Arrow Lake nach vorne

mahler was not unaware of how his elevation of takiyok would look to @Ketzia. after sending diaspora’s scouts to their respective locales, mahler moved in the last direction he had found her.
when at last he came upon the little goddess, the general lay back his ears as an expression of contrition passed across his features. yet it did not last long; while he cared for ketzia, he was confident in his decision.
and yet
”allow me to speak,” mahler murmured softly, pausing some feet away. ”takiyok has been here since before diaspora vas founded. it made sense to make her kapitän.”
”vhat is more, it places her directly beneath my eye, ketzia.” he knew her fears; if takiyok intended to persecute the mother of stigmata’s last brood, it would not go unnoticed.
”i vould like you to join us as pionier, and i vould like our scouts to be directly answerable to you. it is time to find a new place for diaspora to vinter, and i feel you are best to make the choice.”
he was silent then, wondering. would ketzia be offended by his offer, see it merely as a sort of peace offering to keep her rooted within the pack, or would the green-eyed sylph regard it as he had intended: a choice made in respect and full awareness of her feelings.

The meeting had been unexpected, and while the woman had ushered her children to the safety of their den once more, there was a small part of her that was also relieved, despite what she conceived as Mahler’s betrayal to his word. There had been no glares sent the way toward her or her young—Takiyok’s cold stare had not been missed, but the frigid woman had never been warm to anyone but Mahler and Stigmata. It did not sit well in her breast to be under the reign of the arctic matriarch, but for now, she felt at least her children could grow along in peace… until it was time to remove them.

The thought had seeded itself to her mind in the days after Stigmata’s death—without the General here to hold her, and Mahler as the only wolf she truly trusted, there was no reason to stay. Except her pups were still so young.

She feigned ease to her children as they half-heartedly played nearby. They missed their father desperately—unable to truly grasp what it meant that he was gone and could not return. Coiling beneath a nearby tree, she watched them with a gleaming eye, feeling Mahler’s presence before he came to her sharp view.

She could not decipher the way he looked to her—no sooner did the bristle of her lip begin that he shushed her, and it was the respect and friendship she held with the man that did so without question. He spoke his reasoning—he spoke of elevating her as well, and he was correct in his assumption—it certainly felt like a ploy to placate her for now.

Did he not worry the two women would go further than merely butting heads in pack gatherings, if they would need to work with one another? Or was it his hope to keep stern watch on both of them?

Finally, she chose the most diplomatic route, for now—while she sorted out the internal ache of her heart at the prospect of leaving behind the lake Stigmata had stolen her away to. “I disagree that her status is given simply from her longevity within these mountains. But I trust you, Mahler.” She paused, considering leaving it at that, and yet her eyes levelled upon him squarely. “I’m asking you not to take advantage of that trust. It’s not something I give lightly.”

Feline-like movements would see the sylph push herself to a gentle sit, her eyes still upon him as she studied the marks and scars across his face—he too had seen his own hardships and she could only trust he took experience from them to guide Diaspora. “If you believe it wise to place me as Pionier, I will do my best to meet your expectations.”

For now, she would bide her time and hold on to the decision of the best future for her children. To see how Diaspora would grow from here.

"and i vill do my best to meet yours, ketzia," came the thrum of his words. she did not trust him, and though he would not stop her, mahler was unsure that he could handle again the departing backs of children he had come to love. the little goddess too, perhaps, in his own way, though it was an admission the general would never make. he dared not speak the names of his own kith; how could he dream of her own in that way? or takiyok's, or —
mahler lifted his muzzle somewhat, searching ketzia's features with a questing tilt to his lips. of the winterwhite: did she believe it was due to his sentiment that she had been elevated? "vhat is in her heart but the memory of a man who vould have been her husband?" mahler voiced softly. "i sought only to honour him in you both."
there were other and more selfish reasons; the gargoyle would spare them both the lie that he had done it solely out of love for his late kill-brother, but the women who had loved him, and who stigmata had loved in his rogue manner; it was fitting they now were at diaspora's helm, where they had always belonged.
she was one of them now, mahler realized, a trio of faces which swirled through his dreams in the darkness of autumn. and to none of them could he commit, nor could he force himself to choose —  his judgement of stigmata was waning more and more each day.

She could not find the words to respond to his own. Her eyes beseeched him as she felt the wilting of her heart in reminder of her beloved’s passing. They had found one another—and then he had been taken from this world. Taken from his families. Taken from her arms.

And so the sylph was Pionier—whatever it entailed and Mahler’s vision was in the aftermath of Diaspora’s loss, she was uncertain. But she would navigate it as it unfolded, and keep her worries to herself for now—while keeping careful watch upon not just the children, but of the other adults reaction to her children.

There was a reasonable part in her mind that knew her comrades wouldn’t harm her litter—physically, though, was not where she truly dwelled. It was their emotional acceptance she sought, and the she-wolf exhaled sharply, her eyes blinking as the fire seemed to die within her gaze as she swivelled her muzzle toward the General, finally broaching a dreaded topic when regarding the scouts. “We seek to move, then?”

"yes," the general answered. "blodreina and nyx scout the surrounding territories." he was happy to be free of their lingering tensions, at least for the present. it was her job now to see that they did their tasks correctly by diaspora. 
but ketzia would not wish to leave — and nor did he. the lake held a great deal of pleasant memories for him, and more than that, stigmata resided in state within the lands. to leave would be to begin anew, and mahler was not certain he knew how to lead without his brother, though it was a pain never to be admitted.

He had already dispatched scouts. The thought was sobering, and she turned her eyes to him, unafraid to reveal what she truly thought on the matter, no matter how much it bared her soul to the gargoyle. “It hurts,” she admitted, her gaze moving from him as a frown pulled at her. “But it’s time.”

fade with another round? <3

"it is," mahler agreed, a heavy breath pressing from his chest as if he had been weighted with stones. "i came upon you unannounced, ketzia," he rumbled, "and for that i apologize." a gentle dip of his muzzle. "vould you allow me to make amends by bringing you a meal?"

Yessss. Xoxo

“Your company is always welcome,” she admitted honestly. Besides her children, the stalwart General was the closest thing she would describe as ‘home,’ though the very thought of it would steal her breath. She had relied before upon Stigmata—had relied on others far too many times. She was not willing to place herself in such a precarious position again.

“I’d much rather we find something to feed Diaspora,” she suggested, though before waiting for his answer, lissome form began to lope quicker, eager for a hunt. Whether it was to steal more of his time or to simply cast her mind from turbulent thoughts, she would not dwell on it.

xoxox

he too was happy to put aside the dreariness, and for a time he hunted the slopes alongside the little goddess. for all her warmth, there was an aloofness to ketzia that he could not quite decipher, but decided for the time being to let it be a hidden language.