Sea Lion Shores you bring out the best in me

 

After the Last Shadow had passed for a couple days Catori felt safe enough to leave the plateau. It seemed impossible but someone had claimed the forest and now it was complicated getting out to the shore. She had to go through the Keep instead and it just made her long to return to Grayday. Once she had her feet on the sand however she felt better and that frantic sensation abated some. She took in a deep breath and filled her lungs, calling out to both @Stockholm and @Coelacanth with an urgency. This was close to where she had seen them last and perhaps that meant they were staying nearby. 

She wanted to let them know about the Last Shadow and to make sure that they were okay. She also wanted to tell them that she was pregnant, blessed on their sacred night. She couldn't wait to see Seelie's face light up after that!

Tagging @Faeryn, @Komodo, @Amoxtli, and @Sirimiri as this is an Undersea related thread. No pressure, just keeping in touch. ♥

Helicopters had interrupted the peaceful weeks following the Hunter’s Moon. Coelacanth, Amoxtli, and Stockholm were accustomed to them — the Armenian more so than the Belgians, who tended to regard them as giant, flying kennels — but found them somewhat inconvenient. When they swooped close to the earth, a phenomenon that seemed to be increasing in frequency, they scattered the wildlife, including and perhaps especially the wolves. For survival’s sake it was best to stay close to the waterways, particularly the sea, where there was no shortage of sustenance.

When Catori’s howl broke the air, Coelacanth wasted no time in sprinting toward the sound, knowing that Stockholm was only a step or two behind her. Her hackles were up and her ears pressed forward upon her skull in preparation to go after whoever had caused her cousin to sound so worried — but when she spotted the Spiritwalker Seelie realized with relief that she was on her own. Still, the empath’s nose ran inquisitively over Catori’s neck and shoulders, the slope of her spine, and she stationed herself at Catori’s right side with a defensive air as though to ask,

“Who upset you? Do you want us to go eat him for breakfast?”

The presence of the helicopters caused a different kind of turmoil for the steadfast Gampr than it did many of the others. In fact, the first time he had seen and heard one, his immediate reaction had been to follow it in hopes that it would land. And if it had not been for the existence of Seelie in his life, the Armenian might have ran himself to death in pursuit of reuniting with the human world he so missed. But the inky Belgian grounded him to reality, and aside from that first time spotting the flying machines he has done his best to ignore them. Easier to simply not think about it.

He remained fairly tight-lipped about it. He was aware that Seelie’s experience with mankind had been far different than his. And no matter how much that world beckoned to him, he would not leave her. So, they stuck to the waterways and tree-lines. Stockholm did not regard the helicopters or the humans inside as a threat – he had been hunting with the Man in the past, had seen the power and capability of guns – and he knew that if humans wanted to hurt or kill them or any of the other wolves, they would have already done it, and were capable of doing so without leaving the flying machines.

When Catori’s urgent call came he was at Coelacanth’s heels, rushing towards the sound without hesitation. He was equally relieved at the sight of the shewolf, as she did not appear injured or under any kind of immediate threat. But there is concern evident in his voice when he asks, “Is everything alright?”

He shares the sentiment of Seelie’s unspoken query – if anyone had brought harm to her cousin, Stockholm would be more than happy to serve their head up on a platter.

i just gotta say that I really like our family and these dorks make me happy <3

 

Catori felt her heart pounding, eyes scanning the horizon until she saw a familiar dark smudge. She moved to greet her, finding Stockholm's now familiar pale body just beyond her, and when they were reunited Catori leaned into her cousin's inquisitive touch. When the question was posed in that unique way that Coelacanth was capable of she shook her head, No, I'm fine - but her eyess spoke the worry she'd felt. "Grayday called those things the Last Shadow, those...those giant things in the sky. I was scared something happened to you." She admitted breathlessly, milky eyes sweeping from one to the other. Catori wasn't accustomed to the way it felt to be scared. She didn't particularly like the feeling, she decided, and it made her near bitter to consider that something might have happened to her cousin and she was not there to do anything. 

She felt herself almost floaty with the relief of knowing that Seelie wasn't hurt. Stockholm no doubt would have taken care of her but she still worried. Without the immediate worst cases running through her head Catori could focus on everything else. "So....um. We're possibly moving - well. We're probably moving, if our scouts find a good home for us. There's been a lot of interlopers on the Plateau and now there is that pack in the Forest..." She trailed off, giving a sigh. She wanted a safe home for her puppies to be born into but the thought of being further from Seelie truly made her worried. 

"And...we'll be going before I whelp." She said with a tentative smile, looking from one to the other for their reactions.

SAME. ♥♥♥ I am so, so thankful that you picked up Catori!

Tufted ears swept forward upon the Groenendael’s gently sloping skull as Catori began to speak. Coelacanth knew that the correct word for the flying kennels was “helicopters” but trying to work her teeth and tongue around that seemed impossible. Hesitation slowed the ever-present movement of her body and bade one oversized ear to sway indecisively outward before cleaving once more to its mate. In Seelie’s experience, helicopters carried humans and didn’t have much to do with dogs unless they were made to board them; so, in that way, she regarded them as more of a threat than Stockholm did but less of a threat than Grayday and Catori did. Whuffing softly, her expression placid and her breaths deep and even, she laid her muzzle across her cousin’s ginger-limned shoulder blades and “hummed” soothingly. “All will be well,” she thought, and offered a soft susurrus of comfort: “Shh…” not to undermine or negate, but to reassure and to soothe.

Preening lovingly at the Spiritwalker’s brightly colored ruff, Seelie eventually drew back and gestured at herself and at Stockholm as though to say, “Don’t worry! We’re okay!” and stilled as the den mother began to speak anew. Morningside was moving? A soft whine caught in the sheepdog’s throat, but the closing line to Catori’s news snuffed out the feeble protest before it came:

“and…we’ll be going before I whelp.”

So, she’d been right about the season! Coelacanth’s cerulean eyes widened in surprise and then crinkled at the corners with delight; with the utmost tenderness, she bent her muzzle and touched the tip of her nose to her cousin’s flank. To have been conceived during the Hunter’s Moon meant the puppies to come would be truly special — no Corten had ever been conceived during such an auspicious time, after all. Her tail swept the air in a blur of calligrapher’s ink as she pressed her nose to Catori’s cheek and nibbled the thick fur there in an airy kiss. Brontide, Seelie knew, would be happy to hear the news and would likely make frequent trips to visit Morningside to check on his niece — and Seelie herself would do the same, whenever the tides permitted. Speaking of which…

Coelacanth drew away from Catori after Stockholm was given a chance to share his own congratulations, then turned her head and body meaningfully toward the island on the horizon, one delicate paw tucked against the swell of her rib cage. She and Stockholm would make their home on the island in the springtime and reclaim it as they had always meant to. The distance was far from insurmountable, and although would be inconvenient for a time, everything would work out.

This family is best family ♥

Relief washes over Stockholm’s features as Catori talks, and he smiles reassuringly as Coelacanth tucks herself up against her cousin’s body and preens comfortingly at her ruff. “We’ve seen them too, but we’re alright,” he echoes Seelie’s gestured answer with a verbal one. “I don’t think they mean us any harm, but it’s good to be cautious.” He can’t, after all, say with any surety that there was no threat. Humans were odd creatures, after all.

His ears perk attentively as he listens to the news that Morningside would be moving, his gaze flitting to Seelie to watch her reaction. They had planned to return to the island soon, but if Seelie were to feel any desire to follow Catori’s pack the Gampr would not object. The where didn’t really matter as much to him as the who that he was with. His gaze darts back to Catori though as she finishes that statement, brows arching upwards with a wide grin.

The Spiritwalker had welcomed him so kindly and openly when they had first met and though they don’t know each other well yet, it had fostered a sense of familiarity and family that made him comfortable stepping forward, touching his muzzle to her shoulder and neck affectionately. “Congratulations!” The thick plume of his tail wags back and forth against his hocks, and he glances at Seelie as she turns to point herself towards the direction of the island which answers his earlier thought about if she would still want to go, and though he is sure Catori speaks fluent Seelie he adds, “We’re going back to the island soon, but no matter where you go we will still visit – and if you ever need us, we’ll come running.”

 


So they had been flying over a large enough swatch of land that most of the wolves had seen them, Catori's nose crinkling a bit at the idea. She didn't like how that sounded, honestly, and she had more questions about what they were and where they came from than answers. Even Grayday's explanation didn't make her feel any better and she pursed her lips for a moment in contemplation. She melted a bit into Seelie's embrace, her eyes closing, her weight settling against her daker cousin's with a breathy sigh. The embrace was grounding in its own ways and she was loathe to pull back or move away from Seelie in the slightest bit. Eventually though, the topic shifted to the upcoming move and Catori could have seen the worry as it rose in Coelacanth. She wanted to reassure her cousin; she couldn't save her entirely though from those feelings - all she could do was to balance the bad with the good. 

She laughed warmly as Seelie fell into a dance of her own, her pale paws dancing a bit in response to the way that Seelie's paws moved. She basked in the affections and let them wash over her, taking her first moment of pre-motherhood to just enjoy it. She moved away as Stockholm seemed to take her place and his warm touches were just as welcome as Seelie's. "Thank you!" She chirped before Coelacanth turned towards the island, pointing. Catori got the gist of the memo, well versed in 'speaking' Seelie. But when Stockholm explained that they were planning on reclaiming the island Catori let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "We won't be so far that I won't show up. And soon, with little paws toddling behind me." Just like she and Seelie had, the children would learn the seas and the shores even in their youth. It was the best way to ensure both an affection and reverence for the ocean. 

"No matter the distance, Morningside will still stand with you all too." Allies, bound by family, and friendship. 

[throws a novel at you both]

There was something solemn about this moment — a formal splitting of the sisters’ paths that felt frightening and final even though they would only be a couple days’ travel from one another. At once, Coelacanth flew to Catori’s side and tucked herself beneath the older girl’s chin, turning so that they were heart to heart. Trembling, she craned her swanlike neck to rest her chin across her cousin’s shoulders. Assailed with a wave of worry so high and violent she feared she’d drown in it, Coelacanth drew back and then spared a glance between Catori and Stockholm, her Neptune eyes filled with questions. How were they going to know if Catori needed them? What if Seelie missed something terribly important? She wanted her island — she felt, deep in her bones, that something about it called to her — but she needed to believe that the Spiritwalker would be safe.

The events that had transpired since Seelie had made a home of the Teekon Wilds had changed her irrevocably. A year or two ago, she would have heard these reassurances and believed them without qualm — the blind trust of the wholly innocent had been hers to own then. Now, though, she knew that all the times she had been called ”Bad Dog” really meant nothing in the grand scheme of things — there were truly bad wolves who hurt others for no reason except their own pleasure.

For a moment her usually placid expression was stormy and distressed, the uneven heave of her breath apparent as the swell of her rib cage rose and fell with fluttery haphazardness.

Then she remembered.

This was the girl who talked to spirit bears — who hunted king sea lions with all the grit and toughness the Cortens were known for. Catori could survive anywhere; Riptide had seen to it that all his children and his children’s children were just as adept at securing land prey as they were at gleaning sustenance from the sea. Acknowledgement of Catori’s strength and the fragility that lay in the convex curve of her belly grappled with each other; Seelie held her body taut against its violent roiling. She summoned a smile. A nod. “You have my support,” bespoke the gentle press of her nose against the base of the other girl’s cream-colored ear. She breathed out softly, not enough to tickle — a sigh of resignation. Then, for the first time in her cousin’s presence, Seelie spoke:

“C-Cat — Catori, loff!” she fairly hiccupped out, her silky susurrus tripping shyly from her lips. Her feathered tail wiggled wildly behind her as she gave her cousin the only gift she could: the first “I love you,” she had given to anyone in her family. Fear of changing who she was had kept her from doing so with her aunts and uncle, and even with her beloved twin; but she trusted the Spiritwalker to love her the same. In the same breathlike whisper, “Stockholm keep me,” she informed her cousin, sharing her own happy news. She had asked the Gampr to tie an ampersand indelibly between their names in mid-February — on Valentine’s Day! — and although they hadn’t really gone “public” with the news until now, few would probably have been surprised.

Seelie’s concern and distress is palpable, and he watches the emotions play across her delicate features, but he knows it would be pointless to try to supplant her with reassurances – she needs to go through the motions of it and come to terms with what she is feeling and thinking, otherwise the worry will simply eat away at her later. And he smiles softly when she seems to reach that conclusion. He’s sure she will still worry to a degree; hell, sometimes he still worries about his brothers across the sea in Armenia. That is just how family works.

And that smile widens to a near grin when she blurts out that he is ‘keeping’ her. “She didn’t give me much choice, threatened to beat me up if I said no,” he jokes, his natural inclination to lighten the mood further if possible. He dips his head to shove it against the inky sheepdog’s shoulder playfully, nipping at the feathery fur along her leg before straightening up as if he hadn’t done anything at all.

*gives you guys my 200th post!

Catori had never been one to shy away from the reality of the situation - and in this, just after their reunion, they would part again. The difference though was that she knew where they were and where they would find one another. If Catori had never left the island she would never have met Grayday or Morningside and she wouldn't have her children and she wouldn't have so many of the things that she needed in her life now. She needed Coelacanth. But Coelacanth had Stockholm, she had Undersea, they could have a refuge and Catori could bring her children to see them. She was about to express these reassurances when she heard Seelie's voice and the whispy whispers and a choked sob left her lips. 

She rushed to Seelie's side, burying herself in the soft brine coated fur. Her cries weren't of anguish but of pride and of love and devotion. Seelie was so much to her - near everything to her. Her cries ebbed into hiccups as Seelie admitted Stockholm would keep her and her tail swayed behind her rounded frame. His admission was adorable, if not a bit awkward, in the perfect Corten way. "I-if you didn't I'd s-sit my fat pregnant butt right on you and smother you." She threatened as she peppered her beloved Sea Sprites face with kisses before she turned to press a couple welcoming ones to Stockholm's cheek - just without as much slobber. 

Do you guys want to close up shop here? ♥

Oh! The soft, choking cry that rushed from Catori’s lips was greeted at first with a tidal wave of nerves; at once, Seelie’s tufted ears flattened against her head like a flighty caracal kitten’s. Just as the serpentine curve of her body began to spell apology, though, her vision cleared from the blurry grey mist of anxiety. Timidly at first, then with frenzied pride and affection, her feathered tail began to flicker, then flutter, until her hips wiggled helplessly, caught in a riptide of joy.

At Stockholm’s quip, Coelacanth snorted her indignation, a plume of frost curling from her nares, but her affection for the Gampr couldn’t have been clearer. She clung to Catori as tightly as she dared, her smaller frame hugging the Spiritwalker’s convex flank with infinite tenderness. “Catori,” she whispered timorously, this time with greater fluency. She had waited her entire life to be able to talk to her family — really talk to them — and although the poor, broken whispers were all she could lay claim to, she harbored a heartdeep pride at her meager accomplishment.

works for me! ♥

He laughs softly, the sound warm and affectionate, when Catori tells him what his fate would have been if he had rejected Seelie. A sense of family is not something the Gampr has felt for a very long time, but here in this moment it suddenly washes over him, a familiar comfort that he did not realize he missed until he had felt it again. His tail sways back and forth, pendulum slow compared to the exuberant speed of Seelie’s, and when Catori turns her attention to him he happily returns the endearment.

Catori felt released in a way, her heart still worn on her furry proverbial sleeve. All was well in her world - some sort of peace she hadn't known she needed came from knowing that Coelacanth could communicate with others through words, too, if need be. Her Seelie had never lacked for communication with others, her soul too loud for the crude fate offered by her mother's keeper, but this was an extra level of assurance. "I say we have a lot to celebrate. Let's get dinner." Catori said with a smile before she pressed her skull against both wolves briefly before she lead them away for a quick hunt.