Moonspear I will die your daughter.

@Treepie
Intended to directly follow this thread

The strange girl led her from one moon village to another. Hokulani maintained her smile, subconsciously she made an effort to keep her fur neat.

The mountain before her was intimidating, but it had been promised that this was where her father now lived.

She would adorn a new mask for her visit. Hakumele would be greeted with the worries expected, she would speak in his mother tongue and act as though she had honoured the traditions that he once told her of. Just as she told Solharr she would, he would be asked for his blessing so that she may marry in the coming moons should a suitable man be found.

His guard would be up, suspicious of her intentions. She did not care to change that so long as she could make one thing clear to the moon wolves: Noe i ka Lani Kakahiaka was the perfect daughter.

Haku?

Treepie hesitated at the entrance of the healing ulaq, pausing to give Hokulani an inquisitive glance. She then poked her head into the log, uncertain whether she would find him in there.

He had only just returned to the healing ulaq when Treepie's voice hit his ears accompanied by the scent of someone both strange and familiar all at once.

After a pause, he turned to greet them. ..Treepie. He eyes her for a moment before looking to the figure that stands behind her. A coat ripped from his own back and eyes that burn into the back of the Moonspear girl, he has no doubt in his mind that it is his daughter. You have my daughter. The sentence comes out awkward, discomforted. He is unsure of what he is to say.

It is overwhelming; a sense of paternal love that threatens to drown him, but a burning fire that screams for him to send Hokulani away from the spear. She is his daughter, but she is vile all the same if something gives her a reason to be. He sees the way she masks her fury, but you can only hide so much in crafted expressions when faced with the one who raised you.

He assumed that she may be upset with him when they reunited; their last conversation had been an argument, and Hokulani holds a grudge. But it was not him that stood on the end of her hellfire today.

Her father emerges. The moon girl had kept her promise. Eyes move from Treepie to her father stood in the entrance of a den. I came across her by chance during my search for you, makua. She smiles, bowing her head momentarily in greeting. I never imagined you would settle away from the island - it shocked me quite a bit when your scent was carried on the wind. Bullshit, she knew Hakumele hated Witch Island.

She looks back to the girl now, tail cocking to the side. You have quite the helpful packmate. The praise is offered half-heartedly, accompanied by the narrowed corners of her eyes.

I have come with a purpose, though. She says, allowing her expression to settle into something more serious. I have settled in a pack nearby, and I wished to ask for your blessing to marry there in the coming moons.

Lure him from his shell, force him to speak whether from her honey-coated words or the risk of his young packmate stood next to her.

He was in there, though as his eyes caught on the figure behind her—Pie sidestepped out of the way—he didn’t look as happy as she expected. There was a strange stiffness to both his phrasing and his tone as he acknowledged Hokulani. His daughter seemed a little more enthused about the reunion as she reported the recent goings-on in her life.

The word “marry” made Tiuttuk’s ears twitch. Her bright gaze swept from Hokulani to Hakumele and back again, wondering what the father made of his wayward child’s request. Was she already betrothed to someone in particular? Treepie wondered, though it was the man’s business, not her own.

I’m glad I was able to reunite you guys, Pie chirped. I’ll be over there, she said in the same breath, pointing along the borderline, in case either one of you needs anything, but otherwise, she would let the two of them catch up uninterrupted.

She retreated into the background, making a point to stay just within earshot so she could listen to the reunion. Treepie was so curious about the dynamic between them and wondered if Hakumele would soon warm up to Hokulani’s abrupt presence in his life.

In the meantime, she mused in her mind:

It’s so nice to play,
A part in reuniting,
A father and daughter.

He can hear the false calories coating her words, see the cruel look in her eyes as she spoke of Treepie. He releases a sharp breath.

Maybe you came with purpose, but we both know that is not it. His words are firm, his expression bored. You do not want to marry. If she did, then what sort of monster would he be to cause a man's suffering by allowing her?

Now he looks back to Treepie, who so politely tried to distance herself from their reunion. He was sure she could still hear them. Treepie, come back over here. He calls to her.

Come back when you plan to be honest. You are old enough that I should not have to teach you that. He says to his daughter now.

Skipping as indicated in #ic-coordination.

Had she made a mistake, bringing these two together? She’d thought Hakumele would be glad to end his search for his wayward daughter, though he spoke to her so sharply, it was a wonder she didn’t bleed. Pie tried not to stare at them, though her spine grew stiff at their brief and contentious conversation.

When he bade her come back, Pie’s head whipped over her shoulder. She stared at him for a beat, hesitant. Treepie didn’t wish to come between father and daughter, though she supposed if that’s what Hakumele wanted…

What would a leader do? she asked herself, resigning herself to her fate as she rose onto all fours and padded slowly toward the duo. Maybe you can help make peace between them? You’re responsible for bringing her here, so you should at least try to help for Haku’s sake.

I misunderstood the situation between the two of you, Pie admitted a bit awkwardly. Is there anything I can do…?

Slight pp of Hakumele for simplicity <3 also noting new posting order for myself here (if it is incorrect lmk!): Treepie, Hokulani, Hakumele

He speaks, sharp words chipping away at her mask until only a sour expression is left behind. Why do you doubt me? I'm your daughter, and yet it seems like you would trust a stranger over me. Her words are practically a snarl.

She wants to hurt him, but a bite to his own skin will do little more than leave a wound to scab over. He would lose no sleep over such a thing.

He calls the moon girl back over; to escort her back to the borders, she's sure. The girl speaks, but Hokulani is not listening. Her jaws move before her mind is made up, open and ready to snap, but teeth never meet flesh.

A heavy slam to her side, and she finds herself gasping for air as it is intentionally knocked from her lungs.

Stumble, do not fall. That was what she had been taught; but this time, she fell.

When calling Treepie over he never thought that Hokulani would snap her teeth in the direction of his packmate. He moved without thought; he would not allow her to insult the wolves who had done so much to care for him.

Shoulder first, he rammed into her torso like the heaviest bull. She fell, he wrinkled his nose. He would not bare his teeth to her - she would not be allowed that satisfaction.

If this is the way you act, then you are not my daughter. His words were spoken in a hiss as he lowered his head to her. A parasite who crawled into the womb of my lover, nothing more.

He had lost his temper if only for a moment, and the words that had occupied the back of his mind for so long flowed out.

Head lifting, he looks back to Treepie. I'll take her to the borders. Thank you for bringing her to me, Treepie.

Before she could register Hokulani’s attack, Hakumele had thwarted it. Pie instinctively leaped backward as the other she-wolf lost her balance and fell with a heavy thud. Her mouth fell open as her pack mate berated his daughter. After processing for a moment, Tiuttuk came to approve of his harsh words.

In fact, her fur prickled as the aspiring leader lifted a lip and said, I’ll be going with you. Her tone brooked no argument. Speaking directly to Hokulani, she seethed quietly, What on earth is the matter with you? What were you hoping to accomplish?

She could summon the might of all the Moon villages with a single call to punish Hokulani for her galling behavior. Yet Treepie decided she—and Hakumele, of course—had it handled. She puffed up further, making it very clear she would be escorting the problematic visitor out of the territory.

Pie just hoped nobody noticed the way her legs were shaking.

Laid unmoving on the cold ground, she felt her paws shake with what she only knew to be rage. The shock of the harsh hit, the pain in her ribs fading but all too present.

She lost her temper, her grip on reality, the air in her lungs. It all came back to her now as Hakumele's harsh words flowed through one ear and then the other, soon replaced by a sharp ringing.

She was no longer listening.

Planning ahead: that was what she would do instead. When she returned to Forneskja, if she did at all, what was to be said? She would not, could not, relay these events. She let the images flow through her mind; what she thought was to come.

First she would find a river to cross through, somewhere to wash off. Rid herself of the scents, of the tension in her muscles and the furrow of her brow. She would then bring herself back to the territory, announce her father's blessing. If nothing else of interest was held there, she would leave.

She only stared forward now, as stubborn and unmoving as a boulder it seemed.

The stillness of Noe i ka Lani was not odd for her, but he checked to ensure she was stunned or stubborn rather than not breathing nonetheless.

Eyeing Treepie, he nodded now. He would not have blamed her if she was a bit spooked and wished to stay back, but if she demanded to go with him he would not deny the little leader. It was more her territory than it was his.

Pushing his daughter to a stand with aching limbs and all, it was not so difficult to move her along now. I should apologize for her behaviour. He grunts, tail swishing with a clear and well-reasoned irritation. She's impulsive. I can't say why she tried to attack you, however. It was strange, really. You weren't grazed at all, were you?

He should have listened when his mother spoke of her prophecy, he should have denied Leilani when she begged him to run from it with her. Maybe then he would not have found himself shackled to a devil.

Her limbs felt like they were made of jelly as Hakumele urged his stone-faced daughter back onto her feet and began shepherding her toward the borders. Treepie fell into step beside them, eyes fixed warily on Hokulani in case she made any more sudden moves. She didn’t even glance at her pack mate when he spoke, though an ear tilted in his direction.

No, she said simply.

She had nothing further to say at the moment, so Tiuttuk lapsed back into silence as they neared the periphery. Her legs felt solider with every step, though she still marveled at this unexpected turn of events. It would take some time to really process what had happened.

She follows the movements of the wolves as they escort her to the borders. Most would be grateful they had not done more to punish her, but Hokulani had been looking for a fight. She would have left injured, but at the very least her father would have been mortified. Mild embarassment is not enough.

A straight face is kept until they reach their stop and it is time for her to go. Only then does she look to Hakumele, only then does she speak. Ina e hoi au, e pepehi au i kau keiki. It is a threat for him and him alone. She will not give the Moongirl the respect of speaking it in a common tongue.

Nothing more is said by her before she takes her leave, trotting off at a brisk pace. Her enthusiasm regained.

She speaks a threat, and then she is gone. Hakumele feels wary, and he cannot help but wonder if there is any truth to what she has promised. But he could ponder such troubles later, now was not the time.

Devil child. He hisses the words under his breath, releasing a sigh soon after. I really do apologize. I will make sure she does not come back here. How he was meant to do that, he did not know.

If Hokulani had been raised in his home with the same harsh discipline, the same looming elders, he wondered if she would be the same way. But maybe she really had been cursed, maybe there was nothing he could do. He would mark himself responsible nonetheless; he was still her father, and she was still his daughter.

Aside from some parting words Treepie couldn’t hope to understand, Hokulani’s departure was uneventful. The yearling remained stiff, eyes tracking her every movement until she was out of sight. Only when Hakumele spoke did Pie’s narrowed eyes eventually shift, widening slightly as she regarded his familiar features.

You never said, Pie blurted, only to bite her tongue and leave the sentence unfinished.

She realized she felt a little angry with him, though she wasn’t sure that was reasonable. At the moment, she wasn’t entirely sure of anything. Tiuttuk needed a moment—maybe many—to fully process what had just happened. In the meantime, she couldn’t resist punctuating her pack mate’s statement.

You won’t be the only one, she said quietly, sucking in a breath and adding, I need some time to decompress after that. I’ll see you later, Haku.

Perhaps there was a slightly apologetic look in her eye as she turned from him, perhaps not. Pie didn’t bother trying to school her expression as she walked stiffly away from the borders, seeking the comfort and solace of a familiar thinking ledge.