Moonspear Beneshrab sagayer

Tagging for visibility @Treepie @Alaric

The mountain ahead had scent marking strong enough to indicate a pack. A relief for Arslan, who was growing tired of wandering.

Quietly adjusting the placement of the herbs sat in the pelt around his neck, he soon lifted his head to howl - a friendly greeting.

He could not know what to expect. Verapaz had not had any neighbours for a long time, and his understanding was that when they did, the relationship was not exactly pleasant. But how could these wolves respond poorly? The segundo was being very charitable; a gift delivered by Verapaz's prettiest halcon.

He would make this delivery quick, and move to his next stop.

Disclaimer: Pie’s having very uncharitable thoughts.

Why was everyone she knew being an asshole lately? Pala had shut her down, Bushtit had turned his back and even Alaric had shown an ugly side of himself recently. It made Treepie want to climb to the highest reaches of the mountain and avoid everyone. Even those who weren’t outright assholes tended to leave her behind. See: anaa and taataa…

But she went to the borders instead, dutiful despite how little she presently cared for anyone in this village. Except Tiki, Tiuttuk mentally corrected herself. Her sister would always be exceptional. There was also Ludo and Ignace, of course, but Pie had avoided the family’s ulaq the past few days. The thought made her frown.

She glimpsed a flash of red out of the corner of her eye, which really stood out in contrast to all the springtime greenery. Pushing her unhappy thoughts aside, Pie pointed her snout at the stranger even as his pointed upward. Although she wasn’t feeling particularly personable, the Regent hastened toward the figure. Her head and tail were held higher and stiffer than usual.

Greetings, she said rather stonily, eyeing the wrap slung around his neck. What brings you to Moonspear?

A stranger came to meet him, revealing the pack to be called 'Moonspear'. From their scent he could not quite tell if they were male or female, but he planned to reign himself in for this nonetheless.

Lowering his head with a waving tail, he appeared deferential, subdued. It was a position he was growing used to taking on these days. I come from Verapaz, a pack in the lowlands. He offered the explanation with a smile, a further attempt to appear utterly harmless - with how little he did these days, he probably was. My name is Leandros. I was sent with gifts.

Gesturing to the herbs in his pouch, he waited to see if he should continue on.

Treepie didn’t outwardly react as he introduced himself. She raised a mental eyebrow though. Why was a stranger from a pack she’d never heard of standing on her doorstep bearing gifts? Maybe she should’ve found it pleasing, yet in her currently misanthropic temper, the Regent didn’t trust it at all.

What for? she questioned baldly, keeping her tone neutral.

Her yellow eyes bored into the top of his head, which he’d lowered along with his tail. Pie found herself assessing his body language. It didn’t win her over or make her trust this Leandros or his motives, but it did stir a sense of rectitude within her to have someone show her the respect she deserved.

The whole vibe of this one was a real bummer.

My segundo wants to be in the good graces of those we share the land with, to be blunt. He spoke with a chuckle. He could not come himself, so I was sent as his stand-in. More like his mule, really.

Taking a bundle of green from his pouch, he placed it between them. It's a herb we grow ourselves. If your packmates need a boost, this will perk them right up. Soto had not told him exactly what to say, only that what he was carrying was a drug of sorts. Arslan had been more creative with his wording, thinking it would be far less off-putting.

The strange title intrigued her as most foreign words did, though the rest of what he said prevented her from delving into it. Leandros had said he came from a pack in the lowlands. Treepie was a homebody, yet she knew the surrounding area fairly well. As she understood it, the lowlands lay somewhere even further south than the caldera.

We don’t really share lands, she pointed out to him, but my Sovereign may be interested in what you have to share. I’m sure he heard your call, so he’s probably on his way. Pie paused. What’s it called? And how does it ‘perk you right up’?

It sounded like something she could use, to tell the truth, but she knew just enough about the properties of plants to know some could be very dangerous. For all she knew, Leandros could be peddling poison. No matter what, she wouldn’t touch the stuff without Alaric’s sanction.

As much as she wanted to head back to the caldera—and her waiting son—Towhee couldn’t just walk past Moonspear without checking on them. How were Treepie and Tikaani coping with their maternal grandparents’ deaths? Determined to find out, she headed toward the mount after spending a dismal night tucked away in The Heartwood.

From a distance, she saw two figures at the foot of the mount. Towhee continued due west, soon recognizing Tiuttuk. But who was the wolf with her? She didn’t recognize him… at least not until she came a lot closer. Her lips parted when she realized he was vaguely familiar. It took her a moment to place him.

She did a quick double take, but quickly looked to her great granddaughter and said, Pie… I came as soon as I heard the news.

Arslan was just about to answer the various questions shot at him when a familiar face appeared, making their duo a trio. He recognized her in an instant; how could he not? The woman was terrifying.

He stood right still, but shut up completely. He couldn't know if she would voice things that were an unwelcome part of his advertising campaign. He had half a mind to run off to the next pack, but the other half of him was too nosey for his own good - what had happened that was so urgent?

She looked up in surprise when her great grandmother joined them. Treepie hadn’t even seen her coming. Was Towhee aware she’d raised a complete asshole? That errant thought was driven right out of her mind when Towhee mumbled something that was even more of a non sequitur. Her yellow eyes flickered, face contorting in abject confusion.

What news? Tiuttuk asked without thinking.

Only after the words left her mouth did a wave of apprehension wash over her, quickly turning into outright dread. Had something happened to her taataa? That was Pie’s first thought, though the phrasing didn’t really make sense. Was it her anaa then?

What news? Pie repeated, stepping past Leandros and staring up at her ancestor’s face.

In that beat between words, Towhee studied Killdeer’s daughter. She reminded her of Rodyn, dispirited and carrying the heavy weight of grief. Towhee wanted to move closer, take the yearling in her arms, but Pie beat her to it. She pushed past the man whose name Towhee couldn’t remember, demanding to know what news she meant.

It had never once occurred to her that Treepie might not even know. How was that possible? But as she stared down into that face full of anxious dismay, Towhee realized she was going to have to be the bearer of very bad news for the nth time in her life.

I’m so sorry, Pie, I thought you knew, she said, face crumpling. Reaching out a foreleg, she settled it on the young woman’s shoulder as she said, I just came from Moonglow. It’s your grandparents, Kukutux and Aiolos. They’ve passed away.

Dead grandparents. Ouch. Now this was just awkward for him.

Not one to comfort a stranger (it wasn't even a problem he could relate to, really), he decided it was time to take his leave. Quickly. Clearing his throat, he managed to say Sorry for your loss. Before leaving with such haste that he left the bundle he had offered up behind. Hopefully it would be put to use - Verapaz likely would not appreciate their green being wasted, especially when there was no profit from it this time.

Towhee quickly put her out of her misery. It wasn’t either one of her parents, it was her grandparents. Pie felt a flash of relief, followed by a wave of guilt, which drowned in a flood of horrified sorrow. Both Kukutux and Aiolos were gone? How was that possible? What had happened to them? And when?

She stood there mutely, barely registering Leandros’s hasty departure as she struggled to process this news. Treepie hadn’t known Aiolos very well, yet she’d always adored her grandmother. She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut, leaving a ragged, bleeding hole. She curled slightly, as if actually nursing a stomach wound.

Her eyes flicked toward Moonglow, though Towhee’s outstretched foreleg blocked her view. Pie’s lip quivered for a second, then stiffened. Another loved one—two, actually—had left her utterly bereft. The yearling was beginning to think that it was a terrible idea, having these sorts of connections, as it was only a matter of time before they were painfully severed.

Her bright eyes shuttered as she pulled away from her great grandmother’s grip. Towhee had never done anything to her deliberately, yet she was always conveying bad news. Besides, she was old—older than Kukutux and Aiolos had been, she was fairly certain—and her son was an asshole. Tiuttuk felt her heart closing off to her.

I need to go, she said, already turning, either unaware or uncaring that Towhee might not even catch what she said.

She didn’t care if her elder called out or tried to pursue her. She just climbed and climbed and climbed.

Maybe she should’ve expected Tiuttuk to flee in the wake of bad news; it had happened before. But Towhee still felt utterly nonplussed when the yearling pulled away from her and began climbing Moonspear without a word or backward glance. Should she give chase? No, Treepie probably wanted to be alone…

She realized the man had gone, leaving behind a bundle on the ground. Towhee glanced at his distant silhouette over her shoulder, then bent to sniff what he’d left behind. Her nose crinkled at the dank smell before she raised her head again, watching Tiuttuk’s figure growing smaller and smaller as she ascended.

Towhee stood there a while longer, not quite sure what to do with herself. Loitering here felt bad but leaving felt even worse. Feeling she had no choice, she turned to head back to the caldera. At the last moment, she decided to pick up the discarded bundle and carry it home with her.