Swift River with the moon i run

The sun began to descend upon Swift River; the highlights of the sky an iridescent gleam of purples, oranges, and an inky blue. Ruiko settled himself near the den; shadows played across his pelt from the tall trees, though the leaves that had once bore great beauty had been shed from their branches, leaving the thinning sign of winter.

A sigh escaped the jaws of the regal Tainn, his bright eyes almost narrowed as they scanned the quiet landscape before him. Uncertain as to where Kinis or Volkan were, the tawny male took comfort in the fact they would not stray far, for they knew their time at the River was coming to a close.

As restless as he was, the tawny male knew he would miss it here. It was still not too late – he could challenge Marsh for Second, potentially earning his previous rank back.. he could take a mate, though they would never have pups. Options were not lost upon the Tainn.. instead, it all came down to what he truly desired in life.

Darkness fell and instinctively, like normal, Indru began to rely more heavily on his other senses. While seeing through the darkness was not impossible sounds and smells always seemed so much more enhanced with the shadows to conceal them, as if compensating for the reduction in vision. Softly Indru prowled through the territory as the dominant scents of himself and Cori, backed up by the rest of the River wolves, washed over him, providing a sense of comfort at the strength of them. The importance of strong borders had been drummed into him by his father and Indru was always keen to keep them so.

It was not really a surprise then when the fresh scent of his brother rolled towards him via a gentle breeze, as tense as it sometimes felt Indru could not deny enjoying his brother's company so close and apart of the pack again. As much as the two may fight or disagree Indru would never stop loving him dearly and, to him anyway, the bond they had made as pups was not easily forgotten. Though as much as he welcomed Ruiko's presence he did not fool himself into think it was permanent, both of them were leaders by instinct and he did not think Ruiko would rest until he founded his own pack like Indru had Swift River.

Brother, he greeted fondly, his tail waving behind him slightly even as it rose just enough to mark his rank as was his right, his body posture instinctively shifting slightly too in response to a lower ranked wolf. You seem lost in thought. A small smile curled Indru's muzzle as he looked upon his near mirror image of a brother not wishing to intrude if his presence was unwanted but hoping it was not all the same, the brothers decreasing relationship was not missed on Indru and if nothing else he wished one day to fix it and have it return to friendship it once was. Perhaps, he pondered, Ruiko having a pack of his own would allow it too.

Indru’s voice called to him – breaking the quiet reverie that had descended upon the tawny male. His gaze swept up to fall upon the familiar figure of his brother, his large figure casting looming shadows across the snow that blanketed the Swift River lands. The small smile that had formed upon Indru’s muzzle was a welcome one, and upon his siblings words, Ruiko returned a sardonic snort. “You seem surprised that I have thoughts,” he countered back, his tone clearly one of jest.

Yet his own feature sobered slightly, and the male cast his gaze upon the leader once more. There was much to discuss between the two; countless topics had been left open ended, and their once strong relationship had fallen to one where Ruiko bottled his emotions and thoughts to himself.. something he had never done before with his brother. “You’ve healed well,” he mentioned casually, unable to keep his tone from becoming less warm and welcoming as it had been before. Indru still never had told him where he had disappeared off to, or why he had abandoned his mate and children.

Fading. Dun dun dun.

A little, he responded with a smirk, but he knew Ruiko would only take it as the jest it was intended to be, Indru would never be so stupid as to underestimate his littermate. We've grown up a lot, I mean, we think more. Mother would be saying "at last", the smirk turned into a fond smile, perhaps with a hint of melancholy, and his thoughts drifted briefly as they still did, and probably always would, when there was any mention of their deceased parents.

His thoughts rallied when they heard Ruiko speak again, and he couldn't help but bristle slightly, barely, at the added hardness of the words. I did. He responded curtly, eyes hardening just slightly too as he watched his brother carefully. There was no permanent damage luckily. He was relieved, but not necessarily just for himself, he'd be no good to Corinna or their cubs crippled or permanently wounded and wouldn't want to burden them with the responsibility he'd undeniably be. There was an awkwardness between the two of them that never used to be there and as much as he loathed it (as he hated missing his brother when he was standing so nearby) he didn't know how to get past it.

After a while, what needed to happen and be spoke of did, and as Indru filled his brother in on his absence and what had caused both it and his injuries he found himself missing their usual, comfortable talk even further. Time passed quicker than Indru realised as the two Tainn's spoke and soon they were both saying their goodbyes and Indru couldn't help but on slightly better terms than before.