Duck Lake Through the boughs of the garden

He went back to the river to find @Amalia but there was nobody there.

He turned south to search for @Void among the maples but was too afraid of raising his voice.

Atreus rambled aimlessly after that, going wherever the scent of prey led him, though all his hunts ended in failure.

He found himself at the edge of a lake and drank deeply to take the edge off the hunger pains in his belly.

she had not really had experience with children her own age.

the most exposure she had were her new siblings. young and mewling often. they grew each day, but still they remained young. in need of their mother.

but what captured her most was the way this boy seemed every bit a bear in his colors. for the girl who collected bear wolves (mother bear, father bear, snow bear...) she felt delighted.

she watched him, completely exposed with nowhere to hide, as he enjoyed the lake.

Amalia had made a second snap decision to return to the river. She would walk @Lestan to the glacier river.

It was while walking that a scent took her by surprise and she headed towards it. It was the young wolf, Bear.

Concern colored her face and her stomach was tight. Fearful that something had happened to him alone and lost and young. Barely able to hunt.

Trying to feed himself had kept him busy, though as he drank his fill and sat down on the bank, he finally had a moment to think.

Shit, Atreus muttered to himself, feeling well and truly fucked.

He wondered if crawling back to the rise was his best bet, though he—very stupidly—decided he would rather die than go back there.

He didn’t notice anyone else nearby, his two-toned gaze fixed unseeingly on the water of the lake as the ripples smoothed out and the surface turned into smoky glass.

Amalia made her way towards the lakes edge and smiled when she caught sight kf the youth. Though his frame made her worry. He hadn't been eating properly.

Bear. she ed out to him and loped towards him. Look8ng him over with critical eye.

Sorry we had to leave. I didn't know where your home was to tell you.

She curled her tail and let it swing genially

skippable.

another bear arrived.

this one larger and older. she was reminded of mother bear.

banja watched from her safe distance, unable to hear or understand any words they spoke.

He looked up when he heard footsteps, an expression of shock on his face when he recognized Amalia. What was she doing here? What were the odds of them meeting like this?

You left? The river? he said dumbly. I left my home too. He paused, clearly deliberating something before adding, My aunt chased me out.

Amalia looked to his face, eyeing him gently. Poor young man. Her heart went out to him at that moment, and she was unsure what to do or say. She couldn't imagine feeling such a heartache. Her family though irritated with her on occasion, always wanted her.

Yes we moved with a pack we are allies with, Moonglow. It is on the mountain.

She looked him over. Let's get you something to eat and then how about you and I decide what to do for you. And you are more than welcome to come to moonglow with me if you'd like.

A brief flare of panic alighted within her breast. To take the boy there and then possibly leave him for Brechliant. It seemed unfair, and she realized were she to take him in. Solidify a role in his life. Her own wants and needs would need to take a back seat.

He had no idea what (or rather where) she meant when she mentioned a mountain. Before Atreus could ask, she offered to take him there. But the mention of food obliterated all other thought. Anyway, he probably shouldn’t make enormous life decisions on an empty stomach.

I’m starving, he admitted.

Amalia looked him over. He did look rail thin. How could someone just toss the child away like that. She shook her head, and moved boldly to the lake. Let us learn to fish today, Bear.

She stepped into the water, a small shudder lining her body as the cold water hit her with a rush.

It is cold you be careful.

She stared at the water and spoke softly. You want to watch for their shadows and always aim a little ahead of them. Water ripples change the way you see.

Then with careful aim and a quick movement, a fish was caught between her jaws and she scrunched it quickly the cold scales, leaving her tongue feeling rather strange. She tossed it towards the side of the lake, and looked for another. She hoped he would eat as she caught him more.

He despaired a little when she told him they would be fishing today. He didn’t know the first thing about it and didn’t have the patience for lessons, including “if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”

Nevertheless, he reluctantly followed her as Amalia waded into the shallows. He didn’t have much choice, did he? As she said, the water was cold. The boy shuddered and clenched his jaw, doing his best to pay attention as she demonstrated and instructed at the same time.

When she quickly caught a fish and tossed it onto the shore, Atreus reacted without thinking. He leaped after it, pinning it to the ground between his forepaws and quickly tearing into it. He ignored it when the pin pones inevitably pricked his gums, gobbling the whole thing, skeleton and all.

Licking his lips, he looked toward Amalia in the hopes she might have caught another.

There was a droop to his body and his tail at her words, but he followed her albeit reluctantly into the water. She watched him with gentle green gaze, notching that he shivered. And tried to keep on a brave face.

She bent to the task of catching another and tossed it the same way. Her voice ringing out, trilling.

She chuckled. Good form. Fish can be slippery so it does well to keep them under your paws like that. Though maybe don't eat the bones, can get stuck in your throat if you're not careful.

She would catch one more and see if that was enough for his belly. At her last catch she stepped from the cold waters. Shaking her shoulders even if they weren't wet, the feeling of wetness sticking to her whole body from the cold.

He didn’t hear a word Amalia said to him. He was too busy gulping down the second fish, gagging a little when a bone did indeed get caught in his throat momentarily. Atreus didn’t even slow down, though, the next swallowed mouthful pushing everything down his gullet.

A third fish sailed his way and Atreus snatched this one with his teeth, feeling it jerk in his jaws. He instinctively crushed it, dropping the maimed fish on the ground to polish it off in less than sixty seconds.

He felt a sprinkle of cold water and looked up to see Amalia had stepped back out of the water. His tail swayed slowly. Now that he wasn’t famished, he remembered his manners.

Thanks, Amalia. I was really hungry, he said a bit sheepishly, aware that he’d eaten every last scrap and left nothing for her.

There was no twitch of his ears to tell if he heard her or not. So she erred on the side of caution and assumed he hadn't. He was clearly half-starved and she grew angry at whomever his aunt was. It didn't matter the situation or the story, he was a child and she had kicked him from the lands.

She smiled. I saw how well you did there, keeping the one from moving and killing that one. A little practice and you'll be an avid fisherman.

She chuckled. I could sort of tell. That's alright. Though next time I suggest not eating the bones too, the small bones can cause issues in your throat. Are you still hungry?

She would head back in if he needed her too.

No, I— Atreus went to say, only for an enormous belch to escape him. I’m good now, thanks, he finished his sentence, wiping at his mouth.

Now that the immediate problem of his hunger had been solved for the time-being, his mind inevitably turned to the giant question mark of his future. Part of him had absorbed Amalia’s fishing lesson, yet that alone wouldn’t save him. Besides, it was probably much easier said than done.

So… why’d you move? he asked, thinking back on what she’d said about Moonglow, pretty sure she hadn’t mentioned a reason.

A belch filled the air, and she had to stifle a small laugh, turning it into a cough. At least his belly was full now.

You're welcome.

Amalia tilted her head. Because we grew to small to support ourselves. So we joined another pack to make a larger pack. This way more bodies could hunt and fish and feed the young.

Amalia wanted to reach out and rub a muzzle across his head, but she wasn't sure if he would accept that. So instead she placed a paw near his and nudged it gently with kind eyes.

Do you want to talk about your aunt?

His throat gurgled as Amalia spoke, though he ignored it. Her explanation made sense, though Atreus wondered why they’d chosen to live on a mountain rather than near the river. He realized he never wanted to live on any kind of high ground again, lest it remind him of the rise. He wanted to live somewhere that was the exact opposite of a mountain. Did such a place exist?

His stomach lurched when he realized this meant he couldn’t go with her. Right around the time that thought hit him, Amalia’s paw touched his. He swallowed and looked down at their paws, craving more contact but uncertain how to accept, much less ask, for it. He slipped his paw away.

No, he answered her question. It doesn’t matter. Atreus let out a breath. I need to figure out what to do now.

Amalia kept her gaze upon him. Wondering what to do and how to help him. Well what would you like to do?

Amalia settled to her haunches, tail curling around her black paws. The brown spot showing up dark against the ground.

Amalia tilted her head. Thinking hard. I have a friend that isn't quite the whole way to the mountain they are lower in a grassland. I can take you to them, see if they will allow you to stay with them. or I can set you up below the mountain and check on you? So that if you need someone close, but want to try on your own. I can help you?

It would be hard come winter o keep check on him, but she hoped that he would at least try one of the options. The thought of him being alone out there, made her pelt prickle and her chest feel tight. She would love this child if he would let her.

He did not have an answer for her.

Amalia made another offer. It was like she read his mind, offering alternatives to her new mountain home. He listened, head tilting, his lips pulling into a contemplative frown.

He thought of Ancelin. Atreus wouldn’t go back to the rise, nor would he call for his brother, lest his father and aunt hunt him down. But was he really ready to run off and never see him again?

I don’t know, he muttered, answering his own questions as much as Amalia’s.

He looked out across the lake and noticed some ducks on the far side. Atreus watched them for a moment, then turned back to Amalia with a mildly quizzical look on his face.

What’s the opposite of a mountain?

The black furred she wolf was not expecting an answer truly. She just wanted to help however, she knew how. And she had remembered from their first meeting that he was rather despondent and not very talkative. And he didn't like decisions. So she thought albeit wrongly that perhaps if she gave him choices he could do better? Perhaps not.

She made a soft hmm in her throat. Brows furrowed as she thought of an answer for him. Probably a grassland or plain. Something flat, more flowers less colder elevations. Why?

She looked around, wondering if she could show him what she meant. There were not many flat lands directly within eye sight.

She did her best to answer. Atreus’s lips pulled down further, though he couldn’t put a finger on why he wasn’t satisfied with it. At least her simple question had an easy answer.

I want to live somewhere that’s the opposite of a mountain or a hill, he explained.

He turned back to the ducks for a while, getting lost in his thoughts. They tended to circle around his brother and their most recent conversation. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere…” “Good, ‘cause I’d have to come get you…”

Atreus wondered if there was any real chance of that, though he found himself very skeptical of it. Besides, wouldn’t Ancelin be angry with him for going back on his word? He scuffed a paw in the pebbled dirt lining the water.

Eventually, he turned back to Amalia and said, I think I’m going to stay here for now. I need time to think, now that he wasn’t so hungry he couldn’t think. Thank you for the food.

A tiny frown marred his sweet features, and she sighed. He clearly didn't know what he wanted. Little lost soul that he was.

She could understand that. She preferred forests herself, but the mountain wasn't so bad it had it's own forest amongst the boughs and hillocks of the place. There seemed to be something holding him here, but what she didn't know.

Heart fell like leaden stone and tears sprang to her eyes. She wanted to hug him. Pull him so tightly against her, he had nothing to do but accept all the the love she had to give, but she couldn't.

So she nodded, and began to weave a paw through the dirt. Then let me show you what to do if you should want to find me.

She would spend as much time as he needed showing him where both Brechliant and Moonglow were. Offering him the name of Maia if he was there rather than the mountain. And Kukutux.

And she would continue to speak until she was hoarse on what he needed to know and how to find her. Making sure to remind him repeatedly so that he not forget.

Especially after his aunt’s forceful bid to make him come home, he expected Amalia to push the issue. He braced himself for it. But she accepted what he said without argument, then spent the next five or so minutes drawing him a map in the soil and giving him a couple of names to memorize.

He wasn’t sure what he’d do with any of it, though the picture she’d scribbled in the dirt greatly intrigued him. Atreus intended to study it long after she was gone, not just to commit the routes to memory but to marvel at the fact that this hastily scrawled image represented actual places.

Thanks, Amalia, he said again, wondering if she might drop by again to visit him since he intended to linger here.

Atreus didn’t ask, just like he didn’t reach out to her the way he craved. He thought about her paw nudging his and felt a deep yearning in the pit of his stomach. Nobody ever touched him that way. He wanted more of it, even as the thought made him squirm.

Amalia wanted to force him to come home with her. Wanted to press the issue as much as she could, but the simple fact was. She had no designs on him. She was not in a position to demand of him. He was not hers, though dearly she wanted him to be. Just so she could shower him with love and affection he was clearly lacking.

Amalia didn't know how to convey to him that if he would just follow her words. He had places he could go, where he would be safe and loved and all of these things. She wanted to force him to understand he would be taken care of.

You're welcome. I'll stop on my way back home and try and visit you every so often as the weather permits okay? You need to dig a dry den for winter. I will see if the trader rodyn has pelts to trade with me. I will bring them here next time.

Unsure how he would take it, she pressed her muzzle to his shoulder and if he would allow she'd brush it across his head.

baby steps after all. Please come find me if you get lonely or you change your mind, Bear. Please. Now I will be in the territory that you met me before for a few days. My friend Lestan may stay there. I will introduce you if you'd like.

Atreus had never really known motherly love, though when Amalia promised to visit him and offered some last-minute advice, his insides felt warm. He still felt like squirming, though he realized Amalia actually cared about him. That was why she fed him, taught him how to feed himself and otherwise looked out for him.

His throat suddenly felt tight and he wanted to ask her not to go. Couldn’t she stay here with him? When she pressed her muzzle to his shoulder, Atreus leaned into it this time. He did shy away when she touched his head, shrinking back from such intimacy.

Of course, he couldn’t ask her to stay, any more than Atreus felt he could go. Anyway, he couldn’t speak. He nodded to acknowledge her parting words, then turned back to watch the ducks.