Moonspear and at the time i didn’t know just how hard the wind could blow

a thin cry wound its’ way into the cold air, rising above the summit in a tapering keen. arcturus listened curiously, recognizing it as the voice of a stranded bighorn. 

whether or not he was in reach of it was a different matter entirely. 

he passed @Hydra and @Dirge’s den, peering within with a gentle wag of his tail. if their cubs were up for it, arcturus had his own idea for their training for the day — practice their ability to hunt scents among the shale. of course, this lesson was two-fold; there was a fair bit of an uphill climb, perfect for conditioning the muscles and tendons of young wolves. 

collecting any children he was able, arcturus motioned for the rocky trail — and then set off at a jaunty trot uphill. 

AW! Maybe puppy training session? @Antares @Vega @Atlas @Osiris @Dragomir @Isilmë

Arcturus would find Dragomir on a low ridge, staring blankly out at the sprawling foothills and the lake where Vercingetorix had died. This was where he'd kept vigil since returning to Moonspear. He would've been happy to stay there until his guilt and his loathing and his grief rotted him from the inside out, but now it was up to him to make good on his father's promise that they would earn their keep.

So when training came up, Dragomir attended, albeit with a far-off look in his eyes and the liveliness of a wooden puppet. He followed silently, bringing up the rear of whatever group was gathered, until they reached the rocky track where their leader picked up speed.

Dragomir struggled to keep up then. His legs were still not strong enough for this kind of climb at this speed. It wasn't long before he started to fall behind, and seeing as Dragomir didn't know Arcturus or whether he would stop and wait for him or leave him to struggle alone, he began to despair. Shame burned hot tears into his eyes as he fought his aching, weak body for every laboured step up the unsteady trail.

she arrived some time after the group has begun to move, content, at first, to ignore the call in her desire to fade away and become part of the stony mountainside. it is her brother that drives her to make her way to the origin of the call, unable to stomach the thought of him alone, should he have answered. 

and so she meets him halfway up the trail, having followed the group's scent from below. wordlessly, she moves beside him; close enough for him to lean on her as she matches his pace.

just a post to keep this going, some light assumptions made — anyone else feel free to jump in at any point <3

the small congregation moved uphill, lead by their dark shepherd. a straggler branched from the group — arcturus noticed dragomir’s lagging with a slight frown. he camped briefly besides the trail, motioning for hydra’s children to continue to the moonstone landmark several hundred paces above.

falling then in step with dragomir and isilme, arcturus caught the despair in dragomir’s eyes — the expression seemed so hopeless that for a moment arcturus felt gutted for encouraging their mountainside jaunt. you take this, at your own pace. arcturus spoke into the chilly air, taking care to match the slower gait of his disciples. slow is sometimes the fastest way to go. there are times when one should not run. you try this, twice a week — each time a moment longer, and in a few month’s time you will be at the front of the pack he glanced between the darker of the cubs to his supportive sister, tail arced in appreciation for her willingness to stay behind. a wolf that did not have the support of its packmates, was no wolf at all — and to leave one behind was to violate one of the pack’s most inherent laws. how long have you been like this? arcturus did not wish to know for prying reasons — he was attempting in that moment to devise a new regime for dragomir tailored to his current limitations.

Hydra cameo! She'll just be watching, so can be skipped throughout the rest.

 

She and @Dirge had said they wanted to see how her dear brother would do; and so, when he called the summons, Hydra forced them up and after him. Nipping at her husband in quiet invitation, she followed Arcturus with a finish snap of her teeth at his heels. It would amuse her greatly to see her children follow suit; they did enjoy doing as they saw her (and their father) do. Moving along the side of the group to watch the band, soon enough they came upon the young Dragomir—who elected, then, to join them (to her pleasure). All picked up the pace, Hydra more to see what he was capable of... When he slowed, Hydra could hear the shift in his stride—Arcturus seemed to, as well. Hydra greatly approved of his response, and looked over her shoulder but once to see Isi there. 

At his gesture to her children, Hydra turned back to them and gave them a sharp look that sent them running. Who would get there first, she wondered, today?

Isilmë appeared to support him from the side. Dragomir could always count on her to be there even when no one else was. Now that they were two souls adrift with nothing tethering them to reality, it would've been easy for the pair of them to fade into obscurity and become two nobodies. It would've been easy, but Dragomir didn't want that. That was what he was becoming in Kaistleoki, and he couldn't bear to become that here. This was the more difficult path, but it was the right one. He was glad his sister was taking it alongside him.

He hadn't expected Arcturus to stop and wait for him. He'd long since decided his own worth was too low for the regard of anyone but Isilmë and his father. It certainly had felt that way at the riverside pack, where none but his family and Speedy visited him regularly. It reminded him of Diaspora, a thought which sent a pang through his heart. He turned his head to peer up at the Beta that strode alongside them, ears canted to hear Arcturus' words against the mountainous wind, and for a long moment he struggled not to cry with relief.

Swallowing thickly, Dragomir glanced at Isilmë before saying, since the summer. There were only four wolves in the world who knew the entirety of what happened to Dragomir: himself, his tormenters, and Mahler. It was likely Dragomir would not speak of it to another soul. But he did share, vaguely, had an accident. Speedy helped me get better but my legs still don't move right. Not to mention how weak his muscles had become in the interim. To prove his resolve, he felt inclined to add, I'll do it. Every day. I promise.

As the children ran on ahead, Dirge took up the difference between them and the primary group, ears swiveling around to listen. The path ahead was easy on the eyes, decked out in pure autumn, but he couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation behind him as his gaze followed the leaps and bounds of the quartet that had been sent ahead.

That was until Dragomir supplied something of relative interest—Speedy.

He couldn't have hid the way his ears fanned back to listen, his head turning slowly to abandon his visual pursuit to peer back to Hydra in questioning. He knew what it would mean for her, and for Arcturus; he knew what it would mean for Speedy too.

But it was the peal of laughter somewhere beyond that tore his gaze away again for a moment as he caught sight of the bounding flag of Atlas and his tail—the boy was no doubt fleeing the scene of some minor crime he had just committed at a sibling's fortune.

Vega had followed along quietly for the first part of the trek up the mountainside, not paying much attention to her siblings or to Dragomir and Isilme. She ignored the conversation buzzing around her, as well, and only perked up when both Arcturus and Hydra gestured for her and her siblings to go ahead of the group. She trotted onward, just to be stopped in her tracks by a tug of her tail from Atlas's teeth, which elicited a shriek as her brother bounded away.

"Hey!" she cried as she raced after him, moving swiftly up the uneven terrain with little thought.

hoping its ok to skip isi to keep this moving. maybe no post order? unless we think that is too chaotic.

speedy. arcturus tried to hide the surprise -- and then anger -- that overtook him. others might notice for a moment he appeared conflicted, as if drawing from some great personal strength to remain outwardly stoic. he was quick to steer the topic away from his momentary slip of composure. "since summer. muscle wastes fast. surprisingly so." arcturus pressed on, motioning for dragomir to take the path he tread upon, which was less steep and full of rocks. ever so briefly, he found himself glancing to @Dirge --  as if to reaffirm what he had heard.

"you will need to be consistent." arcturus murmured, falling in step behind dragomir to measure the boy's gait. he had studied many injured prey in his time, and had a keen eye for lameness. "do not forget to use that limb that hurts. we often do more damage compensating for the limb that hurts, than simply using it. but tell me too, when it starts to be too uncomfortable. muscles will rebound from exercise, but not from overloading. you will need to learn your limits."

the male turned his attention briefly to dirge and his group -- he did not wish for the group to split, but it may be better that way. already the rest of the moonspear cubs were ahead save isilme -- vega just visible ahead on the heels of atlas.

The boy swung along with Arcturus to the easier portion of the path, doing his very best to speed up. The other pups were already way ahead of the group and they were younger than him! That stung his newly developing ego a little. If only he hadn't gone with Sanguinus, maybe he would be able to race them up the hill, overcome them with his long legs, laugh and cheer alongside them, made a friend or two ...

If only, if only.

Dragomir became immediately self-conscious when Arcturus fell back and commented on his gait. Without even realizing it, the juvenile began compensating in exactly the manner the Beta had warned him not to. He tried futilely to make his stride regular, to erase the hitch when his leg pained him. If he could only create the illusion of fluidity, then no one would notice that he was weak on that leg, but that was easier said than done. It took no time at all for the ache to transfer from his leg into his hips. Not long after that he gave up, transitioning back to the stiff limp he'd adopted with an exasperated sigh.

Every day, he repeated, puffing his cheeks out when a sharp wave of pain crawled up toward his pelvis. He wanted to keep going and pretend none of this was bothering him, but Arcturus was right: he would only do more damage. Vercingetorix would not want him to harm himself further trying to accomplish something beyond his reach. That thought shattered his resolve and his eyes filled with unwanted tears. I think I need to stop, he gasped, wincing and slowing down.

pulling this from archive to put a conclusion on it so it counts for arcturus' trade log. let me know if the PP isn't okay.

with the rest of the crew ahead, arcturus was able to better focus on dragomir. he heard from somewhere a yell of protest from vega, and thought he even heard osiris join in -- but he knew dirge was watching them and so, turned to vercingetorix's children.

they went a little further, arcturus offering guidance where he could. sometimes he pointed out an unseen ledge that would be easier, sometimes he leapt to a slab of stone - all the while respecting the boy's pace. he had learned not to mention dragomir's limp again -- for doing so had caused the boy to overcompensate. arcturus' fault, really.

"it takes time." arcturus encouraged soon as dragomir fell back to his old gait; it would take time and commitment, as he had said -- over and over and over and over..

but eventually, the boy would be rewarded.

it was not long after that dragomir announced he was spent. looking at the distance they covered, arcturus nodded in understanding. he made to tell dirge that he and vercingetorix's children were now headed back downhill.

tomorrow, they would try again.