Fireweed Rise Keep this love in a photograph

for @Sven <3

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

Now that Morganna was here, it was harder to leave than she had ever anticipated, stalking close enough to the borders to take in the scant scent trails that remained before pulling away again. She would need to call for Ravenna eventually, but not just yet, she still had to make her way to the Monadnock... Though would it hurt her to ask her sister to keep a weather eye out for her nieces and nephews in case they arrived before she returned?

As she pondered over her own question she headed back out to the rise, as she had so many times before. When she had frequented these lands it was a place she could often be found, seated or stalking between the red stems of fireweed, plotting usually, for when was her mind ever quiet enough for her to truly be at peace? Now was no different, truth be told, even as her eyes drifted to the distant southern tree line, wondering, was her brother out there somewhere? Watching? Waiting for the right moment to sneak up on her once again? Just like he had so many times before?

She could only hope so, a small smile touching her lips as she sat among the failing fireweed stalks.

the devil is & always will

Even after all the anger and sense of betrayal, her return had seemed imminent and it no longer moved him the way it had the year prior. Perhaps that too had something to do with the fact that she wasn't so brash this time as to disregard their borders. By what he could tell, she was merely lurking, and the man couldn't help but what wonder what exactly she must be struggling to decide on. Still, he would not go out of his way to help her reach a decision. It was only today, when his patrol path finally crossed her wanderings, that he addressed her presence at all.

Exiting the Ridge's lands entirely, he easily tracked down the woman that was once beloved to him, approaching with neither guard nor welcome apparent in his demeanor.

"What is it this time, Morganna?" he asked, cutting to the chase rather than pursuing pleasantries. He could see that she had been well, and she could glean whatever she wanted from his own appearance.

be a gentleman.

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

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

The voice was both familiar and foreign at the same time and with little more than a tch behind her teeth and a smirk she acknowledged her companion with a flick of her ear and an answer without turning to look him over yet. "Why does everyone assume I'm up'ter somethin? Can't a girl jus' enjoy th' view?" her smile had widened as she spoke, finally turning her head to rest eyes on her nephew, narrowing at the corners of her eyes the only sign that she was talking in the new litany of scars that covered the boy before her. If he didn't want to tell she wouldn't ask.

"It's a long way from Torbine yer know? Figured I'd rest a bit an' wait fer my kids ter catch up. Is that goin' ter be a problem?" A single brow arched as she waited for a response. She had no intention of moving on either way.

the devil is & always will

Her words came across as sarcastic rather than a true explanation, as Sven could not imagine them to be true and his aunt had to know that. As if she'd wander all this way just to see the reeds wilt. Once upon a time he would've bought her innocence, but nevermore. Morganna was either here to bring trouble, or show off this season's brood. He supposed that was one time her intentions had been benign.

But then she went on with that smile of hers, and his ears stiffened. Torbine? What had she... Then where was...

"Torbine? I thought you had a pack, Morganna," he retorted, suddenly exasperated. He hadn't thought his aunt could surprise him anymore. Of course he should have known better.

"What of Renier, and Craw, and my mother?" Surely they hadn't all made such a trek, had they? Sven thought of Torbine as quite the exclusive kingdom; hopefully Morganna hadn't sullied it by dragging her entire harem to it. All before Sven could ever see it himself.

be a gentleman.

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

Morganna snorted at his question, so much had happened in such a short time and she wasn't so fond of poking her own bruises as she was those of other people, but she wouldn't let it show, characteristic half smile still settled on her face as she watched the trees to the south. "Aww, Sven, didn' think yer cared about what happened ter yer mother, but she stayed wi' her mate as leader. Renier came ter Torbine, they're his kids too after all, an' Craw? She just shrugged. "His wives showed up so I guess e's off somewhere wi' them. Didn' see him again after they arrived." In typical fashion she had been left holding everything on her own, it was better to pass it onto wolves that would at least be there for each other.

It was almost as if she could feel the darkness creeping into the edges of her vision, maybe it was the miniscule squint that came about when she was pissed, but she was never a fan of letting others see her weak. So to cover she allowed herself a leisurely stretch, her face relaxing as her thoughts turned back to Torbine. "Someone had ter tell 'em about mother, I jus' didn' expect it ter take so long ter get there, then it was impossible ter travel back wi' five pups so..." Well she just had to roll with it, didn't she? It was kind of her modus operandi at this point.

the devil is & always will

He remembered a time when he had idolised his aunt, and therefore every word that spilled from her mouth. Perhaps it was because then, those twists and turns had never been used against him, only others. Or maybe he'd just been too ignorant to pick up on it when they were. Regardless, her words now caused his eye to twitch involuntarily as a scowl threatened to morph his lips. Sven wouldn't let it, though. She might see him bristle, but he didn't want her to have too clear a view into how much she bothered him in this moment.

"You're the one that didn't care, Morganna," he reminded her through grit fangs, tail snapping behind him. That she had a mate, was leading up there, he couldn't even begin to think on it. At least, these surprises were being revealed to him before he had made the trip up there. Now, it was all the more likely @Leotie would be exposed to a signature... meltdown of his.

"So what, everything fell apart up there so you took off again? You don't think you're coming back here, do you?"

be a gentleman.

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

Clueless as ever and about as dull as a rotting tree branch, but Morganna kept her scathing thoughts hidden behind an almost genuine smile as he was left to process the news. His next question actually managed to make her laugh, and for once she bothered to articulate, a smile practiced over her months in Torbine, toothy and terrible with all that it might promise, "Oh dear, I don't think. I know." It had never taken much to push her silver nephew over the edge and she didn't much care if she did it once more now. "I always was fond of the rise."

He could make of that what he would, an almost languid shift repositioning her paws for any foolish mistakes the boy might make when poked. She wasn't playing anymore, and he was a grown ass adult and she was done with tempering her sharp edges for the comfort of others.

the devil is & always will

Her answer left him seething, but the anger was of a quiet nature. He'd thought it would be best to lay low take things as they came when it came to the structure of the pack, sit happily as Nicolo's number two rather than shaking things up yet again. It seemed, for the safety of them all, he might have to retake the mantle after all. Morganna could not come back. She could not be allowed divide and injure the pack once again.

"Fond, maybe, but you've never been good to this land. Take your children North, Morganna. This will never be your home again, not so long as I breathe."

And if she truly was willing to kill her own nephew to get her way some time in the future? Well, he'd be sure by then that there was nothing left for her to have once it was done.

be a gentleman.

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

Not so long as I breathe. She scoffed, there was no real threat in that, life was fleeting after all, and how was he going to stop her? Willpower would only get the boy so far. If he wasn't going to take the bait then there was little reason for her to hang around, really. She still had trails to lay and scouting to do, new wolves to meet while she reacquainted herself with the lands that she was born to, and he held no sway out here. Perhaps at the borders she'd mind her manners (oh, like anyone really believed that would happen. With a final smirk she turned to leave. "Best o' luck wi' that." You could almost hear the roll of her eyes in her drawl.