Nothing good comes without loss

Takes place late evening 3.16.21, after one thing right, for @Chan

It had been a good day. They'd finally claimed a territory, just opposite the lake from their birthplace, and Nash finally had a home. He could easily go visit his father's gavesite, meander the places he'd enjoyed as a pup, and remember times gone by, but now they had a fresh start in a new place where they could thrive without the ghosts of their past weighing them down.

It had been a good day.

Now that the sun was beginning to set, Nash set off to find his brother. Chan had been acting off lately, and he'd slipped away immediately after the claiming. He hadn't even really said hi, or stayed to talk and celebrate. He just... left. Nash was growing increasingly worried about his older brother, and the twisting unease that had been growing in him for several weeks was starting to make him sick. He hated to think that he was ignoring an instinctual warning because he didn't want to be made fun of. He loved his brother and wanted to make sure he was okay.

It was time to make Chan talk to him. They could solve whatever the problem was together, he was sure.

Chan was on his way back from the infirmary and his talk with @Aquene. With plenty weighing on his mind, he was on his way to the pack's main den for a night's worth of sleep, an unusual pattern for the man but necessary recently to stay in sync with his pack mates. He would say his goodbyes in the morning before setting out on his scouting mission. As discussed with @Aleister, it was time to see if @Vayko and his kin had been successful and if so, check in on their wellbeing as well as establish a rapport on the Cove's behalf. He also wanted to check in with the forests on that side and the East to see if any other packs had formed since he'd last been down in their shadows, meaning he was likely to be gone for a few weeks.

Running across Nash was unexpected but always welcome. Chan threw his sibling a smile when he caught sight of him, but did not stop walking toward their new hillside home.

"Heya. How's it feel to found your own pack?" he asked with a wink.

A young fawn has gotten separated from its herd. Hunt Opportunity, +8 Health

It didn't take long to find his brother and Nash was quick to return his smile. He drew up alongside him and gently bumped their shoulders, careful not to hit him hard enough to throw either of them off balance. His tail swayed behind him as Chan spoke.

"Feels pretty good," Nash told him, still smiling, "but it's kind of weird to think of myself as a founder. It's weird saying goodbye to the Cove and moving after being tied to it for so long." He gave his brother a sideways look. "How 'bout you?"

He didn't think it was related to Chan's weird behavior, but he wanted to make sure and see if he could find the route of the problem without being overtly obvious.

"Yeah," Chan concurred, dial turning to face the direction that the old cove resided in. It certainly did feel weird that now, even their rag tag group would not be passing in and out of the den. Rather than think of as abandoned, however, he tried to think of it as in repose, retired.

"Honestly I've done this so many times, it only feels different because it's for you and Mom," he replied as the question was mirrored back for him to answer.

"It feels good though, making it all official."

(This post was last modified: Apr 18, 2021, 04:56 PM by Chan.)

Sorry for such short posts! Problems with conversation focused threads I guess...?

Nash watched his brother carefully as they walked, though he was trying to be subtle about it. He didn't know if he was succeeding or not. His head tilted slightly. "'Done this so many times'?" he repeated. "Done what, founded a pack?"

He wasn't sure how he felt about that, the idea that while he'd been here, faithfully looking for his family and coming home every month to see if anyone else came back, Chan was out there finding new friends and families and starting packs.

What disturbed him more was that Chan eventually left and never went back. He had to have done, to be able to found another pack. If he could do that to all the others...

No. He couldn't think about that. He wouldn't. Chan had promised.

His brother seemed and surprised, and given that as far as Chan knew, Nash had only ever been a part of the Cove, it was understandable. Chan chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. It happens all the time, you know, packs moving or splitting or disbanding. It's constantly changing out there."

Right here too, he supposed, even if it had been so unusually stable throughout his own childhood.

"I was in a pack once, the leader's nephew threw a fit that the hunting party came back with a stag instead of elk and bam, he took off with a chunk of wolves and started his own pack over it."

Chan had stayed behind, helped do some recruiting to make sure those left behind had enough numbers to keep strong, even as some of his friends had left with the bratty heir. Then, when everything was okay and the problems were gone, he'd moved on, like always.

Chan's chuckle grated on Nash, though his smooth and easy explanation left him feeling a little better. Of course it was always changing out there; everyone was an individual and not everyone was as bound to home as Nash was. He couldn't help but wonder if he would have been more like Chan if the pack hadn't disappeared, or if he'd gone off with his mother or brother instead of being on his own. He wondered what sort of man he'd be today if things had been different. Maybe he wouldn't even be standing here, a founder of Sanguine Cove. Maybe he would have disappeared too.

The thought troubled him so much he very nearly missed Chan's story. He let out a short disbelieving laugh. "That seems a silly reason to leave home," he said. " Was there anything else going on? What was the pack called?" Ever he was searching for a reason someone might leave; now he had it into his head that Chan tended to flit about like a hummingbird, he was worried his brother might leave them too. He needed to make sure nothing happened to drive him away.

Chan thought a moment about Nash's remarks before answering.

"It was a build up, I'm sure," he mused.

"He was pretty easily set off by things like that, not getting exactly what he wanted on a whim. So I guess he decided he'd make a place where it was all completely up to him."

Chan had known a lot of wolves that had left because they wanted or needed more control over their situation, in one way or another. That didn't have to mean anything wrong had been done, however.

"It probably didn't feel like home to him."

Every wolf had the right to pursue what made them happy, healthy, whole. Even if the reasons seemed petty, the nephew had had every right to do what he felt was best for himself, at least in Chan's opinion.

Nash mulled over Chan's words and tried to think of a subtle way to approach the reason he'd actually sought him out. But now that they were talking, Chan seemed fine. Maybe it had just been a bad day before, and being around everyone was too much? Nash vacillated for a moment on whether or not to just come out and ask Chan if he was alright, and in the end he decided for something ambiguous.

"I suppose. I'm glad Aleister's not like that. I did notice we have quite a few ladies in the pack though," he said. "Is that his doing, or yours?" He shot his brother a teasing grin.