Heartleaf Creek the most genius role you can play

For @Sawyer and @Vanadis this is backdated to approximately a week after the pups were born.
Late morning, Scattered clouds, 14C/57F

It had not taken long to travel from the rapids of the riffle to the borders of the pack, and Viorel wished that it had taken longer. Coming up short of the borders the salt and pepper man came to a stop, looking at the large male out of the corner of his eye. He was trying to subtly pick up any clues as to what Sawyer wanted with Vanadis, but he couldn’t figure it out. He hoped dearly that he had made the right decision bringing him here.

Gesturing with his muzzle for the tawny wolf to stop, Viorel lifted his muzzle to the sky and called for Vanadis, though his voice displayed some of his hesitation. She had only had the pups a week ago, it seemed so early to be calling her away from them. Especially since he was not there to take over the watch, but he wasn’t going to just leave her alone with her long lost brother without knowing his true intentions.

Ending the call Viorel took a couple steps forward, arranging himself perpendicular to the visitor. He felt stupid, and if this brother was friendly he was certainly making an ass of himself, but he didn’t know how else to act. His new found parental role had woken something very protective deep down inside him.

(This post was last modified: Jun 05, 2021, 08:30 PM by Viorel. Edit Reason: typos )

Her brows furrowed at Viorel's beckon. She wanted to go to him, no, she needed to go to him, but as her pale gaze passed over the cubs she found it hard to part with them. This happened every time she set foot out of the den, regardless of the reason. Vana blamed the surge of hormones her pregnancy had caused, but even knowing the root of the issue wasn't enough to abate it all together. They would be fine for a few minutes, the woman told herself, before shifting her weight and slipping out of the den.

It didn't take long for her to figure out why she had been summoned. Initially she thought that someone might have needed a healer, or that Vi might have needed help with something, but the scent that now mingled with his was unmistakable. Sawyer?

She picked up her pace, closing the distance between them with ease, and all but crashing into her brother the second she saw him. Had she been human, she might have forcefully thrown her arms around him, but without the benefit of arms, she could only attempt to bump her head to his shoulder.

An eagle flies overhead and drops pieces of its kill. +3 Health

All it had taken was the utterance of a name. His name. Or, rather, his parents'  surnames. Now, look where it had gotten him. Taken from the riffle, Sawyer followed the dappled man without question. They traveled through the underbrush and past a large pack's well-marked borders. Playing the part of a respectful man, as his father had groomed him to be, the Archer kept his head and ears low.

He saw the rogue stop and Sawyer's steps slowed. The side-eye was suspicious, but he took it in stride with a low tail wag.

It wasn't until he was wordlessly told to halt that Sawyer shifted his feet beneath him to a standstill. His heart thrummed with the prospect of reuniting with his sister. He blinked at the gold-eyed rogue. Stoic, only until a gave a hint of a smile. One caught flies with honey more than anything else... unless it was pure moose crap, then that was a different story altogether. Sawyer was the product of his proud lineage, but somewhere along the line, a sliver of compassion wove its way in. Just another trick up his sleeve as it were... to get what he was really after.

A call lifted up and through the woods. Sawyer steeled himself, but no matter of time would have prepared him for what would come next. He had been looking the other way when a blur of white collided with him. Stocky legs were uprooted and his barrel chest tipped over to one side before his rump followed. His cinnamon shoulder planted itself into the ground. The whole of his body curved upward like a fish out of water.

As stocky as he was, he shouldn't have been so easily upturned. A gasp fled from his lungs and wide eyes honed in on a set of ashen paws before finding the familiar face of his littermate. "Vana!" a smile found his raccoonish maw at last. His tail beat upon the ground, "It's.. It's really you!"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Vanadis did not keep them waiting long, and when her form did make its way through the trees it was practically a blur. Vivid yellow eyes tracked the woman in surprise as she came crashing into Swayer. The tumble causes Viorel to get to his paws in alarm, not entirely sure why she was so frantic, was this a positive embrace or was it about to become an all out brawl? Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but Viorel was not in a good mood, and he reasoned it was probably the latter.

The fur along his spine rippled threateningly before he took note of the way that Sawyer gasped out his girlfriend’s name, and the beating of Vanadis’ tail. His hackles smoothed, but his stomach twist with unprecedented jealousy. He had never felt this way before, mostly because he had never cared about his previous girlfriends as a yearling, and he had never had to share Vanadis with anyone she cared about other than the pups. He didn’t mind that, they were also his children after all, but this felt different.

Feeling left out, and overall just bad about this encounter, Viorel looked away, a frown formed on his muzzle despite his attempts to hide it. He said nothing.

Perhaps she had hit him with a little too much force, as Sawyer's golden frame went tumbling to the ground, flailing like a fish for just a moment before his gaze met her own. "Of course it's me! But you! What about you? What are you doing here?" He was meant to be at the Loch, or at least.. that's where she'd left him. And what were the chances that they would both end up in the same place?

Her pale gaze flickered to Viorel, a flirty smile pressed against her lips in praise of his "discovery", but she found him looking away. Ashen brows furrowed, creasing as Vana's smile was swept away in the confusion. She wasn't really sure.. what was going on, but her attention was quickly drawn back to her brother as she stepped away to let him up.

Her eyes danced from one man to the other, black to gold and back again before settling on Sawyer once more. "I see the two of you have met." Perhaps that was the reason for her boyfriend's reaction?

For now, Sawyer had tunnel vision. Vanadis had his eyes, ears, and every bit of his attention. He didn't even notice that the dark-furred man had turned away to scowl.

"Of course it's me!" his littermate beamed, "But you! What about you? What are you doing here?"

She didn't know or couldn't assume... or, well, if he thought about it, maybe it just wasn't obvious that he was attached to her. In fact, he fancied her more than Sigryn and Vethir, their other littermates. His father Skoll at one point might've sworn that Sawyer and Vanadis were pure carbon copies. Morganna would have been proud.

"I just..." he started to say, words getting the best of him. "I don't know, but I'm here!"

Her golden eyes went to the other man again and Sawyer's gaze followed.  "I see the two of you have met."

"Yeah," was all the Archer could really say. "Just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Now, if only he could get some priorities straight and some answers lined up so he could figure out his next move. Perhaps this brute had played more than just a simple part in all this.

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Viorel was still looking away broodingly when his mate had looked towards him looking to praise him. Because of this, he completely missed her confused glance or the way that her eyes flit between her and her brother. He wasn’t used to the twisting feeling of jealousy that was bubbling in his belly, but he knew that he didn’t like it. He wanted what was best for his love, but, given how he was currently feeling all he could do was hope that Sawyer would leave and then everything would go back to normal.

He didn’t want to have to share Vanadis with this jerk. Even if he was her brother.

Looking back towards the siblings at Vanadis’ question and Sawyer’s response all Viorel could bring himself to muster was a curt nod, ”Happened upon him by the rapids where we met that sooty wolf that one time.” He tried to sound happy, he really did, but even he could hear that the tone sounded a little forced. This was harder than he thought.

Vanadis couldn't stop the broad wag of her tail, nor could she erase the wide smile that danced over her lips. She had missed him.

"Is it just you? or did the others come too?" Not that it mattered. She'd never quite gotten on with the others as she had with Sawyer. She loved them, of course, as one normally loves their siblings, but she and Sigryn never quite saw eye to eye, and Vethir.. well, he was who he was, so..

Viorel's nod and tone had her even more puzzled, for whatever seemed to be effecting him wasn't as readily apparent in Sawyer. Maybe Vi  wasn't feeling well? "Well, I'm glad for it." Otherwise she never would have known that Sawyer was in the Lore. "Maybe now you can meet your nephews." She flashed her brother a smile, though it was.. almost tentative as she awaited his reaction.

heck. didn't realize it was my turn... hhhhhh.....

Viorel chimed in, "Happened upon him by the rapids where we met that sooty wolf that one time."

So far, so good.

"Is it just you? or did the others come too?" Vanadis questioned.

The redhead paused for the briefest of moments. He couldn't give her a concrete answer, per se, but he knew this much: "Just me." He was sure their siblings were not the kind to relinquish their spot in line for their parents' thrones.

Sawyer took a moment to look from Viorel to his sister, dark to light, one set of yellow eyes to the other.  "Well, I'm glad for it," she stated. "Maybe now you can meet your nephews."

Oh, yeah? His body relayed with a forward lean and wide-open ears.  It was only then that he realized that the duo shared a repertoire of certain scent markers. They smelled like one another and they were not alone. Wow, how had he been so stupid to not assume otherwise?

"Wow," he finally offered, "nephews, huh?" It was suddenly a lot of effort to wave his tail. His brows rose and his head tilted to one side, "You guys set down roots quick..." He had to clear his throat to recover himself, "I assume everything's been well so far?" A nervous chuckle, "Dad hasn't come out of his swamp looking for you yet?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡