Hearthwood River The lion's daughter

For @Karina -- Mak needs a chat with his bab.

For a while now, something had been bothering the River king: Karina had been spending most of her time with a male older than her -- much older. To say it left a sour taste in the Mackenzie wolf's mouth would be an understatement. It made him uneasy, suspicious of this strange man who skulked around his children. Aleksei had spoken of him before, and Maksim had managed to gather up and remember a few bits and pieces about the dragon; Kjors was the beast's name and he had one eye.

For a moment, the Baranski lord's thoughts danced to Taras -- to Hati. An old friend no longer a part of the pack. An abandoner to the River wolves not once, but twice. Maksim was quick to shake the memories from his head with a grumble. No point in dwelling in the past when he had the present to deal with ... and a future, on top of that.

The king huffed a sigh as he strode along the riverside, peridot gaze focused on the terrain in front of him. Why did it bother him so much, that his first daughter seemed so taken with this self-sung dragon? Why did he feel so lacking in trust towards him. He was a River wolf, after all ... one that did not seem too keen on making an effort with the others, from what he had caught from criss-crossing scents. Hells below, he hadn't even thought to seek out the lead male of the pack he stood in the hierarchy of! Maksim let out a sharp 'tch'. Perhaps that was what irked him more than anything.

This stranger was dancing around Karina, and hadn't even had the respect to seek out her father.

 

The Baranski father, king of the redwoods and lord of the river, needed to speak with his daughter, the princess of Kingsfall. He needed to understand, for his own sake and for her safety. The Mackenzie titan did not appreciate being uninformed, especially when it related to his precious darling. Without missing a beat, with his mind made up in the fraction of a second, Maksim tilted his head back and called out to his beloved daughter.

A call for Karina alone rose into the sky above the redwoods, echoing across Kingsfall like an ominous beacon. Karina had not the time to even drop her mouthful of lavender before she was taking off for her father’s call. When was the last time she had been summoned by the River king without the rest of her pack? Without her brothers? Karina could only fear that some calamity had befallen her father, or her mother or the pups. What other reason could Makisim have for requesting the presence of the young healer?

As the forest floor fell away beneath Karina’s paws, she cursed with every step that took her farther from her den that she hadn’t thought to grab her emergency bundle of herbs. This was the exact situation for which that bundle existed—ergot, yarrow, and white fir, medicine to grab on the fly that would help her treat life-threatening bleeding  and swelling, and would stave off infection and pain.  In the moment, her father’s call had pushed all other thoughts from her mind, compelling her to answer without even stopping to think for split second. Some kind of healer she was!

As her father came into sight, Karina was still going through in her mind where the closest medicinal plants were located. There were several nearby that would treat minor aches, pains and injuries—hellebore, pineapple weed, Solomon’s seal-- so she could only hope it was a lesser malady she was being called to cure. She slowed to a trot as she neared her father, breathing hard. The lavender tumbled from her mouth as she spoke hurriedly. “Dad, what is it? Who’s hurt?” The princesses’ cloudy blue eyes glanced over the Mackenzie giant quickly, ascertaining that he himself wasn’t the ailing party.

   

    
 

He waited patiently for his daughter. No doubt, she would be perusing the flora of Kingsfall. The Baranski lord wondered of her lessons with Lachesis ... did she still attend them?

He was pulled from his pondering. It didn't take long for his daughter to arrive, and Maksim was just as quick to step forward to embrace her. Flora tumbled from her mouth -- lavender, he wagered -- as he hurriedly asked what was wrong, what he needed her for. The father's heart sank slightly. Had he really been so absent in the life of his children that they only presumed the worst when he summoned them? He shook his head, planted a sweet kiss to her cheek, nibbling to prune the tufts of fur.

"Nothing is amiss, my sweet," he offered softly, pulling away to offer her a lick to her crown -- a gentle kiss. "I simply wished to see you, to speak with you, about how you have been settling." About Kjors, he thought with a bitter, internal scowl. He shuffled, turned towards the riverside. "I would walk as we talk, if it pleases the princess." He nudged her shoulder playfully with a chuckle. his first daughter held a special place in his heart, and whilst the father loved both @Inna and @Lekalta, he could not help but gaze upon Karina with the deepest of affection.

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue

Relief shone in Karina’s eyes for a moment before being replaced once more by curiosity. “Good. That’s good.” She had to repeat it in order to convince herself that she truly meant it—Orren had teased her before for getting too excited when others (namely Orren himself) got hurt and required healing. She let herself relax then, pressing her face against her father’s expansive chest in a wolfish embrace. The Mackenzie giant groomed her gently, and his nibbling at her ruff reminded her vaguely of Kjors. Maksim said that he wanted to speak to her alone, concerned for how she was settling, and her heart swelled with pride and delight. With all her packmates and all her brothers and sisters, she was the one her father sought out.

Karina pulled away as her father began shuffling forward, indicating that he wished to walk. “If it pleases the King, it pleases the princess,” Karina assured him, expression breaking into a grin. When had she last smiled like that? She trotted after her father, wondering if it was anything specific he wished to ask. Perhaps he was curious about her growing plant stores, or her lessons with Amisun and Lachesis? Karina’s smile faltered for a moment as she realized that she hadn’t actually had any lessons with Amisun or Lachesis, preferring to avoid the crowded medicine den in favor of the small chamber Kjors had dug for her off the side of his own den. Perhaps it was her fighting lessons with Kjors he wished to ask about; she would have much more to report on that. What would her father have to say about the Calm Place?

   

    
 

He smiled warmly as Karina chipped in her own little playful response. There was that little grin Maksim adored so, that genuine expression of joy and love. Whoever it was that would claim her as his mate would be a lucky male, of that there was no doubt ... but whoever wanted to claim her would have to go through a very protective, very judgemental father. Like a man who interrogates a boy about whether or not he's done anything more than simply hold hands with his precious jewel, he would cast his gaze over the wolf and question his affections and how deep they ran.

Karina deserved the best, and nothing less.

"Then the king will do all in his power to ensure he is pleased, for his princess' sake." He rumbled a soft chuckle, meandering along the gentle shallows of the Hearthwood River. Soft mud between his toes, the scent of redwoods in his mind ... a brief memory of Cut Rock River grazed his thoughts, which he quickly shook away. The past was in the past. There was no need to dwell, no need to pain himself with the memories of a home forsaken.

He needed to remain focused on his daughter, on their time together here. For the moment, he remained quiet, trying to decide what his first question for Karina would be, how he would approach the inevitable topic of Kjors. "How have your lessons with Lachesis been? And Amisun?" Truth be told, he had not detected any recent trails of the medicinal woman ... he hoped that it was a mere case of disappearing to search for flora to stock up on. Abandonment was a heinously cruel thing to partake in, especially when you had a student to teach.

(This post was last modified: Jul 12, 2015, 02:10 PM by Maksim.)

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue

Karina giggled as her father continued their playful banter. ”Da—aad!” she groaned as if the corniness was embarrassing her, though truly she loved every minute of it. Their meandering brought the pair to the banks of the Hearthwood River, the waterway for which their new home was named. Karina recalled the last time she had company as she walked along a river—it had been Cut Rock River, and she and Amisun had spent the morning chatting and digging up hellebore roots. Most of that hellebore had to be left behind when the pack moved, as it is a root that is only used in very small amounts. It would seem Amisun had been left behind as well, for she had not been seen at all really since the pack passed through the palisades. 

The conversation turned quickly to Karina’s studies, as she thought it might. “Dad, Amisun’s gone,” Karina imparted flatly. Though she and the other female healer had spent a few passing moments together, Karina was secretly relieved that she no longer had to share a medicine den with two others. "Not just gone.. I don’t think she ever even made it to Hearthwood River.”  It would make sense; the new recruit barely had time to settle in Cut Rock River before the pack up and moved, so perhaps she had figured out that she really didn’t need to get involved in the war and drama that consistently invaded the life of a River allegiant.  

Hoping that bringing up Amisun’s defection had diverted Maksim’s attention away from her studies, Karina forged ahead with the change in subject. “The last I saw of her was around the palisades.. you know, where Mom found Kjors.”  It occurred to the princess that mentioning Kjors might get her out of the frying pan and into the fire (as we humans say), but anything seemed better than admitting to her father that she had been skipping out on lessons.

   

    
 

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity