Oak Tree Bend to travel is to take a journey into one's self

For @Serach ;; late morning, warm, partly sunny.  Backdated 7/1.

   

Traveling had been kind to the last born of the Argyris clan.  Whether it was the physical movement, the change of scenery, or the wolves she ran into outside the boundaries of Oak Tree Bend, the girl wasn’t sure; perhaps it was the entire triad, but something felt lifted from her narrow shoulders.  She stood taller, crown high as she went about her daily duties – but it was beginning to occur to Kyna that outside of keeping an eye on Aponi and her new sister, she didn’t exactly have duties.

Oh, often she’d go out on small hunts, catching squirrels or hares to put in the pack caches like her father had taught her ages ago.  It seemed a way to keep Phineas in mind; it was a happier time, not the last scene of the white wolf falling down.

But that wasn’t her job, and Kyna wasn’t certain she wanted to be an actual hunter by trade.  Catching small rodents on her own was one thing, but organizing a group to take down a bigger item of prey was entirely another (as witnessed by Triell’s most recent pack hunt, and look what happened to him!).  With all these things in mind, the young blond had trotted into pack territory and lifted her nose.  Unable to immediately locate Serach, she tipped her chin and put her song to the sky – it was nothing urgent, she wanted to convey.  She simply wanted to … talk.

Finally, finally, Kyna was beginning to seek out the other wolves of the bend.

@Kyna Super sorry for the delay <3 Promise I'll do better moving forward now that I'm not distracted by work

For the first time in a long while, the Bend's new leader had decided to take the afternoon to rest. He was happily concealed amidst some tall grass in one of the small clearings in the southern part of the pack's territory. Sprawling out on his back, the ghost of a smile played about his lips as the sun's rays warmed his underbelly. He looked ridiculous, he knew; although he could not see with his eyes closed. But with very few exceptions, he had been hard at work for many of the previous days and weeks. With the births, followed by his ascension to leadership, the moments for relaxation had been few and far between.

Ears perking, he turned his head to the side as his legs fell to the ground with a quiet thud as Kyna howled. He had thought it for Aponi, so it surprised him when the yearling instead called out for him. As rare as relaxation was, this was far more rare and he was quick to put his annoyance at being interrupted aside as he rolled over completely and hoisted himself up to all fours. Tilting his head back, he howled back to her - he was on his way.

Perhaps @Aponi had spoken to her? Serach could not help but wonder, thinking back to his conversation just a few weeks earlier with the yearling's mother. He had expressed an interest in the older of her two daughters, although more about her general wellbeing than anything else. Still, he supposed he would find out soon enough.

A half hour had passed before the leader found Kyna, and as he approached her, his ears lowered in silent apology before perking up once again. "Kyna! Sorry for keeping you waiting," he smiled kindly at the ginger furred girl, although he was sure his eyes betrayed his curiosity. "Can I help you with something?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 18, 2016, 02:03 AM by Serach.)

   

The howl reached Kyna long before the alpha did.  Content he’d received her message, the youth settled her haunches to wait – patience was one thing she had in spades.  There was always something to be done.  Settling in on the task of grooming herself, and she’d almost finished by the time a flash of pale fur caught her eye.  The girl quickly got to her feet, tail wriggling behind her as she greeted the older wolf. 

“No need to be sorry,” she replied sincerely, unconcerned with Serach’s arrears.  Patience was a virtue – and the meeting was impromptu at best.  Only a foolish wolf would consider herself so important that all tasks must be dropped the moment she wanted attention.  “I only wanted to talk – if you have the time, that is?  I haven’t seen you much, since Triell was injured in the hunt…and I imagine being an alpha is very busy.”

The girl’s mouth twisted into something unreadable, thoughts consuming her for a moment.  Perhaps she should have asked that ahead of time, before she dragged the man all the way out here. “I’m sorry – I probably should have asked.  Or come to see you.  Congratulations only seemed a bit strange, since Triell was injured and all – but things have been going well, yes?  I should have said something.  And come to find you.”  The girl suddenly shut her jaw with a click, eyes growing wide. “Oh, I’m rambling.  I’m sorry.”

It occurred to her then she’d never had a conversation with an alpha before – one that she wasn’t related to, anyways.

A wild dissertation appears!

As Serach approached, Kyna rose to her feet to greet him, and he returned her smile with one of his own. She brushed off his apology, and he was grateful for her understanding. He had certainly not been so patient when he was younger. Chuckling, he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders to dissuade her that she had interrupted anything of importance, but before he could respond, she paused in thought and he waited in silence as she continued on the point.

When she finally finished, and apologized for rambling, he smiled kindly at her. "No need to apologize," he assured Kyna. "I was actually taking a bit of a nap. Even leaders need to have a lazy afternoon every once in a while. You won't tell, will you?" Serach joked, his tail wagging easily behind him. "Let's walk for a bit, it help me wake up," he invited her, motioning with his head for her to follow along beside him. He didn't have any destination in mind, but the warmth of the sun was intoxicating and he needed to be up on his feet if he didn't want to give in to a second round laze in the sun.

"Things have been going well," he responded as they walked along, referring to her earlier question. "I wish the circumstances weren't what they are, of course, but thank you for the support. It's all been a big adjustment, you know. My mother led the pack until her death, and Triell has led it more or less since then, so I can't say I ever really thought I would take on the role myself." He explained, turning his head to look at her. It was true. He was no longer the young man who lurked in a self-imposed solitary confinement in the woods. He had grown up, in many more ways than just his rank. "How have you been, though? I spoke to your mother not too long ago. She said you were settling in with Lila?"

   

“Yes, let’s.”

Walking was a fine idea – perhaps if her feet were moving, her mouth would stop.  Kyna felt foolish, babbling so much – not only for the ridiculous things she was saying, but for that she’d never been much of talkative wolf to begin with.  Without a word, she fell in line behind the young alpha, her shoulders aligned with the man’s haunches.  Truthfully, she’d have been content to listen if the older man kept talking, but alas.  She had a question to answer.

“I have been fine,” the blond answered without skipping a beat.  The answer could be described as automatic as she stared ahead blankly, mind briefly drifting to the recent discussion she’d had with Sahalie.  Perhaps it wasn’t entirely true, but they were small problems a girl could handle on her own.  Certainly not the sort of thing an alpha needed to concern himself with.  “I, ah--  I suppose ‘settling in’ is one way to describe it.  It is…strange.  At best.  But my father’s other children did not take kindly to me – some of them refused to acknowledge my existence – and I will be a better wolf than they.”  Than her, she added silently, her face remaining impassive.

“I am not sure how I fit into that puzzle – but that is not the only puzzle I want to fit into.  I--  Want to work with the pack, too.  I have been thinking about it.  After the hunt.”

A wild dissertation appears!

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

The blonde girl was quick to agree to Serach's proposal, and he appreciated her approval. After lazing about most of the morning it was good to get his blood flowing. As they fell into step and moved into the wood, she responded to his question. For half a moment, he was worried that she would stop at "I'm fine", leaving him to try and fill the space. But again Serach found himself grateful for the girl's agreeableness as she continued and elaborated on her answer. As she spoke, though, he felt himself cringing internally, almost wishing he had not asked. Denied her existence? He couldn't wrap his head around it. Having been a child himself, he knew that children could be cruel, but never to that extent. For all his sense of confusion after the birth of Darrah and Zera, Serach had never found himself in the position of not being recognized amongst his packmates. I won't let that happen to her, or anybody else, he vowed silently, turning his head to the side to respond to her.

Before he could open his mouth, though, Kyna moved on to the next topic of discussion - her place in this pack. "The fact that you want to try and be a kinder soul than them already makes you better," he reassured her, stopping his walk to make sure she could see the sincerity in his eyes. "And I'm glad you want to work within the Bend, too. Now that we have Lila, Mako, Marina, Reiko, and Treyah to take care of, we need all the help we can get." That was undeniable, especially with Triell out of commission and Sahalie wanting to take a trip north to visit Hearthwood River.

"You did great at the hunt," he reassured Kyna as he continued to walk, his nose twitching as the scent of blood wafted into his nostrils. "Have you been thinking about taking on a role as a hunter, perhaps when you're a little older?"

   

A kinder soul.

Kyna paused in her thoughts for a moment, taken aback by the alpha’s easy reassurance.  It was said with such confidence, she could almost believe he meant such a thing – no one had said anything like that to her before, that simply recognizing what they’d done, that she had the afflatus to make an effort to do otherwise, was already better.  Quite frankly, she did not feel like much a sister at all to Lila; she simply did not know how to be one.

Taking about the pack was much easier, and the strawberry blond was happy to leave the topic of family behind, at least for the time being.  She hummed softly as Serach spoke, knowing well the male was quite right in that regard.  The pack had grown so much!  And the children weren’t capable of providing for themselves, not yet, not until next spring, at least.

But—

“I hadn’t much considered being a hunter,” Kyna replied after a moment, ignoring the way her mouth watered at the faint scent of blood.  “I am – a bit dainty.”  Tall, yes.  Quick, yes.  But dainty, not built solidly like Sahalie, not meant to cause serious damage.  Chasing she was capable of, but the girl had her doubts she could bring down a kill like the alpha could.  “But truthfully – I’m not sure what else there is.  Leaders, of course, but that’s not really what I meant.  But that’s…all there was, back at Silent Moon Plateau.  Leaders, and everyone else.”

A wild dissertation appears!

He hadn't expected Kyna to rebuff his suggestion of becoming a hunter, but he was happy to listen to her concerns regardless. He didn't want to shoehorn her into a role if she wasn't interested, and he could understand her trepidation. She was lean, which made for an ideal chaser if she was quick enough, but she would always need to have a bulkier partner to help pull down any prey larger than a deer. "That's true," he confirmed. "But successful hunters aren't all just brawn, you do need fast wolves to help herd and chase." Serach continued, wanting to reassure her should she change her mind later on.

"Ah I understand. It's hard to not know if you didn't have any examples to watch," he murmured, his brow furrowing in thought as he tried to think of examples he could give her. Jessie had been Oak Tree Bend's scout for as long as he could remember, and Drestig had been a guardian. But he knew that packs also had medics, and advisors, and teachers. "If you remember Drestig and Jessie, the pair who left soon after you and your mother joined the Bend back in the spring, they used to be a guardian and a scout. I don't know that a guardian would suit you as an official role, but I do think every wolf should know how to defend themselves. As for scouting, Jessie would routinely leave the Bend on trips to visit other packs and gather information about them. If I remember correctly, that's actually how we learned that your family moved from Magnolia Glen to Silent Moon Plateau," he explained with a smile, trying to gauge her interest in either of those two positions.

"But there are other skills that a pack needs. I don't know anything about it, but there are wolves who know how to use plants to help heal and offer relief. @Naira might actually be somebody to ask, if you're interested in that kind of thing. But we also need wolves with level heads and interest in helping manage the pack. With so many pups in the pack, they need teachers. Not only to teach them how to hunt, but how to socialize and to learn about their family and the pack. And I could always use an advisor."

   

“I do like to run,” Kyna murmured quietly to herself, orange eyes moving hither and fro as she tucked the thought into the back of her mind.  She had asked the question, after all, and it would be incredibly rude to talk over the man as he tried to answer such a heavy question.  (Never mind that he was the alpha.  One really shouldn’t talk over the alpha.)

Slowly, he made his way through the roles.  The notion of being a guardian held little interest for her; like being a hunter, she felt far too dainty for the role.  Perhaps more importantly, the idea of fighting with others physically held no interest.  Scout, though – this sounded much more intriguing.  It would give her the opportunity to move, it seemed, perhaps a cure for her constantly itchy paws?  And Jessie had discovered other packs, no less.  Not like medic, no – plants bored her, and Naira still seemed like bad news, especially while Aponi was still making an effort.  A teacher seemed more like the sort of thing Sahalie should do, really.

And finally came advisor.  Kyna’s ears pricked up as she tipped her head, moving to keep up with Serach.  “You seem like you are doing a very good job all on your own,” she answered easily, honestly – it was not flattery, but simple observation.  “What would an advisor do for you?  Would they ever travel, like a scout?”

A wild dissertation appears!