Chimera Fields All the World is Calm and Peaceful

For @Witchbaby .
Mid-afternoon. Cloudy. 34°F, 25°C.

Weetzie rarely felt any strong feelings, or more accurately, he would rarely admit to having strong feelings. But right now, he felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his small shoulders. He had finally found Witchbaby, safe and as healthy as ever. He no longer had to wonder if she were still alive, and he could now keep his promise to Mother to look after her.

Another thing he wouldn’t confess was the disappointment he felt when his sister’s love interest, Kinkajuu, once again disappeared. Although he still wasn’t ready to fully trust her, especially since she seemed even more unpredictable than Witch was, even he had to admit that he had grown rather fond of her.

Aside from Kinkajuu having disappeared, it seemed to Weetzie that things were going well, and it was rare for him to not find something to worry about. He made his way along the edge of a patch of barren land. He believed Witch would think it was boring, but Weetzie found it easy to navigate. There was no doubt that at some point, some interesting plant would catch his attention and he would have to cross over into the greener side of the field to investigate, but for now he just walked along in a rare state of contentment.

 where now did witchbaby stand on these silly packs? still somewhat unsure, but the freedom ty has granted her to slip away at-will certain tips the scales in bhediyon's favor, at least. so far the little group is small but seems delightful enough and - well, it's time to track down her wayward brother and give him an update. she'd meant to before hitting the plateau of course but brothers are just so hard to find, sometimes!

 any trace of lingering sorrow at her love's disappearance is scrubbed from her expression for now -- perhaps that's the ultimate score for bhediyon, for it's given the starlet something to throw herself into bodily, something to tie herself to in order to not spend all her days thinking about her angel face. if she will never love again at least she can busy herself !

weetzie doesn't make her travel far - she comes upon him, not bothering to announce herself before coiling around him and shoving her nose into his scruff in cackled greeting. "weetz!" the scarlet witch chirps, extracting herself and twisting away to look at him properly, pink eyes bright. "there ya are, i've been lookin' for you!" sort-of, she adds mentally, lips curved upward crookedly.

Weetzie pretended not to notice his sister’s approach, but he slowed his already leisurely pace even more to allow her to catch up a little quicker. He braced himself for the affectionate display he had learned to expect from her. He might not have noticed it on anyone else, but she seemed much happier than he would have expected, considering the wolf she had left home for had just disappeared. He thought maybe she had found her, but he didn’t notice Kinkajuu’s scent on her. She did carry the scent of other wolves, but he was sure he would’ve recognized the smell of Kinkajuu.

He was pleasantly surprised when all she did wrap herself around him and press her nose into his scruff. There was no licking, biting, or nibbling on his ear. He certainly wasn’t going to complain about it, but he couldn’t help worrying because something was definitely off about her behavior, and he couldn’t place it.

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity when she stepped back and said she had been looking for him. Maybe she would tell him why she seemed so happy. “It would appear that you have found me, sister. Is there something on your mind?"

 her grin stretches thin, picking up on weetzie's underlying worries, though she chooses not to address such things and instead glances over her shoulder, towards bhediyon. "caught me," witchbaby giggles, "i ran into someone the other day - her names tyti..tyton..." her mouth simply will not wrap around the black woman's syllables, and so she abandons it for the easy nickname, concluding with a flourish, "ty!"

the scarlet witch dances on her feet, suddenly awkward -- when one spends as much time as she simply leaving it's harder to string together the words of explanation. but after everything she's done to him, witchbaby owes her brother this much, and so she speaks quickly, the words nearly blurred together: "an' she's startin' this new pack called bhediyon an' most a' it seems silly ta me but it's kinda-like nomadic an' she says i can roam around an' well it's gonna be winter soon so i think it makes sense, so i kinda agreed t'join her--"

It turned out that there was indeed something on Witch’s mind. Weetzie listened as his sister began to answer the question and got hung up on the new wolf’s name. So has she already gotten over Kinkajuu? he wondered. She gave up trying to repeat the name and settled with ‘Ty’, which Weetzie thought he could remember easily enough. But then she went on to explain that she had agreed a join a wolf-pack.

Weetzie first rubbed his right ear with a fore-paw followed by his left ear, then he shook his head. Not finding any signs of ear infection or blockage or anything else that could interfere with his hearing, he concluded that he heard her correctly. His capricious, restless, and unpredictable sister had agreed to join a pack.

Even Weetzie had to admit that joining a pack was practical, and he would have considered it himself if he were not so uncomfortable about socializing with others, especially full-blooded wolves. He could see his sister having no trouble with the social aspects, but he still had a hard time seeing her actually staying with a pack, even a nomadic one. “I must confess I am surprised. I would never have guessed that you would consider joining a pack. I do, however, have some concerns. My first is, if you promised your loyalty to a pack, would be able to keep your promise? You have always enjoyed your freedom.” He had other concerns as well, but he thought it best to deal with one issue at a time.

she frowns, rolls her eyes; her brother the fun-sucker. he's not wrong though and so she sighs and tosses her head in a noncommital gesture. "i ain't gotta give up my freedom," she explains. "'cause it ain't like a regular pack - it's super different, ain't ever heard a anything like it --" as if wb is familiar with the structure of regular packs but that's besides the point. she stretches her neck out and bops weetzie's snout with her own. "'cause we're gonna move around, an' i'm gonna still be able to go all over - ty likes to go all over too, she's kinda like me!" @Tytonidae had definitely seemed to vibe on the level with witchbaby's style, and the starlet liked that.

she also liked - "an' i think i need somethin' radically different, y'know?" the starlet's voice drops an octave, becoming slightly strained. "to.. to move on." she does not say from what, but she knows she does not need to - not to her brother.

“Move on from wh...” Weetzie started to ask when he suddenly realized what she meant. “Oh, of course.” Without realizing it, he gave the slightest hint of a smile. Even if he was still unsure about her decision to join a pack, it was more constructive than sitting around pining over lost love, and certainly better than running after her again. “I am pleased that you have chosen to respond to that setback in a positive manner.”

Weetzie didn’t like wolf politics any more than his sister did, but he understood the basic structure of a traditional pack, and what she described was anything but traditional, and maybe Witch was right. Maybe it would work well with her personality. Still, he believed it would compromise her freedom. "I cannot disagree that such an arrangement would be to your advantage. The question remains, who decides when the pack moves? And where it goes? Would those decisions be made by the pack, or would this Ty make the decision unilaterally? And if the pack chooses to go someplace different from where you want to go, would you stay with pack or leave to go where you want instead?” He was not entirely convinced that Witch would always be willing to abide by the decisions made by an alpha, or even by a pack as a group. On the other paw, he believed that if she could, it would do her some good to have some structure in her life.

Ty had been out and about, scouting for recruits as she often did, when she picked up WB's scent. Giddy, she began to follow, eventually hearing another voice chime in with Bhediyon's latest recruit (or was she the second-latest recruit?). In any case, Ty thought it important to check in and make sure nothing was amiss. Much to her surprise, WB seemed to be having a rather lengthy conversation, one which she soon realized was about Bhediyon. She heard the questions the other wolf spoke, and Ty figured it was the perfect time to chime in.

"Hey WB!" she greeted, then looked to the male. "I'm 'this Ty' that you were talkin' about. I have no plans to go making decisions without the input of the rest of Bhediyon. I'm no dictator. I merely want to cultivate a pack of skilled wolves who can work to help each other." Sure, she'd be the leader, whatever that meant, but no decision would ever be hers alone.

the starlet opens her mouth to protest or at qualify what weetzie's saying, because, yeah, he has a point but she thinks she can make it work -- but like an angel summoned from the heavens ty herself appears and witchbaby cracks a smile, eyes brightening. "hey pretty lady!" the coy chirps, prancing closer to her monotoned brother. "this buzzkill's my brother, weetzie. weetz, this's ty," wb concludes and shoves her nose against weetzie's grey head, murmuring wickedly "toldja so." 

she moves her mouth to address ty again, though she remains flush against her brother's side, a ruby red contrast against soft single-toned greys. "he ain't a big fan of wolves," the witch says, like announcing the weather, "but he's real smart an' he looks after me."

Weetzie did not expect Ty to show up out of nowhere, and he was slightly annoyed by her sudden appearance, though he showed no outward signs of it. It was just as well, though, for now he could take his questions directly to her. He listened carefully to what Ty had to say, then silently endured his sister’s introductions. He rolled his eyes at her ‘toldja so'.

Assuming Ty knew what she was talking about, Weetzie couldn’t argue. Certainly ‘a pack of skilled wolves who can work together to help each other’ was immensely practical, and her assurance that she would take input from the rest of her pack helped. It would of course remain to be seen whether she would keep her word as an alpha. In response he said, “It pleases me to hear that you will listen to your pack members, and I can appreciate the practicality of your vision. It does indeed sound like something that would be good for my sister.” He still had his misgivings, but his words were genuine, though it would be hard to tell from his flat, emotionless, monotone voice.

He turned to Witch to answer her comment. “It is not that I dislike wolves, but that wolves often dislike those of us who not full-blooded.” His voice was still flat and devoid of emotion. Turning to face Ty, he added, “It pleases me see that you personally have accepted my sister knowing that she is part coyote, but what about the rest of your pack? Do they accept her?”

He turned back to his sister and asked, “Have they fully accepted you?”

Ty listened as WB introduced her friend. Well, he turned out to be her brother, Weetzie. It seemed their parents had a sense of humor when it came to naming their children, but at least his name wasn't quite as chuckle-inducing as WB's. She found it odd that the guy apparently didn't like wolves, considering he looked an awful lot like one himself. Sure, the both of them had some coyote mixed in, but that sort of thing had never bothered Tytonidae. She'd spent a lot of time in Sedona with plenty of coyote-wolf mutts.

"I don't see why they wouldn't. She acts the same as any other wolf might." It wasn't as though WB was attacking the other members of the pack, and she acted as a wolf would act, so Tytonidae put far more weight in that than she ever would in some mere bloodline.

gently she parts from her brother's side, fixing him a stubborn look. "toldja near a million times, there ain't anything to worry about, weetz-weetz," the witch chides though the affection in her voice belies any attempt at chastising -- far as she's concerned everything her parents told her were old wives' tales, but she doesn't actually dislike her monotone-monochromed guardian. "actually, things seem kinda different 'round here than where we're from," she adds reassuringly - from what she could smell there was plenty of inter-species inter-mingling - "i think you'll like 'em all too."

pink eyes slide sideways to her dark-pelted leader, curious - ty seems pretty bent on her recruitment so she doesn't think it'd be a problem, but none the less her voice floats between them both, the broader question implied: "what'dya say?"

Weetzie thought Ty seemed rather naive, entirely unaware of the prejudice that he and his sister had faced, but when he thought about it, Ty’s answer was probably about the best he could have hoped for. ‘ I don't see why they wouldn't.’ Even if she didn’t understand such prejudice, her statement indicated to him that she had not even thought to discriminate against his sister. He also appreciated her clear and direct response to his objection. “I see,” he said to Ty, “My sister and I have both experienced prejudice in the past, but if she is to be judged by her behavior rather than pedigree, I cannot object.” He certainly had other concerns, but they were reasons for joining a pack rather than reasons against it.

His sister, on the other paw, did not give a clear answer to his question. Instead of answering his one question, she chided, exaggerated, and beat around the proverbial bush. Had they fully accepted her? He still didn’t know, but she did say, ‘I think you’ll like ‘em all too.’ He was unsure about being exposed to a large group of wolves, but the last time he had been dragged into such a situation, it turned out to be a positive experience. He remembered liking Red and Bird as well as Kinkajuu. “So, you wish for me to meet them? I do believe that would put my mind at ease.” He turned to Ty and asked, “Would that be acceptable? Also, you mentioned ‘a pack of skilled wolves’. If I may ask, what specific skills does your pack require?”

The banter between the two siblings continued, and with a pang, Tytonidae thought of Junior. Once upon a time, the two had been nearly inseparable. Once upon a time, Junior had not been a mad woman out to murder her younger siblings. Once upon a time, Peregrine, Hawkeye, and their two children had lived a simple, happy life. Once upon a time, Ty had fallen in love with a boy who wanted nothing more than children of his own. Unfortunately for all of them, that life was no longer, so Ty was doing her best to make a family of her own.

"I'd be more than happy to introduce you to 'em," Ty replied. "As for skills, it just depends on what you're interested in. I imagine we'll have plenty of the regular things like hunting and guarding, but I also want to recognize wolves who have..." she paused, trying to think of the right word, "soft skills, I guess you might call them. Thinks like making sure everybody's happy and healthy. My skill's scouting and recruiting, if that wasn't already obvious." There might be other areas that Ty would branch out into in the future, but for now, she was happy to focus on one thing at a time.

The spotlight's shifted off of her; the starlet languishes without the limelight but does not interrupt -- ty's the master recruiter, witchbaby's just the pretty face (and in this case, the carrot on the stick - weetzie will follow her whether he joins or not she knows). a smile tilts her mouth at ty's easy acceptance of the monochrome dweeb, glad she isn't wrong to put her faith in the night-sky leader. 

her pink-tinted gaze rests curiously on her dear brother's visage, wondering what skills he's interested in - stick-in-the-mud ain't a skill, is it? "an' mine are entertainin' folks an' explorin' like ty," witchbaby says, smile flashing teeth in a quick grin as she adds, "an your's would be keepin' track of me, an' bein sensible or somethin' boring like that."

Weetzie always did have a hard time understanding humor, and he wondered whether or not his sister’s comment was meant to be a joke. He rolled his eyes and said to her, “I doubt that keeping track of my sister is a skill that a pack would value, but I would hardly describe it as boring. I believe I would describe it as challenging. I had to navigate frozen fields, glaciers, mountains, and swamps to find you, and that was the easy part. I also had to socialize with complete strangers.” He wouldn’t admit it, but the strangers he had encountered had actually taken the edge off his loneliness.

He turned again to Ty and said, “I wonder if I have any skills that would be useful to you. I often find myself more interested in intellectual pursuits rather than things like hunting or guarding. Honestly, I only hunt enough to survive, and I am more inclined to flee than to fight. Around my previous home, I knew the migration patterns and movements of prey animals, but I am unfamiliar with this area. I suppose I could learn to improve my hunting and even fighting skills if needed, but otherwise I am interested in natural events and, as my sister would say, boring facts.”

He noticed that his throat was dry and that his voice was going hoarse. The normally unsociable coywolf was not used to talking so much. What he left unsaid was his interest in joining up with the budding pack. It was hard for him to admit that he didn’t want to part with his sister, and it was even harder for him to admit that he wanted the company of others as well.