Moonspear man aint built any jail, lord he can keep me in

<3

first he had sought out his father, and now, arcturus sought @Amekaze's company, trailing along the stony rifts not so far from where she and charon often slept. he was not so oblivious as to have missed the change in moonspear; hydra's heat had set everyone on edge it seemed, and while arcturus was much too young to sire whelps, he was not too young to understand (or even feel) the way the season affected those around him.

birds were frantic as they sang to their mates, collected twigs, made nests high above. the eagles of the peak fought, spectacular aerial battles in heights withering to the eye. even the rams, choked up on their own need to collect harems, littered moonspear with the perpetual clatter of knocking skulls.

tired of walking, arcturus nosed the ground as he rounded a rocky bend; here amekaze's scent was fresher, and the boy picked up his pace in the hopes to encounter her.

Dividing herself among the needs and mustering proper opportunity for the reverence of a spring really coming into bloom was keeping her very on the move. Usually found down low on the mountains, much lower than she would prefer that often--but these times warranted it, as she prepared to ward away the curious strays who caught wind of Hydra or maybe even Charon at this point. At best, she hoped she might find a welcome vent for her frustrations down there, anyway, but this afternoon was not it; she was left to scour the lowlands alone, unperturbed, and eventually returned upward.

Ame wove that path and went through the motions, hovering somewhere between too restless to actually rest, but tired enough to almost consider it. She carried on until she heard footsteps coming up on her own, and this realization sent her into a greater awareness of what was around, plus what she could work with should she truly be under someone's radar--which was fine, it could be something good to do.

Although mischief was not her default state in anxious days like these, for a select few, she might reserve a bit. It was with this in mind that she gave her route an extra turn then sped up several strides to reach a rock suitable enough to perch from. From up there, though it was not by much given the uneven terrain (working with what she had here), she was able to watch him come lurking closer better.

arcturus heard, but did not see, the increased gait of his mother. troubled by that action, he sped up himself.

he came around the bend where amekaze was situated above with a determined frown on his face, his brow pulled in a worried scowl as he skirted right by her. unbelievably, her scent seemed to just disappear -- but his nose told her she was here, recently.

he turned around and darted back the way he came, his nose dragging along the ground and his tail working in furious concentration. for a moment his figure slipped beyond the bend and it was quiet, but then he came racing back up the steppes again, still searching with an earnest desperation that might have been cute if it wasn't so pathetic.

From her little vantage point was half observation, half fond game she wondered if she could even play right now. She aimed to nudge herself carefully towards the latter, trying to chase away her despairs by company who may possibly prove to be a light, one not singularly focused on misunderstanding or disrespecting her completely at the very least. This step up from his father's irritating way lately ought to go without saying, though.

But, he came, and he went. Obviously well on her trail, Arcturus searched with his increasingly need--to which her eyes narrowed into a squint as she watched him unfold for as long as she could stand it.

Well.

Determined not to have her next move take pity on his efforts, she waited a little while longer, then dropped down from her spot delicately so not to make a sound. Ame slipped on after him now, having at least used his scrambling to get behind him to stalk on from behind. But she didn't carry that for long since she doubted even she could hide in plain sight for long, and soon gathered up a few bigger strides to aim to come gusting closer to him, hopefully before he could turn back and find her first, or nearly; her goal was as much menace as it was fondness, though.

hey, no one said he was einstein.

arcturus kept down the winding path, his common sense forgotten by his urgency. his mom was here, his nose told him -- so why couldn't he find her?

his pace became quicker by the stride, to the point that he was making a lot of noise himself. stones and little pebbles clattered in his wake, and he was so loud in his passing that he did not hear the light tread of his mother following him like a menacing shadow.

a few times, arcturus paused and lifted his nose to the air in a deep inhale. her scent was all around him.. but never once, did arcturus think to turn around and look behind him..

She measured her own speed, careful and precise with every footfall because she was in no major hurry--not yet, and looking to match him roughly enough to keep it believable. When she did kick it up a notch for the rush, it would be too late to stop her charge anyway (or so was always the hope), and now she just wondered how much she could get away with. Her sights remained trained on him, watching the ripples of his furs, and the turn to his ears when she could afford to.

He could use some polishing on the matters here it seemed or maybe he didn't know quite how to tune into these frequencies yet. It was worth keeping in mind, and perhaps a better reason to stalk him like this more--maybe he ought to have those guards reminded more often. She only wanted what was best for him, so she gathered up her momentum stride-by-stride and pounced with a fierce nip aimed for his rump, or hip. Depending on where it landed, between the contact of her steps and the spring back of his at that very instant, she only aimed with enough force to be trouble--then as soon as she had either made that contact or completed the rush at him, she went darting past, then onward down the path on ahead to change the game now into chase her, instead.

i totally understand if you wanna fade this one out soon bc i was absent at the worst time ever for dramaz and all

we can do whatever! <3

it was true that arcturus' skills in the matter of tracking were abject; he had only ever had to track fleeing things, and for all the miles he had spent tracking his brother or sister, he had never needed to track a wolf that deliberately concealed itself. of that, he had no skill -- and it was no surprise amekaze easily slipped past him undetected.

until she picked up speed; even the lightest footfalls could be detected by one as oafish as arcturus -- he whipped around in sudden alarm, his fur rifled -- just in time to feel a quick nip delivered to his exposed rump.

oh, the injustice!! he scooted forward, his bum tucked underneath him by the insult -- and with a growl expected revui to be his tormentor. he was surprised then to see his mother's lean form press down the trail, at a neat pace that invited chase. "hey!" the boy hollered, giving chase almost immediately.

he was a big wolf, but speed was not his skill anymore than elusive tracking was. it would take time for his stride to open up, and even longer to slow it down -- he thudded like a percheron down the rocky tumult, chasing his mother most inelegantly.

Satisfaction welled, but she sprang forward quite joyfully even in the slick escape she aimed for past him the beyond. His retaliation had been sweet even without much time spent to savor it. She knew what she did now, and hoped to keep him baited into a chase with her tail flung up and gait flippant. With the time that she trusted she would have him with, both today and in the weeks turning months to come, maybe she would work on easing him into a finer appreciation for the finesses he seemed a little hazy on. She loved her sons dearly--in a very particular way fitting of them--so she only wanted to have them grow to be their finest.

But she didn't wait up for long and few, if any, knew the curves, twists, and turns better than her. She flung a short yip over her shoulder long enough to see him galloping after, then was off on a rapid turn of foot into the scenery. If she got her way, she was going to make him need to think and stay light on his feet if he was going to keep up to what she wanted to lay out.

i want a fresh one soon <3