with the dark-furred boy. If he was going to get serious about this though, there would come a time when challenging for rank became relevant. Cernan however, was nothing if not patient. He was in no hurry to try such a thing. They weren't even full subordinates yet.  There was also the fact that he still lacked quite a bit of training, and it was this logical next step that finally dampened the youth's happy expression, and stilled his tail. He drew a long breath through his nose, feeling that point in the conversation move past them. "I guess I should get training then," he ventured, looking cautiously serious once more. It had occurred to him that Pa would not make a poor teacher, by any means. He had taught the boy so much of what he knew already, from hunting to tracking and more.

 

A russet ear flicked off to the side and a brow arched skyward for a moment catching the drop in his son's gleefulness, the speed in which his tail swung behind him coming to a statuesque halt. Vespertio pondered what could be running through his boy's mind to cause such a change in attitude, but the agouti father hadn't to wait long before his son voiced a clue to what the answer could be. It was a logical statement and indeed his aspiring guardian in training would indeed need to begin training if he wished to fulfill his coveted role to its fullest by time he came of age to claim it officially. "I'm sure your old man could show you some tricks. I haven't reigned unchallenged as Alpha for nothing."

The hint of a cocky smirk began to slowly appear on inky lips following his words. If there was one thing that this mountainous terrain did for the wolves who called here home, it was keep their muscles toned and ready for battle. Emitting a low rumble in the depths of his chest, creamy limbs spread apart into a defensive stance and muscles tensed beneath the patriarch's thick winter coat in anticipation. The first few drips of adrenaline beginning to enter his bloodstream. "Give me your best shot, son. Let's see what kind of guardian you truly are." Regardless of the wolf before him being his own son, there wasn't going to be any ounce of his sire going easy on him.