Dragoncrest Cliffs You had other plans

Whenever you have tiiiime .+:｡(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾞ @Portia

With the light of the rising sun came the sudden consciousness of the young Viking, stunned and blinking against the harshness of the glare. During the night, as the winds had blown around him, a considerable amount of snow had been swept up and onto his body, covering him with a thin sheet of white. Still, he remained on the ground for several long seconds, giving his eyes time to adjust as light reflected off of the snow’s surface. Sucking in a deep breath of air—it was so clean, so cool—he pushed himself up off of the ground and shook himself free of his wintry armour. Exhaling, Hvitserk kept still and watched the cloud he created, beginning his morning walk only after it dispersed entirely.

Keeping close to the fringes of the territory, he ambled through the snow without a hassle. Oftentimes he stopped to peer out over the land stretched before him, wondering what all was out there; his curiosity of the world had never quite dulled. It would be easy to venture out and see the surrounding territories firsthand, and yet, he did not. With his return being so recent still, he wasn’t ready to leave again, even if it was only to see a nearby landmark. Besides, his skills as a navigator were lacking, and he feared the possibility of leaving and then getting lost.

Looking away from the outer lands, he continued his walk along the borders. He kept his eyes ahead of him, glancing outwards again only when a distant sound prompted him to do so.

though her garden was doing surprisingly well for the winter weather, portia did not have everything she could've possibly needed. and though she preferred to stay closer to the center of the territory-- her desire to travel long ago dissipating-- sometimes the borders were the best place to search for stragglers, so that's what she was doing today.

to say that portia thought about hvitserk often was a stretch. the first month or so after he'd disappeared, the at the time skayona had constantly worried. she worried for his safety and wellbeing, for one, but she worried too that she'd never see him again. the laws of drageda, she knew, were strict, and she could only wonder how much tolerance the commander would have for pups who flew the nest. but it'd been ages since he'd disappeared, and by now the boy rarely crossed her mind. 

that's not to say that when she saw him, all grown and walking along their border, she didn't immediately recognize him. "hvitserk??" she called, her brisk stroll coming to a complete stop. she had almost no doubt in her mind that that was him... but what was he doing back?

Hvitserk?

The voice, vaguely familiar, caught his attention. He got the feeling that he should know who the voice belonged to but, by the sound alone, he wasn’t entirely sure. Slowing to a stop and turning around, his eyes immediately landed on the face of someone that he could never forget: Portia! Overcome with excitement, the boy began hopping up and down, weight switching back and forth between his forelimbs. With his tail wagging a mile per minute, he bounded over to her, sliding and then plopping down on his stomach when he tried to stop. Portia was still there! His plant-lady hadn’t left!

Crawling closer to her, he bumped his head against her left forelimb, a wide smile never leaving his face. He couldn’t get over the fact that she wasn’t just there, still, but she was right there with him! So much time had passed since he last saw her, but she hadn’t changed at all. She still looked the same and still sounded the same—she was still Poor-shah. His joy over seeing her escaped him in high-pitched whines, whilst he remained pressed against the snow, energised and experiencing bliss in its purest form.

portia could hardly believe her eyes. he turned, slowly, but as soon as they made eye contact the yearling was bouncing and wiggling over to her. she made a few happy bounds forwards, but let him do the coming to her (since she still was not the biggest fan of cardio). he fell to his stomach at her feet, bumping his nose against her leg. her tail waved wildly, soft, happy whines escaping her as she leaned down to lick his muzzle and face. 

"look at you!" she purred, eyes shining, "you've grown so much! i'm practically half your size. so tall and handsome!" most of her comments were praise-- soft coos and happy yips. though hvitserk was not her own son, she had grown so fond of him, and it felt almost like she was being reunited with her first child. "where have you been, hun? i worried so much. and has heda really let you back in?" she began to ask, wishing right away that he'd tell her all of his stories of his travel. but she realized, rather quickly, that if he was anything like he was as a child that he wouldn't be so keen on talking-- so she backtracked. "you don't have to tell me, i'm so glad you're back."

Reuniting with Portia was an entirely different experienced, compared to how things had played out with Heda. She seemed happy to see him, talking immediately with the same kindness that he remembered, and had always loved, her for—his Poor-shah. He quieted down when she began speaking, not wanting to miss a single word that left her mouth. Though, as she commented on his size, he couldn’t help but let out a few extra whines, embarrassed and happy. As the questions came, however, it was easier to quiet down, though his tail never stopped wagging—it even sped up when she said that he didn’t have to answer her. She remembered. She remembered his appreciation of the silence; Portia had always respected his decision to communicate without words, which was just one of the many reasons why he liked her so much.

Which is why he had to tell her.

“Wanna tell you,” he whispered, almost always uncertain of his voice. “Had t’leave with Freyja—had to protect her.” When she had left, he had needed to follow. Leaving her to go alone had never once been an option for him back then—it still wasn’t, as his only reason for giving up his search for her was because she had someone new to protect her. Someone that loved her just as much as Hvitserk did, someone that would never leave her all alone and unprotected. “She lemme come back but…” he trailed off, brows scrunching together. “Only as a Branwoda—like the giant.” He had accepted his place within the pack but that didn’t make it sting any less. The fact that he was in the same position as the man he hated—the man he had once told his father that he wanted dead—hurt him. With a shake of his head, he forced the memory from his mind and focused back on Portia, smiling up at her with the same fondness in his eyes that he had looked at her with as a child.

portia was relieved that hvitserk actually did want to tell her about where he'd been. she was so worried, and  the satisfaction of finally knowing was something she needed. "freyja," she murmured softly, sadly, she was always fond of her as well-- though she was wifi's prodigy apprentice, not her own. but then, hivtserk said something that almost angered the fisa, as close as she could come to it, at least.

"do not compare yourself to him," she said sternly, brow furrowed but ears splayed sadly. it didn't take but a few seconds for portia to know exactly who the poor yearling was talking about, and she'd be damned if he was anything like the beast that goliath was. she shook her head. "that is okay," she said softly, "branwoda or not, i am glad you are back."

Being separated from his sister left him with an empty space in his heart, creating a sense of longing that was bound to live on with him throughout the rest of his life. Someday, perhaps he may learn to live with it but, for now, it physically hurt him to speak of his sister—especially when he reminded himself of how he’d given up on his search for her. It was difficult to describe exactly how he felt, so he chose not to. He kept it to himself, swallowing down the whimper that threatened to escape his throat when he heard Freyja’s name slip passed her lips; he would learn to cope in time—he had to.

Hvitserk’s ears fell flat against his head at her tone, despite what was said. There were many reasons why he was nothing like Goliath but, at the same time, there were similarities between them: they’d both abandoned the pack, betrayed their home. And even though the giant had done much worse than him, the yearling felt as if he was more at fault, for he’d left his family behind, too. He did not argue with her, however, merely nodded his head in false acceptance of her words and then cast his gaze elsewhere. “Glad to be back…” he murmured, trailing off towards the end. He missed his sister terribly but he was also happy to have been reunited with Portia, as well as to be back home; still, it felt as if his heart had been torn in half, the other part destined to forever remain with Freyja.

though portia could sense that something was wrong, she couldn't put her paw on what. perhaps she should've assumed it was freyja, but she'd never had that kind of love between her own sister. the thought of being so terribly wounded by separation from her blood family just... didn't ever come up. so she let it be, not wanting to bug poor hvit, instead just giving his cheek a soft, hopefully comforting, lick.

"you remember dio?" she asked, deciding it would be best to maybe talk about herself. that's how it used to go, anyway, she just talked and talked and talked and hvitserk would listen until he'd have to go home. "we've had two children, dalia and sirio," she announced, grinning, "sirio looks sort of like dio, and dalia like me. oh, you'd love dalia, i think, she's got a talent for plants and herbs and is such the sweetheart." her babies were also almost grown up... well, not fully, of course, but they'd be in the adult ranks in mere weeks-- she could hardly wait. her ears pricked. "she doesn't talk much, either," she added, almost as an afterthought.

It would take him a while to get used to a life without Freyja at his side but, in the meantime, he focused on the joy felt over having been reunited with his old friend. Her gesture was well received, his eyes closing as he smiled whilst his tail thumped against the ground, easily finding comfort in her touch; honestly, he could be comforted by her simply being there with him, her presence having always been a calming one to him.

As she asked about Dio, his eyes opened back up and he nodded, needing not take even a second to think back. For even though he’d never been close with the male, he knew Portia was and that had made it easy to remember him; he was sure that the man must have been there for her following Freyja and his departure. Curious about what she had to say, he gazed up at her from his place on the ground, listening closely whilst she mentioned now having children—what? Hvitserk froze, his face going blank, and he stared at her with wide eyes. She had children now? At first, he didn’t know how to feel about that or how he should react but, after listening to her talk about them, he smiled and his tail even swished back and forth a few times. He was happy for her, albeit a bit sad, too, knowing that he wasn’t the only one in her life anymore.

Paying attention only to the happiness that he felt for her, he tilted his head at the mention of her daughter. Dalia—it was a pretty name, and he assumed her to be pretty visually, too, after learning that she looked like her mother. And at the mention of her limited usage of words, he couldn’t help but think, just like me. A quiet whine left his throat, requesting more information then; he wanted to be caught up on everything that had happened with Portia in his absence, and that everything now involved her children.

at first, portia worried hvitserk had not taking the new lightly. his expression seemed confused and like he was struggling to properly understand it, but, thankfully, after a few heartbeats more, he seemed more than delighted to hear the news. he whined softly, which portia knew meant he wanted more, and she took a few moments to gather some more information as she slid down onto her stomach-- it was more comfortable than standing. 

"well," she began thoughtfully, tucking her paws under her chest in a very feline-like fashion, "i believe i was skayona when you were last here, but i've taken on the role as drageda's fisa." that felt informative, more of a filler than real backstory, it was important to know the ranks-- she thought. "and dio is our wocha, of course, i think you knew that," she added in again as a secondary (though portia liked sharing the news just to remind everyone how much of a power couple she thought they were). "dalia is interested in healing, like a said, i really think you outta seek her out-- i think you two would make good friends--" among other things, but she'd wait until dalia was a little bit older before she began shoving men at her-- or women, who knew "--and maybe you could teach her a thing or two, i'm sure you've learned a thing or two being out in the world."

then, with a sly grin and a dip of her nose, portia added, "and i haven't spoken to dio yet, but i think i might want try have a few more this year... i'd love for you to be around for them."

Hvitserk was highly attentive, listening closely to every word that left her mouth. He was interested in her, he always had been, and was fairly excited to learn about how life had treated her in his absence. At the news of her new titled, his tail began to wag and he reached out to run his nose through the fur along her cheek, congratulating her; she had always been a hard worker, especially in his eyes, and he was glad to hear of her ascension into something greater. As for her comment regarding Dio, he simply smiled and nodded, acknowledging her words and confirming his prior knowledge of his title; he had nothing against the current Wocha, he just couldn’t get as excited for him as he did Portia. Never had the yearling formed a bond with the man, nor had he really set out to do so—he was content being nothing more than a fellow member of the pack to Dio.

Tilting his head, he looked at her questionably. Seek out her daughter? It certainly made sense that he should befriend the young girl, given how close he was with her mother, but he wasn’t too sure how he felt about it all. Sure, she was Portia’s child but, even still, she was a complete stranger to him. Even if she wasn’t too keen on the idea of speaking, either, the thought of requesting her company felt… weird. He frowned—briefly—as the thoughts swarmed his mind, though they were quickly set aside and his lips turned upwards into a smile as the woman continued. Looking for Dalia to try and make friends seemed odd, but spending time with her to teach her about plants didn’t sound too bad; he was not nearly as well-taught as Portia but, during his time away, he learned more than what he’d known as a child. Without giving it a second thought, he nodded again eagerly, agreeing to assist the girl in any way that he could—however, he wasn’t entirely sure how he would locate her, given that he wasn’t permitted to venture into the depths of the territory.

At her last remark, his eyes widened in surprise. More children? He wasn’t sure how to react—what was appropriate? Wouldn’t more children mean less of her time would go to him? He didn’t like the idea of that at all—but then he realised something: the joy she seemed to feel from having started a family. Unable to do anything to take away from that, he inched closer and tucked his muzzle up beneath her chin, assuring her that he wasn’t going anywhere. This time, he would stay, and he would be there to watch her children grow.

noting his initial reaction to her comment about dalia, portia gave the boy a softer smile, eyebrows knitting with a kind concern and understanding. "only if you'd like, hun," she said, even though he had eventually appeared to be enthusiastic about it. she wouldn't lie, for hvitserk to make nice with dalia would be such a dream come true... her two favorite babies together. how perfect.

his nod about children was good, because though dalia would surely be a big help with another litter-- with the war and possible political problems that followed... there would be a need for an extra set of paws to help with them. dio would surely be a busy diplomat (busier than usual) and portia didn't wish to hinder him... not that he would ever complain. he buried himself beneath her chin, and portia cooed softly, "i'm so glad you're back, sweetheart, i've missed you like hell."

Imagining himself interacting with someone new was hard to do. In order to teach her daughter, he would likely have to speak to her and that, well… he wasn’t too sure about it. He wanted to help, if only because Portia had suggested it, but that was an obstacle that he didn’t yet know if he’d be able to overcome—so he stopped thinking about, at least for now, leaving the idea to sit and simmer. Who knows, within a few weeks, maybe his thoughts would change.

I’ve missed you like hell.

He wanted to say that he’d missed her, too, and terribly so. He wanted to tell her everything, from his travels to what he was currently feeling, but he didn’t. As per usual, Hvitserk kept quiet whilst his tail thumped against the ground, nestling his face deeper into the woman’s fur. He was content with just being there with her, needing words no longer to be shared between them, just one another’s company. That was all he wanted—for her to stay there with him just a while longer, whilst he sighed into her chest and took comfort in being so close to her again.