@Gunnar This is backdated a few days so that Gunnar would be at the Ridge for its founding.
Leaving Reek to oversee things at the ridge, Saena descended into the lowlands in the early morning. She picked her way across rocky barrens to the cliffs at the edge of the sea, unwittingly entering the former land of Ankyra Sound as she trekked through a forest of vast sequoias. The forest eventually deepened and left the cliffs behind, and Saena followed it all the way to the ruins of Horizon Ridge, where sharp cliffs dipped down into gentle coastline.
Nimble from a life on mountains, Saena climbed easily down the scattered rubble. Her paws sank into soft sand at the base of the ridge, and from there she followed the edge of the sea. The going was slower here where the ground was unfamiliar and slick underfoot. She rested at the edge of the ocean about midway down the known coast with the sun burning at high noon overhead.
Certain that she was close enough now, the young Alpha-to-be tilted back her head and howled loudly for Gunnar.
Gunnar restlessly ran around the pack lands, trying like mad to get his entire pack ready for his departure. He had already spoken with his mother, and his father, before his father's untimely demise. He felt anger burn in his breast, deeply for whoever took his father from him. However, it was now more than ever he felt the need for a clean break. He was completely lost in his belief that the coast was damned, cursed, hell on earth and all of the above. They had lost the first leader to a landslide, the second to a bear, they lost a family to a bear, and then his father to another wolf. He had begged his mother to join him, but she had refused. Stalwart in her belief that they would do well here in this land of the damned.
Now he merely waited, hoping that Saena would come soon. The sooner he was away from here, the sooner he could move on. Though, he was determined in his stout belief, to honor his father. To join the feast, even if he wasn't home. He would have his own.
He heard the howl and with a soft chuff of goodbye, he ran on his way. To change his destiny and perhaps his fate. Make his life his own. His tail wagged when he he saw her, though the tear tracks down his cheeks were testimony to his grieving. Hello Saena
Gunnar didn't keep her waiting long. It occurred to her that this was the first time she'd ever come to the coast and summoned him. She felt vaguely bad about it, for their previous two meetings were because of him, but her bad feelings disappeared as he materialized from the foggy bay and loped toward her. Her tiny tail switched back and forth gleefully, but as he got within viewing distance, it faltered. Everything about her faltered. There on his cheeks were lines drawn into his fur, matted down by tears that hadn't yet been washed away.
Her heart plummeted even as he greeted her with wagging tail. "Oh my god, Gunnar, you've been crying," she pointed out. Obviously he knew that. Fearing the worst (that something had happened to one of his young siblings, who must've been born by now, or that something had happened to his mother in the process), she closed the distance between them and touched his cheek gently with her nose, then ran her tongue soothingly over the tear track there. "What happened?" she asked gently, hoping that probing would not upset him further.
If he'd lost his mother, then she could relate. Suddenly, telling him she'd found a place for them all was the furthest thing from her mind as she waited with bated breath to (hopefully) hear what had upset her friend.
Gunnar did not mind, that he had been the only one to come a calling. He actually had not been trying to see her either time. The first time had been a twist of something. Now the second time, he wanted to see her, but he hadn't really gone calling. They had just met on the plateau border lands. He saw her tail twitch, and his returned the movement. A small smile on his face. Gunnar, had actually forgotten about the tears. And he could hear his father in his head, telling him not to grieve. That he was in Valhalla, that he was fine. That they would meet again.
Gunnar, gave a soft sigh, part laugh, part sigh. It was a strange sound. Mostly, it was just out of surprise, more than joy. He was taken back when she approached him, but he didn't mind. Giving her, her own lick and nuzzle to the chin. No it wasn't his mother or his siblings, it would have been horrible had it been. It was strange that thought, but his father was a warrior, his mother and siblings innocents. Even though his mother could hold her own, he had seen it. Someone killed my dad. I'm not sure who. This land is cursed. We have lost all of our leaders. I hope my mother is not next.
He tilted his head though, and looked at her for a moment. Then averted his gaze, because after all, she was going to be his leader.
She took a step back when he made a mixed sound, her face a mask of concern and pain for what he must've endured. It didn't take him much to muster up the courage to explain the situation, something Saena knew she couldn't have done herself. In his position, she'd be a blubbering mess. The last time a family member had "died", she'd withdrawn into her own head for a little while and imagined that Osprey Jr. was still there, alive and well. It was a brief tragedy that ended well, but nevertheless, it hinted at Saena's inability to cope with loss on a permanent level.
She was shocked to know the real reason behind Gunnar's grief was not his mother's dead in childbirth nor the loss of his new siblings in their first hours. "Oh, Gunnar," she said softly, "I'm so sorry, I never would've thought someone would go after your dad..." With Thistle Cloud and the newborns alive, she guessed it wasn't a matter of Ragnar defending his land from an outsider. It was logical that it was a targeted event. Murder was something Saena couldn't really understand, so it was difficult to even wrap her head around the idea that anyone would dislike Ragnar that much.
"Your mother is very strong," Saena said thickly. Although she didn't know the Lodbrok's, Thistle Cloud had indirectly saved her life and had directly saved the life of her sister. The woman had to be a living wonder. "Your pack's security is probably double," she guessed, "but if you want to stay to make sure, then... I won't blame you in the slightest." To his claim that the land was cursed, Saena made no comment, mainly because she wasn't sure she believed in things like curses. She didn't know about Akhlut or Pump, or she might've rethought her own view.
Gunnar, was a mess on the inside. However, his father had always told him you don't grieve for a warrior. You revel in their life, for they were in Valhalla and they were happy. He had no doubt his father would have made it to Valhall, no doubt at all. He was a warrior, a King, and a self made man. Surely he missed him, however he wasn't going to mope around about it. His father's character and words, to ingrained in his psyche, so he would hide it well.
Gunnar shook his head, My father had many enemies Saena. As a viking you always do. You raid and pillage and take what isn't yours. Then those you trespass against, they trespass back. It's a never ending cycle of death, and destruction, but it is also a way of life. The strongest survive, so it was only a matter of time, before someone came to get him, and death knocked. He died well, he is in Valhalla. I miss him, i love him and it hurts, but rather than grieve for the loss. I'm going to revel in his life. In the life that he left me and the lessons he imparted.
Gunnar smiled and nodded his head, That she is, but she is a shield maiden and they are the strongest you know. Gunnar did not doubt that his mother was strong, he knew it to be true. He had seen her deal with death regularly. Had watched as she protected her family, when she was no bigger than a minute. Yes his mother was strong. Gunnar sighed and shook his head, I do not want to stay, too many have died here. I even begged mom to come with me, but she would not. She did however give me her blessing, and I have already said my goodbyes. I can leave today.
Though Saena was surprised to know that Ragnar had any enemies at all, she supposed it made sense. Every wolf had enemies, no matter how justly they conducted themselves or their lives. The just made enemies of delinquents, and the unjust made enemies of innocents. There was no getting away from it. Saena didn't know of her enemies, but thinking on, she knew they were out there. They hadn't shown their faces, but they had to exist.
"I guess I just... didn't think anything could bring him down," she said. Of course, Saena had not known Ragnar. They had never met. Her knowledge of him came solely from Junior's stories, which had been plentiful and surely full of exaggeration. As far as she knew, Ragnar was a five foot tall wolf who breathed fire and commanded armies of crows. "I'm glad he's in a good place," she sympathized, without even really knowing anything about Valhalla. Peregrine and Hawkeye never taught their children about religion. All the better for them, probably.
"If you're sure, then I can take you to the place we found," Saena said with a sad glance past him along the coast. She hated to take him from his mother, but could easily understand his reasons. She had never lost anyone to death, but it was a wonder she'd remained at the plateau so long with all those bad memories of her parents, their divorce, and their individual abandonment. "There's a few others there, too. I didn't want to come bother you 'til I was sure it was the one."