the journey hadn't been as long as arktos had worried it would be; made all the more pleasant by nephele's presence. during it, arktos is content to listen to whatever she is willing to share with him. he returns as much of the favor as he can, despite that he'd told her the most important part: that his past was erased from his memories.
he even named ground zero but glosses over it, to spare her. to keep him from going back to that place in his memory, to keep her from seeing him going back to that place.
there's a distinct chill in the morning air that makes arktos think that snow is coming. he spares the overcast sky an errant look as steps slow, the borders of morningsong come into view. the glacier cuts an imposing and impressive portrait and moss green eyes take it in as steps stop; a respectful distance away from the clear scent marked borders.
so, this is morningsong?
more of a statement than a question offered into the soft fur of nephele's cheek. touch, arktos was quickly discovering, appeared to be his love language; or perhaps it simply offered him reassurance that she was very much real and not a figment of his imagination.
a quiet moment passes before he lifts his head and calls for leadership.
the time is filled with the sound of footsteps and chatter. she tells him of her journeys prior to the teekons, of her time on the glacier, of the strict family who raised her, though she does not delve any deeper on the latter of those subjects.
and when he shares of his past, or rather the void encompassing it, she draws quiet to truly absorb what little there was to hear. ground zero; a place he mentions little of, and a place she does not push to know.
she sweeps alongside him after a breath is taken, a silent assurance that she is not distressed over his lost memories. that she is more than satisfied with the man before her now, with her husband.
it is in the next steps that follow that she speaks of her greatest aspiration. of her desire to be a mother, of her wish for children, and for him to now share in this future with her.
time passes quicker than what she'd expected, and the pair soon arrive at the sprawling sight of the glacier. she slows as he does, a hushed purr escaping her in agreement to his words.
"dutch is the name of our chieftain," she reveals after he calls for the glacier's leader. "he is an amicable man, and i am confident he will be most accepting of you."
Shorter posts while I get caught up!!
Dutch was near the borders already, as he often was these days. Eira had disappeared, and he had not seen Fallen Sun around much, either. He could not ask the other man where his woman had gone, anyway — it was a situation that weighed heavily on the chief's heart, and one that he felt heavily responsible for.
The call was not missed. One dark ear swiveled toward it before his body followed, and he soon came to find Nephele standing with a strange male. The fur along his spine bristled instinctively, but his tail swished in more neutral greeting while he spoke a loud,
"Peace be," he said, his head dipping a fraction in the male's direction. He directed his question to Nephele, though not in a way that seemed to exclude the man from participating.
"Who is this?"
his call fades, carried by the wind over the glacier and beyond. arktos falls silent as they wait; less contemplative and more disassociated. the only memory he harbored of how this ( kind of ) worked was his conversation with tybault in the marsh and even that wasn't really a good comparison as tybault had, presumably, not been a leader and unable to make decisions without his sister's say so. or at least, that was the conclusion arktos had been left to draw.
it is not long before a man approaches; dutch, arktos wagers.
arktos offers a bow of his head in greeting; a soft show of submission.
i am arktos,
speaks the warbear, needing none to speak his own introduction. husband of nephele.
she is content to wait alongside the anchored figure of her husband as they wait for the chief to join them. the silence does not bother her, and she takes the wordless moments to soak in the sight of the glacier she'd hope they would get to collectively call home together.
she stirs only when dutch approaches, offering a quick nod to the man as a greeting. a question rings out to the air, and is answered in swift succession. a smile draws it's way to the edge of her lips as she moves to brush her shoulder against arktos' in silent confirmation to his statement.
husband of nephele. oh how she liked the way that sounded from his lips.
absinthe gaze falls to dutch with pointed interest. she wonders if the chief might ask the same questions that had been presented to her when joining, and if so, if any could be answered given the state of her husband's memories.
she opts to remain silent for now, though her eyes speak of muted support for the man she stands beside.