Blacktail Deer Plateau i'll take my whiskey neat

rusalka seeks @Solveig, knowing it was well past time he broached the subject of taking young arrax with him to visit their yellowstone neighbors. though rusalka was content not to make deals that he was not sure could be upheld by either side, he saw no harm in making nice with neighbors.

especially close neighbors.

he had been preparing dried meats: a bundle of river fish and some deer meet to take to them; an extension of yellowstone's own olive branch.

arrax wishes to go with me to yellowstone, rusalka speaks as way of greeting after offering his valkyrie wife a kiss on her cheek. what are your thoughts on it?

Her mate's preparatrions had not gone unnoticed, and she found contributions of her own to send with her husband in the way of a fine pine martin pelt, sleek and soft. The creature's long body, now no more than a flat, stretched pelt, could act as a pouch, for carrying other things to Yellowstone. 

Her ears pricked at the mention of their son's name. As a mother who felt it was never too early for a young one to begin contributing to the pack, she was chuffed to hear that Arrax wanted to help out. "Take him," She said, pleasantly. "I think I will take Hilda and Tyraxes to the river for fishing...And then to the hot springs as a treat if we make some good catches." She said. "It is time for them all to grow up a bit more." She said with a slight shrug.

while rusalka had not thought that solveig would be opposed to the idea, as her husband, he felt it was his duty to check with her first before assuming, even though it turned out that he was correct.

she was not perturbed by the idea and spoke of taking their other two children on a trip as well.

they will like that, the commander murmurs absently, though the smile that touches upon his lips was not absent.

i wholeheartedly agree. rusalka hums, glad that they were on the same page ( though they tended to be most of the time, if he was being honest ).

In agreements, there was left no room to dispute or argue. She smiled pleasantly as the matter was settled in seconds; one child would go with Rusalka, and she would tend to the others. Her expression became a bit more serious when she considered the pack as a whole.

”We are only a few now, husband,” She remarked. She tried to allow no dismay to show, though it was difficult. ”What do you think of it?”

the conversation makes a natural shift towards a more heavier topic: one that cannot be avoided. he, too, has noticed the dwindling of their numbers despite that ravensthorpe had never been a necessarily large pack to begin with.

perhaps it is time to heavily consider our options of merging ... or disbanding and moving our family entirely. neither were at the top of rusalka's list of things he wished to do but the children were old enough to begin contributing and he does not wish to be staring down the barrel of winter with a pack whose numbers grew thinner by the month.

Perhaps. She sighed, and leaned against her husband. For as formidable as the pair of them might have been, their pack was little more than a family band. She would have to lie if she were to say she wasn’t disappointed- but she also knew when to accept defeat.

We should think of where it is we should go. She said. And what terms we accept for the comfort of our people. I would have all suitably ranked, regardless of their novelty, and I would wish for breeding rights, for us at least.  She said. I know there are many of the Moon packs, but…I believe they are reverent in a different way. I would want our transition to be as smoothe as possible, so our children can continue to know our ways.

to his wife's conditions, rusalka gave a firm nod of agreement and lets out a low, thoughtful rumble as she leans against him. in truth, the cairn only wanted a safe place to lay his head and to raise his children: he couldn't be bothered over what rank he personally held.

hmm, he drawls. there is morningside, perhaps? i am acquainted with their leader, dutch. but in truth, rusalka doesn't know much of them aside from the fact that they may be tied to the moon villages in some capacity.

though i know nothing of them, there is the bison hunters of yellowstone. but even as he says it, he doesn't think he wants to call the place home. perhaps arrax and i can check some other nearby packs when we are traveling.

he wasn't sure what packs held claim beyond their little section of the wilds but it was time, clearly, to learn.

Morningside was a possibility, but silently she was not yet convinced. Being acquainted wasn’t enough, considering that they might have to surrender authority when they teamed up with another pack. She sighed, and went to speak- only for her husband to offer a better solution. 

I think perhaps that would be best. I trust in your judgement, and I think this is not something that we must rush. We should find the right fit, She said with a slight nod. She smiled faintly. And you will show our son how to find such things.

they are in agreements, which it was rare that they weren't. in this, rusalka is grateful that their thoughts and opinions ( most times ) aligned. besides the gravity of the situation that called for it, rusalka is looking forward to spending the time with his son. perhaps, he considers in a quick moment, when the dust of these decisions and if and when they moved settled it would be beneficial to spend one on one time with all of his children like this.

then we will prepare and set off in the morning. perhaps it was the press of knowledge that summer was rapidly coming to a close that spurs the cairn into the want to take immediate action.

"I hope we can settle by Fall," She said softly. "Before all the leaves drop. It will give us time to settle a den, make ourselves comfortable, before the ground starts to freeze but still I think, it is something that should not be rushed." She said. "Out there, will be a place for us, among others, I think. Like the many roving clans from which I come." 

The journey North to return to her homelands would take at least a year- and depending on the time of year, even longer. Their best chance would be to find somewhere local, amongst those who would take in kindly strangers.

we will, on this, rusalka is confident. he would not stop looking until they found a pack that would take their small family in. out of the many and more that inhabited the wilds, there should be at least one that would align with them. or take in a small family before the frosts came, at the very least. arrax and i will find us a home.

spoken as a vow, a promise.