Wolf RPG

Sialuk’s calls awakened the sleeping dragon within every man’s spirit… and Njord was no exception. Every fiber of his being was strung up, taut with instinctual stress. On one hand, part of his spirit called the islander to chase any and every suitor away. To claim the starwoman for himself! Another part dared to prevent the creation of any other children who would take resources away from the mouths they already had and chase Sialuk out completely.

It was a conundrum that agitated the redtail man, and he became uncharacteristically reticent as he resisted these natural forces within himself. He pined for conflict. For intimacy. He knew himself as a faithful husband, but even the most pious man would be tempted by the way Moonspear’s leader called out into the night. On top of it all, Elentari’s time would soon come as well, her scent already on the wind.

There was a dire need to step away and remove himself. To be tempted no further. It was then Njord mentioned @Towhee’s proposition to @Meerkat. Before he knew it they were crossing the borders. Meerkat informed @Sialuk of their getaway and the girls were left with Towhee and @Phox.

Perhaps these weren’t the circumstances Njord had wished would inspire this vacation, but he was thankful for the retreat all the same.

He pressed close to Meerkat protectively. With every mile away from Moonspear he felt more relieved, telegraphed by the way his once-raised hackles smoothed.

Meerkat remained quiet as she and Njord departed, leaving behind not just the distraction of Sialuk’s heat but also their two young daughters. She just hoped Towhee would keep their minds—especially Seal’s—off their parents’ absence. Losing their older brother and childhood friend to Moontide had been rough on the girls and Meerkat didn’t want them thinking, even for an instant, that she and their da would ever abandon them.

From Silverlight Terrace, they climbed Ghost Lion Crag, crossing the small valley and skirting around the rockiest bit of terrain before coming to the river emptying from Alpine Lake. Everything was fairly familiar to Meerkat, even after all this time, and soon her worries about leaving the girls took a backseat to her nostalgia. Excitement grew in her breast as they came upon the northeastern corner of the copse.

Did you know, Meerkat said to her husband, I haven’t been back here since the summer after I was born? I left to join Moonspear when I was just five or six months old. I visited every now and again after that but mom moved the pack to the caldera that fall. And I just never found my way back, she finished, eyes poring over this far corner of her birthplace, until now.

Njord followed Meerkat across the terrace and over the crag, enjoying his backseat view (and I don’t mean the scenery). By the time they arrived at a Copse, the sun had begun to dip into its golden hour. The man’s head felt clearer, now. His mind less burdened.

He watched the pace of his wife’s steps increase as they drew nearer. “Ah’ve never been so far South before,” Njord remarked as he observed the Hinterland’s flora.

Meerkat offered an anecdote. “Ye were so young! Barely a lass!” Njord could scarcely imagine leaving home so early. “S’clear where our children inherit their adventerous spirit from,” he mused.

Njord sidled up beside Meerkat as his eyes passed over this unique territory. “Why did Towhee move the pack away?” he asked.

I was so young, Meerkat agreed. My older brother went with me but, looking back, I can see why my mother was so upset at the time. It was hard letting Mercy go, then losing Fish, then seeing Ray off… I always told myself to raise them to leave but it was still so difficult, which of course Njord knew just as well.

She had to think for a moment, reaching back in time to sift through various memories. Meerkat remembered a flood, though she could’ve sworn that happened in the spring or summer, not in the fall. Perhaps she could ask her mother once they returned, though for now, she gave it her best guess.

Well, she went back to the caldera, where she was born.

Exchanging a glance with her mate, Meerkat began striding forward into the copse. Would she be able to find the log she had shared with Towhee those first weeks of her life? Or had it rotted away by now? Would she recognize other landmarks around the copse? She vaguely remembered a den beneath the gnarled roots of a tree. And wasn’t there a graveyard somewhere near the river?

It’s as beautiful as I remember it, Meerkat murmured as she took it all in for the first time in nearly three years.

She found her way to the rendezvous site where she had spent her youth. Meerkat slowed to a stop, eyes shifting around the clearing. They landed on an overgrown shrub and a memory rushed back to her. She would never forget Towhee’s take on sexual education, nor Bronco’s visceral reaction and her own turning stomach. It had been so upsetting at the time! Now, the recollection made her tip her head back and laugh loudly.

The tip of Njord’s cold nose touched Meerkat’s cheek sympathetically as she spoke the names of their children who were no longer at their sides. It would not be long before Seal and Orca would transition into adolescence. Would their daughters disperse as well?

Njord put a pin in that thought and followed Meerkat into the Copse. It was a beautiful place with lush deciduous trees, green with the season. Shoots of ragweed reached for the sky. Puffy dandelion seeds floated by and caught the evening’s light. That same glow cast a bright halo around his wife as she tossed her head back, laughing.

Radiant, Njord thought to himself, his face softening in admiration.

Her pure serenity inspired him. “We should make this our home, someday,” he mused aloud. Njord desired to bottle the harmony he felt at that moment and never let it go.

The last rolling chuckles fell silent at Njord’s next words, her face going slack in surprise. She immediately wanted to refute the idea, yet Meerkat quelled her knee-jerk reaction to give his proposal some consideration. Sun Mote Copse was undoubtedly a lovely place with a lot of personal meaning for her. Yet she hadn’t realized until this very moment that, like their recently departed son, Njord didn’t necessarily want to remain in Moonspear.

She felt a little dismayed. Meerkat had come to love the mountain and the village that peopled it. Her parents had only just relocated their family to be closer but there was Fennec, Sialuk and others too that she was in no hurry to leave. She didn’t aspire to lead—evidenced by her recent relinquishment of her councilor title—and the idea of founding a new pack was mentally exhausting.

But she didn’t want to dismiss her husband’s feelings. Perhaps he’d only said it as a passing fancy, though maybe he was more serious, in which case they needed to discuss it. Meerkat frowned thoughtfully, shifting her weight, seeking and holding Njord’s gaze, a silent invitation for him to elaborate on his statement.

Like a shift in the breeze, Meerkat’s absence of affirmation sucked the wind right out of Njord’s sails. The moment before their hearts felt close. Aligned. But Meerkat’s silence fractured the harmony Njord had felt a second ago and it immediately became evident that she did not entertain the same flights of fancy.

He briefly reflected upon where this sentiment sprang from. Their whole lives had been uno-reversed. Once, the shoe had been on the other foot. Meerkat had joined Sapphique as an outsider, surrounded by Njord’s family and cohorts. Now, they swung the opposite way. Moonspear was filled with Meerkat’s people. His only remaining son, Stingray, had left. Chakliux would leave too. The rest pined for Sialuk’s attention and entertained a way of life that stirred up complicated memories within the man.

A thread of guilt wove itself within his fabric, for insinuating that Moonspear wasn’t enough. But was it so wrong to want to leave a refuge and thrive? Maybe this was the man’s way the women of Sapphique shunned.

Today, he didn’t have the heart to make any more waves in his wife’s mind.

“Ah only wish tae these rays in yer hair, every day,” he said sweetly. A half-truth and played off as a passing whim. “Come, I hear a river nearby, hmm? Will ye give me a tour?”

She raised an eyebrow at his answer, sensing a dismissal not of her question but of his own thoughts. Meerkat’s eyes narrowed to a squint, though her lips twitched into a smile. She closed the space between them, planting her feet so she they stood nose to nose.

Njord, mo chride, she coaxed, tell me what you’re really thinking.

Aware that perhaps her demeanor and expression had discouraged an embellishment, Meerkat smoothed her face into something tenderer, inviting him to speak his mind and share his true feelings. Just in case he needed further encouragement, she kissed the corner of his mouth.

Then I will give you a tour, she promised.

Meerkat possessed a black belt in emotional kung-fu. She read her husband like a book and, though Njord’s instinct was to clam up, her words, gestures, and actions quickly disarmed him.

The kiss incited Njord to hum a musical note. However, he had trouble articulating the many sentiments he felt. Plus, he didn’t want to do any damage by insinuating their life wasn’t presently satisfying. He shifted his weight and had trouble holding Meerkat’s gaze, afraid to hurt her with his words.

“Do ye think Moonspear is our final stop?” he fished in an attempt to gauge the temperature of their conversation.

Her brow began to furrow at his question, though Meerkat quickly schooled her face into a more neutral expression that did not give away the nature of her spinning thoughts so much. To tell the truth, she hadn’t really given it much thought. She had been living in the present lately, shunning the past and not bothering much with the future. But now, she cast her focus forward…

I hadn’t thought about it, if I’m honest, she admitted after a few beats of contemplative silence, but, Njord, I’m not married to Moonspear. I’m married to you. We chose our home under duress and I suppose now we have time to revisit that choice and talk about whether it’s best for us long-term. Just because it hadn’t crossed my mind before doesn’t mean it’s not worth discussing or that I don’t want to.

She touched her nose to his cheek again, a reassurance. Meerkat drew back and looked around, head cocking. Was this really the sort of place where he would like to make a home? She knew Towhee had put the idea for this trip in his head, though the copse wasn’t the only place they could theoretically settle.

I love it here, though I’m not particularly attached to it or any piece of ground, really. You are my home, along with the children. With that said, if I had to make a list of features I’d prefer in a territory, I’d find some of them here. What about you, though?

Her guts quivered a little at this. Meerkat feared that he would want to move back to the seaside someday. She wasn’t sure she could accommodate that, though she told herself to hear him out and keep an open mind.

It helped that Meerkat spoke her mind and reaffirmed the bond they shared. Her explanation and reassurance set the stage for Njord to better conjure words.

“Aye, you an’ our children are my home, too,” he mirrored. “Where ye are, is where my heart is. It doesnae matter if we’re on a mountain or in a swamp,” he breathed a laugh. “But maybe that’s why Ah donnae feel so strong about stayin’ forever at Moonspear. I cannae help but feel… detatched from tha rest of tha village. Ah’m nae close with Sialuk as you are… an’ Ah’m sad tae see Stingray, Nassamik, an’ Raiyuk go.”

Kigipigak jumped into Njord’s mind briefly. His Aiokatti he had left behind.

Valtyr’s image showed up too.

Njord’s weight rocked back onto his heels as he thought. Then, his gaze lifted and watched the trees’ leaves flutter in the wind.

“Maybe I jus’ can’t stop thinkin’ bout layin’ with ye under tha willows,” he said whimsically. “Buildin’ somethin’ for us. Just us. Somethin’ for Mercy, Fish, an’ Ray to come home to. Tae give to them. For Seal an’ Orca, too.” Because that was the ultimate fantasy, wasn’t it? The corners of his mouth curled intro a wry smile, proud but sad their children had all dispersed.

He blinked away the reverie and shuffeled closer to lean on Meerkat.

“Och, but I said someday,” he reminded her. There were no timelines to his agenda. The dream was but a sparkle in his eye.

“Ah’m fond of the lowlands,” he observed. “A place with plenty of water. Cool shade an’ greenery. Peaceful.” Hushed Willows and Sun Mote Copse shared all of these features.

His mention of willows evoked a memory, likely by design. Meerkat smiled, first remembering their frolicsome activities that day. But then she recollected more of the conversation they’d shared prior. Her face became drawn. She pushed away from the past like a boat launching from shore, refocusing on the present and all the possibilities on the future horizon.

Still she didn’t speak yet, studying her husband’s face for long moments. Njord had used the word “detached” to describe how he felt about Moonspear, particularly now that some of his loved ones—namely, their son—had gone to Moontide. She could reassure him that they would return someday and that he could foster his bond with Sialuk. But even the briefest remembrance of Sapphique—and how disenfranchised he’d felt for so long—changed her heart and mind in an instant.

Let’s do that tour, Meerkat said before stating simply, and if you like what you see and you think we’d be happier here and want to settle it, that’s just what we’ll do.

It wouldn’t be easy, uprooting once more. And it might mean she would be thrust into leadership again. But maybe it would be different, if it was theirs. Meerkat just hoped Sialuk would give them her blessing. They would certainly take the girls with them but she didn’t know if perhaps Fennec or Towhee et al might want to come too. Meerkat didn’t want to destabilize the village they’d helped to build.

But she tucked all these concerns into her back pocket for now, reaching to smooth her nose along Njord’s cheek before starting to walk deeper into the copse. For a while, they walked due south before she began to drift east, leading her husband toward the far side of the copse and the river running along the foot of the mountain there.

You mentioned water, she commented to Njord as the trees thinned near the riverbank.

Eyes twinkling a little, she looked over at him to see what he thought so far.

Njord spied the gears turning behind his wife’s whiskey-colored eyes. Then, she offered a selfless proposition.

At first, Njord’s expression jumped in surprise. And then, his face softened into love, thankful for the support of his partner. By saying the words, Meerkat had done him a grand kindness and reaffirmed the partnership they curated together. Even if they stayed at Moonspear forever, Njord trusted Meerkat to always have his back.

And why shouldn’t he? She had always been the steady one in the relationship (though he tried his best) and it was something the man didn’t take for granted. Even in Sapphique, Meerkat had been the one to make the right choice for their family.

Was it selfish of him to want more?

“Alright,” Njord agreed with an appreciative smile as he followed his wife deeper into the copse. He returned her touch with a gentle caress of his own as they enjoyed the serene scenery of the southlands.

Eventually, Meerkat revealed a sparkling river that reflected the colorful lights of the waning sun. The redtail’s eyes became big as he regarded the beautiful lush banks.

“Aint she bonnie,” he sighed. Suddenly, a fish jumped from the water to snatch a low-flying black fly. “Oh!” Njord exclaimed, “I shall catch m’lady supper.” Then, the man began to wade in the water.

He let out a happy sigh, the sound of it warming her heart. Meerkat realized she would do just about anything to hear such sounds coming from her husband. She wanted him to be happy and feel settled. She would pay any price, though his asking price wasn’t even that steep.

While Njord waded toward the water intent to fish up some supper, Meerkat glanced up and down the bank. She suddenly remembered that there was something of a family graveyard somewhere around here. It would probably be a bit overgrown by now, though she wondered if she might be able to find it and pay her respects.

You know, my aunt and grand godparents are buried here, Meerkat called to Njord. I think I may search for the graves while you fish, if that’s okay?

“Take ye time, mo chridhe,” Njord said with a sweet smile as he watched his wife leave to pay her respects.

The sound of lapping water. Fading light in the sky. The hum of dragonflies over the banks.

It was like a song in his heart. An everlasting melody.