Moonspear be mine

@Dirge before ossy thread <3

 

Hydra, as ever, had been doing more thinking; there was much to do, and much she would see done too. But before all that, she sought one of her most favored of wolves, and whose mind she sought. In a chipper mood, Hydra tracked him at a rapid clip, tongue lolling. The rains had passed, and the weather was cool and crisp. The prey, it seemed, were resuming their natural behaviors. Some loitered in Moonspear still, but in tracking them she noted their nerves had seemed to dissolve; it was not the oncoming of disaster they feared but rather the safety they perceived to be here, even in claimed territory. 

They were not wrong; Moonspear, again, had fared well despite the floods. 

And all, for now, seemed to be well. Driven by this, and driven by the desire to continue toward their betterment, Hydra honed in upon a tree with a tuft of his fur upon it. Close, now, the matriarch pressed on in silence for now. Though her steps were quiet, no doubt Dirge might recognize her own particular gait as surely as she knew his own.

He had lost the trail of his quarry, but it was not a disappointment. Though the lands had certainly dried out since the rains, the footpaths were still a grand mess. Littered and scattered with debris here and there still, they had begun to weave new trails in where the old ones could no longer be used and the same largely went for where the prey within their grand territory went. All seemed to be aware that the seasons were changing, aware of how the days were gradually growing short and energy did not wane as it had. He saw more night now, and felt the urgency in making use of the day.

Unaware that he was being trailed himself, Dirge had come to stop to investigate a scat pile left behind. Not exactly fresh but not so old that he couldn’t make a discovery or two about it. He had been on a deer path, he thought, but this was definitely not from the roving bands of ungulates privy to the broad range of Moonspear’s claim. A disappointing note met the ambience—this was from a badger. He couldn’t recall the last time he had stumbled across one of those and frankly, did not feel a particular urge to deal with it.

A concern for another time, then.

He blended best with this territory in Autumns splendor. The browns, the vivid oranges, the paler nudes... the world was aflame around him, dying, and he its source of life. They two had fared well in the days of the deluge, but she thought of times so long before this. A time before either of them stood where they did now, a time before children and before love. 

Love. The word surprised her, and the feeling too, as she looked upon Dirge. Indeed, she loved him. Had she ever told him that? 

She strode toward him, nose low to the earth as she drawled, anything interesting? with a lash of her plume. She had not detected the scent of predator, at least, so it could not be that. She drew closer to sniff alongside him at the scat he had discovered to see for herself, too, what was in their midst.

He had come to know her footfalls apart from any other, even her sisters.

It did not nudge him into acknowledging her immediately, at least by way of a look; his ears turned subtly with his head to hear her, and by then she was close enough to reach out and touch him if she had so desired. His interests had piqued her own, he noted, and the question off her tongue was an easy one for him to answer.

“Not unless you find badgers exciting,” he commented. Knowing her, they probably did excite her if only for that feral thrill that it might actually try and take someone’s face off. But that would only be if they encountered it and cornered it—he wanted to believe that the smaller if not angrier creature of their home would spend an adequate amount of time trying to actively avoid them all.

His gaze loitered over her then, tracing the gentle curve of her shoulder.

“So you were following me again,” he went on in his own way of starting conversation.

Not just now, I do not, she hummed. If @Mira or @Caelum or @Altair were with her, perhaps; badgers could be good teachers. Wolverines, too, though perhaps they were too young for wolverines... something to mull over. As far as his other observation, Hydra's chin lifted from the ground as she looked to him. So I was, she rejoined, picking her way over the scat to shake out her furs and hoping they might be able to walk along together. 

Licking her chops, she hummed, I have been thinking, Dirge, she started, shifting her weight as she thought out loud. We, Moonspear... we have been thriving. And our son, Osiris... he shows much promise. He is not like my brothers... he asks for no rewards for it. He is simply... she considered, He is the best of us all, I feel, she hummed, looking to her mate, he has developed your levelheadedness, I think. Here she grinned, though she spoke in earnest. It was Dirge who kept her grounded and of this plane, she liked to think, when she was all too prepared to fly off of the rails onto a far more murderous track. 

I think we should lay claim to the Glen, and he can be at the helm of that. With the spies and the like... it will simply eliminate that from their places to run and hide, or else explore. I think you and I, we ought to teach him to lead. Hydra had been groomed by her mother and father both, though not with so many words. Hydra had led since the moment she became of age to. She had an instinct for it, but she liked to think she was seeing that in Osiris now. And his father, too, was a natural within the role—he had risen to the occasion, and she saw him too as a brilliant leader. What would he think of this?

He should have known that she followed him for the intent of revealing her latest thought. Generally that was how such things worked as of late, where one would find the other to impart news or whatever came to mind to tend to any number of concerns that had been tabled. This time was no different and he listened to what she had to say with minimal reaction; surprise instead had stolen away what little response he could have mustered up.

They had talked of such a thing once before, when Dragomir had still resided along the slopes. A time when they had thought of him as highly as one of their own—when was the last time he had thought of him? Even here it was a fleeting thing, a memory that flashed by to leave him with a sense of déjà vu.

But what did he think about it?

His features set into a frown for a moment, though it was more out of thought than disappointment. A brief break in his stoicism, only to be replaced by a searching in her gaze that wanted to suss out more than ambition and concern for what lied beyond their claim. Politics wearied him.

“Laying claim formally to the glen would benefit us,” he opted to open with. “I admit I am tired of our hunting grounds also being grounds for misfortune at the jaws of others.” Putting his son out on that front line, however, stirred a feeling that he didn’t quite like. Children had complicated his life greatly; how simple things had been when it was only his own ambition to consider. How he had pined for a stretch of ground to claim for his own, though in truth once upon a time it had been to try and steal a certain pit viper princess away.

“I think Osiris has potential to do well, but it has to be his decision to do it,” he went on afterward, reaching some natural conclusion for himself. “We can guide and teach him all he is willing to learn, but you know I won’t push him into something he doesn’t want.” Of course, he also knew that winter would put a strain on their resources too; with a robust claim came many mouths to feed… and then there was always the coming spring to consider too.

Hydra listened to him, feeling much the same—which she had never made any mystery of, to any—though glad to hear him echo her own sentiments aloud in this moment. Hydra knew well in matters of their family, they would ever be on the same page for their wellbeing. She could not read his mind, but for all of his stoicism Hydra thought she saw the ghost of concern in the set of his jaw. Real, or not real, perceived or otherwise, Hydra felt the same feeling linger in her throat. 

Firefly Glen had been where their son had been struck. But he had recovered, grown since then in skill and in soul, and was not a boy anymore... nor would he keep himself victim of that. Hydra wanted to aid him in reclaiming his power, and discovering those innate traits she felt she saw within him. 

The Pit Viper Queen looked to the King of the snake charmers, lulled again to peace and sense both with his words. I agree, she breathed aloud to his thoughts, if it is not something he himself desires, it is not something I would ever force upon him. I see his potential; he has lived experience, with awful wolves... and he will have us, too, and more who can cover the Glen now. And I do not want you to push him, either, she drawls, if he does not want it. And that was the truth. Hydra wanted her children to be strong, bold, brave, but not all needed to be ambitious. Those that stayed within Moonspear for their lifetime were no less worthy of success and the rest without feeling the need to ascend. All had a place here, always... so long as there was no fratricide, and the like. 

He will need to take some of ours with him; I want to give him that choice, to start, she thinks aloud, licking her chops. Though they lay claim to the Glen, they are still Moonspear; Osiris will be as our second Beta, as he rules the Glen, she worked out, wondering what he might think of this consideration. It made sense to her, and still left room for another to ascend to that place here too.

He agreed with her—taking some of their own to occupy and settle the territory was not a bad thing at all in his eyes. It would bolster their attempt and hopefully dissuade those who would challenge it, though any challenger would certainly be taking off more than they could chew quickly with Moonspear looming so close by. And if they could hem in some of the herds that roamed through the glen to bypass the narrow passageways along the mountain, the better.

He warmed to the prospect easily too, knowing that Hydra was not entirely using this as a means to carve out her ambition vicariously through their children. Osiris was charismatic in his own way and perhaps like they, would have no problems in gathering followers that might warm to the prospect of being able to freely move across more than one claim. It was perhaps the best alliance they could form—family, at least in their case, was a very hard bond to break.

“I think knowing that we’re close and being able to seek refuge where he’s most familiar will help him too. If his siblings follow him, that may be a source of comfort as well.” Better to let them disperse on their own, he supposed, even if it was to the glen right outside their claim. Close enough to still wonder after them but distant enough to let them live their own lives if they so desired it. Assuming of course, they would want to go with Osiris in the first place, and assuming Osiris wanted this task.

She nodded to him, thinking much the same. They could still help him when needed, and teach him too. For all intents and purposes Hydra felt that despite his claiming of the Glen, he and the rest were still very much Moonspear as she had said. More grounds for them to hunt, and as Dirge had said some time ago... they could better pool their resources this way. 

I will bring it up with him. See who he might wish to tag along, she hummed. All in all, at least these were good tidings. So much the contrary had seemed to unfold. Hydra actively worked against it, even now. Hydra was proud of Osiris; he was a wolf who she felt deserved this through his actions. Pausing to investigate another scent, it was old enough not to keep her interest and she moved right along. Have you met our niece, Meerkat, yet? she asked, gaze shifting to him. She is Towhee's daughter, she reminded, sure that somewhere along the way she had spoken to him of she and her relationship and of their new relations earned through that.

Only time would tell how things went and eventually, Dirge would fully warm to the idea of them taking the glen. A lot of it would have to do with how his son would feel, and how well he took to the responsibility that went into holding a claim. But of course, Osiris would have the advantage that Dirge and Hydra had not—another pack willing to enforce and back them. They had been fortunate enough to be in the midst of their own kin, but taking contested hunting grounds was certainly another beast altogether.

But he did not think of the ruffled hairs it may bring—Hydra’s next question distracted him.

“I’ve met her in passing once or twice,” he said, thinking of the girl. “She’s bubbly.” Different from the stony or the stoic company that made up the majority of the pack, at least. Beyond that he didn’t have much of an opinion about her one way or the other, only able to add a parting statement; “The children seem to like her well enough too, at least our more outgoing ones.”

last from me bc I DEMAND A NEW ONE xoxo

 

She is quite different from her mother, she answered with a laugh, but no less wonderful... and nodding to him that she did well with their brood—old and young alike—Hydra continued to walk with her mate, continuing their own discussion and working alongside one another to accomplish whatever task they decided to take on this day.