Moonspear change of tides

The journey to Moonspear had been longer than he remembered for Nikai, considering he only had three legs to get by on. He still held his injured back leg close to his stomach, though mostly so that it wouldn't get in the way; he couldn't put pressure on it without pain still and wasn't sure if it would ever heal. But over the past months Nikai had learned how to get by on three legs and though he still held some vague hope that some day he may truly be able to run free again, for now this was enough. He felt free enough knowing he could do almost everything he had before; even run, albeit a bit slower and with a hobbled gait than before.

He eventually reached the forested borders of the pack and lifted his head to call for @Alya. There was a nervous jitter in his stomach as he waited on three legs; it'd been so long since they had last seen each other and he knew that this might be the last time they'd see each other in a while... Or the start of something new, a new chapter in both their lives. Nikai fidgeted and waited with a neutral stance to his body, though ready to submit in case a non-Alya high-ranking wolf would approach.

Things had been difficult for Alya, lately. Righteous anger had left her, and now all she could feel was the burn of loss and the sting of guilt, and most of all, the chilling sorrow of all that had come to pass. There had been few highlights to the past several months. Her time with Vaati had been one of them, but by this time, Alya felt sure she had been abandoned once more.

Everyone left them, and yet, Alya had never gotten around to leaving herself. Even Hydra, homebody that she was, had gone away with Dirge. Why not her?

She looked around the slope she stood upon, drowning in the practice of isolation that had become her life. She had a duty to her family, but where was her family, now? Korei had gone, Galaxy had died. Floki, Dash, those three... And yet, she stood upon the mountain, unbroken and unbothered by the snowmelt, the earthquakes, the bears, the cats, the wolves. Long after this mountain crumbled to the ground, Alya would be here, dutiful as ever. Still, likely, in the same turmoil she faced now.

When the call reached her ears, she moved forward with mechanical steps. Gone was the grace that she had cultivated since her puphood. Gone was the coy smile that had she'd practiced as a girl. She was a girl no longer. She was hardly even a woman - hardly more than a dark and humorless wraith.

"Nikai," she greeted when she'd come close enough to recognize the wolf on their borders. It was so strange to see him again after all this time. She had a feeling that he'd grown, and he was as handsome as she remembered - but she couldn't help sneaking a glance at his leg. He'd been ruined for her. Ruined before they'd ever had a chance. "Nikai," she repeated, her voice softer as she drew near enough to touch him, only to stop just before that distance was closed. She could not quite meet his eye, was not sure there were words enough left in her to patch the hole that time and distance had ripped in their friendship.

So much had happened since last they met. She was not the same girl he had known.

your post was so beautiful <3

Nikai waited at the Moonspear's borders, feeling foreign and yet as if he was much at home. It was like Alya and he had known each other for forever, even though they'd only met a couple of times. Perhaps she should not mean as much to him as she did, but there was a certain pull to her that he could not deny. As she approached he was not even sure if it was her or one of her equally mesmerising sisters, but when she spoke his voice somehow he knew (or at least thought he did).

There was something melancholic about the way she was, but maybe that was just a feeling he had because they'd not seen each other in a while. "Alya," he said with bated breath, a dumb broad smile on his face. He did notice the look she gave at his leg, but decided to ignore it. Of course she'd look. He lept the leg to his stomach because it was in the way the least that way. He watched as she closed the distance, but she stopped just short of him.

Nikai closed the distance with a hop that looked effortless enough; he'd learned to manage over the past months and had travelled far, albeit slower than before. Even running he could do now, even if it was not entirely as effortless as before. As he reached her Nikai pressed his nose against her cheek softly as he said: "I missed you." He didn't mean to sound like the hopeless romantic but somehow it had just happened. As he withdrew Nikai explained: "I've left Easthollow for now. I need to see something of the world... Figure out who I am. So I wanted to ask you if you wanted — if you could, what with everything that's going on here — to come, and if not, I at least wanted to say good-bye, for now." Nikai smiled softly, looking like he'd be at peace with either option, though the hammering of his heart in his chest betrayed that he much rather preferred the former option.

She'd forgotten how sweet his smile was - it reminded her of Lyra's, or sometimes of her father's, but it belonged wholly to Nikai. And ruined leg or not, it was nice to be looked at this way. There was no shared sorrow between them, except that Alya looked at him now and commiserated over the loss of loved ones. But that was a private thing, not something they had gone through together.

There were no ghosts in his green eyes.

"I missed you, too," Alya lied. She had not really thought of him much, but there had been other things to worry about, lately. And besides, when she had thought of him, it had been with a certain sense of longing. Not, perhaps, for Nikai himself, but for the careless age in which she had met him. And it was good to see him. Even if she could listen only half-heartedly to his words. He was leaving, of course. Everyone left. She was invited, but could she really...?

It was one word that sealed it for her. Goodbye. She was sick of goodbye.

"Yes," she said abruptly, her face grave. "Yes - I want to go with you."

Nikai wasn't really sure what he expected here. He felt selfish for asking this of Alya, for asking her to leave her family and come... but he also thought maybe she, too, wanted to be selfish for a change and maybe she needed a nudge in the right direction, a reminder that leaving would not only be selfish but would help others -- him -- too. He had needed that nudge but it had never come, not until he had gotten wounded and had lost his sister. The rug had been pulled under from him and the realisation he may never travel again had hit him hard. That was the moment that he knew he needed to leave, that he needed to be selfish for once.

Now it was time to pay it forward. Help someone else make selfish decisions because they would break themselves if they did not. With bated breath he waited for her answer, and a smile broke across his face as she said, quite suddenly, yes. Nikai had not actually thought past this moment, as he had not actually wholly expected a 'yes', and he fell silent for a bit, though the smile on his face betrayed that he was happy with her decision.

"I'm glad," he said softly, and he drew close to nose her cheek softly. "When can you leave? I assume you want to say good-bye to your family. I... don't know how long I'll be gone, out there, when to return. But if you want to break off and return earlier, you always can." He would not stop her, for that was what this journey was all about: being free of burden and chains, being free of the drive to be there incessantly for others. It was all about Nikai doing Nikai for a change, and Alya doing Alya -- even if that meant eventually splitting up. This was for them, and no one could dictate what each of them would do.

Alya looked back at the mountain, about to shake her head and say that she was sorry, but she'd spoken rashly. She had to stay here. But he was going to leave, and she could always come back if she felt that familiar worry in her gut. If her sisters needed her, she would always be able to find them.

"Wait for me in the glen," she instructed, nudging Nikai's shoulder to send him on his way. "I'll be there within the hour. I just need to tell my father and Lyra what's going on."

And it would be best for Nikai's health if he wasn't there when she did it. Without looking to see if he followed her advice, Alya wheeled around and darted back into the territory, seeking out @Charon first. She would say goodbye to @Lyra after telling her father where she was going.

Everything went really fast, but it seemed Alya needed only short time to decide. He had taken a bit longer, and he had assumed that she would be much the same; but once more he was reminded that they were different at heart; a thing that he relished rather than minded. It felt like they were two halves of a whole, even if they had only met a few times. Nikai was certain that it was destined to be.

Upon her instructions he nodded. "See you soon," he called after her as she turned and started to run back into Moonspear's territory as if the devil was chasing her. His heart thudded in his chest excitedly as he took some steps backwards towards the Glen, not wanting to rouse any other Moonspear wolves' attention with his presence upon their borders. There he waited for Alya to return to him, paws itching to travel but a patient calmth with him at the same time.

Charon wasn't hard to find; he was often found preparing the pup den and today was no exception. Amekaze looked like she could give birth any day now and Charon was preparing everything to make sure that it was all done. He was just digging a hole to bury some food near the whelping den when Alya came rushing into sight. Ears perked up towards her and he chuffed to gather her attention, although it looked like she was headed straight for him.

"What's up, princess?" he asked Alya as he stopped his hole-digging and waited to see what she was in such a rush for.

gdi I forgot about this tag, sorry! Feel free to PP her coming upon them in your next post if you want <3

She stood upon the cliffs of their home, hidden in the shadow of the overhang above, watching the distant figures of the dark Eashollow boy meeting her sister. She harboured no ill feelings towards Nikai; she remembered their first encounter fondly and knew Alya had been head over heels for him ever since. However, she wasn't sure if she would be able to forgive him for stealing away their sister like this, even if it was her choice. She had been planning this trip for many moons, and now was good a time as any. Maybe it would do her fellow triplet some good to get out and clear her head, to spend some time with someone who wouldn't stab her in the back (and God help the boy if he even thought about doing that).

Her heart still ached however, already pining for its third piece to return.

When Alya suddenly turned and dashed back into the territory, Lyra gracefully leapt from her perch, feeling that familiar, inexplicable pull towards her sister. She knew exactly where she was headed.

Lyra joined them just as she prepared to tell her father just where she was going. She shot her sister a guilty look even though they'd agreed that she should take a chance as soon as it came to her. It was easy to see that Lyra wouldn't be happy to see her go, no matter what they'd agreed in private.

"One of my friends, Nikai, came to ask if I wanted to go on a trip," she explained, willing her voice not to tremble. She only mostly succeeded. "I don't know if I'll get another chance to go - I've been delaying and delaying for months and months, now... And I'll come back soon, I promise. But I just need to get out for a while," she explained, her expression wretched. Her mother was about to give birth and she was being selfish, but...

But she was still going to go.

"So I came to say goodbye for now. But I'll be back in a few weeks," she finished, her eyes tracing her father's face before she darted a look at Lyra, testing her sister's expression.

Charon glanced at Lyra as she joined her sister. He thought back briefly to when they had been little and he had never been able to tell them apart. It was a fond memory back to the confusing days of being a first-time parent, then having to deal with three daughters that looked so similar and were good at abusing that fact. Now, after nearly two years, it was clear as day which was which; unless they were trying hard not to be themselves he could always tell who was in front of him. But they rarely tried to fool him anymore, and it was all too clear to see which of his two daughters stood in front of him. He expected the third to be somewhere, having to remind himself that Hydra was yet out on her trip.

Alya immediately started off by saying that a friend he hadn't ever even heard of before had asked her to go on a trip. Charon wondered what this trip entailed; was it a long trip that would make her miss seeing her siblings grow up, or was it a short trip like Hydra's? She wouldn't be back before the pups were born, that much was for sure, for it would not be too much longer. Charon hadn't realised how badly Alya had wanted to go on a trip, much like Hydra had wanted to, not until she told him with a somewhat trembling voice that she had been delaying going on this supposed trip for months.

Perhaps he would have told her no or forbidden it a year ago, but now... They could use the help for the pups, considering how much of their wolves they'd lost recently, but they also had Vela and Jarilo to help guard. And Hydra'd returned — surely Alya would, too. It seemed unfair to deny those he loved the most what they desired, maybe even needed. He had never taken big trips -- only smaller ones that lead him home usually within the week -- but he recognised the pull towards the wilds, towards finding oneself. His pack had fallen apart so much that he had not been able to, but he did not want to deny his daughter this thing. Maybe even moreso because he had needed to lead while others played. Maybe because the big trips he had taken when he was far too little for such journeys -- the one to find Kevlyn when he'd trespassed into Duskfire territory, the one where he had fought Dante and spent time at Sunspire with Ame -- had shaped him in incredible ways.

He looked silent and contemplative for a while, even as she said that she had come to say goodbye without waiting for his verdict first. Perhaps it was better that way. He had felt like a failure for being unable to protect so many of his loved ones that had died or gotten hurt, but maybe sometimes to protect was to let go.. for a little bit. "We'll miss you," he said eventually, a response that might seem uncharacteristic to wolves who'd known Charon most his life. But this was his daughter, his sweetie, his princess — and she needed this, he realised, even if it made him sad. And anyway, she was stubborn enough to do it regardless of her dad's old opinion.

After a brief pause he continued: "A few weeks, eh? I'll be sure to tell the pups there's three of you once they get here." Charon grinned as he looked briefly at Lyra, then back to Alya. "Good luck, sweetie. I'll miss you — Stay safe out there. And when you guys return, maybe you should introduce me to this Nikai guy." He winked at Alya and then closed in to nuzzle the top of her head, like he often would when they were little. She would always be Charon's little baby girl, after all, aside from also being a strong independent woman and all that.

this is my last post here, because i'm retiring Nikai for a bit, and would like to wrap his stuff up. :)

Nikai waited in the Glen just outside of Moonspear with a nervous feeling burning in his gut. He spent time pacing about at first, then went to look for a stream for a sip of water. He tried to hunt a rabbit he found halfway there but his heart just wasn't in it and he was only wasting energy because his mind was with Alya all the time. After he'd drunk Nikai returned to Moonspear's borders to wait there. He knew that once Alya would return they'd leave immediately, and that would be that. He got by well enough on three legs but could still feel his heart beating in his chest at leaving all he knew to be familiar behind for now. He hoped Alya'd join him for a good while, that they would get to see something of the world together.

Nikai would return home eventually, but for now, it was adventure time.