Sun Mote Copse Wind singing in the willows

It was a little over a week now, since Arcturus had arrived at Sun Mote Copse and Wraen hoped that the rest of the pack had got used to the dark-pelted guardian, who had left in voluntary exile his own home. Towhee's attitude, when they had met first, had concerned the Sovereign a little, but, since no actions had followed, which would require her interference, she dared to hope that things were fine at least on the surface. 

Wraen had given her friend space and time to think things through and that very soon she would have to ask him, what he had decided to do. It would not be long before Hydra and her subordinates would be out and looking for him. It was important to know, where things stood before any such confrontation. As much as she wished to offer a forever-home to Arthur, she knew she could not do it at expense of her fellow packmate safety. 

While thinking about these and other matters, she had arrived at the place, where the Blackthorn patriarch and matriarch had been burried. There she stopped, sat down and quietly commemorated the two wolves. Having never been close to Finley, she missed the steady wisdom and calm of Elwood very much. And just as we all do, when a dear granny or grandpa or any relative of ours die, she regretted not spending more time with both to learn the stories and secrets that they had now taken to their graves.

Fig had finished his patrol of the borders earlier that day and ever since had been looking for something to do with himself. He'd dropped by @Towhee and Meerkat to see if she needed and relief or company, but had found the pair of them sleeping. Not wanting to disturb them, he'd merely smiled and snuck away again. He'd considered tracking Phox or Fenn down then, but figured they were likely with Niamh and Bronco respectively. He didn't want to intrude upon them either. More Fenn and Bronco, truth be told. Fig was far more comfortable with his sister spending time with Bronco than with that Penn guy.

So, the young Redhawk was bored. He was very much considering returning to the borders and just taking another lap when he caught a different scent that intrigued him. Fig hadn't spent too much time with the pack's sovereign (mostly because he felt like a dork about trying to hang out with her), but this moment gave him pause. He recognized where her trail lead and where it likely ended. He didn't know how close Wraen had been to Finley and Elwood (his grandparents, he realized suddenly with some surprise), but that didn't matter. The yearling's paws had already turned.

Fig found her right where he'd suspected he would. She was alone and for a brief moment, he considered that maybe that's how she wanted to be. But, he suspected the sound of his steps hadn't gone unnoticed, so he continued to come closer until he was alongside her, shooting shy, sidelong glances over at her before settling his gaze on the ground before them.

"My Mom said Finley made up all the ptero signs for swear words," Fig said quietly. He didn't know what else to say and for some reason, that fact had just popped into his mind. Maybe because I just made it up. Seemed like a fair enough ice breaker, anyway.

Wraen's moment of quiet contemplation was interrupted by the arrival of Figment. Fenn's brother, Phox's son and... the Sovereign had to admit regretfully that she did not know much of anything else about the boy - no - young adult standing before her. Why had it been so that on her occasional rounds to socialize with Firebirds, they had not crossed each other's paths was a mystery. But now their's had and Wraen decided to make the best of it.

"Did she? And Towhee just taught me to say "hi" in ptero," Wraen laughed at the fun fact. Had Finley been a human, she would probably not have minded to have this written on her tombstone. Instead of the boring "In loving memory" or "Sorely missed by grieving friends and family". If a person had been a jester all through their lives, they would want to be remembered as such.

"It's hard to believe that they are gone now. I always held on to a belief that they would live forever. That... Finley with all her adventures would have found the secret to immortal life," she mused. "Were you close?" she asked Figment.

Fig tried not to stare at Wraen, knowing he was nervous and so it would likely come off as creepy instead of attentive. He didn't know how the alpha would take his ice breaker so he was anxious in the two seconds after he'd spoken, but it seemed there was nothing to worry about. He relaxed when she laughed and cracked a soft smile himself. Why did he always worry about such dumb things? He would need to work on that.

Ice broken and sillyness internally remonstrated, Figment settled in. He nodded in response to her comment, but didn't offer more. If she was still on "hi", then she had plenty more to learn before she advanced to the dirty words. And Fig wasn't the one to teach her that anyway--the idea was mortifying. He sobered as she continued, and was thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"Not really," Fig replied, remorse evident in his tone though he tried to keep it level, "It wasn't until a couple of days after it happened when Towhee referred to them as my 'grandparents' that I even remembered that's what they were to me." He frowned, guilt warming his veins (and not in a good way). He hadn't had too much interaction with Elwood and Finley when he'd been a kid. They'd left for the Copse by the time he'd been born, and shortly after, he and his family had moved to the Grove. Shortly after that, the landslide had happened. And then he'd gone to the Frosthawks and...

Well, the reasons could go on for a while and in the end, it didn't matter. He'd missed an opportunity to know them as grandparents. He'd missed the opportunity to know them at all. "Every time I hear someone talk about them, it's that same thing though," he commented, "That they seemed... indestructable. Like they'd be around forever. Must've been something pretty special to earn that reputation. I wish I'dve known them better..."

"Well, we all feel immortal, while we are young and we believe that others will be around us forever too. We take it for granted, until death proves otherwise," Wraen explained. It was not a unique quality of either Finley or Elwood. In the bigger scheme of things they were two elderly wolves that had passed away. No less or more extraordinary than other founders of families around the wilds. "In fact our odds of dying are equal. Age and sickness reap the old, while the young and strong may be taken in the most unexpected and heart-breaking ways," she said.

"But let's not talk about that anymore. I am sure that neither of them would want us to remember them for... dying, but rather for, what they were," it did not come out as eloquent as she had begun, but Wraen considered the matter closed. "If you want to know more about the grand stories of the two, you should ask Towhee or your father. They spent most of their lives with them," she offered. "But in the meanwhile you can tell me all about you - I have had the pleasure to get to know your sister, but you are a mystery to me."

Fig was somewhat surprised at where the conversation went. Not because this wasn't a logical path for it to take, but because people usually didn't go there. Not with him, anyway. In the eyes of those he spent the most time with, he was still quite young. Just a sweet little boy still--someone to shelter from the darker side of life. But Figment was not naive. He was thoughtful, attentive, and perceptive. He didn't need to be told things to know about them.

Still, he had nothing to contribute to the gloomy commentary about life and death. He merely listened, cataloguing the words and tucking them away for safe keeping with a nod. When she changed gears on him, he smiled a bit bashfully. "That makes me sound kinda cool," he commented with a little shake of his head, "Fen's the interesting one, though. I'm just... me." 

He cleared his throat uncertainly, then shrugged. "Anything in particular you wanted to know?" Fig added, not wanting it to seem like he was trying to withhold information from her. He just really didn't know what to say about himself.

"Well, I have heard good things about Just-Figment from aforementioned Cool-Fen," Wraen pointed out in good humour. She had hard time to believe that this dashing young man (one-to-definitely-be, if he did not believe in himself to be such now) had self-doubts of any kind. From her point of view, there was nothing wrong with him and everything great was ahead of him. But, what did an old crone, who was four times his age, know about life, eh?

"I will be boring and practical - let's start with things you enjoy doing - trade-wise and in general," she asked, hoping that her attempt made conversation easier for the young fellow. "I, for example, are notorious for talking people's ears off and not knowing, when to stop," she winked.

Fig couldn’t help but quirk a skeptical brow at Wraen’s comment, though his lips were upturned in a smile. Fen say nice things about him? He didn’t know she said nice things. He’d thought she only said sarcastic things. 

He kept his commentary to himself on the subject. He was too modest to refute the claim, plus he wanted to save it for later when he could tease Fennec about it. If it was true (which he did; he had no reason to think it a lie), then he was touched, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have a bit of fun with it.

Fig laughed gently at the alpha's comments about herself. He liked her sense of humor. It was quiet, clever and done kindly. Very different than what he was used to being surrounded by the likes of Fennec and Towhee, but he appreciated that about it. ”Well, I spend most of my time on the borders,” Fig answered, ”Marking, keeping an eye out on things. The normal border stuff. When I’m not there, I’m usually with Fen, or with Towhee and Meerkat. Fen needs help getting around sometimes due to her condition, and sometimes mom just needs a break from the monster. I like to help out when I can.” He shrugged, smiling fondly as he thought of them.

Truth to be told Wraen had had no idea that Figment had been doing all this, even though her player had awarded this guy at least on of his trades. But it was good to know that during Niamh's and Towhee's maternity leave the business was taken care of well. How many guardians did they have now? Besides those two. Bronco, Figment, Fennec had expressed interest, though it had happened a very long time ago. 

"They can be handful, eh?" Wraen smiled at him knowingly, feeling glad that the last year's bountiful crop was invested in taking care of this year's brood, giving older people like her more freedom. She would have asked about, how Fen was doing now, since she had not spoken with the girl for a while, but decided not to do it, because the sole purpose of the conversation was to get to know this guy better.

"Do you plan to pursue your path of being a guardian or are you interested in something else as well?" she asked.

Fig had known from the beginning that he was going to enjoy being a big brother. He had never considered the possibility until his father had brought it up to him and Fen that day, but ever since, he'd known. Having Meerkat and now the rest had changed his life. They were absolutely little monsters, but they were absolutely his favorite things on the planet (next to Fenny, of course).

"Definitely," Fig agreed, "But I like having my hands full." His tail wagged softly for a moment before he turned his gaze back to his grandparents' graves. They'd gotten to meet Meerkat, but not the others. He considered this until Wraen took his attention again.

"Uhh... Guardian, yeah, I guess," Fig answered with a small shrug, "I enjoy doing it. Towhee has been teaching me and Fen to fight since we were kids so it's kinda something we've always just done. I mean really, I just like to help and be useful. If there's something else the pack needs more, I'm happy to do whatever I can to support everyone." He'd never really considered a different path for himself, or any path at all, in a way. He'd always just done what had come naturally to him, and he couldn't really say if he'd ended up on a different path had his mother not been a warrior or his sister not been born blind and in need of protection (note, he did NOT call her defenseless, and so she is not allowed to kick his ass).

"A universal man," Wraen remarked, feeling a little surprised, but at the same time envying Figment for his contendness in his simple existance. Now, nearing her fourth year of life she had calmed down consideraby and was less impulsive than before, but still she had not quite given up on the hope, belief - if you choose to call it so - that there was still something great for her to do. That being a Sovereign here was not the end of her journey. She could do so much more. 

"I will know, who to call, when I have an odd job that needs to be done," she smiled at him. "Should we go and see Niamh's buggers now?" she suggested. "I have yet to meet them in the person and the flesh and, while we go there, you can already prepare me for the worst," she joked. "Or the best - whichever you choose."

Fig shrugged and offered her a half smile. He supposed the title fit. At least it fit better than calling him mysterious. He was just a simple guy, really. Honest, kind, protective and loyal. Average, as far as he was aware. And it worked for him.

He chuckled softly at her comment, but gave a nod of agreement. He was earnest in his desire to be useful, though he did wonder what sort of odd jobs the sovereign might come up with for him. Perhaps he would find out another day. For now, he face lit up as he stood. "They're one in the same when it comes to the monster," Fig replied with a wag of his tail as they set out for a visit with the family.