Ravensblood Forest time came you went away

The pack had formed, they had voted, and things were taking shape. Constantine and the ginger woman were often alone together, and Screech did not know what to expect from that - he was oblivious to the power of the season, ignorant to how bodies were made to work with one another. His days were spent monitoring the borders as best he could or visiting the beach for anything he could add to their caches.

But today was different. Screech had sullenly made a decision for himself and he knew he couldn't follow through without consulting @Constantine first; his mind was buzzing, and the boy was eager to get a move on, but he lingered in the heart of the forest instead. He lurked there, waiting to catch the alpha for a conversation that could ruin everything.

The shadowrunner prowled the depths of the forest, his stocky form seemingly small against the bulk of the tall sequoias.  It held a familiarity – not just because they had lived there the past few months, but because the trees reminded him of Donnelaith. Yet the ravens that hopped above in the shadows reminded him otherwise – and the scent of his pack mates rid him of any nostalgia he held on to for the moment.
 
The pack was young yet, but the promise of the oncoming spring stirred a sense of peace within the beast. He kept a keen eye on Durnehviir, given the time of year and aimed to keep the other males of the pack away from her – and as such, it was Screech’s scent he caught as his pace became more leisurely. A low rumbling growl announced his presence – one merely of greeting as the Regal stalked forward, his dark pelt drifting among the shadows of the tall trees that protected the wolves.
 
No words were spoken, but his fiery eyes studied the more youthful wolf, wondering what his companion was up to.

He was lucky, and found Constantine with ease. The pack had been growing little by little and Screech didn't know many of the wolves within it, and made a point to avoid most of them. He felt his blood run cold when he heard the other wolf growling; although it was just a greeting, the boy could not shake the feeling of agitation he felt when faced with a dark-pelted wolf and that ominous sound. He had nothing but respect for Constantine — but he was a shadow, and so far Screech had only bad luck with those.

No matter. Constantine appeared to be waiting for something and it was with some trepidation that Screech finally began putting a voice to his swirling thoughts: I was looking for you, he started, but then sort of floundered and was unsure of how he was going to say what he wished to say. Sorina had been right to yell at him like she had, he realized. He needed to grow a fucking backbone.

I owe you for saving me and tending to me like you did — you and Durnehviir, but, he held back. So um, let me just... Explain a thing. Cut to the chase, kid, god. Screech didn't want to go in to detail about everything he'd gone through again, but he knew he had to put some things in to context before he could really talk about finding Rannoch or Liffey.

So after a pause, he started doing that. The story flowed from him — he told Constantine about the pack on the mountain, his mutilation, escaping to the forest, and ended it with, -- and then you found me. His ears fanned either side of his head awkwardly for a moment. He let some time pass for Constantine to absorb the lengthy tale but there was something else on his mind, and that much was clear by the decidedly focused manner that Screech had assumed.

“I was looking for you.” The boy paused in his words then, causing the dark shadowrunner to tip his muzzle slightly to the side, though his eyes did not demand speed of an answer. The hesitation in Screech’s speech indicated to the Regal that this would be an important conversation, and so he waited with patience, his only movement being the ruffle of his fur along the cool winter breeze, and the casual flick of his tail every so often.
 
Finally, Screech found his voice – the start of his tale seemed unpromising to the Mayfair. Beginning with the acknowledgment that he owed them was usually a sign of something more, and in turn, Constantine allowed his stocky form to sweep down in to a sit, his ears twitching as the boy finally offered the insight to his past that the Regal had quietly wondered about.
 
“Your eye.. It was taken by Charon’s daughters?” He was familiar with Moonspear – he had been within their ranks for only a short time, but had found the place unwelcoming in ways. But he could not blame them – he had not little to warrant their friendliness. But the three girls that had attacked him were the description of the three daughters that had greeted he and Aria on their arrival – ebony, with bright blue eyes filled with intrigue and youth. They had done this? With such acts.. had they done something to @Aria?
 
The story was told to the point that brought them to the present. Constantine paused, giving his tongue a gentle click to the roof of his mouth as he considered the grey wolf. “So that brings us to now – but what does that mean to you?”

It was both easy to talk to Constantine and not, in different ways. Screech had told his tale so many times by now that he had most of it succinct enough that it flowed, and he didn't feel as attached to the events every time. On the other hand, he was nervous about what would happen after it was spoken aloud; yet once he had finished, the leader had only one thing to say - he asked about someone's daughters.

I don't know, he admitted without thinking. I never met their dad. I think... I think I met their mother though, just a couple days ago. I was wandering around and I got to a forest, and I ran in to Hydra and an older wolf with dark fur, and she threatened me. He had run away like a coward but sometimes that was all you could do.

So that brings us to now – but what does that mean to you? Constantine asked, and Screech shuffled  his weight around, thinking about how to phrase the next bit.

I ran in to someone else. There were some howls coming from Moonspear and then further out, by the mountains to the east of your forest — I recognized them and sought out those wolves. They're my family. (Or at the time of this conversation, they were his family. Who knows how that'll play out.)

Something occurred to him though; if Constantine knew the name of Hydra's parents, did he know others from Moonspear? My older sister Liffey, and her mate Rannoch, were both members of Moonspear but they left recently. I.. I want to go find them again. I want to live with them.

There, he'd said it. Screech hoped that, with the knowledge of all he'd been through now shared, Constantine would see how valuable this discovery was for him. He added an addendum though, before much could be said: But I know I owe you and Durnehviir and I'll repay that debt somehow, if you want me to.

He wasn’t sure what to make of the Moonspear news – his eyes would drift to study the features of the boy before him briefly, considering his words. Screech continued – and then mentioned he wished to seek a home with his family. The names were unfamiliar to Constantine, but he cringed within at the thought of their numbers dropping even more – especially when he had considered the one-eyed wolf to be an asset.
 
The wolf discussed debt to him, and the Regal’s brows furrowed, though in mild thought. “I won’t hold a wolf from his family to work off a debt,” he responded, not requiring a moment to even think on the matter. If Screech desired to be elsewhere, the swarthy wolf wouldn’t keep him here under the guise of guilt. It would serve none of them, in the end.
 
And he knew, if he had a chance to be with his family once more, too.. “Be with your family. They’re more important than you might ever know,” he spoke, his features softening.