Redtail Rise I chewed my fingers to the bone today

With Mireille and Sobo returned, Chacal finally felt confident she could make the trek out to the Tangle, hoping Ashlar might show up. A cool fog had rolled in, and she loathed it. She asked the children to stay close to the den, and felt they understood. It was on a day very much like this one that Requiem had disappeared. 

The fog followed her all the way to their usual meeting place, and when she got there, she found herself alone. She contemplated calling out for him, but she wasn't entirely certain if she could- not with the news that she had. 

They still had no answers- but no proof meant there was still some hope, and perhaps there was a chance the Rise could help. Perhaps she should have sent word earlier- the ridge of mountains might have been where the eagle had gone after snatching Requiem...It had been headed out over the ocean with him, before it had disappeared into the fog. 

She continued through the Tangle until she found herself at the borders of Ashlar's pack. She wondered if word had spread, about the children he'd sired in Sapphique and the woman who sheltered them from their father...If any approached her before @Ashlar, she would have to be prepared for some amount of skepticism. Still, she called for him, her voice low and quiet, hoping not to attract too much attention from others in the area.

Ashlar hadn't been expecting her to want to meet quite so soon and certainly was not expecting her upon the borders. He nearly missed the call, it was so quiet, but the voice was unmistakeable! He rushed towards it with a mix of trepidation and excitement catching at his breath.

His expression was concerned as he approached. Ashlar did smile, his posture welcome and open, but it couldn't entirely reach the question. Why was she here, all the way at their borders?

She’d tried to douse the flicker of grief enough so that it would not wake when she saw Ashlar. It was a good plan, but it failed, and she felt her lip tremble when she saw the concern in his eyes, apart from the smile he wore. The fact that he looked happy to see her, at first, might be something to reflect upon later. 

Silence invited an explanation. She swallowed hard.

”I come to ask if you ‘ave seen
Any g-great, golden eagles recently. 
I wonder, per’aps if you ‘ave seen one…
Ashlar it…It stole away my son.” She pleaded, her melody rife with grief. 
”I still hold ‘ope ‘e may still be alive,
If de eagle dropped ‘I’m…’E might ‘ave survived.”

Ashlar could tell immediately that this wasn't a social call. There was an immeasurable edge of grief in her eyes and in the way her shoulders hung. He stepped forward and touched his nose to her cheek as the worry deepened. Was she alright?

She wasn't. Chacal sang to him and Ashlar felt a matching grief rise in himself. He wasn't sure if it was the depth of her feeling pulling empathy from him or the fact that it was their child who was lost. It didn't matter to him.

He didn't know about the pup that Avicus and Augur had found yet. If he had he would have summoned them, but instead he looked at her sadly and shook his head. He hadn't seen anything like that. I'm sorry. Ashlar reached out again, this time to offer an embrace, but paused. He wasn't sure in that instant if such a thing would help.

She leaned into the shoulder he offered, grateful for the act of mercy and empathy. His apology was one of many she had collected, but she felt more free to cry and let her grief find its way out past the impenetrable defended she’d been trying to put up. 

”Merci, Ashlar,” she said, when her soul felt spent. Perhaps, tonight, she would have a more clear conscience, now that she had been honest with Ashlar. Plus, it was another pack of wolves with eyes watching for him. 

”Will you keep watch for ‘im?
De eagle was gold, ‘is claws so grim.
But my son, ‘e is brown, wid a pale jaw on ‘is face.
‘Is feet too, dey be pale beige like bird feathers.
Please, do tell me if you find ‘im…Dead or alive…In dis place?”

He shifted his head around and gently raised a foreleg, embracing her against him while she cried. He did not sing. Sometimes he knew that a song could be comforting but this didn't feel like something words could apply to. It was suited to the silence that surrounded them.

I'll tell Avicus. We'll look, all of us. Promise. Ashlar was resolved. He didn't even think to blame her, or himself, when he knew this was the way the wilderness worked. If he had been taken and was still alive then they would find him. We have hunters. They can track anything. His voice was full of confidence in Prophet and Augur's capabilities.

Brown with a pale jaw and pale paws. Brown like Ashlar? He tried to picture them but wasn't able to. He hoped fiercely they would find him, but he loathed the idea of taking her the news if they found him dead. His stomach turned at the thought.

The rest... they're okay? He asked softly, not wanting to keep her long but wishing to know at least that much.

Wrote all the poetry. closed the window. had to write all the poetry AGAIN UGHHHH XD

Avicus; a name she recognized. Some day, she would have to meet the leader of the Rise herself, so that she might begin to develop the relationship between the two packs. They were already linked together by blood, and by the few friendships that had also formed between them, but perhaps they might also find more benefits from their proximity. 

"T'ank you Ashlar," She said softly. She would owe him a debt, especially if he ended up finding Requiem. When he asked about the others, it would have been easy enough to simply say that they were doing well- however, she thought she might tell him a bit more, as he did seem curious. She saw no harm in telling him about the kids. 

"De others dey be growin' well. 

Theo be de eldest, an looks de most like me. 
Fur of black an' gold, an' eyes of de sea.
'E be quiet, intelligent, a scholar mebbe. 

Etienne be de second-born, a copy of my Maman Erzulie. 
'E 'as my eyes, 'is fur tan like sand, but wid dark points of hickory. 
'E be a caregiver, doting on his sister, an' is full of empathy.

P'tit Berceuse be de runt, but she grew in a flash,
Wid mouse-brown fur, an lighter points of ash
She be sweet, but shy, fearful of des oiseaux sauvages." 

She sang of her children, so he might know at least a bit about them. She had few doubts that the first pack they might come in contact with, once they were old enough to wander, but very well be the one belonging to their father- so it felt only right that he might recognize them.

the worst!! I've been slowest with him by far <3 fading this in favor of more recent ones?

He wasn't expecting her to share them with him. It wasn't that Ashlar thought she would keep them a secret out of spite or negative feeling; he simply hadn't given himself permission to hope for it. He had written himself from their story entirely and would only enter again when welcomed. Fate seemed to have other plans.

He committed their names and their descriptions to memory and was unable to speak for a moment. She'd likely see the feeling in his expression. They sounded so unlike the pups in the Rise, but perfect in their own way. A scholar. A caregiver. Shy.

They sound perfect. He finally managed to reply, swallowing heavily. I'll... I'll tell her. They'll find him. It wasn't a promise but it was a hope. Prophet and Augur had yet to let him down.

Sounds good to me! Thanks for all the threads, all the time XD

She wondered a bit if it hurt for him to know more about them- hearing of children he did not get to raise...But instead, it seemed to be a small treasure for him. Part of her wanted for him to see them, still, to see how lovely and beautiful the children were, for she was so very proud of them. In telling him a bit about them, though, she hoped it might give her an extra pair of eyes to watch out for them, should they wander off or get lost or stolen from her again. 

"T'ank you, Ashlar- perfect, dey be. I 'ope to repay you for dis kindness someday, maybe." She said, before she stole off, to continue her search nearer to her own packlands.