Dragoncrest Cliffs learning to fly, learning to run

Set before the pack meeting.

As Meerkat departed towards Duskfire to bid her farewells, Njord moved through Sapphique at a brisk trot and, though there was snow beneath his feet, it felt like he was walking on cloud nine. Their day together had been revolutionary. Njord couldn’t stop thinking back on the intimacy they shared… the way she looked beneath the lacy shade of the pines. His head buzzed with new emotion, imagination running wild with affection. It was difficult to keep a straight mind.

But try he did. When Njord reached the crooked tree of Mossbloom, he tipped his maw back and howled for @Rosalyn, @Erzulie, and @Chacal (for their daughter was apart of the trusted Rosada). When he had given all of them a chance to arrive, Njord would say his piece.

“I am courtin’ a woman from Duskfire…” he began, eyes flicking between them to parse their reactions. “But I ken ya know her well, she’s visited before an’ had ties here – Meerkat.” Suddenly he wondered what Kaertok or Haunt would have thought about all of this. “She’s a wonderful woman, an’ I want ‘er ta live with me in Sapphique. Build a life together…” his eyes fell to his captains “…wee bairns in tha Spring.” Though Erzulie had already given her blessing, Njord felt it appropriate to include all of them in this council. Perhaps they would embrace her more this way. He paused, ears turning forward, as if to listen better. “What say ya?”

erzulie filled her days with rosalyn. it was a better time than before, she felt. without infants, she had been able to devote herself in a way not possible before.
njord found them in mossbloom, and his voice was for chacal as well. he understood their intentions with the eldest child perhaps, that she should follow them.
she smiled softly as njord began to speak. meerkat was familiar to her, a golden young woman devoted to finding a family that had been lost. and now she had found the red-tail.
"i t'ink you have earned bot', njord. a place for her here, as well as children in de sprin'." if her own time abroad did not take this was a way to strengthen the pack again. 
but this choice was not hers alone. and so erzulie was quiet, waiting for rosalyn and chacal to speak.

For the days following, Erzulie was a constant presence at her side. The thought of how things would soon change cast a quiet pall, but selfishly, she wrapped herself fully in her wife's attention and returned it in equal measure. For the most part, she was herself.

Njord finding them, and asking, was a stark reminder. Instead of answering, Rosalyn turned her attention to Chacal and gave her an encouraging look. These are the decisions you'll make, and the things they'll ask of you. She was giving her choice to her daughter, under the guise of training, but with an understanding that only Erzulie would share.

At first, her expression fell slightly, to hear that Njord had found someone of interrst, at the Glacier. She knew where it was- not too far away, and she was reminded of her fleeting encounter with perhaps one of the most beautiful wolves she'd ever seen- one named Imaq, who lived on in her memory. She assumed, given the situation, that he might bring them the news that he'd chosen to leave them for her. 

She had to read her mothers' expressions to gauge their experienced with the one he named. She wasn't sure she'd met a Meerkat, but Erzulie and Rosalyn didn't seem upset in the least to hear that that was who he had chosen. When she looked back to Njord, her expression lifted; he wanted to bring her here. 

She looked again to her mothers when he mentioned wanting to have pups with Meerkat. Chacal was aware that Njord was among those his mothers had deemed worthy in the past to sire her younger siblings. He was already tied in to their family through loyalty, friendship and blood. The fact that he now asked that he bring his beloved to live with them seemed like he'd finally stepped forward to receive a well-earned reward. 

Erzulie's acceptance came first; Chacal felt her mother's gaze upon her and took that as her cue to speak. She smiled softly and paused, gathering her thoughts, and putting them into a melody.

"I am happy you have found,
someone who will set your heart on fire.
A long time, you've been loyal to us,
I too want you to have what you desire.

Meerkat is still a stranger to me-
But I trust in your judgement, you see,
And I look forward to meeting your new chéri."

Njord held his breath as if he stood before a forked road, waiting to see which path would open. The three women gathered before him – beauties of the sea arranged by shade. Chacal stood at the end, the darkest. Njord couldn’t help but wonder… who had been her sire?

His gaze turned to Erzulie when the Obsidian began to speak, but her soft expression alluded to the answer she would give. Njord’s smile grew large and he gave a firm nod, honored by the queen’s deliberation.

She then passed the baton to Rosalyn who, in turn, handed it to their heir-apparent. All eyes turned to the young woman, who sang her answer in a sweet lilt. Something about Chacal’s thoughtful cadence and rhymes gave her words more gravity. Njord felt moved, and humbled, by such a positive response.

He bowed before her. “I thank ya… truly. You ‘av made me a happy man.” Njord moved forward to give each woman a small nudge of his muzzle – something between the familiarity of a hug and the formality of a handshake. “I canna wait ta bring Meerkat here. Share our home, tha sea, with her…” his voiced trailed as his imagination got the better of him. “I’ll call fer you all once she arrives.”

Suddenly, a realization set in. That there was much work to before his cheri’s arrival! “If you’ll excuse me,” Njord dipped his head and turned to hurry off. He would spend the next day or so excavating his bachelor den, slowed by the frozen soil.