Moonspear the palace with the malice

The heavy humidity persisted well into the afternoon--only thickening by the hour as her morning hunts eluded her grasp and kept her out scouring the hills for longer than she had wanted to be at first. She simply dogged the trails further, determined, and finally at the edge of a meadow, she seized an unlucky fat rabbit in her teeth with a crunch and a vicious shake.

The moment she managed the kill, she turned-tail quick for the darker shade of the forests' depths. At least her efforts had gained something and the venture was not a waste, so she carried the still-warm kill back towards the rendezvous to share for a late afternoon snack and brief reprieve from the muggy weather bogging down her doings. 

While she could smell fresh traffic spattered all over the place as she neared her destination, the immediate area seemed quiet so far. Some of the older siblings had been around when she had last seen the littler lot of Ostregas, but that had been a few hours past easily. Suspicion narrowed her minty eyes already, and now moving forward more mindfully, she wondered who she could find first--or even who she could bait first with the smell of fresh free food blatant and bloodied just enough to carry merrily on the breeze. She gave the limp carcass a few extra swings then for good measure, and crept steadily closer to the central hub of their rendezvous' usually-active landmarks.

It was an odd sort of melancholy that overtook him as he went about business as usual... he wasn't visibly upset, but there was something lacking. Because of this, he kept fairly well to himself.... except when he played with the pups. For some reason they drew out a warmth still, and this was why today he was looking to find them and engage a game of some sort.

He scented the rabbit before he saw her, but soon enough, it was Amekaze who he had run into instead. Remembering instantly his conversation with Charon, he froze, uncertain, and then proceeded to take a step back. He wasn't sure if the man had told her of it, and further, what her own thoughts were.

As she pressed on, especially now on high alert, she found herself a little surprised to find none of her little ones--or for them to have found her yet. Something must be keeping them busy, she supposed, and turned instead to find Gannet coming upon the scene too. She perked up her head, rabbit dangling, and chuffed quietly, all muffled through the hold on the carcass.

But she set that down at her paws soon after and greeted him with her typical slow tail-up sway. "Looking for them too, hm?" she guessed, tilting her head subtly after while she eyeballed him over, all like usual. She knew he spent time with them--which was definitely fine by her, meaning more room to roam when they were busy with him and the others. Highly appreciated these days, too.

She didn't seem unfriendly towards him, but Gannet wasn't cheered much by the meeting. He nodded, glancing around. "D'you know where?" He'd really wanted a play session to get his mind off things, but if they weren't around, he could always go for another run. Maybe chase some birds down.

She listened on over the silence of the rendezvous, then shook her head softly side to side. "Not exactly," she answered, and certainly had a good guess or two. They weren't stalking her, or here attracted to the scent of fresh meat, so likely with their father, or sisters. She had seen Jarilo further down the mountain, which meant he was probably safe. As for who exactly had them, she didn't know. "With their father, I would bet," she said, sniffing around a bit to smell that he had been here.

For this fleeting mention of her speckled mate, she passed a glance over Gannet; not unaware of their little chat, but not well-versed enough to be bothered by the cold words she would guess he had cut upon the Redhawk--not that she would so swiftly disagree, but maybe, time had allowed her to see more of him, and how well enough he had come be regarded by her offspring.

Anyway, maybe she had just missed them, but she wasn't about to dwell on not seeing them right this instant--although she couldn't quite speak for Gannet. She could delay entertaining her pups for now and plucked her rabbit off the ground to carry it a little deeper into the heart--perhaps by just a handful of lengths, really, but she sought a place to leave it for them to find when they got back. "For later," she rolled her shoulders, and went turning back to the black-footed omega. She waved her tail gently once more. "Busy?" Not yet willing to be too presumptuous, she started slowly for a direction southbound of here.

Now that made sense - and if there was one wolf he wanted to avoid for a while, it was Charon. He got the feeling he'd gone a step backwards by asking what he did, and that sense along with his own downcast confusion meant he didn't want to repeat the conversation. Better to let it fade.

"Oh," was all he replied, watching her go and set down the rabbit. He was curious, but she clarified, and then asked a question. "Not really." Did sulking count? Because he didn't necessarily want to be busy, but he did wonder if the question had a reason behind it. "Why?"

She finished her pivot to aim southbound, though kept an eye on him in the process as his answers came as concise as she suspected. He left her nothing that she could look further into, really. Even without spending great lengths of time with him, she knew that was how he could be, even if it left her not quite knowing what to think sometimes. Considering his still-standing status among them, however, the dark mother had long since realized it was high time she have a greater understanding of what her expectations of him (him, as an  individual, not just the titles he carried) may include.

Next, she'd elaborate a bit. She had her own motivations.. and if not seeing her puppies, then she knew she had to be tending to their well-being somehow. The borders were fine, she trusted they were safe. She wasn't looking to patrol really anyway. and so that defaulted her right back to where she had been for much of the day already: back on the prowl. "Besides that catch, my hunts have been pitiful today. Unlucky as can be," she shook her head. Toiling away chasing small game to very little avail made her just want a change of tactic--especially when she had the four growing, hungry mouths to feed. "I have to get back to it, and cannot say I would be against some company on the trail," she invited over her shoulder, though would leave him to it if he decided to decline--or would much rather find the pups.

It wasn't very often anyone outside of Hydra or Jarilo asked him for company, so her invitation brightened him a bit despite his mood. His ears lifted and he nodded, glad for the excuse to not have to think about all the things he'd been thinking about. "I can help," he said, though he realized when he said it that likely if she hadn't been able to catch anything, he wouldn't do much better. He had pretty well adjusted to life on the mountain but would never be as practiced as she and her children.

Gannet would have liked to have learned, sometime, the secret to conversation. But still the concept of small talk wasn't one he was very well versed in. He liked to listen when others spoke, but it was the step before; asking the questions that got them speaking - that always escaped him. Luckily this time one was obvious enough to come to the fore. "Where haven't you tried?"

ive had this in drafts for weeks omg

It was a subtle gesture, but she swept her muzzle in a quick nod when he did agree to join her. Far more obvious came the waving tail, and now, spearheaded with a tweaked sense of purpose. "Nowhere much south of here yet," she answered back, still keeping a solid furrow to her brow until she had a good heading chosen. "I covered the hills, though." And the forests they bordered, and some of the places the path led her to there. Luck was outmaneuvering her skillfully today and she was determined to not rely heavily on the cached meats while the weather was good and she had no better excuse to not.

Anyway, she glanced back to him before making for too much haste; she had a rough idea in mind, so had set to head that way, hopeful that a good trail would meet them along the way. "Which way did you come from?" she asked, having only seen him at the rendezvous and not overlapped any sooner. If he had any good leads, her course could certainly adjust.

"That way," he responded (oh so helpfully, though he indicated with a nod the direction he had come from. Eastward. There hadn't been anything there, and if she tried the hills, this seemed as good a direction as any. "Didn't see anything," he added, perking up a bit. He had a job and someone to do it with, and in Gannet's mind, this turned things to a bit brighter outlook.

They couldn't talk much for fear of scaring prey away, but that was fine with him. He definitely preferred Amekaze's company to her mate, not that he would ever voice this. Her judgement, while there sometimes, seemed more reasonable, and he could generally tell more easily what her responses would be. Charon mystified him more than wolves normally did, and he had a hard time communicating as a result.

"Are things good?" He asked softly after a bit of silence, not wanting to interrupt but curious as to what she thought of - everything? He didn't even quite know what he meant specifically.

she's unlucky and bombed for both of her tracking rolls :p

After a glance that pulled towards his gesture, she would simply keep that in mind, and kept moving forward with a still-malleable idea first and foremost. At least they had a few things to narrow down by, so she would head towards the new route hopefully. She intended to check the obvious places--the thoroughfares, and wherever scents of traffics lured them, so that was where she went pressing steadily onward. So far, nothing pulled her nose strongly elsewhere still and her expression kept its creases as she kept searching.

As for his question, she didn't pause to ruminate on an answer. Keeping to her momentum, she nodded first. "What sorts of things?" she quipped. "For me they are," she replied, looking over her shoulder at him. She assumed he meant all things, the greater picture.. and for her, it really was good. Barring small issues--some as fleeting as today' poorly trackings--she did as she pleased and lived her life as she wanted, comfortable on a slab of earth she was highly attached to and surrounded by her growing, wickedly beautiful family. By now she knew well what she liked, what she needed, and how to keep on keeping on. "What about your things?" she returned, though raised her nose to breath deep more obscured hints. She did want to hear more about him, and wondered what he may share, if anything at all.

Like this (keeping silences lengthy but thoughtful) they went on for some time, and hopefully towards some sort of success.