The Sunspire schweigen

between NORTHSTAR VALE and RAZORBACK  RIDGE. set directly after this.

he could not immediately remove himself to home, but linger in the vale he did not. mahler roamed up toward the sharp peak that was all but insurmountable — he paused in the distant shadow of it to pause, and to breathe. aurëwen remained with him, tendriled in his ruff, worked into his musculature; the sensation of her hips was something wrought in his mind, a torment, perhaps a regret.
he would not dwell upon it now. mahler's heart was a millstone, his countenance downtrodden. in these empty spaces he was allowed his waves of primitive hurts, and they came with viciousness, washing across him until he leant wearily against the stone wall of a ledge that arced up and up and up, providing a shadowed place wherein the gargoyle might crouch and grieve stigmata with the fullness of his being.

He was looking for Aure, ironically. Verx wanted to talk to her about Kaistleoki. There was nothing wrong with it, but they were still too close to Rusalka for his comfort, and it wasn't the best place to hide out from Drago's attacker, either. What did their future hold?

When Dragomir healed, he kind of wanted to GTFO. At the same time, perhaps the kids had become attached -- and he wasn't gonna rip them away from another place they liked. Never again.

Fuck the mountains, fuck the fucking mountains. He kept this mantra within his head as he climbed, following a trace of Aure's scent up and up and up. Why did she like this place, anyway? Goddamn, it was even harder to breathe up here.

And then her scent -- whoa, and not just any scent, uh. . .what the hell? He turned his head to see Mahler resting nearby, smelling strongly of sex -- and Aurëwen.

Wellp. That was fun.

Seems like nobody ever taught you not to stick your dick in crazy, Vercingetorix remarked, looking up at the Diasporan from a lower level. He smiled, wryly, ruefully. Obviously no one ever taught me, either.

if any other wolf besides the one that came along had found mahler, the gargoyle would have merely continued onward. as it were, the first to lay eyes upon his shame was none other than vercingetorix himself. he grimaced; the other was so crude as to taint the lovely moments of desperation he had experienced with the dove. unhinged though she might be, aurewen was the mother of the brute's children. she commanded more respect than that.
and so mahler commented nothing upon the matter, noting with a baleful eye that vercingetorix too had abandoned dragomir in his time of need. "you came to find her?" issued his rumble, tone set in his usual impassive ways. it was the only reason to explain why the man was far from home and so near diaspora. with no intention of snubbing the dark wolf, he inclined his muzzle, inviting verx to walk with him if he so chose.

No love lost, really. But at least he wasn't greeted with outright hostility; Verx took the invitation in stride, clambering up to pull alongside the other man. To the query, he nodded. I wanted to talk to her about our future in Kaistleoki, he replied, being perhaps too candid -- but whatever. It's too close to wolves and packs I'd rather avoid.

Including Diaspora, although that a) went without saying and b) probably shouldn't be said here.

He glanced over at Mahler. I left Diaspora to make a home for my children by the sea, he continued, and while he didn't need to explain himself at all. . .well, the words just came, as they often did. Word vomit was one of his specialties. They deserved to grow up in the place we meant for them, originally. So. . .I tried. But the wolves living in my old home are all kinds of fucked up.

Verx sighed, shaking his head and letting his shoulders heave briefly in a shrug. Probably shouldn't have even tried, he muttered, turning his eyes forward again. And yeah, I blame myself for Dragomir getting hurt, too. I've been a real shitty father, but I want to make it better. I wanna get those kids as far from here as possible, get a fresh start, without the lingering bad memories.

End word vomit. (For now.) He fell silent, padding slowly along and beginning to drift into thought, only to be interrupted when (if?) the Diasporan spoke again.

mahler was silent. the more that the seawolf spoke, the more irritated the gargoyle became, but showed none of this in the blank lines of his features. yet the rage temporarily dispelled by aurewen was returning; that he should have so helplessly tied himself to this pair was unthinkable.
and yet for the sake of dragomir, whom mahler refused to abandon, did the gargoyle finally root himself where he soot and regarded vercingetorix with a baleful glint in his draconic glare. "you and aurëwen are incredibly selfish, both of you," he growled softly. "do you vant to know vhy i had no children this year? it vas because i knew any children i fathered must be protected by both of us." here his eyes blazed; he took a step toward the scarred man.
"all i heard just now was 'i, i, i!' and vhat of dragomir? and isilme? vhat is the best thing for them?" mahler was incensed, but fought for control; he had just come from a place that utterly burned him with willfire, and would not lose himself a second time. "vhen aurëwen vandered off, i vatched her children. i tended them. vhen you abandoned them all to romp by the sea, i stood up as their father, and vith me they were safe in diaspora."
"but i am not their father. you are. your son lies in kaistleoki vith dire injuries of body and soul, their mother cannot stay vith him for the time it takes to heal, and surely isilme suffers also. and you vould drag them away again, for is is vhat you vant."

The manchild in Vercingetorix wanted to make faces and mock the man's accent. Blah blah blah blah blah, was all he heard at first. Seriously, this dude was gonna lecture him about his fitness for child-rearing while reeking of Aure's pussy? Lol, okay then.

But Mahler was right, and the more mature version of Vercingetorix saw that. They'd fucked up, the both of them. The only thing was, he was trying to make things right, and apparently his once-lover was off gallivanting around. The only reason he wanted to leave --

Wait, why wasn't he saying this out loud?

I know, Mahler, Verx responded, once the Diasporan had ended his speech. I've been a terrible father; you don't need to tell me that. Preaching to the choir. I'm trying to make things better. The only reason I'd take them away would be to keep them safe -- but if Kaistleoki seems like a safe place, then of course I'm not gonna rip them away from it.

He cocked his head, shaking it, laughing bemusedly. If you're so disappointed in Aure, why the hell would you fuck her? he asked. I feel like that goes against a lot of what you just told me. Better hope she's not in heat, or you're fucked, bro.

*whispers an apology*

righteously he stared stonily as verx spoke, promising things that had not yet come to pass. mahler saw nothing in the man but cowardice and failure, and again he wondered how aurëwen could ever have chosen this male for the sire of her children.
as it were, the throat-torn man dragged their conversation back to the dove, and mahler marvelled at vercingetorix’ tenacity. why did it matter what he had done, and with whom? the dark wolf had spurned the sylph in more than one way.
the ghost of a smile flit round the edge of his lips. ”i am a careful man, verx. i vould not have gotten to my position vithout precaution. and if you must know,” he went on, charcoal ears swiveling forward, ”ve satisfied something in vone another, at least for now, aurëven and i. perhaps if you had done the same, you vould be mmm, not here, chasing ghosts.”
a flick of his tail; mahler settled his gaze upon verx for a long moment before turning slowly to continue up the trail.

No, I'M sorry

What a pompous ass. Verx rolled his eyes, following Mahler up the trail. Vell how very good for voo, he drawled in ugly mimicry. Glad y'all gave each other multiple orgasms and whatever. Wish you all ze best.

Mistakes had been made. Mistakes would continue to be made. But he'd be damned if he'd let this conversation continue to delay his return to the river, to his children. Any conservation with Aure might as well be fruitless.

Well, I'm gonna go be the father you always wanted me to be, Verx said, a nasty, bitter grin stretching his muzzle. Best of luck with your inner satisfaction and shit. He began to descend, not knowing (or caring) whether Mahler followed.

a sad man, mahler decided. he would have been lying if he laid out the claim that vercingetorix’s mockery of him did not rankle. but the  gargoyle had experienced it from others, and so it cost him less — at least for the present.
deciding to believe that the other was jealous of his liaison with aurëwen, and basking in his assumption with an air that would only cause guilt when he remembered it again, mahler grunted but said nothing more. 
let verx have the last word. he had more pressing matters of his own to attend, but hoped maliciously that his dick, as the grating seawolf had called it, would only cause more strife for the unsuitable pair in days to come.