Or a candle dancing on the breeze

It was true that a creature who could not fall would have no reason to fear, but first she would need to convince her brain that it could not fall. She, it seemed, would have few problems with that. Dante wasn't so convinced he would be as knowing. After all, he would have only been a bird a day. What if he didn't know the bird secret that kept them aloft no matter what?

She asked about siblings and he nodded, confirming that he did indeed have some. "A brother and a sister.... And a half sister," he added ruefully. He thought about leaving it at that, but remembered that she had before shared with him word of her own siblings. Could there be any harm in returning the gesture? "My brother and I got along fine, but were never close." Their father wouldn't have had it. At least he hadn't successfully pitted them against one another, though Dante worried what had happened in the years. It would be just like Atrix to send Daes to finish his traitor brother off, and Dante had doubts as to whether Daes would disagree. "My sister and I were much closer. We left home together, but parted ways. She fell in love and settled down, but that place couldn't be home for me." She would know something of that. "My half sister is a piece of work, though. Hatred isn't really strong enough for how she felt about us. Luckily I left her far behind."

And Osprey had thought that her family was prone to drama... from the bits and pieces of information Dante revealed about his family members, she thought she correctly assumed that there was more to the story than he revealed. She was curious to hear more, but it didn't seem that he was going to tell, since she didn't want to make herself look as too nosey, she suppressed the urge to drown her alpha in questions.

So... a brother, a sister and a half-sister. Compared to the vast family tree of Redleaf-Disarinno's (not to mention all of the ancestors that came before the famous pair of March Owl and Aether) his family was very small. It was good though in a way... instead of trying to remember the one hundred and one names of her siblings, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces/-nephews, cousins and so on, there were only three, plus, two (parents) to keep in mind.

"Why did she hate you?" she could let herself have this small favor, couldn't she?

It was the natural question and Dante frankly would have been astounded had she not asked it. He knew it was coming the instant the words had left his mouth. Still he was in safe territory, family relations not being a fond subject for him but neither one he actively avoided. "She - Melusina - resented us. It all came down to inheritance, how trite is that?" He grinned wryly. It truly was such a cliche family pit to fall in.

"She was older, but her mother was a fling for my father. The rest of us - Tarin, Daes, and I, were the product of a more calculated match. My parents did not mate for love, but because their genes promised a strong litter." He paused, treading carefully. "I guess you could say I was to be my father's heir when the time came. She felt the favor belonged to her by right, even though my father refused to claim or acknowledge her. So hatred it was." And most of it focused on him, joyous day. There had been a time he'd reveled in it, but no longer. Now he felt nothing but pity for her.

"And here I am, a leader after all. Sometimes fate can be a hard creature to elude," he joked.

"Oh... wow... I have always thought that being a leader is so much work and responsibility that no one wants to be at the top out of free will - sorry," she spoke her mind out loud. Osprey had never been rank-driven, she had always been comfortable being somewhere in the middle, therefore it was hard for her to imagine anyone hating someone for this. Although she had her own sad story about, what power did to people, that was a bit similar in a way, but told about a fear, lack of trust and confidence.

"Fate does these things sometimes - I never thought that I would be leaving my home - but I am glad that I did in the end," leaving Flightless Falcons had probably been one of the best decisions in her life. "Now and then I think about, what is it like to be in an arranged marriage... I mean if two people like each other, have mutual respect and are loyal - can't it be a good foundation for a mateship? From what I have learned so far - one true loves don't exist and if they do, heartbreak is an almost guaranteed outcome."

He nodded in complete agreement. "That's the funniest thing about it all... I ran to avoid the whole thing. When Perry asked me to be Beta, a part of me wanted to flat out refuse even that. I never wanted this." He confessed, then quickly amended it. "Not to say I'm not happy! I am not sad things worked out this way at all, but I never would have expected it. Or that I would enjoy it." Things could change so much. "The work is worth it when you truly care about the family you've built." And believe in what your pack stands for.

"No such thing as true love? Now that surprises me. Though I guess storytellers don't necessarily have to agree with the stories." He wasn't sure what he believed on the subject. Sometimes love lasted, sometimes it didn't. He guessed he'd have to experience it to see if it was worth the risk. "Having seen both... Love seems happier." Comparing Tarin's relationship with their parents, it was true. Kira and Atrix had had respect, and Atrix might have even cared for her. She had been one of few allowed to challenge him on some subjects. But it hadn't been close to what he'd seen between his sister and her chosen mate.

"No... the stories they give you a concept of what a life should be in a perfect world," Osprey added, knowing well that her previous statement contradicted most of the ideas behind her stories. Love was not a foreign term in them, it appeared there in various shapes and forms. Yet Dante was true in concluding that a storyteller didn't necessarily have to believe in everything they said. People rarely sought truth in stories, more often they wanted something that could help them escape this world just for a while.

"I mean... the children's classic about a stolen princess, locked up in a dragon's lair and the prince that goes for the rescue, the love at first sight and they live happily ever after and all this nonsense," once she had loved these stories the most, but she had grown out of them in the end, when she proved that more often than not life threw average people or those, who wanted to take an advantage of you in your way and not charming princes, who were all good, white and fluffy.

"It doesn't happen in this life. Take my brother, for example, when I found him last year around this time - he was head over heels in Hawkeye. He was glowing, he was happy as a fool, then it just all disappeared one day and here he is not wanting to speak about her at all. How far did true love bring Blue willow? She was happy for a short while only to feel devastated later." That kind of love was a dangerous thing. She was sure of that.

"Happier? Maybe. I just don't think that, when it comes to having a family, this false belief that your love will last forever is enough," Osprey finished her long monologue.

Dante agreed that stories did not tell truths, but they did draw from them. And while he too was not sure if true love existed, he was not willing to discount it. After all, for the most part, a mateship was for life. And while she had seen some fail, in many other places the relationships had thrived.

"Just because it doesn't last doesn't make it true. Things happen, that's life. And while I don't have the experience to say so, I imagine the happiness during makes the possible pain worth it. If one can get over the fear of a bad ending. After all, aren't the ups and downs, the risks, what make stories so great? In my opinion, life can't be that much different. Life without risk is like a story without conflict. Lacking." He didn't want to judge her views, just bring his own thoughts alongside hers. "If that makes any level of sense." Love and he had a very distant relationship. He did wonder why she had come to feel the way that she did, or if she simply always had. It was one of the strangest views of love he'd ever heard, but he did find it refreshing. Better than the belief of some that life wasn't complete until you were properly shacked up.

"Arranged mateship would definitely be simpler though." He grinned. "So, what would your order be? If you could pick a mate from the catalog. Powerful? Mysterious? A fixer upper? Prince on a hero's quest? Wise magician's apprentice?"

"Do you speak from your own experience or from observations like me?" Osprey quirked an eyebrow. Her eyes were focused on his face now, searching for anything that would give away any truth, before he spoke himself. He was true in the aspect that all stories needed ups and downs, even the "life stories". What was life - after all - without some adventure? On the other hand - she had felt deeply hurt and disappointed many times in life - enough for her not to want to risk everything for a chance of some greater happiness that could also bring devastation. No, she was fine as she was.

"Magician's apprentice probably, but maybe I would elope with the master magician himself," she said smiling. It was nice to speak about imaginary things again. The conversation had got a bit too serious, even if it had let her know a bit more about the plateau's leader. "But - truth to be told - I would choose someone, who wouldn't clip my wings in order to keep me on earth. He or she, who knows, would rather fly with me. Enjoy the freedom." Even with her set ideas of an arranged mateship, she knew she couldn't just give up everything she was for it.

"What about you, if you had girls lining up - who would the lucky one be - the pretty face, the great hunter, the queen-to-be, the smart one or someone to take pity of?"

"Pure observation," he answered. In all of his life experiences, all the regrets he held and mistakes he'd made, not one of them had to do with affairs of the heart. He supposed he could count himself lucky in that. He was honestly surprised to find another who also had spent life an observer, but he withheld his thoughts on that. Some wouldn't be pleased to have had little experience in such things, but Dante honestly didn't mind. When he made connections, they had meaning. And he didn't waste his time on relationships that weren't going to stick, not even in friendship.

Her statement on the magician... yep, he could see it. The picture it painted made him grin. "That makes sense." For one who so valued freedom, that would doubtless be an important quality. He wasn't so opposed to being tied down so long as he enjoyed the place he was grounded and those who surrounded him. After all, he'd allowed himself to be quite securely chained to this Plateau and had few complaints on that.

"The one who challenged me," he said after thinking a moment. "Takes me for who I am, but pushes me to be better too. But honestly I haven't spent too much time making a list." He figured he'd know it when he saw it. "Perhaps all in one, perhaps none." He finished. "Though, if you talk with Blue Willow, the queen to be is kinda implied." He wasn't so sure about that. He would in no way force any mate of his to step up to such a role, and would only allow it if she was able to handle it and the pack accepted her as such. In his mind, it wasn't a right to be given, but a responsibility to be freely accepted and earned.

Truth to be told Osprey would have had hard time to believe that Dante would ever go for the pretty face and good looks without delving deeper in the character. Of course, a lot of surprising things could happen in life and it was quite possible that tomorrow the leader would get hit by the bolt of Cupid and have a crush on a random girl. Imagining him as a lovesick fool as others tended to become, when it happened... was somehow hard. But not impossible.

"What kind of challenge?" she managed to ask, before he explained it in detail. It sounded fair and nice and very like she wished her friend for life to be. To accept her for what she was. The mention of Blue willow made her say with a smile: "She is like a mom, isn't she? Worrying for us, making fuss about us... I bet her heart won't be in peace, until all her friends have found true loves and settled down." It was nice in a way.

"Likely not. I don't know where she finds the energy, but I love her for it." He felt if he tried to care so much he'd implode within a week from the force of feeling. He could barely keep track of things the way they were now. "Those kids are going to want for nothing," he added. He'd be amazed if they ever went without, growing in a family such as this one. Far too many loving guardians watching over them. Still, he was willing to bet Peregrine thought the same when his first group was born. Sometimes fate had other plans. Such dark thoughts didn't have a place here now, though, so he dismissed them.

"The day she starts matchmaking, though, is the day I run for the hills." he laughed. He could just picture it, a well-meaning Blue trying to hitch her friends up with eligible matches. The idea of approaching someone he barely knew, though, in such a way made his skin crawl. "Unless it's a damsel in distress. Those always do tend to work out, don't they? I just have to complete a few acts of bravery and boom, happily ever after."

"Don't we all..." Osprey managed to interject between Dante's speech. When it came to Blue willow, you couldn't find a bad thing about her. Flawless characters weren't too interesting in a story, but someone like her friend always made the life other a bit richer. Blue was one of the reasons Osprey felt like at home in the plateau. She knew that no matter what there would always be a person, who would be waiting for her and welcome her warmly despite time and distance that would have kept them apart.

He joked about rescuing a damsel in distress and marrying her in the end - like in all good stories women loved so much. It appeared that somewhere deep beneath the serious and reserved surface there was a romantic soul hiding. "Forgive me asking - but have you thought about your offspring? I mean, as an alpha you are sort of expected to continue and strengthen your bloodline," she said, however her tone implied that he didn't have to answer, if he did not wish to.

Dante didn't mind her question, and he sensed the good intentions behind it. They were two friends having a conversation, one that he was rather enjoying, so he elected to answer it without comment. Even if it was a subject he wasn't really used to discussing. Surprisingly his own settling down and starting a family wasn't something he was bothered about much, likely because he didn't often turn conversation that way. This one had been following the unusual vein for a while though.

"I guess it's not really on my short list for goals. Maybe someday, but no, I haven't thought much on it." A part of him wondered if he would ever be a father, and if he would even know how to go about it if that time came. He wasn't so insecure as to think his own father had somehow poisoned him against it, but he wasn't the best when it came to knowing what to do with children. Honestly he didn't know that he'd mind if it never happened, though whether or not he would regret it only time would tell.

"You think I'm failing my duty as Alpha by saying I'm not sure I want to continue my bloodline?" The question was kinda joking, but a little not.... some might see it that way. He just doubted she was one of them. "What about you? You thinking about kids someday? From what I can tell so far I'm a bit of an odd duck for not."

"You said that, not me," Osprey told Dante, studying his face for a moment and then turning her gaze away. "I don't think that you are failing as an alpha - you are a fairly good one. Just because you are a single man at the moment, doesn't mean that anyone would question your authority," she had nothing against the current situation, even though it felt a little odd that two second-in-commands had a litter, while the leader had none. While she was liberal in her opinions and views and open to any kind of situation she was thrown in, there were people, who were more conservative in their ways. "But there might be people, who would think differently."

"Now and then I think that it would be nice - they bring a lot of trouble, but they are fun to have around," she spoke from heart. "I have doubts that I am ready for that. On the other hand - how do you know, when the right moment is there? Maybe it's like with most of the things in life - you just have to do it and see, what becomes of it... I don't know..."

"That I did. It is good to hear I'll have you in my corner then if the coup ever happens." He joked, fully aware that the likelihood of that ever happening was about the same as him sprouting wings. If a challenge came to his leadership, he would expect it from outside, but he had become rather secure in his own position here. In no way did he think he was beyond improvement, for there were many areas that he could become better in, but he felt he was well respected regardless.

"Maybe there's levels of knowing. Like perhaps you reach a point where the gamble is worth it. I can't imagine it." He shook his head. The stress seemed like it would be intense, but the joy also. Lasher looked aglow, and he imagined Blue about the same. "Lasher and Blue seemed pretty sure though." Different dreams he supposed.

When Dante mentioned that in case of a coup Osprey would choose to stand by his side, she pressed her lips together and said nothing. Far too often in the last year had she made promises she couldn't keep, she was not willing to risk of disappointing anyone in the future by telling something she couldn't predict. At the moment she did question her loyalty to him, yet life had taught her that people changed over time and there were moments, when your own happiness and safety had to be valued more than pledged loyalty. Her brother Tyrannus had been a prime example of that.

"Well... Lasher has years on his side and Blue... is Blue... she is a family person, she needs to have kids around," Osprey spoke her opinion, even though she didn't know for sure, why either of them had made the choices they had. "This makes me think about my mom - she was a person you would least expect to have children, yet she had her first litter around Blue's age and the kids grew up to pretty decent," she smiled, thinking about Nevs, Raptor and Rascal - they had been great older siblings, while they had been around. "I don't think though that it was a carefully planned and all hammered out beforehand. It just happened and she simply dealt with that," she had been close with her mother, but never that close to discuss matters about family.

He had somewhat expected perhaps a joking response, a denial or maybe even an insinuation that perhaps she'd be the one behind such a movement. When instead he received silence he wondered if perhaps his comment had been a little too assuming. She didn't know him any better than he knew her. He honestly had forgotten that the weren't on equal footing rank wise as well, a fact that happened often still when conversing with friends. He let the subject die as she did, dismissing any worry he might have offended and moving on.

"I remember you talking about her. Your mom, that is." The first time they had met she had mentioned her family. Her father moreso though. "What was she like?" She sounded like an interesting character then and even moreso now, hearing that she wasn't the type to have children.

"March Owl?" Osprey furrowed her brow, trying to remember, which facts about her family Dante knew already and which she had not told him yet. It had happened such a long time ago that the only thing that came back to her was them running through the forest, howling and yowling as two mad people. Whatever had taken place before was hidden beneath a thick veil.

"She was big, tough and strong," she pictured her mother, her white coat, ruffled fur, her scars, her piercing green gaze and was disappointed to find out that the time that had passed since her mother's death had erased a lot of details. It was hard to even to see her dear face in detail. "You could say that she was a person, who marched through life with her fists ready for a fight. Not that she was a brawler, but you wouldn't see her beg or plead for anything. Her knees were too "stiff" to bow down to anyone," she paused.

"And a notorious potty mouth - but I think that one I told you already, didn't I?" Osprey tossed a question to Dante.

He nodded though her question may have been rhetorical, confirming that it was March Owl he had been curious about. It had been hinted at that she had some strong characteristics but he couldn't imagine her. He could guess she was where Perry and, eventually, Junior got some of their traits.

"If you didn't, I think I got that impression at least." She had at least alluded to it. "She sounds like she would be a hard one to cross. Did you guys get away with much?" The thought of Osprey, Peregrine, and their siblings as kids getting into trouble and having adventures made Dante rather happy. He wasn't sure if it was an accurate picture, but from what he had heard, their growing up (not including sibling tyrants) was as close to the normal, happy family that he had heard yet.

"Yes and no - it depended on the situation," Osprey explained with a sly grin. March Owl hadn't been your everyday mother (if you took someone like Blue willow as a comparison - the two of them stood lightyears apart), but that didn't make her love her any less. She had had her moments of love and affection that only very close people got to see. Behind the rough shell there was a heart of gold. Of that she was sure. "She was a rule breaker herself, after all," she couldn't recall, what had been the worst kind of trouble she had got in.

"You know what," she told Dante, getting to her feet. "Let's go and do something - or we will get mossy and mouldy just sitting here," she leaned over to give a gentle bump at her companion's neck and looked at him, wagging her tail expectantly.

"I imagine so." It must've been more difficult enforcing rules to children who knew your own discretions, but he guessed she had little difficulty if she was the type of wolf Dante pictured her to be. He would have been surprised to know that Osprey could not recall her, though his own thoughts followed the same vein. He did not recall his own mother... All he had was a name. Kira. She had been around, true, but as soon as they were weaned she became another face in the pack. Nothing to them.

"Sounds great!" He'd be happy to shake recollection for now, and led off. Perhaps a run, or maybe she could give him some fishing pointers? Either would prove to be a good time. Maybe they'd even do both.