Wolf RPG

@Akavir was home.

Mae didn't know how she felt about that, so she avoided him, mostly. And that was easy, because it was just how things were. Once or twice it occurred to her to show him the piece of amber she'd taken to carrying with her, but she couldn't shake the fear that he would take it from her. So she didn't.

She was playing with it when she noticed her father approaching, perhaps passing through on his way elsewhere; Mae didn't dare to hope that he'd come to see her. She froze in the midst of passing it from one paw to the other, and hid it instinctively under her foreleg. Mae held her breath, hoping he hadn't seen it.

His daughter had once been his shadow—cuddled to him throughout the cooler nights, and seeking ways to gain his attention throughout the day… primarily with sharp little puppy teeth.

Now, she remained a wisp in his presence and barely provided him a glance. It hurt—he knew he had hurt her in some way but she wasn’t forthcoming with the details. He couldn’t bulldoze it from her, though—but any hope that maybe she would eventually look his way without him forcing the issue was quickly fading, and instead, a gaping distance was falling between them.

He could barely stand it.

She played quietly this day—and the Mayfair moved toward her, considering—his eyes soft upon her, knowing she could sense him as he came nearer. “Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured, hesitantly hovering.

The glance she shot him was sullen; resentful but largely drained of emotion, too, because honestly? Mae felt she hardly ever saw her father. Her uncle was a far larger presence in her life, and bit by bit, the anger of Akavir's continued absence had started to fade into something a little easier to tolerate. She didn't think about him much anymore.

But when she did, she felt only angry. Hi, Akavir, She muttered, eyes darting to where the amber rested under her leg and then back to him. What, did I do something wrong? Why else would he stop to speak to her? Mae pressed the amber more tightly against the ground with her foreleg. She wouldn't let him take it from her. She didn't care if he disliked it; he was never around anyway.

His greeting was met with a sharp tongue. Her glare to him was met with the wilt of disappointment at first—and then stoicism. You’ll never be enough for them, his mind whispered, and he quietly agreed. Nicodem and Jakub survived day by day—he tried to teach them, to take them out and do things with them—but their interest faltered often, and they remained quiet.

Mae was simply angry with him—his presence not tolerated. Long gone were the days when the headstrong girl would run to his arms within seconds of seeing him—now, he was met with utter resentment. The family den remained a place of high tension—and he withheld a sigh.

What was there to do, at this point?

“No,” was the short response he gave her. “Just wanted to see if you wanted to go do something. Help me with the borders, or track one of the herds.”

Her anger dissipated, and Mae was left with a strange, sad emptiness in the pit of her stomach. She only looked at her father for a moment. Okay, She said simply, and rose, careful to keep the amber out of sight although it was impossible to hide that she was carrying something.

Mae turned to store her treasure in a shallow cache of her own making. A small hope stirred in her chest as she returned to Akavir, looking at him expectantly. Where are we going? She wasn't sure what to expect; she spent a lot of time with Uncle Arric, and that was always fun, but Akavir was so much more serious. She couldn't imagine him doing any of the things she did with Arric.

He was surprised she even agreed—but then it also seemed as if she were going through the motions. Appeasing the adult who bothered her now, perhaps.

Whatever it was she hid from him, he made no comment on it. Had he thought it a danger to her, or others, he might of—glimpses of the glittering molten-colored object didn’t inspire him to die on that particular hill in a battle to see what it was.

Those battles were left when he had to ensure hers or others safety—and sometimes, manners.

He shifted his weight at her question, muzzle tilting up as he tested the air with his nose. “Whatever you feel like doing. You tell me.”

Her eyes brightened a little when Akavir gave her the freedom to choose their activity. I wanna see somethin' outside the Creek, Mae announced immediately, tail waving in the air. It's boring as fuck here.

She didn't wait for her father to offer an opinion either way. There was no time to be wasted; it was so rare that she got to spend time with Akavir anymore. Mae set off with a glance in his direction to make sure that he was following, heading directly for the eastern border. She wasn't sure what they would find there, but wasn't that kind of the point?

A flash of something in her gaze—but Akavir didn’t want to read too far into hope just yet. Instead, he held back a wince at the dropped curse word—so uncaring for a girl of only five months old, who had yet to grow into her paws and ears fully. He held back a scowl, considering actually chewing Arric out for it.

But the two were exceptionally close, and who was he to reprimand the man who Mae probably saw more as a father figure than he?


“Outside the creek it is,” he offered in a low rumble, and before he could even finish his sentence, the girl was already forging ahead. If she was going to explore the neutral lands, he would much rather have it be with him or another adult.

He let her remain in the lead, keeping pace as his eyes scanned the horizon. “Anywhere in particular?”