Nocturne Summit i came down from the moon

A winter's night was early still by his standards and patchy clouds were starting to open to midnight skies, so when restlessness struck him, he headed uncharacteristically and very distinctly south. Not only down the elevations, or at least.. not all the way. He did not veer towards the flatlands this time, or point his muzzle towards the eventual coastline (though he rarely ever made it that far) and instead fringed along above the Altar--towards the shadowed mountain beyond.

The nature of the season had him pent up and feeling unsettled--put lightly. Mostly he had been venting the sensation at home, staying focused, patrolling, avoiding unrelated she-wolves, training the pups.. so on, within bounds. Hydra's praise never all too far from memory, he never really struggled with it.. but he was able to do both, he knew. Tonight he gave in to that want to just cover ground and go, prowl, track, rove... He at least did so knowing all was well at home first--as well as it was going to be, considering the wind, then the cold that came with it all.

He was still low on this slope's elevations, navigating the foothills before the realest rises took hold easily. Nothing hurried him along yet, but he was staying on the lookout in the meantime, perusing by  moonlight.

Couldn't resist!

She couldn't sleep, and hadn't in days. She had been instructed by Hydra to stay at her side until her heat subsided and in that course had endured a stress beyond any she could remember-- her body ached still from the nips. She felt a leap of excitement when finally, after a week or more, the sensation of her heat subsided. She no longer craved the touch of a male, nor for his comfort, in fact she wanted the exact opposite and with the permission of Hydra left Moonspear without a second glance. She'd try busying herself with hunting, or tracking anything to keep her from the packland she'd been held captive for so long. It wasn't long until the moon beckoned for her return to the pack and she began the long walk back to the mountain, feeling defeated.

A smell distracted her and without missing a beat she caught whiff of Jarilo in the distance. He seemed distracted over something or another and the woman had half a mind to leave him to his own company but thoughts of his promise to her played in her head. She'd been meaning to learn something, anything, about the plants around their pack and though there wasn't much of anything left given the weather, she was sure even a story or description could be enough to entice and expand her learning. It would also help to keep her mind off of the events of the previous week. "Jarilo..." she announced, coming toward the male with her warmest of smiles. She only hoped he could be one to lift her spirits.

Jarilo breathed deep, and when he noticed someone approaching, he gathered himself--and it was good that he had in the moment he took to slow down. His nose hadn't kept him in the dark lately, and thanks to this, he was keeping his distance and letting Hydra's lockdown go unquestioned.. but, now he tested the wind anyway just to be sure he wasn't missing anything. She looked content about it (not running like her life depended on it, assuming her venture was not sanctioned by the cerberus) and nothing raised his alarms, so a major relief followed when he started to think this checked out.

Hey, he chuffed, and paused long enough to let her close the distance between them. He let her decide how close she came while he tried not to be blatantly adverse to anyone smelling too feminine lately, something he tried to ease with some short tail wags. The company could do him good and deep down, he knew it, but with him he knew it was a careful balance of needing to mend alone, and nurture together. How's it been? he asked before he swung his nose towards where he was going. I wanted to cover some ground still, are you too? he tacked on, coming quick with the questions before he moved on.

She stopped just short of the dark male, her tail wagging with excitement to have found someone to keep her mind off of the craziness of breeding season. The warning from Hydra still rang in her head, a reminder of the pack rules against illicit breeding that she no longer had to worry over as her heat had come and gone, even despite the slight smell that continued to linger. She had been meaning to meet with Jarilo since her acceptance and was thankful to have found him when she did, perhaps he had some good news or anything worth sharing since their last meeting.

She turned her head in the direction of which his nose pointed and nodded her head, a patrol would do her well as she had come out this far to stretch her legs some. "What have you been up to?" she asked him, following his strides easily. She wondered if during this time he continued to practice his duty and if not, how he kept his knowledge up given the brief winter that stunted the earth's growth. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." she said with a wag of her thick tail and provided a smile to boot.

Even beyond Moonspear territory, he felt like he knew the 'scapes well enough to be comfortable--and this close, he considered them all within the realm of their business. If prey were lurking here, he wanted his pack to know, and if some menace of a threat settled in, also, it was best they get the jump on it. These were the distractions he set himself upon, hopeful, that he might be on a good course for the times.

Thankfully, Katya seemed to be fine with this--him, as well. As for what he was up to lately? He didn't need to think long to reply: A lot of patrol, mainly, and training the pups.. not that they need a lot of help at this point, but Hydra has been so busy, the dark Ostrega said without elaborating too much since his companion would know what a part of it was. I've scouted out like now some more too recently, mainly for prey trails but.. mixed luck, though I want to think it's truly looking up lately, he sighed next, since this was a prediction he made with a measure of hesitation still. Nature only said so much, so soon.

Anyway, it had been a while--surely she had been occupied with settling in more while he was often distracted with something family-wise, somehow. I guess I've been busy, too, he sighed. And he had been restless--dictated by the season, the scarcity of food--all else. He blamed winter in more ways than one. How have you been? With.. everything, settling in and all? It has to have been a time, he said, trying to sympathize with her timing, though swayed his tail slowly to keep his mood light despite himself as he glanced briefly from her, towards the skies to take in the scene.

She studied Jarilo in silence, noting his movements, the way he spoke and the look of stress that took over his usually handsome features, making him seem much older than he probably was. She could sympathize with him considering everything that had taken place since her acceptance--the disappearance of prey, the start of winter, the influx and disappearance of members, the list went on. There was no doubt in her mind that he worried over his duty to the pack, probably wondered if he was doing enough (contributing enough to the pack was a constant concern of her own) and whether the pack would survive the changing season with Spring and new puppies around the corner, it was like a anvil weight on his shoulders and she wondered if he had taken the time to decompress at least once throughout the day.

He mentioned puppies and she found herself smiling, happy that he had been spending time with the upcoming adults and found herself nodding when he made mention of his training of the pups and she wondered if he were teaching them about herbs and the like. It was, afterall, a valuable skill to acquire. "do you have a young apprentice in one of the pups?" she said, head cocking to the side. "I've been patrolling too, trying to keep close to the pack as much as possible. The borders have been quiet, and rightly so." she acknowledged, knowing that Hydra made mention of the need to be on guard and ready to protect at all times. "I've been getting along fine since I was accepted, trying to keep myself busy with all the changes that happening, and preparing for the Spring, hopefully then, if you're still interested, you could teach me about plants and their benefits." she said, it would be upon them quicker than they could imagine and she was eager to learn.

"Outside of normal pack duties...I've been trying to find time for fun...you know, rolling around in the snow, chasing snowflakes, silly things like that." she said, not embarassed to admit that during her down time she would attempt, with all her might, to catch as many snowflakes that she could and even beat her own record a time or two. "have you been finding time for fun?" she asked with a cock of her head, hoping the male had something amusing of his own to share.

There was no denying the glint of relief he felt when she brought up the pups, and it didn't matter about what. They were his most valuable resource of distraction and this only continued to today. Granted, they could be a lot of work and he felt frustrated by them and their teeth at times but their rewards were gratifying, and they certainly helped him think less about his losses, and what he missed in life. Not really one of them specifically, I'd say... It just depends on the day which ones aren't busy bothering anyone elsewhere, or are interested in what I'm doing. Between all four I can usually find at least one volunteer, he said thoughtfully. He tended not to specialize too significantly with the ones that wanted to veer more towards a hunter's route because he'd rather them spend their time among the true, fully-realized and practiced hunters, yet even that varied often. Sure, he'd help them track or hunt but it really was not his most shining of skills, so he did like to take them to the borderlands and help them train up their offense and defense instead, plus a little scouting about on the side of course--the mountain had many secrets and he wanted the next generation to appreciate them. Mostly I just take them with me and help them explore the mountain more and more, or sometimes we spar a bit, roam around, so on, since they're a lot more independent these days too, he detailed; they didn't need his (or anyone's) constant watching anymore. 

As for her, he was quite content to listen--from the borders to the preparations for spring, he felt like he was about on the same wavelength, for she seemed to have a sensible outlook on this all. He did too, and finding more sound minds around the pack made it better. He nodded here and there. That's good.. I'm happy that all sounds pretty good--I know how settling in and the whole... heat situation.. can complicate it here, and some don't seem to handle it nearly as well as you, he said, quieter. And of course. As soon as we have some new, earnest green growing in, he replied, a smirk too, though he realized he was looking forward to the true turn towards spring quite a bit. Our first hard freeze came kind of early, I thought, so I guess that has made winter feel longer as far as the plants seem concerned.. he provided, not that his histories with it were vast--but he was trained to see it, and understand the signs.  He was ready for buds and blossoms. The winterwhite might have its majesty and all, but his heart was with the verdant spring.

While she detailed some of the funner aspects of winter on the mountain, his tail found a slow sway, him uplifted a touch by the thought of such play. You know, honestly probably not as much as I could be lately, he reasoned as he slowed his step to navigate a particular spot. Staying distracted helped him, even if he lost himself in the duty sometimes -- it was what he set out to do here, more or less. Winter makes me tense.. or restless, I think. And we have had so many snowflakes to chase... he reflected on the recent snows, and how more days were gray, cloudy and full of falling flurries than clear and sunny.

After a beat of silence, he reflected well on her suggestion that over-arched it all--that maybe he get to unwind a bit more, balance it out, you know?  He chuffed that maybe now was a fine time to start trying to enjoy more, and with it, he hoped to spend the coming hours exploring, roving, and relaxing a bit beside good company like hers. Eventually the path would loop back to the Spear but really, for now, he did not rush. A part of him needed this step back.