Redtail Rise LXIV

thorn caller and sun stone had not come back.

it was an ancient story. young wolves dispersed often. and the caru, who had fought to be that, was not given the rank once occupied by red woman. it had gone to their sister.

thorn caller could not expect to return to subservience when they had been a leader. mountain boulder thought very much that they had gone away with their mate to begin another pack.

he occupied the burned place for a time, hunting. he sought out @New Snow and his daughters, then went to find @Redd. 

there was precedence for thorn caller to return after a long absence. mountain boulder was in no eagerness to proclaim them gone or stricken from ranks. he only wished to understand wealda on the matter.

Moon Runner, too, had noticed Blood Spot and Rolling Thunder’s absence.

At first, the young Ulfr had expanded the range of her hunting trails as if to open the opportunity to run into the newly mated pair. But as the days went by, their scents became stale, and so Moon Runner returned to orbit to convene with her family.

She found Father and greeted him submissively, happy to be beside him. Then, her amber eyes searched the treeline for Wealda’s form. Moon Runner liked it when the pack gathered together to renew their bonds.

depending on how the thread goes, she’ll be skippable bc I’m slow even on solo threads these days <3 let alone group

Redd was not hard to find.  She had departed recently to scout but always returned with nightfall, refusing to leave for any substantial time even to follow the herds.  Others were able to do so.

She had all but given up on the prospect of a suitable mate.  Even if one would choose to court her, she would chase them from her unless she trusted that they would remain.  There was not enough time; she felt no stirring desire, but could not plan for when nature would choose.  Perhaps the season would pass her entirely.

This would be a failure.  Her leadership would not last long; relief mingled with shame.  She could do nothing about it.

Redd rubbed her pelt against the rough bark, shedding loose fur and shaking to dispel the itch.  Then she turned to address the father and daughter, wordlessly welcoming them to approach with a curious slant of her ears.

no worries & no pressure! <3

broad tail waved. pale ears pinned. he welcomed moon runner with a fatherly chuff and spent some moments preening along her guard hairs in a satisfied way.

wealda was next. she received the huntlead's welcome and respectful greeting. mountain boulder did not pause, but moved directly to the nearest scent left by thorn caller, faded now. he nosed it with a rumble. they are gone.

in his mind, it was simple. but red woman had returned after a long while. how would her daughter move in this situation?

Moon Runner shuffled towards Wealda and swept her low, wagging tail against her hocks. She licked at the older woman’s jowls in a happy, deferential greeting as if to reestablish her place beneath their superior’s rank.

It was then Father zeroed in on the stale scent of Blood Spot and Rolling Thunder. Moon Runner’s ears swiveled uncertainly. Had the new pair gone off to chase the herds as she had once done? Had something happened to them?

Moon Runner had always felt Rolling Thunder’s presence to be a premonition. It was why she thought of him like an advancing storm.

She, too, sniffed at the spot to acknowledge Father’s point and blinked. Would the couple’s return stir the pot once again? Would they fall back into place? Or would they even return at all?

Redd had no thoughts she wished to share.  She had doubts and fears, and a hell of a lot of hurt, but none of those things mattered here.  And none of those were burdens for them to take.

She saw no reason to press forward and saw no one willing to rise to fill the void. Most days it felt like she was the only one not waiting for some inevitable collapse; the only one who saw something worth salvaging.  Maybe she was simply the only one who would be left with nothing in the aftermath.  The thought was too aligned with truth to be comfortable.

She flicked her tail dismissively, tilting her head.  They had dispersed, most likely… there was nothing she could do.  If only one was missing their well being would be in question, but both were gone.  Both had been discontented.

Neither had spoken with her.  It was a betrayal, not a crime.  She watched the hunt lead, wondering what it was he wished from her.  Something she didn’t understand.

mountain boulder thought he desired direction.

what he wished, rather, was to see if blood star responded as her mother might have: with anger. with resolution. but the young woman was unreadable in that regard. in the absence of any strong reaction, the huntlead let any tension go from his shoulders and swung his tail.

he would search perhaps once more. when the scents faded fully, he would assume that thorn caller and their mate would not return. 

they needed a berserkr. he looked thoughtfully at moon runner, thinking also of flame stalker and the children to come. and then again to wealda. if thorn caller did not return, she was the last eligible redtail in the rise. he hoped that she would seek a mate, for vaguely paternal reasons. perhaps a sense of grandfatherliness. he moved beyond the caru's mark to the track of elk. he shook out his hackles, gave them both an invitation to come, and, unless paused, would move off in that direction.

Moon Runner was a bit surprised to see Wealda easily dismiss their missing Blood Spot and Rolling Thunder with a small gesture. Though the girl’s spirit could never know the machinations in Wealda’s mind, her objective response came off as aloof and a little cold to an immature wolf, like Moon Runner.

The girl’s ears orbited thoughtfully as her eyes turned to regard the land beyond their borders. Would troubles, like these, come between her and Sister one day? the spirit wondered.

Like a contagious yawn, when father shook his furs it spurred Moon Runner to do the same. With any tension gone, she loped toward Father to join him hunting.

These events were doing more to shake Redd’s foundation than she was willing or able to admit.  She had no words, not that they needed them anyway, and knew there was nothing she could do to change the choices others had made.  This was what she clung to.  Masquerade had not trusted her; she had given her leadership only to immediately revoke it.  She had given her loyalty only to swiftly revoke that too.  The pack needed better than this.  If she came back contrite Redd would not turn her away, but that trust would take time to rebuild.

If it were Wealda’s own decision, Caru would no longer lead.  But it was not her choice alone.  The pack deferred to those they would.

Redd’s mind also turned to the rank of Berserker.  At one time she had promised to deliver this to Mulhedrin, but now she knew better.  Masquerade’s judgements were not her own, nor were they the Rise’s way.

The pack would decide together who would rise.  And she would need to initiate this.  There was too much uncertainty and too little unity for an obvious choice to be had.  Whoever led would need the opportunity to grow into the role.

Something in Redd settled with this decision made.  A part she hadn’t realized was off balance leveled, and she nipped appreciatively at the hunt lead, grateful for his steady presence.  Of them all, she trusted him.  In the past he had made decisions she would not have, but she knew they were of a like mind; the pack was what mattered.  His family now, more than hers, but no less dear.

She fell in alongside father and daughter, grateful to allow worries to fall away for a time.  When they returned she would begin to plan for what was to come.