Cedarwood Forest peace

Clover was silent and reverent as Viorel spoke up, allowing him to speak his words, but not having anything of her own to say. She hadn't known the male very well, in fact had never held a conversation with him, but his passing was still a sad occasion for everyone.  Archer spoke up quietly then, and she took a few steps away from the body to rejoin the small group of wolves. "Yes, he was one of the oldest members in the pack." She didn't want to say that their grandmother Katna was even older, as that may spur worries in them that se could die any day, which wasn't far from the truth, but either way she didn't want the boys to be thinking about that regardless.

She then turned to Viorel with a solemn expression. "What do you want to do with his body?" Clover was all for burying him where he lay, but it seemed the two of them had shared some sort of 'sea' bond between them, and so she would defer to his judgement call for what to do.

Sharlee felt badly that she hadn't ever gotten to know Walleye. Now he was gone and there wasn't anything she could do to change it. She unfortunately didn't have any words to say for the man like Viorel except, "Thabk you for offering a friendship to my aunt Sita," she said directly to the body. She couldn't speak to the nature of the man since she felt that woukd be disrespectful.

Archer spoke up asking about Walleye's age which Clover answered. While the boys might or might not pick up on the fact that her grandma Katna was just as old or older Sharlee had. It made her more sad that one day this could be her grandma. Sometimes she wished she could stop the aging process so that they could keep their loved ones with them forever.

The Valle woman's gaze went to the healer when she asked what Viorel wanted to do with the body. While it might not be her choice Sharlee decided to speak up. "I think we should find a nice place in pack territory to bury him. He might not have the Valle name but he's still one of us." He was a sea wolf and there she felt was a kinship.

One more post each and I will fade out with Viorel at the end?

Archer asked a question that all the adults were afraid to answer after Viorel’s short eulogy. Exchanging looks with Clover and Sharlee before the white woman took the leap and answered it, one of the eldest, but he wasn’t the oldest. And, Walleye had kept his mind all the way to the end, unlike Grandma Katna. Shifting uncomfortably on his paws he looked away quickly, afraid the thought would be easily read in his eyes.

His sons seemed visibly shaken and the father was frustrated with himself that he had allowed them to come across the body. The rational part of his brain knew that this was a silly thing to be upset about, he could not have prevented this or protected them for death forever, but the feeling remained. What do we do with the body? Back at the Estuary they would send pack members out to sea…but there was no sea here.

Bring him back to the Backwater? That seemed respectful but… ”The ground is too frozen to dig him a grave….maybe we try to find him a cave or den near the border?” Maybe one of them would know a spot, it would be better than just leaving him here out in the open to be, well, to let nature take its course. Sighing he continued, ”Does anyone know a safe place for him to take his final rest?” The ground was out, the sea was out, what options did they have?

(This post was last modified: Jan 13, 2022, 12:15 AM by Viorel.)

Archer Valle

The adults were all sharing looks, but Archer was oblivious. He only saw his father look quickly away, and chalked it up to him being sad. he didn't connect his own Gramma Katna's age; Gramma Katna was constant. She was forever. He barely knew to connect age to death at all, and only because it was the only conclusion he could come up with. All the old members of the pack seemed more tired and slow than the younger members. That meant they were more likely to just stop, right?

The adults were all saying something about him, but Archer didn't know the man and didn't know what to say. But he felt weird, sitting there in silence, so he peeked around his aunt again at the still form and timidly said, "Sorry you died."

The moment it was out he felt foolish, and he quickly tucked his face back into Aunt Sharlee's fur.

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Yes, Mama Clo answered, he was one of the oldest members of the pack.

Eros' ears twitched. One of, not the oldest. He swallowed, fear re-entering his eyes. Was that why he was dead? What did that mean for Gramma Katna? The adults were already moving on, before he could ask any of the questions racing through his mind.

Bury him? His dad agreed on the idea, though not the location, and at last the young boy found his voice.

"We're gonna move him?" he asked his dad, clearly horrified by the notion.

"But he's, he-," he was just sleeping, so peaceful looking already and they wanted to stuff him underground where it would be dark and suffocating? He could imagine it, damp earth pressing against every part of him, and when he opened his mouth to gasp for air it was filled with worms and muck instead-

Eros' chest heaved up and down, panic setting in. It forced the tears out at last, and he began to cry audibly.

This was a very difficult situation made even more so with the children There. The reality that if Walleye could die at any moment and no one had expected it to happen would the same happen to grandma Katna. Just one day they are out hunting or patrolling and there she is cold and frozen in the snow. That thought made Sharlee want to cry but she couldn't, she had to be strong for the boys. They didn't understand but how could they. This would be the first time they'd ever seen a death before.

What to do about Walleye needed to be decided. Sharlee had made up her mind. He would need to be respectfully laid to rest. She had hoped that they would bury him but Vi pointed out the ground was frozen. However he'd offered another suggestion which Sharlee couldn't help with. I don't know Vi, maybe one of the boys could help pick a place?" They'd surely done so much exploring maybe they'd come across some place the adults didn't know about.

She placed a kiss on Archers head when he spoke to Walleye. "Thats very sweet of you," she told him quietly. It nearly broke her heart when Eros broke out in tears. All she could do was hold him tighter, "Its something that must be done," she told him, "It will protect him from the weather and the scavengers." She hoped that by explaining it would help to calm him.

Sharlee and Archer spoke a few words, at which point Eros began to sob loudly against Sharlee. The sound of his cries made her heart ache, but with her friend there to comfort him she focused on Viorel's question. There were many old wolf and fox dens scattered in the forest around their home, and any of them could work well to set Walleye's body down in. Leaving it out among the elements felt too cruel, and they owed him that much respect after his passing.

"I know of some unused wolf and fox dens in the forest to the east of our territory, we can leave him in one of them?" With the three adults it wouldn't be too difficult to carry him over there to lay him properly to rest, and if needed they could drop the two boys off with Vanadis if they didn't want to take a more direct part in the burial.

There was a lot going on all at once, and yet hardly anything somehow simultaneously. Archer gave his own version of a eulogy, and despite his sadness Viorel had to smother a snort, sorry you died pretty much summed it up didn’t it? And then Eros was sobbing and horrified, but Sharlee was taking care of that so there was not much else to say.

Looking up as Clover spoke, he nodded at her suggestion, ”I can carry him if Sharlee helps me, why don’t you lead the way Clover?” It would be no ocean burial, but an abandoned fox den near the pack he had spent the last chapter of his life in was better than alone in the cold to get picked apart. Looking at his boys he gave them an encouraging smile, ”We’ll put him somewhere safe, where he can take his final rest without being bothered.” Or they could only hope.

Taking his place near Walleye’s nape, he waited for Sharlee to fall in beside him before carefully taking hold of the loose fur near his neck. He would be heavy, but they could do it. They would bring Walleye home.

FADE