Moonspear allay; align

For @Nikai

Alya had slipped away from her sisters as soon as the first wave of grief had subsided. She felt a powerful need to return to her mate's side, even though the magnetic pull of her sisterhood was difficult to overcome. They were her soul, and that would never change, but Nikai had unlocked a piece of her heart that she hadn't known she possessed, and thus, only he could soothe it.

"Nikai?" she called as she followed his scent to its terminus; she was not sure how close he was, but she was certain she was on the right trail. Her voice was somewhat timorous -- unusual for the brash young woman. But she felt Nikai had been ill used when she'd dragged him across the territories only to abandon him as soon as they'd reached Moonspear.

NikaI would never have done that to me, she thought, and a little of the pain she still suffered seemed to lessen at this thought, even as her guilt increased tenfold.

A lot had happened since their return to Moonspear. A lot more than he had fathomed possible. Upon their return they'd found the bodies of Alya's parents dead at the bottom of the mountain. Even for Nikai, who'd only met them once and had been hella intimidated at the time, it was a gruesome sight to see. He wished he was closer to them, that he could somehow relate, but Nikai honestly felt a little.. relieved, maybe? He felt terribly guilty about it, but somehow his chances of ever fitting in on this mountain seemed increased without Alya's gruff parents there to judge him. Of course, he'd never tell a soul of this feeling, embarrassed and guilt-riddled as he was about it.

Nikai had gone up the mountain a little bit, breaking out of the forests at its bottom and lingering around the lower slopes. His training had paid off and Alya might find him higher up than she had anticipated -- even though it was still only the lower slopes -- when he heard her call his name. Over here, he called back as he rounded a mountainous corner. Oh, Alya... I don't even know what to say. His sad eyes mirrored the grief he empathically felt for his mate; even though the grief itself wasn't his, he knew she must be going through a lot.

Alya was quiet when they met, going to him and pressing her muzzle to his shoulder as soon as he appeared. She drank in the quiet comfort of his presence and said, eventually, "I'll be fine." She had always been a little more distant from her mother; Amekaze was the spirit of the mountain, and she lived on in the violence and mystery of the peaks. Her absence was not felt so keenly by the girl, because she had always been a thing to strive for, and not a warm shoulder to turn to. But she felt Charon's passing like a raw and open wound, especially knowing all that'd come to pass before his death. He seemed small and fallen to her now, and it made losing him both far easier and far more painful.

She remembered thinking she would want to marry someone just like him, one day. But then she looked at Nikai and was overwhelmed with love and gratitude.

"You're nothing like my father," she told him, pulling back with a little smile on her face. "I don't know how much he would've gotten along with you, either. But I'm so glad that you're you."

She glanced down toward the valley floor and marvelled at how far up she'd found him. "You're getting around well," she told him with a wag of her tail. "How has the mountain been treating you?"

Alya said she'd be fine, which didn't surprise Nikai, but he knew that it was up to him to make sure that she actually was. She wouldn't be as likely to take care of herself as she claimed. Saying you were fine when you had just found your father and mother in a pile at the bottom of the mountain they had built together was, well, like being a dog sitting in a building that was on fire sipping your coffee and saying you were fine. Either way, Nikai knew Alya could not be fine at all. He didn't quite realise that his own reaction to this all -- and to the previous time this'd happened in his life, however small he had been -- was exactly the same. Saying you were fine and then caring for everyone else around you, forgetting yourself.

Nikai was surprised when Alya said that he was nothing like her father. He wondered where this statement came from. I don't know, either. I was a little scared of properly meeting your parents, actually... Nikai admitted with a grin on his face that was almost bashful. But now I'm sad I won't get to. He wanted to say 'kinda sad' at first, but that just seemed insensitive. Still, even though it surely would've made Nikai's life more difficult in the beginning, he wished that they'd still been here for him to meet.

Alya complimented at his climbing skills, and Nikai smiled. He knew that the mountain was a lot higher still, but maybe she had expected to find him all the way at the bottom, lingering around the forest and being unable or too scared to go up at all. I met your brother Arcturus a while back at the Sunspire mountain range. He helped me practise a bit, and I've been practising my climbing since to get stronger. Nikai smiled, clearly pleased that Alya was proud of his climbing despite his handicap.

Alya smiled, too, to hear that he'd been nervous about getting to know her parents. They could be rather intense, and her mother was nothing like the sweet, maternal Valette -- although, Alya suspected the two might have respected each other, had they the occasion to get to know one another. But it wasn't to be, and perhaps Alya could count it as having been for the best. Just... not today.

"Me too," she replied, glancing up toward the high peaks, where her mother had often retreated during her season or other times of deep thought. "You know, I was already six months old by the time I left this mountain," she told him, smiling at the memory of running Sassafrass off their land. "Everything was so flat and open, it made me dizzy. And the air feels thicker in the valleys. I don't know what it is. I guess my sisters and I just take after my mother's line. Her mother and her mother before her both had their own mountains."

Alya looked off toward Sawtooth Spire and remembered seeing it for the first time, and imagining she might claim it with the help of her sisters and Vaati. She still thought of the male with a gentle pang of uncertainty; was he still alive? Did he ever think of her? But the feeling soon faded, as did thoughts of the other male.

Easthollow laid just beyond that distant spire, and she knew that Nikai was eager to return. "My sisters need me right now," she said softly, looking back at her mate. "I know we said that we'd go home to Easthollow after a week or two, but..." Her throat suddenly felt tight and painful. She swallowed, trying to loosen it. "I don't know what to do. Being back here is so painful, knowing that they're gone -- but Hydra's about to have her first litter and Yama is like a ghost, and I don't trust that Dirge character now any more than I did when we first met. Oh, what was she thinking?"

And then she was crying, harder than she'd allowed herself in years.

It must've been so weird, Nikai said when Alya mentioned that she had not left the mountain until she was older. For me it's the other way around, obviously... He might get used to the mountain life at some point, but right now it was all still very new for him. He was glad he'd trained with Arcturus and then on his own after that; it made the transition a little easier.

Alya mentioned her sisters and Nikai nodded solemnly. He had already figured things changed drastically from the second that they arrived at Moonspear to find Alya's parents dead.

It's alright, I get it, he said when she was done talking. We didn't expect any of this to happen. We figured it was just a flash visit, but now... Is there any scout that could relay a message to my mother? Nikai wondered why Alya didn't trust Dirge; he had gotten along fine with the man when they first met. What about Dirge? When I met him as you and your sisters went to talk, he seemed fine. Is... Did something happen with him in your past? Nikai wanted to know where Alya's suspicions came from so that he knew if he should keep his eyes open for anything suspicious.

On the subject of scouts, Alya wasn't certain. But she knew that this was important, so she made a quick decision: "I'll ask Hydra. But if she can't spare anyone, I'll go myself." She leaned forward to give his nose a quick kiss, wagging her tail to show that this was no burden; it was important to her as well. Perhaps more so now that her own mother was dead. "I can make the trip quickly -- I'm the best scout there is, after all," she bragged, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

The subject of Dirge caused her mien to darken a fraction, and her ears swiveled uncertainly to be sure that they were alone before she spoke: "He flirted with me," she said flatly. "While he was flirting with Hydra. And he's always going places, not wanting to make promises. He's an actor. There's no trusting men like that. Not for me, at least. Perhaps he's revealed his heart to Hydra -- but what I've seen of him... Well, he's no danger, at least. I trust him not to hurt or betray any of us. I just wonder if he'll stick around, this time."

Saying these things made her uncomfortable, mainly because she saw reflections of herself in her complaints about the man. She resolved to try a little harder to get to know him, and to support Hydra in any way that she could.

Nikai smiled as Alya said that she would make the trip herself if Hydra could not spare anyone. Thanks, he said with a soft smile. I'm sure Valette could appreciate it coming from you, personally. In fact, it might be the better idea for her to go, regardless.

Though it should've surprised Nikai, probably, it did not. He could fully fathom flirting with another of the triplets while dating one. Them being with three was part of what had captivated him so to start with. He could very much imagine it being the same for Dirge. Nikai wasn't a fool, though; he knew better than to relay that to his mate. Oh. Was it long ago? Maybe he didn't know yet at the time that he loved Hydra, the way we knew right away? Alright, so maybe he was a little bit of a fool for arguing this point. Good to know I should stay wary a bit, though.

I apologize for the delay. Shall we close this up and have another? I am not sure where we are with everything, but if no one had gone to see Valette yet, maybe it is time for Alya to make the trip.

Speaking about this behind Hydra's back -- even with Nikai, her most trusted companion -- felt too much like sedition to be allowed.

"I want to keep my mind open," she replied somewhat reluctantly, only to continue in a rush, "but my eyes as well. I agree that he could have changed, or that his feelings could have, at least. It is nothing we can decide about, anyway. Hydra has always made her own choices. They are usually good ones."

So she did not quite trust Dirge, but she could trust Hydra. And if this was an error in judgement, then she at least knew that her sister would not fall apart as she had so many times. After Cypress, and after Vaati, and even after Aditya, to some degree. As much as they had always flaunted their oneness, Alya knew they were very much different women, with different needs and different strengths. Perhaps Hydra's romance with Dirge was so unfathomable to her for the same reasons her sister had not been quite so taken with Nikai.

nope, no one has yet, so that sounds like a good plan :)

and also yes for finishing this & having a new one sometime!

Alya seemed to settle a little in the thought that just maybe, Dirge could have changed. Nikai was glad that she seemed to feel a bit better about it now. And anyway, he very much doubted that Hydra was someone who would let anyone take advantage of her, and so Nikai, as brother-in-law, was not very worried that anything might go awry there.

She seems like someone who can take care of herself, Nikai said with a grin. Just as well as someone else I know that looks just a little bit like her. Nikai grinned at Alya, just glad that she didn't seem as fussed about the whole matter now. Hopefully Alya's concerns would prove to be moot.

Put like that, Alya couldn't help but agree that her worries ought to be laid to rest. Hydra most certainly could take care of herself, and Alya was being silly thinking she didn't know what she was getting into. There was no one more pragmatic than her sister, and Hydra had been betrayed just as many times as Alya.

Nikai's last comment earned an amused scoff from his mate, and she nipped affectionately at his cheek before trying to lead him toward the rendezvous site, just to show him some of the places she'd loved so well as a child.