Kingsfall with blue skies ahead

Auburn has come to officially join Paradise Falls, so heads up to @Jethro; he left a couple days ahead of @Flair and Chan. c:

Things were notably different here, a sense of structure to the markers and the trails the pack wove now clearly defined. Auburn was glad to see it, hoped that this place would prove to be kinder than the mountains as his father believed. Still, it felt... bad, leaving family behind when the tragedy of Sephrina's drowning was so fresh. Auburn promised himself that even if he called somewhere else home, he wouldn't forget nor abandon those still on the mountain.

He could juggle both, right?

Lifting his muzzle to the sky, Auburn called out for the pack's attention. He knew better than to assume he was welcome, even if being turned away was unfathomable. Courtesy was owed to the ones who had made this place what it now was.

There had been.. a lot going on as of lately. Good things, surprising things, and some not-so-good things. But overall, their group, though relatively small, felt like it was still strong. They were managing. Jethro had his share of worries and concerns, but he still chose to believe things would turn out well. That they’d be good.

A call sounding from beyond their borders was also, presumably, a good thing. From a familiar individual, at that. And come to think of it, was this the pack’s first official call of this kind?

That revelation elevated his spirits beyond what’d been typical as of late. The dark one wasted no time in rising, venturing beyond the caves and walls of their protective valley, and into the forest beyond.

Jet approached Auburn with a smile and his tail waving happily. ”Auburn! It’s good t’see ya again!”

Flair had told them that the Falls group was faring well, but given how swiftly things had turned for the Cove it was good to see a happy face greet him to assure things were still as they should be. Auburn's gray tail wagged behind him and his eyes pinched with mirth as he returned the greet.

"Hello, Jethro."

Outside of the introduction of more structure, it didn't seem too much had changed while they'd been gone. That was comforting, and so far coming back felt nice.

"Flair and my dad'll be along any day, far as I know. We wanted to join you guys."

Permanently or not, he hadn't quite been able to tell.

Only a few moments after he’d spoken, Jethro thought something. What if Auburn was back because.. things had gone badly with the cove? Because Chan, or the pack, or someone had reacted badly, and -

No. He was smiling. His tail was wagging. That had to mean things had gone well. At that, the dark one blew out a soft sigh of relief. It was nice to see a happy, friendly face. To be provided a warm, amicable greeting in return. His brows quirked upward in surprise at the follow-up statement.  

”Flair and Chan?” He repeated, and his mind wandered, but he was pleased. And then surprised again. ”Join us. Both of you? Like.. as part of our pack?” He questioned almost incredulous at the notion. Auburn and Chan? That was.. well. It would be nothing short of a blessing if it turned out to be true.

(This post was last modified: Mar 07, 2023, 07:10 AM by Jethro.)

While Jethro appeared pleased, he was notably surprised as well. This was curious to Auburn, yet to have seen more of his father than the reserved homebody the wolf had been at the Cove. Still he didn't comment about this, instead nodding his head happily to confirm the plan of course.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," he supposed there was always the chance that he'd misunderstood, but Chan's words had seemed plain enough to him.

"I uh," his smile faltered, evening out into something more somber, "should probably tell you... I don't think things are really well at the Cove. Most recently, while the Backwater kids were visiting, a bear attacked and killed one of them and the other's been missing since... the accord was ended because of it."

(This post was last modified: Mar 07, 2023, 09:11 AM by Auburn.)

Auburn answered that he was pretty sure. That had the dark one’s smile growing just a little wider. Goodness, he hoped so. But of course, as seemed typical as of late, the good news was tempered by bad news. Bad news that turned out to be some extremely bad.

A kid from the backwater had been killed whilst visiting the cove, and there was no longer peace between the two packs because of it. Jethro’s smile vanished, replaced by a frown, and he exhaled softly.

”That’s unfortunate. Sorry to hear it,” he murmured. Nothing else felt quite appropriate. He did wonder what that would mean for the standing of his group with both packs, but.. well. The Backwater was far enough away he doubted he had to worry about it. Although…

”We have another of their kids here, too. Hopefully they’re not includin’ us in that.” After all, both he and Flair were from the Cove. Though neither of them had been present when the incident had happened or were responsible. But who knew how much that would mean to a grieving pack.

Auburn nodded along to Jethro's sentiments. He was of the same mind that there wasn't really much that could be said about such a tragedy. His ears perked at the mention of a child, before his thoughts clarified. Flair had told them of Nix, but naturally he'd thought of Isla first at the mention of an unnamed, wayward youth.

"Far as I know, Nix's only been considered lost. We left that in Nash and Oksana's paws and, well, that all will be easier for them to explain. I... wasn't expecting so much politics," he admitted with a sheepish smile that morphed into a grimace as he was immediately ashamed of the complaint. It was better being alive to suffer such things than drowned, wasn't it?

"Sorry, I didn't come to be a downer. What about here, what's happened since I visited?"

Hopefully much happier things.

As far as he knew, Nix was only lost. The information helped to ease Jethro’s worries, but only a little. He could certainly imagine the Backwater being triggered upon finding out one of their kids was here, and nobody’d bothered to tell them. At least, it sounded like Nash and Oksana planned to do that.

Jet smiled empathetically at the mention of politics. While he might’ve gotten better at it, over the years, but.. it was hardly more enjoyable. Especially when it pertained to matters like lost and dead children. But it was a necessity, and he could be grateful that at least they had the ability to work things out without resorting to conflict. ”Didn’t used to be like that..” he murmured. Or at least, it hadn’t seemed like it when he’d been with the Cove.

The next question though, had Jet wincing before he could suppress it. Fresh off of what’d happened yesterday…

”Ah.. we’ve also had both good n’bad. We’re official now, someone else joined us, but..” he paused. How exactly did he explain what’d occurred with Siyet? Did he even want to? ”I.. might’ve lost a friend, too.”

– hopefully much happier things :x – have to stay vague about what happened with Si since it’s still ongoing.

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2023, 06:20 AM by Jethro.)

At Jethro's claim, Auburn wasn't sure how to put a response into words. He of course had no way of knowing what was and wasn't typical for any of the wolves here, but the words made him feel a touch more blue. It certainly seemed as though the pack was being slammed with trial after trial, something he'd only heard of happening before in stories. That it hadn't always been that way somehow made it even sadder.

It didn't end with them, though. When the other wolf started on his next point, Auburn felt his breathing pause in anticipation of something tragic. The phrasing didn't hint at untimely demise or other bodily harm, though. Still, the younger wolf's ears fell back and a soft frown curved his dark lips in sympathy. Events did not have to be a matter of life or death to be impactful.

"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"

Another trait Auburn unknowingly shared with his father was the aversion to prying, or even being perceived as such. Even the most innocent of queries could feel like pressure or judgment to another, and so he laid the option entirely at Jethro's paws.

Though it was small, Auburn’s expression of sympathy was noted and appreciated. There wasn’t much one could say to much of that, anyway. A part of Jethro felt bad about potentially burdening or concerning the younger man with his own problems. However, to lie and say everything was good - especially when tension and unease seemed to hang in the very air about the place at this moment - was not something the dark one sought to do either.

A lack of communication and truth had caused a fair portion of it. Jethro was going to try to resolve not to allow that to happen again, even if it meant having to talk about bad things.

At the offer to talk, he took a breath, uncertain. But Auburn, he supposed, would hear about it eventually. He might as well elaborate. ”We both believed things about one another other that weren’t true. She thought I had feelings for her when I did not. And I assumed because I never told her I loved her, she knew that. But.. that wasn’t true.” He let out a soft, almost apologetic sigh at the conclusion of that explanation, for having burdened the younger man with it.

”My feelings belong to another. My friend expressed a desire to leave over it. I don’t blame her.” Who’d want to be in a pack with someone you loved, and have to watch them raise a family with someone else? He couldn’t fault Siyet for that.

--I just realized it's ironic how almost the same plot is going on here as w/Chan and Cole. really is 'march madness' i guess...?