Ocean's Breath Plateau john barleycorn was dead

idk being really vague about who's here and why, backdated to yesterday evening

the impact roused him from deep slumber. one moment, the earth was still. the next, everything shuddered. he rose unsteadily to his feet, reminded all too well of past tragedies—the fire on the plains, the storm at parivaar. he looked wildly around, searching for his daughter, and whomever else had chosen to call this place home.

aditya pulled himself to the southern edge of the territory, where the plateau rose above the trees. there, in the distance, smoke blanketed the sky. something. . .had struck a mountain, he thought, and squinted, trying to make sense of it.

it gave him an eerie feeling, like when he wondered too much about the collar around his neck. troubled, he sat back and lifted a hind leg, scratching at the thing. he wondered if it had anything to do with the hazy memories of that time. there was then. . .and there was now. before he'd been yoked, and after.

but even if it wasn't, something was wrong. the air smelled of brimstone, and his eyes darted, seeking the ominous flicker of wildfire.

His brother had turned up eventually, only to inform Yeet he’d found himself a lady friend. He was a married man now, with a family on the way, peace! He was relieved Yolo wasn’t dead, yet weeks passed and still the cross fox reeled from the abrupt abandonment after years of being two peas in a pod.

Yeet remained on the coast, wandering aimlessly and feeling sorry for himself. Maybe he should find a chick and knock her up too. But Yeet had never wanted a wife or kids. He just wanted Yolo back.

He trudged along a familiar footpath cutting between the plateau to the southwest and the burnt forest to the northeast. It would lead to the cliffs overlooking the sea. He moved in a sort of absent daze, caring little about his surroundings.

But then there was a distant flash and rumble, which made Yeet blink and look over his shoulder, eyes sharp. He quickly scrambled toward higher ground to get a better look. He ignored the scents of wolves as he climbed the bedrock, craning to look almost due south.

Brook, too, awoke when the earth rumbled. The sound made her uneasy, though she had missed the light show. Immediately, she sought out her father, who thankfully had not been too far from where she slumbered. She huddled close to him, trembling slightly. Brook was a soft creature, and events such as this caused her heart to race. She felt over threshold, though the presence of Aditya helped.

What was it? she managed to ask in a shaky voice.

relief washed over him as brook arrived, and he pressed back against her with alacrity, letting his larger frame shelter her against the terrible forces of nature. pata nahin, he whispered, placing his chin upon the crown of her head. i don't know, beti. it woke me, too, and it's dark—

movement caught the corner of his eye, and he assumed a bristling posture, stepping forward to peer as best he could around them. who's there? he barked sharply. aditya wouldn't stand for someone creeping up on them in normal circumstances; in the current moment, he was thoroughly on edge. show yourself, now.

he squared his burly shoulders, waiting for whoever it was to come forward (if they chose to at all). his nostrils flared; he smelled fox, and close. . .could that be it? maybe it was just a squirrel, and he was overreacting.

He hoisted himself up onto the shelf, his hind feet dangling precariously for a moment and giving him a little rush. Yeet felt more alive than he had in weeks as he quickly swiveled to peer at the distant sky. The rumbling continued in the distance, until a sort of dread silence fell.

Yeet jumped at the sound of voices nearby. Whirling, he found himself facing two wolves about a hundred yards away. They were pressed together, though the larger, more masculine of the two quickly crowded closer with a barked warning.

Once upon a time, he might’ve hurled a cute retort to that command. But depression was a hell of a drug. So was distraction. So instead of clapping back, Yeet said, “The fuck was that?” and leaped– perhaps a little daringly– closer, revealing himself.

He said he did not know, and Brook shuddered to think of something so strange that her father would not know of it. Her attention was diverted (and her nerves pushed further) by the sensation that somebody was watching. Aditya caught on to it as well, and soon, a fox leapt forward to show himself, as directed.

At least it was only a fox. If it had been another wolf, Brook likely would have gone into shutdown mode, but a fox she could handle. They were small. They were often food. And they certainly could not do her (or Aditya) any major damage.

a fox. a strange looking fox, but just a fox. aditya flicked an ear backward at his coarse language, but merely gave a shrug, shaking his head ruefully. damned if i know, adi responded, looking to the peaks, dark bulwarks against the night. but it can't be good, whatever it is.

he then turned his full attention to the creature, brows raised. and who are you? he queried. you should be more careful, sneaking around wolves like that. some of us aren't as friendly as my daughter and i.

he had really no quarrel with foxes. they were smelly, sure, and tended to steal food. much worse in small bands. but just one? the worst the young man could be was a thorn in his side; the best, perhaps, a friend.

one corner of his mouth quirked up, ever so slightly, at that. desperation made strange bedfellows.

He partly expected to be told off for cursing, trespassing or– much more likely– the crime of being a fox. Instead, the wolf answered his query as if they were equals. Yeet supposed Mother Nature was a great equalizer. As the wolf said, this mysterious event could be nothing good.

The cross fox laughed dryly at the unnecessary warning. “Dude, ‘some’ is a major understatement. Most of you guys try to kill and/or eat me.” Yeet paused, then ponderously allowed, “Except for that Dutch guy, he was pretty clutch. Anyway, what’s this ‘careful’ you speak of…?” Nope, he definitely wasn’t familiar with that term.

He didn’t wait for an answer, because it wasn’t a real question. “I’m Yeet, btdubs,” he offered.

The way the fox (Yeet, as he introduced himself) spoke was rather strange, though Brook did not ask him about it. Instead, she smiled, amused at his antics. As he suggested, she did see him as food more than anything else. But why was he talking to them if they always saw him as food? Sure, it sounded like "that dutch guy" was "pretty clutch" (more phrases she couldn't parse entirely, but tried to decipher their meaning through context), but that was only one wolf, wasn't it?

Whatever the case, Brook didn't voice her questions or concerns. She let Aditya do the talking as she always did. It was easier that way.

aditya went along with the amusement, smiling, smiling—and then his face went almost comically blank. wait, what?! 

hold on, he cut in, just on the edge of that 'btdubs'. . .or whatever it had been. did you say 'dutch'? that 'dutch guy'?

it couldn't be. . . well, it could. stranger things had happened. rajendra had hunted him down, after all. and he had known—had to have known—that this could be a possibility. one didn't simply keep walking away from their children and not think they might well be followed.

guilt surged through him, and he looked at brook, teeth clenched. she hadn't reacted much to the man's remark, but then, maybe it had gone over her head. they hadn't spent much time back at white spine before they were off wandering again; perhaps she just didn't know dutch well enough to take notice.

“Yeah,” Yeet drawled, “why?”

Neither one of the wolves had made any attempt to introduce themselves in turn. But then, the dudelier one looked a bit like he’d seen a ghost. At least at first. Then his face pinched as he looked at the girlier wolf.

Yeet blinked, peering at them, wondering if his peer pressure would earn him an answer.

permission to skip brook!

brook didn't pick up on it, and the fox gave no real answer. his shock turned into irritation, and he bared his teeth at the strangely-colored creature, needlessly frustrated at the other's nonchalance.

so—where? where did you see him? he asked, eyes glinting gold, burning into yeet. a brown and cream wolf? a young man, a yearling—right?

questions hailed down without thought; aditya glanced, a little sheepishly, at his daughter, who stood steadfast beside him. but if his son! was here, then he must seek him out. 

to. . .apologize? to explain? there was no explanation that would suffice, and no apology that wouldn't ring hollow.

he had said 'sorry' so many times that the word was cheap in his mouth.

It earned him bared teeth and a growl, then a slew of questions. Yeet blinked slowly, then clicked his tongue. He could tell the wolf desperately wanted more information. And he might’ve given it, if not for the unnecessary rudeness.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he deadpanned right before pivoting and darting off into the darkness.

aditya was left, mouth agape, at the fox's sudden departure. you—chutiya! he spat, almost more astonished than angry. he took a few steps after the creature, but it was useless. . .he was already long gone, and any news of dutch with him.

damn it, he muttered, and turned back to his daughter. he gave her an apologetic look, shaking his head. that was. . .sorry. that was odd.

what an odd night. he lifted his gaze to the mountain once more. an odd night, indeed.

let's go to bed, lakshmi, aditya said, still looking out, almost staring at nothing. perhaps things will be clearer in the morning.