Ocean's Breath Plateau What do I do

The boys had been brought home, and neither one were pleased at it. Rodyn had been determined to be a good father, a good provider. Give them everything he could, what Samani would have and more. But he was fast realizing. They may not wish to stay with him. And though he would love nothing more than to go to the spear with them. He had responsibilities here. He was a leader for more than just his children.

A small sob had worked it's way into his throat. What if @Panuk and @Rolayne wanted to go back to the spear. Could he in good conscience make them stay? Would it be an unjust cruelty to tear them from another mother? When they had lost their mother so young? He didn't think so and not for the first time, the russet man felt burdened and sad.

He found his way to the land where beach met forest and he stood watching and waiting for answers that would never come. He was on his own.

Heph wandered the edges of the coast, letting the sights and smells wash over her. She had long since familiarized herself with the area and yet she traced lovingly old pathways now well known to her. It had taken time, and yet she felt at home, grounded so that even in her wanderings she carried pieces of it with her. Rodyn and his sons had returned to Moontide, and yet she sensed something diminished in their spirit and did not know what to do. Perhaps because she had not known them in Moonspear she could not fully detect what was wrong. She worried that for all her preparation to have them there and help them it was not enough.

Rodyn's silhouette stood where the forest met the sea and she trotted up, her step softened by the silence that seemed to sit upon him like a mantle. She let it settle over her as well, so many words to choose from and yet none of them seemed quite right. In many ways it should have been a joyous time with Moonspear and Moonglow come to visit, with Panuk and Rolayne and Rodyn returned, but life was not so neat as that and like the ocean all things flowed in at once, the joy and the sorrow.

Rodyn found solace in the paths and valleys of moontide. He knew the land as well as the beat of his own heart. He lived it here and Heph helped him make this.

There was an ache though now, a hole rendering the once found peace a little. Not shattering no, just tearing enough to notice.

What do i do, Heph? If they do not wish to stay? How can i tear them from another mother? And i cannot stay there. I am alpha and this is what she wanted. It would be a dishonor to her memory? What if one of the other children wish to stay? Do i have a right to offer that even?

Heph breathed out with the sea breeze. She should have known the echoes of mourning and grief would continue to pang throughout their hearts, continue to complicate things. Samani, she thought, I wish you were here, you would know the answers to these questions. But instead Rodyn had Moontide and Moonglow and Moonspear. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you what you should do, none of these decisions are easy. But." Her mind chugged at a slow somber pace.

"Moontide will take whoever wishes to stay, who else but you could offer that?" More pups running underfoot would hardly be a burden and they would welcome them, as they always had, family and new faces alike. But the question, the question remained. Her voice filled with quiet conviction. "Nothing you do could dishonor her memory, she loved you and trusted in you, and Rodyn. I trust you too. Moontide trusts you." Whatever he decided would be right, they would make it so. "They may come to grow used to it here, but if you think it best for them to return then I would do anything to make that possible, if you wish to stay there for their first year before returning, or if you bid us move to the Silverlight terrace we would build our dens there and move our caches, or if you travelled between. We will support you, you've led us well but that doesn't mean your own happiness doesn't matter, we'll be there for you as well." She shuffled closer, offering a press of shoulders.

Echoes of what they lost would continue to rain upon them for years to come. He knew this, felt it. Even rebelled a bit. Only because he felt as if he was only half here and that was not fair to his children, his packmates.

Rodyn tilted an ear forward and sighed with a small smile. Thank you Heph.

He could allow them stay if they wished. They could vosit as often as they pleased. There was no wrongness in that. And he knew it could happen. Frankly he was just worried.


He shook his head. I will not move Moontide unless it is needed. It is good here. I suppose i wil lsimply express that they can visit and go if they must. That the others can atay if they please. Make sure Sialuk knows.

He too kher comfort with a fond smile and yellow eyes gazed out over the packlands.

She nodded her head. "Then the paths between our packs will become well traveled." While she might have wished for the pair of youth to stay with them she wanted more for their happiness and well being. Sialuk had looked after them and cared for them, a priceless precious gift. That they missed her was natural.

Moontide stretched out and she could see it as it was, see it as it had been, the future was ever uncertain and changing. That was the way of the land and of life, and yet she could not help but wonder if even as it unfolded possibilities closed and wilted like flower petals. "Are they unhappy here?" She wanted to know because there was much that was not in her power and much that was.

He agreed in a quiet murmur. Thst they would. And he was okay with this. He iften visited moinglow he could do the same with moonspear and take the boys.

He shook hia head. I don't think unhappy is the right word. I think confused and unsure sre better. All they knew was moonspear and we took them from it. And we probably didn't explain well.

He knew he hadn't it had been too hard and even for him it had been quick. They were there and then gone.

She nodded, it made sense what he said. A move like that would be confusing for a pup, no matter how it was explained. "Time will tell. But I hope they'll grow to like it here." Part of growing was the growing up and sometimes away, but she hoped that they would have a little time with them before they were gone again. To show them the sea and the places Samani had treasured.

Rodyn hoped they would grow to love it here. He hoped he could share this place with them for them, himself and Samani. And he knew Heph would help him as best she could.

How do our pack mates fare? Is there anything that needs my attention? And we should have a hunt with maybe Sapphique soon?

"The Twin River Isles pack I spoke to you of has fallen and Iseul and her young charge Matteo have come to settle here. We should hunt with Sapphique. And Hjolderfell has moved, but also wish to participate in a large hunt. With three packs or more it would be a large affair. An envoy from Akashingo came asking we attend their coronation, I think myself and Raiyuk and Seal from Moonspear will go, I will try to speak to them and perhaps others of trade while I am there. It is in the lowlands I told you about earlier." She related the most important news but none of it was urgent.

He listened and nodded. Would you like to set up a pack hunt between us and Sapphique, since they prefer a woman's voice. I will join you once all things are planned.

He respected how Sapphique raised their children and kept their borders and as a man he would not intrude upon them. He would allow Heph that responsibility.

I have more furs. There is still an elk fur and elk tines. You may take that as gifts for the coronation. I will also make a pack for the new queen?

Heph nodded, she enjoyed her visits to Sapphique and though she found their separation of men and women odd she respected the ways that they structured their pack and treated their members. "Perhaps it is only my voice that they prefer." Her voice was teasing but warm, she did not wish to let Moontide down in this and it would be a good opportunity for them to prepare for winter. With Phox tracking and many fine hunters between the three packs or more she had faith they would find plentiful quarry.

"I will prepare something as well but they are fine gifts, I do not know if elk are found in the lowlands." She added, and that might tempt them to trade. If their pack was prosperous enough for the celebration they might be willing to make the journey for the novelty of it.

tags for reference and @Senmut and @Toula if you're willing to retcon the elk and pack into the coronation since Heph didn't mention them initially

Rodyn sometimes worried that Heph would perhaps prefer their ways to the Moontide wolves, but so far Heph was happy to be here. And he was happy to have her. It felt so strange and yet so right, how someone who had once been a complete stranger was now one of his dearest friends.

He laughed. Perhaps it is.

He nodded. I hope we can open avenues of trade. I will need to travel to some packs closer to warmer weather. Revisit some of them that had offered trade and never fully decided on what it was we would trade and do.

He thought of Epoch and Mereo, though he was fairly certain Mereo was gone. he would need to suss out where Void was too and see how his friend was faring.

There was wisdom in his words and she nodded in agreement. Trade with packs in the south might also help them if they found themselves in particularly harsh winters. While Rodyn was a skilled hunter and scout it was also a long way to travel - she might have done it if she had known many packs in the south.

"It would be nice to have trade in the south. Once you meet them again you could ask @Iiana and @Raiyuk, perhaps @Matteo? Iiana is also a skilled wanderer and enjoys journeying. And Raiyuk and Matteo are both growing, they might appreciate a chance to see more of the world. I was thinking of asking them to reach out to Moonglow, Moonspear, and Moonsong about the hunt so that I can travel to Sapphique more quickly." She felt confident in sending even the younger wolves to a sister pack, hoping that they would be greeted as friends at their borders with wolves willing to hear them.

But as their trade grew she knew that it would be good for Moontide to have more scouts and those willing and able to travel if it suited them. And perhaps if they decided to give it a try they could discover whether or not it was something they enjoyed.

tags for ref

Rodyn was not a very loud wolf. He didn't boast or speak highly of his skills. But he also kept great confidence in yhem and himself. And thua he knew about trade as did Heph.


Rodyn nodded.Perhaps I can take one soon. Moonwomam has requested i bring the boys to her hearth for some family time with her before it grows to bitter cold.

"I hope they enjoy it, perhaps their grandmother can knock some sense into them too." If anyone could put some sense into a wolf it would be moonwoman but she did not say that, after all it was as family that they would meet.

It had been awhile since she had visited Moonglow, if Rodyn had spoken with Kukutux he probably had more recently than her. "How is Moonglow and Moonwoman?"

Rodyn laughed. Me too. Panuk is quiet does not cause a stir. It is Rolayne with hia fire heart. But he means no harm. He is young and his world changed. Oh Heph. I feel as if I am failing this father thing.

Moonwoman seemed burdened. But I didn't ask and she didn't say. It seemed somwthing she wanted to keep to herself.

Heph leaned on Rodyn. "It's like you said, both your children mean well, they have good hearts. They are facing challenges, more than they should have to at such an early age but that is not your fault."

"Perhaps after this hunt we will have furs and things to send. I hope she is well." She mused quietly. With Moonsong settling she did not know what might have weighed on the moonwoman. Perhaps Samani's death, perhaps Rhaegal's absence, perhaps her son's journeys. But if the wolf did not wish to share her burdens then there was only so much they could do.

Rodyn accepted her weight gratefully. A touch of friendship that showed of how deep their resevoirs ran. He could not have done this without her. He hoped she understood that.

I could not have done this without you, Heph. Thank you for being my most steadfast and loyal friend.

He loved her deeply, strongly. Void had been his best friend, but Heph was fast approaching that peak and scaling it. She stood with him in his grief. She understood him and she loved his children as he did. He could only hope the whole world for her. Just as Samani would have. And he hoped above all that she got what she wanted and that Phox was a good match for her.

We should have more than we can even imagine. HE smiled then. The thought of a hunt filling him with happiness.

The world was poorer for its loss but it would not end. She doubted she could have borne the grief without Rodyn, nor could she have imagined putting down roots again, not after the way things had ended with her family. And she was glad that she could have been there for him as well. "I learned from the best. You and her both gave me a reason to stay anywhere longer than a season."

She loved him, did not know what she had done to garner his acceptance and his steadfast presence, but was ever glad of it even when it was difficult to be grateful of anything in her sorrow. And though she did not know if he would find love again, what his family would grow into she was glad to see him on the road to happiness once more, felt joy for having his children in Moontide and hoped much for them.

"I wouldn't bet against imagination. I still haven't learned to hunt seals." She joked, but in good spirits a light in her eyes. Samani, she hoped, would have been happy to see her pack thriving, to see her family gathered on the plains and hunting side by side, to see their strength as they stood and ran together. And her children cradled in the hearts and hearths of so many villages.

Where there had been bright colors and bright skies. There was now gray. But Rodyn was learning to move beyond. He would go to hia grave missing Samani, but he had loved her. She had loved him, a gift.

A laugh. We will hunt seals soon. I promise you.

And he would make sure they had a seal hunt. Both for her and Chakliux and Njord.

"hmmm better keep that promise or Chakliux and I will just have to hunt you." She nudged him playfully with her shoulder and glanced out onto the water again allowing herself to breathe.

fade here? <3 always love threading with these two