Neverwinter Forest kill the messenger

vaguey-vague for reasons; no pressure to reply, only if you want/have time metic! <3

there was a shift. in the air, perhaps, as spring overtakes winter and chases the chill that has lingered in the past week or so since his arrival away ... or perhaps the shift is in arktos himself. or, perhaps it is both. two truths at once.

while his memories are still gone, as if they never existed in the first place, making him a man with no past but endless futures. and arktos, not knowing anything to miss anything or to regret, welcomes this.

come @Nephele, he beckons to his wife, forging the path towards the heart of the neverwinter forest. arktos simply assumes she will follow. he chooses the seclusion of the pines for several reasons, privacy at its forefront.

are you truly happy in morningsong? he asks, still under the assumption that she has answered his beckon and followed him. it is only when his steps pause and he turns to peer back at the path he'd walked that he checks.

she roused from her morning rest, the crisp bite in the air slowly fading as spring begun to warm the edges of the earth. limbs stretched to tug on stiff muscles just as the silhouette of her husband molded to her vision. he beckoned her, and she turned to follow.

her footsteps were hushed behind the figure of the man she'd taken as partner, tired eyes slowly losing the weight beneath them as the pair traveled. she slowed as he did, ears cupping forward at the sound of his question.

was she happy within morningsong? it was straightforward and easy to process, to which she answered with a tip of her chin and, "i am content." happy would be a stretch, though she wouldn't have gone to the extent of being displeased either. "though in recent days i have found it fading," she revealed with shimmering truth.

many of those who had gathered during the time she had joined were now gone. each day it felt like a new scent began to fade, and in truth, she thought it only a matter of time before there were too few of them to hold the glacier as a home.

"what is on your mind?" she questioned with a step towards arktos, absinthe gaze breaming with interest for his thoughts.

content, nephele replies. it is not the same thing as happy, arktos thinks, would argue but doesn't. not yet. instead, he is quieted as she continues, adding that she has found it fading and left contemplating these words. his first impression is not great, admittedly; to arktos, it had been left wanting.

he shifts his weight, moss green gaze leaving her face to scan the trees behind her. shadows flirted with the sunshine that managed to break thru the prison of green above.

what was on his mind?

the branching possibilities. decisions and consequences. but he wasn't done feeling out her true thoughts and feelings, yet. thus, wasn't ready to choose his path, to divulge on what he was thinking as it was far from singular.

what drew you to morningsong in the first place? arktos asks, tipping his chin down towards her; moss gaze heavy upon her.

it is in the silent escape of his drifting gaze that she takes a moment to steal admiring glances of his rugged beauty. it was a sight she did not think she would ever grow tired of.

she expects an answer, but is granted a question.

a brow raises as she let's the words roll through the tumbling thoughts of her mind. "mutual benefit." there is a moment of pause before she goes further in depth. "i offered my future children to help bolster the ranks, and in turn was promised a safe place to raise them."

there was above all else, morningsong and arktos alike, the deep rooted desire for children.

arktos' moss green gaze takes in her face, soft lines and pretty curves and hears her words, putting the pieces together that she doesn't say: that she doesn't have to because he was apart of that story, eventually. in a golden plain they'd wed as strangers. a man with no past and a woman looking for her future.

he draws nearer to press his nose to her cheek, pressing a soft kiss there; because he enjoys being close to her, because he can.

i'm surprised dutch didn't snag you up first, he murmurs into her ear, offering a soft nip. then again, arktos barely knew dutch. maybe he already had a wife, but if he did he hadn't spoken of a woman that ruled beside him so arktos assumes he does not have a wife. regardless, it's my boon.

a wiry grin tugs at the corners of his mouth, green gaze glinting coyly; but he draws back slightly, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out in a heavier exhale, sobering enough from the drunken buzz she makes him feel to finally answer her.

we have options, he begins; and best they figure this out now before she went into heat, before she became pregnant. once that happened, the countdown would start. i spoke to a man from hearthwood ... though i do not know if they'd welcome a coming family, he admits, sliding that across the table but letting it sit. the uncertainty of it made him hesitant to head that way. we could start our own pack, he has a particular fondness for the plains, after all. or, we could try to salvage morningsong. is dutch a strong leader? is that why it fades? she would know better than him. probably, if they'd already conceived, he might not've even offered it as an option. but perhaps he would've. usurping held so many risks but it presents itself in his mind, all the same.

they all held their own risks, one with the worst consequences if they pursued it and it ended badly. but, there wasn't anything arktos wouldn't do for his family. lines and boundaries meant nothing, then.

eyes flutter close at the touch of his kiss, soaking in the scent of him and the gentle brush against her cheek. there is a warmth left where he'd planted his affection, though it is his words and the peck to her ear that sends the heat flushed to her face.

at mention of dutch she does not offer any words, because she does not have to. the chieftain was considered for a moment, but never stood in the same category as the man she now called husband.

a husband who is offered a savoring purr as he speaks once more before pulling away.

her focus stabilizes as he begins to list their options, though the chill of the wind between them is left her wanting him close again.

she considers each of the presented choices with careful deliberation. the first, though an option, was not at the forefront of her selections. joining an established group would be the easiest of the choices, though that did not outweigh the uncertainty that came with such a decision.

of the two remaining, she chews over the third option the most. "dutch is a neighborly man, though i do not think strong would suit him as a leader." she thought back to his ambitions of festivities and how she'd thought his aspirations out of order in matter of importance. the chief would rather sing songs than establish proper alliances. "i do not hold any attachment to the glacier itself, and of those who still call it home, i would not think many would be pleased to see dutch displaced."

and then there was the second option, one she would have never considered before in the wake of being alone. but she was not alone anymore. "starting our own would be the most demanding," she began, searching for his mossy gaze to try and drink in the thoughts that might have pooled out of them. "but i have never shied away from hard work."

there would be challenges arisen with any of the options, though the second offered them the most control. she kept her gaze to her husband, and having voiced her own thoughts, was curious where his interests lie. "where do your own desires call you?" she wished to know of his own ambitions, and of the options presented, which felt the most attractive to him.

nephele speaks, offering him her insight and arktos is quiet, contemplative as she presents him with her thoughts and feelings. he, himself, is not a man of sentiment and her woman's perspective is a nice balance to him. i did not assume that they would, which meant it presented perhaps more risks than it was worth. but if she'd asked him to or endorsed it he would've. without hesitation, without a second thought towards it.

i think anything worth having in this life is worth the risks and the hard work it demands, he gives voice to his thoughts on the matter. so that was that, then. they strike out on their own, build something worth having. worth calling theirs.

what do you think of the plains where we wed? he considers it less for it's sentimental value and more for the value of prey. other areas of it may offer more shelter than where we were, and i'm sure fresh water ...but it appears to have plenty of prey.

he shares his thoughts, and in this she listens with silent agreement. establishing a territory of their own would come with the game of risk and reward. she was not as nervous to gamble their future when she was more than confident they would succeed in their endeavors. they were collectively of strong body and mind, and the viper did not have any doubt that they would see their vision fruitful.

the only uncertainty was when ambition would turn to accomplishment.

"the plains are of good quality to settle in. i am not familiar with the territories surrounding it, but will scout for herd patterns and any established opposition we might face." with bountiful prey came salivating mouths. there would be no surprise should she find coyotes or other predators already settled amongst the rolling plains.

"i would give dutch the courtesy of a proper farewell," she began, a glance given to the glacier in which they'd came, "but after that, i would be eager to set off for the plains if you are ready to do so."

she did not know when her season would come upon her, and she thought the more time they had to constructing an early establishment, the easier it would be in the long run.

i'm hopeful the cattle — for there was no other word he had to explain the big beasts that roamed the plains. it doesn't quite fit them right but it's the best he could do. are big enough to scare away most opposition. but not all. never all.

the cattle, in arktos' mind would become apart of the pack in their own way. integral and important to their survival. their fur would make beds and their meat would feed them. we'll share their land, keep 'em safe and cull their herd of the weak, sick and old. a symbiotic relationship that would serve both predator and prey.

this, arktos' been chewing on for a while, like a toothpick that'd long since should've been reduced to splinters.

while you do that, i'll get word out. recruit, if i can, he's thoughtful, considering. how do we feel about displaced families? pregnant women? cubs besides our own could ensure a future, it was a gamble, of course, but so was everything else. and it's going to need a name. our home. a name was more likely to stick in the mind of others over an idea.

a nod was given on his mention of the great beasts who roamed the plains. if they were capable of forming a respected relationship with the giants, they might see benefits that could not be found elsewhere.

it was with each word that she thought her husband more tailored for the lifestyle she had grown through. war and death. tough decisions made where most would stand on shaky legs.

"so long as those who seek to join can pull their own weight, i am open to most." she would not wish them to be a sanctuary. those who wished to find a home amongst the plains must be physically capable of doing so. healthy, fit, unharmed — "no sick." in this she was firm. "i have seen how disease and infection spreads, and would not have it so easily introduced to our home and family."

she waited to see if he had any stipulations of his own, mind wandering to the next mention of a name. "have you thought of any?" it was clear he had mulled over this idea for a time, and she wondered if he had dedicated any thought towards what they would call their new beginning.

her conditions were ones that were well met with arktos and made sense for a pack in general. pups were the only ones who should need the pack to provide for them: anyone who couldn't pull their own weight and aid in keeping the pack strong and virile were not welcome. arktos wasn't a man interested in excuses and did not think he had in it to show mercy to those that sought to take advantage. like the herd the weak and old and sick would be culled.

i agree. it is written in the hard glint of his mossgreen eyes, a glint of sharp stone instead of softness they should hold. he, he could make the hard decisions. would make them. would bear the brunt of the consequences they brought; readily, for his family.

i thought first of redrock and even badlands, but had scrapped it. because it didn't fit, because it reminded him too much of ground zero and why did he want to memorialize that? he didn't. yellowstone plains, or perhaps more simply yellowstone. it is the bloodline name i have chosen for myself and would like for our children to have. and you, if you'd have it.

there is a thoughtful glint to the bright absinthe of her gaze. of all who she could have met in the plains, it had been him. two strangers become one. two strangers molded with similar beliefs.

she was not one to chalk up their first meeting to something as romantic or frivolous as fate. but of all who she could have met, to be so well fitted with each other.

two pieces of a puzzle.

he shared the names he'd thought over, and of the name he'd taken for his bloodline. their bloodline. "yellowstone," she tastes the sound of it on her tongue, a smile teasing the corner of her lips. "our name for new beginnings," she let out as a step is taken to plant a kiss along the edge of his jaw. the name fit for both bloodline and home, and she was pleased.

and so it was.

she, too, was yellowstone now.

just as their children to come would be.

at last, arktos feels fulfilled, even if their hard work was so very far from over. husband. father. leader. wrangler. these were all facets of him that gave him a sense of completion. wild, how easily he'd found it, by little more than sheer circumstance.

will you be alright going back to say goodbye on your own? he didn't have a big a stake in morningsong as she did. he would not be missed. morningsong was her business to handle, and he'd let her. he knew she could handle herself and hold her own but still, he offers to escort her. for support. for protection. if she wanted it, of course.

if not, he would head towards the plains to begin monitoring the herd and marking their claim without insult.

his question was met with a brisk nod. "it is not far, i will say a quick farewell and then meet you at the plains," she let out with a parting brush against his side.

if they could divide their tasks and work efficiently, she saw no reason not to. she would wrap up the end of one chapter, and he would move to begin writing the next.

she waited to see if he had anything further to say before branching off towards the glacier. she would keep to a steady pace and seek dutch only in her departing.

there was a newfound eagerness to her step as she moved, a fresh wind blowing her towards new horizons. and as she made the trip from glacier to plains, she would find herself excited for what the future held.