Swift River Easy come, Easy go

For @Sven

After such an arduous journey south, the Monadnock wolves had settled in the Grove to rest before resuming their journey home. It would allow @Elettra a few days to come and go as she pleased, giving her a chance to get to know @Kara and Odin more than a simple stop and go would have. It was upsetting that she had missed their younger moments, as fleeting as they were, but the youth were still impressionable and it would do all of them good to spend some time together (including Morganna, who had missed her mother and the wise advice she had to offer dearly). 

Children enthralled with the woman they only knew through their mother's stories before this point, she had taken her leave with intent to seek out @Sven (and perhaps try to catch a glimpse of Attica, although she imagined her chances were slimmer than slim). When she hadn't caught sight of him by the time she reached the border, she remembered her mother's words (he wasn't a baby anymore) and tipped her head back to call her nephew. There was no urgency in her tone, perhaps even a hint of an apology. She smirked to herself as she thought it would serve her right if he chose to make her wait. She settled herself by the bank of the river, just in case he was otherwise occupied. She was willing to wait today.

When Morganna's call arrived to his ears, Sven was in the middle of wrestling with Attica. The girl was growing by leaps and bounds, consistently astounding her brother. Still he felt the need to protect her, but that didn't come with coddling. Yet allowing her near Morganna? There was a long way for his aunt to come before she held that much of his trust again. Negative influences and those who would betray her were what he most wanted to keep out of his sister's life.

So he slipped away from her daily-lengthening limbs and made it clear she was to stay here, at the main den, while he addressed their visitor. An affectionate nuzzle of his nose between her ears was his goodbye before he headed out, toward the border to see what on earth their aunt wanted. Her tone conveyed amiable intentions, but he could no longer be sure while knowing how quickly sugar could turn to salt when it came to Morganna.

When he arrived, she seemed at ease. With a jerk of his muzzle he acknowledged her, falling a few paces short of reach. Silently, he watched and waited for her to state her purpose for this summons.

She didn't have to wait for long at all, a surprise in itself as a more relaxed smile than had been evident the day before crossed her face. Watching her children finally meet her mother and a few hours of sleep had done wonders for the anxiety and irritation that had overtaken her the day before. "I hope I didn't pull yer away from somethin' important?" the question was offered out of courtesy, although she could only imagine from the scent that wafted from his coat that he had been spending some time with his sister. 

Curiousity was ignited as she considered not only the absence of Hecate but Skoll as well, she really didn't think her brother was the sort... but then there was also the case of that Catori woman... It was a shame she didn't have the time to investigate while she was here (unaware of Sven's shortcut through the tunnels to the other side of the mountain). Was it something she should bring up with @Sven?

She would have to wait and see where the conversation went. "I just wanted ter check in, see how yer doing," her tail gave a genuine wave as she waited to see how the younger wolf would react, but even now it was hard to see him as any more grown up than the young boy having a nightmare after his mother abandoned him.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

He was met with friendly posture and a smile, and still the boy did not loosen up. His own stance was cold, his eyes more indifferent than he truly felt. Hearing what she had to say, Sven's ears tilted back slightly and his tail flicked behind him he wondered if this was truly all she had called him for. To chit chat. All the way to the hinterland just to- ears snapping forward, a realization was made. This was done to correct yesterday's trespass. That mattered, but it made him all the more wary. He wouldn't fall for another pattern like @Skoll's.

"Attica," he replied, to that question of what important thing she'd taken him from, and it was all the clarification she would get without asking more questions. After all, @Elettra probably filled her in on enough, or so he would assume. That his sister wasn't just important, she was the most important thing to him, was a correction he didn't feel moved to make either.

"I hunt, take care of Nonna, watch out for @Ravenna when she isn't looking. Visit @Sahalie. Trying to keep the pack from dying off. So, I'm fine."

A beat of silence passed after of his words before impulse got the better of him and he asked, "how's Skoll?"

(This post was last modified: Oct 14, 2016, 05:18 AM by Sven.)

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, tongue wrapping around the name she was sure would suit the girl down to the ground, Attica, she nodded along with the list of duties the lad rattled off. It was a long list for a yearling but she was sure he had larger ambitions than just making sure they all got by, and for that hard work would serve him well. Her smile only grew at the mention of Sahalie but before she could ask after the dark girl he asked a question that wiped the smile clear off her face.

Brows drew down and lips began to part, a breath taken as she looked over @Sven's shoulder and then back again. How's... "What?!" it was as much a statement as it was a question, her irritation clear as she considered the information laid out before her. "I thought he was still 'ere. Yer mean 'e came lookin' fer me? An' left yer sister behind?" A growl had come to lace her voice, displeasure more than clear, though not directed at her current company.

Peach eyes bored into the young wolf before her, pieces beginning to fall into place. "I swear ter all mother's gods, an' on these very trees, I 'aven't seen him." But if I do... She moved to bump against Sven's flank, indicating that they should walk. She needed to move. She needed to know more.

(This post was last modified: Oct 14, 2016, 05:05 AM by Morganna.)

Her reaction was nothing like he was expecting. It hadn't even occurred to him, all this referencing of Elettra's and Morganna's that his aunt had actually taken her stolen pack North and not South as his father had thought, and headed. Much less that this could very well mean that Skoll had never made it to her borders. Now? With the surprise spread over her features and the shock in her words? It was very clear, and all at once he felt everything inside of him freeze.

Just like that, he was a scant few months old and alone on the edge of the world, knowing what was missing and knowing that something was gravely wrong. Yet he wasn't a child, and Skoll was not the innocent, dedicated parent that Piety had been. If he was gone, it was still by his choice. More than likely, he was lost, not harmed.

And yet, Sven still felt the thrill of fear racing from his chest into his throat. What if his father was hurt somewhere, praying against all hope that someone cared enough to come looking for him, to find him and save him? What if Sven need only travel a few miles further south to bring the man home again? What if he didn't and his father died and that forever rested upon his shoulders?

Why the fuck did Skoll have to go and leave him with all of this?

Morganna was hissing about Attica and her own anger, but all Sven could do was stare vacantly at the ground past her paws. It wasn't until she jarred him physically that he pulled out of it. Looking up, he noticed that everything about her spoke of motion, and yet he felt frozen to the spot. He had to tear himself out of the ice, and when he did it was all at once and he didn't stop. With nothing he could to do let out the emotion, his paws pounded the earth until his muscles burned and his lungs began to scream.

She hadn't noticed how Sven had drawn in on himself, it wasn't until she nudged him and he didn't respond that it became apparent there was something she was missing in all of this. Lips parted to ask her nephew what was wrong, instead, with a burst of speed, he was off. She had intended for more of a leisurely stroll but obviously, that wasn't what the younger wolf had in mind. It didn't take her long to catch him up, her smaller size making her far lighter on her feet, but she knew it would be useless trying to get him to speak sense (or at all) while ever he was so intent on running away from the problem.

She aimed her chest towards his hindquarters, hoping to hit the younger wolf hard enough to trip him up. She would turn to smack the earth with her paws, tail arched high in challenge, a low growl of demand sent towards the younger wolf, an old pattern he should be familiar with. She took a few steps closer, another growl deep in her chest. If he wanted to blow off steam he should do it constructively, and show her what he had learned in her absence.

That she was following after him didn't really register. He was feeling too much, more than he ever wanted to and he could feel himself sinking back into what he had escaped from, what he had worked so hard to be free of. Scared, more than anything, he couldn't think of anything else but moving until he couldn't.

Then something sharply knocked into him, swinging his hindquarters out from under him and throwing him into a halt that he didn't want. A surprised snarl fled his jaws, and his silver eyes were quick to hone in on Morganna. Regathering himself, he swiftly recognized the antagonistic signs she was passing to him and before his conscious mind could take it in, Sven's instincts reacted for him. Briefly, he was reminded of Hecate, egging him on and allowing him to draw blood on her just so that he could have an outlet. Was that what his aunt wanted now?

His mouth twisted into a grimace as he launched himself at her, aiming to take her by the skin of her shoulder or neck and throw her down.

Morganna wasn't certain that her shove would be enough to get her nephew to stop, but a smirk crossed her face as he snarled and turned. The wolf that came at her wasn't the same inexperienced youngster that had charged Pierus so fearlessly, and he moved with far more certainty. That he towered over her would give him an advantage if she chose to battle up high. Instead she ducked low, brushing aside the burn of teeth over her shoulder, aiming her own teeth for the thin skin that joined his elbow to his ribcage.

So focused on her own target, she had been unprepared for the weight that dropped down (again forgetting he was no longer a pup she could simply shrug off). She scooted back - her movement enough to tear the skin that @Sven held in his teeth. It wasn't enough to put Morganna off her attempt to break free, as she redirected her attack towards the plush fur of his chest, her growls voiced to remind him this wasn't supposed to be a serious fight, while still egging him on to come at her again. If she was given the space she would try to put some distance between them, if not, well she was going to have to consider her options.