Horizon Ridge The Eyes of Another

Hawkeye sighed. Of course Pied had picked up on something. "I just feel like things are done so differently in these parts. Sos comes and goes, I feel completely mad one day, and then fine the next." The dark female paused, not wanting to voice the next part.

Letting out a small groan, she continued. "I feel a little jealous, you leaving the pack and having such a perfect life. I have wolves to watch over, and I am not entirely sure that it's something I want to continue doing. Can't I just find a mate and have a family without a pack being there? I miss how things were back home. Everyone knew everyone and got along; here, wolves are so vastly different." She stopped, not knowing where she was going or what she wanted to say next.

Pied hoped that Hawkeye would explain herself and provide some clarity. In reality, the truth both confused and stung her. Her lips parted, yet she didn't know what to say. It felt very unfair for her sister to resent her, after previously giving her blessing. Furthermore, the yearling's life wasn't perfect; it was good but certainly nothing extravagant. And though she couldn't speak for the local culture, Pied nonetheless felt herself being lumped into this part of the problem as well.

"I'm not sure what to say," she admitted woodenly after a few beats, leaving it at that.

Hawkeye took a step forward and nuzzled Pied. "I do not mean to put you in a bad light. It's just... more complex than I though, being an Alpha. Most of my wolves venture to other parts. It gets lonely, and I am not a very sociable wolf, and working on conversing with others always seems to knock me back a step." She sighed in agitation at herself. What did she want in life? She went back and forth on the matter constantly, and Sos coming and going at will, never giving her a direction, left her frustrated and confused.

"Can we leave and find Kisu now? I would like to meet him. I will call Robur back to us, and make sure that he behaves." The light key-lime eyes held a nervous look, for she truly didn't know what sort of behavior Robur Aqua would have.

Hawkeye hastily sought to reassure her and though Pied remained stiff at the initial touch, she loosened up and lightly returned the nuzzle. "Maybe you should compare the pros and cons of leadership and go from there," she suggested. Maybe Hawkeye wasn't cut out to be an Alpha and there was absolutely no shame in that. Pied knew that she personally wasn't up to the pressure and responsibility of leadership. "You could hand over the pack to someone else, then drag Ariston here and live with Kisu and me," she quipped.

"Why don't we call Kisu and let Rob stay wherever he's at? I don't see why they need to meet each other and if Kisu knew how Rob spoke to me, he'd just want to rip off his head," Pied rejoined with a little shake of her dappled head.

A small smile formed on the black beast's face, her eyes somewhere far away. "It would be nice to live by the beach and only worry of a mate. I'd rather just hole up somewhere alone. I suppose it may just be the stress of the season." She also wanted to mention again that the coming and going of Sos left her feeling on edge and uneasy a lot of the time. He was fleeting, that was for sure.

"I suppose I can just leave him to wherever he wandered and if he comes, he comes. I wonder what Kisu would make of him one-on-one. I wonder what Kisu would make of me." She chuckled, trying to picture what the male looked like. The male who stole her best friend away to a new pack.

Pied would welcome it should her sister ever truly wish to abandon her post and come live with her by the sea, yet she didn't think Hawkeye meant it, deep down, so she didn't press it. When the swarthy she-wolf mentioned Kisu, Pied felt her heart skip a beat. She hoped her mate would like her sister (his sister-in-law, in a manner of speaking) and vice versa. She couldn't say what they would think of one another, though; she would have to wait and see.

"Let's find out," she answered simply before throwing back her head and issuing a summoning howl for her other half.

Kisu stopped in his lazy-footed tracks and directed his head in the direction of Pied's howl. A rush of adrenaline filled his body, for he had missed his mate. When Red Heart and him were a family, they were always together; she had followed him everywhere, and instead of thinking of her as a pest (as his brother had insisted), he valued the company highly. The rusted grey male took off, running as fast as he could to his mottled woman.

Upon arriving, he noticed a large (very large) female standing with his Pied. Ah, this must be Hawkeye. He greeted his mate first, with almost an excessive excitment, then calmed and nodded at the giant she-wolf. "I have heard much about you and have anticipated out meet, Hawkeye." A smile quirked at the edge of his mouth.

The male was nothing she did and did not picture. She hadn't decided on what he would look like, but he looked like himself, perfectly Kisu. The large cranium nodded in return as she inspected the male's frame. He was larger than Pied, smaller than she. His fur was a mix of soft whites and greys, along with harsh reds and a bit of brown. He was truly a sight, and Hawkeye could see how he wooed Pied from her pack.

When her light eyes met his orbs, though, the breath was taken from her. They perfectly matched Robur Aqua's eyes. Not similar, an exact match. The eyes of the two males were unique in themselves, a silver swirl mixing with the pale goldenrod color that the eyes mostly took on. Momentarily, she wondered if there was any relation, but kept her mouth shut, for Hawkeye realized that no one would probably desire admittance of being related to such a wolf as Robur.

Hawkeye returned the quirk of a smile to Kisu. "So, this is the male that stole my sister away from me. Is it nice to meet you, Kisu. Pied hardly ever stops speaking of you and your dashing good looks." She winked at Pied after this statement, but returned her eyes to the male the piqued her curiosity.

"Let's time him and see how long it takes him to get here," Pied joked after she caught her breath following the howl. "One, two, three..." She continued counting, even when she heard the distant thumping of footfalls, and only stopped when her mate bounced into her so enthusiastically that it knocked the wind out of her.

"Well, hey there," she said playfully, enjoying the way he paid attention to her despite having an audience. "Kisu, this is Hawkeye. Hawkeye, Kisu, my mate," she introduced them properly, grinning between the two. They made a polite exchange, which widened the smile on her pale face.

"That's right," the Omicron quipped agreeably in response to Hawkeye's joke, all without missing a beat. She thrust her cool nose into her mate's ear. "You are beautiful," she whispered to him, smiling coyly as she made this no-nonsense observation. She ruffled the soft fur right beneath his ear with her nose.

Still smiling, she faced Hawkeye again while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Kisu, falling silent to let the two of them get to know one another a little bit.

As Rob lazily trailed back to his Alpha, he picked up to a trot after hearing Pied howl for her mate. This would be good; he wanted to see what this guy looked like. I bet he's ugly with a heart of gold he told himself, smirking.

When he arrived, though, the corner of his mouth bent into a frown. He was a mix of white, light and dark grey, rust, and a spot of brown. A handsome fellow, he could see himself going for this guy if he was a female. Curiously, his own eyes peered back at him.

He gave a gentlemanly bow and introduced himself. "Hello, I am Rob. You have a lovely mate; I hope you two have many litters and a happy future together." He looked to Pied, giving her an apologetic look. For once in his life, he truly felt bad for the way he had acted.

ooc: edit: switched "myself" to "himself" ...oops

When he saw the other male's face he froze. Could it be? His coloring was just right, just like Red Heart's. And -- yes; his eyes. Kisu found himself mirrored in the eyes of the other male. Those eyes haunted his dreams, brought him terror in his own reflection.

He said his name was "Rob", the nickname his mother had given him. He rejoiced! His son -- the son he was never sure had made it out alive -- was here, in front of him! He took a step forward, heart pounding in his chest.

"Rob... Robur Aqua, it is me, your father, Kisu... do you remember me? I -- I searched for you for weeks, and I have never gone a day without thinking of you..." He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. His eyes were attached to his son's, and he refused to look away. He could disappear once more. He couldn't let that happen.

ooc: I really need to check punctuation before submitting... sigh

Much to Pied's irritation, Rob suddenly loped back onto the scene. Her teeth ground together and she looked at him coldly, though she did not say anything. She moved a little nearer to Kisu, heartened by her mate's presence, and stared a little when Rob addressed the two of them. She felt her fur prickling slightly despite Rob's apologetic words and appearance, mistrusting them.

Then, suddenly, the air beside her grew empty and cold as Kisu stepped toward Rob, stammering in his excitement. Pied froze questioningly when he left his post, then her lips parted when she heard the words pouring from his mouth. It took a second for everything to compute in her mind and when the realization struck, she filled with an unpleasant dread. Rob was Kisu's long-lost son?

She wanted to refute it, yet as she glanced between the two, the resemblance was uncanny, especially in their eyes. As she looked back and forth, Pied felt herself backing up a few steps, her limp tail dangling between her legs. That's my stepson, she thought with a shiver. It wasn't just that she didn't like Rob—and his first impression still left a bad taste in her mouth—but that he was an embodiment of Kisu's life before her, a stark reminder that he'd had a mate and children before she'd come along.

She'd felt a little peculiar upon first discovering Kisu's background, yet at the time, she'd told herself it only made sense. Now, with Kisu's past standing before them, flesh and blood, she felt queerly displaced and even slightly heartbroken. If Kisu wanted to rekindle his relationship with his son, would it affect their relationship? Would Rob come first now? Although Pied recognized some of her fears as irrational, she nonetheless felt herself shrinking away.

ooc: Kat had permission to post before me, if anyone is keeping up with the order >_>

Hawkeye shook her large head, trying to understand. She cut in after watching Pied's curious reaction, making her heart drop. The dappled female seemed confused and let down. "Woah, what is going on here? Robur Aqua is your son?" She looked to Pied. "Looks like you're a momma before even producing a litter, Pied!"

She looked to Robur. "Did you know that your father was here?" She had forced herself into the situation, not willing to stand by and let confusion encase her and her sister. Pied looked left out, like had been forgotten, and that did not bode well with Hawkeye.

Robur narrowed his brow after listening to Hawkeye's words and then, hesistantly, looked at Pied. He gave a slicing look pointed toward Kisu. Memories came flooding back. Memories of his brothers being slaughtered and his mother calling out for him to run, her pleas overheard and cutting off as he had run as fast as his small body would take him, while his father was nowhere to be seen.

"I remember my mother and brothers being killed while my father was no where to be found. You never showed up. You didn't protect your family -- something you were supposedly all about. You let my mother die. I may have the same eyes as you, but as far as I know, I have no father." A gruffness shadowed his voice as he spoke, but his glare at his father softened when his eyes shifted to his step-mother. He had stomped on any relationship he had with her when introducing himself, but it didn't matter now. He had no desire to know the male who declared to be his dad. He looked to Hawkeye and spoke quietly. "I will see you at home."

With that, he walked away. Quickly, it turned to a run as tears filled his eyes. He had always wished that someday he would find his father again, but never expected it to feel this way or end up like this.

If Pied was shocked and galled by the reunion, then Rob was even more so, judging by what happened next: he disowned his father, then quickly retreated. The she-wolf stared after him, even more uncertain of how to feel or react to this situation. For several beats, she felt frozen in her shock as she mentally wrestled with today's events, trying to grasp them.

Finally, she looked at Kisu, who must be hurting after such an emotional blow. She went to him, silently, and tucked her muzzle underneath his. With her head held there, she looked at Hawkeye, her expression clueless. She then closed her eyes and rumbled under her breath, to remind her mate that she was there for him.

Kisu gently pressed his face against Pied's, processing the events that just took place, then pulled away. He gave her a look full of sorrow, and pain tugged at his heart. "I would like to go home now, Pied, if you don't mind." He looked downward to the floor and fell himself succumbing to grief.

Connecting his golden eyes with Hawkeye's, he said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Hawkeye, but, as you can see, things haven't really turned out as we had expected today. I hope you understand. Please return soon so we can have a proper meeting to get to know one another." Slowly, with his head hung low, he turned to return to his home, expecting Pied to follow soon.

ooc: edit: I accidentally a word

"Of course," Pied replied softly, understandingly. She looked at Hawkeye, prepared to explain their departure, yet Kisu spoke instead. She looked to her sister apologetically, wondering what the swarthy Alpha would do with Rob at this point. Most likely, this development wouldn't affect his membership in her pack.

"We'll see you later, Hawkeye," Pied said as the pair of mates turned and padded back home side-by-side.

Hawkeye stood in the space where there was once four wolves, yet now suddenly empty. She frowned when Pied immediately followed Kisu; she had hoped to gossip with her about the events that just took place, but understood her duty to her mate. Kisu was hurting, and she should be there for him. At least he had parted with kind words.

It hit Hawkeye that Robur Aqua was nothing like his father, from what she knew. He was practically the opposite. Had Kisu really disappeared while his mate and pups were slaughtered? Her heart went out to Rob and what he must be going through at the moment, but when she looked in the direction Kisu and Pied had left, a twinge tugged there as well.

Sighing, she turned, heading back to the plateau. She wouldn't question Robur about what had happened, though she was curious.