Sun Mote Copse CMOT Dibbler

@Finley or @Elwood - if you have time, but anyone else is welcome too.

Wraen had managed to catch a fairly sleepy and disoriented marmot today - either it had not yet gone into hibernation or it's long beauty-sleep had been disturbed by the movement of the earth. It was an easy kill, though the hunter suspected that there was more fluff to it than the actual spoils.

She first thought about eating it herself, then changed her mind. It was now weeks, since she had an eye to eye conversation with the resident Blackthorn pair - chance visits and polite "hello"s and "goodnight"s did not count. Therefore with an edible gift to share, she walked towards the rendevouz's place to find one or the other. Preferably both.

The rumbling of the earth was growing more ominous with each passing day, and it worried Elwood, but there wasn't much he could do about it. More troublesome was the lack of large prey; it seemed that the tremors were scaring away the game. He had spent much of this particular morning tracing familiar routes that he knew that local deer often frequented, and was disappointed to find no sign of the resident herds.

He had returned to the rendezvous site and was examining Avery's rock collection at her behest when movement in his peripheral vision drew his attention. He looked up to see Wraen approaching, a marmot clutched in her jowls. He smiled at the sight; at least smaller prey could still be found. "Nice catch," he complimented when she was within earshot, as Avery collected her favorite piece of sea glass and scampered away.

"Brought you some lunch," Wraen told Elwood after she had put the spoils of her hunt by the den and looked over her shoulder to see, where Avery had headed to. She was surprised about, how much the girl had grown in the past few months and how very little one-on-one time she had had with her. The group baby-sitting did not really count, because her attention had to be divided by many. Later then.

"That's nice," she beckoned to the rock collection. "A hobby of yours?" she asked.

Wraen revealed that the food was meant for him (and Finley, too, probably), and Elwood smiled. It wasn't something she had to do, but the gesture was appreciated. Although the pack was small, they had grown tightly-knit in their time together. "Thanks," he replied earnestly.

He followed her gaze to look at Avery, who had paused at the sound of Wraen's voice and had politely turned back towards the adult. The sea glass was still in her mouth, so she nodded her head and murmured, "Mmhmm." A plaintive glance at her father revealed that she wanted to be excused so she could tend to her compendium, and when Elwood nodded, she darted out of sight.

"Sugar Glider is really into plants, but Avery's preference seems to be rocks," he said to Wraen as he settled down to take a bite out of the meal she had delivered. He swallowed, then said, "Have you noticed that large game seems to be a bit scarce?" Surely she had, since she, too, was a skilled hunter by trade.

"It is lovely," Wraen praised Avery. "Another time you can tell me all about it," she let the girl go, which was evidently something she wished to do very much now. "Sugar glider is into plants - I should have guessed. She tends for the graves, doesn't she?" this was a second-hand piece of knowledge from the disdainful report of Elfie. She had gone afterwards to take a look to make sure that he kept his promise now not to meddle in the business of others and found all in neat order. 

"Yeah - it seems to have affected the whole area. I spoke with Eljay the other day - he had not found any fresh tracks either," when was it - yesterday or before. The danger of food going scarce was looming in the distance like a dark and ominous cloud. "We will have to go and scout for smaller things. Perhaps, we can make the best of the recent quakes and trembles," she speculated.

"Lagomorphs are still around - there seems to have been a good crop this year, if you know, what I mean," she told him with a smile. "And I thought about going out and scouting for some beaver dams. And if all else fails, we will have to kill a bear in his sleep. If they go to sleep at all," she finished with a bit of dark humour, thought it was still a valid option.

Elwood nodded. "Finley took Avery and Sugar to visit Wildfire's grave, and Sugar collected a nice bouquet of flowers to leave there," he explained. He didn't know if Sugar made a regular habit of tending the graves, but that didn't mean she wasn't doing it without his knowledge. The conversation then shifted as Wraen answered his question about the area's prey.

While she had also noticed that the bigger animals were scarce -- and so had Eljay -- she seemed optimistic that they would be able to feed themselves with smaller delicacies. Elwood was reminded that he had discussed this with Niamh not too long ago, and shared what he had learned: "Yeah, Niamh told me that she and Clover hunted some goats last winter that had been displaced after an avalanche, so maybe we'll have the same kind of luck with these quakes."

He chuckled at the mention of killing a bear while it hibernated; it would be a monumental task, and while he could hear the wry joke in Wraen's tone, he knew that to do so would be to ensure their family had more than enough to eat. "Sounds like we should be good for a little while, at least," he said, then flashed a dry smile and added, "And if we decide to go bear hunting, Finley's the resident expert."

"That is interesting. Mountain goats on their usual terrain are a hell to deal with," Wraen shared, recalling her usually failed hunts in the Sunspire. Those feisty ungulates just knew their way too well and could jump a vertical wall with no problems, leaving a perplexed predator far behind. They were a challenge, but not an easy food source to come by. It would be interesting to see, though, whether they were just as agile and daring on flat land. She made a mental note to ask Niamh all there was about her experience last winter. 

"How is Finley doing actually?" she asked. She had not wished to bring the subject up earlier, though the elderly Blackthorn matriarch had been on Wraen's mind all the time. She had taken Colt's death very hard and Wraen felt helpless. Was there anything she could say to make things just a bit better?

At the mention of Finley, Wraen asked how the Blackthorn matriarch had been doing. It was a difficult question to answer, and any trace of a smile that had been on Elwood's face slipped away. She was angry and withdrawn, and he couldn't blame her. It was unfair that Colt's life had ended so abruptly; none of them were getting any younger, but it had seemed like they would be able to live out their days together here in the copse. And that dream had been taken away from Finley.

"Not great," he replied honestly, feeling that it would be pointless to sugarcoat the truth for Wraen. "Losing Colt was a really hard blow for her; I haven't seen her like this, well...ever." In his time with Fin, he had seen each and every one of her emotions -- but this was different. He shrugged. It was hard not to feel helpless, but letting her grieve in her own time was probably the best thing he could do.

Elwood confirmed just, what Wraen had suspected herself. Now and then she found herself wondering, if she had known, what would be the outcome of Kiwi's actions, would she have done things differently? How was it fair that Wildfire's daughter's foolish act had caused so much misery. A loving wife had lost her husband. A son had lost his father. A sister had lost her brother. So much suffering could have been spared, had she cared to give just a little thought of, how many people she would hurt... but she had not and this was the result.  

Wraen was tempted to ask Elwood, what he thought of her actions now, but kept it to herself. If he had changed his mind about her, he did not let it show. The newly appointed Sovereign was not going to pry for truth then. "Pain needs to be felt," she remarked and sighed. "I look forward to spring so much," she shared. "When I think about, how many we have lost already and all the other stuff that is going wrong... I just want to escape it all. I wish it came to an end, that there was at least one happy event to look forward to."

Elwood had thought about his previous conversation with Wraen regarding Kiwi, and despite how things had transpired, he hadn't changed his opinion. At the end of the day, Kiwi had acted of her own accord and there wasn't any way to change what had happened. Had Wraen chosen to punish her, or refuse to assist her, it might have eased her conscience -- but Colt likely still would have met his untimely death. There were things that they could control, and things that they couldn't, and this situation was the latter.

He wouldn't dwell on that, though, and couldn't help but offer a small smile at Wraen's mention of spring. The Firebirds desperately needed a fresh start, and hopefully the turning of the seasons in a few months would offer that. First, though, they needed to get through the looming winter. "I know what you mean," he agreed. "Hopefully our luck will change. It's hard to believe that the kids will be close to a year old when the spring rolls around. That will certainly make things seem different." Already, the kids were achieving various levels of independence and would soon seem less like burdens and more like helpful members of the pack.

"That's one of the many little things I truly look forward to. To see, how they turn out," Wraen agreed. If some of them were to stay here, they would be the foundation of future Firebird generations. Having been there, when the pack had beenn formed, she wished to see it grow and flourish. Moonspear might not have been her favourite pack, but in terms of keeping a legacy strong and alive, it was an example she wished to strive for. 

"Now is not the right time, but - have you and Finley thought about having children next year?" she asked, because age barriers exist in game rules, but not in character heads. Wraen did not know that seven years was a margin, she did not even know, how old Blackthorn matriarch and patriarch were. "Seeing that I have no mate and neither Niamh, nor Eljay seem likely to strive for mateship again... well, you have don't have to ask for my permission to do so," she stumbled with words. "Sorry, this is kind of awkward."

Due to the state of the world at present, what with its unpredictable tremors and their effect on prey, Wraen was correct when she said that it wasn't the right time for her question -- but it was a natural segue in their conversation, and one Elwood didn't mind musing on aloud. To be honest, it wasn't something he and Finley had discussed yet (I don't think); while they didn't know about the in-game age restriction, they were certainly experiencing the aches and pains of growing older. They had managed to raise their most recent litter successfully, but would they be able to handle another bath of youngins next year?

Wraen continued, explaining that she wouldn't require them to ask for her permission if they did decide to try to have more puppies. He smiled. "I appreciate it. We'll still run it by you, just in case," he said; there was no reason not to, at least in order to simply let her know their official decision. "I'm not sure if it's in the cards for us; we haven't talked about it much, but we'll see." Hoping he wasn't crossing a line, he asked, "Do you want to have kids of your own one day?" He wasn't trying to be nosy, but Wraen was so good with kids, he couldn't help but wonder if she had thought about it.

Oh, Wraen had thought of it, alright. Every spring, since she had turned one year old and romantic ideas about finding love of her life and having children had found their way in her thoughts. That right person had never come along. There had been few close calls, but the older she got, the more she was convinced that there had been far more hopes and assumptions on her side than it had been for that man in question. 

She was not envious of those, who found their other halves early and was happy for them welcoming their first litter in the world. She loved children for, who they were, and it did not matter to her, whether they were her own or someone else's. In whichever pack she had been at the time, she had tried to establish a connection, build a relationship, help and watch them grow up. The fact that you consider yourself still young and the world wide-open to you, definitely helps to look past the fact that you are alone and desired by no one.

The shift in thinking happens, when you are at the same place for the next two years. Or in a human equivalent - you are thirty, your friends have their second or their third kid, they are buying property, building house together, have two cars, travel the world, live that boring life you never wished, when you were in your teens, but now see as a source of utmost happiness etc. - and you are still the same as on the day you graduated from the college. Except life experience has drawn the first lines in your forehead and, when looking in the mirror, you begin to count the number of new grey hairs. 

Wraen did not complain about her life, though it felt a little unfair that both in stories she had heard and the real life examples around her, the promised romance seemed to have by-passed her. It did not matter, whether she sat and waited for it to sweep her off her feet or if she pursued it with determination, it simply did not happen. So, reluctantly she had begun to accept her fate and place among all those women, who had never married and who had never been admired, loved or cherished by another person.

Now and then she had toyed with the idea of roping Eljay - he was soft as clay, Wraen was pretty sure she could get him, if she gave an honest try.  But during the year she had spent with him living side by side, she had come to a conclusion that, while he could be a great father, he was a child himself in many ways. And she simply did not have it in her to lead a pack, to raise children and to take care of a husband with low self-esteem. In the end, if she could not have any of the classical package, she decided that she could have some solace in inventing new stories. Where the heroine does not meet the prince, does not get married, but somehow lives happily ever after without all of this. 

"Maybe. If the right person comes along," Wraen summed up her opinion about the subject in two short sentences. "I still have time," as long as she had this thought to hold on to, she would continue and hope for that one special day.

Sorry for the super-long post. Just came out that way and no pressure to match it's length. :)

<3 Would you mind if we wrap up? I'm going to try freshening up my threadlog to get back into the swing of things!

There was no bitterness in Wraen's voice as she responded; she mused that it was still a possibility for her to find love, should things fall into place, but obviously was not dwelling on it. If it happened, it happened. Elwood admired her outlook. The more he get to know her, the more he respected and liked her, and he was glad that fate had brought them together as packmates and friends.

"You do have plenty of time," he agreed. Had he known her thoughts on Eljay, he might've grinned and tried to sway her in his direction, simply because he was fond of them both. But she hadn't shared that information, so if it were to eventually work out, it would be without Elwood's influence.

"Alright, it was good talking with you as always," Wraen told after a moment of contemplative silence. Though she had not said much on the subject about marriage and family, she had thought enough for one day. It was something her mind returned to time from time, but she did not like it to occupy too much of her thoughts. Life had to be lived. One day at a time. Focusing on the unpredictable future was neither practical, nor beneficial. 

"I will see, what Niamh's doing on the borders, and maybe I can fish a recruit for our one-woman army along the way," she joked playfully, as she got up, stretched and finished the exercise with a hearty shake of her coat. "See you in the evening, I guess," or any other time, because the copse was not that big and they lived fairly near to each other. 

With that she was gone.