Moonspear So fetch

@Dirge but one more welcome - date is fuzzy but probably Oct 17-ish

There were cracks in the pads of her feet that were already threatening to open as Toad came to the base of her now secondary home. It had been a fair bit since she had ascended the mountain. Her time had been swallowed by the formation of Firefly Glen. The borders were coming along, she was meeting new people, and things were altogether shaping up quickly. Still, starting from scratch felt strange to her.

It wouldn't be the last time she ventured across the Moonspear border. She did so freely and comfortably, feeling good about having Hydra's blessing and knowing that the Ostregas in all of their fierce glory would back Osiris and his followers faithfully should things get tough.

Toad had no real purpose to her visit. She was taking a brief but valuable break from her new duties to be in a place that felt comfortable. The forest was cool and damp. The newly fallen leaf litter felt strangely pleasant on her weary paws. Perhaps today she would curl up somewhere warm and familiar; perhaps she would dust herself with mica and sparkle as Bronco did so often. She sighed, smiling calmly.

He scoured the forest along the borders, but there was still no trace of Mira. Dirge had hoped she would have tried to slink back in as though she hadn’t gone anywhere at all, but as the days passed he realized their search would have to expand. This didn’t feel like simple wandering to him any more; he may have bestowed that gentle trait in his children, but even then they had always come back in the same way he had at their age. There was safety in home and in spite of the arrogance either of their parents could have given them too, he knew they did not have the confidence to be entirely loosened to the wild.

At least not for this length and not so young in age.

Considerations to venture beyond the border were tough to beat, and were it not for the appearance of Toad in his line of sight he would have hastened to it thoughtlessly. Instead he called out to her gently, falling into step along the path she took to close in the distance. He blended with the autumnal foliage here and there, though what greenery still clung to life broke the majority of any advantage he would have as a predator yet.

“Just coming back?” He forewent greeting or conversation, pushed by other thoughts.

As she spotted Dirge, Toad felt her heart leap with mild excitement. It had been some time since she had seen her leader, and she was more than pleased to be helping his enterprising son. She strode up to Hydra's husband, tail wagging rather excitedly. Yes, things are coming along nicely! The borders are large, but of course we have the best help in the Wilds, she grinned.

The expression on him was something Toad had noted, but miscalculated completely. So focused had the huntress been on the formation process of the Glen that she had momentarily forgotten about young Mira, who was still missing. While Toad had been patrolling the new borders, she had also been hoping for some faint sign of the girl. Everyone had turned up completely empty on leads as to where she might be. Toad had begun to fear the worst. Although her smile faded somewhat, she was not going to bring it up unless her father chose to.

In her experience, such challenges were hardly helped by fuelling the worry of loved ones.

Her enthusiasm was something to be noted; he had never interacted much with Toad of course, but the same could have been said of the majority of the pack too. Outside of his immediate family and those of some relation, Dirge had never quite been one to fully connect with the others on a one-on-one basis. He saw them in passing here and there, maybe had a brief conversation with them, but getting to know them?

It was a questionable practice that even he knew he needed to work on.

Yet even in spite of that, the wolves of Moonspear were loyal to both himself and Hydra.

“Once we have the glen settled, our borders will be kept up more,” he rejoined smoothly, offering her a smile. He hadn’t gone out to the glen except to look for Mira, but knew he would have to confer with Osiris and the others soon enough. “We’ll probably have to scout out some different hunting grounds too, come to think of it,” he went on thoughtfully, his brow creasing slightly. “Have you seen any more of the herds roaming?”

Toad nodded. Many from Moonspear were assisting in the forming of the Glen while also hunting for lost Mira. Once the Glen was established, the Ostregas and allies like her would form one of the fiercest fronts in the entire Wilds. It was a bold move. They would be pushing closer to other territories. They would need diplomatic types to massage their neighbours into allies.

There are many deer in the Glen. They range about from what I've noticed. Moose and elk browse in the forests, but they're more elusive, she explained, thinking back to what she had seen both during her time before Moonspear and within the last few days. My guess is that the herds will scatter at first as they notice we're there to stay, but the grazing is too good for them to move permanently, she noted. In winter, she imagined a superpack hunt that would involve both those on the mountain and below. Such hunts could prove beneficial for everyone; hunting on the mountain was something she figured wouldn't be trivial with ice and snow coating the ground.

Her assessment of what the herds might do seemed correct to Dirge—he expected them to take off to find better grounds to graze in, at least for a while. But the glen had long been a high trafficked area for them to hunt in, and he hoped it would remain that way even with Osiris and his fellows to claim it.

“And if they don’t come back, there are other places they will go. We don’t hunt much to our south—I’ve been tracking elk herds down there for a while now.” He intended to try and rally the others eventually to the cause, but even that had been sidetracked with newer and newer yet advents to distract him.

As always, if it wasn’t one thing, it was another.

“Hopefully with us taking the glen we’ll stop having so many nuisances,” he went on.

Mm-hm, she agreed quietly, visualizing the southern territories in her mind. Tales of great Redhawk hunts had long been stamped into Toad's memory from her elder sister. She hoped only that one day she might be able to assist in such an epic with the Ostregas.

As Dirge mentioned a hope for taking the Glen, Toad's smile faltered. Once again, Mira entered into her mind. She refused to bring it up, however, and instead focused on the plurality of his words. What other nuisances have there been? The question was honest, but Toad immediately clarified. Forgive me, I only settled a few months ago, she said.

Perhaps she should have been better informed on other events. There was always that danger of touching a sore spot on people, though.

She hadn’t heard? This surprised him, though it was a reaction that he kept to himself.

He did not expect every wolf in their midst to be informed.

“We occasionally have spots of trouble along our borders,” he explained, “unsavory sorts who come to test their mettle against ours. Often times they’re not all together in the head, I suppose—a shame, of course, but not every wolf is made for the wilderness long term. My son, Osiris, recently did away with one who decided to pick a fight.” It had only taken one wolf to get the better of him to change his outlook on things, and DIrge had noticed it. But then again had it been him, he would have responded similarity too.

Even his time in the company of the Cerberus had changed his perspective; he would have once tried to grasp at reason while defending himself, but now? Whether it was slowly set in influence or a natural shift with age he knew he would dispatch any who came to stir trouble along their so-called doorstep. So long as they had children along their slopes, he knew maintaining their defenses was of importance.

“And the glen, our hunting grounds, is also another point of contention. Sometimes with our neighbors, but mostly with vagrants. By formally taking it we’ll dissuade further attempts, or at least that’s my hope,” he went on to a natural conclusion.

Toad listened intently, concern stretched over her face as Dirge relayed that Osiris in fact had just fought off some vagrant at the borders. She often lived in her own bubble and didn't hear about things unless someone told her or there was a message about it. She wondered if Sialuk would start sending out the morning news with her howls. Toad let out an annoyed sigh, angry that anyone would dare to challenge their mighty family. Perhaps Toad should have been patrolling the borders more — though, she wasn't exactly much of a fighter.

As he described the hopes for the hunting grounds, Toad nodded firmly. It's a lot of ground to secure, but I'm confident we'll manage it, she confirmed, thinking in her head all of the borders that would need to be defended. She blinked, pausing to think about Neverwinter. Is Neverwinter an ally? They've been hunting in the glen before this, I'm guessing? It was a real question; she hadn't actually heard much about the relationship between the two packs.

Because they would be sharing a border, this presented a very real diplomacy issue.

“Ally of a sort,” he mentioned, though admittedly Dirge didn’t know just how to sum up their relationship with the pack. “Their leader’s a headstrong fellow. He’s young so I expect that to some degree, but we didn’t start off on the right foot. Things between us are much better now, so I suppose we have reached an accord.” Mal had been gracious enough to share information with them—it made him more appealing to have on their side when things got rough. Though he couldn’t have attested that Neverwinter would come to their aid if they had required it, Dirge found that he had no issues in helping them, should they have needed it.

“I’m sure us taking the glen formally will rise some hackles,” he went on with a sigh, “but we have long held dominion over a fair part of it for a long time. It seems natural to take it, even if it’s a bit cruel to do so right before winter.” And hopefully, he did not add, they would seize it before snow covered the ground so that Osiris and his subordinates could fend for themselves. Dirge only expected their numbers together to bolster as the autumn waned; feeding a pack full on the mountain was one thing, but supporting the glen too in that regard made it a bit more dicey.

Toad wondered how pissed off Neverwinter would be at the pile of Moonspear wolves butting up against its borders. To Toad, it hardly seemed like a good form of diplomacy, but then she wasn't an expert on that. She assumed that Osiris, though he was a bit of a youngster himself, knew what he was doing. Dirge did too. Right?

Toad didn't respond to the assertion that they had reached an accord. Her guess was they wouldn't be pleased. Dirge confirmed that with his next words, at which she nodded. Yeaah, she said softly as he sighed. He was right, though. They had as much right to it as anyone since Moonspear had controlled it for so long. They have elsewhere they can hunt and plenty they control. They'll hardly starve, she said, rather harshly. The only thing she worried remotely about was passage to The Heartwood and beyond. The Glen's territory effectively cut off the most efficient route from their forest.

He did agree with her assessment—he hardly thought that Neverwinter would starve. Not when they had their own nice little corner of the world to flesh out for themselves; he knew their relative proximity to the weald would benefit them well, not to mention that they had a closer handle on the flatlands where he thought the herds would also try and gather. Still…

“If they do starve, that’s their own doing,” he murmured, shaking his head to dismiss the thought partially. “The time is high to make preparations and hem in what we can to sustain ourselves.” It was an instinctual sort of thing, at least for him; he knew just as well that Osiris and Atlas would not let the Glen want for any either, and knew that Moonspear would suffer slightly for their missing attention. But it was nothing that he nor Hydra couldn’t handle, not with the group that they had amassed over time.

“Do you fancy yourself a hunter, Toad?” His head canted slightly.

Dirge agreed readily with her. It was not as though they were dooming the Neverwinter wolves in some way to extinction. Though she would have preferred that the Neverwinters be fully allied to the Ostregas, she knew that this was a lot to ask from a young pack leader. Perhaps in time, the wolves from the neighbouring forest would be able to see that the Moonspears and their allies and descendants had everyone's best interests in mind. Perhaps, one day, they would be together as one.

I am, and a good one when I have support, she said simply. She realized after she had spoken it might have sounded as though she didn't feel she had support. When I hunt alone I do well enough, but it's not the same, you know? she clarified quickly.

There was a beauty in the hunt. She loved the adrenaline rush. She loved that things did not feel fully complete during a hunt. There was a constant need to fill in the unknown with the known through scent and sight and knowledge. For Toad, at least, it was through others that she did this. The buzz of not knowing where the quarry was was steadied by her comrades working with her to flush it out.

She had a natural confidence with an inset of humility; it appeased him to know that while she knew where her talents lied, that they were not entirely all encompassing without collaboration. That was perhaps the true nature of the hunt, at least when it came to something far more substantial than meager bits and pieces they could collect along the way.

The glen would be better to have her for it, he decided.

“Only some of us are better suited to hunt alone,” he rejoined in thought, “but I too enjoy the support of others as much as I do hunting on my own.” Though truth be told, he did not often hunt alone. Hydra joined him most times and if not her, then it had been his eldest sons. His youngest were almost ready for that task, already showing their promise here and there in small ways. Mostly.

“Keep an eye on the herds,” he went on to advise, “I’m sure they’ll make for the trails going into the steppes, if not head towards the river as it gets colder. Some will loiter around or in the glen, as broad as it is, but they will shift their pastures.” Just as they did when they had pushed them too much from the mountain; the ungulates were prone to roaming, ever seeking safety where there was little to be found.

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Of course, hunting alone had its uses. Toad had been quite diligent in filling the Moonspear caches whenever she had the chance, especially when Hydra and Kukutux still had a lot of work to do. She hoped that this had been helpful, though it wasn't something she would ever expect a thank you for.

Dirge was similar in his desire to hunt collaboratively. He was right, of course. Hunting together was the better and more natural way of things. There was so much involved in a pack hunt and typically they were more dangerous than the small critter hunts she had become savvy at, but they were nearly always worth it.

I will, she said, listening to his insights closely. Dirge had much more experience tracking the specific herds that she would need to start keeping track of. Though the Glen was growing, there were only a handful that had strong hunting skills. Bronco would be a great asset in particular, she knew. I expect a great many will head for the river when the snows start to hit, she agreed, nodding strongly. She expected that having at least one person to track the movements of the herd would be invaluable as they grew in number. If it was a hard winter, Moonspear would surely benefit from the knowledge, too.

She shifted topics then, smiling calmly. You must be very proud of your son. He rallied us together like an expert for someone so young, Toad observed. Normally, she would have been a bit nervous about following one who was, in reality, barely a man. She believed in Osiris, though, not least of all because of good breeding and parenting.

The next shift in their conversation brought a thin smile to face that he did not immediately find disappearing. He was proud of his son, that much was true, but it was far more than that. It was knowing that they had the glen in their full possession that pleased him, the culmination of a teasing dream once shared just between he and Hydra that he never thought would come to fruition. The fact that it had, and it succeeded thus far without much fanfare and that Osiris had proven capable to rally others to him—those were all reasons to retain the ghost of a smile.

“I am,” he replied smoothly. “We have always encouraged our children to follow what they desire; had he not wanted to aspire to such a station we would not have pushed him. It is comforting to have the glen as ours completely when we have tried to hold it for so long.” The mountainside may have been a touch emptier, quieter even, but it was a small trade off for all that was revealing itself. Only time would tell if such maintained itself, but Dirge did not have doubts that they would succeed at that too. Moonspear had endured much and survived, and the Glen would do the same.

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Toad noted his tone. He was pleased that his son had aspired to do something that benefited the entire family as well as future generations. Surely next year's Ostrega litter would be fat and healthy, more than in any other year. Toad wondered what Dirge might have said if Osiris had chosen a different, stupider path. There were many rogues roaming about as the leader had mentioned. Surely, with such types there also must have been groups of them with some kind of destructive purpose.

Toad had seen young wolves be lured into such roving bands before; she doubted Dirge would have been so pleased.

It's good that you did, you know, push him, she said. This wasn't about the Glen or holding territory, although that was a nice little side bonus. He has only strength in him now, and more to come, I'm sure of it, Toad declared, nodding once more. Too many youngsters strayed far from the path their parents had set for them. The Dirge and Hydra had been lucky to have a child that had chosen a good path, even if they had nudged him toward it.

She had misunderstood, and he clarified: “We didn’t have to push him to do it. Offered the suggestion, but the decision was entirely his.” It didn’t change the basis of the pride any, of course, and perhaps he would have been mistaken in his correction if Hydra had pushed Osiris into the role. But he could not see his wife doing that very thing; she had seemed every bit on the same page as he had with not pushing him if he didn’t warm to the idea.

If anything, the fact that Osiris had taken to the role did surprise him, but then again his ambition had never been so prolific at a young age. Tempered, perhaps, through life’s experiences to the point where he thought himself better off forming his own pack than trying to mesh with another for any length of time. That had once been the plan, but he had snake charmed his way into his station through his union to Hydra, and the untimely demise of Moonspear’s former leaders.

He cleared his throat then, pressing on towards other topics.

“You haven’t seen Mira, have you?” He wasn’t sure if she was acquainted with his daughter, but this was certainly one way of finding out. While he imagined word had spread of her disappearance, he didn’t expect every single wolf along their mountainside to possess the common knowledge either. Not while they were coming and going from the Glen, dividing time and resources. It was the worst possible time she could have gone missing, at that.

Dirge said they hadn't pushed him. She thought about it. She disagreed. He'd said exactly that; they had encouraged him because he had partially chosen it. They had suggested it, which for parents was in general choice enough. Dirge said it was the choice of Osiris, but Toad felt the temptation to challenge a leader she greatly respected. Dirge was wrong.

The suggestion was itself the strong, usually imbalanced guidance that came naturally to leaders. She wanted to say something, but didn't. Everything had worked out, so there was no lesson to be had.

Then, Dirge surprised her by bringing up Mira. Toad had been avoiding the subject the entire time, and wasn't sure what to do. N-no, she confirmed, but expanded, we're looking. She recalled the odd little thing as a pup. Toad knew that she would be found. She had to be found.
There was nothing to do if a cub went missing and none were held accountable.

We will kill the one responsible, if she was taken, said Toad. Her voice was harsh. Serious. Unkind. She fully wanted that. She thought it likely Mira was dead from unknown causes. However, if by chance she was alive... there would be consequences for those on the trail.

If she was taken.

The words hung there for a moment for him, though he did not want to believe them. Mira was no longer just a small cub at her mother's teat; he wanted to believe that she could hold her own if she had to, as she had the drive. But even with his certainty, there was still a pit of doubt that seemed all consuming.

He made an affirming note—either way, taken or not, there would be reprecussions with resolute severity. If she had gone astray for whatever reason, he imagined his disappointment in not knowing and Hydra's scathing scolding would change the tune for better or worse. But if she had been taken, it would only be another head on their list to wear a blazing target.

"I should resume my search," he said then, not wanting to hold Toad up any longer.

Of course, I won't keep you, she answered, her concentration suddenly broken from the flash of mob murder that had taken her. No doubt, he had plenty of ground to cover in the never-ending search for Mira. Toad nodded rather solemnly to Dirge and offered a small goodbye as she turned. I'll see you, she said, moving uphill toward the heart of the mountain. At the very least, she could fill some caches while she was on Moonspear. With everyone searching for the lost child, she knew it was probably the easiest thing for her to do to help out.