It was shortly after the meeting that Dutch sought out Leith, doing his best not to bring this to the attention of the others. Only Sulukinak bore witness — but he still asked gently for privacy before he turned to approach the other man.
"We did not have much time to get to know one another, you and I," he said with a tentative swing of his tail. He came close enough for conversation.
"Will you tell me about yourself?"
"I'll say,"
The man's comment was answered with a light, ashamed chuckle. His ears batted out, as if in an apology and he meandered toward the other man, head low. How stupid he must have seemed at the meeting- not knowing that Ariadne had another name, and that she was the one who had purposefully wandered off. "Sorry if I seemed like kind of a dunce..." He shrugged, offering a guilty smile. "I only knew her as Ariadne- and what's with-"
He stopped suddenly, when Dutch's words registered in his brain, a moment after they had been spoken. He blinked in surprise, taken aback by the request to speak about himself. He rolled his shoulders and bobbed his head thoughtfully from side to side. "Oh, uhm. Not much to say, really-" He admitted, regarding the man with fond sincerity. "I'm nothing special, really; though I do take an interest in medical technology, and, er-" A sheepish roll of his shoulders. "Ornithology. Which- I really must speak to that young guardian; I'm keen to know more about how she seems to have tamed that lovely hawk," He said. He chuckled. "I'm, well, I guess- what you could call a bit of a 'birdbrain.'"
The panther shook his head at once; he thought nothing of the sort. "It is a thing I have had trouble wrapping my head around as well," he said ruefully.
And the Leith really got going, and while Dutch did not think him a dunce, per se — birdbrain was a pretty good word. Still, his enthusiasm for these things piqued Dutch's interest as well. "Ornithology?" he repeated, "I do not know this word."
They could use a medicine man, of course. Dutch in particular hoped he might know how to stave off infection. For the moment, however, he sought to answer rather than question.
"Her name is Towhee," the panther patiently supplied. "Her ears are closed. She listens with her eyes, and she speaks in strange signs. I am learning this silenttongue from her. Perhaps this would interest you as well. Only then can she tell us about her bird in detail — I am not yet so fluent to have puzzled that one out."
Ariadne had seemed perfectly stable and happy when Leith had seen her last- so he was led to assume that something had happened at the hunt that had been either traumatizing or bitter enough that both she and her mate had decided not to return. It seemed that Dutch had not been informed as well- if he had, he might not have spent time searching for them.
"You're sure she's not somewhere, injured?" He asked, then. It was a way to suss out whether her disappearance had been elective, or if she had suffered some affliction that kept her away in spite of her want to come back. He doubted the answer was affirmative; Dutch would have known, he felt, if Ariadne had been injured. She'd left, after all, she had not been left behind.
"I study birds," He explained with a modest tip of his muzzle. Some thought it a useless hobby, but he'd never been discouraged from his studies. Nevertheless, his ears pricked at the sound of another bird's name- and was surprised to find that it was the name belonging to the young, quiet one who had formed a partnership with a bird of prey. At first, he took the expression 'her ears are closed' literally and opened his mouth to ask what that meant until the meaning became clear. She was deaf. "Ohhhh," He breathed; now understanding the gestures that Dutch had been using.
His tail thumped against the ground. A new study? Excellent. Especially if he could learn to speak to her- and learn more about her hawk! "Oh, I would be....Delighted!" He half-whispered, reverently. "Does she teach the language?"
The panther nodded, but — "I can't be sure, of course, but she did not leave injured. Not any more than she was already. And her mate went with her, both with firm, steady tracks."
He toyed with the idea of hoping they had been injured, so that he would not have to feel betrayed. Dismissed it almost at once.
"I hope they are well, wherever they are," he said at last.
The study of birds was not one he'd ever thought to take up, but he could immediately see at least one appeal. They were colorful and varied and they sang wonderful songs. If Dutch had ever heard of Pokemon Go, he would have assumed that Keith's interest in birds was similar to that. It was still strange, but Dutch could not begrudge the man his hobbies.
"She does," he agreed with a smile, amused by Keith's excitement. To this, at least, he could relate. "I have been taken lessons from her. As a teller of tales and keeper of histories, I try to learn every language I can."
He was less modest about this than his companion was about the study of birds — but he so rarely got to brag about the words and languages he'd amassed.
"Do you speak other tongues?" he asked, wondering if this was another of the scholarly man's passions.
"Hmm," He could do nothing but hypothesize- and like Dutch, wish them well. He sighed and shrugged. There seemed to be no explanation for it, and the pack's new leader seemed content to dismiss the event altogether in the interest of having the pack move forward. Leith decided it wasn't worth asking about. What had happened was in the past now, and Dutch was trying very hard to keep them moving forward.
"Oh excellent," He said, delighted that the quiet woman might teach him to communicate with her. He had more questions that he wanted to ask, but it seemed Dutch was keen to learn about him as well.
He smiled faintly, and nodded, though it was with a modest shrug. "Je parle un petit peu de Francais," He said. His words were very careful and clear- but devoid of an accent. "But Only enough to have a very small conversation," He said with another shrug. "Are there other languages spoken here?"
The scholar continued to impress! "Ah," said Dutch, "Ç'est pareil pour moi," and, "¿Hablas algo de español?"
Regardless,
"Most speak the common tongue, but not all," he replied, although he was sure Leith had deduced as much. "Many speak the sunshine language. None here, unfortunately, but you may find a tutor in one of the other moon villages. And the seal hunters have their own tongue — I am learning it slowly but surely from my hunt-brother in Moontide. And the sign language that silenthunter uses, of course."
He thought for a moment longer, but decided, "That is all I know of in these territories."
A smart fellow like Leith was a relief to have around. Dutch cared deeply for Sulukinak and Fallen Sun, but conversations never flowed this easily between them. It usually required much more scrutiny on the panther's part, and it was nice to walk and talk while taking in the scenery rather than the infinitesimal twitches of Sulukinak's features, beloved as they were.
"There is a medicine man at Moonspear," he said, just making conversation. How novel! "Alaric. A very wise and pleasant man. But here, we did not any healer until you came to us."
He laughed gleefully to meet another who had learned the language, though his cheeks burned, hoping privately that it would not commonly be expected of him to converse in the tongue. He felt his accent lacked, especially in comparison with the way that Dutch spoke. When he began in another language, the dark wolf was forced to close his mouth and shake his head. "I recognize it as...It is Spanish, yes? But I don't speak it." He admitted. He'd spent little time in the South, and had only learned a word or two from wolves in passing.
He spoke then of another language- one he did not know, and wasn't familiar with, either. It seemed many spoke more than one language, which left him feeling both impressed and overwhelmed. "Oh! A cross-roads of languages then," He commented. "I'll learn what I can." He said, though he admitted to himself that it might be a big task- learning Towhee's language as well as the Sunshine language and seal hunters' language.
Having heard tell of a master medicine woman at Moonspear, he was surprised to hear that there was also a medicine man. His head tilted. "Alaric; well, I'll have to meet with him. I was also keen to meet Kukutux, to see how she made that marvel of a cast that Ariadne had on her leg, but then..." He shrugged, a sheepish acknowledgement that he likely wouldn't get to see it removed, now. "Are we still on good enough terms with Moonspear for me to speak with her?" He asked. After all, Kukutux was reportedly Ariadne's mother, and he didn't want to stir up drama by going to see her about the cast that had been on her runaway daughter's leg.
The panther grinned, his tail whisking. He found Leith's knowledge impressive, even if he'd found a limit to what the man currently knew. Minds like his could absorb anything, Dutch thought. The trial and error sort of lessons he took from silenthunter were more difficult than he'd anticipated, but ultimately worth the effort.
"She communicates well enough, in the mean time," Dutch replied, though he was pleased to see that Leith thought himself up to the task.
He made a sound as if to agree that Leith ought to meet Alaric, and then another to agree that Kukutux was a good person to meet. And then, at his last question, a slightly less agreeable sound. But — "Moonwoman — Kukutux — she lives in the village Moonglow. Moonspear is — "
The panther straightened, his head swiveling until he found his heading.
"Come," he said, leading the scholar to a ledge with a clearer view of the valley. The Ouroboros Spine was easy enough to spot, but Dutch described it anyway as he pointed it out. "That is where Moonglow lay. And beyond it," he lifted his paw higher to point to a high peak in the far distance. There were some days when the cloud cover was too low and heavy to see it from here. "That is Moonspear. And if you go up to the sea and then walk southwest along the coast, you will come to the village of Moontide — you will know you are near when you can see Moonspear without also looking at the Spine. You can sing to them, then, and ask their voices to guide you."
Geography lesson finished, Dutch finally answered the man's question: "We are friendly still with the village of Moonglow. What moonwoman has decided, I think, the other villages will follow." He flashed a little smile. "And she finds me quite charming."
Leith felt curious not only about Towhee's language, but of its conception as well. He couldn't imagine inventing movements that could accurately depict all of the words that his mouth could make- but according to the Chief, she seemed to have figured it out. He could only imagine how much of a relief it must be for her to have others learn how to speak with her- language helped to liberate feelings and ideas.
"Ah," He said, clicking his tongue at his own error. He followed the man until the peak came into view, naturally drawing his eye to its tall, jagged form. A smaller formation of mountains seemed to be the place where Kukutux lived- easy enough to spot if you had the proper vantage point. Leith gazed up at the sky for a moment, calculating the placement of the sun and the rough time of day so that he could get a good enough bearing on what direction the two packs lay in. A third was mentioned, one next to the coast. He sniffed and nodded, taking in all the directions with ease. "I'll have to pay them all a visit in time," He said. His thoughts strayed first between Moonglow and Moonspear, knowing that they might have someone who could trade knowledge with him.
He was relieved to hear that the conflict involving Ariadne might not sour their relationships with the other packs, though his brow lifted when Dutch touted himself as a charming man. The statement surprised him so suddenly that he laughed. "She must," He agreed, giving the man an appraising look for a moment. There was plenty to appreciate about his looks in general, and while his earliest (and foggiest) memories of Dutch painted the picture of a relatively serious man, he learned quickly that he was not without a good sense of humour as well.
He rolled a shoulder, as if to shrug off any bias. He'd only met Ariadne twice, and she had seemed fine- but he was willing to both forgive her for her abandonment, figuring that there must be some reason he must not yet know. "We'll be fine here as we are anyhow, I'm sure," He said. "Who else have we got in the pack? Any other specialists?"
Dutch nodded in wholehearted agreement as Leith voiced his intention to visit the other moon villages. "I will send you with gifts when you go," he said, his tail whisking as he crossed two more items off his to-do list.
He grinned when he was able to get a laugh out of the other man, but his expression soon turned more pensive.
"I'm sure," he echoed, trying to sound sure. Things were alright at the moment, but it was intimidating to imagine Morningsong existing indefinitely, and all the pain and challenge that might come of it.
The questions gave him something better to think about.
"Well," he laughed, "not as such. We have a fair few hunters, now. Hototo is skilled and eager to please. A bit cocky, though." He did not consider that others might think the same of him. "Fallen Sun has been reliable in that regard as well. And Eira, newly come, does good work with pelts, and Simbelmyne has some talent for this as well. The rest..." Nephele still disturbed him, and Sulukinak's interests eluded him. "Well, they can hunt," he said with a sweep of his tail. "Simbelmyne, though..."
He gave Leith a different kind of once-over.
"Do you seek a wife, Leith?" he asked, his tone all too conversational.
He wondered privately what kind of gifts the man would have to offer to the Moonwoman, but nodded in silent acceptance, happy to accomplish two tasks at once if it meant that he was given leave to go to their sister pack.
That pack seemed to have some amount of hunters, which was good news- keeping the wolves fed was probably one of their biggest tasks, though he hoped that the one named Hototo could keep his ego from getting in the way. He'd remind himself to be careful when he met the man as proud wolves were not his favorite. The women seemed inclined to work with pelts, something Leith wished was a practice for men as well- he would have taken easily to a hobby that involved some level of crafting abilities, but he'd never been taught. Learning medicine was as close as he had been permitted to come to learning the more 'feminine' trades.
Without switching his tone, Dutch asked a question that earned a surprised look from the medic. He blinked twice, and chuffed. "No. I'm afraid I've always been a bit more married to my practices," A comment that had likely been intended to wound, but it'd been deflected easily enough. "I was with someone, once, for some time, but according to her, I have a 'one track mind' and...Well, you know how women are," He said with a blithe shrug. "She felt she wasn't getting enough attention unless she was either sick or wounded, so it ended there."
Dutch was disappointed but unsurprised to hear that Leith was not keen to find romance. The good ones never seemed to be — until, suddenly, they were. But Dutch wrote him off as a possible suitor for Simbelmyne right away. The pair of them likely had more fruitful things to focus on than each other.
"That sounds familiar," Dutch admitted, although he'd since quit his trade to settle at the glacier. "But if you find fulfillment in your studies, there's little need to seek it elsewhere."
That was his opinion, anyway. Most of his family held a very different one.
The panther's mind wandered. "Ornithology," he said again, still marveling at the word. Who'd even come up with something like that? A mind to be admired, surely. He gave a little shake of his head. "Is there much to learn from birds?" he wondered.