Firefly Weir i keep the peace.

For the son, @Aegir.  Set in the evening, foggy.  53F/12C.

All in all, the little family squad had enjoyed a fairly uneventful adventure since departing Grizzly Hollow. Kjell wasn’t sure what he expected – the alpha had never liked him, but the guy had seemed like he thought it was a good idea. Maybe he really was that messed up, watching his daughter die like that. But if anything happened to Ægir, then-- No. No, he was not going to paint the devil on the wall. His son was fine, his mate was fine, and they were going to see the woods and teach the kid a few things.

Speaking of which.

Kjell stretched out, long and lanky, stretching his toes before shaking out his dark coat. Small hairs flew out in every direction and he sighed – fall shed would be coming soon, and after fall came winter. Him and Signy were gonna need to decide if they’d join another pack then, so their kiddo would be safe when the snows came and the temperatures dropped. But they had plenty of moons between then and now, and there were still some delights of some her had left to teach Ægir.

“Oi, boyo,” he rumbled, nosing his son’s shoulder. Damn, but this kid grew like a weed. “Wanna go see somethin’ interestin’?”

Trust your heart if the seas catch fire

Aegir Sørenson

Aegir had been content to nap and laze the evening away, but it seemed as though the same couldn't be said for his Da. At the poke to his shoulder he groaned, opened one eye and shot him a fiery glare. Not intentionally, but just like his Father so often did. Go away, is what he wanted to say. But when his Da continued his attention was caught like a mouse snatched up by an eagle's talons.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Aegir shook himself off as well-all gangly legs and paws too big for his body- and stared up at his Da with unshakeable interest. It was a stupid question, really.What sort of pup wouldn't want to see something interesting? Maybe those cowardly pups from the Hollow might. But Aegir was brave and certainly not meek like them. He wanted adventure and so by extension he really did want to see something interesting!

"Yeah!"He announced, his enthusiasm as unwavering as ever."Just uz?"

It went without saying how much he adored his Ma. It was old news at this point, but the prospect of heading out with his Da once again was thrilling and every bit of the adventured he had yearned for, before they'd left the Hollow. His tail wiggled behind him, but rather than get overexcited-as he so often used to do- Aegir did his best to keep his cool and mimicked that cool, level expression his Da almost always seemed to wear.

“Uh huh.” The older male leaned forward to tip at his son’s ear playfully, something bright in his single eye was he watched the kid’s sheer joy at the idea. See, this was the reason they left Grizzly Hollow. It was too morbid, there was too much death – what was the point of staying with a pack for protection if the alpha’s own daughter wasn’t safe? Out here, there was a whole world to see…and hopefully, that would help him prepare Ægir for whatever else he might meet. Good or bad.

For now, though, Kjell intended to keep the surprise good.

“C’mon, then. Follow me,” he urged the boy, looking back to make sure his son was following before setting away from the small site they were using for their night’s rest. Even in the fog, it didn’t take him too long to navigate; a long, long time ago, he’d stayed near the Lagoon with an old friend. A friend he thought he had feelings for – how foolish he was. But he had no idea Signy was out there.

Soon, small little lights began to blink through the fog, near the water, where the lightning bugs made their last attempts to find mates and make little children before the chill set in. Kjell grinned and glanced down at his kid. “Whaddya think?”

(This post was last modified: Aug 12, 2017, 11:22 PM by Kjell.)

Trust your heart if the seas catch fire

Aegir Sørenson

Aegir didn't like secrets. He wanted to know where they where going and he wanted to know now! He would have demanded as such, but the nip to his ear quickly reminded him of his place. Not that his Da was pushing him around, but simply that it paid to be a good boy. That good things came to those who waited. It was a hard lesson to swallow, and the stubborn part of him wanted to cast it to the side. To stomp his paws and shout till his Da gave in.

His Ma was the softie of the bunch. Such behaviour wouldn't fly with Da. If he wanted to get his way, the Little Dragon had to be clever.

"Comin'!" He yelled, bounding after his Da with thudding puppy steps.

It didn't take his Da long to find the special place and honesty, it was worth the wait. It looked as though the stars had fallen from the sky and were flitting about on the waters surface. Aegir squinted and tried to count them all, but they were all floating about it was so hard to keep track of which ones he had counted and those he hadn't. Did it really matter though? There were so many and it was pretty, and bright and Aegir couldn't help but revel in this wonderful discovery.

This was why Aegir had wanted to leave the Hollow. That place was so boring in comparison. Trees trees and more trees, and seemingly nothing else. At least when they were out adventuring there was so much to see and do. So many smells and sights to take in, the whole world was their playground and no one could tell them where to go or what to do.

"Woaaaah! So cool, wassit?"

It was a good thing that fireflies weren’t spooked easily, or they’d have a problem. Kjell’s mouth twisted into an amused smile, wondering where this clumsy puppy had come from. His mate was so dainty – he didn’t think it was possible for her to thunder anywhere – and the dragon lord himself had always been careful in his comings and goings. You never knew if a friend or foe lurked just around the bend.

But his son would learn, in time. Let him enjoy puppyhood in a way the older Sørenson hadn’t.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” he agreed, taking a seat near the water’s edge. “Those ‘re fireflies. ‘er lightning bugs. Depends on who y’ask.” But they were the same thing, and if they got close enough, Ægir would be able to see the little legs and wings sticking out of the floating glows. Not stars, but…something equally as interesting. “I used t’ try an’ eat ‘em when I was yer age.” Which was not recommended, but he’d let the kid make that mistake if he wanted to. Not like it would hurt him or anything. “But my Da told me that they ain’t fer eatin’, so. Mother sends ‘em down for light, but only during th’ summer time. We know winter is comin’ when they start t’ disappear again. They’re real sensitive t’ the cold and the snow.”

@Aegir  I am slow.  Tell me how you want this to go, me friendo.

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Trust your heart if the seas catch fire

Aegir Sørenson

"Ohhhhh."

Fireflies, lightning bugs, either way they sounded cool, like something out of one of his Da's best stories. Were they really made of fire, or lightning? He'd never seen fire with his own eyes, but he knew it was hot, bright and most of all dangerous. That he should stay away from it at all costs. If these little things were truly made of fire, then why would Da have even though to eat one in the first place? It didn't make sense to the Little Dragon and it was equally as confusing if the buzzing lights were made of lightning.

At the mention of Mother, Aegir hummed and nodded in understanding. At first he hadn't understood who he had been referring to. For a while he thought Da was talking about Ma, but as wonderful and amazing as she was even she couldn't have done some of the fantastical things Da spoke of. Like sending down these bugs for light.

But now the Little Dragon understood, or at least somewhat grasped the concept of a hidden force that looked out for them all.

"Da," Aegir began, his gaze still on the flitting lights before them."About the Mutha. You ever met her? What's she like? Seems good to me, sending all these cool things but..."

He frowned. Even at his tender young age he had seen seen death and violence. It was all rather confusing, realising that the world wasn't as simple as he'd once thought. He wasn't so sheltered anymore, the wide world was sure interesting but dangerous too. Sometimes, at least, when his Ma and Da weren't around.

"Tha' girl. The mizzfortune happened and she..." He couldn't quite remember how it had all happened, he hadn't really been paying attention at the time. All he knew was that it smelled bad."Why did the Mutha let tha' happen? Let tha' guy hurt Ma?"

Sheesh, Aegir. Right in with the hard questions.

The wolf’s mouth tugged in one direction, idly amused by his son’s burgeoning curiosity. He didn’t blame the kid. His own dam might have whacked him upside the hide for questioning anything about the Mother, but he didn’t exactly share the convictions the rest of his family clearly had. “Nope. Don’t think y’meet her in this life.” Ah, but he should have known this was gonna come up eventually. Death. Didn’t make sense to a pup. Didn’t make sense to him when his father was killed, and he couldn’t imagine it made much sense to Aegir now.

“Well, goes like this – she ain’t got her paws in everythin’, meddlin’ all the time. Think of all th’ wolves, right? She ain’t got time for that. We gotta take care of ourselves. That’s why we got teeth an’ claws.” Kjell grinned then, if only for the effect of a row of white razors. “‘sides, sometimes bad things jes’…happen. It’s our job t’take care of ourselves…an’ our family.” His single eye shifted, watching his young son for a moment. Especially Signy. She was small, she didn’t have the same tools most wolves were useful – she could take care of herself, but a little backup never hurt. “‘s why we don’t let ‘nyone bully Ma, yeah? ‘s why I let yer cousin come with us, too. All skinny an’ lonely an’ shit. Family’s important. First an’ best gift th’ Mother ever gives ya.”

Trust your heart if the seas catch fire

Aegir Sørenson

In this life? That was to say there was another? Aegir tilted his head in obvious confusion. Was it like when he went to sleep and had dreams? But these would never ever end? If that was the case then would they be good or bad dreams? The idea of being stuck in a good dream forever wasn't so bad, but the same couldn't be said for a bad one. He would just have to do his best to avoid that fate, even if he didn't understand what he had to do in the first place.

Leaning into his Da's side, Aegir settled down for the incoming talk. Another pup might not have enjoyed these long speeches, lectures really, but the Little Dragon didn't mind at all. He lapped up the new information like he was parched, like he couldn't get enough. He wanted to be smart like his Da, so the only way to get there was to follow in his footsteps.

It made sense though, if this Mother had so many children she couldn't look out for them all at he same time. His Ma had trouble with him sometimes,and he didn't even have any brothers or sisters. That he knew of anyway, as far as he was concerned he had been the only pup in the litter.

So that's why their teeth were so sharp? Aegir grinned back at his Da, showing off his-not so impressive- canines as his tail wiggled behind him. His Da's teeth were so cool! No wonder no one wanted to mess with him, his Da was amazing, everything Aegir aspired to be and more.

"Mmm." Aegir nodded along vigorously."Always look after Ma, no matta what. Gon git big'n strong like you one day. Fight if I gotta."

And he would, he might be small but Aegir was a dragon and he was mighty.

“Mmm. Only if y’gotta. Fightin’ fer no reason is how y’end up with one eye.”

Which wasn’t entirely true in his case, not personally – but then again, if he hadn’t gone out to satisfy his own wounded pride (even years after his brother had tried to leave him for dead), he wouldn’t have been on that mountainside with Kjors, and he wouldn’t have gotten between a cougar and her cub. He didn’t know how his older brother had wound up with one eye, himself, but he was pretty certain the dragon had sniffed out the trouble, himself.

“We’ll teach ya, though. Make sure yer good an’ ready if y’ever gotta. Once yer a bit bigger, though. My Ma said it wasn’t real good for growin’ pups to hurt their joints.” He shrugged. He supposed it made sense – a broken leg or sprained ankle couldn’t grow anymore, and she’d said Kjors had gotten sick and stayed small like he did. There was no reason to stunt Aegir’s growth if he could at all help it.

So it could wait. Let the boy grow and explore and get stronger before the real hard things came along. “Thought we might try a hunt t’morrow, me an’ you. ‘er we can ask yer Ma t’ teach y’to fish. That’s her thing. Think maybe she grew up with it?” But now that he thought about it, he supposed he never asked, despite Signy’s excellent ability. “You’ll learn both, either way.”

(This post was last modified: Sep 14, 2017, 08:58 PM by Kjell.)