Duck Lake lord and one day i come home to find

true to his word, the next morning found thorn at the spot he and @Ruenna had convened. a cold fog had rolled in over the lake, obscuring visibility to the point where thorn felt apprehensive and vulnerable in the thick mist. 

he waited, silent but alert — the wind was not in his favor and as he hunkered down under the arm of a snow-blanketed conifer, he resentfully noticed a new shift of fog drifting towards him. 

thorn wished for this covert meeting to be swift and uneventful — but as the minutes dragged on he began to wonder if perhaps ruenna had changed her mind.

Rue was not a wolf who minded the fog. The pale coloration of her coat blended seamlessly with blurred, washed-out surroundings, and when Rue moved through the mist she felt more or less blanketed in invisibility. It was if she observed the outside world through a glass window, taking in her changing surroundings from a position of complete safety and anonymity.   

Rue drifted in toward the lake much like one of the low-rolling clouds, silent and steady. Thorn's dark, towering form was easy to spot through the haze, and Rue was quite glad to lay eyes upon the man. He was her newest friend, her packmate, and perhaps most of all-- a reminder of all the better times that lay ahead.

Rue's difficult goodbyes had left her heart hurting, aching for a happy distraction. "Morning," Rue chimed as she glided up, surprising herself by the amount of cheer in her own voice. She felt lighter and more optimisitic with every pawstep she took away from Swiftcurrent Creek.

Rue nudged companionably against Thorn's shoulder. "Should we get a move on, or...?" ..Or, were they waiting for anyone else? Thorn's courtship of Aria had not escaped Rue (or anyone in the Creek, for that matter) and Rue wondered if she might not be the only Creek wolf to which Thorn had made some kind of recruitment offer.

a buzzing unease had settled over thorn, thick as the fog that hindered his vision. 

he was on edge as he saw a wraith part from the mist - recognizing it belatedly as the slender form of ruenna. rising quickly from the pine straw, he met her with a wag of his tail, noticing she was moving as if suddenly unburdened from an impossibly heavy weight. 

sniffing the air cautiously, thorn nodded and started to move off. morning. glad you came.

Rue drew up beside Thorn as he began to move in the direction of Diaspora. Being a wolf who preferred to look a conversation partner in the face while speaking, Rue would keep close to Thorn until the morning sun banished the fog.

"You thought I might not?" Rue questioned, one eyebrow quirking upward in amusement. With a sigh, she continued, "If you thought that, then you don't know the true state of things in Swiftcurrent Creek." She shook her head, glad to be leaving it behind.

Constantine and Soltero seemed like good wolves, and it was a shame that they would have to deal with the mess that the Plateau refugees' arrival seemed to have created. Rue would take comfort in the fact that she had perhaps been the least messy of all the Plateau wolves, and she reminded herself once again that it was not her responsibility to clean up after the mistakes of the others.

thorn slowed his pace as ruenna nimbly rose to his side, allowing her the chance to travel shoulder to shoulder. he kept his strides short to accomodate her attempt to catch up, and as she did so he managed a wry glance out of the corner of his eyes.

in truth he had not lost faith in ruenna's resolve -- rather, he had considered that perhaps she might be prohibited from accompanying him. to her question, he gave only a rolling shrug of a powerful shoulder.

"it was not a fear of mine." he answered in turn, sparing her another brief glance as they prowled through the snow-laden thicket. "but rather, i wondered if your alpha might have devised the means to stop you. but i do not know the state of your creek. perhaps you can tell me while we make it to the lake."

Rue huffed in amusement. "If that was my alpha's intention, he wouldn't have a leg to stand upon." It was Kavik's actions that had ultimately driven Rue from the Creek. Upon Myrren's request, Rue hadn't brought her immense disappointment with Kavik up to him directly-- but he had to know. Deep in his heart, he had to know why Rue could hardly look him in the eye when she said her goodbyes. 

"My former alpha betrayed his mate-- a dear friend of mine-- by impregnating another. The mother-to-be is also a friend, and she is devastated." Rue shook her head. If Kavik had been looking for one thing he could do to hurt as many people as possible, that was it. "If his own marriage vows mean nothing, then so too do any vows of loyalty I made to him and his pack." As she said before, he had no leg to stand upon.

as thorn walked besides ruenna, the pair made their way up the slight ascent that marked the first range before arrow lake. thorn’s expression seemed to only cloud as ruenna spoke, elaborating on the true reasons she had been driven from the creek. 

if what she said was true (which thorn believed wholly she was) then the affairs of the creek were worse off than he suspected. 

he grunted as he he pulled himself over a ledge, considering all that had been told. a wolf that does not honor his vows is not a wolf worth being honored. he affirmed, turning his head slightly to view his svelte comrade. but i think i met the woman you speak of.

A wolf that does not honor his vows is not a wolf worth being honored. Even though Thorn was simply restating the opinion Rue had already voiced, it stung somehow to hear the sentiment spoken back to her. Perhaps it was because she still thought of Kavik as a friend, even after everything. Or perhaps she was simply frustrated with herself for wasting so much time on a wolf with so little honor, as Thorn phrased it. 

"Oh?" Rue answered, meeting Thorn's gaze as he turned the conversation to Myrren. She felt the need to apologize to Thorn on behalf of Myrren for what was likely a not-so-fun meeting between the two of them. "She.. hasn't really been herself lately--" For obvious reasons. "--But she's a good wolf. I wish she could have come with me to Diaspora. I hated leaving her back there with those.. those people." It was a disasterous state of affairs she had left behind in Swiftcurrent Creek. Thorn, so far, hardly knew the half of it.

for a while after ruenna had finished speaking, thorn was silent. he was giving careful thought to the wolves that ruenna had justifiably left behind. he did not blame the blackbird he had met for being so disconsolate; many times, thorn had praised whatever gods be for him being born the wrong gender to suffer through childbirth.

he supposed if it came to it,  ruenna could still visit the wolves she had left behind; arrow lake was not so far from swiftcurrent creek and if the mood ever struck her to revisit past wounds. no doubt, it had not been an easy decision for ruenna to sever her ties with her friends..

"did you know her well?" he inquired, a flick of his tail given to imply the casual nature of his question -- if she did not wish to oblige to his prying, thorn was content to walk in silence instead.

"Hmm. Not especially, I suppose," Rue answered thoughtfully. She suspected that her strong feelings for Myrren generated from a protective instinct leftover from her old Beta position. "She was one of my subordinates in the Plateau, and I still feel a.. a responsibility to her, I think." Rue took her next dozen-or-so paces in silence, contemplating that emotion. It seemed to her that the role of a leader was most akin to that of a servant... the higher she rose, the more of herself she felt she owed to those who followed. 

Rue shook her head, ready to dismiss the subject. They had spoken at length of the difficulties that had driven Rue to Diaspora, but Rue knew very little of what Thorn had left behind in coming to his new family. It was now her turn to do the prying. "What brought you to Diaspora, Thorn?" Rue asked in the same casual tone the man had just employed.

ruenna divulged a sense of responsibility kept her tied to the creek -- or specifically, a subordinate. for a while they walked in silence, and thorn accepted the quiet with the same measured grace in which he had accepted and understood her wish she could have brought the blackbird along with her.

comfortable in the tranquility that ensued, thorn did not say anything -- until ruenna spoke again, questioning his reason for arriving at diaspora. he answered easily enough, providing just enough detail that he appeared less cryptic than simply a man in favor of speaking little: "necessity, at first. i grew up in the mountain range just beyond the teekon, and was at the age where it was natural to branch out. so i did - with three siblings that each have found their own place along the way. but now i stay for the security. the sense of belonging."

Thorn seemed to be a wolf that did not require constant conversation, and this was a quality that Ruenna greatly appreciated. She also enjoyed their long moments of contemplative silence. It felt to her as if she was growing lighter with every step she took away from Swiftcurrent Creek. 

Thorn provided a small piece of his backstory, and Rue nodded along. "So presumably there are other Eyjolfurs somewhere in the Teekon?" she deducted. It was a question that could be answered with a simple yes or no, but it would also invite Thorn to share more about his family if he wished.

for some time they traveled in silence, each examining their own thoughts at ease. thorn, much like ruenna, did not indeed need the constant stimulus of conversation -- and his pace only slowed once he heard ruenna speak once more.

her question certainly could have been answered with a simple yes or no, but in truth, thorn had not much considered his sibling's welfares beyond an occasional, casual wonder of how they were doing. he was confident they were all still alive and perfectly fine, for they were a hardy and tough brood -- him being a perfect example.

"my siblings, at the very least. though i know not of where they settled." he took a few steps before speaking again, for he was distacted by how near they were to arrow lake now -- certainly he noticed the renewed lightness of ruenna's steps. "what about yourself?"

Their pace seemed to be slowing, which told the perceptive lady that the body of water coming into view was likely to be Arrow Lake, their destination. Thorn returned her question, which probably should not have come as a surprise to Rue since it was in keeping with the natural flow of casual conversion. However, Rue found herself somewhat unprepared to provide her own answer.

"Oh, ah.." she trailed off vaguely, eyes sweeping the territory she would soon call home. "Similar circumstances, I suppose," she finally said. It wasn't altogether untrue-- she had departed Red Fern Grove when she had reached the typical dispersal age, after all. She had simply dispersed less, ah, willingly than Thorn and his siblings had when they departed their birthland. 

Rue swallowed. "It would have been nice to have company back then, when I was first setting out." Thorn was lucky to have had siblings along for the ride. "I've never liked being on my own," she admitted.

there was more to the story from what thorn could tell, but he did not push for answer. if ruenna was ready, she would have divulged it.

he walked another few steps in silence, digesting her admission that she was not one for solitude. he hardly blamed her; it was natural to seek the company of ones own kind -- without a pack, a wolf was very little, and those kind of wolves, wildmen and curs alike, were oft better avoided.

"there is no shame in that." thorn said, overlooking the lake that glittered below - the sheen of the sun glinting across its icy surface. "for lone wolves rarely survive long.." he took a deep breath, surveying the packlands with a detached fondness. "well, this is it."

Rue nodded along with Thorn's assessment. She was a walking contradiction, she supposed-- reserved and soft-spoken, but craving company and conversation. Rue thought there was a quiet dignity in the life of a lone wolf, and she respected the choice while fully knowing it was one she would never willing make for herself. 

Rue's honey-brown eyes swept the landscape, her third home in as many months. At present, the territory was little more than a sea of snow and ice. Rue wondered if Diaspora would still be here when the earth warmed and the colors broke free from winter's frozen captivity.

"Thank you, Thorn," Rue said quietly, her gaze still drinking in their surroundings. Tonight, they would settle down somewhere in these lands, and Rue would fall asleep to the breathing and beating hearts of the wolves who would soon become her family. Rue took a resolute step forward, knowing it was time to meet her future. 

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