Great Bear Wilderness at the edge of the future

For @Verrine, once again set the gray area between the Spine and the Bay, because we're ghetto like that, haha. More than likely closer to the Bay this time than in the middle though, for reference.

Today, he took the chance and ventured out into the Wilds. With the calamity of events in the Spine, Mordecai had been reluctant to stray too far away. Fear held no bounds on him in that regard, but opportunity did. He had no idea what would come of it, should any event arise, but the days had grown long with nothing much to happen. Ptarmigan had secured her own position, but like many of the relationships the new leader had he felt they were shaky. Perhaps she had the loyalty of Viggo, but Mordecai knew she did not of those she retained beneath her. He did not see Cara or Kaname submitting to her rule, and where he lied after that he hadn't decided. It wasn't acceptance, but it was more than tolerance.

After a while, it had simply become too much for him to ponder. Instead he had returned to the locale where he had last encountered Verrine. There he did not find his sibling, so the tawny Ostrega dared to venture a little further to the north. He knew of the place his brother stayed, but didn't want to encroach upon their range. The likelihood of being intercepted by someone else did not play into his favor. Lingering nearby what he could have guessed as one of their hunting grounds however… the chances seemed higher. He had little doubt in his mind that his brother would be out hunting somewhere, if his raising was anything like how Mordecai remembered his own. He had time to wait, possibly to the point of wasting, and the mid-afternoon sun came and went behind rain soaked clouds that had yet to release their contents.

NOM NOM NOM NOMASOFIJAW LAKEJ FLAWIEJKF

Ostregas were many things. Chief among those things, they were creatures of habit. Mordecai knew his brother well; despite the many seasons that had passed since their initial separation from one another, he knew that all he had to do was choose a strategic position and wait. Sooner or later, Verrine would turn up. The same could likely be said of the situation in reverse, were Verrine to pay a visit to his brother at the Spine. Mordecai had to wait a lengthy while, but eventually, his patience paid off. Late in the afternoon, as gravid rain clouds dumped their load over the mountains to the east and the sun neared the toothy peaks to the west, Verrine finally turned up.

He was hunting, of course, as the elder Ostrega had predicted. With his litter due any day now, Verrine threw himself into providing for his pack and his mate with vigor, doing his best to keep Julooke well-fed and cared for so that she wouldn't have to exert herself. There were times when it was vexing to be around her, as the hormones of pregnancy drove her into moods that were sometimes difficult to deal with. So Verrine loved her when he could, and hunted or patrolled when he couldn't.

He was following some fairly recent deer trails when a soft touch of breeze brought a familiar scent to him. His head jerked upright immediately and he began to scan his surroundings for his brother's familiar face. It only took him a few seconds; a ray of sunlight, gilded with the golden light of the late hour, broke from behind a cloud and illuminated the richly tawny figure of his brother relaxed some few dozen yards away. Catching his eye, Verrine grin and waved his tail, pleased to see him. It had been too long.

I HOPE YOUR DIN DIN WAS GOOD. I wish I had some apple turnovers right now, fml. I want sugary things.

As the time passed, Mordecai alternatived between pacing and resting, trying anything to keep the inevitable barrage of thoughts away. It was a losing battle however, and when he had sought temporary refuge beneath a tree to avoid the eventual rain, they had come back to him. Once more, he considered leaving the Spine in favor of finding something better, but the season had grown too late. With autumn at their heels, he knew that if we were in any position to be taking in strays, he wouldn't have been. Even resourceful ones.

As the sun broke through the onslaught of rain, Mordecai spied Verrine heading in his direction. The younger sibling was in full on hunting mode, so for a few moments Mordecai simply watched him. And he thought back briefly to when Verrine had been much smaller. But that thought too was discarded in favor of the recognition that snapped ready in his brother's expression, one that Mordecai met with an easy smile.

“Verrine,” he said, tail waving out behind him as he rose to meet his brother. “I knew I'd find you around here eventually.” He bumped noses with his coast-dwelling sibling, this time not thinking about the Spine and what lied there. He was simply happy for the reunite, and preened at the out of place pieces of his damp coat. “How have you been?”

It wasn't bad! But now I want sugary things too and there is nothing here. ;~~~;

Verrine returned his brother's easy smile, feeling some of the stress of the last few weeks drain out of his shoulders. It really was wonderful to see him again. It didn't even matter that they were members of different packs and, by the laws of wolf nature, should have been rivals. Blood went deeper than that, especially for Ostregas. Mordecai would always be welcome on his borders, as far as Verrine was concerned. Hell, if he had it his way, he'd talk his brother into joining their ranks here sooner or later.

Verrine greeted Mordecai with a few licks to his white chin, tail waving behind him. Mordecai asked him how he'd been, and Verrine sighed and gave him a look that said, DUDE. @__@ "Mordy. Holy hell," he said, an odd mixture of exasperation and amusement on his face. Sitting down abruptly near his brother, he looked at him with golden eyes wide and continued, "I'm going to be a dad."

As Verrine settled in beside him, Mordecai listened to the admissions that he brought forth… and found himself surprised. Much more time had passed than he realized. He knew that Verrine had taken a mate from their unexpected meeting the last time, but now this? The older Ostrega couldn't resist the urge to smile, and widely at that. As bad as things had been, this certainly put a brightened twist on things, perhaps the silvery thread that he had been looking for all along.

“That's fantastic!” The joy he saw in Verrine was contagious, and though Mordecai had never met Julooke, he couldn't help but wonder what their progeny would come out like. For the most part, they had all been uniform creatures bearing the same color schemes, one way or another. Barring an anomaly or two, of course. “How soon?” was his next query; he already pondered when they would be old enough for him to meet. It had been far too long since he had any interaction with children, especially so closely related. Truly, the last had more than likely been Verrine and Deshyr themselves.

Posting from phone in bed. Such hassle wow ugh no much pain in ass. XD

As expected, Mordecai was thrilled to hear the news, and his delight stoked the fires of Verrine's own joy. It was exciting enough to be expecting kids -- especially his first litter -- but what made it even better was being able to share it with family. He found himself wishing he could tell his parents; he could see his mother fussing and lecturing him on what not to do, and the correct way to do this or that, and what sorts of names he liked. And he could imagine his father, quiet and steadfast Leviathan, grinning with that ever-present twinkle in his eye that generally meant he knew his son was getting into shit that was way over his head, and would be there if Verrine needed advice on what the hell to do when everything was nuts and he had screaming kids all around him and an angry wife and he hadn't slept in weeks and he couldn't remember the last time he'd been laid.

Ah, parenthood. He wasn't ready for it, but he couldn't wait.

He chuckled and scratched an itch on his shoulder as he replied, "Any day now, actually. Julooke's so big now, I wonder how many she'll have. He didn't mean it in a derogatory way -- if anything, he thought she was even more beautiful than ever, for the swelling of her sides meant she carried a treasure more precious than any rare gem or mountain of gold. "It's so crazy, man. I don't even feel like I'm old enough to be an adult yet, and here I am getting ready to have kids. Holy crap."

Lmao, I've been camped on my couch posting from my phone all day. Right now I keep getting distracted by Casino Royale. DANIEL CRAIG B SO FINEEEE.

So it was soon. Very soon, at that. If not for that, Mordecai would have asked to finally meet Julooke, if nothing else than better late than never. Now it would have to wait, which he decided was fine as well. Settling back on his haunches, Mordecai let his tail give the soaked ground a few good sweeps. Verrine having children would make him an uncle, though the two of them were already. This notion brought him back to the Spine readily, but he withheld the information for a moment more.

“I'm afraid you've forgotten how old we've become. We both could have been parents by now,” he said with a chuckle. Sure, they had retained their youth in their own ways. Verrine was younger than he was though, and had more of it. Time had started to warp Mordecai in its own way, just as it had their father before them. “And that reminds me, I met another one of our kin recently. In my pack. Do you remember Viggo?” He looked curiosity to his brother then, wondering if he really would. Their reference nephew of sorts, though Mordecai had long thought of him as more of another brother than anything.

He chuffed with amusement, nodding his agreement with Mordecai's comment. "You're right, I do forget. I just don't feel old enough to be a parent, y'know?" Some days, he did feel the encroaching tide of age lapping at his ankles, but for the most part, he still felt as young and wild as a yearling. Sometimes he even caught himself thinking like one.

Mordecai brought up an interesting change of subject a moment later, and Verrine arched a brow curiously. "Sure I remember him. Been a long time. Damn, is he here now?"

Mordecai nodded; he too, understood that it was easy to forget how old they were in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps on a personal level, he also had a little bit of envy for his brother to have finally settled down. Up until then, Mordecai had spent most of the warmer months wandering, only waiting until the end of summer to find somewhere to hole up for the winter. The opportunities had presented themselves, but he had found he favored the life of adventure over settling. Those situations just didn't strike me as the way to go for any family, let alone children. But that harkened back to his own raising, and Sedona had always encompassed a large swath of land for them to capitalize on.

Still, the thought of it one day struck him as desireable.

“Yeah, he's here presently. Lives at the Spine.” And as much as he would have loved to take Verrine there, Mordecai knew he couldn't. Not with Julooke due in days to come, and not with the present situation in the Spine itself. “He's done well for himself, anyway. He's not all scratched and scarred up like Dad is. I guess he took to wandering about like us.” Funny though, how they had started to pool in the same place. Mordecai didn't know if that was fate or just luck of the draw.

"We Ostregas are a wandering bunch," Verrine conceded, remembering the time he himself had spent on the move. There had been several months after leaving Sedona before stumbling upon the Seahawk Valley, and then after Liyano's death, he had spent the better part of a year or so traveling with Julooke and, occasionally, a few friends (chief among them, Beric). "Funny how we all seem to end up in the same place though, isn't it? The last place I settled, I lived there...I don't even know how long -- months? -- before I discovered that Chakra lived there too. Crazy."

“It is rather strange how we've come to this place one way or another,” he commented, nodding once more. Perhaps for the same reasons that they also tended to congregate in Sedona from time to time too, he believed. The mention of Chakra brought back more faint memories, though Mordecai could have safely said that he had not spent much time with his elder brother. And Mixik had remained ever a mystery as well.

“But I'm glad that we've come together here, one way or another. Maybe this will be our Sedona.” After all, their parents could have more or less originated in the Salvajes and the Neve, and then they moved on. Just as he and Verrine had originated in Sedona, only to come there. A still nameless valley to Mordecai, not that he particularly bothered to learn its name. “I'll have to see if Viggo would come and meet you the next time we cross paths. Maybe once the kids are born and old enough. What do you think?” No doubt he would have to talk it over with Julooke, but they had time on their side. Mordecai imagined it wouldn't be until the spring anyway, but he had no idea what the winter would bring to their coastal span.

"Absolutely!" he said without hesitation. "I'd love for you to meet Julooke. You'd like her. You know, Chakra's mate -- she's Julooke's older sister." It was a fact that, now that he thought about it, was kind of weird. He wasn't sure if Mordecai had ever met Youmi before.

He really wanted to introduce Mordecai to his mate; were she not heavily pregnant and busy preparing for the arrival of their pups right now, he might have invited Mordecai to accompany him to their packlands now. But alas, it would have to wait. "So what's new with you? I've heard some whisperings around the lands that there's been some drama going on over your way or something."

Youmi's name didn't really ring a bell with him, though it probably should have. He did smirk inwardly at the fact that two of his siblings had technically married into the same family, though. There must have been something very special about those women to tame two of them. Yeah, it must have been nice to have a settled down life, he thought. It was however overshadowed by the query that Verrine made next, and Mordecai realized he couldn't keep dancing around the fire on that one.

“Oh? What did you hear?” he said out of genuine wonder. As far as he knew, no one had come calling at their borders for information. He hadn't ousted anyone trying to pry, which meant that others had probably ventured out. The absence of certain wolves from the Spine's ranks had not gone unnoticed by him, though he himself had largely stayed out of the core of the territory. He hated being evasive with his brother as well, but it was easier to dispel untruths, rather than explain outright. As convoluted as he found that thought to be.

Something in Mordecai's question subtly reminded Verrine that, despite their familial bond, they were still loyal to different packs, and Verrine would do well to remember that. He shrugged noncommittally, replying simply, "Not much more than that, really." And it was the truth, too. Rumors on the wind were just that -- rumors -- and while he had heard there were ripples in the water at Orobouros (GODDAMMIT I HAD TO TYPE THAT FIVE TIMES TO GET IT RIGHT) Spine, he'd heard nothing more of it.

LMAO YOU STILL DIDN'T EVEN SPELL IT RIGHT. In your defense, I always mispell Stavanger as Stavenger at least once. And then I get confused and actually have to go look up the spelling. <___> Also I finally broke down and posted this because I fell asleep like four times writing it. Apparently my body says sleep nao pls.

He wondered if for a moment his query had turned Verrine uncomfortable. But for as troubling as talk could be, he didn't want the fact that they lived in different homes be why he kept silent. Instead he chose the route of being choosy about what he said, not wanting to pull anyone into the affairs of the Spine. It was only the matter of how to word it. At first he merely nodded at his brother's words. He certainly did believe that all anyone had heard outside of the Spine was rumors. The number of their deserters had certainly skyrocketed in recent weeks.

“Well, there's been plenty going on. Our Alpha died, for one.” It was hard even then not to keep the tinge of sadness out of his voice. He had liked Jinx. “Things have been in a bit of disarray, I guess you could say. Other than that though, there hasn't been a lot going on. Just preparing for the winter, you know?” He pushed his frown upward, trying to offer his sibling a smile. There was no doubt that even the wolves of the Bay were preparing for their winter as well.

Thanks to school and work murdering me, this has gotten kinda dusty. Want to fade it out? WE CAN HAS ANOTHER SOON YES.

"I hear you there," Verrine replied in agreement with Mordecai's comments about preparing for winter. The leaves were dropping fast this year; winter would come quickly and would not be gentle about it, either. "Every year it seems like summers get shorter and winters get longer. Or maybe I'm just getting old, who knows." He grinned at his brother and shrugged. It was sad to hear that the Spine's Alpha had died, but that was the natural way of things. Mordecai didn't seem too concerned about it, at least as far as Verrine could tell, so he suspected the pack would be fine. At least the death of their leader had occurred in the summertime, when weather was mild and prey was abundant. Such a loss in the middle of winter might have been catastrophic.

Pfft, not that dusty. But I can fade since I know you're busy! I also hope your phone gets to working again because I miss talking to you! :C

Though he did not express it, he was thankful that Verrine did not pry into the nature of what was going on in the Spine. While he didn't mind giving direction to others, Mordecai had learned that he didn't like to involve others in his own problems. It was far easier to let go of things than to dwell on them, though some things were so fixed that dwelling on them was inevitably. Yet he had a firm grasp on keeping them shut away under lock and key. But Verrine's humor was infectious all the same, and he found himself smiling in spite of what he had informed his brother.

“You know, it could be also because we just keep going further and further north,” he rejoined at the end of his brother's commentary. It was one truth that Mordecai had not been able to deny since he had started heading further north. The summers were shorter, at least as far as they went in giving warmth. Winter too, was always longer. Harder and harsher, it was a mistress that he found was not tamed. Changing the topic that they were on, Mordecai enjoyed the conversation that he found in his younger brother. When the time came that they found they needed to return to their respective homes, he found himself wishing that they could have been more like children again, not so bound to responsibility.