Dragoncrest Cliffs Romance never goes unpunished

Lava returned, shame-faced and slow, to the borders of Drageda at the hour of high noon. It was an overcast day, dreary much like this loiterer, but the smell of the sea and the tell-tale promises of a distant rain could not distract him from the fact that his mother had taken up a strong mantle here in Heda's absence.

The yearling swallowed hard, uneager to invite what he knew would come: the oppressing disappointment, her jagged and fearsome expression, the piling on of guilt he had loads of already... the list went on for the anxious young wolf. How could she possibly forgive him for abandoning his duties so freely and without reward? His being led astray was  truly just a testament to his age, but this didn't serve him well as an excuse nor did it make him feel any better to know. He just felt foolish, and it was with a note of grim reluctance did he bay loudly for leadership; asking chiefly for the presence of his shadowy mother @Helix.

The howl touches her ears as her head is dipped for a drink, cupping forward as she listens. At first, she does not respond, thinking nothing of it. She goes about her business, lapping at the water until her thirst is quenched and she licks her lips. Droplets fall from her muzzle when she picks her head up and looks in the direction the sound came. Slowly, she thinks of her missing son and realizes the connection has been there this whole time. She blinks yellow gaze several times, shakes her head, and when it finally settles in, she moves quickly to the borders.
 
Lava had left Drageda without a word, uncertain where he’d been all this time, and she’d made some effort to search for him but she does not know this land well and he’d hardly been part of the pack to build anything for himself. Even as she became leader, she could not spend much effort on him as she would have liked and to know that he’s returned (whether or not he’s allowed to stay), relief fills her system and crests when she lays eyes on her younger child.
 
Slowly, she comes to a stop and looks upon him curiously, restraining herself from closing the distance to welcome him home. She scents the air for blood or infection but steadies a hardened gaze upon his for explanation.

With nomi and Bat and and Ephraim and Dalia all gone, Tux had a desire to stay on top of things.  He understands now that Helix, the new lady, is in a position of power and he follows her sometimes from a distance to see what she does and if he can emulate it.  When a howl rises from the borders his ears perk and he moves towards the border, intent on staying hidden until someone else arrives but he is happy to see that Helix has made it there before him.

He pulls himself from the shadow and remains some distance behind Helix, bronze eyes trained on the stranger as he tries to emulate Helix's stature and expression.

Tensely he waited; pacing away the moments until he was to be greeted by the court of Drageda. Helix, unsurprisingly, arrived first and her son had the forethought to look whipped, his tucked-tail flailing devoutly against his inner thighs as he groveled towards the dark, proud creature with imploring whines. He was both happy and afraid to see her— his body naturally drawn to tuck itself into her— but his sense of duty caused him to stand before her plainly and let her determine their closeness. She was glad to see him alive, surely, but what was he to her if she couldn't depend on him?

Lava flicked one round ear thoughtfully, trying his best to ignore the fact that they had company. He looked at his mother's jagged paws and tried first to appeal to her motherly side, which he knew wouldn't work. "When you told me things didn't feel right with you, I thought it might cheer you up if I could get you a fish as fat as my head." He dared to check her expression then for any levity, but hurried along when he found it unchanged. "A-And I met this girl, on the beach, Ma... I—" the yearling swallowed. He was a quiet boy, so all of this seemed too heavy for him, even with his strong shoulders; like it was more than he could bear to reveal of himself.

"I thought she liked me," he finished lamely. "But she didn't mean the things she said, and I was dumb to let her lead me away, I see that now— I'm sorry."

He shifts, making himself smaller while they exchange looks. She is glad to see him, and relatively intact, but she does not like the predicament. Lava turned his back on them, regardless of explanation. There have been few in her day that does not put weight on their shoulders and she is silent as he begins to speak again. It is then one ear turns behind her, noting the additional presence; as she has the other times he has followed along, ignores it.
 
“A girl comes between you and your duty,” she admits her observation. She takes a deep breath and holds it, watching him. He’d come to help with whatever Heda needed of him and that had been to stay in Drageda and defend. If Heda had still been around, she doesn’t want to know what she’d do with this information. “You should have known that already,” she adds, turning her nose just slightly to catch Tux out of the corner of her vision, but turning back. “Your fate is not up to me here.”
 
Helix steadies her look and with a sharp inhale, calls for @Blixen.

He had decided to patrol the border today. He hadn't done it since arriving, and he felt it was somewhat required of him even if no one had actually said as much. It kind of went without saying that helping to protect Drageda included making sure the borders were marked and free of intruders. The howl came from clear across the territory, but he recognized who it belonged to immediately. His younger brother who had just left with no word to anyone. Being that East held duty of high importance, he hadn't been too happy to hear of his brother's disappearance. Still, he wasted no time heading that way, but it took him a little bit to actually get over there.

He arrived to find Lava and Helix in the midst of what appeared to be an uncomfortable conversation and a boy quietly sitting a short distance from Helix. He had not heard any of the words spoken between the two, but he didn't need to; he had a pretty good idea. He walked up to the pair and took a position next to his mother. East deliberately kept his gaze from Helix, feeling guilty that he had been avoiding her, although that wouldn't stop him from continuing to do so. Lava, he said, unable to keep the disappointment from his tone and sure it showed in his expression as well.

helix's call summons her quickly -- she isn't far to begin with. blix arrives at the scene, carrying herself properly high, and draws to a halt in near them. helix and eastwood are both there (tux the commander does not notice yet) and -- ah. helix's other son. she'd assumed he'd left with nomi, but from the expressions on his kin's face, she guesses that she was wrong.

(the overcast sky above makes her think of bat, briefly. her mouth pulls into a frown.)

in trig she says "hello. lava, right?" glancing at helix, she adds, "what happened?"

He goes unnoticed, or at least unacknowledged.  With all eyes on the Fleimkepa's son, Tux is brave enough to feel his tail flag over his rear (though he does not hold it higher than the adults).  With the arrival of Blixen, he wordlessly ghosts to her side stiff-legged, bronze eyes settled on the yearling.

He watches his packmates in his peripherals, unsure of what to do here.  He does not think it wise to speak, so he holds back for the moment.  It will be a good chance to learn.

There wasn't a single part of Lava that encouraged him to stand through this shame. His mother only repeated facts, and the sudden, severely unexpected arrival of Eastwood threw the kindling wolf for a loop. He was ecstatic at first to see his big brother again, but the feeling wilted as his brother shackled him with a disapproving reception. He thought suddenly that maybe he would have been better off staying away. Maybe them thinking he was dead felt better than this.

Blixen arrived then, and the grey agouti snapped up like a soldier to attention. She was small, but carried the weight of her responsibility as well as one was expected to at her age. She had a stern kindness to a presence— a willingness to listen, but not one to be terribly swayed. He didn't think he'd find the sympathy he needed from her. "Yes, Commander. You have it right," he told her, his tone falling somberly. And then to her added question: "I.. I'm sorry to report that I abandoned my post for a girl. I thought- well, she- I mean, I had never met anyone like her before. She promised me things, and I really lo-! Liked her. Then she told me I wasn't enough and she  left."

His story was punctuated by the hurt he was trying with varying degrees of success to hide. His ears had gone splayed, but they righted themselves again as he dared to implore the leading wolf of Drageda directly. "I came to apologize.. and ask for another chance, Commander."  

Helix remains silent until Blixen shows up, staring across the way at her son. She doesn’t know what Blixen will do with the information, if she’d turn him away and brand him against Drageda. She doubts anything will happen to her (perhaps if Heda had been here, she may pay for her son’s actions). When the acting commander steps up, she turns her yellow gaze in her direction and bows her head slightly. Behind her, Eastwood shows up and she lingers upon his form for a moment, though he seems to only have eyes for his younger brother.
 
Lava shifts his form in the fiery girl’s presence and offers his explanation rather quickly. He elaborates a little more, if only for his feeling, and she closes her eyes and looks away. The fleimkepa does not say anything for or against his favor, uncertain what she truly wants out of this, and waits for the verdict (or the chance to offer advice, if Blixen chooses she needs it.

He silently listened as the commander asked his younger brother what happened, eyes momentarily moving towards the movement of the child walking next to Blixen before resting them back on Lava as he waited for his answer. He wasn't sure what excuse he had expected to hear from his young family member, but he hadn't really expected him to have left because of some fleeting attachment to a female. He felt a little bad that Lava had been hurt by the girl, though he wouldn't express that now. He was more disappointed that his younger brother had abandoned his duty and his pack and wondered what the commander would have to say about it. Whatever consequences were in store for Lava, East felt he certainly deserved them but maybe it would a lesson learned for him.

there's no excuse for running from your duties, blix thinks, but -- but, a girl is as close to a good reason as you can get. she frowns, trying to decide what she should do. nomi always struck a balance between fair and firm -- but lava has not been with them long enough to have proven his loyalty -- but he is helix's son. if she is too generous will nomi think she is a weak leader?

but -- furi -- furi is here now, too. and furi would .. probably be disappointed in her for being too cruel. there'd been a moment where she'd almost run away to chase after furi, and furi hadn't even liked her at that point, even if in the end her loyalty to drageda had held her firm. blixen takes a breath and holds it, glancing at helix for a moment. she lets it out and speaks. "you should not have abandoned your post," the commander scolds, "especially not for an outsider you just met."

her frown lightens slightly. "but if helix thinks you can earn our trust once more, i'm willing to give you a chance." here she looks again at her fleimkepa, hoping for some guidance -- she's never had to dole out punishment before, at least not in a way that didn't involve teeth.

The indecision that plagues his sister does not go missed by young Tux.  Because he has not experienced the magic that is girls (or boys, again, he's still young) he does not understand.  If he understood one thing it was loyalty, and Lava had abandoned his post.

He squared up, positioning himself like he had at the puppy brawl.  He wouldn't go after the other unless he was instructed (although he kind of wanted to, he thinks)... but he would be ready, no matter what ended up being decided between the adults here.

There was no way for Lava to properly explain his feelings. He could never describe the allure of meeting a girl, a pretty girl, who didn't know of all his faults, had never seen him fail, and thought his lack of fierceness to be endearing (at first). He didn't know how tell them all that maybe he wanted to see all those new wolves for himself— that maybe there was a place for him out there that he was missing— but Lava swallowed these thoughts with some difficulty. His place was with Helix, serving Heda and her stead. He didn't need anything else.

So why did he want it?

He could only look on nervously as Blixen deferred to his mother, and an involuntary whine escaped him as he turned his muzzle towards the dark Fleimkepa. "It won't happen again," he said, almost too hushed to mean it. But for all his shortcomings, there was one thing to be said about young Lava: he was not a liar.

She glances over to Blixen as the decision falls upon her. She had tried not to think about what might happen either way the commander chose, that it surprises her a bit that she is on the spotlight. Her jaw tightens and she turns back to her son, avoiding any look from Eastwood while she tries to settle on something.
 
Everything she has been taught conflicts what she wants. She should be able to turn her son out on his mistake. He’s old enough to care for himself, smart enough to make his way, but his quiet question touches her ears enough to sway only slightly.
 
“It better not, branwoda,” she says, firmly enough so her decision is understood.

He listened silently as his mother and the commander decided on his brother's fate. Lava stated that it wouldn't happen again, and Eastwood was inclined to believe him, but he would need some time to really trust that his brother wouldn't leave his pack again. Helix finally agreed to let the wayward male back among the ranks, but it was clear that he would hold the punishment rank to show he was currently unworthy of being here. He thought that it was good decision, and had he been really speaking to Helix, he would have made sure to tell her so. It was hard to consider family members without bias, and he did not envy her having to make that decision. If East were forced into a similar situation, he wasn't sure what he would do.

He gave his younger brother a stiff nod, clearly still disappointed but willing to eventually give him a second chance. It's not like he got anyone killed after all, he thought, bronze gaze briefly drifting to Helix.

wrap up?

helix makes a decision -- branwoda -- and blix inclines her head in agreement, shooting her fleimkepa a grateful look. eventually she will feel more confident making these decisions on her own but for now she is still getting used to the authority, learning how to navigate the political aspects of pack leadership. 

to lava she says, "make yourself useful," dismissing him with a stern look. it's on him, now, whether he can prove himself to them again or not -- and she has a feeling it's not her approval he'll have to work hardest to win but his family's. she waits a beat to see if he has anything else to add -- assuming not, she turns, ready to return to her patrol.