Redhawk Caldera t e n e t

Shenanigans caught an interesting smell on the October breeze today and decided to follow it. It led her toward a figure stretched out on the ground, evidently asleep. The little girl blinked, nose wriggling as she stopped and sniffed in his direction. The scent was coming from him!

She didn’t want to wake the stranger, yet she was so curious why he smelled a bit like, well, old meat. Shenanigans slowly lowered herself to her haunches, still staring at him curiously. She abruptly noticed the dark object around his neck and her brow furrowed, head tilting. Was that what made him smell so weird?

Let me know if I need to edit any of my assumptions, @Aditya!

vaguey vague

the most wonderful sight greeted him upon awakening, and even then, he thought he was dreaming.

she was too grown! too mature!

but her coloring matched the young spit of a girl exactly, and he rose fast, sitting up, heaving a breath to look at the growing young woman and croaking—

silktail?!

aditya stared at her, wondering what she'd respond. if she'd respond. it had been a while since they'd seen each other.

but it was her. it had to be, right?

Perhaps he sensed her sitting there because he stirred a few moments later. An easy smile curved her lips as he sat up and their eyes met. His exclamation made her brows twitch together very briefly in confusion, though she quickly shrugged it off and went back to smiling.

Hi! I’m Ani! she greeted warmly. Who are you?

the girl spat out, ani, and his heart sank to his paws.

aditya smiled faintly, looking her over. same coloring, right? that's what had been indicated. he chafed at his collar, straining, moving forward to look at her.

ani, he replied, playing casual. i'm adi. nice to meet you. who's your mom?

he left that question hanging, tongue half-lolling, waiting for the girl to reply.

Hey, we have almost the same name! Ani pointed out the obvious with a grin.

Eyes sparkling and tail thumping, her face said it all: It’s nice to meet you too! She huffed a little laugh at his question, since it seemed rather random. But she was happy to roll with it!

Mama Maia! And then there’s Papa Eljay, Ani shared, and Teya, who’s kinda like my second mom. And then there’s Uncle Norbert, which is kind of like a dad, I guess? I have a bunch’a brothers and sisters too…

She officially had to pause to take a breath. She supposed she’d kind of gone overboard with her answer but, well, Ani didn’t have a simple answer when it came to the matter of family.

aditya was dying inside. but he didn't want to shatter this girl's world, which apparently was so solid.

i have some children too, aditya said, huskily. lots. it's hard to—understand. i. . .

he trailed off, and dipped his head, grinning. ani, he said. we almost do have the same name. what do you like, ani?

it was his daughter.

he was fucking screwed.

“It’s hard to understand. I…”

For the second time in as many minutes, Ani’s brow did a little knit. She sensed there was something more he wanted to say, though when he spoke again, he only said her name, then asked her another spontaneous question.

Mm, she replied without even having to think about it, everything! What about you? What do you like? And, she added, thinking back to his husky, “I have some children too…” Where’s your family? Where’d you come from?

And why, she asked only in her head, a paw coming up to her mouth to muffle a giggle, do you smell funny?

ani, he whispered, and swallowed a large bit of phlegm in his throat.

he went on with it. what else could he do?

ani, aditya said softly. do you remember your mother? tytonidae? do you remember that name?

he backed up several steps, looking at the young woman.

he was afraid the pack would cast him off for his intransigence. was possible. but he stood. he wanted to take her in, all in.

this was silktail. ani. he knew it.

He kept saying her name. Ani couldn’t say why but something felt amiss. Her head tilted. Adi didn’t respond to any of her own questions, instead posing a few more of his own.

She blinked, then began to shake her head. My m—

But, wait. Ani supposed she’d always known that she hadn’t been born here on the caldera, to Maia and Eljay. They had taken her in after she’d gotten lost. She didn’t often think about it anymore, mostly because it was irrelevant.

Her eyes squinted as she tried to remember what had come before Brecheliant. But she had been so young. Ani could remember bits and pieces. The name Tytonidae meant nothing to her but there was something…

Did she have green eyes? Ani asked.

he hated it. hated planting the seeds of doubt in someone so young. 

but she needed to know—neither he nor tytonidae had meant to leave or lose her. she had just. . .vanished, all of a sudden. and before they knew it, she had been gone.

green eyes, yes, aditya replied, and black fur. black as night.

adi swallowed, and folded down, making himself small before the young woman. i'm your father, bachchi, he went on. aditya. your mother's tytonidae. and we called you 'silktail.'

he gave her a tremulous smile, tears hot and acrid at the corners of his eyes.

I remember! Ani said when his description jogged her memory a little more. Kind of, she amended, sticking her tongue into her cheek.

Her eyes moved with Adi as he suddenly prostrated himself before her. She nearly made a joke about it, though there was such a heaviness about him. It stayed Ani’s tongue long enough to let Adi reveal the truth of their relationship.

Ani wasn’t entirely sure what to do with this information. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it, to be honest. She was about to reply with some enthusiastic, flippant remark like “cool!” when she spotted the tears in his eyes.

Oh! she breathed, wishing she could remember, for his sake.

Where was Tytonidae now? And what was Adi doing here? For the moment, Ani didn’t think to ask about Waxwing; she didn’t even remember that she’d had a brother before Aiden and Jay came into her life.

I get to have so many parents, Ani said a moment later, sounding a little breathy. That’s pretty lucky. Are you and—Tytonidae going to live in Brecheliant now? she wondered.

so many parents.

it did take a village, he supposed, but he was still a little bummed that he and tytonidae would never again be her parents, solo. and her question only compounded that sadness.

i came to look for you, bachchi, aditya replied. we were traveling to another place, and you got lost. your mother and brother are there now. and i was hoping. . .

but he was just lucky he'd found her at all. right?

adi inhaled deeply, steadying himself, blinking away the tears. i was hoping you could come home with me. to be with us.

it wouldn't be that simple, now.

Oh, Ani repeated, not sure what to say.

This was the only home she knew, so she didn’t want to leave it, nor the wolves who lived here: her adopted family. But she didn’t want to disappoint this clearly heartbroken man who said he was her father. He had come here just to find her and it placed upon her a sense of obligation. She was also curious about the mother she barely remembered and this mention of a brother now, as well.

Can’t you guys stay here? she asked hopefully. I bet Papa Eljay and Mama Maia would let you!

that was the rub. he didn't want to rip ani from her home, but he obviously needed to go back to tytonidae to let her know her baby was safe.

and the woman was worldly enough that he thought. . .it would be okay. maybe?

you could, aditya replied, nodding. i'd just need to visit your mother, to tell her you are okay. and maybe i'd come back.

maia, eljay. . .they had this under control.

but his daughter—he—fuck. he'd abandoned so many children. could he do it again?

for good?

maybe just for this sake, he could—

when i am better, i'll tell tytonidae you're here, and all right.

They’d only just met but that “maybe” stuck in Ani’s mind. She wanted to get to know him, fold him in alongside the rest of her parental figures. He could be… Daddy Adi.

How far away is she? Ani found herself wondering. Maybe I could go with you? But, she said the next part slightly hesitantly, as if careful to avoid hurting his feelings further, I would want to come back. No “maybe” for her.

he shook his head. she's far, bachchi, he replied. i should go along, tell her you're all right.

aditya's golden gaze was bright and tearless, warm and happy as it lit upon her face. you are well here. she'd be happy for you, he explained. you could come with. . .you could.

adi paused. do you want to?

it was an incredibly weighted question.

His response confused her. At first, she thought he was refusing her suggestion. Then his face actually brightened as he seemed to warm to the idea.

A blithe response nearly sprang off her tongue, yet Ani pressed her teeth to it. She ought to give this the consideration it deserved. She truly wanted to meet Tytonidae (and this nameless brother), yet she did not want to leave Brecheliant, at least for long.

Maybe we can talk about it more when you’re feeling better? Ani said with a smile, hoping that was a good middle ground for now.

that's fair, he replied, though he couldn't help his face dimming a bit. still, he remained positive at he looked as his daughter—his longlost daughter—and thought about what he was going to tell tytonidae.

and when. and how.

haaye, bhagwan.

his eyelids were drooping. i think i might rest some more, beti, he admitted, stifling a yawn. with age came compounded exhaustion. be well. . .ani.

shenanigans. silktail. . .

shararat. the name came to him on the edge of slumber.