The Sentinels Did I ask too much

It was almost bizarre to think of what was going on in Osprey as they spoke. At times like this, Lucani felt almost like a child again, for while she had studied fertility and pregnancy there was still something irresistibly otherworldly about the whole thing.

Thank you, she said gratefully as she took a seat and then lay down (rather painfully) from that position. She wanted to ask if Osprey had any names picked out, but she was quiet and let the jade-eyed female lead the conversation. There had been promise of a story, after all...

"O-o-o-kay," Osprey sighed, stretching her forepaws and hindpaws at the same time, leaving her lying on her belly. Now that it was in a size of a considerably large pillow, it was quite comfortable. 10% benefit fromt he 90% of trouble it caused. 

"I can, of course, tell you healthy stories, but I doubt that they will make you feel any better," she mused, casting a glance at Lucani to see, if she had something to say in the matter. "And it is never too exciting to repeat old tales... therefore, tell me, what you want the story to be about and I will come up with something."

Although Osprey had made herself endearingly comfortable, Lucani did not envy her state. She had never been keen enough on a family of her own to empathise seriously with being pregnant, but knew from tending to others that it could be wretchedly uncomfortable. She didn't dare imagine herself in that state even now, because she was of such poor health that... well, it didn't bear thinking about.

Osprey gave her the opportunity to choose the subject, and of course Lucani could not resist an honest answer. I wonder if you could tell me the tale of your own life, she requested humbly. Your days before Donnelaith, perhaps?

"That will turn out to be a ve-e-e-e-ery long story and I am afraid that either you or I will fall asleep at some point during the tale," Osprey said with a laugh, though she did not mind sharing details about her childhood, the Flightless Falcons bunch, her amazing parents and myriad of personalities among her numerous siblings. 

"Perhaps you can make the task easier for me and ask specific questions?" she suggested ready to oblige and tell anything her new-found friend might want to know. "And I will make lengthy answers."

Again she smiled. Osprey was such an individual, and Lucani loved the way she sometimes elongated her words: "ve-e-e-e-ery long story".

To be honest, falling asleep to such a peaceable voice while listening to a story sounded incredibly alluring, but of course Lucani would make every effort not to. And if she did, it would have nothing to do with Osprey's storytelling abilities.

Still smiling, Lucani flopped a once-strong forepaw over the other and had a think. What was your childhood like? It was a personal question, yes... but personal questions sparked good stories.

"That's not very direct," Osprey remarked with a grin, but gave Lucani a look that told "Hold on a sec'" and closed her eyes to think a little. It had been a while, since she had revisitted the earliest memories of her life and with every passing year they faded out as old photos, exposed to the light. 

"I was born to March Owl Redleaf and Aether DiSarinno. The first had created a family name of her own, the second came from an ancient and almost royal line of wolves. An odd fit, but they got on well together and happened to produce quite a lot of offspring. By the time I was born, there were enough baby-sitters and mentors for twenty puppies, not just four.

My brother Atticus was a scholar by nature and a romantic by heart, my brother Crete was not given the gift of speech, yet he could convey so much more by looks and expressions alone. And then there was me and my brother, named after MO's siblings, but in reverse. Peregrine and Osprey. We clung to each other since birth and stayed the best friends all through the next years at our birth pack. If you are familiar with the concept of a soul-mate than that was, what we were to each other."

She paused after the lengthy introduction and looked expectantly at Lucani: "I think it is fair, if you share a bit of your own too. Do so and I will continue about mine." A fair trade.

She smiled and did not correct Osprey. She was right, after all — Lucani hadn't given a very specific question, though truthfully that had been on purpose. She sought the wider story before pinpointing the particular areas of Osprey's life she knew she'd find most interesting.

The story was genuinely interesting, emotional and unique, and she had a few things she wanted to ask about — the brother, Peregrine, in particular. (Ah, the people in Osprey's family had excellent names.) But before she could, her companion did the classic thing of leaning the spotlight towards her in turn. Lucani was rarely asked to speak about her life, and voluntarily spoke of it even less regularly. But yes, it was fair.

Hmm, she glanced away and watched the light play on the den wall. My childhood. It was quite a solo venture, though not sadly so, she admitted. I didn't have any siblings, and few friends my own age — most were older. My father, who raised me, said I was mature beyond my months. That sense of propriety hasn't yet worn off, you may have noticed, she added.

Though she gave her little story time to sink in, she was keen on more of Osprey's. So it wasn't long before she asked: could you tell me some more about Peregrine?

"You do have an old soul," Osprey remarked, looking first the old lady in the eyes and then down to her dusty paws. She turned one of them and picked out the dirt between them, while she contemplated, what to tell about her brother. The good, the bad, the ugly? There was a bit of everything in their tale, which had not quite finished yet and which was a happy one for the most part. 

"He would be flattered to know that you have taken interest in him," she said, breaking the silence and then yawned. "He is a handsome fellow and he knows it - can't say if that's for his own benefit," Osprey chuckled. "Fiercely loyal, kind-hearted and adventurous spirit. Though now he has change the life of a bachelor to the bliss of marriage and children. He leads a pack down South - Redhawk caldera. Have you ever heard of it?"

She smiled at mention of her soul but said nothing else about it. She was glad Osprey had called her such: she was in quiet agreement, and had always been proud of her maturity. Though it did trip her up somewhat when surrounded by people who had a sense of humour...

Peregrine sounded like quite the character, a handsome explorer with a fierce attachment to family at its most enjoyable. Lucani imagined him vividly, and almost met him through his sister's face, which she imagined was similar. I haven't, she admitted. Then paused, and was conversational with what occurred to her next: the continued sharing of her own adventures. But I have spent some time North, far along the coast and inland to the East. Sleeping Dragon is the name of the mountain I lived on. Did Osprey's family extend that far?

"Sleeping dragon?" Osprey thought for a bit and then shook her head. "It doesn't ring a bell." Though the name of the pack was quite interesting and creative. She could well imagine a huge mountain with spacious caverns and a dragon sleeping somewhere inside, surrounded by treasures it had stolen over centuries. 

"What was it like - the Sleeping dragon?" she ventured further, expecting to hear a good story. She had never wandered up North, nor would she do it anytime soon, but traveling within one's imagination - as she had learned - was just as spectacular.

A part of her had been hoping that Osprey or her family had known of Sleeping Dragon so she didn't have to shed light on it and recall some painful memories, but Lucani reminded herself that it was not an old pack. She herself had been one of the founding members. Its legacy was still growing, and it was not (yet) a famous name.

So she considered a moment, recrossing her forepaws, and then replied. It's a grey mountain that soars from a bed of green, and from its volcanic top the smoke that gives it the name. The pack itself... it's a group of warriors, numerous and hard from what I recall.

The mention of warriors reminded Osprey of another conversation she had had with... Aria, right? The girl had then told about her military pack. And then there was Dante's background story - very similar to the young alpha's and also Lucani's. Could it be so that this "warrior-type" of packs shared a common ancestry? Or it was the hostile environment they lived in that made them into, who they were?

She also sensed that Lucani did not particularly like to dwell on the subject about her previous home, therefore Osprey decided not to question anymore. She just remarked in a good-spirits: "I think that you fit in here better than among cold and hard warriors."

Lucani smiled, feeling a good deal more emotional than was shown on her grey face. In some ways she had fit in well enough with the wolves of Sleeping Dragon, having cut a formidable figure herself and being a quick fighter with the added bonus of healing wounds as she went along. But Osprey was right. In the end, she had left Sleeping Dragon partly because she didn't fit in.

But here among the redwoods, she felt part of something that soothed her.

Lucani said nothing for a short while, though her silence was very comfortable. The ill wolf was close to falling asleep right here in the company of her new friend. But she had another question as she leaned down to rest her muzzle gently on the ground. Do you have names planned for your little ones?

Osprey laughed: "A lot of people have asked me this question lately..." Lucani might have been the third or fourth. "And - no - we haven't thought about it much. I would rather wait for them to be born and grown up a little to see, what kind of name would fit them best. It's an important deal after all - one for a lifetime."

"Though I would expect something from Roman/Greek names, bird names are also popular in my side of the family."

Lucani retained a vague sort of smile, endeared and comfortable as she was, and listened to Osprey's words. She wasn't familiar with Roman or Greek names, but at the birds she said, ah yes, eyelids drooping. Bird names. Warm, comfortable, and really very ill, Lucani (who would never dream of doing this had she been healthy) began to drift off to sleep. Fireback and Warbler and the like, she murmured in sleepy conversation, eyes closed. She went quiet.

Osprey noticed that her companion was tired and therefore didn't bugger her for more conversation, letting the old girl take her nap. In fact - that's when she yawned - it was a good time to rest a little too. Now that the kids seemed to be in a rare state of serenity, she should not waste her opportunity. Therefore the she-wolf yawned again, arranged herself so as to lie on the side and drifted off too.

ooc: thank you for the thread and we must have another one! :)