Fallen Tree Cove crosshatch.

For dear Auntie @Namid! Early evening, partly cloudy, a warm and toasty 35F!

Family was family, right? In theory, he shouldn’t be nervous. Veho loved his sister very much, just as Felix himself loved Ophelia and Joan (no matter how annoying, or mean, they felt on any particular day). By extension, he loved his father’s family – and surely they’d like him, yes? Even if not for the shared Macieo blood, than because Grizzly Hollow and Fallen Tree Cove were allies, and allies were not unkind to one another.

But not of these thoughts quelled the anxious lizard attempting to escape his ribcage as he stared into the wealth of his aunt’s territory. His father had said it was fine if he wanted to visit – encouraged it, even. Namid had children his age, and knowing your family was important, but-- Some part of the yearling still quailed at the idea, utterly convinced that the woman (and the rest of her pack) would find him nothing but a sack of skin and bones. Useless. Worthless. And his father would be so disappointed.

Felix gave a soft shudder, mind flitting back to the pack meeting he’d been forced to attend just before his departure…and he lifted his snout, calling to the female alpha from the borders of her territory. Maybe, if he was lucky, she wouldn’t be home, and he could go on his merry way.

I have loved the stars too fondly

As she was checking the cache nearest Neha’s den a call rang into the air. Her head lifted, brows raising as the call came directly for her. How strange. But, not one to dilly dally the pale woman made her way toward the summons. Her tail raised assertively and her posture settled into one of regal dominance, though she was by no means overbearing. Her mismatched gaze took in the form of a youth no older than her youngest, his pelt an array of silvers and whites. His gaze at first glance could have both been a pale silver but upon closer inspection the left proved to be a sage green. A familiar scent drifted off of him and it took her a moment to place it, then she realized that it was that of her brother’s pack. Grizzly Hollow.

She paused, staring at the boy for a moment. It couldn’t be...could it? Her brother hadn’t mentioned any children, but of course they hadn’t spoken in quite some time. While the boy didn’t have the stronger build of what could possibly be his father he did have the Macieo coat and their trademark mismatched gaze. A smile slowly crawled onto her lips until she was beaming, her tail swaying behind her frame. “My my, I was not aware my brother had produced such a handsome son,” she said, a laugh bubbling from her throat as her heart warmed.

To be fearful of the night

(This post was last modified: Apr 26, 2017, 11:29 PM by Namid.)

Luck was not smiling on Felix Macieo today. (At least, in his own mind.) Though the female alpha had given the young wolf no reason to fear. His tail swished wildly between his hind legs as he bobbed his head, swallowing several times as he tried to find his words. Slowly, his dark ears flipped forward as the woman simply stood, her own position something friendly and open. Frankly, it was far more welcoming than the majority of his packmates, except for maybe his father and Pip. Pip was the nicest.

“I, uhm. Hello,” he murmured quietly, dipping his head in a clear sign of respect. Perhaps it was a little too generous, but for the several weeks he’d been away from home, Felix hadn’t actually met any other alphas until now. He’d been doing his best to steer clear of most pack boundaries altogether. “Uh, my name is Felix. Felix Macieo. You’re, um…you’re Namid? Of Fallen Tree Cove?”

The way she spoke certainly implied that she knew him. And his father. But he didn’t want to take any chances, didn’t want to simply assume that this was good, or safe, only to make a damn fool out of himself. Surely Veho would hear about it later down the line.

I have loved the stars too fondly

It seemed the boy was quiet and meek, a bit like her Ismena in that regard. She wondered how her daughter was doing and hoped that she was well. She hoped that she would return home to them soon. Her mismatched gaze watched as the silver dusted boy dipped his head in respect and she offered a nod of her own. Respectful as well, it seemed. Of course he would be if he was her brother’s son. She would expect nothing less.

Her suspicions were confirmed with the reveal of his name. Felix Macieo. A handsome name for a handsome boy. She wondered for a moment who his mother was as she gazed upon the one sage green eye, something that they did not possess in their line. She was under the impression that Rook and Veho were together, but if that were the case how was this boy to come about? “Indeed I am, and welcome to the Cove my dear,” she said brightly. “I am very pleased to have your company, but what brings my nephew to the mountain?” she inquired with a curious tilt of her head. Was he sent as a scout with news?

To be fearful of the night

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Oh… She was so…nice. And the way she spoke – it was so much like his father. Despite his earlier worries, he was greeted with nothing but kindness – so despite his fears, he found his ears starting to press forward and his tail starting to wag behind him slowly. This was okay. He was doing okay. Namid seemed happy to see him, not angry or disappointed – hopefully, when he made it back to Grizzly Hollow, his father would be proud, too.

But he was doing that thing again. Stuck inside his head.

“Well – everythin’ changed around in Grizzly Hollow. It got all tense. And Dad said I was old enough to explore and stuff! Anything I wanted to. So I decided to, before all the babies come. And then I’ll go back.”

That was the plan, anyways, when he had set out. But apart from being cold, in those earliest weeks, things had been going pretty okay so far! And he might, maybe, just maybe, stay out a little longer. He was actually making friends, like Mat – and that was something he just didn’t have at Grizzly Hollow. (Little did he know that Tomen and Nineva were gone, too.)

“But Dad said I should come here, and meet my family, and I promised, so…here I am!” He gave a shy smile. “Is…there anything you’d like me to tell him when I get back?”

I have loved the stars too fondly

She could see him growing more comfortable, a bit of life springing into his limbs and she was glad for it. Glad to get to know a better side of him and to know that he was, indeed, a teenager and not quite as serious as his father might have been at his age. Around this time Neha had died and after that none of them had been quite the same. They’d each taken it in different ways and Veho had always seemed to think that it had been his fault. The boy before her deserved youth, deserved to feel lighter than what her family had.

He started speaking and she moved her position to sitting, gentle mismatched eyes leveling on him as she listened intently. She was curious as to how her brother’s pack was doing and the first bit didn’t please her at all though she kept that bit hidden from her expression. Tense. She wondered how that meant. Was there a shuffle in ranks? Of course around this time of year things could be hectic, especially if a female was breeding. She found a particular part of speech that he used curious. All the babies. Not the babies, but all of them. Could there be more than one female pregnant in the Hollow? Of course their situation was similar she supposed, with both Neha and Moonshadow pregnant. But they weren’t tense about the situation rather than the curiosity as to who the father of Neha’s brood was(though the queen had a strong suspicion it was a certain green eyed, dark furred male) and who it had been that had attacked Moonshadow. Moreover, would she be getting more nephews?

He finished up and she allowed her tail to thump on the ground in a content fashion. “My, it seems you are on an odyssey then are you not? Well, traveling is in our blood. Macieo’s have always felt a certain need to stretch our legs and see what the world has to offer. Always curious we are,” she laughed. “I cannot say I have anything for you to return to your father other than the reassurance that we are here should you ever need anything and to send my best wishes,” she replied. Then, her own gaze formed a bit of mischief in their depths. “I have a few questions of my own, if you would not mind?” she asked.

To be fearful of the night

With Namid sitting as she listened, the young Macieo felt he might be able to do the same. They were having a conversation, weren’t they. And standing would make him look like he was ready to jump up and run off at any second. That wasn’t true – he liked listening. He had to, really, with sisters like Ophelia and Joan. So he folded his legs and laid on his belly instead, lower than the alpha as he pricked his ears forward and listened raptly.

He was almost thankful she didn’t have a message. There was no reason to hurry home, and no worry about forgetting something important before he got back to the borders of Grizzly Hollow. He could enjoy his journey. His odyssey. Yeah, he liked the way that sounded.

“Of course!” he chirped, tail sweeping across the ground once. He loved answering questions – but a thought struck him suddenly, and Felix stuttered. “Oh! I, um, before you do. My sister, Joan – she left and, uh, she never came back. We all looked, but… So, um, anyways, if you see her, or anyone mentions her…tell her to come home, please? My parents miss her. And I think…it bothers them more than they’re saying.”

I have loved the stars too fondly

Felix seemed very eager to please, but then another look crossed his expression and Namid prepared for further questions from the youngster. Hers could wait. And, in fact, the question answered a part of one of hers. So, he wasn’t an only child. She had a niece as well, but this one seemed to be missing. A look of gentle sympathy passed over her features, knowing all too well the feeling of loss that came with the disappearance of a child. After all, she only had 2 of her 5 children still within her borders. “I am sorry that your sister is missing, truly. We will keep our eyes and ears open for her. Might I ask what she looks like?” she inquired. They couldn’t very well look for her if they didn’t know what the girl looked like.

She wanted one of her own curiosities answered and she felt like it might tie in nicely to the current subject. “Do you have any other siblings? Or, perhaps, will you be expecting more in the coming spring?” the queen asked smoothly, attempting to sate her own curiosities. Maybe it was a bit selfish, but up in solitary confinement on the mountain she didn’t get out much and wanted to know all the details she could about life below.

To be fearful of the night

(This post was last modified: May 22, 2017, 01:03 PM by Namid.)

“Oh, yes. That would help, wouldn’t it?” Felix offered a sheepish smile before dropping his eyes back to his large paws. “Uhm, kind of like dad. A lot like dad, I guess. Silver and grey and white. Thicker than me, for sure. Silver eyes, too. She’s, uhm. Very orderly.” He would have gone with rule-bound, but…did that even apply to a loner? But she looked enough like Veho, surely his aunt would recognize the yearling if she came this way. If she wanted to be found, that was. Sometimes, Felix wondered if she disappeared on purpose. If she’d known, somehow, the chaos that would blanket Grizzly Hollow like the winter snows – if he’d known, sometimes he wondered if he would have disappeared alongside her.

But it was too late for that, anyways.

And Namid was asking him questions. Getting lost in his own head was rude at best, and surely he should be making a good impression. “One other sister. She’s smaller. Darker greys along her back. And she has green eyes, like my mother. And, uhhhh… She can be…outspoken.” That was a polite way to put it. Words like ‘rude’ and ‘mean’ and ‘selfish’ also came to mind, but surely that would be gossip, and that was not appropriate, not even remotely helpful in his aunt’s understanding. “My mother is…having another litter. So is Rook…er, Papa. Kind of. Not together. And my father is not, soooo. It’s very weird. Pip is having a litter too, aaaaand…my father is not happy. At all. Not even a little. All the ladies are in trouble. I’m kind of glad I’m not there.” He paused, mismatched eyes flicking up to watch his aunt. “Don’t tell him that, though. I’m going back. I just…needed some quiet time before the chaos started.”