Ouroboros Spine swima

For @Keyni

Dragomir rose with the birds, cracking a wide yawn between two long stretches before loping out toward the lake. The sky was still a pastel wash of pink and orange, while the sun remained concealed behind the mountains. Thin clouds skated by overhead, but the temperature was pleasant despite the breeze.

He yawned several more times while he walked, limbering up his muscles so that when he reached the edge of the water, his blood burned warm under his dark coat. There were still chunks of ice gathered around the shoreline, but he sifted past those with a searching nose hovering an inch over the water's surface.

No fish so close to shore. He huffed a disappointed sigh and began to slosh into the freezing water, shivering as he went.

The Tundrian mix had opted for an early start this morning. There was a lot still on her mind, and plenty of unanswered little whispering questions, which would coax her to eventually seek out her fellow Glen wolves for discussion. Having edged a little closer into Moonglow (but not by much), she had found herself a small den, tucked conveniently out of the way. Though she had not had a personal meet up with the dark furred Ramio yet, she had watched him with a keen eye from afar when the chance presented itself. There was just...something about that man that unsettled her. She would lower her risk of a potential rude awakening during the night, by choosing her sleeping quarters wisely.

Emerging from her underground bed, she stretched out, arching her spine slightly to feel the satisfying loosening of tensed muscle. The lake was nearby, seeming to be a favorite amongst the wolves of Moonglow and of other animals too. The banks, still muddied and riddled with ice chunks, were less than appealing. As daytime temperatures warmed, she knew that eventually the ice and slush would be a distant memory. For now, she bit her lip gently and made her way down gingerly to the lakeside. Through the chilled mud, distinct paw tracks were left in her wake, telling of her trail in an effort to find the cleanest, driest spot possible. Finding a pedestal in the form of two small rocks, fit enough only for her front paws to balance on, she bent down to satiate her thirst. Unaware that opposite her, was a certain mysterious stranger she had glimpsed only one time before.

Three steps away from shore had Dragomir wondering why he was doing this. Fish was never a favourite of his. Even if it was, he knew better than to think this was the best way to search for one. No fish with a brain in its skull would stay put while a predator clumsily sloshed its way out to it. That thought stopped Dragomir in his tracks.

Feeling foolish, he swung around to head back, and found there was a wolf where before there was nothing. She was within Moonglow's confines, so Dragomir had no reason to be suspicious of her. He openly scanned her features as he waded back to shore, but he was unable to place the vague feeling of familiarity. He'd likely seen her before, but he couldn't recall where or when.

Hey, he said, mostly because he felt like he should say something. It was possible he was disturbing her, but... Too late to back out now. I hope it tastes better than it feels, he quipped, shivering as he shook excess water from each leg one by one.

With tiny clear droplets clinging to the fine hairs of her chin, a voice pierced the air in conversation. Directed to her. Pulling away to glance to up, a dark figure was wading ashore towards her. The instant her jadestone eyes fell on him, she felt a prickle of recognition. More so, did her breath hitch, her heart flutter a beat more rapidly. The hazel eyes. That dusty pink nose. And that tinted black coat.

It was him. The mystery male from many moons ago, when she had been lounging by the lake. Funny how much of her meet and greets had taken place near water. An element that seemed a constant in her life. She hadn't given his sudden disappearance since then much thought, if any. Only now did she realize that until this day, she had seen nor smelt no trace of him. And Keyni surprised herself in what was almost a feeling of elation at seeing him again. Despite never having exchanged names. Nor a single word, until now.

Inwardly steadying herself to keep composed, and more forcibly to slow the wag of her tail from a gentle wave to a full blown whirlwind, she offered her classic sweet, yet contained humble smile. "The run off from the ice does help." She chuckled. "But before long we won't have to be so choosy about our spot at the lakeside." Her eyes held his for a moment, and then drifted up to admire the still scant branches of trees, now dotted with buds, ready to burst open in a few weeks time. "I welcome the coming weeks of Spring. It is a beautiful season..."

Dragomir let the beat of his tail match Keyni''s, returning her smile with a wider grin of his own. He couldn't regret the time he'd spent alone in the wilderness, but it was nice to share friendly company again. Giving a hind leg one last shake, he dropped to a sit on the lakeshore and cast his gaze sideways over the water.

For some reason, Keyni's mention of spring reminded him of his mother. Not in any specific way, just that he recalled how she loved the greenery of the world. Even though it wasn't a personal memory and wasn't tied to her abandonment, the thought twisted something in him and he shoved it away, refusing to let it colour his view of Keyni herself. She was not Aurewen.

Soon there will be flowers, he remarked, and the air will taste sweet again. He couldn't say he had any particular love of flowers, but they brought the birds, and the birds reminded him of Isi. Have you been here long? I've only just joined.

He came no closer. So, she would come to him. She closed the space between them by a few steps, careful not to press into his personal space. She always did try to be tactful. This time around, the normally self-assured Keyni still felt her heart fluttering rapidly against her chest, deep within. 

She wanted to shake her head. To slap herself out of this silly behavior. What was wrong with her? She had never felt like this before. So why now? Perhaps that fleeting, one time sighting of him by another lakeside back in the colder months had more of lasting impression than she realized. 

Fortunately, he seemed distracted long enough by admiring the lake. His demeanor was conversational and friendly, with a charming grin to boot. "Kukutux and the aspiring healers will appreciate the bounty the new growth offers. As will the resident herd as well." She commented, eying the opposite bank briefly for any traces of their local deer. They were nowhere in sight, which was just as well.

A soft shake of her head followed his inquiry. "No. Just under a month." She briefly let her eyes land on her pale paws. A brief show of her unease at being in limbo. "I am actually not of Moonglow. Along with Antares and a few others, we are all that remains of a pack once known as Firefly Glen. Kukutux was kind enough to offer us refuge."

Where was she now, he wondered, his fierce and beloved sister? She had departed Moonspear even before he, and while his path had not meant to follow hers, once or twice he had bowed his head to scent the earth in search of her. He never found her, of course. If he had, he expected he would have stayed with her and never found his way back to these wilds.

Dragomir followed Keyni's gaze to the bank, a glimmer of interest in his hazel eyes. How many heads is the herd here? he wondered. At his core, he had always been a hunter. Not much patience for following the herds around to mentally catalogue their movements, but as he got older, he appreciated that sort of scholarly approach more and more. It would be good to become familiar with the resident deer. Perhaps Keyni could be instrumental in that.

She mentioned Firefly Glen and he grunted, surprised. Firefly Glen? I remember that place. There was no pack there last time. Last time, for him, being when he had crossed the threshold from Moonspear. His forays since into the Teekons were always very brief and largely unremarkable, although he recalled the earthy male from the last time. There was a niggling familiarity in his mind for this sand-and-stone woman, as well, but he still could not quite recall where he'd seen her before.

Why not simply stay? Are you planning to rebuild Firefly Glen?

New interest roused in her eyes as the dark wolf took more focus to the herd. Perhaps he was much like @Adrastus then? A hunter, ever ready to refine his skills. There certainly was no shortage in Moonglow. "Last I checked...seven or eight. Not long ago." She would have said more, but Dragomir took her attention back to Firefly Glen. 

"No. I believe it was only recently established after I joined them." Her gaze fell momentarily. "It was a short lived pack. Too much tragedy all at once. It was...the attack by a bear, that I think was the turning point." Reclining back, she let her shoulders loosen while she drew a calm sigh. His question had gotten her into one of her more deep, yet oh so simply laid out way of thinking. She answered the latter part of his question first.

"For a time, I was considering it." Came her soft voice. "But, Firefly Glen is not mine to rebuild. It was, and is, the Ostrega's by right. Osiris, Atlas and Antares. They were there in the beginning. Then...Atlas vanished. Osiris followed, succumbed to slaughter. Leadership fell solely then to Antares. He handled it as best he could. Then the falling star struck Moonspear. I know without a doubt that it was tearing him apart inside, losing his childhood home. Of losing even more loved ones." She paused for a breath, letting him take it all in. "I stood by and supported him, silently, the whole time. As best I could. It hasn't been easy, but I respect him for being able to even endure this much." Glancing his way, she sought his hazel eyes, for his thoughts. "Being in limbo like this doesn't suit me. This place...Moonglow is like a second home. I am tempted to make it permeant."

Dragomir settled further into his seat while Keyni first shared the herd's number, then began to paint a picture of the short and tragic life of Firefly Glen. He kept his eyes and ears both trained politely on her as she spoke, but his mind was quick to fly to the mountain that had been his home for such a brief time. Brief, but significant. He no longer thought of Diaspora as home, and the time in between he had mostly purged from his memory. Moonspear had been home before he made a home of the open road.

It lingered on what memories he had of Atlas, of Osiris, and of Antares. Mostly Antares. The others, including their sister whose name slipped his mind, were more like acquaintances, but he'd shared a time or two with Antares. Atlas was the first to go, and then Osiris was killed. Dragomir assumed that was the doing of the bear Keyni mentioned before. He grimaced to think of the fates of them; Hydra's proud sons, brought down in such a gruesome manner, and only one left to pick up the pieces.

I can only imagine, Dragomir breathed. He didn't think he'd be even remotely prepared to take the reins of a pack on the heels of his sister dying, and it sounded like Antares had lost two siblings. Two siblings, his parents, potentially many more... That was more burden than Dragomir could even fathom. It was no wonder Firefly Glen had faltered under the weight of all that. He hoped that somehow, Antares could find some peace in his heart.

Well, he said at last, giving his broad shoulders a little shake, a habit he was scarcely even conscious of these days, it sounds like you've made up your mind, then. Nothing's really permanent, He tongued the tip of one tooth, then said, but some certainty is better than none, so it could be your permanent-for-now home, maybe.

After spilling out such a mouthful, Keyni thought for a moment that it might have been too much. That she flooded him with more than he could digest. It weighed on her heart and took a toll. But despite that, she seemed to be handling herself well. If nothing else, she seemed resigned and accepting of what had happened. 

His admittance that nothing was truly permeant aligned with her way of thinking. Jade eyes blinked softly in this realization. In appreciation. Maybe he was much wiser than he let on. "It is. Everything follows a...natural cycle." She didn't want to get in too deep with such sharing and probing, so she moved on. "I can imagine no other place more fitting than right here. It just...feels right, at this time." She agreed, allowing a bare smile. Dipping into her curiosity, to learn of his connections, if any in the Teekons, she asked, "Did you...know any of those wolves? Any of the names, do they ring a bell?"