Moonspear for the realm

Hydra had, since her sisters return, slept among @Alya and @Lyra as they had in the days of their youth. Her sisters return had been light in all this darkness; she did not think it possible to know joy so soon again, but truly only the return of her twin could bring that to her life. Their family mourned, and Hydra permitted the mountain to know stillness for a brief time. Out of respect for her parents, there was no pomp or ceremony to her ascension... not yet. Having already spoken with @Arcturus she now set off to do her next task.

The Ostrega roused that day to find @Dirge as she often would, in the mornings. Her nose flared as she drank in his scent, and her tail twitched behind her as she closed the distance between them.

The stillness of the mountain was an unusual thing to feel now. Where tension had mounted an attack to the integrity and strength there was nothing. A particular void of emotions that settled onto him well in the solitude that he had found. He had left Hydra to mourn and reunite with her sisters, to give them all the space that was needed. Arcturus may have suggested that they were all very much family, but there was a resolute schism between bodies once again, and for a different reason altogether.

Along one curling branch belonging to a stream, Dirge drank from its cool waters. The weather seemed to mourn the change that had come to their little world as well; rain had fallen steadily already today, with little sign in changing any time soon. It did not bother him, being tucked away in the timber like he was, but he fretted over the dampness all the same. Though inexperienced in the changes that Hydra was going through, he imagined that her time was not far off at all. She'd found her whelping den after all in what seemed one of the last crucial components of her to-do list.

And then, all of this happened.

A sigh left him as he licked the last traces of water from his jaw.

Hydra closed in on his scent, and saw him soon after. She loped toward him with a chuff, sidling alongside him and favoring the silence for a moment to drink with him. Rising, she licked at her chops as droplets from the waters fell away from her own lips. Hydra nosed him softly, her dark blue eyes lingering upon his form. Her tail swayed slowly behind her; when she looked to him, there was hope anew in her gaze. Hello, she greeted, voice soft as it always was when she just woke. 

The veil of mourning had yet to be lifted; she had more respect for the dead than she did many still living. When a cub kicked within her, Hydra glanced to her belly and then back to him with a sparkle in her eye as she spoke: they say hello, too.

His attention shifted at the sound of her approach, any notion that he had ever been lost away in his thoughts gone without a trace. He offered her a smile, took note of the fact that today she seemed to carry herself better than she had in days past. Perhaps grief was a measurable thing, but what did he know? She was every bit as capable of putting on a show as he was, and he would not have been surprised if that was what she did today. The Queen was out, best have a brave face on and all that.

”Do they now?” he murmured, his gaze trailing face her face to the curve of her belly. He held it there gingerly, awash suddenly in a mix of emotions that he found he did not want. It was as though the realization that they would be here soon had come to him once again; he had hoped such a notion would have evicted itself by now. Instead the reality, the gravity of it all was jarring. Just as jarring to know that they were right there, so close and yet so far out of reach.

But Hydra was there and in the present, a more pressing matter.

Aware of such, he opted to hide his face away against her nape, a comforting gesture he could easily pass on. They had been apart however briefly; he could play pretend of missing her even as he found he really had. When he parted, he launched to the trivial quick and painless—he answered to her, after all.

”I'd ask how you are, but it seems you're holding together well. The borders are quiet for now, at least, though I can't say I've covered all of them. I wouldn't risk going far right now.” He was but one wolf, though he knew he was not alone in checking up on them. Jarilo had been lurking he thought, if not Arcturus as well. Maybe even the three-legged fellow, Nikai too, for all he knew.

Hydra nodded to his inquiry; she watched his features tiredly as he stared at her belly, ears cupping forward. He said nothing more before he leaned into her; she exhaled heavily, relieved to see him, feel him. He spoke, and although she heard him she did not hear him... not really, anyway. No danger, she caught; good. She leaned further into his touch for a moment more before withdrawing. 

I will not be moving around for much longer, she shared, reclining onto her hinds into a seated position. They will be coming soon enough, and I cannot be far from where I will whelp. I have spoken to my brother, Arcturus... and now I must ask something of you. Once I had told you that I foresaw you as King; I would see that come to pass, if you felt you are ready for this. Arcturus would be our second, and Revui no longer. If he is alive, it seems clear he will not be returning anytime soon. Leadership is not for him. He is too... fickle, she shook her head. This was not his first time leaving, though she resented he did so without a word, and would make that clear to him next time. Arcturus deserved it more than any within Moonspear; he remained throughout all trials and tribulations, even when Revui had left, even when their parents had passed, even when he felt forgotten and slighted... he had remained.

His skin prickled at the words she passed onto him, what she was suggesting. No, not suggesting—offering. A lesser creature with more basal instincts may have smiled cheshire for certain at such a proposition and how the temptation was there! But for his own soul and sake the stoicism held fast when the pins and needles scattered across him. He was humored more than minutely, but who else would she have asked? Revui had disappeared mysteriously, bear tracks and blood aside, and Arcturus was not the first that Dirge would have thought to saddle with such responsibility. The boy grieved no doubt, and he had his troubles as well, but to aid them... he would be most helpful at best in that regard. The rest Dirge believed he could shoulder well.

”Of course,” he assured her, ”we cannot expect you to do it all. Not with the children to come, not when you deserve your time to grieve as well. I take no issue with Arcturus joining us either. He's insightful enough, and listens well.” Though no doubt he was a better listener to Hydra, Dirge had found that her brother possessed their mother's sensibility. It was Amekaze that he would miss and did so there briefly as his gaze swept out over the descent beyond them. Losing her certainly seemed the tragedy when he hadn't the opportunity to know her better. At least she had approved of him.

”I know this will seem crass, but this was our goal wasn't it? To rule together. A shame it comes so untimely, but I know we will do the mountain proud.” His gaze returned to her confident and keen—this was what they had wanted, what they had hoped for some time ago and once upon a time in jest. Of course making the mountain proud seemed out of place to him, but he knew it would bolster her spirits all the same. She was a proud creature, less a snake now than he.

Although Hydra believed she could were things, well, different... she knew she did not have to. Leading was no burden; in fact, it was a privilege, one that she had worked all of her life for. Dirge had married into royalty, but more than that, she felt he had earned his place alongside her. He had remained ever by her side, and her memory was sharp. His time away had not been forgotten, but neither had his loyalty to her throughout it all. In the end, he had returned to her and remained. 

Though she knew he meant well by his words, Hydra's gaze turned to look over his shoulder. She had not wanted it to happen like this, but had it? No—not really. They crowned me, the two of them, before... her eyes fell back to him. We will. We will bring about our lofty goals, and acheive what her father could not. His legacy was the Mountain, but hers, theirs, would be that and more—the Wilderness would belong to the two of them, and in time: We will see ours desires become reality.

He had scoured across an open wound, he knew that swiftly. How interesting it was that they had decided to offer her the crown that she deserved, he thought, then wondered if perhaps one or the other knew how things would end. Even in the carnage of the fall they had taken, it would have been remiss to neglect that they had squabbled. It had been a long time coming that had taken an end he could not have seen, much like the ascension before him now.

”We will,” he affirmed, resisting every urge to smile. A struggle was that, for even the edges of his lips dared to tug in such a direction. He moved to change the subject, and save himself. ”But only in due time. No need to rush those things along when we have much more to worry after, hm? If you're hungry, I know where delicate morsels are being kept right now. I'm sure no one would miss them,” because it certainly was not he who had put them there. Someone else had interred the discovery he had made as the sun came up.

She nodded to him, agreeing. No, first we must take care of this matter, she huffed and looked again to her stomach. As if sensing they were a part of their discussion, the cubs rallied within. Exhaling a warm breath that reached them, she hummed in satisfaction. They are strong. Ready to take on the world—soon, I imagine, she drawled, looking back to him. I will gather the pack tomorrow... share the news with them. In the meantime, let us take our first walk as Queen and King. Lead me to the food, she demanded, tone light as she nipped at his shoulder.

Pulling his arm out of the way of her sharp nip, he couldn't avoid the smile that came to his face then. Leave it to her to end things on a feisty note, though he would expect no less of her to do so. He stepped through the shallow creek as his smile turned knavish and innately pleased; he had gotten away from the topic at hand moderately.

”As you wish, majesty,” he said, though in jest. ”That's a title that will take getting used to, coming from me. It does suit you, however. I wonder how it will suit me, but at least the children won't know any different that you've married a commoner.” He hoped to hang onto the better spirit that settled with her now, her thoughts to the cubs she would rear within a few days.

Clearing his throat, he continued to stay just out of arm's reach of her maw. ”The cache isn't too far ahead. I hope you're in the mood for something gamey because I'm almost certain that's what's in there. A deer hock would have been preferable I'd think but this has feathers.” Maybe that wouldn't matter to her either at this point. If she was hungry, the cubs were more than likely just as hungry, and this change of course was no longer strange to him.

He should have just had the bird on hand for when she found him.

She snickered at his words. It will suit you the same as you find Queen suits me. You may have been a commoner, but you have always had a Kings heart, and mind, too, to boot. He was bright and clever and ambitious each. Strange that she had never seen him as the word he had placed upon himself... he had never been common, to her, and hardly held himself as such. Hydra lingered in the creek they meandered through (her walk more of a plod these days) for only a moment longer, enjoying the cool temperature of it.

But soon enough she was on his heels again, picking up the pace. He remained out of reach, but her mind was elsewhere... the avian fare he spoke of, specifically. Gamey will do, she decided, though deer hock sounded equally delightful. She was hungry, at this point, and fortunately no craving had struck her for anything particular.

Dirge led the way, and indeed he had been correct. Hydra indulged, making quick work out of the meal, and once satisfied coerced her mate (after convincing him she would not burst from it) into a run, needing to expend any negative energies that lingered through this physical activity.

Fading this bc I STINKOOOOO AND TOOK 5EVER