Sanguine Cove mo(u)rning

Someone has been here and gone, leaving strange tracks, scents and... a cake made of frozen fruits and meats?! Jackpot!

Aquene had done her best to put up a brave face, not only for her husband but the rest of the pack as well. Her conversation with Nash had only taught her that she was not hiding her emotions well enough, and that others were noticing that she was not fine. They encouraged her to embrace not being fine, but she found it difficult. Ultimately, she disagreed with the idea that she was allowed to not be okay, given everything that had happened. She wanted to believe them, and to let it all out, but she struggled with that idea very much.

It was early morning, and she was out for a walk to clean her head when she caught the scent, moving forward as she sniffed the air about her to find the small scent of slightly fermented but frozen through fruit, meat mixed in with it as her stomach grumbled… it looked… perfect. She could see the prints in the thin layer of frost on the ground but there wasn’t a wolf in sight and she couldn’t detect a scent to go off of either.

“What the..?” She questioned, quietly but aloud as she looked at it. She had never seen such a bizarre presentation of food, especially in winter where one would not want to leave such things for others and risk their own survival… sometimes, she truly did not understand the way that nature worked.

Aquene Slayer

Words are dripped

like honey from lips

Mona had, regrettably, not spend as much time with her parents as she used to. Mom was always sulking around being sad and dad was too busy being all Big and Important to give his attention to his youngest daughter. Especially now that her brother and the others were missing. Pah. Serves them right.

Mona was stalking around the territory early in the morning, stomping down the snow and kicking at random bushes and twigs in her frustration. She just wanted her parents to devote themselves to her. Was that too much to ask? That other guy had died ages ago. Weren't they over it yet?

Dumb.

She was so busy stomping and being mad that Mona missed a patch of iced over snow and slipped, falling on her side and twisting her ankle. She huffed as the air was driven out of her before she could yelp. It took a moment to gain her breath back, but when she did Mona sat up and glared at the slick patch. "Stupid ice," she said savagely. "Stupid ice, stupid snow, stupid winter!" Why couldn't things go back to the way they were before all the cold stuff came down? Before that guy had died, when everyone was happy and she got all the attention?

"Stupid guy," she muttered darkly, turning away and storming off. Her paw ached with each step but she refused to be dissuaded from her tantrum. That is, until she smelled Mom - and something tasty. "Mom?" she called, perking up and following the scent.

Aquene had truly tried to be there for her children, but had struggled to be as supportive of a parent as she had been in their younger years due to the trauma that she had experienced in the loss of her friend, her first real friend within the Lore… She tried not to let her sadness show too much, but even that proved difficult nowadays, and she was certain that the children had noticed that something was wrong, even if they could not fully comprehend what it might be.

Her attention had been focused on the food in front of her that she had not even noticed the presence of her daughter until she heard the thud of her body falling against the ice, her head immediately snapping to her with concern clear on her features as she moved towards her, offering balance and support as she began to help her daughter back up. She needed to do better, and she knew that.

“Mona, are you okay?” She asked, her eyes softening for her daughter, having caught only the tail edge of what she had said. Stupid guy. What guy? God, no, she was too young to start dating, or courting, or whatever it was to be called. The world had not truly prepared her for teenagers… she expected this to become of Kateri before it affected any of her younger daughters. “I’m right here… what stupid guy? What has happened?” She asked, allowing that worry to seep into her tone like a contagion.

Aquene Slayer

Words are dripped

like honey from lips

Mom was there in an instant, fussing over her and making sure she was okay. "'m fine," Mona said, shrugging off her mom's worries. It was just a slip, even if it hurt. That was okay, she'd fallen before. Because of the stupid, stupid ice. It wasn't as bad as everything around her being messed up because some guy had to go and die.

But it turned out her mom had caught that too. Mona didn't feel guilty, but she shied away from sharing exactly who she thought was stupid. She knew it would make mom unhappy. Well, it would make mom unhappy-er, because mom was already unhappy. "Nobody," she said, trying to duck around mom and find whatever it was that smelled so good. "What's that?"

Aquene would always worry and care for her children, in part because that was what mothers did but also because she recalled the pain of losing her second born to a stillbirth and she did not know if she could handle that, not in losing one of her children, whom she’d only grown to love more and more with each passing day that she got to mother them and watch them grow into the fine young wolves that they were.

It was the one thing that made her feel some semblance of normal. Her daughter insisted that it was nobody, and then asked about the strange collection of frozen meats and fruits that had originally drawn Aquene’s interest. “I don’t know… I just found it… but it smells good doesn’t it? And it looks good too.” There was enough there for the two of them to share, it would seem. “Are you sure you’re okay? I heard you mumbling about a guy.” The idea of her daughters dating was her worst nightmare, but she wanted to be there and for them to feel comfortable talking to her about it.

Aquene Slayer

Words are dripped

like honey from lips

Mona's nose twitched as she inched closer to the treasure trove her mother had found. They didn't get stuff like this a lot anymore and just the thought of sinking her teeth into whatever this special something was made her mouth water. "Can we eat it?" she asked, finally looking up at her mom, only to be questioned about the guy again. Mona frowned and shrugged. "The guy," she mumbled. "The one that messed everything up. Everyone's always so sad and tense and won't play anymore and it's not fair. It's not my fault." She kicked at the icy ground.

If the guy hadn't gone and died like that, Dad would have more time for them and Mom wouldn't be so sad.

At the question on whether or not they could eat it, and if it was safe, Aquene would reach forward, taking a small bite from it, her nose twitching for a moment before she sighed. “Yes, I think it is safe to eat.” She told her daughter, inviting her to take a bite.

The guy. It still did not provide much context to her as to what was going on with Mona… at least not until she got to the point where everyone was so sad and tense… “Mona, are you talking about Aleister?” She asked, a hint of sadness in her tone, not for his death this time, but for the fact that the collective depression of the entire pack was weighing on her daughter so much.

“Darling, it’s not his fault that he died… we’re all so sad because we are mourning the fact that he is not here anymore… but that does not mean that we won’t play. All you need to do is ask.”

Aquene Slayer