Moonspear fortune definitely favored us, but no one celebrated

The howls had gone up, one after another and Amekaze had the details she needed from her dark daughter soon enough. It set her onto a fresh course to the borderlands where she did not pause any on her way, and instead moved upon the first scent laid by a former comrade, then peed all over it. The first of many. 

A piece of her had begun to anticipate this—from before, her loyalty is not to us rung clear in her head as the alpha scanned around her, looking towards where she would head next. If only she had known enough to act when the notion had first come to them. But, so much for the benefit of the doubt when everything was so unclear. Now, not only had the original two turncoats left, but two siblings she had grown very fond of vacated the mountain just like that at a time when she did not want to deal with any of it. For the mated pair, it was probably an inevitable outcome, should they have wanted to breed upon maturity; she had never been compelled to be overly generous on that and on an instinctive level, maybe they sensed it too when it was obvious only those born here came from her so far—then the no-less forgiving Cerberus set to follow in her place in her absence. But the siblings came as an unexpected addition, and not one she could easily justify in any pleasant way, especially when thinking of Rannoch and Liffey's role in it.

But so be it. Amekaze found the execution of it all juvenile, messy, and ruled by matters not bound in sound logic so she (very set in her ways) carried on much the same as she did with or without those who would disrupt her. Now she would have to vet the remainders to ensure they were even worth traipsing on her mountain's dirt at all. Starting now, with her mercy for a chance to leave freely with the defectors timing out, she'd weed out the rest if she had to. She had no patience, no interest, and nothing but a wicked hunger for everything she could sink her teeth into. She roved on, half on guard, half on the hunt as she sniffed out what else she needed to know.

set for after the dudes all have left. cameo posts encouraged or come join her a little, i do not mind!! i'll be pitching jarilo in too later :D

Hydra was done with it all—with fake friendships and with loyalty to any other than her blood and pack. Those not of her blood who joined after the incident would be faced with a more aloof Hydra, a Hydra more like her mother, perhaps. The invisible wounds left behind by Terance she hoped would not scar; she did not desire to think on him any longer than she needed to, now. He used Lyra as an excuse to leave, his love for her, it hurts too much she doesn't love me too, and took the cowards way out if it all. Well, now he would certainly never have her love. In fact, now he would have its polar opposite.

She seethed as she moved through the wood. Her disposition was the very same of her mother, who she came upon. There was an ire not for her present in her aura, one she wanted to unleash. Terance and Wraen had been a true surprise for her, too. She had thought that she and Terance would grow gray and old together (in that amicable way); he had been a part of her future thoughts. To omit him from them was something she was working on. Soon enough, he would be entirely past tense.

The scent of her mother was strong here. Hydra paused, wondering if she was coming this way or if she had already passed through, nose pressing to the base of a shrub to find her answer with one ear cocked backward to listen for her approach.

Here, have a one-post cameo!

Considering he knew little to nothing of the undercurrents that had washed away half the pack, Dune was more blind-sided than the rest when he discovered that half the pack had packed their figurative bags. Wraen and Terance, two wolves that he was just getting to know, along with Rannoch and Liffey, had left. He supposed he had not been close enough to any of them to warrant a goodbye from any of them, which was a shame. He had liked them—at least enough to consider them potential friends—and Wraen had made a fine hunting partner.

Judging by the tone of the voices that called out, many of the nuclear pack was distraught, angry, and sad with these departures. Dune thought back to when he had first come to them seeking a place among their ranks, which had not been that long ago. Charon had warned him that he expected loyalty for what seemed like forever, and for a moment, Dune wondered what sort of feelings would be put upon him if and when he ever decided to leave. Would they feel the same way, no matter his reasons? Considering he did not know the reasons for those who had left, it was likely he never would. He would not want to bring up such a delicate subject to anybody.

There were good things about this, though. Provided he stayed—which was the plan—this would put Dune in a good position. He would have fewer wolves above him to impress, fewer wolves to prove himself loyal to. Perhaps this was a good thing. Then he remembered the gift, and he stopped to scratch at it. Maybe the gift had some part in this. Maybe it was helping him, but not without cost. Then again, what in this world came without cost?

Dune furrowed his brow, trying to work through all these thoughts when he came across Amekaze on the prowl. He stopped where he was, flattened his ears, wagged his tail, and said all he needed to in those movements. When he passed by Hydra only a few minutes later, he did the same, passing her a sympathetic look, but also one that exuded his own stance: he was not going with them.

From a steadily decreasing distance, he trailed after Hydra, who was leading him to mama too. This realization, once he had caught on, had him really curious then. Things had been changing lately.. he could feel it in the fibers of almost every interaction around here, but never had the inexperienced boy been able to place the sentiment to something actually tangible. But he had heard the howls. He wasn't completely unaware of what had gone on, although he did not understand why.

Since he did not know how to react, he would take to observing the others in the meantime. Right now, it was what had him tracking along the borderlands, where he had grown more confident by the day, but he sensed it quickly that this was different. Scents were thick, heavier.. firm in what they were here to convey. He was even a little set on edge by the message, and he lived here. In fact, he could scarcely imagine otherwise.  Yet through this all, he was trying to interpret it--from his stance, to what it meant going forward for him. He was sad about no longer having Rannoch and Terance to patrol with, or even Wraen to critter-patrol alongside. He was going to miss that sorely and maybe the magnitude of it all hadn't fully set in on him, either..

After picking up his pace, he managed to catch up to Hydra first and hung back at a comfortable jog a few lengths from her. He didn't say anything, although flashed her a look with his ears fanned out while he showed her that he was here to join in on her marking (and hopefully finding out what mama was up to, too).

Ears perked forward as he saw Amekaze in the distance... Or so he thought. Realising it was Hydra Charon startled a bit, but as he looked 'round it seemed that nobody had seen him (not that it was likely they'd have been able to determine anything from his face, as this was all mostly an internal process). It was like seeing your child and suddenly realising that they were a grown-up adult now, which was shocking. They'd always been his little princesses still, even if they were mature and self-sufficient. But today he realised that they were also women.

Jarilo, who meandered after Hydra, was definitely not in the grown-up-man stage and Charon chuffed at them both as he approached, then continued on to find Amekaze. The blood of Liffey was still fresh on his tongue, a bitter taste he would not soon forget, and all he wanted right now was to be with the loyal wolves of his pack — with his family — so that he could forget the sting of betrayal if only for a moment.

She moved on. Simple as that, and marked the next spot she found that she didn't like with the loud message of my mountain and caution: moody bitch because anyone with a nose was going to catch on by now. What worked with her and her needs was all she wanted to care about right now. When she spotted Dune, she paused to give him a knowing (secretly pleased) nod, and was quickly on her way.

So far, no traitors had dared to show themselves where she could find them.. only those who would be staying. She was too sour about all of this to be properly grateful right this instant, but it would be seen in due time.

Her tail stayed risen to an arc and she finally slowed up at the next invisible mark that irritated her. Instead of instantly going on, she went to stalling along to mark some more (because she may as well put an overactive bladder to good use) around the area when she knew her family was closing in on her. This time she would let them.. she needed to know they were taking this well. They were all far closer to the deserters than she ever would have been.

Hydra paused to linger at one of her mothers markers. The scent was distinctly different, yet in a familiar way. It meant that come Springtime, there would be more Ostrega's. She hoped one of them would be competent enough to become her true shadow. Jarilo had a personality she enjoyed, but her high expectations were a tall order—even the ones to come might not be able to fulfill her dream. Hydra continued forward and noted Dune who passed her by. She nipped him fondly in passing; she did appreciate his staying, and as he moseyed past her, Hydra's eyes lingered for a minute too long on his fine hindquarters. They had really filled out since his arrival. 

To do list: hang with Dune, soon. 

She continued on the way to her mother, who she noted in the distance standing there. Waiting for her, surely and—as she now scented the air—her father. Her tail waved. Her sour mood was lifted instantaneously as she closed the distance. Terance, Rannoch, Liffey, Wraen—they were just lame disappointments. Why should she care for wolves who could be her friend one minute and try and sully her name the next? Fairweather friends were not what she sought. Hydra looked forward to the cosmic karma that was coming for them. Hydra herself would push that envelope to ensure they received it. Lord knew she was impatient to see results, precisely when she wanted them. She could not believe she had ever held Terance in such high esteem. If he really had talked to Rannoch, she knew his defense would be pathetic. How? 

Because he left. He was still willing to go with a man of that fickle nature. 

Next wolf she saw being left for dead, she would just leave it. Hydra had learned her lesson. Let corpse-to-be be a corpse; their existence otherwise would be useless, far more trouble than it was worth, and they'd take what you gave them and run away with it. Run away, because at the end of the day they're cowards. 

God, she hated cowards. Scum of the earth. But that was Liffey and Rannoch defined—shit, even Terance and Wraen. Well, obviously. What was it they said... your friends are a reflection of who you are? Lame and pathetic, lame and pathetic, lame and pathetic, and lastly, lame and pathetic—

An exhale of relief came from this cathartic thought process. She was feeling better as she sidled alongside her mother with a waving plume.

Jarilo greeted his father with some low, happy growls and fell quickly back into step trying to keep pace with Hydra. Now together, he felt pretty assured about this, and anything they'd want to accomplish as a little family unit like this.

They trailed along and soon, very distinct darkness appeared ahead. Warily, some of his hackles wanted to rise at the sight, but with the company of his sister and dad near, he was a bit more bolstered to face her than he might be otherwise. Unease filtered fast into excitement to see their dam, and he pranced along lightly to join her side as well, opposite Hydra and further back until he darted in to lick at her chin. Things were different, he'd sensed, and he was sure to be extra mindful and sweet lest he wanted to test the range of her bite today. His tail swept faster and faster while he eagerly awaited any of her attentions returned to him.

When she moved away, he nip-licked fondly at Hydra's chin some too.. then, he danced lightly back towards Charon to listen to everything going on between, and around too.

It felt good to move up to Amekaze and complete the picture there. He was so ready to leave the traitors behind, all of them, and move on. Wolves'd left before, but never had he had such ignorant respectless traitors — well, none that he hadn't murdered, anyway. How could he not have seen what was right beneath his eyes? But there was no time to dwell, now. It just proved that beside his family there were little wolves he could trust. Gannet was still here, which proved something to Charon, at least.

Deciding to shed the wounds they'd left behind Charon caught up with Hydra and Jarilo as they moved in beside Amekaze. The urge to dismiss Jarilo from Amekaze's side hadn't completely vanished but he knew the boy was no longer of any threat now and so Charon, somewhat uncharacteristically, selflessly allowed his children to take places alongside his mate while he stayed on the other side of Jarilo, content to take the back seat for once.

She welcomed them, even Jarilo, although much of her attentions did settle upon Hydra over him first. Ame's ears swung outwards for a moment, and she curved herself against her daughter enough to run her muzzle through her fur. She kept it brief, keeping to motion as well as she slid around to now regard the son. Less so, she bumped her snout against his, then his shoulder, before setting her sights fondly onto Charon.

Plenty of times before, it had been a little like this. In the face of everything that didn't adhere to their logic, it always seemed to boil down to the three of them--alphas and their dark daughter. The addition of the spry son, while not unnoticed, was not what she was used to.. but he was growing, and wanting to show them that he could rally too. For now, feeling protective of the whole lot, she embraced it. She chuffed lowly again, tapering to a rumble, and just wanted them all here with her.

Most of all, and since Charon didn't come with immediate reach of her attentions, she turned to take this out on Hydra with more rough nuzzles against her neck. Before she tipped towards a hint of a heavier subject, she flashed Jarilo a pointed look. He wasn't as dull as his attitude could suggest but this could be his first real taste of this.. any of it. "No new deserters, right?" she drawled, wanting to steer it towards a snarl almost as she directed it towards her fellow leaders. Her tone was clear.. expectations were awfully low and she was not as close to the pack lately as others. "I suppose we got a lot of spring cleaning done early this year," she sneered, derisive in the next lick of her lips. Wherever she'd picked up the phrase, she couldn't say. The coming spring certainly felt like a good time to welcome in the new, the fresh, and move on forward with the flow.

To her belief, they were better off. Strong, adaptable, and by now, very keen, she hoped this spring would be a great one for her family of Ostregas--especially without cloudiness to impede them now.

Hydra had inherited her mothers rough brand of affection, and so administered each nip and nudge in turn—and she grinned broadly toward her father as he came to meet them. The Beta moved to nip her younger brothers ear, her gaze upon him calculating. Now that he was growing older, surely he would grow wiser. He had spent plenty of time in the company of the soft Rannoch—she hoped his edges were not round. If they were, she would sharpen them. Galaxy had been soft. Korei Julia, too. Vela had only some edge, and even that Hydra was not certain could ever be counted on. Perhaps Drogon would make it so. 

Her mothers words were heeded initially with a slow rotation of one ear. Hydra turned her head toward her, and her gaze shifted to her father. Hydra had briefed them on every cowardly word Rannoch had uttered. The shit his wolf-centipede counterpart had placed into his mouth that he spewed the instant they were detached. Well, when one swallowed enough toxic, it was only a matter of time before it was projected. 

It is good they are gone. They would not have protected the future. They had no desire to truly protect our present, She acknowledged, now circling protectively around Jarilo. Vela and Jarilo were the last two they had left of her parents latest litter. Hydra imagined that the very instant Liffey and Rannoch left, they sought the man that let her sister die. That fled from her corpse. It sickened her. What was worse—she saw Terance, warming up to the yellow-bellied, one-eyed bastard. Wraen, Rannoch, Terance—wolves she had been nothing but honest and protective toward. Wolves she had thought to trust. Wolves that she now knew were liars. Even Liffey she had been kind toward. Stupid bitch. 

Hydra had regrets. Kindness toward every single one of them was among them. Friendship was exhausting, and evidently pointless work; she had needed to hold back her own desires in consideration of them. Well, she would not make the same mistake twice. 

She looked at Jarilo. Their kindness—it was all a lie. A ruse. Perhaps to keep their cowardly friend alive, she thought aloud. To distract us. Well, it had worked then. Friendship had put an effective muzzle upon her and kept her at a peaceful heel. But they took that all with them. None of them could hope to be spared if they came too near to Moonspear again. She nipped Jarilo with a rough fondness. Family is all we can truly trust and count on, as he himself surely saw.

It was easy for him to find the simple route and beam thankfully in the company of his family, if only for a second. More exposure kept steady got him listening better than ever before. His mother's attentions were cherished, then Hydra's followed, even if hers were punctuated with some heavy looks his way that seemed to be sizing him up, or appraising him. Not knowing the fullest extent of it, he blinked and stayed quiet, after trying to reciprocate what affections he could, when he could.

But his ears tilted forward then back. His mother spoke cryptically, which although that was nothing new, it slowed the wave to his tail and Hydra seemed to echo the sentiment. With her words echoing over and over in his head, Jarilo watched her circle. He started to puff up a little ridge of his hackles, with a new, mischievous look threatening his edges just barely.. but he kept it measured thanks to the heaviness he felt for the subject. Still uncertain, though, he stayed mindful. The boy tried to channel this into standing proud among them too, although his presence paled compared to his older company. Still, he was here, and determined to understand all that he could.

He still did not understand the full motives of those who left and he might never. To him, they had been good wolves. Friends "It doesn't make sense that they would even care about some coward, especially more than their pack. Why bother?" he asked, not needing a real answer. Family was emphasized to him once more.. to which he nodded deeply. That made perfect sense, unlike the rest.

oops didn't realise it was my turn!

Charon remained silently by their side, keeping an eye on the outside of the group as if standing sentinel for them so that they could relax. He vaguely followed the conversation that went on between them but did not add any more than a few agreeing humms to their statements. He felt distraught and thought of the sting of betrayal, but also thought of the wolves left behind; their loyalty now counted double to him.

Hydra echoed her sentiments, validating every venomous thought. Her hackles bladed up further, and more and more by the instance, that feeling of good riddance settled as she passed a glance around to prized wolves of her life. "Sickening cowards, the whole lot of them," she hissed, from Titmouse's beginnings to her whole lot of fresh deserters, she had nothing but disappointment. "It was probably only a matter of time, but still.." she scoffed and rolled her eyes, showing her unspoken distaste then that way. Once she had wanted to think better of them, especially Terance and Wraen, but low and behold.. so Amekaze was quick to turn her nose up to all of them, and hope nature culled the weak like it ought to--and let them see how it is when a daughter of theirs dies suddenly, and when a whole family and pack is there to protect when matters go awry. She had her faith that their weak-willed hearts would do them in somewhere down the line.

As for family, she rumbled in agreement. It was paramount, now more than ever. She eyed Charon standing guard the longest.. as he would know, then fondly back to their sharp offspring. "We are better off." she concluded with a deep nod. She waved her lifted tail, and let some of the weightiness of the conversation sway away; right now, it was really time to move on without them and get back to how things were here. Happily they would rally, and more scheming could come later. For now, she wanted to just shake the weight of despair.

Spring ought to be a time of renewal for them, she believed. They stood poised for something more, together, and Ame had her faith in her own here. Although their numbers thinned, she wasn't all too bothered--because of these trusted few she had surrounded herself with, and even raised up herself by now. She knew they would all have a busy spring no matter what and among it all, she intended to have their strength absolutely unquestioned here.