Windsong Fjord back to my roots.

Reunion for @Aleksei~
Overcast, 55F/13C

Sometimes, Bennet wondered if she’d ever find what she was looking for. Or if she actually knew what she was trying to find. There was her mother, of course, but ever since that fateful day, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Karina. She’d had her uncle, but it wasn’t the same, and with that eye injury…

He looked so much like Kjors. Like her Dad.

But no amount of missing him or wishing for him or anything like that would bring him back. She had wandered for a long time, had even run into the wolves of Ered Luin and listened to stories from the old wolves, wolves who’d known her father in her prime – she had wandered, and Bennet Kjorsdottir (for that’s what the Blue wolves had told her, and she had no idea why her father would have given her the name for a boy she clearly wasn’t) had emerged from the smoke and fog on the other side.

Perhaps she really was a dragon, after all – she didn’t kill a cat, not like Kjell, but she’d survived the worst thing she could ever think of, and she’d made it all the way back to the forest to look for Kyrios. Her friend. Her brother.

She just had to start.

Aleksei had spent all morning picking his way through the heavy woodland banking Windsong Fjord. The steep incline made the journey much more difficult than he had originally anticipated, but that was the point of coming here. He had wanted to push himself.

When the terrain eased slightly, when he could walk without needing to pigeon foot every step, the Fjord was a pretty nice place to be. Despite the overcast weather, with rain threatening to dribble at any moment, it was calm. A peaceful sort of place, where the breeze whistled in his ears and tousled the fur across his back.

His thoughts were captured by family—he had been considering paying a visit to Risaela and Mathéo, as he had promised to be a part of their lives (and was determined to fight the odds to do so). Despite having seen so little for the two of them—one meeting each—they had a special place in his heart. His last siblings. He hadn’t been there for so many … but this time, Aleksei really had a chance to do it right. He would be a fool not to seize it.

No one would be able to stop him.

It was only then, when he lifted his head to huff stubbornly, that he spied the black figure of another wolf. “Morning,” he called out—a little conversation never hurt, did it?

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

The young wolf startled, eyes wide as she jerked her head up – that was what she got for having her head in the clouds! Dad had told her to keep her head on a swivel (whatever that was), but she was supposed to be alert, especially now that she was on her own. It was hard. Tiring. But that little break she afforded herself got her all snuck up on like a dummy.

“Mornin’!” she called back, deciding a little tact couldn’t hurt her now. That was something both of her parents had in spades – something she struggled a bit with, herself, though one-on-one, it didn’t seem too hard. The large wolf had a scarred face, but he didn’t look scary – no bristled fur, or arched tail. And she’d been certain to steer clear of the pack she’d scented a little further to the west, uninterested in stirring up trouble for herself.

But what now?

Bennet paused for a moment, brows furrowed together as she considered her choices. She could ask the guy, on the off chance he knew – shit, why not? Wasn’t like she was shy, why should she start hemming and hawing now? Worse thing he could do was say no, and then she’d keep looking, just like she was.

“Say, y’know where I can find Hearthwood River? ‘m lookin’ fer a friend a’ mine.”

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

Chartreuse eyes widened—she was looking for Hearthwood River. It had been an unexpected question, and Aleksei couldn’t help the sharpness of his tongue as he scoffed his reflex response. “You won’t find many friends with the River wolves.” And he fell silent with a sigh and a shake of his head. Where had that come from? He wasn’t setting out to spread false rumours or cruel lies about the pack, not that they were lies to him personally. He just … didn’t particularly like the place, that was all.

Feeling like an outcast in what was supposed to be your father’s legacy—and your inheritance (which was all bullshit, honestly)—made the heart a bit sour, after all.

But still! Some simple manners wouldn’t go amiss. He didn’t anyone, especially not Lachesis, nor Laike and Lilya. Aleksei just strongly disliked some of the others. Very strongly.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed out with a weary smile, “that was messed up of me to say. Yes. Yes, I know where Hearthwood River is. What’s your friend’s name? Maybe I know them, maybe I can help?” Because he felt guilty for being so rude, and wanted to make it up to the dark-furred girl before him. “I … I lived there, not long ago.”

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

Bennet grunted softly, both eyebrows piqued at the sharp response. That Hearthwood River wasn’t leaving fond impressions on other wolves did not surprise her in the least. Even if he was a bit sorry for his outburst, the loner wasn’t offended either way. Her fond memories were of the parents that had left the pack, and the wolf she’d come to view as a brother. To look for these missing pieces was the only reason she’d return at all – certainly there was no magical draw to a family that had never been all that familial.

“‘m lookin’ fer Kyrios. Kyrios Aegina,” she sighed, trying so very hard not to be too hopeful the man had met her milk-brother. “My Ma raised me an’ him an’ Atropos ‘cos their ma died. And he’s like my brother.”

There was no other way to put it. They might have looked like utter opposites, but the captain and the son of dragons were cut from the same cloth, both in search of adventure, and something much greater than that. At the moment, she was simply in search of him, or—

“Have y’been? I haven’t seen my Ma in a long time, either. Karina. Karina Baranski. I lost her when my Dad died and never could find her…”

@Aleksei HAVE ALL OF MY FEELINGS.

Never could he have expected this to happen. Never had he thought that something so monumental would arise from a simple meeting between two souls. Aleksei Baranski had never been much of a believer in fate, nor destiny, but this … well, it would certainly shake him.

She was looking for her brother. Kyrios Aegina. Immediately, the Aleksei’s eyes widened. His ears pressed against his skull and he looked away with a tight frown. Uncertainly, he lowered to his haunches, an awkward sit.  How to begin? “I … I know him, but I don’t where he is. Months ago, on the mountain …” He would have continued once he had found a way to put it into words, would have explained the business that had unfolded there (how cruel he had been, how heartless), but there was more that tied this swarthy yearling to him—there was always more.

Her mother was Karina Baranski; this was his niece.

Aleksei’s throat constricted, his mouth dried. He lowered his head, tried to swallow, licked his lips in a weak attempt to return some moisture. It was an information overload. His skull felt heavy.

“My sister,” he finally choked out, “you’re my sister’s.”

All at once, the first born Baranski-Tainn’s failures were staring him down. Aleksei wanted to excuse himself and hurry back to Wild Rye Field. He could pretend this had never happened. But he couldn’t. He was rooted to the spot, half-formed thoughts churning out from his sluggish mind. Karina. Lost. His niece motherless. Alone. Kjors. Kjors? Definitely. Yellow eyes, black fur. Piercing gaze. Baranski. Dragon.

“You’re his.”

Karinakarinakarinakarina.

She's beautiful.

I'm so sorry.

I never got to tell you that to your face.

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

He knew him!

Bennet’s buttercup eyes widened, ears pressing forward as she hoped the man had something more to tell her. Anything. Even if Kyrios wasn’t still with Hearthwood River, than maybe he could tell her where he’d gone, in what direction to go, anything. Anything was better than nothing.

But that was not what followed. She knew, on some level, that her mother had family outside of Kisla, the pack matriarch. Knew that the woman missed them, wanted to reconcile, though there was always a bit of confusion about how that should go, where they should go – or why.

“I….yes…?” The girl’s brows furrowed at the odd statement. His? Her father’s? Yes? Everyone had a father. That was just how the cycle of life worked. But she wasn’t sure what the stranger was trying to imply, or how that would help – he was dead now. Returned to the earth and to the Mother, whatever that meant. She hoped it meant he was happier. But that wouldn’t help her now, and it wouldn’t tell her where Kyrios was. “Have you seen her? Or Kyrios?” she prompted, hoping the stranger would snap out of his weird daze and be of a little more use.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, Aleksei let out a shaky breath. He wanted to compose his thoughts, wanted to appear fine and not mentally unhinged, but the moment this girl had let Karina’s name drip from his lips, he found himself wrapped up in that horrible guilt again.

“I haven’t—I haven’t seen my sister for a long time.” His brows furrowed. “Or Kyrios. All that remains of my family is my younger siblings. The eldest is Inna, but she … she won’t help you. She only thinks of herself.” And that was no lie. Inna had vilified Karina for her mistakes, and then done the exact same thing herself. There was no doubt in Aleksei Baranski’s mind that his raven furred sister wouldn’t give two whiffs. That was just the kind of wolf she was now.

Perhaps the wolf she had always been.

“Karina,” he immediately attempted to steer the conversation away from his least preferred blood relative to his most dearly missed. “I lost her trail. On the mountain. I searched so long for her—for you.” Because he had known he had a niece, that Karina was with her young cub, out in the wild. And he’d failed. Miserably. “That’s where Kyrios and I … argued. Where we buried Kjors.”

Where he had taken out all his frustrations on a boy, and let himself sink into misery and grief.

All because of his own stupid, wounded pride.

“I don’t know where he went after that. He went off himself.” And then, the confession; “I let him.”

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

"Well, she never helped us a'fore, so..."

Not like that was a change. Even when Bennet was a puppy, she was able to sense the tension between the three Baranski women -- Kisla, Karina, and Inna -- even if she wasn't quite able to put a paw on why, or give it a name. She wasn't interested in help. Just whether or not her Ma had gone back, or if Kyrios had returned home. Or what was her home once, it seemed, because the only wolves she wanted to see had left Hearthwood River behind. So she had no reason to stay...but that didn't really explain to Bennet where she should go. Aleksei didn't have those answers, either -- but that wasn't really the guy's fault. It wasn't hard for Bennet to picture Kyrios running off. Sometimes, if she was really honest with herself, she fantasized doing just that, with her milk-brother at her side.

"...thanks, though. For burying him. Me an' Kjell couldn't... The cat. And he said...to go." Bennet trailed off with a sigh, digging her tooth into her lower lip; it wasn't exactly a happy memory. She kind of hoped her uncle was still alive after all that, but that was just another loose end for her to try and clean up. "I'll find 'em, though, don't worry. Kyrios. S'why I came back -- 'cos he's like my brother, and what else 've I got, anyways? I can tell him y'looked. Don't suppose you got a general direction for me...?"

@Aleksei