Rising Sun Valley the family

Getting this 'on the road' thread up there so that we've got it when you're ready. :) Slight speed powerplay?! @Scimitar but any Creek wolf is welcome to post a reaction or butt in.

They were no longer Swiftcurrent Creek wolves. The mantle dropped and melted into her footsteps the moment she turned away from the Creek and set her sights on the misty distance. In a few days, they would claim Nova Peak.

Bazi walked the first hour in silence, moving from one pack mate to another, offering gentle nudges and unspoken support. With pups in tow, the journey would be longer, and there were frequent stops to pee, rest, and hunt. Eventually, she could no longer hear the water. Bazi's first instinct was to cry, and she did so in private, telling Scimitar that she would scout ahead and make sure that the way was clear and without danger. When she returned, it was with a wet cheeks and glassy eyes, but with a much lighter heart.

"Hey," she whispered to her lover as she drew up alongside him, putting her nose on his broad chest to slow him down. When a few paces' worth of space opened up between them and the rest of the pack, she brought her delicate head up to look him in the eye. "I have something to ask you."

The main focus of his journey were the pups -- he kept careful watch over them, though every so often, his eyes would steal over Paarthurnax.. as if having to verify to himself that she was indeed not only alive and well -- but real. Kaskara and Kieran seemed to travel together, much to the Alpha's amusement, and Bazi would drift among their pack mates, though there was a stolen moment where she was away from his line of sight.

When she returned, her eyes were glassy, and the cinnamon wolf watched her with growing concern, his brows furrowing as she moved alongside him. He slowed down as he felt her nose to his chest, and with a stolen look to the group as they became more distanced, his one good ear would flicker in attention to his lover as she spoke. "Bazi, what's wrong?" His voice was a gentle rumble -- concern etched in his tone, and for a stolen moment, he wondered if she was having regrets now.. if she instead wanted to turn back and be at the Creek with the few that had remained there.

The trip would be a long one, but one that Paarthurnax was more than willing to make. She'd loved Swiftcurrent Creek wholly and fully, but had always firmly believed that home did not mean the land on which they lived, but the family that occupied it. Home was where Scimitar and Bazi went. Home was wherever she took her children. Home was with the pack she'd made herself part of.

A fresh start was tempting, but not without its heartaches. The wolves moved together toward their new destination, absent one that meant most to her. In her absence, Shadow had sought to spirit her pups away despite her wishes that they remain with their birth pack. Relonikiv and Julius had withstood, declaring their wish not to make their home in the Bypass, but it was the mysterious Traianus who opted to follow his sire. Losing her children to Shadow was something Paarthurnax had feared from the very beginning, even if she was a firm believer in freedom of choice. But she did not think that it would come quite as soon. Her brood were so young; how could they be expected to make such a life-changing decision at such a tender age?

She felt Trajan's absence sorely, but could not find it in her to blame Scimitar or Bazi for letting him go. Shadow was rightfully his father, after all; the idea of having her litter separated just rubbed her the wrong way. When things were settled at Nova Peak, Paarthurnax would go to her boy and see to him, show him that she was still in one piece, and let him weigh his options. She loved him - always would - and, sometimes, the best way to show that love was to make sacrifices.

Paarthurnax, drained from her chase to retrieve Durnehviir, remained mostly in the background as the pack traveled up ahead. She observed in silence as the Alpha duo slowed their pace, and acknowledged them with a brief smile and swish of her tail as she hunched her shoulders and pressed on. They desired privacy, obviously, and she was not one to eavesdrop.

The rear of the train passed them by - Bazi returned Paarthurnax's smile, her heart surging. When this conversation was over, she would have a friend to share the news with - something she had wished for a thousand times since the desert woman's disappearance, and never in a thousand years thought would come true.

"Nothing's wrong," she admonished her lover, nudging his chin with the crown of her head. Scimitar was quick to worry, and it had not yet occurred to Bazi that she was part of the cause - that he still doubted her dedication to the move; to him. "I want to tell you something. Ask you something," she went on, walking so close to him that she could feel his stiff guard hairs against her own skin. "I took Swiftcurrent's name. It felt weird to be called 'Nanum-Akkad', when none of those wolves were around.. and now we're leaving Swiftcurrent." She paused, swallowed, and turned her head to look at him. "I don't want to be 'Bazi Nova' - or 'Bazi Hogbelly.. I want to be Bazi Frostfur. With you."

He regarded the pale dove, reassured only by the nudge to his chin before giving a small nod, his eyes then drifting to regard the others ahead of them. They were a small group compared to the numbers the pack was used to -- but more than ever, they were family.

His good ear swiveled to the direction of her voice, stirring his gaze upon her once more. It was very possible she carried his pups at this point, though it was too soon to tell -- it terrified him in a sense, to know that together, they might have created life. Were they responsible enough to do so?

But her words eased this concern, and he withheld a small sigh of relief. It seemed almost foreign -- her desire to tie herself to him fully and voiced with such confidence, when before, their budding relationship had been enough to scare her away. He had chosen to not rush her this time -- but somehow it felt wrong for her to be asking this question when it should have been him. "As my mate?" It was his version of a quiet proposal -- whether she was ready for this commitment or not had his stomach shift uncomfortably -- but now was the time.

His half of their shared proposal sent a shiver of delight down Bazi's spine. They had slowed to a natural halt, drawing curious but unworried glances from the rest of the pack. The procession's lady leader reluctantly left Scimitar's side and moved round so that they faced each other, fixing him in a gaze that burned "Yes," she said, "As your mate." Tiny fireworks filled her chest with heat that spread like wildfire through veins and arteries, blossoming at the juncture of her thighs. She had practised this speech a thousand times, but to actually say it was sweeter than she could have hoped.

Eyes were upon them, but the moment was still theirs alone. She solidified his hope in that moment, and he found himself surprised that she was ready for this commitment -- somehow, bearing his pups seemed worlds apart from taking him as solely hers.. but he certainly had no complaints on the matter.
 
"Bazi Frostfur has quite a ring to it," he mused quietly, a small grin puling at the corners of his creamy muzzle. His eyes gleamed as they cast upon her, and with a crooning growl, his muzzle swept down to graze her cheek in affection, wondering how long it had taken them both to come full circle with one another and realize their true feelings.
 
In that very moment, he did not consider how long it might have lasted.. forever was simply too short for him.

"Bazi Frostfur has quite a ring to it," he agreed in a dreamy tone of voice. Bazi nipped the bridge of his nose affectionately. It was as good as accepting, but she wanted it in print - the wolf equivalent of putting a ring on it. "But you have to say yes," she chided smilingly into his unbroken ear.  "To make it official." 

A snort escaped him at her words, and with a furrowed brow, the cinnamon Frostfur cast her a sideways glance, giving a small shake of his muzzle. "No.. You have to say yes," he decided, allowing his bright eyes to sweep over her. This was a moment he had considered for a great amount of time now.. but he hadn't thought it would have initiated because Bazi would ask him. "Bazi -- I want you to take my last name as your own. Will you be my mate?" She might have already been the one to ask him -- but that did not mean he wouldn't try to steer this in the way it should have gone.

They had been through hell of a lot over the past eight months.. but he wanted to do this right.

"No.. You have to say yes," Scimitar rebutted, and though Bazi's combative streak urged her to tell him exactly where to shove those social norms, this was not the time. She was happy - and if he wanted this to be done in the traditional manner, then so be it. Bazi touched her cold button of a nose to his much broader one, stormy blue eyes meeting his bright, almost impossibly turquoise stare. "I will. I do."

Despite the fact she had just asked him, it was still a long pause for her answer in response.. at least in Scimitar’s mind. He expected her to panic.. to change her mind, and drift back to the side of Paarthurnax. But she didn’t. Blue eyes stared at him lovingly, and as she confirmed she would be his, the cinnamon wolf let out a shaky breath (hopefully not making it too obvious how nervous he had been).
 
“I love you, Bazi Frostfur,” he murmured then, nudging her cheek with his nose as he swept a quick glance over her. The others weren’t too far, but the two Alphas would still have a bit of catching up to do after – and news to share with everyone, come the right time.

Bazi felt light. The weight of their fraught past dropped from her shoulders like a sodden mantle after a long ride through storms. A thousand other feelings would follow the relief she felt now - incredulity, joy, hope - and extreme Girl Glee, screeching included. But for now, she was just relieved to be Bazi Frostfur at last. Scimitar glanced in the direction of their still moving pack and she did likewise. Would they tell them straight away, or deliver the double whammy of good news when she fell pregnant? Life would do as it wanted, but for now, Bazi could plan all of these things as though she had control. "I love you too," she answered dreamily. 


The two Frostfurs took their happy secret and moved to catch up with their pack.