Moonspear don't know just where you've been

Dazed and confused, he really didn't understand. First it had been weird, then it got worse. He knew it was bad when even his father was turning up the ice on him. Too young to really contend with these kind of thoughts, he had sneakily let curiosity get the better of him despite all the warnings not to earlier today. He had gained no answers in stalking closer than he had dared in the last few days. Only a noseful of more questions, and a slice across the bridge of that very nosy nose, delivered courtesy his mother--who had to be where that scent came from.

It would explain why everyone in the whole family was acting funky about it, but that still didn't mean he grasped why. He did miss his mom though, and wanted to see her still...

Terrified and lured closer all at once, he hadn't known what to think when faced with it outright, but that whip-crack fast turn of her teeth had got him moving and out of sights before he could bring the questions. That was enough so he had retreated to the borderlands to vent his energy there--especially after no one else intercepted him otherwise. After a long rage-pee and a lot of scuffing up the place with his paws, he marched on to patrol, determined to ignore the sting of the cold, cold wind on his face as he faced it head-on.

Alya, too, was feeling a bit left out by all the baby-making. On the one paw, she was terribly attached to her father and missed seeing him around the territory. On the other, she wanted to be paid attention to by handsome, vaguely Charon-eqsue figure.

So she could sort of see why Jarilo was so put out by the whole ordeal. "We should go on an adventure. That'd show 'em," she said when the angsty trail she'd been following led her to the kid brother she'd been searching for. Alya tutted when she saw his nose, and moved to give it a consoling lick. Tastes like mom's ire, she thought to herself.

His down-turned ears swung back up before a shiver went down his nape. When he heard pawsteps, his first fear was that somehow, mama was coming to remind him of his fuck-up and he was torn between flight and fight--he awkwardly chose freeze.

For once, relief gushed over him when he saw the sapphire eyes of one of his yearling sisters. Still, he was wounded.. moody.. but interested.. and tried to recover from this quickly without too much of a fumble; it wasn't easy.

Aforementioned ears now went up for a true perk. "Go where?" he asked, lifting one thoughtful paw off the ground to officially unfreeze the rest of himself. He had never.. gone anywhere........ now that she mentioned it.

The question irritated Alya, but since Jarilo had doubtlessly had his fill of irritated women for the day, she bit her tongue. "Just out," she replied. "We can go visit the mountains across the way. Wouldn't that be cool? Or we can go down into the valley and see the burnt woods."

The burnt woods had fascinated her as a child, but the shine had worn off once she'd seen them up close. Still, it was an interesting place to look at, and she felt Jarilo was still young enough to fall for some scary stories, if she told them in just the right setting.

Just out. Okay. He blinked slowly and didn't hesitate any longer to answer with a quick nod. He wanted to, it would be cool... he was definitely not about to argue that. "I've never been very far," he said, cued with a very important grimace to show just how deprived he was. "I wanna see burnt woods," he said, straightening up and gaining confidence on the matter the more he heard from her of the possibilities.

Weeks back, his first burst of interest in the lands beyond had been stifled after his sister's untimely mishaps, but that had begun to fade by now. Plus he was not of pale fur like Galaxy had been, or even as Vela is.. who both seemed to invite trouble like beacons way more than he did, and neither were they with one of the cerberus when something bad happened. He got the sense an opportunity like the one his sister posed here was not one he should just let slip on by. "What are other mountains like?" he asked.

Alya wagged her tail. "So let's go," she insisted, shifting so that she was facing down the mountain. "The burnt woods aren't too far. I'd been much further when I was your age." She wasn't sure that was true, but it made her feel better to say it. That way, it wasn't peer pressure; it was just his turn.

She began trotting away without waiting for input, hoping that she wouldn't have to resort to grizzling to get him to come along. This mountain was just getting too small, lately, and she felt sure - somehow - that Jarilo must share this sentiment. "I haven't been to many," she admitted, pointing her nose toward Silvertip. "But I've been to the top of that one. It's weird to look at Moonspear from that far, that high... but you should try it sometime. Of course, no mountain is as good as Moonspear - but it's worth the trip."

Easily encouraged by those he admired like her, he bobbed his head without a second thought in it. Burnt woods, hell yes. "Let's," he parroted back and pranced lightly, although held his motion in close until she took to the clear-cut lead. Following her trot's pace, he readily opened up a merry jog all of his own. If she had been further at his age, then he had no reason to believe she didn't know what she was doing.

As for the mountain, his sights scanned its way narrowed into a scrunching squint--although not just so he could see the mountain in the distance any better. He was considering the sight of all of Moonspear like that for the first time so clearly. Not being the kind to leave yet didn't help him understand what exactly all of Moonspear even looked like. Instead he could just imagine its features from his point of view: right here. Anyway. "Ohh, the top??" he asked, eyes big again, because of course their home was better but ascending to such lofty heights was still impressive, even for the mountain-born prince. "So is Moonspear even bigger than that?" With her back to him, she probably wouldn't see but he jutted his nose towards Silvertip's distant outline too. "Does anyone live on Silvertip?" He had a lot to find out about suddenly. Jarilo could (and would) prattle off questions all day if she let him. He was game to follow along, all ears, to whatever she would share.