Moonspear broken halo

 

Hydra often kept herself busy to avoid thinking about Galaxy. She wasn't terribly affected, but of her mirror images, she was certainly the most. There had been a time she had considered taking the girl under her wing after all. But alas, Galaxy had proven too much of a soft little flower. And now, that flower had been obliterated. 

Not by a bear. By a fucking Titmouse. 

The Beta moved toward where she knew Galaxy loved to stargaze. Her heart hurt as she thought of the fact that Galaxy would never get to watch the stars from here again, or recite them to her as she did just a few short days before she died. Hydra looked to the stars, thinking them beautiful but incredibly useless. Had Galaxy taken lessons from her, her odds of survival would have increased as well.

It was evident that something was missing; life had been taken from the pack too quickly, leaving an apparent void in Moonspear's heart. Like the others, Rannoch had mourned the loss of the child. He had not known her as her family had but, he felt as though he and Galaxy had harbored some sort of a kinship. 

In addition to the loss of Galaxy, Rannoch had felt troubled by what he had witnessed at Moonspear's borders. Though Gannet was currently under the care of Lyra, Rannoch could no unsee the venom that she held in her stare before she had moved to maim they very wound she now tended to. Rannoch couldn't help but wonder if she regretted harming a man who had been harmless-- something told him that she had relished it. 

In time, Rannoch had been made aware of who they suspected was at fault of Galaxy's death: Titmouse. It had been long since Rannoch had heard that name, and he could not envision the wolf that he had helped raised grow into a murderer. The thought did not sit well with him but, he did not refute the rumors that he had been told. He hadn't been there when Galaxy had died and had no way of proving his previous ward innocent. 

Despite the weight of his mind, Rannoch knew that he needed to seek out Hydra to at least see how she was faring. Once he had gotten a whiff of her scent, he followed after her until he caught up. When she came into sight, Rannoch stopped and called out to the Beta with a chuff, his ears flattening as he watched her regard the starry canvas overhead. He couldn't help but steal a glance at the sky overhead and wonder if Galaxy was somewhere out there among the constellations that she had loved.

It did her no good to be unproductive, but this night it could not be helped. She would dedicate these hours to her sister; she navigated the skies with the stars, wondering the very same thing he had when he chuffed to her. Hydra jolted to attention—it was easy to see she was out of sorts when she was unobservant. She did not feel herself at all; she felt weak in this sadness and wanted to discard it. 

She only wanted to feel rage; that she could understand and work through. 

But that could not be done tonight. 

These thoughts ran through her mind as she, lost in her own mind, stared morosely at him. She blinked again to come to, and sighed. Sorry, she started, looking back to the stars, I can't think straight. She felt as she had that very day. Outraged and lost. Her sisters were blameless in what they did that day—the death of their sister had blindsided them all, and Gannet foolishly threw himself in their line of fire. Hydra thought about that, too, now. He had himself to blame for his own injury—and that was not because of the death of their sister, but because he had seen it fit to attempt to come against her. She had thought they might become friends, she and Gannet, and maybe there still was a shot there, but on this eve she felt angry and hurt and sad.

When tracking Hydra, Rannoch had been naive in his assumption of how she had been coping. The first indication of the severity of her sorrow had been how she reacted to his arrival. Hydra was an observant wolf by nature, and her not noticing him indicated to Rannoch that she was not herself. His expression softened, and he exhaled; any pent-up anger escaped him by way of the cloud the formed as he slowly exhaled. 

"It's okay," replied Rannoch with evident sympathy in his voice. Wanting to give the Beta space, he kept the distance between them. "I'm here if you need somebody to talk to," his tail wagged, and he regarded her with soft eyes, "That is if you even feel like talking right now. If you don't and don't feel like having company, I can go away." Rannoch had learned through experience that grief affected everybody differently; he was left to hope that her sorrow would not lead to aggression, as that was how tribulation had changed Redshank.

Hydra's grief had been spent. She had avenged her sister, done what she had needed to do. It took everything in her not to shake where she stood from the emotions that welled up within her; Rannoch attempted to comfort her, and she looked at him, stricken by her emotions. 

Her voice was raw. I hate him, Rannoch. I hate that wolf, her head turned toward the horizon. I don't understand why Korei cannot see it. If he had only called, she expressed, she could be here. She could be with us, Her throat constricted as she swallowed what felt like a stone. The truth of it was that she felt a hell of a lot better now that she had done what she did—in doing so, it felt as though she could properly mourn Galaxy. To sit and do nothing would have killed her; it was an injustice to Galaxy to let that man run, run, run from her until her breathing stopped.

"It's natural to feel that way," Rannoch remarked in regards to her expression of resentment. Though Rannoch's beliefs aligned with Korei's, he kept mum for the benefit of their conversation; squabbling over perspectives wouldn't help either of them. 

Cupping his ears forward, he observed Hydra's body language and asked, "Do you think you would feel better if Koeri felt the same as you do about how Galaxy died?" 

At Rannoch's inquiry, she shook her head slowly before speaking. Maybe, she admitted, and then, only because I never want her to put herself in a situation where she might be at risk. But Korei never runs away. She runs toward. Even with the bear, Korei Julia acted pretty stupidly. She could have gotten herself killed, Hydra, the defender, struggled with this. She had a hard time protecting a wildcard. I just need her to be aware, you know? I need her not to get herself hurt, too. Hydra squinted at her feet. Hydra thought her sister was a moron, plain and simple, but there could be no questioning she cared—maybe Rannoch would see that more than anyone, maybe not. Her protective streak extended to each and every one of her sisters, as well as her loved one. Rannoch was under her wing as much as any of them.

"I can understand that," Rannoch replied, nodding slowly as he considered what Hydra had said. She was concerned for Korei Julia, and that was understandable; the pale sister was not as aware as the dark-pelted triplets. "Do you think that you could teach her about becoming more aware of her surroundings?" he asked, wondering what effort Hydra had made towards ensuring that her sister was more prepared.

Hydra sighed. I've taught Korei the basics already, she informed. I can only hope her retention is good. She had provided lessons more than once, but Hydra had her doubts. But her misery was not for Korei Julia; it was for the loss at hand. It had happened in their own home. The bastard had not called to them. If he was not the wolf who had brought her her fate, why would he not do that? 

But the question was fading from her mind at long last. Hydra thought of the eye she had stolen from Titmouse as a star winked out of existence before her own two eyes. It was comforting to know that she had stolen something from him in turn. His life would have been better, the whole of it, but it seemed even her friends cared more for the enemy than they did for her own sister. 

That burned her conscience, and suddenly there was a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Maybe you can find a way to test her retention of the information?" suggested Rannoch after a thoughtful pause. "And once you're satisfied with the way she reacts, you can move on to teach her more advanced subjects?" He wasn't aware if this was something that Hydra was already doing but, Rannoch felt that his proposal was worth bringing up. 

Rannoch waited for her reaction with an encouraging expression, blissfully unaware of the sudden bitterness that had overcome Moonspear's Beta.

Hydra swallowed that taste, for now. There were more important things in this very moment to think of. Korei, for one. She was still alive... but she was probably past saving, if ever she was put in a risky situation. As far as Rannochs own advice went, she rose to face him. Any tips? she queried. How could Hydra test her in the field? Korei didn't enjoy fighting, especially as of late. What could Hydra do with a fragile china doll? It was inevitable that the thing would just break. It was confounding how no one else seemed to be able to see past their hope. But Hydra would make an effort; she always did. They were often overlooked in favor of Korei's tears.

When asked for help, Rannoch conceded quickly; he had already been thinking of ways to help his friend. "I think you need to think of a way to catch her off guard. Out there, she's never going to know when to expect somebody to attack her." Rannoch had learned this lesson the hard way. "Maybe with enough of these interactions, she'll learn." He regarded his friend curiously and wondered what she made of his advice.

Hydra sighed. All of my life, I've caught her off guard. Every time she is shocked. As I think of it, she looked to him, her tone dismal, She doesn't learn. It was why Hydra would always consider the girl an Omega. Her weak constitution and her absolute inability to remember anything when told could mean there was no better place for her, here. Hydra did not enable the behavior; it was why she was so cross with Korei Julia all of the time. That didn't mean Hydra did not care. The last thing she wanted was to see her sister in the state she had found Galaxy in. But, horribly, it seemed inevitable.

Although Rannoch was discouraged by Hydra's remark, that did not deter him from calculating a solution for her. "Maybe it would help if I talked to her," he ventured, "After all, I was almost killed, and maybe another perspective might help teach her how important these skills are?" In his opinion, it was worth a shot.

You would think their sister dying on the borders, the incident with the bear, and the trespasser that had attempted to steal from them might be enough to pull the wool off of Korei's eyes. It was exhausting, and Hydra had spent all of her life dealing with it. She still protected her; one did not burn out on their own family. At least, Hydra didn't. So at Rannoch's suggestion, she nodded. Sure. I'd appreciate it, she looked back over the peak. Hydra thought it very unfortunate, but if KJ were to pass early on it would not be the fault of those that cared for her.

Rannoch nodded as Hydra accepted his recommendation; although she was his superior, Rannoch's motives for helping her were based solely on the fact that he considered her a close friend. "I'll do what I can and report back." Rannoch looked in the direction where Hydra glanced and wondered what was going through her mind. 

Unable to determine her inner-most thoughts, Rannoch looked back to Hydra after a beat and offered, "Is there anything else I can do to help?" His answer was quickly met with Hydra's rejection; her head shook, and she looked away, as if focusing on something else. 

Respecting her decision, Rannoch nodded. "I'm here if you need anything at all," he said. With nothing left in their conversation, Rannoch turned from the Beta and set off from where they conversed to his den to allow her time to mourn alone.