Hideaway Strath oh i tried that. he bit the vet
he's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
630 Posts
Ooc — Phi
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#1
All Welcome 
casually pping roarke from turo's account.

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“Roarke,” Atruro chides his son as the boy bumbles along, losing the boy’s attention for the seventh time since taking him to the borders. He is young and his attention is that of a squirrel’s but any time that Arturo can take the children out on patrol with him spares Lotte and Hemlock the duties of being sitter to all of the rambunctious Lotturos. Arturo does not expect any trouble, falling (perhaps too easily) in the quiet of the Hinterlands with an assuredness that Teaghlaigh would greet trouble with teeth bared and a disposition to physical violence. Arturo is a wielder of the pen and the saying has always gone the pen is mightier than the sword but diplomacy only extends so far. Especially when the ambassador is always looking for an edge, a way to give himself ultimate control. He needs to make a second visit to Silver Creek, to solidify the proposed alliance or to come to neutral terms. He does not like lingering in the grey area of uncertainty. Now that the Lotturos are older it does not seem like quite so an impossible feat. Arturo’s steps cease as he realizes that he has lost the winter’s bane once more.

“Roarke.” Arturo snaps as he turns around expecting to see the boy only to feel his heart drop to his stomach and his breath push from betwixt his lips in a sharp hiss when he realizes the boy is nowhere to be seen. Freezing panic washes over Arturo and he lets out a violent shiver as his fiery, twin sun gaze furiously combs the underbrush for any sign of his pale son. “Roarke!” The very last thing Arturo wants to tell Lotte is that he lost their son. Arturo curses low in Gaelic, mildly surprising himself (for it has been some time since he has spoken his native tongue). “Fuck, Roarke, you come out here right now.” His heart is in his throat and he moves like a heat seeking missile when nearby underbrush rustles and a low giggle escape the thick, dark bushes. “Raaahhhh!” The boy leaps out of the dark emerald foliage with his battle cry and pounces upon Arturo, his paws smacking into the gangster’s muzzle with a light smart. Arturo hangs his head and lets out a slow breath of controlled ire. The boy only wants to play, but he’d nearly caused Ceannasach to have a heart attack.

“Come little warrior,” Arturo gives Roarke an encouraging nudge with his muzzle to the boy’s behind. “we’ve got to make sure Teaghlaigh is safe,” There is a pause and narrow of the gangster’s pupils within their pools of fire. “lets not tell your mother about this, eh?” Else Lotte might never trust him with their children again.
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wreathed in iron and in fire
i bare my bloody teeth
and only pity makes my strike so clean
we don't need another ruler
all my friends are kings
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#2
They left the den when they thought she wasn’t paying attention. It gives her the advantage to disappear under the radar as she moves with purpose, like she knows where she’s going, and silently she follows along a similar path as her father and brother. Mallaidh has not spent much time away from the den and the few times she has, she’s wandered after something or someone until she figures out what they’re doing. Why would Arturo take Roarke, and not her

At first, she does not know where they are going—she’s never traveled so far from the den—but as they approach the borders the pieces fall together. The appropriate words and behaviors aren’t properly named in her mind but she can smell the strength of her father here, of her mother in some places, and a few of the other wolves that have come to the den. It must be where the rest of the pack hangs out and her little head lifts, trying to search their surroundings for the rest of the wolves (but still hidden in the background [according to her]). 

When her father yells her brother’s name, however, her attention swivels to see Arturo frantically moving with no sight of Roarke anywhere. Her jaws tighten as she shrinks back, ears against her head, and she lowers all the way to the ground beneath a wide-leafed plant. The battlecry of her brother grips her attention and her head pops out to see a ball of white fling at the larger wolf. In a knee jerk reaction, Mallaidh surges forward in excitement but it is followed by wide eyes and regret as she stammers back, dropping to the ground in hopes her blip hadn’t been noticed at all.
i'd give anything to hear you say it one more time
that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes
he's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
630 Posts
Ooc — Phi
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#3
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For the moment Roarke is obedient though Arturo’s expectations of it remaining that way are not overly high. The pudgy, pale boy weaves between his legs, occupying himself with nipping (quite literally) at Ceannasach’s heels. The Lotturos are still young, still wanting to play but the gangster does not deign to treat them like small children for long. He has learned his lessons on what becomes of children that are coddled and spoiled. It is not a mistake he will make twice. For now, however, he lets Roarke bite at his ankles as the pair move — albeit awkwardly — along the borders. Movement catches Arturo’s attention — a dark smudge propelling forward out the corner of his eye — before she vanishes. Arturo, unfortunately, has seen her and draws his salmon tongue against his jowls as his fiery gaze settles on the underbrush she hides within. “Molly,” Arturo’s gaze flickers from the underbrush to Roarke who freezes and perks up at the sound of his elder sister’s name. “Come here.” Ceannasach commands of the girl, cringing to think of what might have happened if she had not managed to follow them all this way. Easily she could have gotten lost, wandered outside the safety of Hideaway Strath and it takes all of Arturo’s willpower to conceal his shudder at the thought.

Roarke’s butt has begun to wiggle from his excitement and he lets out a series of barks silenced only when he makes to lunge at the Molly’s hideout and is intercepted by Arturo’s teeth grasping the pudgy boy’s scruff. The boy is plucked up and dropped at Arturo’s paws, where a large paw encourages Roarke to sit — with an indignant huff in a plop. He realizes with the Lotturo’s mobility that they all would have to be more vigilant. They are curious and the gangster does not deign to stifle it knowing that is how they will learn but they will need watchful eyes upon them especially if they seeks to sate their curiosity upon their own. Patiently, the coywolf waits for Mallaidh to reveal herself, gaze flickering down to Roarke who pouts at his paws like a petulant child (that he is).
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wreathed in iron and in fire
i bare my bloody teeth
and only pity makes my strike so clean
we don't need another ruler
all my friends are kings
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#4
Her pale blue eyes widen in surprise when she hears her name. Ears fall back against her head and she shrinks further into the ground like she may disappear if she tries hard enough. Come here. The girl sucks in a deep breath and carefully picks herself up and pushes out of the underbrush into the open. Roarke’s face comes close before it is snatched back (thankfully, for she is woefully unprepared) and she flinches from his reach. By the time she looks back toward her father and younger brother, the child is sitting on the ground as if he hadn’t moved at all.
 
Sorry,” she murmurs, lowering her head to the ground as she inches closer.
 
Her attention on her father is short lived as the slightest movement from Roarke puts her feet into motion. She forgets she’s (potentially) in trouble and surges forward, this time without brakes, and aims to tackle her pale brother to ground.
i'd give anything to hear you say it one more time
that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes
he's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
630 Posts
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#5
Arturo hears the breath that Mallaidh draws in and listens for her as she disturbs the underbrush she has taken shelter within and soon she appears a dark smudge against the emerald green of the grass. Arturo holds the stern and terse set of his lips, the rigid posture of his body for as long as he can though her murmured apology threatens to break it. Though guilt twists within Ceannasach’s gut because she looks so dejected, so small and her curiosity has not brought any harm to her or hurt anything Arturo does not tell her that it is alright as he wants to. “We don’t sneak off on our own Mallaidh,” He chides her (his words are also meant for Roarke whom he knows is listening) reminding himself that he is her father and it is his job. He knows what happens when he does not set rules and boundaries and he does not want any more disobedient children. He and disobedience have never and will never settle well together. Teaghlaigh has strict laws against it, after all and if the children are not taught to obey then they may find themselves cast out as others before them; and that is not something that Arturo wants.

“You may join us on the borders today but next time we want something we ask for it politely.” Manners. It was all about the manners to the Fearghal patriarch. He was not raising heathens, after all. Soon the Lotturos will be hold enough to participate in the heir trials and he will be pushing them to think about trades but for now he introduces them to things when he can and allows them their mischievous fun. Fiery gaze of twin suns settles on his two children, watching as Mallaidh launches herself at Roarke without preamble. Still in pout mode Roarke does not notice her right away and when he does he is startled and tumbles into Ceannasach’s legs as their bodies collide. Arturo steps back quickly to give the children room to wrestle, allowing them their childish delights to cherish them while they are small and learning, to cherish them while they need Lotte and him in a way that they soon will cease to need them. Roarke scrambles to find his footing and lets out his quickly little “Raaaahhhh!” a roar that Arturo has come to assume is some kind of battle cry as he attempts to grasp whatever of Molly he can get in his tiny little jaws. Winter’s Bane is pudgy, though, and he has yet to learn how to use his weight to his advantage and thus it works against him.

Arturo watches the pair for a few moments longer, ears alert for noises that do not belong from neutral territory outside the Strath. “Roarke, Mallaidh,” He calls to the pair in attempts to garner their attention and cease their wrestling. He did have a patrol to finish, after all. “You can finish your wrestling match later. Lets finish up our patrol.” He gestures to the stretch of invisible border that lays before them with slim, sharply featured muzzle.
wreathed in iron and in fire
i bare my bloody teeth
and only pity makes my strike so clean
we don't need another ruler
all my friends are kings
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#6
Roarke gives her an advantage and they both roll back and tumble together toward their father. Plenty of sounds and snaps come from her jaws as she tries to find purchase on soft, white fur but she’s unsuccessful. The lesson of manners is not entirely lost on the girl but she is lost in the moment, returning to her feet to prepare for the attack her brother has planned. His battle cry reaches her and she’s prepared, resisting the moment he collides into her and tumbling around for a few more minutes.
 
When Arturo says their names, she’s put most of her weight on her younger brother to wrestle him into submission, using as much force as she can muster. He is lucky this time she thinks as she looks toward him with a sly grin.
 
This isn’t over.
 
Their father gives them a job and Mallaidh finds a sense of purpose. Her pudgy tail swishes over her spine and she squares her shoulders, then she proudly bounces forward like a soldier and steps in line net to Arturo. She forgets about Roarke for the moment, keeping close—shoulder to shoulder if she could—with the leader.
i'd give anything to hear you say it one more time
that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes
he's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
630 Posts
Ooc — Phi
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#7
Arturo is pleased when the children cease their wrestling with one another at his beckon. He does not particularly wish to be stern with them a second time. This inner territory is meant to be educational, to teach them about the every day duties they will be expected to participate in when they reach an age when they are useful to Teaghlaigh. It is a well oiled machine and Arturo expects that order to be maintained. Subtly, these little excursions is also Arturo’s way of assessing the young ones to see which of them harbors the most initiative, the two that will be chosen to be his Heirs. Sirius is of the right age to participate but the Lotturo’s are yet still too young to take anything like that with the seriousness the trials require. Another month, Ceannasach thinks and they will, perhaps, be ready. Arturo keeps his pace slow so his small children can keep up with him, and he fully intends to keep this patrol fairly short, aware that they do not have the stamina to tackle a whole patrol, or even, really, half of one. The Strath is a considerably large territory more than comfortably containing the wolves of The Family. “When we patrol the borders we frequently stop to refresh our scent where it is going stale,” Arturo genuinely hates patrolling but alas it is his duty as Ceannasach and he carries it out with as much grace as he can muster. A necessary evil, he thinks. “Our guardians are responsible for ensuring there are no strangers in or around our territory.” Arturo informs them. “What do we do if we find a trespasser?” He asks of them, briefly swept away in a bought of nostalgia as he remembers going through similar lessons with Chusi and the eldest Fearghals.
wreathed in iron and in fire
i bare my bloody teeth
and only pity makes my strike so clean
we don't need another ruler
all my friends are kings
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#8
She falls in step along with her brother and only when Arturo isn’t looking does she cross over the line and bop him, bump him, or nip at him. The distraction is often short lived, and corrected each time, but the moment she hears her father speak in a voice she knows is serious. She’s meant to learn and her eyes travel up to catch his words and speak of his guardians. She’s never seen a stranger that wasn’t allowed near the den (that she can remember) so she knows she can’t pull from experience. However, she knows it’s bad.
 
Mallaidh takes in a breath and casts a glance to her brother before she bellows out a very loud, very dramatic, “EAT THEM.”
i'd give anything to hear you say it one more time
that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes
he's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
630 Posts
Ooc — Phi
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#9
I know I've said this before but I'm going to say it again: Molly is so cute!

Roarke is silent, not giving answer to his question and Arturo brushes this under the rug as the eldest Lotturo boy being angry that his and Mallaidh’s wrestling time was cut short. He will get over it, Arturo knows, and wonders if he should not beseech to Lotte that Roarke should take instruction directly beneath her as he seems to favor her more than the boy does him. While Arturo can fight he is a business man and fighting is always at the bottom of his repertoire as last resort; whilst the pale cream puff appears to favor show of brute strength. He has the build for it, Arturo notes as he glimpses down at his children — something that Arturo never had in his arsenal. The gangster turns expectant, fiery gaze to his daughter and she does not disappoint as she lets out a very loud and theatrical eat them. A low chuckle thrums in Ceannasach’s throat as he secretly approves, alas, he cannot encourage his children to eat trespassers. “That is the right idea, Molly,” Arturo encourages with a hum of approval in the depths of his smoky timbre. “We give no quarter, offer no rest to those who cross our borders. They will retreat from our land or they will meet their end here.” Thus far, thankfully, this has not been an issue in the Strath and Arturo thinks it is because they are secluded and unless one was specifically looking for it the fortress’s metaphorical door was well hidden.
wreathed in iron and in fire
i bare my bloody teeth
and only pity makes my strike so clean
we don't need another ruler
all my friends are kings
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#10
After Arturo tells her she’s right, she doesn’t hear much else. Partly because she doesn’t understand everything coming at her at once, in that order, but also because her head just tripled in size. She glances to her younger brother with a playful smirk smeared across her face and her tail waving back and forth. Even her tongue sticks out with a wrinkle of her nose. Before too long, she swings her attention back to her father well before he even finishes speaking. With a grin, she bounces forward and dances with her two front feet to lick at his chin.
i'd give anything to hear you say it one more time
that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes
he's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
630 Posts
Ooc — Phi
Master Guardian
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#11
concluding & archiving with my post.

Molly bounces forward and licks under his chin and the gangster returns her affectionate gesture with a gentle bump of his muzzle against her’s. He corals Roarke who keeps trying to weave in and out of his legs like a cat nearly causing the gangster to trip a few times and continues to instruct his children, using terms that are simplified that he thinks they will better understand. Roarke’s attention wavers (Arturo cannot exactly blame him, he abhors patrolling) but Mallaidh, at least, seems interested. When his patrol finishes he herds the children back to the den for lunch and seeks out Lotte to give her a run down of their morning thus far (and Molly's desire to eat trespassers).
wreathed in iron and in fire
i bare my bloody teeth
and only pity makes my strike so clean