Wolf RPG

Ashlar had promised @Chacal that he would tell the pack to look out for her missing son and intended to follow through as soon as he was able to. The first wolf he sought out was @Avicus.

She had not been happy to learn of his possible fatherhood but Ashlar did not think this meant she would refuse to search. They had been friends for too long, and she knew what children meant now. He didn't think even she could stand to lose one in this way.

No matter what her answer was, he would tell @Augur and @Prophet later. They didn't need to put themselves through trouble to help him, but Ashlar thought they would want to know. Maybe while they hunted they could search.

Ashlar walked along the edge of the burned out region, the place Avicus had named after her mother. He scanned the trees occasionally for any signs of a large bird, but only saw smaller ones flitting between the branches. It was hard to believe any bird could carry a child this far - yet he'd seen eagles before. Their shadows had terrified him as a child and now he understood why all the more.

Avicus is giving @Relic the rundown on this place, and the importance of her mother, when Ashlar appears. she gives him a chuff in greeting, tail flagging high, and walks to meet him halfway. 

her son meanders away, attention caught by a rodent. like his mother, he's more for action than words. 

she gently butts her head against Ashlar's shoulder, then steps back lifting her head. what's up? her indigo gaze inquires, though she remains quiet for now.

He was interrupting. Ashlar's news was important but so was what she was teaching, and he stood with outward patience while she finished. He didn't move to join them until she'd turned towards him.

He met her greeting with an affectionate return of his own, smiling, before it faded some with the reminder of why he'd come. His tail stilled with the slight nerves of this, but he wasn't coming as a father. He had no claim to the child who was missing. He came as a packmate who had met an ally on the borders.

Chacal came, from Sapphique. The name rolled off his tongue in an odd fashion. He'd always just thought of them as her cliffs, but he thought Avicus would understand better with the formality. An eagle took a pup from them. She thought that it came this way and asked if we would help search. He's... brown. With light marks.

My son. It hung unspoken, something he didn't feel able or worthy of acknowledging. He wouldn't be, not if he did not choose to eventually know Ashlar. And now he might not ever get the chance.

Sapphique is a welcome name; Chacal is not. her lips tighten in a slight frown at the mention, but soon relax as he goes on to explain the situation. her thoughts turn inward, ruminating on past days.

an eagle would be a formidable foe, but—

Augur foun' a brown boy, Avicus replies. her indigo eyes bore into the healer's, searching. young. alone. maybe?

she isn't cruel enough to deny their ally finding a lost little one, even if she begrudged Ashlar siring one or more of them. if Requiem belongs to the coast, he should be returned there.

Ashlar's hopes hadn't raised much despite his insistence to stay positive for Chacal's sake. If Requiem was out there, Ashlar was sure they'd find him - he just wasn't sure the former would be true. Eagles were massive and dangerous, and the fall from that height was surely deadly. What were the chances? He had to stay realistic for himself despite trying not to think on it too often. Doing so just made him feel despondent, or like crying.

So Avicus' answer took Ashlar completely by surprise. He blinked at her, then smiled, and his tail moved gently as genuine hope took root in his expression. Maybe it wasn't him - but maybe it was!

When? And where?! Oh, he hoped so!

her brows scrunch together as she tries to work out the timing of it. while summer ambled along lazily, especially the warmer days, fall seemed to rush by like the winds from the north that followed.

half moon ago, maybe, Avicus replies, with a slight shrug. nohh' long.

the hope in his face! she feels a little unsure now, and wonders if she's setting it all up just to let him down. then again, it would be a hell of a coincidence if two wayward, similar boys went missing nearby in such a short time. . .

she swallows, then nods, regaining her steely, cool mien. you wanna meeh' him? she asks brusquely.

No! Uh.... no. I can just see. Ashlar wanted to, but the reaction was so instantaneous he felt ashamed for it. They weren't his, and until he felt he could, he didn't know if they should know him. Especially not as something more than a stranger.

I have to tell her, if it is. I can go today. He looked at her for permission, though he did not know what he would do if she declined it. Could he leave Chacal to wait? Would Avicus have reason to make him?

He couldn't imagine she would, but somehow, he worried regardless.

Avicus nods. go, she says simply, acquiescing. whatever got this quandary over with sooner, the better. and she would not deny Ashlar his children.

nor a mother her offspring.

go now, she adds. her indigo gaze meets his pale yellow, a beacon of begrudging acceptance. it had to be settled one way or the other. Ashlar is probably the best representative in this case.

and yet he doesn't want to. . .

she shakes her head, involuntarily, and moves past him, heading toward where Relic had disappeared.