Nova Peak ausgestorben

@Thade, returned son. mahler, who quite missed the windholme of sagtannet, came to the flowing river bounded by wide chunks of shale. around these the rapids foamed, and to reach the water itself, one must descend over the side of these stones. the shadowpriest found himself quite splashed, quite drenched by the clashing roar of this river and its taiga frigidity.
frostbound breath pouring into the skies, mahler passed back into the pines, shook the better part of the water from his fur, and melted off to find his bloodborn son. he found he did not aptly know what to say, and so somehow dreaded finding the growing boy, who knew not the language meant for he and phaedra, perhaps only words left from infancy — ah, what had happened.

Still wary of his own kind, inclined to treat strangers like thieves, Thade kept to himself if he was not attempting to shadow Wylla. He was loathe to let her from his sights, out of anyone, but he was often distracted. Often drawn into the odd comforts he’d learned from his life as an abducted child. Like staring plaintively into the sky for long, silent periods, or muttering to stones that were as big as his head, and only as big as his head.

Today’s habit took the form of tearing wide strips of wood from every other tree he passed that day, as if marking them with a file tab that was only legible to him. He stopped when he heard another approach, but wagged his tail happily, and continued his prior commitment with gusto, when he realized it was Mahler.

Papa, he greeted with a cheery growl, through a mouthful of bark. Spitting, he tore off another chunk, and seemed unable to detach himself from the task until the stripped part looked as sufficiently vertical as the others before it. You looking for me? Thade asked, finally turning to give his father his undivided attention, his lips speckled with tree glitter.

thade was as reticent as his sister, though for different reasons. mahler was unsure if his pearl had even met her returned brother since he had come back; surely, surely, he thought with a desperate hope, they had crossed one another's paths.
he found thade in great thrashings with a tree limb. papa as the boy continued his crusade, and mahler felt his heart shape into something more recognizable. "i vas," he told his son, searching for any hint of a lurking darkness in his boy and finding none. "i came to bring you on a patrol vith me," the gargoyle said softly, stepping aside as he gestured toward the de-barked trunk. "looking for grubs?" he teased softly.