Ouroboros Spine if the light that shines some day goes out

vague to be some time after this probably

They were staying close to the fringes of things. At least Antares certainly was, preferring to loiter more on the eastern edges, near the borderlands, further secured by it sinking in that Neverwinter had moved on from their claim, too. Sometimes, he toed his way down to what he could consider the glen's boundaries, trying to track or stretch his legs... but more often than that, he tried to rest. Even if sleep was fitful, sometimes short-lived--oddly for him, made best when he found the right company to be near, which was difficult to deal with too. He managed to catch his glimpses, at least, and thanks to this, some of the worst of his aches seemed to calm; he faced each day a little clearer than the last. Antares was still dismayed at the process, and haunted by the wounded spear he struggled to keep out of his sight.

The feeling of it all had not left him. The exhaustion refused to lift in full. He still smelled the fear, and the ash of Moonspear's destruction woven into his fur. Antares couldn't seem to clean it off, and not for any lack of trying--evidenced once again by the present trail he left from a nearby creek. The warmer days were giving him that much, so he was taking full advantage of frequent wading that turned to full-dunks most days. Sometimes multiple times a day, because if he smelled like wet wolf, he smelled the suffering less. He had written it off as an effort to help keep his scabs rinsed and aches freshened, not knowing if anyone had caught on to his deeper motives yet. 

It was getting good and dark out, which he appreciated now as he had come to an open space to be with the stars and finish drying himself off. He didn't have the heart to seek proper elevation, so open sky would just have to do. Antares picked a simple spot in the edge of the open and settled down to groom, facing towards the Glen's direction. His expression was pensive as he picked at his wet toes, bordering on a grimace.

While he had not been present when the travelers had arrived, word spread soon enough and Adrastus figured he might as well make their new additions feel welcome whether or not they intended to stay. From what he understood, they too had been displaced by the landslide, but had been allies of the pack when it had once been called Moonspear. They shared grief then, he thought. So he hadn't rushed to see that they find a place to fit in, but he wouldn't avoid them completely, either. After all, they were on Moonglow territory, and were expected to be treated as guests. 

He'd been keen on tracking down prey to enjoy both as food and as a means to use their pelts to line the den he tended so carefully now when he spotted a dark figure out in the open. His dark fur was still slick in places, making Adrastus think he'd perhaps been swimming in the lake. He was fussing about his legs and paws, probably in an attempt to keep them clean, but Adrastus figured that a wolf that smelled less like a wolf and more like the lake might be a capable hunting partner. He uttered a soft whuff as he approached, as though to see if the male was at all receptive to company.

His ears shifted, though he kept his focus seemingly on his paws, and specifically the fur between his pads. Meticulous work, but it didn't take a lot of brainpower, so he keyed into the thought that he was no longer alone. First it was with suspicion just because it didn't seem familiar.. and turns out, he was right. A pale wolf appeared, scented of the pack, of Kukutux and Sialuk's claim. On first pass, he didn't seem as iffy about the fireflies as the dark subordinate had. Antares didn't know what to make of him, however.

Antares did not rise yet, only gathered his hind-legs neater beneath himself; a step closer to pushing up when he'd need it. But there was a glance like a cornered animal that he had to shake fast first. Thankfully, his work on his paws was a good motive. He rose from them with a blink, and pointed look towards the unfamiliar face--one marked with interest judging by his subtle cant, but he didn't say anything yet. It wasn't a no, at least. Not yet.

Eventually, pausing on a thoughtful breath, he answered in a small chuff hello.

He felt for a moment that the male might ask for space. He exhaled softly and flicked his ears forward, hoping to merit a positive reply so that he might learn more of the wolves who had come from the Glen, and see that they were settling in. While he seemed somewhat standoffish, Adrastus felt he had every right to be. Those who had suffered displacement from the landslide lost more than the physical space they had once called home. He had heard Kukutux and Sialuk singing their songs to the dead; when he looked at Antares's face, he thought he could hear the faint echo of a heart that did the same. 

"I greet you," He said with calm reverence and a bow of his head. Ranked independently of the Moonglow wolves, yet welcome guests of the wisewoman meant that they were to be afforded respect automatically, he thought. "I am Adrastus," He said. He did not claim any title as he saw his ill-fitting rank not fit for mention. He also felt it was unimportant to their guests how he fit in with the pack, so long as he was a gracious and welcoming host. "Do you settle here comfortably?" He asked. The man had come from the lake, as was obvious- but something about his slow movements made him appear bone-weary. He was left wondering if the male had a comfortable place to rest while he recovered with Moonglow.

On good days, he liked to think he had a pretty discerning eye for a situation. This one wasn't feeling pressurized to him yet, not anything past the baseline that came with an unfamiliar face, at least. The pale wolf's countenance read as peaceable and to the greeting, Antares nodded towards his chest. Ah. I'm Antares, he felt urged enough to say, and for a beat, had to appreciate their similar name cadences, though very differing appearances.

However he did not have a chance to immediately school his expression at the next piece, since his ears flicked back a notch at the thought of comfortably when his days felt like anything but that. However, he was swiftly tempered by the fact it was.. improvement. No denying that. He got some rest, ate a little. It wasn't sapping his strength terribly to exist here, most hours of the days. There was great solace in knowing that his remaining packmates had some sanctity, too. It was a weight off his shoulders, though only one of many. Comfortably enough, after everything. he replied, speaking quietly, and with a gracious dip of his head to hopefully soften it somewhat. It is good we have a place like this to.. regroup, was his small mention after.

The way he spoke, Adrastus felt himself wondering perhaps if this was the leader of the Glen wolves who had come to recuperate with them. He spoke of his group, which had led Adrastus to believe that even if he was not the one in charge of them, as he expected, he was at least concerned for the welfare of his packmates. 

He could only assume how hard it was to have been separated from his friends and family. He could sense that Antares was still tired, and that he carried with him a weight that had fallen upon his shoulders like a thick layer of heavy dust, something he couldn't quite shake off yet. It had taken the wolves some time, he understood, to find their way to the Spine and while he didn't know the details, he figured that there had like been a search and rescue effort. They'd arrived not immediately after the landslide, but weeks afterward. 

"Your pack and mine are allies, from what I understand," He said, "You will be welcomed here." He hadn't been present when the strangers had arrived, but if Kukutux had declared them worthy of Moonglow's charity, then that was enough. "Are you hungry?" He asked, then. Antares looked tired, and his movements meant he might be sore- but he expected the male still to have an apetite.

He kept the tip of his snout towards himself, but did nod again, slowly. Antares already worried no amount of welcome was going to soothe his rankled furs alone. Allies, yeah. Kukutux and Sialuk are family to me, and we all ran together on the mountain once, he supplied, spoken carefully, a landmine of grief to tiptoe through. Antares had not failed to notice that beyond the two moon-coated wolves, they were mostly strangers to him here already; it led him to wonder exactly how these new Moonglow folk perceived all of this--on the outside looking in at all of the remnants of what once was so very whole for the Ostregas.

Antares gingerly started to sit himself up properly, finally giving in over another long look at this snowy acquaintance, all the while hoping the guise of some conversation would mask his own finer details. It did not take him long to answer though. Not very.. he hmm'd truthfully. But I should eat, he relented, then sighed through his nose. Why? he asked, lighter (trying). His aunt, Melaine, and Keyni were going to be on his case soon, he suspected, if he didn't start picking himself up better. He didn't need any scrutiny, even from well-intentioned caretakers, when he felt like disappearing into the cracks underfoot most times.

I keep passing over this in my threadlog because 'Antares' and 'Adrastus' get read by my brain as being the same word at first glance. Like..."Yup! I've replied to everyth-WAITAMINUTE"

Oh, how it caused his heart to sink, knowing that Adrastus, too, had once belonged with the wolves of Moonspear. While he was still unclear about exactly how Antares might be related to Kukutux and Sialuk, he could feel the weight of the realization that Antares was joined to them not only by family relations, but by grief. If he had lived upon the mountain once then he would have been familiar, if not family, to the ones who had been lost. The women had sung their songs of grief, which had haunted the late-winter skies and mingled with the lights that danced in the North. But what of the men? Had Antares found a way to shout his grief to the stars, or was it still burning within him?

He knew that Antares, by now, was likely sick of other wolves telling him how sorry they were. He was probably tired of having others look upon him with sympathy in their eyes. He was recovering physically and that was likely exhausting enough, let alone having to face others constantly checking in to see how he was. He got the feeling, when he mentioned that he should eat, that perhaps his apatite had suffered. "Come walk with me. We will see if we can find something to share." He beckoned.

LMAO antares delights in the accidental sneak there >:D

For a breath, he could be grateful that his piece of explanation did not incite more questions. Not openly, at least. Perhaps it had been enough, paired with what he knew from before.. on which, Antares could only guess. And, at such a request, he was slow to motion but did nod his head. It was a far better way to spend his time over picking at his toes. Alright, he said, accepting in full as he carefully rose--swallowing the wince, and setting it aside. Subtly, he'd ease into something better. Hopefully. 

To continue, he intended to keep to the pale wolf's side. So, are you a hunter here? he asked, starting there in his continued efforts for less focus on him, and his angst. Did you know these lands before the mountain was struck? he asked with a glance, not sure of a better way to phrase such a question; naturally, he was curious about the timing of things, and trying to piece together this picture of Moonglow's whole.

The male moved with such care, unflinching. He would take the male's pace, he decided. They might not have success hunting if he was too sore, but he suspected that he might loosen up a bit as they walked. He'd try not to eye Antares too much, so it didn't appear as though he was being watched; Adrastus did not wish to stir the male's pride, but to build him up. There were wounds he bore that weren't visible to the eye, and Adrastus did not know how to fix them. But if he could distract the man from the pain, he thought it might be eased. 

"I am a hunter here," He said. He felt speaking of the ranks amidst the hunters might make him seem too much like a politician, trying to win favour amongst the Glen wolves so he didn't mention it. "But no, I did not live in the area before the mountain was struck. I'd never seen anything like it. Of all the mountains I have travelled through, that would reach up through the clouds to the stars, I have never seen one..." Come so close. He sighed softly. This probably wasn't something Antares wanted to be reminded of. "Have you seen the mountains to the North?" He asked, then. Perhaps travel was a common interest they could share.

Antares was able to step into a rhythm. A delicate, rather slow one for his tastes, but it was forward and that was good enough for now--so he told himself. It didn't escape him how the confirmation of his role as a hunter was breezed past rather readily, but Antares couldn't fight that current in favor of where it went at Adrastus' guidance: about mountains, and those that could reach the stars...

Though it spurred the hurt in his heart, he was getting a touch more numb to it. He at least had to commend the guy's good eye, even if he did not finish the statement. It had always been something that had stuck with him from their histories, so he chuffed softly, almost under his breath. Mhm. It was part of what drew my grandparents to claim it, years ago. To reach the stars best, he sighed, but kept his voice pleasantly schooled into almost indifference.

Now, it was perhaps best viewed as a fitting, towering monument to the demise of his family. As for the mountains to the north, he did nod, and continued on quite similarly. Some closer than others. And only this side of them. I've never gone.. far north. Meaning, over the range. He had only dipped in in visiting the Sunspire, and meeting the curious Legion scout there--the last time he remembered being entirely unaware of everything that was about to go so terribly wrong.

And he learned a bit more about Antares, and his heritage- and it appeared as though the mountain, Moonspear, ought to have been his birthright, through the passage of several generations. A heavy inheritance now, he thought quietly to himself; as it was likely the gravesite not only for his gradparents but his mother and several others as well. He decided he might not mention it, knowing that perhaps Antares would want little to do with the place at all, though he did note that at least something had kept him in the area, nestled amongst a ring of much smaller mountains. This was what little family he had left- Adrastus thought he might end up settling here. If he did, he would likely become an asset to the pack.

"There is a mountain range to the North," He began, "That you could follow for a year." He said. "It reaches all the way up to the land where the sky is dark all winter, and bright all summer."

As he walked along, he followed Adrastus' words--easily slipping towards the tempting distraction of faraway mountains, ones evidently spanning lengths greater than he could even truly imagine. Something reflexively liked that temptation, much as he didn't want to hear it when it hummed distantly in his blood.

But besides that, it was not an entirely new concept.. some land of infinite night or day. Again, it sounded like myth to him but he was interested, keen to hear the wonders of the earth far beyond his own--to draw his mind away from underfoot, and appeal to that basal burn of wanderlust. I've heard about it in stories.. he remarked quietly, ears tilting back still. That was all though, that he truly had to consider with. You've seen it? he asked next, meaning those far northern reaches. Maybe that was where he came from, Antares supposed, chancing another sidelong glance before he could hear more.

With his head lowered, Adrastus began the process of searching for scents, even if it was somewhat absent-mindedly. He thought he had piqued the male's interest, which he thought was at least a way of distracting him from his current woes. They could search for a small meal together, and if he was able to give Antares some time to lift his thoughts from his grief, then it was time well spent. 

"I was born there," He admitted. "My first summer I went without darkness, and my first winter was one without light." He said. "But it is not without beauty. The great sea becomes our home as it freezes over for miles. The polar bears hunt seals out on the ice, and the little arctic fox scavenge. We would follow the great black raven to find food. We never really knew what time it was, save for the lights that danced in the skies at night." He said. He paused, as he investigated the scent left behind by either a muskrat or a beaver. He gestured, so they might continue to track the creature's footprints, noting how the pawprints were light obscured by the tail which would have dragged behind it. "The lights come this far South, though, through the winter. Have you seen them?" He asked.

In the next breath, his suspicions were confirmed. He eased into a smooth nod, curiosity effectively sparked about the summer's light, and winter's dark. It did remind him of what he knew of his aunt's history long before arriving at the Spear. Something in him stuck to the idea of a great black raven, too, maybe lured by the imagery. All of it, however: Interesting, he murmured softly, voice gruff that quiet. He wondered how long it would linger.

I have. Though I have heard they do not quite compare to the north, he chuffed softly, lowering his own head delicately over a press of foliage for a better sniff. It didn't interest him enough so he carried on soon after, trying to suppress his small sigh, for he was thinking about the auroras more than actively pursuing a gametrail for a moment. He preferred to stay sharp, but it was hard.. he was tired, he excused himself. Maybe one day I may see them closer. They are.. magnificent, even here. Oddly calming to watch them ripple, almost, I think.. but I tend to like, ah, nighttime features, he tried to roll a shoulder with the next step, but it was just a little thing from him.

Together they tracked on, letting conversation carry where it needed, but he was keen to lend it to the trail if they were lucky enough. All in all, he would get more from the time than he would have otherwise, sulking about alone.