Stavanger Bay when I go

@Gracious 

The Stavenger Bay had always been beautiful to Aiolos. He had come here, whether to relax, hunt or just pass by far too many times to count. It was the last stretch of beachside he walked before moving inland up the meadow and fields towards his allies in the mountains. Today, he would stop here, coming to enjoy this bay on it's own for a much needed break from the drama that currently encumbered his home on the island. For a long time they were able to avoid the brunt of the chaos, until now.

After awhile he would pause, taking in a deep breath of the salty breeze with a weak smile. The temperature was pleasant, the coast always breezy and by now night had fallen, with Moon Mother high in the skies to guide him. He knew, in truth, he could not stray for long. For now, there seemed no threat and so he continued on along the coastline.

eee!

glistening azure waves crash against themselves in the sea, white foam scatters across the surface of the water as the push and pull of the tide and ocean become stronger. she is observant in watching the sea, storm cloud eyes flicker with interest. she swallows her fear of the ocean for this moment, deep down, gracious is still cautious about the coast. the likeliness of a tsunami and storm sweeping her away again is small, very small. but not impossible, nothing is impossible anymore to the older woman. she's seen too much to make quick assumptions of things she does not quite understand.

she had been on other side of the coastline for the bay, large paws imprinting themselves in the wet sand as the tide pulls against her legs, encouraging her to enter the void of the ocean. gracious declines each and every time, the coldness of the water washing up against her keeps her awake. but something catches her attention. a fire in the distance.

practically glowing under the moon, gracious narrows her eyes to focus on the wolf before her. the air around him is... familiar. closer and closer she draws herself, before she pauses in her tracks as the feeling of realization rushes against her like the ocean breeze.

"aiolos..." she whispers to herself, nearly silent. her heart beat grows stronger and faster, she takes a tentative step forward, wondering if he recognizes her.

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Out there down the coast, the moon reflects onto the sands. Silvered and gray and as Aiolos moves nearer, he realizes it to be a wolf. Large, far more then himself, but with a calm and fluid nature as she moved along the water's edge. Perhaps Mother Moon had decided to walk among mortals this night and Aiolos finds himself freezing in his place by the awe of such a thought.

The wolf in front of him too, pauses. His breath hitches. The fire in his eyes meeting the churning of clouds in her own. Calling forth the winds, his Goddesses bring him from his reverie. The smell of sea salt and her scent capture his memories. He too whispers her name but does not stop here.

He finds his footing again, kicking up sand as he gallops into the beautiful maidens direction. As he comes to her, a whine slips from parted jaws reaching to lick at her aging face.

the lion, with a mane that flickers like flames, leaps towards her in a hurried pace, misplacing the sand beneath his paws with little care. he recognizes her, gracious assures herself as he holds no face of anger or aggression as he closes the distance. her large plume propels behind her in an excited matter, and the two collide in am embrace filled with kisses and whines. she is just as excited to return the licks that coat her face, a smile carves itself into her black lips. she soon then reaches to brush her muzzle against his cheek, inhaling his scent as his memory refreshens in her mind. she has found him again. 

"aiolos," she says to him, voice soft as she continues to press against him "i've missed you, sweet one." despite the two only sharing a conversation or two, gracious knows she made a connection to him when they were together in the rain. he is a peculiar being with strange customs, but he came to her searching for advice. she provided just that in the moment, along with a sense of peace and stability. 

"you've grown." not like a puppy turning into an adult. not like a boy turning into a man, either. aiolos was grown when the first two met. but she senses a shift in his personality, as if he has grown more in his personal self -- he has changed to her, but it is something for the better. he does not seem like the meek and overly-doting man he was once like to her.

They danced and bound around one another. Their tails smacking at one another's sides, licking, sniffing and he would examine to make sure she looked uninjured and healthy still. Like a child he was again before her- as the young two year old burning with fire forced to be smothered by his masters. Aiolos, now doubled that age, still burns with flame but he is smothered not. His head is held higher now, his stance dignified instead of slithering. He had become more of the man Gracious had hoped for him to become some day and new that he could. 

After they calm down, his eyes close to her touch to his cheek, pressing close in embrace. Gracious had always been very kind to him and he viewed her in motherly ways he did not have the chance to have with his birth mother. She had simply not been strong enough a woman to care for him, protect him.

I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. He meets her stormy gaze. After their pack disband, she'd gone further south into Sagtannet and Aiolos far into the opposite direction. What was she even doing out here? I have, in more ways then one. Her smiles to her, sheepishly on his creamy mug. How have you been? What had you coming all this way? She was literally from the opposite end of the map.

it is true, she has traveled far. and for many reasons unknown, even to the woman herself. there is always a draw to expand her worldview, though gracious, ever since her return to the wilds, feels content. she grows older and older with each day passing, she is unsure of the pleasantries and hardships that lay ahead of her for the time being. until then, the matriarch still travels and still builds connections. and this one with aiolos is special.

"life is unpredictable. but it leaves us open to the greatest of surprises." a pleasant one, thankfully. while flames and the bright tinges of red and orange appear tough on the eyes of many, the soft glow exuding from aiolos brings comfort to the stormy woman. as for his question for her departure from sagtannet, gracious takes a shallow breath as she steps back, just a small one.

"sagtannet was wonderful, but i felt a call in me to leave the wilds and chase the horizon." she almost sounds like a young adventurer, full of vigor and ignorance to the world around her. "i returned as the wilds called me back, the beauty of the land forever marks me." a small frown overcomes her lips, just for a moment. "i felt guilty to turn back to the sunspire where sagtannet was, mahler, wylla, and wintersbane would not have been pleased for my sudden disappearance."

a smile finds its way on her visage once again. "so, i came to the coast to revisit the ocean. and here you are." a calm breath, relief runs through her veins as the adrenaline dies down. "but what of you, dear aiolos? what adventures have you embarked on since the last we spoke?" he had acknowledges his growth, so he must be proud of where he is now.

It's true... The words murmur on his lips, agreeing with Gracious first sentence. Life was always unpredictable, be it in good ways or bad and one was only left to do was to enjoy it and/or push through it. Yuelong falling apart was horrible for the man, who loved his home dearly, but the thought that he might spend more time with @Kukutux was a pleasant one.

He waits then, ever patiently. His ginger ears perked high in attentive nature as he listens to Gracious short story of time passed. The way she spoke, she did sound much like a youngster, setting out on an open path all to herself without any heading of where she might end up. But after some time, the pull the lands here did just that- pulled her back.

She had thought not to return back to Sagtannet and unknowing to the other of them the pack did not remain there to return to. Instead she came here and it was here she had found him, just where anyone who knew Aiolos might think of him to be.

Me? A rhetorical question and he tilts his head as he ponders where and what to tell. From their last time together, he figured... It had been the plan after Kalika and I left to form a pack together along the coast but... A frown. A shrug. But she left, I don't know where...I stayed on the coast, deciding to remain where I had chosen our home for awhile. Eventually I made a friend and in time she offered me place within their territory as it's guard and ranger. I've been on that island off the coast ever since. Actually, A small chuckle, still disbelieving at times how he had gotten to far. I have been leading it at my Empress side for some time now.

she listens patiently to him, grey diamonds scintillate with curiosity as he explains his recent whereabouts and whatnots. though, she takes notice to his slight disappointment when his plans originally fell through. though, he appears content now with his most current answers.

"seems that you have found a good place, aiolos. and you're leading, something you originally would leave for someone else and you would be their support, last time we spoke. you've grown; i'm proud of you."

in many ways, those words are hardly ever muttered by parents, grandparents, even spouses or siblings. yet they can hold the weight of the world in them. gracious and aiolos, despite the short time together, have found ways to connect. she will always be proud of him, as if he were her own blood. his accomplishments will always be worthy of praise to the old woman.

"are you staying beside this empress for awhile? or do you plan on making paths elsewhere?" with wolves being transient animals at times, she wonders if aiolos has finally settled permanently, or if it is only for a mere moment in his young blood life.

It was true. Hua had looked to Aiolos in ways which no woman had before. She looked to him for not just support but guidance, answers and in the long run, to stand in her steady to be the sole ruling leader of Yuelong. Since then, the pack had both strived and then sunk and even as Maegi bore the title of Mother of Yuelong, the pack was all but whispers of memories past. The founding of its creation was lost now and Aiolos and those who remained held onto the memory of what it once was best they could, for now.

Thank you, Gracious... As much so she was to her name and the red wolf moves to touch his wet nose to her cheek affectionately.

He pulls away then, a grim expression tugging at the corners of his lips for a moment and he explains, The coming of Spring has been hard on Yuelong. A great disaster became of one of our allies and then another disband. My Empress had stepped down but now, she has left along with many others who have faded away. The devastation Moonspear was hard on many. Yuelong is but a whisper of what it once was now. I've found a future in a woman leading a new pack formed out of Moonspear's ashes... A future which pulled him in half between his place in Yuelong and with her.

Do you... He ponders, Do you remember @Kukutux, of Courtfall? The three of them had lived together yes, but that was some time ago.

she politely nods her head as she listens to aiolos explain his recent events, though it pauses when the talk of a past court member is brought up. upon his question of the waterfowl woman, gracious provides thought for a moment. "i cannot say i remember her completely. but i know the name, yes. the days of courtfall have been behind us for quite a bit." a quiet laugh at those days. though, gracious remembers how she ends up in the court, how the ocean nearly swallowed her. beaten, bruised, doused with salt -- yet saved by the small woman who was their leader for a period before her own death. a sad tale woven of gracious' own tears. "perhaps i should visit her, rekindle what was lost."

"though, what do you mean by the destruction of moonspear?" she hasn't been around long enough, nor close enough to the area to know what aiolos could possibly mean. she's been out of the loop longer than expected.

A smirk toys at his expression as Gracious chuckles, speaking of how it had been quite some time since they had all been together in Courtfall, and it had... For Gracious perhaps even seeming more so with how further in age she was to them. I'm sure Kukutux would be happy for the visit. He added then and with a wave of his tail.

He settles then, finding purchase on the sands of the coast and hopes Gracious might join him there to face the open sea.

A great star had fallen from the sky and unto the mountain Moonspear. One side of it crumbled, smothering everything and everyone in it's path. My Empress, with many others, came to their aid. He had stayed with the pack, guarding their island claim in wait as was so his profession. When Hua returned, she said not many were recovered. A good portion of those who had gathered with Kukutux. They now live within a ring of low mountains shadowed by what once was their home. A sad tale, indeed. Many lives were lost. Friends, allies, family, lovers. Even Kukutux own son and husband...

when he settles to spin the story together of the fall of moonspear, gracious follows him and finds herself nestled closely as they once were by the lotus pond in the vale. like old times, when times were simple and days were carefree under the protective wing of those around her.

as the tale of tragedy is pulled together, gracious feels her heart sink with grief at the thought. to lose those important to you -- she wonders about how many lives were touched by this infestation of grief and loss. her ears fall back and she reaches her paw to lightly rest atop aiolos' own.

"it is sad to hear of the tragedy that struck this land. i pray those affected find peace. i hope kukutux fairs well with the wolves she has brought together." she thinks quietly for a moment about what has been said and soons sprouts a new idea. 

"how would i go about finding this woman?" she politely asks aiolos. this would not be a permanent home for gracious perhaps, as she is nothing but old bone. no value left. but she could at least pay a visit and be respectful and think about her time of courtfall with the duck.

There is a small smile which touches the corners of his creamy lips as she comforts him, her paw rested over his own as they sat and looked out over the beach. One of his last peaceful moments at the coast he would have before his move inland, as the future would hold.

I hope the same but... He thinks on it, shaking his crown. I know it would be hard. Harder then I could imagine, to loose so much all at once. But death was death. Either way it was not something easily swallowed, but as natural for them to endure as to relish in births every year.

His smile would be left to widen, then, at her idea. If you go inland from this bay here, you'll go through a long stretch of meadow and plains with forest on either side in the distance. Keep forward and you'll meet the mountains of her home. It was a very easy route, one Aiolos had certainty Gracious could navigate.

he gives her quire clear instructions on how to find them from the bay that they rest upon. gracious still has quite a sharp memory and intends to burn these directions into her head. aiolos is perhaps the only true face she may remember as she ages through life, hopefully she will be able to see him more and more if she comes to visit kukutux and her own piece of the vale.

"then i will make a trip there, soon enough at least. though, many may find my age not as appealing." a small laugh escapes her as she looks towards her lion boy. "appreciate your youth, aiolos, for it will leave you all too quickly when you are not thankful for it." despite her age, gracious still has many things to offer to these wilds. perhaps it will be an act of healing, whether it is through her words or through her actions. either way, there is still much work to be done before she is even ready to leave for the celestial bodies above.

until then, she remains content with her life and the connections she has made thus far.

His brow scrunched up and he shakes his head, thinking rubbish of those who might consider Gracious 'dead weight' now with her age. Sure, she might no longer be able to keep up with the physical stuff any longer, but if was her mind which was her greatest asset now.

Ah, He grumbles, The soreness in my neck come waking reminds me that my time too is coming. He knew sooner or later, his battles and travels past would catch up with him. He had been a guardian all his life. What would he do with himself when he no longer could uphold the task?

But so what of age, Olo said then, going back on what Gracious had spoken of herself. Living to a ripe old age just means you had either the smarts or the strength to survival the trials life threw at you. Or the luck. Whatever the reason, Gracious would not die young. She had overcome the hardships and learned from them. You could teach others a thing or two. Things others at two, or three, might have never faced off before.


 I'd be happy to have you, always.