Firefly Glen [PHE] fleim

when skaigona and @Ezra had come near the glen, harried mother fell back and extended a reassuring paw to her boy. "we'll be polite. we'll ask. and we'll leave. we don't have to stay unless you want, ezra," she added, looking deep into his eyes before she straightened and led him into the heart of the gathering.
abustle with dozens of moving bodies, the glen at once overwhelmed her. moontide camp stood to one side, and she tried to avoid any mention or sight of swiftcurrent. not just for etienne, but because she had no idea what he had told akavir.
at last she called, "gideon!"

Etienne heard the call and he raced from his duties. He recognized the sound and the name and he knew they were here. And he had promised. He would see to his promise. He arrived upon teh two of them with fur a bristle, but he stayed a few feet from them.

But he lifted his voice. I know w'ere dey be 'Eda I found dem after you left.

A shuffling of his feet and his fur rose and though his eyes were cold and he was so angry. He spoke. Anselm asked me to watc' over. 'e is in a pack on Qeya river, but it is not a very good place. But Gideon is wit' 'im. Amadeo 'urt 'im and dat be w'ere 'e is.

Etienne took a breath and another. So I will 'elp you w'ile we be 'ere and Den I be takin' you to dem w'en it is over. I 'ave duties 'ere I cannot just leave. But I promise I will take you to be reunited. Or you can wait. 'E say 'e will come if 'e can.

Den he lifted a paw and set it down. Thinking and hating and hurting all at once.

though it is a surprise to see etienne at this great hunt, if only because of his frigid reception of his mother during their interaction at the creek, ezra does not care when the man begins to speak.

at etienne's words his heart begins a sprint in his chest.

i know where they are. i found them.

he found anselm and gideon!

for what feels like a stretch of eternity all ezra can do is stare. not blink. just stare. akin to going into some sort of shock. it feels almost too good to be true and though he scrambles to keep his hope at bay, it escapes him in a large gasp.

it is so hard to focus on what else etienne speaks when his mind buzzes around the fact that he knew where anselm and gideon were.

he turns to his mother suddenly, not wanting to wait. he knew where the qeya river was — in fact, had been there recently. it was painful to think he was so close to his father and brother and didn't even realize —

ve should leave for the river. now. i know vhere it is. i vas there. i had smelled the pack but avoided it. i didn't realize —

he did not wish to wait for etienne to guide them there, and while he is appreciative of the offer, ezra is eager to be reunited with the rest of their small family.

if there was anyone she would rather not meet, it was etienne. he spoke the revelation that he had been to the bypass. oh. that explained his ugliness at the borders of swiftcurrent and further stated why his dour face was in her presence again.
judgement? from a man who hadn't been there or seen fit to make a proper choice between two packs when rivenwood still stood? skaigona resolved then to ignore whatever held that expression in flint, her own stare devoid of warmth as she flicked it over his bristling nape.
she could have laughed out loud when etienne graciously took a break from his glowering to offer help which skaigona did not need and would not take. 
anselm; that he was alive made her blood run with different temperatures, none of which she was able to parse now. but more than this, gideon; she shut her cold eyes, fighting for a civility she could barely muster. "thank you." the qeya? after all the way they'd come?
"we know where it is." i don't need your help.
amadeo had hurt anselm — skaigona focused instead on how best to extricate herself and ezra from the reluctant tour-guide nature of etienne's offer, because she'd be damned if more glaring was going to be in the backdrop of ezra's reunion with his father.
there was nothing more to say. she did not turn from the gathering but stepped deeper into it, motioning for her son. "let's eat first. we'll talk about what to do next." perhaps they could meld into the crowds for a time, find morsels, and grab some hours of rest before they set out again.

Etienne shook his head. He shifted and studied her amd then nodded his head. He could have said of course you don't because 'eda never needs 'elp because 'er is so perfect and does such a good job at c'oosin' wolves and raisin' pups but he didn't.

Suit yourself. Good luck.Bye Ezra.

Then without a backward glance he turned away. He was not going to stay in the presence of a wolf that refused help. That would die on her sword and get those few she did care about killed.

A wolf who. Abandoned her sisters children to death or lonliness. And cared about no one but herself and what someone could do for her. A self righteous wolf. Heda was selfish and angry and part of him hated her. But the other part hoped she succeeded.

But he had wiped his paws of Rivenwood. And her.

his mother tells him to still his eagerness, and etienne's departure is as cold as the howling winter winds that were on their way to the wilds. it does not fall beneath ezra's notice ... but he cannot be bothered to see that perhaps his blatant refusal is ungrateful. he is impatient. he is eager and after being filled with so much seething rage and grief that the lighthouse beacon has finally been lit and he's a seaweary sailor ready to come home.

for now, he must concede.

he would not leave his mother there, nor would he sneak out ... no matter badly how much he wanted to get moving now that he had a destination to finding gideon and anselm.