Ouroboros Spine Wilderstar

8 Years later and I finally made you the thread I had promised. D: <3 Ily and Rodyn berry much! ^w^

 

Samani searched for @Rodyn. She had many things on her mind - things she did not know how to process. The familiarity of the spine had grown boring to the peachy woman. She had learned the rise and fall of the land four times over. There was little that surprised her on her journeys to the border, and back again to the den she had made into a home. 

Drawing her head back, Samani called to the man she knew would listen - her husband to be. If Rodyn could not make sense of her restlessness, she did not know who could.

hey i get it. Holidays and real life and ily too as does Ro.

Rodyn had been trying to give Samani space to understand everything to go through her emotions. He had sprung a lot on her at once. He felt a bit bad about it. But he had been specifically told not to speak his intentions until that day. So he had lidtened, perhaps he shouldn't have.

He was near the den he had made when Samni called for him an easy smile lit up his face and he dropped what he was doing to lope towards her.

He arrived within moments and leaned forward to give her a smll nudge or kiss hello whichever she preferred. Though he noticed something to her movements.

Hello. he spoke softly with an easy smile on his face, while he studied her with worried eyes.

As soon as the man had appeared, Samani felt herself soften. His touch was welcome. The young girl tucked her snout beneath his chin and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of him and its familiarity.

She had not been fair to Rodyn since his proposal. She knew this. Samani had asked that they take things slow. She had been worried that she was rushing into things. Her heart knew that she loved him and wanted him in her life – she could not see another man having captured her the way that he had. There was no question that she wanted to be his wife and to build a family with him. The girl merely needed to be sure that she wouldn’t hurt him. She couldn’t hurt him.

Rodyn, I am sorry, she spoke gently to him, voice peeking from beneath his throat. You have been so patient, so good. I hope you do not think that I am having second thoughts. If anything, Samani would clear that up. She wanted him to know that she cared deeply for him. She wanted him to be certain that she had no doubts.

I have been feeling… strange, lately.

She tucked beneath him and he smiled and nibbled at the one corner of her ear in greeting. He had been doing his best to respect her wishes. Do what she wished. He didn't want to hurt her, or cause her to dislike him at some point in their lives.

Russet man shook his head. No apology needed. You asked for time so i gave it to you. I don't think that Samani.

Her next words though drew him pause and his brow knitted in worry. What do you mean? Maybe I can help? I'll try at least.

He shifted and moved to give her a more comfortable lean and then he waited patiently. A soft hum in his throat. He hoped that whatever it was that was bothering her, he could rectify. At least in some small way, even if it were just to listen to her.

The girl pulled back to look at him. There was worry on his features. She did not want to worry him. She felt like sharing her burdens would be too much. The young woman did not believe she was the only one who could back out on their engagement. Rodyn was his own man. He could make the choice to leave, if things became to be too much for him. While she did not believe he would ever do something like that, anxiety refused to acknowledge it.

I feel restless, is all.

Samani sighed quietly. She had considered her place in Moonglow for many moons. It had been a difficult subject to think on. The peachy wolf only wanted to help her mother. She wanted to prove to be a supportive member of their beautiful village. At times, she thirsted for exploration and adventure. She had ways to calm this, to put herself to work on important things that their members would need.

I do not know what my future looks like.

Worry creased at her brow. Samani did not want him to think that she meant their relationship.

I know only that you are there. And my family… but-

Jade eyes fell to her paws. She chewed nervously at the inside of her cheek. Samani envied the journey that Rodyn had experienced. He had gone so many places and seen so many other wolves. The world had tested his spirit and he had emerged triumphantly. How could she tell him that she wanted this, too?

I do not know if Moonglow is where I wish to stay. I visited the coast with my father, you know. We talked for a long time. It made me think about many things. He is good at that. A faint smile was offered at the mention of the sun man.

Rodyn saw her pulling back. Noticed that she didn't wish to worry him. She got this look in her eyes, and on her face, when she wished not to be a burden and he couldn't have that.

I hope you know Samani, that no matter what you ever tell me. I won't leave or berate you for it. Will I be upset sometimes, possibly, but I will do my best to even if I can't right away talk with you about it. I don't want us to not be able to be honest with each other, even when it isn't something we are proud of, or that worries us to share..

Ears turned forward as she spoke, his gaze on her face, trying to read between the lines. I can understand that. There have been a lot of changes in a short time, and you didn't get to go on the trip you wanted.

Rodyn smiled at her and touched her head. Then I guess we'll figure out our future together no?

She loooked to her paws, and Rodyn frowned. He felt as if he was botching this. He was new to this as she was. He was trying himself to find a leg to stand on. To understand and be supportive as he could. That was all he wanted. Was to support her in whatever she decided.

Her words came to him then so soft and hushed. And he knew then what it was she wanted. She had told him she wanted to go on a trip before, that she wanted to see everything he had seen. And he couldn't blame her.


He bent his head to meet her eyes where they looked at her paws. It probably looked funny him looking up at her upside down while she stared at her toes, but he wanted her to know he understood. He pressed his head against her shoulder and chuffed gently.

Chewing at his own lip. He spoke. We don't need to stay in Moonglow if you do not want too, Samani. Once the warmer weather hits, we needn't even start a family right away or ever if you don't want to. We can take a season or two and travel. Fully realize what it is you want. I love Moonglow, but I love you more. Wherever you are, is home to me. It could be in the deepest darkest forest or by the sea, which I've not gotten the handle of walking on sand yet, just so you know for future reference.

he smiled at her softly. We can do that. It is important I think to travel, to understand yourself better and traveling does that. It makes you think and realize and learn.

I only worry because you are important here, Rodyn.

Samani might have wagered that he was more vital than she was. He had proven himself to be a capable hunter and a good man. He had shown to be loyal and dedicated. The worry was not in what she had to say so much as it was in the possible outcome of voicing these feelings. When she had been younger, the girl had thought Moonglow was the prettiest place in all the world.

That had been before she’d seen the sea. The image of her sister in the sand while Kukutux and Aiolos walked close by was one that had been pinned to her heart. Samani held that day above most others. She had believed it was like a dream. One taste of the sand beneath her paws and she had been smitten by the ocean and all it had to offer. The days after their beach trip had shifted her mentality. The young moon woman had wanted to see all there was.

My sisters left on journeys for themselves. I think it was hard on anaa. I think... she is strong – the strongest. But family is everything, to her. It was to Samani, as well. The young girl had not understood when Kau had left them. She had been upset and had spent a great deal of her time searching for reasons why Sialuk and then Kausiut would leave.

I want to stay close. Always near, so that I can come to her whenever I need her and she can do the same.

She’d had the idea since her visit to the ocean with her father.

The sea is not far! Please, Rodyn… let’s go. Let me show you! I wish to see how you walk in the sand.

The young wolf looked at him with a laugh on the edge of her lips. They could talk more of family and plans. When he had mentioned children, Samani had stirred with an unrecognizable feeling. Perhaps it was a fear that she might not be a good mother, or perhaps it was something more akin to admiration for Rodyn. A family would be nice, she thought.

Rodyn shifted. I'm only doing what is needed of me. I started training Kivaluk as Second hunter, he already shows great promise.

Rodyn tried to get the topic away from himself. He didn't like bragging about his own accomplishments. He could voice that he was a good hunter, adept even, but then he preferred to move on. And he was important, but he was only important because of what he had done to be with Samani. So it was Samani that was more important to him than his station. He had done it all, to be worthy of her.

Family is important, but so is happiness.

He smiled at her gently and nodded in agreement. Very well. The ocean it is. Perhaps we can stop at Sapphique a friend of your Ana lives there. And I hunted with her mate and son.

He brushed along her head. And I would love to see the world how you do, Samani.

I am worried about disappointing my mother.

Samani had not voiced these things to anyone. She had held them inside, patiently waiting until she could sort them out. The young woman was composed, always. She held her emotions behind an easy calmness – through everything.

If Rodyn were to gaze into her eyes then, he would see the sea of concern.

But I do not believe that my future is in Moonglow.

Rodyn said that he would like to see the world as she does. Samani looked at him, curiously digging at his features with her jadestone gaze. She wished to know more of what he wanted. It did not feel fair that she should dictate where they would go and what they would see.

Sapphique sounds like a perfect place to visit. Who will we see there?

Rodyn shifted and if she'd allow him, he'd tug her closer with teeth and paw and hold her with gentle fondness, body bowed to her whims.

I don't think you will disappoint her, Samani. Your anaa just wants you happy.

He was surprised to hear her say that, but also in a way not. Samani had a wanderer's heart like him, like her father. And if she didn't want Moonglow, then Moonglow they wouldn't stay.

Very well, we'll set our own future in stone. Wherever we both like. Somewhere with forests and sea would be ideal.


Rodyn smiled. I don't know many there. I've only met the one family. There's Meerkat and her husband Njord. She has three children Swordfish, Stingray and Vixen. I've only met Swordfish. That is who i hunted with, Njord and Swordfish. Oh!

He chuckled a little. There was a dog beast on the beach named Slavuj. He looked like he was wearing white tree vines, turned out it was his fur! It was as long as willow branches, Samani!

Somewhere with forests and sea sounded perfect. Samani wondered if it would be easy to find a place that would suit both of their needs, that would bring peace to her and Rodyn. She knew that he would want to hunt. Truthfully, the young woman did not want to settle herself too far from her mother. If they could find somewhere that did not prove a difficult journey to and from Moonglow, she thought she would be happy.

Samani listened to Rodyn as he spoke of who he had visited in Sapphique. The names of their children were cute! She wondered if Swordfish and Stingray looked like the creatures for which they were named. She hoped that she might meet them, too.

When he mentioned a dog with long white vines for fur, Samani could not help the incredulous expression that she gave him. A smile replaced it a moment later.

You are teasing me!

The young girl laughed.

Rodyn was thinking of all the places he had been on his trip to and from. Horizon Ridge was near blackfeather. he'd have to show that to Samani. He didn't think it would be exactly what she wanted, but it was similar. He would pine if he couldn't hunt. Though honestly. He didn't need woods directly in their home. He was fine if it was nearby.

The boy Swordfish had been a quite rotund boy, but he had known what he was doing. And had done well. Rodyn had liked him and his father both. Though something had felt off between the two, but what it was he wasn't certain and hadn't asked.

A cheshire grin lit up his face and he hummed softly. Only a little. But he really did have really long tendrils of fur. It was all knotted and twisted with salt from the sea and sand and he had a strange accent. It was hard to place his words. But he was nice enough.

He ran a muzzle along her neck and shoulders as he spoke, just happy to speak to her and have her near.

The girl could scarcely believe such a thing might exist in their world. Even in her most unkempt, Samani had never seen her fur grow out more than it was in winter. She wondered how Slavuj had gotten that way. Perhaps they were a creature so old that their fur was a testament to the time that had passed. They had walked the beaches so long that they had become part of the sand and salt and sea.

I wish to meet them, too! I want to see this fur for myself.

It was clear that his stories had brightened her spirits. Excitement was barely contained behind her perfect expression. The gleam in her eyes was the only show of her joy. The peachy wolf rested her head against Rodyn’s chest.

What kind of things did you hunt with Swordfish and Njord?

Rodyn had been on edge when he had first me the creature. Having fast realized he was not wolf, but some other type of canine. It had been absolutely mind boggling and if the hunter thought to hard about it, it still was.

If he is still there I'll introduce you. I'm not sure if he will be.

He hummed softly. (danni is going to be vague as it is ongoing). Seal. I had never hunted seal before. But it was a learning experience for certain.

A smile lit up his features as she curled into him, and a piece of his heart lodged somewhere in the vicinity of his throat. She was perfect, this was perfect. All he could do was thank Sedna and any other god that helped for this gift, no this treasure of a woman.

I hunted many things on the trip. Brother otter, elk, deer, goat. Ermine. I didn't go after many birds. But I think the seal was the most challenging. They're quite slippery and their skin is so tough to bite into.::

now hopefully they catch a seal lmao or he's becomes a liar bahaha

Heheh we can absolutely have them hunt seals! That sounds like good fun, anyway. >w<

Seal sounded like it posed a curious challenge for him. Samani hoped that she might have a chance to hunt them, as well. If they found a place that was near enough to the ocean, she thought that they stood a fair chance. Besides, it sounded as though Rodyn had already gotten a good look at them.

I hope to meet them – Swordfish and Njord. I would like if we could all hunt together.

Samani could not think of anything that would please her more. It was this realization that allowed her to find peace in her future. She would find something that would make her anaa proud. Kukutux’s daughter would know peace and happiness with her future husband.

Do you think you have a favorite place? From all the places that you visited.

Rodyn always relished a challenge, but he hadn't been fond of the seal. Only because he felt incredibly out of his depth. Not only was it hard to chase in the sand and among the rocks, but the seal itself was something he wasn't used too.

We'll make sure to meet them then for you. I think you'd like Njord's accent. It's a strange one, but it's nice a little lyrical.

He had a hard time at first listening to the seafarer, but it had gotten better as time has passed. And he had been able to understand most of what was said by the end.

A gentle hmm in his throat and he nodded. There was a place about halfway between here and the sea i'd wager. A grove of trees that was dappled in oranges and golds and all sorts of other fall colors. It made me happy, because it reminded me of memories from home. I don't miss home, but it's nice to remember it from time to time and my family. Them I miss.

But even if Rodyn missed home, he could never go back it wasn't allowed. He was male and he had been chased away.

The idea of meeting someone with a foreign accent was exciting. She wondered how he spoke. Though she had met many kinds of wolves, they had all shared a common language. She did not think of the wolves in Moonglow as speaking with an accent, but it was likely that an outsider would hear the shift in words spoken in the common tongue.

When Rodyn spoke of his family, Samani watched him closely. He said that he did not miss his home, only that he missed the wolves who belonged to it. She wondered how that could be. For the young woman, her home was her family. It did not matter where their paws rested.

Can you visit them? Could we visit them?

Rodyn had met quite a few with accents on his trip to get the bride price for his beautiful Samani. He would have to retrace his steps and take her to all the places and meet all the people. She would be delighted he was fairly certain. Perhaps once they figured out what they were doing, she and he would find someone to keep the home fires burning. or when they were even starting out, they could make a visit to make some allies and in rows for trading.

A sad look came across his face and he shook his head. No we can't. You could without me, and as long as we had no sons smaller than 1.5.

Rodyn shifted. My father chased me from the homeland as that as he does with all males of that age. And we aren't to return. He allows some of the girls to stay, some are allowed to start families some aren't. He makes that choice. My father is.

Rodyn's brow furrowed. He's a good man and he was a good father for the first year and a half of a young man's life. He teaches us all we need to know to survive, but then he chases us away to preserve the pack I guess. I'm not sure, really.

The moon woman did not like the answer that he gave. It made her feel sad, uncertain for him.

How could Rodyn’s father have chased him away? Did he not treasure his son? She did not think she had ever heard of such a thing. Even though the hunter man explained that it was his father’s way to preserve their pack, Samani did not swallow the information well. Something like anger had found its way into her gut. She did not feed it and therefore it did not grow into anything more than a stirring.

I do not like that.

The young woman’s features were downcast, pensive. Samani’s jadestone gaze pulled back to search the face of the man she was to marry. Rodyn would never do what his father had done, right? She could not even imagine the man beside her chasing anything more than that which would feed their village.

You would never continue that tradition, would you?

It was the way of life in the wilds where Rodyn was from. He had not questioned it. It wasn't until he arrived on the doorstep of Moonglow that he realized this was not normal behavior. That sons were to be cherished. He had always felt wronged and upset at it.

I wasn't entirely fond of it myself, but it was what he did. All of us were chased out. Vukasin, Devdan, Rodman, Sandulf, Virien, and Merle. They kept the girls thought. My sisters Lycia, and Wynne, Thessalina left with Sandulf they were twins, Bula, Severa, Aldith and Kenia. They were all allowed to stay.

He shook his head vehemently. Gods no. Any sons we have can stay with us until their old and fat and have children of their own. I am fine with this. I prefer this. The thought of chasing any of the gifts we would be given away, makes me ill.

Rodyn had many siblings. Samani listened to each of their names with an intent eye on her fiancé. She wondered quietly if any of his brothers were like him. She wondered then if she would ever meet the family that he spoke of. If the boys had been chased away, did they seek land for themselves? The moon woman thought it would have been a strong image, if they had banded together after their father had taken their home from them.

When Rodyn admitted that he would not do such a thing to his sons, Samani breathed a sigh of relief. She was pleased to hear it. If she had children and they wanted to remain with her until they grew old and grey, she would cherish that as an opportunity. The closeness of family was treasured, in her heart.

I am glad.

The slight tension had gone from her shoulders.

Too many siblings to name, but he did it so he could remember them himself. For too long he had been without them. Had not been around them. Other than Sandulf and Virien. they were all so many ages. They'd gone away from each other too quickly.

Rodyn smiled. I'm sorry that you were afraid I would do that. I didn't mean to make you think that.

Though it stung a little that she thought him capable of that. He couldn't blame her for it. It wasn't a usual thing and most of the time. Father's were like son's.

I just did not know-

Samani did not want him to think that she believed he was a monster.

Some traditions are meant to be upheld. I did not know if this was one of those things.

The sea girl knew nothing of sons and fathers. She knew only what she had learned from her family. She intended to carry a great deal of their traditions with her. Samani also knew that she could not fault Rodyn, if he were to decide that his father’s way was the right way. It was not her place to tell him that his family’s culture was sad and pained her.

He pressed his head to her side again, with a small smile.

This is true, but some traditions are also meant not to be continued and that is one.

Rodyn shifted and curled his tail around his leg and a head tilt. I've not ever planned to do anything that my family did. I was determined to do my own traditions with whomever I ended up with. Manners yes, but the other things no.

What traditions would you like to incorporate with our future family if we have one?

While she was relieved that he would abandon his father’s tradition, his question had left her thoughtful and uncertain.

I do not know, she admitted.

Samani loved the things she had learned in Moonglow. She adored her mother. She thought the world of her father. The way the village had been built had allowed her to grow into the woman that she was. She would have been foolish to think that their culture did not play a role in this formation. If she had the choice, she would want her children to know all of their traditions. But she wanted them to decide for themselves.

Whatever they wish to learn. If I do not know the answers, I will find someone who does.

They could make new traditions.