Lavender Ethos surprise sometimes will come around

for the HR wolves ♥.

Mum! Dad!

There was a weak cry on the wind, something distant but all too familiar. Where had they heard that before?

Karina! Orren!

He sounded older now, there was a slight scratchiness to his voice. Maybe they wouldn't recognise it, perhaps they would. After all, he still sounded like himself. The River prince, once lost and thought of as gone. His reason for leaving his home was, frankly, stupid. He had wanted to get stronger, to fight that Rook Lyall. To win back their home. And, as he had wandered, he had come to an epiphany as he watched spider spin itself a new home. He watched that little thing work and work, perfect its web, only for it to be destroyed by some cawing, cruel bird who flew too close, landed too near and parted the foliage enough for the silk to snap.

Aleksei watched that tiny little creature scuttle from the bird, who watched the wolf with beady black eyes. Perhaps that was what he and his family had done. They had been cruelly pushed upon ... and there was no need to fight. That spider, it simply found some new perch and began all over again. Spinning silk on and on, in search of a meal. The Baranski son realised at that very moment, there was no need to risk himself for family honour. His father most certainly would have bitten back if he knew that they were not surrounded by wolves who would treat them as an enemy.

He had a lot of growing up to do. Getting lost was not on his plan of action.

"I'm home," he wheezed from his sore throat, scrawnier now than he had been when he left. "Where are you all?"

(This post was last modified: Sep 15, 2015, 04:01 PM by Aleksei.)

The dragon’s presence in Hearthwood was unsettling—Lachesis wanted nothing more than to eliminate the problem, but he could not do so without justifiable reason. He wondered how far Karpos had gotten in his ‘snooping’ since their last meeting. The lanky medic worried that the dragon would catch wind of what they were planning and either a) abandon the River wolves—with or without the company of the River’s eldest princess—or b) fight back. As much as he doubted option B, it was still a possibility. Who knew if the dragon had accomplices lingering the shadows, waiting for an order from the one-eyed reptilian.

The amount of time his apprentice was spending with the older lizard concerned the medic—he could never seem to hold the girl’s interest with their lessons. Perhaps her pursuit of becoming a healer was nothing more than a phase... he tried to keep her busy with their lessons, but he felt as though he was fighting a losing battle. A sigh ruffled his lips as he continued his aimless walk through the trees that made up their home, his pear-coloured eyes focused on the leaf-covered ground. Perhaps he should speak with Maksim himself… I don’t know, he thought glumly to himself, his irritation only growing with every heavy step he took.

However, a familiar scent distracted him from his thoughts—it was a scent, although familiar, that he had not detected in quite some time. As realization settled in his pace quickened, his long legs carrying him swiftly through the trees and closing the distance between himself and the ghost that had returned. As the clearing came into sight along did the tawny yearling—the missing River prince had returned. It seemed as though Nineteen was the first of the pack to notice Aleksei’s presence; surely Maksim or Kislap—or one of his siblings—would turn up soon…

“You’re home!” Lachesis called out excitedly, his pear orbs widening as he stepped into the clearing. “Where did you go?” He asked almost immediately as his tail gave a few, short excited wags once he stopped a few tail-lengths away from the Baranski.

stick with those who stick with you

Kisla had never known true pain until her son had gone missing. Corinna had dealt such heartache all too often in her life – some of her children even to death. The honeyed Baranski did not believe her son to be departed from this world, but that did not mean she dismissed his absence. Naia and Kjors had sought the boy out, each having no luck..

And yet, the wind seemed to torment her. The cry seemed almost too faint upon her ears that were not truly focused, and so she did not rush to the caller. Her pace was solemn at best – her thoughts absorbed to the rising tensions within her pack, and her desire to look further in to not just their allies, Round Stone Crest, but to this other neighbor they had gained.. the ones that had been less than welcoming to her subordinates.

As restless as she was, she was soothed as she came upon Lachesis’ scent. The ivory medic was a solid foundation to the pack, and so she began to trail after him, hoping to catch word with the pear-eyed medic.

Yet as she got closer, the wind continued its onslaught to her senses. Blinking bright eyes upward, it was Aleksei’s silver form that met her eyes, and before her mind could even catch up with what she was processing, the she-wolf propelled forward, leaping toward her son with a joyous yip. “Aleksei!” His name fell from her lips like a breath of fresh air, and closing the distance between them, the mother nosed her child in delight, her tail swinging wildly through the air. Words seemed lost on her all of a sudden, and in awe, she nudged Lachesis upon the cheek, wondering if he had found their missing prince.

sparking up my heart

He settled gingerly to his haunches with a soft huff and a whine, closing his eyes for a moment's respite. His paw pads ached something fierce, he noted. The tenderness came with finally taking a moment to rest, to stop his pressing on. Given the chance, he would surely fall asleep among the swaying lavender, take the flora as a bed to rest for the night. And yet, as soon as the thought of sleep fluttered into his thoughts, a joyous call caused him to snap to attention. His eyes flew open and he hobbled to his four paws with a beaming smile. "Lachesis," he cried back, his tail swaying in a mad blur behind him, "I'm home, I've been--!"

Mother.

She burst forward with a leap and a yip, as if she were a cub herself. Aleksei himself had a similar idea, barking excitedly as he darted forward, almost colliding with her in a most ungraceful manner. He curled himself into her side, buried himself into her fur, inhaled her scent desperately as his tail thumped against the ground. Home, home, home. The misplaced prince's ears folded back to his skull and he whined, crouching down to kiss at her chin lovingly, asking for her forgiveness. "Mother," he breathed out with another whine. "I should have never left, I'm so sorry."

He wondered what they had thought happened to him, wondered if they thought him dead. What of Karina? And Orren? And the siblings he had not yet met? Aleksei couldn't help the guilt that swallowed him up whole. No, he should not have left.

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

The arrival of the Baranski child was a good omen—perhaps things were going to return to normal in Hearthwood. Lachesis hoped that they could eliminate the reptilian threat that had entered their pack, but he was worried that Kjors had Kisla (and co.) wrapped around his paw. XIX was certain that Maksim wasn’t fond of the one-eyed male, but he was unsure of how the leader’s sons felt about the new arrival. Especially when it came to the peculiar friendship that had formed between their sister and the grisly wolf…

Just as Aleksei was about to dive into his explanation another arrived—Kisla. Dipping his head instantly in respect to her rank above him, the alabaster male shyly observed their emotional greeting. It made him instinctively think of the females that had been such a huge part of his life—Capella, Bastet, Anastasia… he had cared for each female so much that their memories pained him as they resurfaced, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Especially when it came to Anastasia—they had been through so much together and now she was gone, yet again. It wasn’t fair. Lachesis wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve such negative things to occur in his life, but he could not handle it anymore.

“You’re home now, that’s all that matters,” he commented softly after the boy had apologized for his absence. The River wolves were becoming whole once more; hopefully Aleksei’s arrival would also bring more wolves to Hearthwood. They needed all the loyal members they could get… preferably ones that wouldn’t disappear after a few weeks. Giving his head a quick shake to rid himself of bitter thoughts, the slender healer focused his attention back on the young yearling before them. XIX was curious as to where the Baranski had been during his absence.

stick with those who stick with you

Her muzzle touched his face everywhere – chuffing at his ears, nosing along his cheek. Relief swept through her to a point that a near sob broke from her, and reassured that her boy was indeed fine, she pulled back, grinning as she pressed her slender figure in to the side of Lachesis’ joyously. “It is all that matters,” she murmured, her nose touching at the corner of their healer’s cheek, though her gaze practically beamed at her son as she took in is healthy status.

“We’ll need to go find your father – he’s been worried about you.” She noted, pulling away from both of the males and giving her pelt a quick shake. “We all have been,” she clarified, her bright eyes gauging his reaction warmly. Even @Orren, who usually butted heads with his siblings had seemed to miss the presence of his milk brother.

“Where did you go?” It was an imploring question that was not meant to accuse – her worry for him had been great, and while it was off putting that he had disappeared without word.. she knew instantly he regretted his actions. And she could never stay mad at any of her children. But the world as of late was not their friend.. and with their new claim to Hearthwood River and the rising tensions with Round Stone Crest, she was not eager to have any of her pack wolves traipsing throughout Relic Lore without a traveling companion.. not even @Naia, whose primary duty was to do just such.

sparking up my heart