bad blood

Seeking out @Kaskara but AW, even lone wolves.

It had been awhile since they had talked – Scimitar had been enraged with Kaskara for herding his children in to the den and leaving them. Barricading them in with a log had been insufficient in his mind – whether they would get out, or even worse, something got in had been the sole reasoning to his rage – and he had sharply informed his sister that he didn’t give a damn if he and Bazi were laying somewhere on their death bed. At the tender age his children were at, they were not to be left unsupervised.
 
Whether she understood that or not, he did not know.. and so he had distanced himself. But he could not distance himself forever.. nor did he want to, with his sister. Kieran’s intentions had been made known though, and while he was miffed at the thought of his sister courting someone, he had given his blessing, as the man sought. Kieran was family, whether he was with Kaskara or not.
 
Yet the cinnamon beast sought he rout, his muzzle bending lower to catch her scent and follow after it. The day was sunny – the air warm. It would have been even more humid in the valleys beside them.. and he was grateful they had come even a little further north.

Kaskara had visited her brother's den a few times, but most of the time she ran into her niece or nephews before she reached the actual site. And now that they had moved out to the rendezvous site, she was even less likely to run into Scimitar accidentally. But today it seemed like he was looking for her, for he found her lounging beneath a large tree, protecting herself from the hot rays of the sun.

She watched her brother carefully, sitting up from her lounging position to bow her head respectfully. Kas didn't know what words he would have for her, since they hadn't spoken since that day, when he wanted to nearly rip her head off for leaving his children unattended. She knew better now, but what was she supposed to do back then? Let Bazi sit there by herself, covered in vomit and blood?

The beta watched her alpha approach, eyes downcast, wondering what he would be angry with her for today. It seemed she could only bring his wrath upon her these past few months.

The siblings had not connected since their fight – something Scimitar regretted, and yet he had needed the time. Kaskara’s eyes remained downcast, and eliciting a snort, the brown wolf loped forward, closing the distance between them and nudged her on the cheek.
 
The distance between them was not wanted – the moment she had joined him in Swiftcurrent Creek, Scimitar would not have wanted to see his sister hurt again, the way she had after they had banished her from their ranks. Now, he stood before her, the cause of it all. “So,” he started, jumping instantly in to the reason he had truly sought her out. “Kieran..”

She was surprised when Scimitar nudged her cheek and settled beside her. Kaskara fully expected to be shunned and ignored for the rest of her days, so fearful was his wrath. But she figured they both had been a little hot headed that day and could learn from their actions. Kas knew that was true for herself, and definitely true for her brother, but she wouldn't tell him that.

He started the conversation in quite an unusual way. No small talk, no apologizing, no asking how she was. Just straight into the conversation about Kieran. Kaskara blinked at him, lost for words. "Um. Yes." She wasn't sure what else to say or if there was even anything else to say, so she simply looked at him in silence.

His sister seemed uneasy – he ignored it, like the true asshole he could very well be. If she desired to stir up his anger about how she had barricaded his children in a den and left them to themselves, he would still stand by his reaction – and she still stood by hers. As far as he could see it, they would need to agree to disagree and move on.
 
“I gave him my consent,” he offered, knowing Kieran had already likely told her the news.. unless she hadn’t sent the man to do so, and had no idea of his intentions to her. “I just want your happiness.” And the veiled question was within his statement – would she be happy with the man? He was a loyal wolf with a good heart. Scimitar didn’t understand half of what he said when he spoke – but his intentions seemed pure.

Kaskara had in fact spoken with Kieran since he'd sought Scimitar's permission, but she hadn't seen her brother since the day of Danica's death. She'd been avoiding him, but not his children; she would never punish them for a quarrel between them. They had had their row, their shouting, their anger; now it was time to move past it and try to live together again. She hoped she could do that.

"Thank you," she said softly, standing up to touch her nose to his cheek gently. She settled back down, tail wrapped around her paws, as she tried to think of a way to phrase her next words. "I believe he will make me happy. He's older, true, and sometimes hard to understand, but he loves me. And he's a good man." Scimitar knew all of this first hand, having known Kieran for as long as she did, and yet she still felt the need to share it. The silence stretched a moment longer between them until finally she cleared her throat and asked, "How are you?"

Kaskara seemed to relax slightly – though the tension between them was still within the air. He refused to make mention of it, and relaxed slightly as she stood, grazing her nose against his cheek. He listened to her, smiling slightly to her question, though not truly commenting on it. She didn’t sound terribly convinced that she wanted a relationship with Kieran – it was almost as if she spoke like she was making a business deal, rather than finding love.
 
But what was love, truly? Had he felt it with Bazi? He had felt lust, for certain. But love? The two had grown so far apart, he didn’t even know what to do to fix it. All he knew was that each day she was further from his grasp.
 
Had he known love with Paarthurnax? It was possible he could have. If Bazi had not re-entered his life.. and if she had not disappeared. It had been very possible.
 
He was pulled from his thoughts at her question, blinking slowly. Not desiring to get in to his concerns about his crumbling relationship, the man shrugged, offering a yawn. “Tired and weary,” he determined then, though he doubted this would be a surprise to his sister. The adults of Nova Peak had their hands quite full.

It may have seemed like what she said was rote, memorized to dismay nay-sayers. But Kaskara's heart held a special place for Kieran. They worked well together, like a well-tuned pair, and she cared for him dearly. He was loyal to her family and that was all that mattered to her. She loved him, though it may not have seemed like traditional love.

Kas saw a flicker of something in Scimitar's eyes, but he didn't speak for a moment. What was he hiding? It certainly wasn't the time to speak of his troubles now. They were just mending their quarrel and diving too deep into probing questions would get her nowhere. She would let time tell the tale instead. "Four pups can do that." She chuckled warmly, shaking her head as she recalled all the fun she had had with Pasha and Whittier recently. It reminded her that she needed to spend time with Allure and Swift, too, before they grew apart from her.

"Any news to share?" She wasn't probing or prodding; she was simply seeing if Scimitar had done anything interesting lately. Probably not, but it never hurt to ask.

His sister wasn’t wrong – four pups were a handful, and come next breeding season, he could only hope that he and Bazi had two maximum, if they were going to have another litter.
 
Tiredly, his eyes drifted over to study her, noting how content she seemed to be. He no longer pressed for information on her and Kieran – she was as closed of a book regarding the topic as he was with his mate, and he could respect that. Instead, she questioned him of news, and the regal gave his muzzle a shake. “No,” he offered, drawing his gaze away from her now. “I just wanted to check in with you after Kieran sought me out to see how you were.” That was truly the reason he was here – to make sure he had not promised his sister to a man she might not have wanted.. but he could see Kieran had come to him honestly, and it made him the happier for them both now that it was clarified.

Kaskara knew that something was wrong with her brother. It was in the way he held himself, the way he spoke, the way he muttered the word "no" at her, before hastily explaining it away. But she wouldn't pry; that was something she never did. If he wanted to talk, no matter how their relationship frayed at the moment, she knew he'd find her. "I'm well. More than that, actually. I'm ecstatic." The smile that lifted her lips was genuine, and a sparkle of something in her eyes supported her words. She truly was ecstatic, whatever her brother thought.

"I, um...I don't think you'll have to worry about anything from us. Not yet, anyway. We're taking it slow." It wasn't really his business, but Kaskara wasn't ready to be a mother quite yet. Soon, she was sure, but for now she was focused on caring for her niece and nephews, teaching them new things, and just enjoying their puphood. She didn't want to miss a moment of it.

He arched his brows at her words – uncertain what she meant by ‘taking it slow’ and instantly shutting his mind down to the possibilities. Unable to process his sister partaking in any form of sexual nature, he simply placed the idea at the back of his head—if Kaskara wanted puppies, they would cross that bridge when she chose to.
 
Standing up, the male gave himself a gentle shake of his fur. His eyes were bright as they studied her, and he only gave a nod. “Then I should get back,” he offered, leaning forward to give his sister an affectionate nudge to her cheek. With that, the man turned to head back to the den, reassured that his sister was content at the very least.

At first, Kaskara was afraid Scimitar would be angry with her still, would lash out and yell. But as their conversation went on, she realized he was just as tired of being upset as she was. So they put their differences behind them, forgave each other silently for the past, and looked to the future. It was part of the beauty of their relationship not only as siblings, but as friends.

Kas stood and returned Scimitar's nudge with one of her own, her heart glad for the mended rift between them. She hated being angry with Scimitar, hated knowing he was angry with her. So now that it was healed, she was thankful for him. "Let me know if you need anything, okay? I'm here for you, no matter what." She kissed his cheek again and turned to leave, pausing a few yards away to watch her brother's back, before resuming her walk toward Kieran.