Herbalists' Cache ghosts

for sword but aw! <3

he called for @Swordfish in the hours that followed, doubling back along the trail he had taken from the taiga. lestan fed himself berries and fish pulled from a cold creek, though he did not allow himself to rest. not now.
the image of the strained, stricken faces haunted the man, ate at his edges. how had she known swordfish, known him well enough to leave a message?
lestan fought the suspicion. he and swordfish barely knew one another; he and elodie were the same. and his tones took on a slightly desperate sound as he howled again, thick emerald green crunching underfoot.

Swordfish answered the summon with a lazy howl of his own. And then he set out to track down where Lestan had called from. His lean figure cut a sharp shape as he trekked across the land. The sea blue of his eyes scanned for the familiar dark coat of his friend- if that was what he could call Lestan. 

As he saw the other man just ahead, he chuffed. 

Yer alright? he asked in a drawling voice, approaching boldly to investigate the scent of the Mayfair's coat.

seeing swordfish brought a great lightness to lestan, though he was not sure he could convey it. "i'm — all right," he sighed, softening beneath the exploration of his travelmate. "s-swiftcurrent c-creek isn't f-far. i — f-figured we'd r-rest t-there a m-minute m-maybe."
a thoughtfully curious gaze now reached for the younger man. "i m-met s-someone. a very p-pregnant someone, back in the w-wetlands. s-she was with another. i s-sent t-them to s-swiftcurrent. t-this woman w-we're f-following, my t-talisman wasn't the only t-thing she t-took! children, t-too. so i c-couldn't see a safe w-way t-they could be p-protected without a p-pack — anyway, s-shardik, she asked that i b-bring a m-message to you."
he studied the stoic features of the rugged wolf. "s-suzu. that w-was her n-name. she asked m-me to t-tell you s-she was g-going to be th-there."

Swordfish listened while his mind unraveled. 

Suzu? Why was she so far from the coast? And... pregnant. 

The bear-hunter's features did not shift. His eyes grew a little wider before he clasped them shut and breathed deep through his nose. That fever dream of an encounter had resulted in this. He knew better. He should have never seen her. He should have never slept with her. And he let his mind toss like the waves on the sea for a long moment before he lifted his eyes to Lestan. 

We need to go to Swiftcurrent... Swordfish's voice croaked.

tag for reference!

shardik's face telegraphed all lestan needed to know. he nodded his head slowly, "we'll go," but did not yet move in that direction, instead sending up a howl for @Elodie to inform her of their trajectory.
his eyes were coolblooded for once, almost objective. "d-do you w-want to t-talk about it?" suzu had sounded so dire! and now here was shardik sounding as if his voicebox was about to break.

Did he want to talk about it? No. 

I think they're mine... he confessed in a quiet rumble. 

How did Swordfish tell Lestan that he had fucked up so badly he'd gotten that sweet girl pregnant and now she was traipsing the wilderness. There was a burning of guilt in his stomach. The young wolf did not want to abandon Lestan or their search for the witch and her familiar. But he remembered being a young boy and having his father vanish for a long time. Njord had come back, of course. It didn't make his absence any less painful.

lestan too wanted to know why shardik wasn't with suzu and instead bound to this futile mission. he almost scolded the younger wolf, but bit the inside of his jaw.
"y-you'll m-make it r-right." a wan little smile touched his face. "they'll n-need you, and y-you'll be th-there." but who was the man with suzu now? lestan didn't see why she would have asked for shardik if she had another man to raise them. perhaps — perhaps there was something he was missing.
gently he touched the other's shoulder with a brief little sigh.

Swordfish listened to Lestan's soft words of encouragement with a bitter self-loathing. 

I promised ya. I'd help ya find that witch and the boy who took yer treasure. 

Young, but he had taken a pride in following his word. When he said that he would do something, he did it. He couldn't be a good man if he didn't honor his word to others. While he didn't know much about what it meant to be a good man, he knew that. It wasn't right to leave Lestan to search on his own. It wasn't right not to be there for Suzu. 

I just gotta talk to her. Figure out a plan. Try an'... 

Fix all of this.

"th-this is far m-more important," and now there was a firm note in lestan's voice. "I r-release you f-from y-your promise." he meant it in a softer way, one of jokery; eyes softening. "y-you have h-helped m-me so much, shardik. l-look wh-where we are. almost all the w-way t-to the cr-creek."
he began to drift that way now in slow steps. "t-talk to h-her, y-yes. b-but d-don't put this h-hunt first. please."

The bear-hunter sighed. He felt the touch of Lestan and he allowed a moment for his shoulder to press gently to the other man. None of this was easy. 

And he would not admit that he feared the idea of being a father. Not only feared it, he was horrified by it. Swordfish didn't know anything about being a father. By the time he and Njord had started to repair the hurt that had been caused by absence, the bear had attacked. Swordfish had only one truly fond memory with his dad - hunting seals. He didn't know what to do for those children or for Suzu but he knew that he must try. 

Yer a good man, Lestan... the young wolf drawled quietly.

"so are you, shardik." maybe conviction was the foundational post upon which lestan was able to build the unmarred sentence.
he would speak to shardik on their way of fatherhood, of how terrifying it had been, and how he had missed the moment of birth. while he did not insist that the youth be present for this, his tones were regretful.
the taiga would fall away behind them, lestan pausing twice to leave signposts for elodie.