blue willow had been missing for some time. lasher knew that his mate was prone to wandering these days, but he had been pressed to go and look for her. fear gripped the man when his search turned up no trace of the dark woman. he did not allow himself to move far from the embrace of donnelaith, for his wolves were growing weaker each day.
it was with a grim heart and a seeking mind that he went down unto the place where he last met
@Peregrine. the landscape was stripped; he found himself searching for the panther's scent in the thin shadows cast by bone-thin branches. perhaps blue willow had fled to the caldera -- lasher fought for composure, but this was the end, surely, of donnelaith.
His leg was feeling better these days, though it was a cold comfort considering the fate of his pack—its very survival—currently hung in the balance. Although Peregrine had formally hung up his hunting spurs (instead choosing to pursue a career in mentoring), he lately spent most days tirelessly tracking and hunting. His batting average tanked day by day. He was barely bringing home enough bacon to keep the kids fed, much less Fox and himself. The Alpha was pretty sure he was going to break sooner than later and insist they move on somewhere else. This ugly piece of land wasn't worth their lives, especially not the children's, born and unborn.
For the moment, he tried not to think of anything besides locating something live to capture and kill. His quest for meat took him to the barren and stripped forest adjacent to his home base. He truly did not even think of Lasher as he roved hungrily among the naked trees, at least not until his companion's familiar scent poured into his nose. Although it was crucial he not be waylaid for too long, Peregrine altered his course to cross paths with the seeking Taltos.
"Shit's bad, really bad," was Peregrine's greeting the instant he laid eyes on Lasher's familiar face.
he nodded, not startled by the sudden appearance of peregrine. both males looked haggard and worst for wear since their last meeting, their features assaulted by the sheer lack of hope or even the barest hint of green. the druid gave a shuddering sigh and pressed his forehead momentarily against peregrine's neck. "blue willow has been gone for over a fortnight," he whispered tremblingly. "i had hoped ... "
but his words trailed away -- if the panther had given his sister succor at the caldera, surely he would tell taltos. the druid did not wish to think of the other fate that had befallen blue willow in these times of nothing and of famine, for he knew the tales of cannibalism that had haunted the old glen in times past.
"osprey is delivered of three healthy children, two daughters and a son. there is the silver lining of the day," he joked lamely, turning his eyes to search automatically for any flicker of movement.
He blinked heavily at the first sentence out of Lasher's mouth, his empty stomach clenching. "I had hoped..." he said and Peregrine shook his head regretfully. He hadn't seen Blue Willow in—he really couldn't remember how long. It was hard to imagine Blue Willow, of all wolves, disappearing on her family. Immediately, the swarthy wolf suspected something terrible must have happened, especially with a mate and two young children at home.
"I'm sorry, Taltos," Peregrine said quietly. His heart skipped a beat at the significantly lighter news his companion imparted then. His lips twitched into a faint smile, only to droop again. Although he was happy for Osprey and Dante, this was a truly terrible time to bring pups into the world. He was already worried about the Firebirds and the Blackthorns' brood; now he would worry for his three newest and most innocent relatives too.
Despite his worries, he couldn't help but ask, "And what are my nieces and nephew called?"
"the boy is terance, the first girl, wraen, and the lastborn is sarah. already little deirdre is full of plans to teach them what she knows, though i must explain that they are not yet ready to scamper and play with her." as he spoke, lasher felt the burden of grief lift from him, until his face was fairly luminous with joy, and he found it in himself to grant peregrine a
teasing little grin, coupled with a wink.
he would grieve for the willow when he was alone; for now he would do what he must to buoy peregrine's spirits.
"there is land beyond the mountains. it is ravaged as this one is, but traces of greenery can be seen, and there is a notable absence of wolf-packs. when the famine lifts, it may be a place to seek the herds. i plan to return."
Lasher spoke fondly of Peregrine's nieces and nephew and Peregrine found himself smiling over the names, which he never would have predicted. "I like the middle one the most, obviously," he remarked, returning his companion's wink. He liked the idea of them growing up with Lasher's daughters and he hoped it would come to pass. His stomach curdled as he peered absently past the other wolf's shoulder, their stripped surroundings a constant reminder of the dire situation in which they found themselves.
His jade gaze sharpened when Taltos mentioned someplace with a hint of foliage. "Which mountains? Which direction?" he asked before Lasher's last few words even registered. Then Peregrine backpedaled and blurted, "Wait, what? Return? What do you mean?"
"there," lasher motioned with a sweep of his muzzle toward the ridge of mountains west of the pair. "i took a hunting party there. we found nothing but bare land and dirt, but the earth is healing. and there is a notable absence of established packs. i shall go back once this famine lifts."
in truth, the druid despaired of ever seeing the ruminants return, or the verdancy of the land. he had fallen into a sort of half-hearted veneer of hope, but it was a facade quickly crumbled by the reality of their place in this situation.
Taltos quickly cleared the air, putting to rest Peregrine's concern that his friend intended to leave. He had come to love these monthly meetings of theirs. But he knew that was a selfish line of thought, not to mention a hypocritical one. Wasn't he himself looking into the possibility of relocating? Of leaving the Teekon Wilds behind, probably for good? The mere thought twisted inside him like the blunted edge of a knife.
And, already, Lasher's words planted the seed of an idea in his mind. Peregrine gazed distantly at the mountains, beyond which he had never explored, mostly due to a lack of interest. Perhaps Wildfire had gone there before? Of course, she wasn't around to ask. But thinking of her reminded the Alpha of searching out the caldera some years prior, for the very purpose of bringing these children into the world. If he and Fox needed to do it all over again to ensure their family's safety, they would.
It was good to have a possible direction to look. In fact, Peregrine already began forming a plan in his mind. He would go scouting. He would have preferred Fox come with him but he would ask her to stay behind to look after their children. Once the idea took root, Peregrine already found himself anxious about the upcoming trek. He was no wanderer at heart. But he would do what needed to be done, even if it meant roaming to the corners of the earth to find greener pastures.
The irony was not lost on him, for the last time he had done something like this, Lasher had been involved too. Peregrine stood there, wondering if he should mention the thoughts cascading through his mind like a waterfall, and decided, Why not? They were best friends, after all. "We are thinking of uprooting," Peregrine admitted quietly. "Maybe we'll head in that direction." He paused. "I'll probably scout ahead myself."
peregrine lapsed into a pensive silence, and lasher himself was silent. he felt that the panther now pondered the ideas of a travel westward, and when the devil spoke, he was not surprised. nor was the irony lost upon him, but the old familiar sting of remembered pain did not come. for this he was grateful. and yet he was unsure of his own feelings upon the matter. what if it came to a point where donnelaith must also move? taltos did not wish to be so close to fox.
yet he shared none of this; he would not allow that woman to come between himself and peregrine again. "please take caution. i know not what beasts may lurk in the new land." a fond light illuminated his features. "i am sure you shall do so, however."
Peregrine quirked a brow at his companion's murmured response. "Beasts?" he echoed, laughing quietly. "Hopefully the edible variety..." he mused. There were only a few species that concerned him—bears, mountain lions and fellow wolves—but he already dealt with them here, so he wasn't deterred. "I will," he added with a brief but decisive nod.
He thought of inviting Lasher to come with him but dismissed it out of hand; it was a stupid and impulsive idea. No, he would make this trip solo, let the others conserve their energy while he alone sought brighter horizons. Maybe he would find more food out there, even if the land was just as overwrought, simply due to the lack of local competition. Now there was a thought that got his blood flowing.
"I wish I could stay with you a while longer," Peregrine said after a few more beats of silence, "but there's no time to waste..." Even as the words slipped from his mouth, he realized how they sounded and frowned apologetically, hoping Lasher understood he meant no offense.
lasher did not know what he feared, not until he considered it -- the threat that peregrine would not return was a thought quite awful to him, and so he had translated it into fear of beasts, though he knew well that they were the same that roved their common lands now.
he was stung by the panther's withdrawal, but not upon the basis of the words -- rather, that their time had come so swiftly to an end, with none of their normal preenings or slow banter to mark the occasion. yet he scolded himself for such puerile folly; each moment was to be treasured.
he nodded, a quiet smile upon his lips. "until we meet again," the druid murmured, holding peregrine's eyes for a silent moment.
If Taltos found his phrasing unpalatable, he didn't mention it. Peregrine appreciated his four-word reply more than he could say. He nodded his head and forced a smile, then brushed his nose against the soft, dark fur beneath Lasher's left eye, repeating, "Until we meet again."
He then glided away, not taking time for any lingering glances over his shoulder as he could only look forward right now, think of his family and finding some food to bring back to their hungry mouths and achingly empty bellies.