Moonspear prepare for the coup of a century

@Arcturus @Revui

There were two who she thought of, when mulling over the potential of their fathers betrayal. Lyra herself knew, having been present... but her brothers were older, now, and she trusted their minds. She had already decided what she would do after days of her fathers absence. The thought of it all was nauseating, but she had come to terms with it. The future of her family was the most important, and if her father would put another before them, well, he had all but decided for her the only action she could take.

Long-legged strides brought her to the trail of her brothers, and she followed it with her senses tuned to her surroundings. She hoped to come across them both, but if she found only one she would find the other in time.

arcturus had missed charon’s company, though he thought too highly of his father to immediately suspect his absence. it would take time for those seeds to grow in his mind; for now, he assumed his father was on some great appointment, and would be home eventually.

oh, to be so young and stupid.

his ears slicked back as he recognized the long stride of his sister. as she pulled up alongside him, he gave her a precursory and inquiring glance, noticing the turbulence hidden in her lapis gaze.

His failure to bring Yami home weighed heavily upon him. He should have tried harder; brought his sister to heel regardless of her own desires and the command of his brother. That isn't what happened though. Upon his return to the mountain he became a veritable thug; following Arcturus and taking out his anger on the trees while patrolling or some such task. He dreaded finding his father and watching his one chance at a higher rank be cast aside; but when Hydra crossee in to their path, Revui came to a halt alongside his brother, forgetting about his failure for a minute.

Hydra had heard, from Dirge, of what had transpired with their littermate. She did not address it with him; the moment she had heard their sister had chosen not to return, Hydra had come to the same conclusion as her brother, Arcturus. Another estranged sheep to die in the wilds, honorless and stripped of her family.

Her mood lifted the moment she saw her brothers; her tail waved and she chuffed in greeting. There was much to be discussed, and she regarded them soberly.

There is something we must discuss, and it is of grave importance, Hydra wanted them to know this, to shift the gears of their own mind. Father has been absent with Speedy throughout her heat, he states to protect her. But it may come to pass that he has done more than that, and forgotten us all in his time away. She was solemn as she spoke, her gaze shifting from one set of eyes to the next. If it has, it is a betrayal to us. There would be bastards, and should father seek to legitamize his potential consummation with Speedy, our place would be at risk. My children to come would be at risk. Her ears pricked, wondering what they might make of it, and wondering too what they might have to say.

arcturus’ attention slid flatly to his brother, his presence acknowledged by the cant of his long muzzle. the boy did not speak as hydra elucidated her troubles. his countenance was pulled in a frown as his elder finished. 

he did not wish to speak ill of his father, but his sister’s worries troubled him too. he did not understand why everyone cared so much about heats, and he still wished to be done with all of this... he liked to believe that his father would not have disposed of his mother (or desanctified their union) so easily, but his sisters words were spoken with such conviction...

as always the boy’s emotions were writ clearly across his face. he did not understand this talk of bastards and legitimacy; would not any child of charon’s be welcome? why? he asked, unchallenging but wishing to grasp hydra’s concerns better. speedy would never take the place of you. i would not let her. arcturus growled, his tail arcing by instinct. only our blood would rule the mountain.

He did not know what his sister was talking about at first; he trusted his father to keep Speedy safe, but the edge with which Hydra spoke of the situation made Revui nervous. He looked to his brother for further clues on how to take these words and noticed his own apprehension, as if he did not wish to speak ill of their father and incur his wrath. But why did Hydra have such feelings? And what did she speak of - heats, betrayal, bastards..? Revui had no understanding of what transpired between the girl he fixated upon and his beloved father. He was apt enough to clue-in to some of the tension his siblings shared though. 

Arcturus spoke, and Revui grunted and nodded his agreement. You come first. He did not know exactly what he was agreeing to. He trusted his pack to do the right thing: that Charon would protect the girl, and that Speedy would soon return home after her sickness had passed. With the way his siblings worried and plotted, he wondered if he was making a judgement in error. Speedy would never take the place of you, Arcuturs had said.

Revui looked to Hydra as he contemplated, looking confused - he needed diagrams and a proper explanation before he could truly pledge himself. Deep down he knew he could never harm Speedy; but he also knew by now that his parent's time was coming to an end, and he wondered how it would benefit him to support Hydra as she assumed her rightful place.

Hydra shifted her gaze to her brother when he spoke, though she did not see or sense petulance, only genuine curiosity. Revui himself seemed a little perplexed, but she had already explained what confounded him to Arcturus. She would treat Revui the same, and pull him away after this. In my lifetime, upon this mountain we have been the only blood of our father and our mother. They are mates; we are legitimate. Due to this, you have been protected, cared for, fed, reared by us all for your own futures. Just as I lead now, so too may you, should you desire it and earn it. We, each of us, were always first, and only, she pressed. Her gaze fell to Revui; she knew of his ambitions, and it was for this reason she ever sought to instruct him. It went back to Arcturus, next; she could see him leading, too. He was intelligent, when he wanted to be, and Hydra appreciated these questions. For in a way, she sought their counsel, even if her mind was all but made. 

This year, with mothers approval—father had already gone on his trip—I was permitted to have children. I am their daughter, just as you are their sons—and I have found my mate in Dirge. Someday, when you are ready for children and find your mates, you may desire children yourself; you may wish to continue the line, as I will, she explained. If anything was begot of this union, father may wish to prioritize them. If resources should become scarce, he may favor his new cubs and Speedy above my own, and us. Hydra feared this; she feared the endangerment of the family before her, the family who she had always stood beside, right or wrong (but they were always right, as it stood... except in this). 

You may know that heat changes women, but it changes men, too. Father called you two drooling men that day; her heat had him speaking so cruelly to you. When I moved to intervene for the last time, and you two had gone, I went to attempt to return her and step between them. Father thought to attack me for her, and she was not even with child then, Hydra paused for a beat. 

In a lighter tone, she said, I hope I am wrong. I hope she is not with child, and that he truly has protected her, and that he would not seek to replace what he already has. We are more than enough, Hydra spoke these words, perhaps more to comfort herself than her brothers. But I suppose we wll know if we are not, should he refuse to chase her from this mountain to give her the chance to rear her children elsewhere if she is. Speedy would not ruin their family; they would give their father a chance at redemption... and even spare Speedy, in the process; she might leave this situation relatively unscathed. 

She looked to her brothers, and sighed a little. We come first. I would like to see us lay claim to this whole range, someday, she said with a grin, looking toward a neighboring peak. Them, their children, their childrens children... her gaze shifted again toward them. And if we do not, to him, then perhaps it is time for a change in regime, because to her, they always would; her full-blooded brothers, and her children. They were this mountains future; the children of Speedy had no place in it. Not like this.

arcturus listened as hydra continued, sharing a glance with his brother. like revui, arcturus had reservations — he needed a little more time, a little more information, before he was ready to lay the blame upon his father. 

as hydra detailed just how charon could betray them, arcturus felt his heart and head swim. what she was speaking of was blasphemy. charon would never put the lives of new puppies over the lives of his already existing; he hadn’t abandoned hydra when arcturus was born.. he simply couldn’t see his father the same way hydra painted him; he was not a betrayer, he was not a name-forsaker. the longer he listened to hydra, the more uncomfortable he became — until the words of his father echoed, ‘hysteric’; she was being hysteric, paranoid even. did she think so little of their father that he would harm his own grandchildren?

having never been thrust so heavy a weight to bear, or so crude an awakening, arcturus backpedaled. he lacked the experience that seasoned hydra’s perspective, and also lacked a full understanding of how selfish charon could be. he shook his head, trying his best to emulate the confidence of the father he so adored. you are thinking too much of this. he cautioned, feeling dread in his heart. father loves you, and would not harm your children. he did not dispose of you when we were born, and he wants us to further our family. he would not betray us. besides, mom would not let him harm your children even if it came to that.  oh arcturus, how wrong and stupid could you be?

There were too many words to make heads-or-tails of. Hydra was doing her best, but there was Arcturus with his own counter-points, and Revui did not know who to trust or what to believe. He had never seen value in the spoken word before now (even thinking it to be a useless skill that his parents had thrust upon him with unneccessary fervor) but as the two shadows bickered, all that Revui could do was listen (his gaze shifting between them both hastily) and try to make his own mind up. How was he to do that, though?

Revui had always relied heavily on his family for all things. They taught him to run, to hunt, to fight. They trusted him to protect the mountain. Was that what Hydra wished to do here? Revui tried to see things from her point of view as best as he was able, but lacked the fundamental ability; he was not yet old enough to feel the full weight of the season and he would never understand the deep flaw of Hydra's sex; the madness that would consume her over the right to breed, and the threat that Speedy could pose to her offspring. No matter what Hydra said, it wouldn't sink in until Revui was a father himself.

But he did not believe in Arcturus' view either. He knew his father to be strong of will and body, but he did not idolize the man as his brother did. Revui's attachment to Speedy clouded his view further. He could not fathom the thought of Charon taking someone so close to his youngest sons as a mate — if that was even what Hydra proposed — and he did not wish to see his dear mother wounded by such a betrayal. Above all he wanted to impress Charon; would supporting him be akin to that? Would it be better to support his sister as she came in to her own power?

It was too much thought for too small a space; too much emotion for too fickle a heart. 

Too many words.

Nobody harms the children, he finally commands, teeth gritting in a grimace as he states this fact. It isn't clear if he talks of Hydra's lot or the possible children of Speedy; it doesn't matter to him to clarify. Father would never harm them, or the mountain. But the boy was thinking too simply. His father would not choose to harm Moonspear but there was no telling how the season might affect him - and Revui had no idea of the dangers.

She looked to Arcturus, and was thoughtful. 

Perhaps, she agreed. Some day, you will understand completely why I think so much on this. But for now, I speak to you so you can understand, and see for yourself in the ways that you can. Hydra trusted them with that much, and more. As for her being disposed of, she shook her head. No, he would not. I was grown enough to hunt for you, for myself, and the pack. Just as you will come to help your nieces and nephews grow, she grinned at the very idea of it. You are young, but you are not stupid, Arcturus, and I will not treat you as such. If famine should befall us this winter, whose mouths would father first see fed among those who could not feed themselves? These children are my first; I will not have them be overlooked, or threatened from within. I hope for the best, Arcturus, she spoke levelly, But I am always prepared for the worst. Life had taught her this, and she would teach this to him in turn. Better to do away with that naivety now.

And in any case, the cards would fall and he would see it for himself. 

Still, though. If I am wrong, I will be happy for it, she admitted plainly. 

And to Revui, her gaze fell. His lack of clarification warranted a long look, and she nodded. If they do not stay, they shall live full, healthy lives. If they did? Well, Hydra would never lie to them and behave as though she would not do what she must. But they had a chance at life, that much she would give them. Mmm. If they did breed, I do not know what I will think—all of my life, Revui, I would agree with you... until this, she expressed. Father would never plan to kill his grandchildren, but if the cost was his own child, it would be acted upon without thought. She knew it because she could understand it, instinctively; she feared to see such a thing through. She feared to never know her children before they were stolen too soon from her, when eyes were upon bastards rather than her own progeny.

hydra was so much wiser than arcturus; in time, he would come to recognize and respect that. he already had an inkling that hydra’s wisdom was to be respected, but he only saw the tip of the iceberg when it came to this subject. he did not see the danger that lurked in the depths below.

instead of a mountain, arcturus saw a molehill. he genuinely believed that all of hydra’s fears were unfounded and dramatic; little did he know her cleverness would prove her right in the end.

he was silent for a long time, troubled by words like ‘famine’ and ‘choice’. his brother’s short speech assayed part of his doubts, but there was much the dark boy had yet to process. after a lengthy pause arcturus dipped his head, and spoke with assertive confidence. and i will be old enough to provide for yours.

god he hoped hydra was just wrong, and that they would put this little bout of hysteria to bed at last.. and in a few months it would have blown over, and they could go back to being the proud, unified family they ought to be.

It would be months before Revui made sense of all the crazy that had infected the mountain, but he was eager to be at that point now, to be hastened in to the rank he desired and given praise and power for it. So he nodded as if he understood all that was said. He fought the warring voice of his conscience against the devil on his shoulder.

Arcturus spoke, and to that Revui nodded again - with fervor - and agreed with a brisk, Stand by our blood. Because that had always been pushed upon him as important, perhaps even sacred.