Moonspear burn it up or just chop it down

The walk back to where @Osiris waited was not as long as Dirge had hoped. It seemed there was little time to gather his thoughts on just how to break the news, especially when it came at a time when the unpleasant news continued to pile up. He hated the notion that lingered that this was what his life was readily becoming and did not fathom that delivering such things was becoming a skill.

It required a certain finesse that he did not have particular confidence in—life had certainly been easier when he could simply pack up and go when things became difficult. But those options had been cast out the window when he had wanted more and all recent events had done was remind him swiftly of the burden of responsibility.

Even though he hesitated when he returned to their rendezvous, Dirge did not balk. The hestitation had been for composure, an opportunity to steel himself and betray the fact that he truly had terrible news to offer. For as perspective as each of his children were, he hoped that only his weariness would bleed through—none of them had been kept from that, whether from him or any other along their sloped claim.

And when he was certain he could do that, he ascended towards the boy.

being vague af as to the conclusion of that thread

Arcturus' challenge had been a shock; in his disbelief, Osiris had rejected the reality of the situation. "That can't be," he had objected to Dirge in disbelief. "Uncle would never!" But Arcturus had, and, after instructing Osiris to stay put, Dirge left to address the appeal.

Whispers of the fallout came to him on the wind, indicating the conflict that occurred on the lower reaches of Moonspear. Osiris eavesdropped to the best of his ability, and although he couldn't catch the finer details, the essence of the exchange was evident: Arcturus had betrayed Moonspear. Osiris felt many things in the immediate aftermath; hurt, betrayal, anger, worry, confusion. Arcturus' deception was especially tricky to navigate; he had meant so much more to Osiris than the others had. He stewed in his negativity, fury posied against Arcturus' actions; a grudge was formed. 

The sound of Dirge's footfalls alerted Osiris, and he glanced up to spot his father's nearing silhouette. Pushing himself onto all fours to walk forward, Osiris met his father halfway. Although his expression remained neutral, heated passion was evident in his gemstone-like eyes. 

"Why?" Osiris' gaze implored.

Dirge hadn't expected to be met halfway, and it was evident in the sharp gaze of his son that much more had been gleaned than he had been anticipating. There was a resolute hurt there too, and it only made him loathe having to draw an explanation up.

He was torn between softening it and spelling it out, and opted for something in between.

"Your uncle won't be returning for a while," he remarked, opening with what may have been the well known. "Your mother and he are at a disagreement. Nothing came of his challenge." Simple, he thought; Arcturus needed to cool his head as much as Hydra did, but neither of them had drawn blood from one another. But it was only one more thing that went on top of a growing list of problems.

Dirge stated what Osiris had assumed—Arcturus was going to be away for a while. He did his best to conceal his anger, well-aware his father was only the messenger. "And he'll be allowed back?" Osiris asked, his voice edged with disbelief.

The anger that flared in Osiris churned in Dirge for a moment. A flicker of a flame in his eye that was there and gone in a blink; he couldn't bring himself to be angry over the challenge. Concerned, curious of the finer inner workings of things, but not angry. That concern only grew to see it consume his son even behind a sturdy restraint. Truly gone was the naivety from the youth in his children's faces, and though they were still young they were most certainly no longer children.

"If cooler heads prevail, perhaps," he conceded, though he didn't know. Hydra may not have even wanted him to come back, but he knew she was as angry as she was hurt by all. As for himself, Dirge wanted to see Arcturus return; they needed all the able bodies they could get against the apparent threats of the wilds, and he had much trust in Hydra's brother.

His mouth felt dry; he gestured for Osiris to come with him.

An explanation was warranted.

"In time you will come to understand the many workings of the world," he explained loosely. "Your mother and I have done our best to shield you and your siblings from the harsh reality of things, to do better than our own parents. The world outside this mountain can be quite idyllic, but it is also very cruel when it desires to be. Its nature is very fickle, I suppose," and it went without saying that so were they. Tenacious, but fickle, ever bent to their own whims.

"We taught you all to think for yourselves, to be more than just tooth and claw. Your uncle was not afforded the same as openly as you, nor your mother and aunts. Your grandfather saw to that in how he led and raised his children and though it has lent to us our prosperity here, it also gives little room for those of a more thoughtful, gentle nature. I feel he was hardest on his boys, and though they learn..." his head bobbed almost uncertainly; how to describe? "Sometimes it is that headstrong, toothy nature that rears the ugliest of heads in anger and stress. It steals that thoughtfulness away. I had hoped we were past that by now, but know there is more to this than just ambition."

His gaze went to Osiris, trying to read him.

"You're right to be angry with him, but do not let it consume you." It was a pointed statement. "Now more than ever we must keep a level head, or it will tear us apart. Such is the way of the world, and I've seen lesser things turn family on one another."

Dirge's response left more to be desired. "What do you think will happen?" he pressed with his next breath, "Would allow for him to return?" While Dirge was able to examine the complexities of the situation in a spectrum of color, Osiris could only see in black and white.

Osiris followed after Dirge; the lesson began. 

While there was a lot to consider, one point, in particular, stuck out to him: "Sometimes it is that headstrong, toothy nature that rears the ugliest of heads in anger and stress." The proverbial horizons of his perspective increased; the fire within him was no more. 

"I feel like he betrayed us," he said quietly, feeling simultaneously depleted and defeated. "And I wish I could do something about it—something that'll make him learn what he did was wrong." His need for justice was self-serving; nothing good would come from him seeking revenge. "But... that'd only tear us all further apart." The statement was mostly a reminder for himself.

The fire that burned in Osiris seemed to simmer, tempering to the better side of him that Dirge wanted to see. He understood. He was thankful for that; how difficult things would have been had his own children all been based upon tooth and claw with little consideration for the other ideals they had been raised to. Still, influence was a powerful thing, and he was aware of such. Once he had wondered how he would have turned out had his own childhood been different, but that was well under the bridge now.

"And you would no doubt be telling him something he already knows, too," he rejoined. "There is a time and a place for vengeance, but you must weigh if the cost is worth such. We cannot take back what has already happened, and therefore you must always use caution if that is the route you decide to take. I'd imagine there would have to be a lot of forgiving to be done if he comes back. Not just by us, but himself too." And that Dirge did not know would happen. Hydra seemed to be inclined to forgive, perhaps desire to some degree to mend her relationship to her brother—at least he wanted to believe it so.

But Lyra? Alya? He couldn't say. The other heads of the Cerberus were just that, individual. They had not been softened or guided by him, and he did not entirely seek to try when they often aligned with Hydra herself. But he knew the potential, knew of the sway they would possess and not just to her.

And so he sought to work with Osiris now than later.

"Either way, he needs time and space. To heal as we do, to come to his own crossroads. He may come back and he may not, but those are his decisions and his alone. I certainly hope you never fight with your brothers like that, and never put your sister in that position either. Disagree all you want with them as you grow and change, but know whether or not it is the time and place to act. You know all too well how badly teeth hurt went set to flesh, and know that those wounds don't heal quickly. The concerns of heart and mind are much the same way."

Osiris was able to sympathize further with Arcturus—though he still felt as though he could not completely forgive him. It was all too fresh in his mind, and his anger had only just simmered. He nodded once more, acknowledging the wisdom the Dirge shared. It was only when his siblings were mentioned that Osiris spoke. 

"I could never!" he offered in return, slightly bewildered as he considered the situation at large. He was naive in this, too; the scent of heat would only have more leverage over his mindfulness as he grew older. "I never want to see them hurt," he added then, softer, "I love them too much."

Never say never, he wanted to tell him, but it was too grim. He knew all too well how easily family was capable of turning on one another. ‌If not for himself personally, then he had seen the beginning and end of what had given him the opportunity to rise up. He did not think or dwell upon such things, however, at least not often. If he had, perhaps he would have found a tear in the lining of his own tapestry and pulled at the threads there only to see that they too were truly apart of the one he had begun to unravel and mend here.

Instead it was a placating smile that came across his face.

“I‌ wouldn’t think you capable of such, nor they either.”

At least, he certainly hoped not. As grim and cruel as this event had been, Dirge hoped it would be the sort of thing that would steer his children clear of such folly. No matter how necessary it was—he wanted them to see that they had options that were more than just fight or flee. If anything, he truly believed the hurt in Hydra would dissuade them for quite a time. Anything else he would revisit when the time came, if it ever did.

“But even then, I don’t always expect you to agree with them. You may now, but every day you and your siblings are changing. You’re no longer simply just our children here, but fully apart of our pack. Your contributions are more than just showing what you have been taught; they are your actions too.‌‌ Those things will determine what others think of you and where you stand among us. Remember that.”

Osiris was naive in many ways—especially when it came to hormones and breeding season. Although he had undoubtedly smelt the season in the air, Osiris had not been drawn to it as he would be in the coming years; breeding season was a tough time to navigate, and he would learn that eventually. 

"I understand, Dad," Osiris replied with a nod, taking his advice seriously. He had felt his role among Moonspear change, as he had begun to contribute more, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was enough. "Do you think I'm doing enough?" Osiris asked; there was only one way to quiet his concern, and that was receiving Dirge's confirmation. 

"And if not... is there anything more I could be doing?"

His questions were innocent enough; the change of topic was one that Dirge found himself welcome to with a humored breath. The eagerness of Osiris to do right and do well appeased him, though he could never have claimed to have want of either when he had been the same age.

“You do plenty,” he reassured him with a bump of his muzzle. “All you need to do is pay attention to what the pack’s wants and needs are and pick up the slack in either. Which you do. Your siblings do this too.” It was an instinctive reflex, perhaps, but he also did not claim to understand those finer workings either. Though for now Dirge had not felt a necessity to rely on his children to aid such endeavors, he did know there would eventually come a time for such.

How soon that would be was another story, and one dependent upon what the future held.

Dirge's advice was simple enough. "Alright, Dad," Osiris replied; he felt relieved by the feedback that he had received. Osiris would continue to work hard to make Moonspear a safer place for everybody—but, especially, for his family. "I'll do that," he promised. 

Osiris had felt a spectrum of intense emotions that day, and now that he had calmed down, he realized how much the day's events had drained him. "Do... you need anything?" Osiris asked with a tentative wag of his tail. He didn't know what to expect next, but he was willing to keep watch if needed; with Hydra expecting, Osiris was on high-alert in regards to the pack's security.

“I don’t think so,” he rejoined, only to slip into his thoughts.

He could think of plenty, truthfully, but none of them were quite the sort of thing that Osiris could help him with. His inner concerns would stay that way, as they always had, and instead he found something else that would bolster his son’s inclination to be thoughtful and help.

“Though we could probably hunt something for your mother,” he went on. The least they could probably do was tend to her given that she’d soon be tending to much more hungrier mouths soon enough. No doubt the sight of them hauling something to her would certainly take the ire out of any sort of thing that could have been irritating her.

“Fancy a hunt?”

"That'd be great," Osiris agreed; a hunt was just what they needed to burn off their energy excess. He deferred to Dirge's lead, following as they set off in a light jog towards the flatlands. Together, in the soft star-shine, they would hunt for an hour or so. Although their hunt was not as fruitful as Osiris had anticipated, they were still able to contribute to the cache closest to Hydra's whelping den.