They had travelled almost non-stop for days. Most of the discomfort didn't come from weary paws or aching muscles, however. The problem was that neither of them could sleep. @Takiyok had always kept a strange schedule, but it became ever more apparent when the pair tried their best to sync their insane schedules with one another.
This resulted in one positive: there were more hours in the day spent moving forward and away from Sagtannet. Now, the base of one of the smaller Sunspires met them face to face as they came to the forests of the Emberwood, unchanged from before. Taikon had chosen this route because it put distance from them and Mahler's remaining crew while also allowing them to scout what was left of the mountain packs. The last time Taikon had checked, there had been wolves staying somewhere in the Vale, but they had been reducing in number. The Saints were his key worry — there were few other groups of wolves he wanted to avoid apart from Ursus.
They would have the choice of taking a more southern route and heading closer to Ursus terrain, or they could risk cutting through or just beside the Vale. It would depend on what Taki felt safer doing.
It had been a rare moment that he was able to leave her for just a little while and hunt. In his jaws, he carried a fat, grey rabbit. She hadn't been eating very well. He hoped that this prize might tempt her just a bit. She would need her strength to cut through the mountains.

Takiyok greeted him with a short nuzzle, and he dropped the rabbit and returned it. As attached to her as he'd felt before, she was quickly growing on him as a companion even though the purpose of their journey was less than pleasurable. He wished there had been some grand thing they were off to do. He wished hard that he would wake up from one of these shitty sleeps and remember that this was all just a terrible dream. He would realize that Mahler and Wylla had listened to his advice about the Rusalkans, and now had sent he and Taki on a journey across the mountains to gather information about the Saints' whereabouts so that they might keep the pack protected. The alternate scenario made him sigh as Taki told him that she had found no sign of other wolves recently. He nodded. Good, good, thanks for doing that, he said. He thanked her like she had taken out the laundry rather than making sure nobody was going to try to murder them in their sleep.
The Emberwood was much more exposed than he would have liked, but it was also full of food, which was why he had decided they should stop here for at least a bit. The good hunting had at least allowed him to catch something for them. Taikon nudged the rabbit. It was still quite warm. Please eat, I'll get whatever you don't want, he said calmly. He was quite worried about her general health and state of mind, but he also didn't want to be overbearing. He knew that wasn't a good look on anyone.
He lay down, crossing his front paws and putting his head on them. He was quiet then, thinking about their potential pathways, letting loose another sigh.

She ate. A small, almost indiscernible smile came to him. Taikon had no interest in babying her in any way. She was a grown woman. She'd raised her own children, which was more than he could say. She was powerful, beautiful, and had been through life's infinite wringer. There was no place in her life for a person who expected obedience from her, even if that obedience meant that she might survive more easily. That much had become apparent when she had walked away from Mahler, leaving what no doubt was years of friendship and stability behind her. Taikon had to be better than that piece of shit. This was easy to do. It wasn't in his nature to force people to do much of anything, including getting her to eat.
They could go through the Vale. It was the shortest path through the mountains and required less climbing and overall travel than moving through old Sagtannet terrain did. Taikon considered the fact that Sawtooth itself might still have some meaning for Takiyok, and so he considered their options and how likely they were to run into pack wolves in either of those cases. They could even head north past the mountain, curling around it and over the mountain on a more northward angle. This would make them more likely to run into any Sagtannet chasers, but they would be further away from the canyon held by the Saints.
"What are you thinking about?"
He lifted his head, smiling pleasantly. Her voice calmed him, somehow. About what road we should take. Do you want to stop through Sawtooth? Or do you want to head straight through along the borders of the Vale? He asked, like they were making an itinerary for a tourist trip. His voice carried no worry despite them having everything to worry about.

Sawtooth was out. He grabbed the rabbit with a paw, pulling it to him and pulling apart the rest. He was not a shy eater, and he knew that she could not stomach more than the minor amount she had managed. Indeed, the Vale did seem like the best of the shitty options they could take. Taikon had never bothered with border patrolling too heavily even when he had been part of a pack. Perhaps it was because the Farukan Kingdom had other, specific roles to take care of such things. The royal family was rarely seen outside of the interior of the pack's huge territory. Thus, he wasn't concerned about being too close to borders of wolves that he was relatively confident weren't evil pieces of shit.
I don't know much of them either, but their numbers seemed thin the last I came through, he said, stopping to speak between crunching. That had been when he had also explored Sawtooth Mountain and wondered where Takiyok had gone. The Vale itself had seemed strangely absent, but he had none-the-less wandered upon its marked borders cautiously.
It'll be fine. It's not like we're staying, he said, though he honestly had no idea how a pack might react when they decided to hole up on some mountain beside their territory. He imagined they wouldn't notice at all. Actually, he was gambling on it. We just need to get through. Then we can find @Lunaria and maybe even see your daughter, he explained, unsure how she would react at the mention of Simmik. He had mentioned Lunaria in the days before, but hadn't explained much about her other than that she was a friend.

He chewed and pulled through the last of the animal. True to the nature of their kind, he was unable to savour the flavour of his catch, swallowing the majority of pieces whole. She brightened at the mention of Simmik, and he smiled as he chewed through a small bone, blinking slowly in agreement. Indeed, he would like to meet this fiery daughter that she had mentioned. Though the relationship was perhaps rather strained because she had left so early and hadn't returned to let her mother know she was okay fast enough, ambition in a young woman was a good feature. He also sort of secretly hoped that Takiyok's daughter didn't hate him the way that Stag seemed to, but that was a selfish aside.
As she stood, he watched her calmly. He swallowed the remainder of the bones and bits, and there was nothing left except some bits of fur. He swallowed again as she began to groom him. He laid still, a small, calm smile stuck on his features. These were the moments he most enjoyed. For some time, Taikon's time on his own had prevented him from being able to enjoy anything that looked like affection. His mother had never been affectionate.
A handful of women in his life had been allowed into his space. He breathed. Yes, I'm pretty sure of it, he began, continuing on. She is a wanderer, but she's heard a fair number of the stories from my life. Things I don't really tell people often. She's a good person, and I think she'd rather put herself at risk than bring harm to me. Taikon didn't think for a moment that Luna would try to wrong him, not even if she thought he had done something not great.
To be honest, he had no idea how she might react to Takiyok. The two had no reason to dislike one another. They both were honest, good-hearted women. Taikon knew from experience, however, that women could be weirdly competitive in ways he didn't always expect. Takiyok seemed too wise for that kind of shit, though. She is young. I suspect she will eventually join a pack, and perhaps want to have children at some point soon-ish. She's at that age, he said, gossiping a bit to pass the time. The way Luna had spoken the last time he'd seen her, it really seemed like that could potentially be something she wanted. He recalled her rolling about rather provocatively, though he knew she hadn't been directly flirting with him. Had he been a different, less broken person, he might have felt something of desire.

Taki seemed to trust his judgment, which he appreciated silently. As he went on, she asked him a question that triggered something of a nerve. She leaned back from him, and he blinked, immediately missing the feeling of her touch. He breathed sharply through his nose, unsure of how to answer her. The question was innocent. She couldn't know. Nobody did.
He blinked again, exhaling through his mouth slowly. There was deep, terrible pain there. He tried to focus on the now. She wasn't asking if he had children, just if he wanted them. He made a face, smiling in an unsure, scrunched way. I'm not sure, he answered truthfully. He paused for a moment before continuing, keeping his mouth open, looking for words. Then, he deflected. I don't know how to handle kids, honestly. It's been a while, he answered in a rather typical, non-answering way.
He recalled loving a little girl named Juniper. He remembered giving her a nickname. He remembered her face, her eyes. The look of despair on her face when he had told her that Aphrodite had died. She once asked him if he would leave them there, at Whitebark. Instead, her family took her away from him.
He swallowed. Taikon knew she might probe. He was okay with it.

Takiyok did pry, but in a place he was quite comfortable talking about. He relaxed again noticeably. He felt her teeth gentle on his fur again, and smiled, remembering fondly. Hehe, yeah, they weren't mine, he clarified. Kiyoshi as well had been an interesting boy who had seemed wise far beyond his years. Taikon remembered well the way he had spoken slowly and calmly, the way he asked questions and had gotten him to even talk about his mother and why he had left his pack.
In Whitebark Stream, there was little Juniper. She was aspiring to learn about herbs and healing and all that from my friend. She had her own thing going on, fiery. She would have grown up fierce. Maybe she will, he paused. He tried to remember what he had called her. Little... bush? Twig? My little scrub, he remembered, smiling wide, fast, joyfully. Even though Artyom and Dawn had taken their children far away, he hoped she might one day return. He loved that little girl.
I was really attached to her, and to Aphrodite, before things fell apart. I really thought I was home there. When Aphrodite died and the floods came it was just... I dunno, he said slowly. His eyes watered a bit as he told her, but he felt comfortable. It felt good to talk about it.

When Taki stopped, he paused, looking down, but smiling thin and calm. She apologized, and he shook his head. It wasn't like it was her fault, or really anyone's fault, that Aphrodite had died. It was the nature of things. For a long time Taikon had wanted to blame the Saints for her death, convinced that they must have had something to do with it. However, when he could find no evidence of the sort, he stopped hunting for it. It had simply been a terrible draw of the cards. Nothing more.
He hated that it was nothing more.
He nodded to her second apology. It's okay. This is just the way things are. Things don't last. He said it very calmly, but not distanced. Something about her affection had brought out this feature in him. Perhaps it was the way he had spoken of children before.
She was a good person. It wasn't even anyone's fault that she died. She just...did. Taikon said. Strangely, he felt almost positive. He was thinking more about what Aphrodite had actually brought to his life than the fact that she wasn't here anymore. You'd probably have gotten along with her. You know, if things had been different, he suggested, rather uselessly. He didn't even know if it was true. He really had never seen Aphrodite interact with women, but he liked the idea of them all randomly hanging out together just because.

Taikon knew that she had also been through the pain of change. It was the most constant thing in his life, and it never seemed to get easier to deal with. He huffed out a sigh when she said it.
When she mentioned being agreeable, he laughed audibly, softly, openly. If she had been truly agreeable, she would have watched him leave Sagtannet and stayed there with Mahler because she was too agreeable. She would have refused to join up even when she was in real trouble. She would have made different general life choices. Taikon found the very idea of it all funny and ironic.
Taikon nodded, thinking fondly of Aphrodite. She'd been a person that had made him a bit uncomfortable in some ways. But she had never ceased to amaze him in her kindness. She was the one who warned me about the Saints. Taikon said it rather off hand, not really making a point. He thought more about it, and scrunched his brow as he continued. You know I never actually met any of them. He looked at her, hoping she might divulge something.
Then, he was immediately fearful he might have triggered painful memories.

Takiyok had also been lucky enough to never actually have a run in with them, but she described the close encounter her children had. He couldn't even imagine how frightening that must have been for her to have her children at risk from those maniacs. He nodded, slowly, unsure how much he should divulge of her story. He remembered Aphrodite's tears, the rawness of her paw where she had chewed from emotional torment. She had spoken of Donovan almost fondly, at least in the sense that she did not blame him completely for what had happened. That part had never made sense to him.
Yeah, he said, looking away. Donovan, their leader. Back before they were fully formed. He.. she told me about him attacking her. About what he did to her. She told me he even apologized about it later, but I don't think a man can do something like that and be good in any sense of the word. I would kill him for it, even now. Even though she is gone, Taikon explained. He knew that it wasn't right to speak secrets of the dead, so he was careful with his working.
He looked at Takiyok, intensely, meaning his words. He knew from the stories of Donovan that he was also unlikely to be able to take such a man one on one, but if he had the power, he absolutely would kill such a creature. He was no wolf. He was no man.

Generally, it was unlike Taikon to be vengeful or violent. The exception had been after Cella had died and once more when Aphrodite had told him what happened to her. It was always the women in his life who seemed to come upon hard times. Even Takiyok, whom Taikon knew could very well take care of herself, was a person he wished to protect from such harm. Thus far, he had failed to do so for others. He couldn't even stop Aphrodite's death. He considered himself the cause of Cella's.
Taki touched him, and he leaned into it. Yeah, one day, he answered softly, though he had little faith in such an outcome. He knew that Donovan had hurt many people. It seemed likely that someone with more hatred than Taikon and Takiyok would bring the axe down at last upon the cult leader. It didn't much matter to him. He knew Aphrodite would not have wanted to see him become a killer.
Sorry, I don't mean to be such a downer, he laughed awkwardly. What were we talking about? Right, kids, he rolled his shoulders a bit, shifting the tension away, returning to something positive. Do you want them? Like.. more of them? He grinned. He liked the idea of her having children, but after the way she'd spoken of her late husband, he felt nervous to watch her grow close in that way to any man.

Takiyok was good to him. She always was able to lend an ear with whatever he needed. She had proven it when he had told her about visiting the Rusalkans, and rather than chastising him, she had simply taken in the information and lied for him when it came time to fess up. He nodded. He knew she was there for him.
Children, though was far more interesting a subject for him. Takiyok had many children, and he knew that even though they had all taken different paths, she might be feeling that itch again in the coming season. The smile that crossed her beautiful features was infectious, and his grin grew wider. Her eyes were alight with possibility, even if Stag had chosen to take a less than favourable road. When she spoke of him following Wylla, Taikon grew quiet. The smile wore away, and he sighed, looking away into the distant darkness.
You knew you couldn't change his mind. He's a stubborn guy— he paused, for she had turned her face away from him. He heard her pain. He realized that she had been holding onto this for days. So, he told her what Lunaria had once told him. Taki, you've been through a lot, but your son is important to you. Holding it in isn't going to make it heal faster. He scooted, very slightly, closer to her so that he was pushing lightly against her shoulder, leaning against her. He half expected her to move away, but it was worth the risk.
He also hated to cry in front of others. But this, for her, was gutting.

He felt her press herself into him. She was one of the most powerful women he had ever met. Gently placing his head atop hers, he held her as she let herself go at last. Part of him felt good for being able to finally pay forward what Luna had been able to do for him. This was different, though. Takiyok didn't know how to do this. He saw in her strength, but he also saw pain. It was disappointment and anguish she had been holding onto for a long time, and he knew exactly what that felt like. As Taikon felt the tears run slowly to the skin from his fur, he shut his eyes, and knew that a part of this catharsis was him seeing himself in pain for the first time. He couldn't hold it, or didn't want to, and he cried silently with her.
Breathless, she tried to apologize, and he breathed an ironic laugh, pulling her close to him as though she might slip away. If this was their nightmare, then in that moment he worried he might awaken from it. We gotta to stop apologizing to each other, he joked, his voice almost weak and shuddering as hers was. He appeared almost a mirror of her. He wanted Stag to realize that he was losing out by following that woman, and to see how much his mother loved him and cherished his company.
Finally, he relaxed a bit, but would only release when she did.