Stone Circle Every story has its scars

@Kove because I can now <3 <3

Valette had some extra time now the pups became more independent. She carried a rabbit in her maw, she was still caring by nature. Hence why the female decided to visited her father. There had been visits here in there but never long enough that she didn't have a pup crisis in between or having someone else needing her attention. Plus, with the recent Xan visit she had been curious about Xan as well. What happened between the father and son? She also was not sure how her brother was taking her siding with Indra and Laurel.

"Hi, Dad," she smiled, once she found him and placed the meal by his feet. She was glad for Kove joining Easthollow. At least she got to spend some time with her father and she felt that he was very good for her children as well. If you told her a few years she would be in the same pack as her father and sharing a meal she would have declared that wolf crazy. She sat down with a kind smile. "I kind of wanted to spend some time with you today, if that is okay."

Leaves that were once varying shades of vibrant green were gradually changing into the bold, warm colours of fall. There were not many just yet, only a few here and there, but for as minimal as the shift was he had taken notice; it was time for the temperatures to drop, another change in the seasons that he was to live through. Heaving a heavy sigh, he settled back on his haunches and gazed upwards, wondering how long it would be now until the snow returned. Would this year be just as unusually cold—for him—this year, as it had the last? This thought he pondered whilst simultaneously cursing his aging body, up until the sound of approaching footfalls drew his attention off of the matter.

Valette’s form became apparent as she neared and he smiled in response to her approach. It felt like ages since they had last been able to sit and truly speak without any interruptions, so he was particularly glad that she’d sought him out. “Hello,” he returned before glancing at the rabbit and adding, “You should keep this for the children to help them grow. I can already feel that winter’s just around the corner.” His grandchildren were his priority now, which meant ensuring that they received more food than what was truly necessary—the more fat they had on their bodies, the warmer they would be throughout the winter, after all.

“Âha, of course that is okay.” As he spoke, he adjusted his position so that he was sitting up and facing her, weary eyes holding a glimmer of attentiveness yet. “PiKutenngai? Suguset?” he asked, then followed it up with, “How are you? How are the children?” He hoped they were all well, especially little Leta—at such a young age, she had already experienced so much. He hoped, for her sake, that the rest of her life would lack such extreme situations.

Valette shook her head and insisted that the rabbit would be for him. She pushed it closer to her father again. He was important as well. He should have fat on his bones as well this winter. "Have you seen them recently, they have more than enough fat," she hummed. They really were some plump pups. "I want them to be a little hungry to spark more interest in their hunting lessons." Valette had been keen on learning them to hunt and have a good drive for it. But if her children weren't so hungry they seemed to be less focussed on getting it right. It was about the details after all. "I insist you will eat it."

She was glad that she was greeted by a smile though and that it was okay for her to talk with him. Her brows furred when he spoke some words she didn't understand. The tones sounded familiar but she never knew the meaning of them. She had been separated from him before she could learn. When he repeated it in words she could understand her face lightened up in understanding. "I am good. The first few months after birth are always hectic," she admitted. But, she considered herself an experienced mother after three litters. This one had been the most demanding until now. She could pack a few more pounds for winter herself.

"They are good. Leta is mostly recovered but of course, the attack changed her," Valette sighed. "Greyback and I have been working hard to keep them as plump as they can be and teach them the right lessons. It helps to have a mate with it all," she admitted. "Newt is so smart, he is so eager to learn. West is wild but had a good heart. And well, Clay..." She had to stop for a moment. "I don't know, he has been very stubborn about things. He isn't so happy go lucky as the others and I don't know why. But we love him of course. Deeply, so I don't know why he acts unhappy," she sighed. "But how are you? Have you heard who visited our borders recently?"

She insisted that the children were plump enough as it is and that he should have the rabbit. Although he still was not entirely convinced, her remark about their hunting lessons was reasonable enough that he complied. “Alright, alright. Thank you,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Perhaps I can help with their hunting lessons. I think I still have a good few runs left in me.” More so since children were often taught with small game. Besides, it felt like ages since he’d last had the opportunity to safely partake in a hunt of any kind, large or small, with others; tracking and killing small game for one’s self just wasn’t something he felt he could count as a legitimate hunt. However she may respond, he respected her reasoning anyways and tore into the rabbit, starting from the abdomen and working his way into the thorax. Although small, the skull was still harsh enough that he left it behind, along with any hide that was easily stripped of meat alone.

As her brows furrowed he realised the error in his words, the language lost on her. He offered an apologetic smile after the fact and silently reminded himself to be more mindful; as he aged, however, it was not as easy as it once was to keep the languages separated. Despite having been taught both at around the same time, Kove had spent his developmental years up north, surrounded by family members—some of which only knew the northern language, having never taken the time to learn the common tongue. Still, he would try. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing well,” he commented, mind coming back into focus on the conversation at hand. “If there’s anything I can do to help, at any time, please let me know. I would like to do all that I can here. You and your children deserve at least that much.” He had a lot to make up for—and he wanted to be a part of the lives of his grandchildren.

The children were doing well, a comment that brought a wide, joyous smile to his face. Leta had endured so much in just a moment’s worth of time but, thankfully, she was still with them. “Something like that has a way of changing us, especially children,” he commented. “But she will grow from it, I am sure. It will be a thing of the past in no time.” He hoped. He hoped she would not carry it with her throughout her life, not when she had so much living ahead of her still. If anyone could help her through it, he was sure it would be Valette—she had all of her mother’s best qualities, after all. “It’s good you have someone to help you.” He wished he could have been the same figure all those years ago, back when it really mattered the most. But he was glad that the same fate that befell his own children would not carry over to his grandchildren. His grandchildren—

“They sound like they’re all coming into their own,” remarked the elder. They were all well, yet she still seemed concerned for young Clay. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that she worried for her son per se, only that the reasoning behind it was not something that he, personally, would be bothered by. “All children are different,” he said. “Sometimes their environment does not matter when it comes to how they behave. But I’m sure he will grow out of it.” And if he didn’t… well, Kove assumed that would be a bridge they’d cross if they came to it. His children were all gone now, many having either paid him no attention or having been taken from him before they could, but he’d been around pups enough to understand that they were all vastly different. Even those born from the same womb and raised alongside one another, under the very same conditions, could end up mirror opposites. That was just how children were—some acted as their parents believed they should, whereas others did not. He’d learned long ago that it was best to not try and change them one way or the other.

“I’m well,” he continued with, answering her query. “For the first time in years, I feel like I can breathe freely.” Every choice he made, every step he took—none of it was watched. No longer did the Inuk spend his life wondering what lurked in the shadows or who was lingering at his hocks, just waiting to knock him down and take over. The discord that he had spent so long living with was but a distant memory now, gradually being replaced by new, lighter experiences. Finally, he could say that he was happy. “But no, I did not hear about it,” was his response that followed. “Who was it?” Had he missed out on something? He could not recall having heard a summoning to defend the land, so he hoped it was not someone whose presence he should have met.

Valette smiled at the suggestion of there father helping with hunting lessons. "I like that idea. Probably you would demand more respect from them. With me I am the one that always teaches them about hunting." It wouldn't be bad for the pups to have another tutor that would also discipline them well. Valette nodded. "I will let you know, but I also feel that you should take it easy and do enjoy your old age," she smiled at him, perhaps a bit teasingly because she called him old. Then again, he was old.

Valette nodded as Kove gave some wisdom about children and how they would grow from events in their youth and how when they were older they might be different in personality. This was very true. She had seen it with her other children. She just hoped that all four would make it. She didn't want to lose another child.

Valette smiled when Kobe spoke about being well, and that he felt that he was able to breath for the first time. "I am very glad to hear that," she spoke. She always felt that that forest wasn't good for Kove but she wasn't going to say that out loud since that would feel like throwing oil on the fire. "Xan visited the borders. He was...not well," Valette stated. "Like, mentally."

Although Kove was not sure whether or not the children would have greater respect for his lessons, he was still glad that he would be able to offer some. He was still getting used to being a grandfather and tried to recall whether or not he had acted any differently towards his grandparents, only to realise that the situations were not exactly the same; his grandparents had essentially become his parental figures following the passing of his parents, so his respect for them was not exactly something to be compared to. Would her children be more mindful of his lessons, simply because he was grandfather instead of father? He supposed he would find out.

When called old and told to enjoy it, he chuckled. “I will enjoy it by helping my grandchildren learn,” he decided. “No point in living this long if I can’t share what I’ve learned with them.” Wasn’t that the point of living beyond childhood, to experience more and then pass that knowledge to the generations that follow? He wished to be able to do that, to teach them as much as he knew, until he could not any longer.

She went on to explain who had visited then, the answering surprising. “Xan was here?” he asked, attentive. Why had he not called for him? Then again, did he even know he was there? The elder couldn’t recall. He wondered why he had come but wondered more about the state of his mind. “How so?” the man asked, brows knitted together. So much had happened with his son, much of which he knew nothing about because he was never told, but to hear that he was unwell now… what had finally pushed him beyond the point of return?

Valette was glad that Kove was so open in teaching her children. He seemed to genuinely enjoy it even, when talking about it. Valette liked the idea of her pups having wisdom of not only her but also her grandfather. They would have the knowledge of more generations. She liked them to be wise and perhaps give that wisdom to their own children one day.

Valette nodded in confirmation when Kove asked about Xan being here. "Yes, he was," she spoke. "He was looking for Laurel and Indra. He wanted to speak with them instead of me. Well, he did want to speak to me, eventually, after talking to them. But they didn't want to talk to him, they seemed upset with him. I--" She sighed. "Indra was fearful of him and Laurel was shouting at him to go away, they both looked really upset. I send him away when they both refused to talk to him. He then grew to bitter to talk to me, alone, after that went down. Which I offered to him," she explained.

Kove remained silent as she spoke, listening closely and taking into consideration each piece of the story. But the story was not complete, even when she reached the end, being as it was only a single side. The man raised his son on his own, to the best of his abilities, but even he could not always pinpoint a reason behind his actions. There was a time once when they were close, speaking often and exchanging trivial things; he used to teach the boy, going over lessons with him regularly, but then things changed. All of sudden, Xan grew distant, kept to himself and avoided all that he used to regularly be around. To this day, the elder did not know what caused such an extreme change in his son.

“I do not know what happened to cause discord between them, and I will not excuse his actions,” he began. “But I will recommend that you go easy on him.” There was something off with the eldest child, there had been for a long time now. “Alexander today is not the same kid he was when you two were younger. I was able to see him grow after he left with me but something happened. Something… stunted that growth, I suppose you could say.” Preoccupied with his own position in the pack at the time, and by his own eagerness to move forward and keep the pain from fully hitting him, he never took the boy aside and spoke with him. That which bothered him, what altered him so drastically, was never brought up. Kove assumed that he would eventually speak-up once he felt comfortable doing so but the days kept passing, and then Xan was gone, the woods left behind so he could live his own life.

Now, he regretted not beginning the conversation.

“I don’t know what changed him and I don’t know how he deals with others anymore,” he continued. “We never spoke about it. But he’s still a good kid, despite everything. He just didn’t get to grow up the same way you did.” Maybe he would have been better off, had he not followed Kove. Or, at the very least, maybe Desna would understand him better and be able to help him, seeing as his father never could.

Valette watched her father skeptically for a moment as he started that he wouldn't excuse his behavior but also told her not to be too hard on him. Valette was not sure what to think about it but she decided that she would listen to what her father had to say to her. Her frown deepened when he spoke about something that had stunted Xan's growth. She had so many questions, why didn't he know? He was his father! Her mother knew everything about them really. She would tell her mother everything.

Valette sighed softly. "The way he responded was not the way we were taught. He is more a stranger to me than a brother," she admitted. "I hate to admit that but he is. So the decision I made might be harsh but his reaction was as harsh as well." As she said this she heard his plead through his head. "I will give him the benefit of the doubt when I see him again, if I ever see him again," Valette admitted.

More a stranger than anything else. It was not surprising to hear—Alexander had not grown up with his sisters and their mother. He had followed Kove back to Blackfeather instead, and it was there that he was raised and there that he changed; he always wondered what the cause behind the shift was but never found the right moment to ask. His eldest liked space and had been that way since his youth, so space was given—but perhaps doing so was a mistake.

“I’m sorry he is a stranger to you,” he said, although he knew an apology meant little in comparison to a matter as big as the present. “If I could change how everything happened back then, if I could go back and ensure that you four stayed together, I would.” Would growing up together have made things easier on them? Would Alexander not have been a stranger? Would whatever event that plagued him have ever occurred? There were so many questions but no answers to complete them; the elder could not travel back into the past, nor could he undue any pain caused.

“Thank you,” he continued, knowing there was little more for him to say; there was nothing to say that would change a thing, after all. “For giving him the benefit of the doubt. I hope that someday you two can be siblings again, instead of strangers.” Perhaps she would be able to get the answers out of the albino that Kove never could.

Valette sighed softly. She wanted to say that it was alright but it wasn't. She didn't know her brother because of her parents separation and it sucked. Then again, of her sisters she only grew closer to Nanook later in life. "So many things would have been different if you two wouldn't have separated. Mother might have lived longer. She gave up on life after that attack. She didn't want to heal, I think she was heartbroken." Valette didn't mean it as an ill comment to her father. "But it happened and our lives turned into another direction. I probably wouldn't have been with Steady or who knows, maybe not even founded Easthollow. I've been happy for the last few years," she assured him. Sure there had been heartbreak and loss but she was happy with her adult life.

"I grew closer to Nanook at a later age so who knows, but do know that we all turn five next spring. Perhaps something are not able to be fixed after such a long time,' she admitted to her father. "You know what the worst part of this all is? Mom's memory has started to fade. It has been so long ago that she died... I know what she looked liked but her face is starting to fade," she spoke softly.

How different things could have been; he often thought similar things, mind wandering miles away, lured along by falsities. Things could have been so different in his life and the lives of his children—but when he tried to imagine a life with Scarlett still at his side, the images grew blurry, faded. He missed her—so much so that he could feel his heart aching at night when all that was there to listen to were his own thoughts. Yet, those images faded nonetheless, dragged away by time and impossibilities. “I’m glad you turned out the way you did,” he commented. “That you found your happiness, despite everything.” Truthfully, that was all he could ask for anymore: that his children be happy.

The comment on their age was to be expected, yet the elder was not made any less hopeful by it. “Even things broken several lifetimes ago can still be mended,” he advised. “As long as both parties put in the effort.” In the end, it all depended on them; he could not force his children to get along, especially not when they were raised in such different environments, learning opposite things. But whilst he could not influence them, that did not keep him from wishing in their favour—seeking better lives for them, with bonds stronger than those of the north.

“You remind me of her—your mother,” the man continued, a small smile tugging at his lips. “But your daughter… I think all you need to do is look at Arlette and you’ll see your mother staring back. Your own reflection, too.” Scarlett lived on through her daughter and granddaughter, he was certain. “Memories fade over time, sadly… but we can still hang on to some of them. Those that we treasure the most.” And in those treasured memories, perhaps she could see her mother’s face again.

Valette smiled at her dad when he said that he was reminded of her mother. She hoped that she always carried a bit of her mother with her but she didn't know much about her. She never got to know her mother too much. "It has been so long, but thanks dad," she spoke and then looked around. She was really happy with what he had said. "I think mom would have liked Easthollow as well. I just wished she would have seen where I ended up. And you know, help with all the pups would be nice," she chuckled then, clearly her mother liked pups just as much as she.

"I'm glad you joined as well, dad," she spoke then, and offered a smile at him. She had forgiven him for what happened in the past. It had taken awhile but she had not expected to enjoy him being here so much.

Speaking of Scarlett brought back memories, good and bad; he missed her terribly, the ache in his chest settled even before the anger of grief faded. He often wondered how life would have turned out, both for himself and his children, had he stayed—but the past was far behind them all now, and he knew it was something that he must live with. “I think she would have loved it here, too,” he said, a trace of a smile playing across his lips. “Easthollow is what she always wanted: a family. I think she would be proud of you for achieving her dream.” He certainly was. After all, it was something that he was never able to do himself.

At the mention of helping with the children, he could not help but chuckle. “I can picture your mother helping with your children,” he mused. “She would have been so happy helping them grow.” And she would have done a wonderful job at it, too—the proof of that stood before him now. “I don’t think I can do the same as well as she would have been able to, but I wouldn’t mind helping,” he offered. “As long as they are okay with it.” He expected there to be plenty of other things that they would rather do than hang around with some old wolf but, nevertheless, his offer was made.

“I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else,” he told her. “It took a long time but… I think I’ve found my final home here with you and your family.” The call of the north faded from his heart more and more each day—and, eventually, it would linger no longer, replaced by the faces of his family.

Valette thought fondly of her mother and had to agree with her father that her mother would have loved it here. Valette offered him a smile. "I have to agree with you," she smiled. The female liked to think of her mother. She had grieved for the loss but was at peace with it. She wished she would be able to see it. However, that would never happen. She was glad that her father had seen and been with her family. She blushed a bit when he gave her such a big compliment.

"Thank you dad," she spoke and offered him a soft but genuine smile. "You already helped!," she assured him. He had been babysitting a few times, or teaching Clay a lesson. She knew that he was not only sitting around. It was good to see Kove with her children. It was nice to see several generations together. I am," she assured him. "That is good. I like that. I hope this will be your home for a long time."