Honeyed Pasture Rascal Hog

rolled a success

Rodyn leapt into action chasing the furred groundhog through the growth of the fields. The creature for as fat and waddle as it was. It was giving him a bit of a run.

He knew if it made it to its burrow he would fail. So with a mad dash and a swift turn he caught it tightly behind it's neck.

A fat creature it took him more than one strike to kill the beast. But soon he was triumphant. And he took a breath as he tried to calm his heart.

you did not call me to hunt!

there was no disappointment, only brightness.

she did not dwell upon how he was away from the coast, about how good it was to see him live. she still thought of the joy that had been upon his face when he had seen panuk.

A soft laugh, a crinkle of eyes. A boyish shrug of shoulders that he had never lost. That sheepish look.

Sorry it sort of just came upon me while I was breaking ground for the firefly Glen hunt and thinking.

He shifted. But how are you today?

He looked around with a smile. Also there's a few more around here I'd wager, if you'd like to hunt. I am always willing to hunt.

A furrow in his brow as a thought came to him. I met a she wolf once upon a time, who told me. She hunted groundhogs in their burrows with barks and growls.

breaking ground and thinking.

how she wished to ask what! but she did not such thing. only a warm smile and gentle nod of understanding.

i am good, very glad to see your face and learn more of the things you know! a huntress who brought them down with barks and growls. admittedly it sounded like the only kind of hunting she might be perfect at from the start.

who was this huntress?

Rodyn wouldn't have been offended had she asked. Truth be told it would be good to talk to someone about his worries. As a lone leader at the moment. It was hard. But he was trying.

A soft laugh. I don't know as much as many. But what I know is yours to freely take. I'll try my best to share it. I'm not great at words.

He worked his jaw as he fought to remember. She stayed in moonglow for a time or two. Came with the. Oh.

He pressed his paw into the dirt and gave a sage nod. Amalia was her name. She was part of the Natigvik group.

he was too good of a man.

she should not have been surprised! look at panuk! his own flesh and blood had inherited his spirit of goodness.

i knew her. she said with warmth. i hope she is well. perhaps they should focus upon the hunting, but instead she wished to talk to him. already she had spent time in moontide hunting. she had not looked upon his face enough when she had been there.

are you away from moontide for a time? or are you only making the path between?

Rodyn had never thought he was better than anyone else or more good than another. He simply was what he was and life had been good to him. Mostly. It had hurt too. But the important thing was to not let it make him hurt others.

He nodded his head. I only spoke with her in passing here and there, but she seemed like a good girl.

He nodded, but then shook his head. It's a little bit complicated. I left to clear my head. Moontides numbers grow small. Chakliux's wife Marina, she's ill at the coast. If he should leave for her health, that's more than half our numbers. I am trying to come to a solution for all.

He knew Callyope had come to moontide. So it stood to reason at least in his mind. She would know Chakliux and his wives. So he didn't tiptoe around the topic as perhaps he should have. But it wasn't a cruelty, merely and honest word.

And he shrugged then. And I promised moonwoman I would make the paths for the packs and circles for our group hunt. So I figured now as good a time as any and it gets some thinking done.

it felt as if something had burst with knowledge.

chakliux, an ill wife in marina. the issue was that when seal hunters built their families so large that leaving became fatal for those in its wake.

there was a clear answer that she knew was rather childish and unlikely. how easy it would have been to simply tell him come to moongrove where he might be closer to the other moon villages and his own child! but she imagined that moontide, born from him and samani, was just as much a child too.

what must be done for your own happiness, rodyn?

she did not ask after moontide, she asked after him.

Rodyn hadn't meant to lay all the blame on his fellow pack mates. And truth be told Chakliux was trying hard to make it work too. But he could not know the inferences his honesty brought and thus couldn't correct it.

A small lift of mouth sides. A glistening fang shown bright for a minute. As he thought of her question. Paws and claws softly kneading the dirt as his mind whirled about.

I'm a pretty simple guy. I'm happiest when I'm hunting and with friends and family. Truth be told. Forests make me happy. Rivers. Sounds.

forests. rivers.

her heart was loud in her ears and there was a fluttering within her.

i mean to make a village with panuk, surely surely surely he knew! he had just come to see them! i do not want to be too bold but —

her voice caught in her throat and she wondered if he might decline boldness or welcome it. there was a swelling sense of guilt and selfishness.

Rodyn had been born in a deep dark forest. He was an autumn wolf. He bore it in his soul on his fur. He had passed it to his son.

He had gone to the sea, but there had been forest at his back. Rivers and woods next to ocean and sand. It was so that he could have what he wanted and Samani what she wanted.

A soft nod. I know. It's a beautiful place.

Her next words and he held up a paw. You can be as bold as you want. I don't mind. Honesty is best I think. And it doesn't do well to hold unspoken things deep down. It hurts. So be bold Callyope. No judgements here.

Rodyn was an honest beast. He always had been. So boldness did not scar him. Though he should probably amend and say polite boldness. As he thought of the little dog beast with ruined face. Her boldness was. He almost shuddered.

so be bold callyope.

you would always be welcomed, rodyn.

it was out like a breath held too long.

i know it is no little thing, but if you think and find you are unhappy or uncertain...i would welcome you. forever or for visits. the trees are thick for cover and it is close to the other moon villages.

the hunting would be plenty. more than just groundhog.

she was rambling.

i do not need to know now, i only ask for you to add it to your thinking.

He tilted an ear forward. A shy, uncharacteristic smile on his face. One he hadn't needed to wear in sometime. Having avoided most heartfelt conversations with anyone and everyone, except Moonwoman and Shikoba. But his deeper nature would surface. As it always did.

He listened and took her words. He held them. As he turned them over. A breath of silence. It stretched, but it wasn't an uneasy one, at least not to him.

He studied the trees carefully. Watching. Wondering. Would the others accept this. And if they didn't? Could he leave such a place behind.

Thank you. I will keep it close. But I can't say I wouldn't relish a forest life again.

A soft hum.

a smile.

she knew she had not offended him then and the comfort she felt could have carried her to clouds above. he would keep it close!

she had to look to the ground for a moment to keep the tears of relief away.

if he missed it then — visit often. she encouraged him warmly now. embolden by his willingness to let her be bold! you may even cut your path through our forest, between moontide and the glen.

Rodyn was not a wolf that offended easily. And sometimes truthfully it was a matter of things being said simply going over his head. Although. His ability to ignore such things was also paramount.

A soft laugh. I hunted there before it was claimed. Weasels and deer. Grouse. I will visit and offer what knowledge I know of the prey inside.

It was the least he could do. He nodded. I will not cut large path. I will not have other packs traipsing along your borders. That would be an unkindness. Especially with the kindness given.

it would be a favor to have life come through the forest. i believe not many want to come to it, but i cannot live in secrecy.

so why had she kept trying? why had she become a shapeshifter for so long? only now that she was near home again had she felt like she searched for her true self. lost beneath layers gathered from travels far.

perhaps they do not cut through the heart, but come along its edge and know life is still within it.

not only loss, not only death.

In a way Rodyn had been lucky that his family had chased him away as they had. That his father had made him leave. Because as it had been, he had learned much about himself on the travels of his own. And he had turned into the wolf that he was for that reason alone, his parents had given him the foundation and he had built the frame.

If one is not used to such a dark forest. They tend to avoid it. But it is not as scary as it seems. And the abundance that it keeps hidden is astronomical for that reason.

A small nod and agreement. Yes that is truly. there was deeper meaning to waht she said. He could feel it.

He looked around eyes crinkling. A small smile. What sort of pack do you want?

a village full of life and love.

she closed her eyes. as if she imagined it before them now.

it does not need to be the biggest or busiest. i want safety, i want happiness. there will be hunting and singing. there should be trading, the teaching of our ways.

our ways.

perhaps rodyn was not of sunshine blood, but he was very much made of the same things.

A smile, happy and yet sad. That sounded familiar. Though not with same words.

A happy chuckle. Sounds like my kinda place. I'll do whatever I can to help you and Panuk build it. And moontide has more than enough riches to start your trading off well. The sunshine ways are best ways in my opinion.

Rodyn may not have been born a moon son. But he had became one. Adopted the life as his own. Found purpose in it amd he would not trade it for the world.

i might like your village to be my first trading place.

her eyes were warm and the message felt clear. she would not take from him or from moontide. everything must be fair, it must be balanced.

maybe i will walk to moontide soon to do this?

He tilted his head. And gave a soft smile at her diplomatic but emphatic no thank you. She was more like her mother than she knew.

However, he could press the issue. After all most of the moontide riches he had gathered were with the help of moonvillages. Some even came from moon villages. They were fair. But he also understood and he accepted it. Respect her decision.

This pleases me. I'll get some items for you to look over.

A firm nod. He would do what he could to help her. Even if it was to cut her teeth on trade.

fade and expect to see her soon? <3

thank you, rodyn.

her face felt warm and there were the stirrings of hope within her stomach.

the seal hunter did not haunt her mind now in these moments. freedom, relief. despite knowing she might very well see him again soon when she came to trade.

Delete

Absolutely :)

You're welcome

Rodyn was not privy to any inner turmoil or even did he know that Chakliux was in love with another daughter of the moon. So he went through the day in ignorant oblivion unless told.

A dip of his muzzle, a soft step of paw.

Would you like to try your paw at a few
groundhog hunts?

If she was agreeable. This one would be sorted away for food and he amd her would spend the day in hunting.