Bramble Falls the point

@Nash - backdated to early morning, after her thread with Leo.

Finding Nash wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. Most of the group was most likely still asleep, but Nori had a lot on her mind. Most of her concerns couldn't be remedied by a simple conversation, but there was one thing she could handle right now without much trouble at all.

Their progress would be slow, that much was certain. The pups and Leo set the pace, but that would mean that finding their new home might take months, and Nori didn't like the idea of keeping small pups and an injured wolf on the move for longer than absolutely necessary.

If nothing else, she could make herself useful.

"Nash," she greeted, tail swishing behind her as she approached her uncle. "Got a minute?"

It was early and he really should be resting, but Nash couldn't sleep. Everything sounded wrong. Sleep hardly eluded him when he was travelling, but he'd always known he would be back home to the familiar sound of the lake lapping on pebbled shores, wind rustling through the leaves... he sighed and buried his nose between his paws, trying to drive the thoughts away. This was harder than he'd thought. He'd already dreamed of returning, of changing their minds and going home only to find it occupied, strangers in a familiar land that no longer belonged to them.

He knew it wasn't true, but he knew they couldn't go back, either. It was too late. There was no use whining about it now, whether out loud or to himself. There was too much to get done and he couldn't continue sitting here and second guessing his choices. Besides, this one wasn't just on him - they'd all agreed. Except Leo, but Nash wasn't going to force him to stay with the family if he chose not to.

He hoped Eclypse would find them before they got too far.

His niece's voice drew his attention and Nash looked up, ears flicking in her direction as he stood and stretched, yawn gaping his maw. "Of course. Let's step away to not disturb the others." He nodded his head toward the fringes of the group.

Grateful to find that he was awake and she hadn't disturbed him, Nori followed Nash to the edge of the group. It was a nice morning, all things considered, and she didn't mind the travel, but she wasn't nearly as connected to the mountain as the other Cove wolves were. Maybe, if she hadn't fallen those years ago, she'd feel just as anxious about leaving. But leaving was something Nori did best, after all, so this was really no issue for her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, surprising herself a little. It wasn't what she meant to say, but he looked tired, and she knew many of them were stressed and upset about the move. It would make sense for Nash to be, too, right? And who was checking on him?

Nash and his niece moved away from the group a ways, the leader's thoughts still swirling in a useless cycle of confusion. He was just so tired. What he wouldn't give for a single decent night's rest.

He'd thought Nori wanted to talk to him about Leo's condition, or their travel plans, or perhaps going out to scout. He was surprised when she asked after him and he drew up short, staring at her for a long moment. How to answer? He'd not really talked to anyone about his personal thoughts and feelings, except the night Magg had found him crying at his parents' grave. Since then he'd managed to bottle up whatever remaining emotions he had after letting them out.

"I'm fine," he said, but it barely sounded any more convincing now than it did when he'd said it to his daughter. "How are you?"

That I'm fine was about as convincing as her trying to convince him that her fur was purple, but Nori didn't want to pry too much. It wasn't her place to try and drag answers out of him if he didn't want to share them. Besides, her response wasn't much better than his.

"I'm good," she said, offering him a small smile. It wasnt exactly untrue, but it wasn't really the truth either. She was good as far as things had been going recently, which wasn't very good at all.

And now, to get to the point.

"Actually, I was hoping to ask something, she began, studying her uncle's face for a reaction. "It's no surprise that a good handful of the group can't travel very quickly, and they need capable wolves to guard. But, I don't think it's good to have them wandering around aimlessly, either, so... I thought I might scout ahead a bit. Look for a place for us to settle, at least for a while."

Nash was sure his niece saw through his lie, but to his relief she didn't push. He wasn't sure if he could handle an interrogation right now. Instead he returned her small smile and gave her the same courtesy. She did at least seem to be doing better recently, now they were on the move. It was something. He couldn't imagine having been in her position... although he didn't much enjoy being in his current position, either. Not for the last time, he wondered where they would be had Aleister not died. Better than they were now, he was sure. He was a terrible leader. Maybe he should have stayed behind, let his family move on to better things, and kept his bad luck to himself and the mountain.

Nori's voice snapped him back out of his spiral, his ears pricking in interest. "I'm not keen on anybody going off on their own," he said slowly, "but you're right. We need a plan. We've discussed heading Northwest, around the Backwater and up into the unknown land there. Don't go more than two days ahead of us, report back regularly. If you take too long I'm coming to find you." He wouldn't leave another member of his family alone and hurt ever again.

She was expecting some kind of push back - that she needed an escort, or that she wouldn't be allowed to go at all. But Nori was no child, and she'd been alone for so long before rejoining the Cove, so she wasn't worried about that in particular. Especially not now, when she was mostly healed and could easily escape most danger if necessary. Nori was not a fighter by any means, and if she needed to, she was much more likely to run than to stand her ground.

"I'll be fine," she assured. It would be a piece of cake, she was sure. "You need as many wolves guarding the group as possible, and I've been on my own before. I'll be sure to check in, and I won't go too far." Best to reassure him, she figured, than to argue. His terms weren't too difficult to manage, anyway. "What are we looking for, in terms of location? Forest? Lake? Meadow?" she wheedled, looking for any information she could gather. Anything would be useful.

Nori's reassurances did not make Nash feel better. Having experience did not mean one was immune to misfortune. Leo was skilled, and yet he had been hurt so badly. Magg was hardy, and yet-

He raised a brow at her but didn't argue. There was no point; she was right. He needed as many guarding the group as possible, especially with Leo down, and three pups to care for. Nori could handle herself. She would have to. He took a moment to think. He and Aquene hadn't really talked about where they would settle down; they were more focused on getting off the mountain. "...Not a meadow, I think," he said, thinking about Sari and hearing her cries fade into the sky. "Nothing too open. Somewhere close to water, where Aquene can gather her herbs... somewhere mostly flat." All the things the mountain had not been.

No meadow, then. That made sense, with what had happened to their other pup. Nori wasn't too keen on living somewhere so open, either - had always felt more comfortable in more forested areas. No mountains, either, which made sense, and which she was more than grateful for. Nothing with a risk of falling, or of pups being taken away. Somewhere safe.

His instructions were vague, but workable. Water, flat ground, shelter, herbs. There could be thousands of places they could settle that would offer that exact description, but Nori was determined to find the most suitable one. Somewhere peaceful, without being too close to another pack - especially the Backwater.

"Got it," she confirmed, angling her ears forward. "I've always liked rivers, myself." A small smile, and then, with her head tipped to the side: "Is there anything else? Before I go?"

(This post was last modified: Nov 11, 2024, 02:09 AM by Nori.)

Nash took another moment to think, hoping he hadn't left anything out, but he didn't think of anything else pressing. Hopefully anything else was common sense - something he trusted Nori to have. She seemed to understand, focused on him and affirming her understand. Nash's mouth twitched; he hadn't spent a lot of time around rivers; running water always seemed so different than the peaceful stillness of the lake. It wouldn't offer as much security from drought as a lake, either, and it could prove dangerous to pups... but it was better than nothing.

At her question he took another moment to think and shook his head. "We can discuss it again when you check in; I'll have talked to Aquene by then and we might have something more specific. I don't think we can be too picky for right now, though. Let me know about any good spots to stay a night or two as you find them as we go. We're going to need time to rest." He wasn't going to push his pack to the brink of death in their bid to escape it. "And of course, be careful."