Luke did not need to try hard to convince Harlyn to follow him, she willingly joined him at his side and the two traveled at a comfortable lope, following the river and then ascending in elevation to reach the borders of the plateau pack. He looked to Harlyn with a grin.
"He told me he lives here," he said.
"Let's hope he's home!" Without waiting, Luke threw back his head and howled for Mordecai, his happy melodic song singing out across the landscape.
Whatever Harlyn had been feeling - tired, hungry, achy, what have you - all of that had disappeared completely the moment Luke had said he knew Mordecai and could take her to him. In truth, every negative emotion would have faded had he simply said he'd met him once a few years ago. Just to find someone who knew him and could talk to her about him was such a blessing. She needed her some Mordecai, damnit. And it seemed that she was finally going to get some (no pun intended... or... is there??)
Harlyn bounded to a stop at Luke's side, her gaze searching the landscape as though the Ostrega would just be standing right there, waiting for them, as though he'd been expecting them. She gave her companion a breathless smile as he spoke and then sent his voice up into the air. Instinct willed her to join in the call, but she held quiet. Though they had parted on good terms, her longing for him made her doubt that he would receive her well. Nervously, she stood beside Luke, her fiery eyes trained upon the landscape.
*halfway hyperventilates in background*
He had been drifting in and out of a long nap when the howl shattered the thought of simply sleeping through the day. It was warm, so unusually warm that Mordecai did not want to muster the ability to traverse the countryside. The shift in the weather had brought aches and pains to his body, part in healing and part in age, but they were dispelled easily through movement. He rose slowly, stretching and yawning and peering back regretfully at the sunny patch of ground he was finding to be forced from. They would simply have to meet again later; for now he had something of interest summoning him.
Though the caller was uncertain to him, he made his travel there somewhat direct. It was near the slope of those borders where the timberline thinned that he slowed, peering through. Cautiously testing to see who had come calling after him. But the forestry obscured the majority of his view and forced him downhill further, where the brightness of Luke's frame stood out against the increasingly green surroundings. Whatever caution he had felt went out a proverbial window; he thought that his fishing geared companion had come for a tour of nearby landscapes.
And it was only a handful of yards out that he realized in the undergrowth that Luke was not alone. Recognition was a sucker punch that stole the wind from him for a moment as his gaze roamed her; Mordecai had not anticipated seeing her again.
"Harlyn," he found himself saying in the next breath, swiftly approaching her in lieu of consideration to his own rough appearance. They had parted when their interests parted and it was rare that Mordecai encountered his traveling companions again after such. A steady wave of his tail followed as he lingered just out of her reach, curious of how well he was bound to be received as well.
Luke waited in silence with Harlyn, whose full attention searched through the rows of trees ahead, waiting for the approaching form of Mordecai to appear. He stole occasional glances at her, smiling, feeling her anticipation as a tingle in his toes, but he too kept watch on the land before them. Mordecai did not keep them waiting long, and as he made haste to approach, Luke courteously stepped back to allow the two to reunite. He seated himself several feet away, his bright smile upon them.
Harlyn felt certain that Luke could probably hear her heart throbbing in the long, quiet moments that followed. She felt as though she should make small talk with him instead of keeping quiet. He probably thought her rude for not talking, but she simply couldn't think of anything to say except to talk about how eager she was to see Mordecai. Likely Luke was better off with her just being quiet, and thus she stayed that way.
Her breath caught in her throat when Mordecai suddenly appeared. He was just as handsome and regal as ever. A soft smile lined her muzzle as he approached, but it was quick to falter as her eyes found the wounds near his neck and forelegs. "Mordecai," Harlyn said gently after he said hers, "What happened to you? Are you alright? Who did this?" All nervousness fell away as she closed the distance between them, her head and tail lifting along with her hackles. She reached for him to nudge her nose against his muzzle softly, concern in the warm embers of her eyes.
Harlyn closed in the distance between them, her concern evident in more than just recognizable features. He softened considerably beneath her touch, remembering it well from what few weeks they had spent together. She readily noted his injures and inquired after them; this action was not uncommon for those who had encountered him in the days past of a rather unpleasant visit.
"I'm fine, it's nothing that won't heal," he said, offering her a warm nudge in return. Even with her, he found that he wanted to evade the explanation. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and for a change of pace, the wolves he had encountered were less than friendly. It was a mistake that he would not make so easily again soon, as it was not worth the time he had spent laid up and in some degree of discomfort. Besides, he was more concern with her return to the Wilds. It was a happy reunion, one he was instantly grateful for. "I didn't think I'd see you again. What happened?" She had found something that had caught her eye and he could not help but wonder if her interest in something more concrete had not turned out to be all it had been.
Luke was all but forgotten from the moment her gaze had settled upon Mordecai. The moment he returned her touch, there was nothing in the world but him. Instantly, she was transported back to the time they had spent together. They'd been so carefree and had so much fun just seeing the world together. Then she'd gone and ruined it all by deciding she wanted more. What a stupid thing to think - she'd had more than she could have dreamed of right beside her the whole time.
Harlyn took a step back to give him some space, settling down upon her haunches as he asked what had happened. She bit her lip awkwardly, the familiar sting of humility creeping up on her as she was faced finally with needing to explain to him the mistakes she had made. "I.. I uh..." the Cindloch suddenly found her words caught in her throat. It was such an odd feeling... She'd never been speechless before like this, or so worried about what it was she was about to say. She'd always given her words, her thoughts and feelings so freely before. And now here she was, just a girl, nervously standing in front of a cute boy, wondering how to tell him how she felt.
"Torvalt took me as his mate," she said finally, knowing he would remember the alpha of the pack they had found just before parting ways, "We were making plans for our future, talking about the children we would have that would cement my place as his alpha female. And... I couldn't go through with it."
He too settled back upon his haunches as she gave him space, eagerly awaiting the story she was bound to tell him about what had become of her after they had separated. Her faltering was of some interest because he did not know her to be that way, yet as she finally pushed the words to come out he thought he understood why. She had found what she was after, her ambitions fulfilled. In comparison, he was the opposite; Mordecai had no real ambitions to chase, no dreams to fulfill other than to simply discover what was left to be discovered out there in the world. And for a time, they had shared that wonder together until her senses drew her to something more concrete.
He remembered Torvalt, though only in name and appearance. He hadn't been interested in what his pack had to offer, hadn't felt as though it was somewhere he wanted to ride out the winter after the tumult that had stirred through the soul of the Spine. Even with Luke lurking behind as a bystander, Mordecai found his attention stayed rooted on her firmly. The fact that she hadn't followed through with what would have brought her dreams into fruition did not spur needless emotion one way or another. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of it all, let alone what it could have meant or in reality, what it did mean. His ears folded somewhat apologetic, but his curiosity burned clean through them.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out for you in the end," he offered, holding his own curiosity at bay. "You seemed very happy to have found somewhere to be, though I have to admit I wished I could have checked out the place myself." But to have done that would have been exchanging one thing for another, and Mordecai found his freedoms would have been much more restricted there than what he anticipated with Dante in the lead of the Plateau. His comings and goings were not scrutinized by any means, but perhaps that was in part of his continuous offer of information. "What do you plan to do now?" Perhaps if Dante was willing, he thought Harlyn may have been willing to stay with the Plateau, at least until she had settled whatever it was that she could have been needing to settle.
Instead of breathlessly asking her why it hadn't worked out, Mordecai responded in true Mordecai fashion - sharing his sympathies and then moving the conversation along. Harlyn's heart swelled in her chest, adoring him even more than she had before. There was something so charming about how oblivious he was. It had taken forever for her to finally get him to realize she'd been hitting on him during their travels together. Fortunately, once he clued in, they'd barely spent a single night not tangled up together.
Harlyn tilted her head softly to the side, watching him fondly as he expressed remorse over not getting to explore the land Torvalt had claimed for himself instead of saying something like, I dunno... Why couldn't you go through with it? so that she could be like ..because I want you, Mordecai. No, instead he just asked what her plans were next, and patiently she decided on how to respond. "Well," she started slowly before diving right in like she usually did, "I was hoping that I could be with you again. I missed you, Mordecai. Being without you just.. made me unhappy."
Her words were touching. Some sensation akin to elation rose within him, but that may have been perhaps out of the fact that he had never quite been told that he had been missed. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that many he had traveled with or otherwise shared time with had never come bouncing back into his life in any substantial way. Harlyn was breaking the mold, so to speak, and because of that he could not help but be touched by her words. They definitely had their fun through the past, both literally and figuratively. They had seen some interesting sights and had weathered through some misfortune if it were to have fallen upon them. He shared a certain kinship with her as he had many others.
"I've missed you too," came his gentle reply, a quiet rasp as ever. Only this time it felt weighty, not as light or as carefree in gesture as he would have normally commented. This was not a realization that he had missed her — Mordecai had missed Harlyn. "I'd be happy for you to hang around with me, but unfortunately it's not my call if you stay here at the Plateau. A friend of mine heads up the pack here, which is why I came here I guess." Going back to the Spine had been out of the question, as the visit he had paid to near its borders had been nothing more than a curious question answering courtesy call. He would more than likely not go there again.
Luke watched as the pair reunited, his smile never leaving his face and his tail never ceasing its pleased wag. He could not be more content, having assisted these two in finding one another again brought him a great deal of joy. The blue-nosed wolf did not want to leave his two companions but he wanted to give them their privacy, and so quietly and without a word he made to depart, hoping he would be fortunate enough to meet up with the again sometime.
Harlyn felt her heart sing when the words slipped past Mordecai's lips. She wanted to rush into his embrace right then (and maybe start a little somethin' somethin'), but she maintained her composure, instead just giving him an affectionate, adoring smile that she so often had upon her face when she gazed at him.
His suggestion that she come to the Plateau was intriguing, but her smile turned slightly melancholy at the prospect. "I would love to join you there if he'd have me," Harlyn replied, "I wouldn't want to impose, though. I do hate the idea of you there alone with no one to care for you, you poor little cripple." A teasing grin flickered across her lips. In truth, she didn't particularly want to pledge her loyalty to yet another pack she intended to abandon. Her future was with Mordecai though, and it would take time for her to gauge whether or not he was ready to step back into the role he was born to play, or if she'd even want her to be the one at his side when he did so.
Gonna fade this out!
"I'm sure he would," he said, wanting to dispel the notion of it being an imposition.
"You certainly proved yourself when we were at the Spine, and that I can vouch for." A similar grin to her own flickered across his features; he was simply happy to be reunited with his traveling companion. The possibility of her joining him at the plateau was simply another thing he did not want to pass up. It was more than just the fact that she had been a valuable asset in the ranks once before; his fondness of her reached further than that for reasons he had yet to piece together.
"C'mon, let's go find him," Mordecai said, giving her a firm nudge.
"Perhaps after we find him, then you can worry about taking care of my crippled self." He started off loosely, encouraging her to join him. Only then did he notice that Luke had left them and that he found interesting, if only for the fact that he would have extended the invitation to the fisherman recently come to their collective midst. But for now, he only moved on to seek out Dante and bring Harlyn into their fold.