Nova Peak If you must weep, do it right here in my bed as I sleep

Looking for a "spree" partner, i.e. I want to do fast posts but can't promise rapid fire speed.

All mountains were dangerous, but this one was arguably less so than Sawtooth Spire, even with the constant downpour. The pine-needled slopes were slick underfoot and every towpath and game trail was turned to muddy rivulets by unending rain, but there were no jagged, toothsome foothills poised to tear their young apart with a single misstep. The worst part of the mountain was its peak, as mountains should be.

In the time since their arrival, Wylla had marked a perimeter in the foothills to the south and the west. Presently, she was cutting a purposeful path north through the thick pine forest that swathed the entire mountain save for its southern face, which was more jagged and treacherous than the rest. Every now and again, she swung to rub her flank against hanging needles, leaving snatches of fur here and there wherever she didn't mark with splashes of urine.

If the rain let up, she would be able to spot the ocean glimmering on her left side through the sparser trees, but a curtain of grey water hid it from view today.

sure : )

 

The rain seemed never-ending. Since their journey had begun, it rained and rained, but in spite of this, Star's spirits were high. She had never disliked the sawtooth, but this place was more to her liking. She felt it would be better for all of them- and the cooler climate reminded her of the mountains in which she had been born. In summary, the weather did nothing to ruin her joy.

But even as she was happy, there was hard work to be done, time consuming yet fulfilling. The matron spent her hours marking borders and memorizing the landscape to the best of her abilities. She had established one or two small caches with little things she had caught. Today was a day for mapping, and she outlined the northern edge of the mountain, the place where forest met stone. 

Wylla's scent was present, and Star swiveled her head, looking for the dark figure until she spotted her from afar. The old warrior made her way through treetrunks and foliage till she was a couple yards off, and let out a soft chuff to the eisen. Wylla, mind if I join you? She called amiably.

Star's approach was met first with the backward tilt of her long black ears while she scented the air ahead, and then she turned and gave the elder Griff a wan smile. Hi, Star, she greeted, gesturing along the path she meant to take. Thought I'd check out what's to the north, maybe start marking a perimeter there.

She waited just long enough for Star to walk alongside her, then set off again. She couldn't help lifting her nose into the rain and sniffing gingerly. There was salt on the breeze and it reminded her with a pang of the coast. She would never live on the sand again, but if she could see it from afar and smell it in her dreams, that was enough.

She could've asked any number of questions as they walked, but when she ducked under an overhanging ledge, she chose to be direct. Do you think we made the right choice?

making an assumption here about the info disclosed at the ongoing pack meeting, but lmk if I should edit,,

At Wylla's first words, Star returned only a smile, pulling forward to join the eisen on her path. As they moved forward Star noticed the briny air too, but held no fond feelings for it, and had few associated memories there. Star had seen the sea at a time, and found it unpleasant more than anything- she much preferred the mountains. 

Star's ears flicked at the question, and she was quiet for a moment before her pale head bobbed a nod. Yes. A moment of thought, When I was younger I would've probably wanted to stay and fight whatever threatened my pack. But, I think at some point it puts too much at risk, and it becomes a lot safer and better for everyone to just avoid the problem. Took me a few years to learn that. A shrug of her shoulders. Sure, maybe if their pack was heavy in numbers and full of able-bodied adults. But more than half of Sagtannet was puppies and their recently-pregnant mothers. It would have been foolish, in her perspective, to try and chase out a fresh band of killers who likely had no children to worry about at all.

Wylla's amused chuff bridged the tiny space between Star's sentences as she remembered Drageda and Grimnismal. There wasn't a significant bloody history between those former neighbouring packs, but there had been one altercation. Probably more, but she hadn't stayed long after that. Back then, fighting for a scrap of beach seemed like the most important thing in the world. Now? She couldn't say she would bat an eye at having to move on if it meant sparing Phaedra or even Star's children from experiencing that violence.

Not everyone agrees that running away is a solution, she shared, thinking sourly of the one they'd lost in all this, but I don't think risking the children is ever worth defending a bit of land. Or ourselves, even. A rock is a rock is a rock, but nothing can bring a life back. Speaking of which, the ground was beginning to grow rough. Wylla steered them down a little lower, where grass was plentiful and sturdier underfoot than loose scree. I like this place a lot better, she shared, tipping her head to the side and surveying the mountainside. It doesn't feel so much like a death trap.

Idle chatter, nothing more. Are your pups okay after all that travelling? Calcifer, in particular, was huge for his age. Carrying him was no trivial matter, to say nothing of the bundle of rocks. Even riding in the jaws of tired adults, it probably wasn't a fun journey.

It wasn't that running away was Star's ideal path of action, but rather choices always depended on circumstance, and theirs was, at present, one of vulnerability. And she agreed with Wylla, nodding- the land they had come from was worth little. The biggest thing they had left behind was not the Sawtooth itself, or Phaedra's garden, but rather the boy, Thade. That was the largest sacrifice made in moving. She did not wish to think of him as a 'sacrifice', but it came down to numbers- Sagtannet was not willing to risk the lives of six children by fighting for land, to hold onto some hope that the lost Thade still remained in that place. 

The ground turned to soft grasses that reminded her of life in the southern valley, but she swept the nostalgia away as Wylla spoke once more. She chuckled, I said the same thing to Mahler earlier. I think the children will be a lot safer here. Like a suburban mother, Star was always shopping nowadays for the best neighborhood for her kids, and so far this seemed to be it. Marble loves travelling from what I can tell, so she enjoyed it, but she's probably exhausted by now... Calcifer is tired too, but it's harder to tell how he feels about the move. Unfortunately she couldn't exactly ask him, considering they were only at the age of babbling. What about Phaedra? How is she doing?

On the other hand, Wylla was born and raised on the coward's path. She was a fierce little she-wolf, to be sure, but if it was a choice of fighting or saving her hide, more often than not, she'd choose the latter. Had she been any more like Star, she might never have been able to leave Sawtooth Spire or the possibility that her little boy might one day come home. But, ultimately, one life wasn't worth risking multiple, and the chances were too high that he was no longer alive. She seems pretty taken with those rocks, she commented with a wry chuckle. It'd felt pointless carrying a bunch of rocks along with them, but she supposed if it made a pup happy, then it was worth it. She wished she could've uprooted Phaedra's garden and taken that, too.

Phaedra is... Phaedra, she said with a sigh. She's been withdrawn for a long time now. I don't think moving helped, but I don't think it made it worse, either. She wanted to comment that Mahler wasn't able to be around for her like he had been when she was very little, but she worried the topic would sour on her tongue, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know how Star felt about his multiple litters. She wanted to remark that Thade's disappearance had shaken Phaedra in some way, but the words died in her throat. Speaking his name felt forbidden.

Instead, she let her shoulders droop and slowed a little, finally admitting, I don't know how to help her. She's gone and befriended some kind of prey! As if that was the most ludicrous thing a wolf could ever do. It was like being besties with a piece of juicy steak. Wylla ought to be grateful her daughter had found a friend in some creature, but all she could really think was that it was a sign her daughter was coming unhinged.

I don't understand the fascination, but whatever makes her happy. Star chuckled in regards to Marble's rocks. The matron had never been interested in nature beyond hunting, found no real joy in the earth or stars. But she figured this is what it meant to be a good mother, maybe- if it wasn't hurting Marble, and it made her happy, she wasn't going to discourage it. Star would proudly support her in her endeavors even if they would never make sense to her. 

Star listened on as Wylla spoke of Phaedra- her withdrawal, her strange choice in friendship. Though the pale woman knew Phaedra little, she knew of Thade's disappearance- and figured this was the reason for the sort of breakdown taking place. The friendship with prey didn't sound like a huge problem (though Star could never do such a thing,) but the withdrawal was more concerning.

She tried to imagine for a moment what it would be like if Marble or Calcifer became reclusive, awkward in her presence- but it was hard to picture, and she wasn't sure she could completely understand Wylla's feelings, even if she wanted to. Well, the friendship is probably- A replacement for Thade? -Probably not a bad thing. She's still a kid, so she's likely not interested in hunting it yet anyway. A shrug of her shoulders. Wasn't a problem in Star's eyes so long as Phaedra didn't try to make herself into some kind of vegan. As for the withdrawal- do you think counseling would help? I think Gracious is good at that sort of thing. Star wanted to be of help, especially when the stony eisen was opening up to her a bit, but she wasn't exactly the best with words or advice.

It was so much more than that, but how to begin explaining to Star without besmirching Mahler? Wylla was tired of the tension that existed between them and she was hopeful for the future, but to wholly describe Phaedra's affliction would be to admit every part of it—hers and his. And Wylla was no fool. Sagtannet's wolves were loyal to Mahler first and foremost, and she was lucky if she could claim a single wolf's loyalty to herself. Star had always been an agreeable and comforting presence, but she'd be stupid to assume the Klinge would appreciate it if she started making accusations about the pack's primary leader.

And she wanted to move past it all, aside, because when she thought of all she'd lost, did it really matter that he had kids with another woman on a technicality alone? An elusive woman, at that, whose interactions with the pack were almost nonexistent? Nyx could pose no threat to her while living on the fringes. Her anger over all that no longer felt worth it, and all Wylla could do now was regret the price her daughter had to pay while her mother burned herself to ash on a self-righteous war path.

I'm not sure if it'd help or hurt her further, she decided to say. It's a lot more complicated than it seems on the surface. But maybe I could talk to Gracious about it. The last time she'd interacted with Gracious wasn't exactly a good memory; she'd made an idiot of herself, not that she would ever outright admit that. She disagreed that Phaedra befriending prey was anything but a bad sign, but already the subject was beginning to choke her, so she swallowed thickly and redirected the conversation: Your son is going to grow to be a very large man, I think. Does he get that from his father? Calcifer was, well, gigantic for his age. And Wylla had never seen Howl, so it seemed a logical conclusion to draw.

For a little while longer, the pair walked and talked, but eventually Star had to return to her young kids and Wylla to her duties.