Sleepy Fox Hollow zwei

mahler patrolled, and in his roaming he had discovered wild potatoes and carrots growing rampant in the ghostwood.
he investigated them for mold, then set about harvesting the items. they would provide when meat did not, he felt, grunting to himself as he began to form a pile.

his eyes periodically watered from the reverberations of what felt like church bells between his eyes. he entered the gespensterwald to escape the sting of the sun.
the blur worked backwards in time and motion to render mahler. he approached noticeably. he sniffed the potatoes absently.
when he as younger he would've taken interest, but he hadn't cultivated that spark in a while.

astraeus, son of his. he watched the young man sniff at his work. "farmcraft," mahler explained. "if meat fails, paleo vill not."
he patted the dirt with a massive paw and turned a sunny beam toward astraeus. "vould you care to patrol vith me?" 
the small pile would be cached before they left, but for now he kept his attention toward his son.

astraeus looked at the bounty inquisitively, suspicious to how something from the ground could sustain them. nonetheless, he could only wonder how he would have valued mahler's expertise when he lived on a nowhere stretch.
he dipped his head as he leaned into a trot, chuffing through his nose that his attention was returned in full.

"coyotes vere routed. i have seen no bears or cats." it would be a better time for children next year.
he cleared his throat. "astraeus. do you have any intentions of becoming a father?" as the next oldest in the pack, the young man was most eligible. and this conversation, then, was necessary.

it felt good to know paleo was doing well, despite having to rebuild from the ground up. coyotes were pesky, he had to fend off the scavengers more than a few times for his scavenged meals.
astraeus was caught off guard by mahler's question. he shook his head with insistent vigor. he could barely look at himself the way he was, much less someone else.
he didn't think it something that was meant for him. he would ignore the old desire in mute, desperate heart.

mahler watched the boy a moment longer, then grunted and moved off. "i am compelled to ask only because you are young and in the spring you may find the desire to vander." 
aside from wylla, there were no other she-wolves in the hollow. it made such things far easier.
and yet mahler did wonder why his quiet son was disinterested in beginning his own family. the man's charcoal ears flicked, noting astraeus' insistence. "it happens vhen you are least expecting it," he alluded, lightly so.