Ouroboros Spine Autumn town leaves

It was a fair day. Sunlight streamed from overhead, and a cool breeze played music with the leaves on the trees until they broke free from their branches and danced away. The temperature was typical, or so the warrior assumed. When fall reared its head in the Starsea, everything shifted into a new state of living, or near-dying.

Foxfur was too tired to hunt for the wolves of Moonglow. His gaze drifted to the rocky borders of the pack before he began a steady trek toward them. If he could not service the wolves by fetching fresh prey, he knew that his skills would do well at the edge of their clan territory.

Prowling to the borders, Foxfur began the steady journey and marked as he went.

never had the boy strayed so far without his mother in toe. oh his journey would give her a fright! and he hadn’t a clue, nor did he mean anything of this. he’d picked up a trail near the den, and lómion followed further and further and further…
and finally the boy caught up to him. there he was through the brush, going about his day. a complete stranger. lómion was transfixed by him. wherever he was heading, the little shadow would quietly follow at a distance.

Young pups were so very rarely good stalkers, but Foxfur did not dare reveal the slight shadow that he had caught from the edge of his gaze. If the boy wished to follow, the warrior would allow it.

Foxfur could easily recall his own months of apprenticeship beneath the watchful gaze of Blackeye, a she-wolf with the nastiest scowl he’d ever seen. As a boy, he had thought his mentor the fiercest. He could not help but wonder if some of the same adventurous curiosity burned in the youth of Moonglow.

Pausing for a moment, the warrior drew his whiskers to the wind and sniffed.

once, such a thing wouldn't have scared her so. now, she felt a horrible fear enclose around her heart to realize lómion had wandered from the den while she tried to bathe his sister. she'd left the rest of her children under @Sialuk's watchful eye -- promising to return soon.

she tracked him down all the way to the borders, taking care not to make any noise -- a fleeting bird of brown and silver plumage between the teees. a sigh of relief wisped through her lungs as she came up on her son's charcoal build, glancing to the crimson he-wolf some ways ahead as if seatching for some threat. but he seemed to hardly notice the inky pup's presence.

"you mustn't do that," she chided the small shadow in a soft whisper, bending to sniff him over, "you scared me." 

when she straightened, the doe's verdant gaze landed on the stranger again. "hello," she offered, barely audible but attempting politeness, in the event that he should turn towards them upon hearing her voice. "i'm lótë. this is my son, lómion. i hope he didn't disturb you."

the child went undetected thus far. it pleased him. after the many birds he’d watch everyday, he learned it was best to keep out of sight. one misstep and they’d go fluttering away.
lómion took in a sharp breath when the man stopped to smell the air. had he been found? he crouched to the floor and wriggled behind a nearby bush.
whether he’d been detected or not did not matter now. mother had spotted him in the end and surely alerted the man to his location.
mummy! he cried in shock. she was as silent as he! a warm wave of guilt swept over the boy as she tended to him. sowwy mummy.. lómion apologetically brushed his cheek 
lómion then followed his mother’s gaze to the stranger, and he was suddenly much more timid than he had been before. he concealed himself behind lótë as best he could.

Ah, there was the mother.

Foxfur was not altogether surprised that she had found the child. A mother’s instinct and nose were unlike anything else. The warrior did feel a small pang in his heart at the boy’s fun being spoiled. Foxfur did not wish for the child to be reprimanded by his parent.

Hello, he offered in return with a slow bow of his head.

Young Lómion was not in any danger. I’ve had an eye on him for a short time. At least, you needn’t worry too much…

It would have been foolish to tell a mother not to fret over her child, he knew good enough. Foxfur did not want to intrude on the woman’s business. His intentions were only to soften the protective gaze of the mother. Boys would venture much sooner than most parents would like.

it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that foxfur didn't know her son's father -- or what he might be capable of. but their lack of familiarity held her tongue; she did not wish to depress him with the collapse of her marriage. 

guilt tugged at her heartstrings to see lómion scamper behind her, his fear inspired by her own -- and by her gentle admonishment. "it's alright," she soothed him softly. "foxfur is friend." fleetingly, her jade gaze moved to the man's sunlit orbs as if to confirm this statement. she did not wish to overstep but the scent of the community was upon him now which made him moonwolf, village-brother. 

it was here, near the borders, that she realized that there were only the faintest whiffs of adrastus -- old and stale. a measure of the weight suffocating her lifted ever so slightly but she would not believe until she visited their former den and observed its desecration. only then would the fear abate and would she truly begin to move on.

for now, she tried to focus on their conversation. "are you new to moonglow?" perhaps she had been sheltered too long within the borders. or maybe it was just that most people she spoke to these days were children. the herbalist was tongue-tied, fighting the urge to shift her weight or drop her gaze. trying very hard to be normal, hence the bland question -- for she couldn't seem to formulate something more interesting to say. 

The warrior bowed his head as the mother assured her child he was not in danger; they were with a friend. Foxfur was no harm to the children of Moonglow. If anything, the sight of the adventurous Lómion was familiar enough to rekindle feelings of mentorship. Spring would be upon the wilderness in several months and it was the time for new children to be born, children who would need to learn the ways of the world.

I am, yes. I joined shortly after meeting Sialuk. She made a fine show of Moonglow, Foxfur answered with a weary smile. There was a small sway of his tail that followed the statement. As impressive as Sialuk had been, the wolf of the moon Kukutux was furthermore.

Your children seem to have a thirst for adventure, yes? Foxfur nodded to Lómion with an attempt at a warmer expression. The warrior wondered if the pale woman had other children or if her protective nature was reserved for the likes of an only child.