Nimbus Summit this is the united nations space command

following a trend that appears to have plagued the week, the morning is overcast. heavy with the scent of coming rain upon the wind. arius misses the glacier with a palpable ache in his chest; misses the ease in which he could visit the grave of wintersbane and tzila. like leaving it behind was like leaving them behind, casting out their final memory like they'd so easily changed the pack's name; like the tide washing away footprints.

despite how arius tries not to let these poisonous thoughts find a home in his mind; they persist.

he feels unapologetically, and slowly these ugly feelings and thoughts were morphing into budding resentment.

to try to head this and his thoughts off: arius turns to the borders again; forcibly blocking out the homesickness that takes center stage next in the every day miasma of emotions he fights off.

Arius was not the only wolf who walked the borders that day.

Issorartuyok lifted his head, dark face turned to the west. A flock of birds flew over his head and into the blue of the sky. The northerner scanned the territory that ran off the mountain. It was here that his gaze found the figure of the Duskfire boy. Arius, Ensio’s brother, had been quiet for some time. The older man could not help but feel that it was because he had been forced to deal with a large amount of change in a short time, but he did not suspect that there were ill feelings toward the changes they had made for the better of the village.

The northerner approached the younger shape, chuffing before he drew too near.

Arius, his voice broke the air, it is good to see you.

if anything, arius' visceral reactions to everything happening to him at break neck speed — as well as going thru his 'teenage' era — only proves his youth and ignorance that comes with it. to him, this feels like a personal attack, like wintersbane was out of sight and out of mind now that he was dead and that what remained of the legacy he built for his children was the current leaders' to change as they wished.

logically, this doesn't make sense; but in arius' hormonal mind: it makes perfect sense.

presently, he was a beast governed by instinct and high strung emotions as opposed to logic.

though it does not surprise arius to have come across issorarturok on the borders, it admittedly does nothing for his mood. frostbound gaze darkens and he considers turning 'round and going a different way. any way that the current alpha wasn't going. but he does not. he faces the current alpha with chin high, despite that this itineration of duskfire was no longer his birthright.

pretending that he was okay with everything happening had been a poor choice, in hindsight; too little, too late now. arius is quiet for a moment longer, considering how truthful he wanted to be during his first real conversation with the alpha.

several replies bubble to the tundrian's tongue: the snarkiest being along the lines of i doubt it; but the insincerity was arius' perception and nothing else. trying to disassociate himself from his assumptions and emotions is hard, but he makes an honest effort in the here and now.

hey. the teenage tundrian offers simply; failing at what else he could say in the moment.

The pale boy offered only one word in response. It took several seconds to fall from his lips, too. Issorartuyok wondered if there was more than met the eye with Arius. Everything that had happened to the boy and his family had been difficult. These were things that could not be softened, not with the words of a man who stepped into Arius’ father’s role and then moved their people across the wilds to another territory.

Issorartuyok did not want the boy to feel that there was animosity. He wanted Arius to feel that he was supported by their group, by the entirety of the village. They had come from the same place. The northerner would not have asked them to move if they had not been forced to do so. These conversation pieces could be addressed later, he thought.

It is a difficult thing to leave one’s home. I wish we did not have to. I know the glacier was dear to you and to your brother Ensio, the man offered softly. The dark brown of his eyes was held gently to the younger figure’s features. Issorartuyok did not know how Arius might take his words. I believe you are strong. I believe that you will have the future you desire. The strength in your heart shows me this.

The northerner only hoped that Arius might see it for himself.