Wolf RPG

She looked for @Bronco near where she'd run into Fennec; this was close enough to the hot springs that she could smell its pungent ghost rising above the river gorge. The gorge, she traveled closely, enjoying the trepidation of toeing the edge, at constant risk of tumbling over.

It made her feel alive, the stomach-clenching sensation of sudden air beneath a paw. How pathetic that she'd become a daredevil just to rouse herself into consciousness, lest she slip into ideations forever.

The cold wind ruffled her pelt but she stared straight ahead, occasionally using her peripheral vision to glance down. The river refused to freeze all the way, its current bursting through ice and jagged rock.

She wondered at the temperature. It must be chilly. She shivered.

And then she thought of Bronco's honeyed gaze, and she warmed once more.

He'd managed to resist the temptation of simply slipping into the hot springs because he knew eventually he'd have to get out, and risk being wet and potentially freezing. So he skirted his way around, padding through the warm steam until he began to make his way along the gorge and found that as he left the steamy air behind, the moisture droplets began to freeze on his pelt. 

His undercoat was thick enough that he felt none of it, and was holding onto his own bodyheat well enough. But the moisture from the steam made little icicles that dangled now all over him, coating his fur and making him look as though he was covered in quills. His fur made a different sound as he moved- and as it physically bothered him very little, he was naturally quite amused. When he'd lived on Moonspear, he had enjoyed rolling in the dusty mica so that he shimmered. Now, he sparkled again, and the ice sent splinters of light all around him. 

He wanted to show this off to Figment, and was trying to figure out how he might jokingly try to convince Fennec he'd become half porcupine so she could feel his prickly coat, when he caught sight of a young, familiar figure walking along the gorge toward him in the distance. He paused so he could sniff the air and make sure he recognized ber- before he let out a friendly chuff, and waved his icicle-laden tail from side to side.

Her face lit like the sun when she saw the man approaching, and she picked up her pace, though still careful to watch her footing. Bronco, Blueberry greeted, and her eyes raked over his spiky pelt with some amusement before returning to his scarred visage.

So good to see you, she said fervently, then paused, suddenly shy. I, um, have a question for you.

Out with it, Blueberry.

I'm going to the island, and I want you to come with me, she continued, words coming out in a slightly jumbled rush. I've. . .wanted to go back there for a while. Remember me telling you about it? I think my sister might be there. Vesper.

The thought of the girl gave her such a rush of joy and pain all together that she closed her eyes, taking a deep, frosty breath to settle herself. After a moment, they opened again with a pop of vivid blue, locked upon Bronco's own golden gaze.

I want to stay there, and I think you should, too.

The plural "you," she supposed reluctantly, which included Fennec. But her eyes, and her words, were for him alone.

In the time following the disbanding of the Caldera, the wolves had split and moved on- but the fondness they shared for one another clearly persisted. Blueberry- still finespun with youth- moved nimbly toward him, a smile of recognition on her face. He was relieved to see her well. He glanced past her to see if she had been travelling with any of the others- but sensed, given how happy she was to see him, that she'd been on her own. 

"Heya Bluebree," He greeted affectionately. He'd mistaken her once for potentially being one of his newest siblings, but even when corrected he hadn't shaken the obligation to care for her as though she was family nonetheless. Breathlessly, she put forth a question and he nodded for her to continue. She seemed somewhat nervous, but she'd always seemed a bit flustered.  

She mentioned the island- his ears perked. Potentially, their shared sister might be there- and given the fact that Bronco, Fennec and Figment were already headed in that direction, it gave him pleasure to answer her request so easily. At least, in part. She clearly had plans to stay and live there- currently, the trio were still planning to scout North of the mountain range before settling on a home.

"Funny coincidence, but that's the way I was headed anyway. Fennec, Figment and I are headed toward the shoreline and were gonna take a trip over to the island." Friends had lived there before- he harboured a doubt that any of the former Yuelong wolves lived there now, but it was worth the visit. He knew it to be the resting place of his mother as well. 

"I dunno if we'll stay there, we're still planning on going a bit North of the mountains after, I think, but who knows." After all, an island could be a fortress. He'd pondered before if it might just be the right place for them to settle, but he felt obliged, too, to travel a bit more in case somewhere else suited them better. "Regardless, you should travel with us. You been out here on your own since the Caldera disbanded?" He asked.

She'd spilled out words so fast that she hadn't noticed, at first, the easy-going way he slurred her name into two syllables, and stood enchanted by it while waiting for his response. Then came the response.

Joy— Oh! she exclaimed at his revelation, grinning. This grin began to fade fast as that previous emotion was tinged with disappointment; they weren't staying.

But. . . Oh, he had invited her to come along! Blueberry shook her head, paused, and then shrugged.

Well, yes and no. I was with Vesper, but she left without telling me and I don't know where she is, she told him, her voice falling briefly into angst before resuming its normal low, even tone. Since then, yeah. But I ran into Fennec the other day and helped find food for you guys!

She beamed at him, hoping he'd find her charming and helpful as any wolf could be.

"Huh, Vesper, eh?" One of the siblings that he shared with Blueberry. She didn't dwell on the subject long but the way her tone dwindled told him she was worrying about Vesper. He reached out to touch his nose to her cheek; he knew how it felt to have a loved one go missing. 

"Y'know, maybe you're right, maybe she did go back to the island. A lot of the time when someone goes off on their own, they go somewhere familiar." It wasn't the truth- but it sounded like it could be convincing. "We'll head there right away then, huh? See if we can't track her down,"  He said. It was where the trio was headed anyway. The potential for finding one of the missing youths was definitely a reason to speed up their pace a bit. 

She mentioned the food she'd found and he recalled. "Oh! That's right!" He said, having likely been told about it. He bobbed his head. "Seems like you've already paid your dues then, you can join the band,"

Were she made of literal ice, she would have melted upon Bronco's touch to her cheek. As it was, the metaphorical ice around her heart and soul disintegrated in that moment, and she leaned in, even, savoring the embrace. He'd pulled away before she was ready, and she lost his words, caught up in staring at his face.

What? Oh. Yeah. Wait—you want me to join your band? Blueberry asked, her mouth opening in a surprised but pleased smile. Sure, I'd love to.

When she looked at him, thoughts of Vesper—thoughts of everything—went by the wayside. When she looked at him, it was all too easy to imagine a future that at least involved him, and to hell with everything and everyone else.

He wasn't sure why she seemed to surprised to be invited to join the crew as they roved about- they'd never made themselves out to be exclusive, or so he thought- but he didn't dwell on it. He was just glad that it seemed to make her happy, and also pleased that they'd be adding someone else to their group. Blueberry seemed like a good fit, and he thought it might be good for her to have something stable, after drifting apart from her family. 

"Well, good." He said. They'd go to the island as the four of them, then, so that they could explore the coast, and Blueberry could try to search for her sister. Their sister. 

"So...Vesper and...I...I don't know the others," He admitted. He'd been awfully slow to learn about his youngest half-siblings, considering everything that'd happened surrounding their birth and earliest days. "What're they like?" There wasn't anyone else to ask. Blueberry was their sister- and in the absence of her parents, who'd adopted the trio in, he didn't have any other way to learn about them.

She supposed the question shouldn't surprise her, given that he was kind of their brother and all. But she still looked a little taken aback, and paused a moment to think. Looking back. . .and she did have to look a ways back.

Prevost—well, she went away a while ago. I don't remember her very well, but we were never close. Paused again, the bitterness of that early departure rising in her throat, and then more as she thought of her sole brother. Peregrine, kind of the same. Never got along, really. He seemed. . .angry. At least the last time I saw him.

But then, she was angry, too. Blueberry had harbored this simmering resentment since they'd left the island.

Her face lightened when she thought of Vesper, though there was no denying the sadness that lay heavy in the depths of her gaze. Vesper took care of me. We stuck together. She's my big sister—strong and brave.

Was she all right, wherever she was? She had to be, just had to.

He was aware that there were three from that litter but the details about them were tough to come by. He hadn't asked- it felt wrong, for whatever reason, to be asking the strangers how they had come to adopt Niamh's children. Why she'd gone to the island was beyond him, aside from some story she'd told him about some friend she'd had that had lived there. He could recall neither the wolf's name nor the pack she'd led, only his mother's description of a tiny, jovial wolf with tufted ears. 

He wasn't terribly surprised to hear that his younger siblings had inherited the troubling anger of his mother. Blueberry was perfectly likeable- she reminded him a bit of Meerkat, who made for a wonderful sibling, so for her to find Prevost and Peregrine to be distant or cold made him believe that they were probably more Niamh than Phox. The fact that the family was completely separated couldn't have made things easier, either. Being uprooted and dragged to another home might have been too hard. He wondered if maybe that was why Blueberry wanted to find Vesper so bad- maybe she was the only bit of roots that Blueberry had left. He could tell she was missed.

"Big and tough tends to run in the family," He said. "Strong and brave though...She sounds like a good sister." He tried not to sound too much as though he grieved, but he missed his siblings very much as well. He knew what it was like to worry about a missing sibling. "I hope we find her. I feel like the island is a good place to start lookin'." It was as much reassurance as he could offer, knowing how big the world really was, and how hard it could be to find someone in it.

Big and tough tends to run in the family. Yeah—their family. Unknowing that she was, in fact, related to the Redhawks via her reprobate father, Blueberry's face fell. She was not part of their family.

But then again, it'd be kind of creepy to crush on her kind-of brother were that the case.

I think so too, she responded. I just don't know why she'd go without me. They'd been inseparable since pretty much birth; the day Blueberry had woken to find Vesper gone had been the worst day of her life.

She turned big blue eyes on Bronco. Do you have any brothers or sisters? she asked. I guess they'd be Vesper's brothers and sisters, too.

Blueberry seemed hurt to have been left behind, but fortunately for her, that was something Bronco had a bit of experience with. ”Sometimes…Wolves just feel like they need to get out on their own, no matter how much they love their siblings.” He said with a soft sigh. ”My sister wandered off, too. A few times. But if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that they never forget those who mean the most to them…And more often than not, they’ll find their way back to them, when they’re ready.” He said. It might not make her feel better, but at least she might find some way to hold onto hope.

”I have a litter mate, named Nellie. She’s the one who wandered off, when we were young.” He said. He smiled faintly; he missed her. His life had changed so much since the last time he’d seen her, but he remembered her fondly, all the same. ”You’d like her. Feisty, loyal, ambitious. I’m not sure where she is now, but…I’m sure our paths’ll cross again someday.” He said. ”The next year, I had four younger siblings born. The twins, Alyx and Q- Quetzal, but Q for short. They were so different, right off the bat, even though they looked the same. And Meerkat, who’s technically Towhee’s daughter, but I dunno, the kids were all raised together so they’re all my siblings.” He said. A shaky breath was drawn. ”And I had a little brother, too. Primrose, Prim, for short. He was…Probably the gentlest, sweetest member of my family, ever. But…He died, a few months before Mom disappeared. I think…Losing him just kinda pushed her over the edge.” He said, his gaze fixed on a distant point ahead of them. He knew his mother would likely have reached her breaking point at some time, regardless of whether or not Primrose had died- but his death had certainly hastened the process.

He drew in a breath. ”At the end of the day…You have those who are born into your family, and you just…Love them an’ hang onto them as much as you can. Sometimes they drift away, an’ sometimes they disappear. You just gotta…Hang onto the ones you do have.” He concluded.