Moonspear Chipper and Loud

Kinusi moved through the territory, munching on one of her father's treats. Oh Alaric dear ole dad. He had tried so hard to hide them and he had failed. She chuckled to herself. He always failed. She wondered sometimes if he even tried hard. 

Muzzle to the sky after the final piece was swallowed she lifted her voice in song. Per usual loving how it bounced around the spear itself. Always so nice the acoustics up here. It made her voice louder, prettier. She loved it, had missed it.

Kindle was enjoying the autumn leaves when he heard a voice echoing from above. He knew right away that this must be Kinusi, the girl that his nephew was so starry-eyed over.

Without much thought on the matter, Kindle abandoned his route and headed toward the sound of the voice, sneaking along just in case he got the chance to jump out at her. Perhaps it wasn't the kindest thing he could do, but as she was attached to his nephew, Kindle felt he had a right to bully her.

Gently.

He managed to come up behind her, still stepping quietly. He barked out a loud but friendly enough greeting:

"Morning, Miss Kinusi."

He was certain that was who she was.

I may have to bring dreamgirl in. Also would love an Alari or Tiki thread with him if he's staying long term. 

Kinusi was not paying attention, truly. She was simply singing. But her father had taught her how to listen. 

She realized she was alone about a half a second before a bark broke her singing voice. She turned and raised a wolfish brow. Blue eyes taking in his stance. He was friendly enough and had the same cast to his face and body as Katmai. So somehow related. 

You ruined a perfectly good song. You could have at least barked in tune you know. She sassed at him. An impish smile playing about her mouth. 

I'm at a disadvantage. You know me, but I Don't know you.

OoO dreamgirl!!! And yes please! He would love to meet Alaric because he has heard stories, too, but I have not had a thread with Tiki yet.

Kindle could see right away what might have drawn his nephew to the girl. Her mischievous smile made something squeeze uncomfortably in his chest. He returned it with a smirk of his own, saying,

"Well I'd hoped you might yelp real melodious — but it looks like I gotta work on my sneakin'."

He made a deep bow in her direction.

"Kindle Morningside, at your service," he introduced himself, a playful glimmer in his eyes. "That limpet you got wrapped around your little toe is my nephew."

A toss of her head, laughter peeking out of blue eyes. Her smile growing. 

Probably should. And everything I do is melodious, thank you very much.

She shook her head at him and waved a paw. 

A tilt of her head. Well met Kindle. As you've gathered. I am Kinusi. But most call me Kini. That limpet is decent and kind. I like him just as well.

She looked around. Do you tell stories and sing Kindle? Or do your talents lie elsewhere?

I can do either or both doesn't matter.

Kindle gave a little nod; "That's what all I've been told," he agreed on the subject of her melodiousness.

He needed no confirmation by then, but he was pleased to learn her preferred nickname. Kini was close to Kin, which was his own preferred nickname, and he felt a strong sense of protective kinship rise in his chest. It was clearer than ever how his nephew had become so besotted with her.

Truthfully, Kindle was not far behind.

"When the mood is right," he replied, not wanting to compare himself to Katmai in that regard. Singing and storytelling had been important in Round Valley, but Katmai had been born to their most storied bard. Of course he was the better singer, the better storyteller. Katmai fancied himself a comparable dancer and a decent singer. But —

"I prefer hunting and guarding," he claimed, and he was quite proud of his skill there as well.

In truth, however, Kindle was far more at ease looking after pups. That was where he would always prefer to be. Pups did not notice if you sang with your heart more than with any technical skills.

Kini tossed her head, laughter dancing along. Already talking about me, eh. And the pack isn't even official like.

A soft mock gasp left her maw. I beg your pardon. Every occasion calls for singing. Everything.

I've never been a great hunter or guardian. I want an audience to sing too, far too much. I could scare them away with song perhaps.

Kindle narrowly refrained from rolling his eyes. It was just that Katmai had talked of little else for almost an hour, so the words seemed a little ironic.

"It calls for singers to sing, maybe," he challenged, his tone long-suffering. "I'll sing at festivals and I'll sing if everyone else is, but I'm not really the 'whistle while you work' type. Makes hunting real difficult, see?"

He shot her a smile.

"Always happy to be in the audience, though," he assured her. He had plenty of practice at that, after all. "I'm good at cheering at the end. That's why I never got picked for parts in the performances back home. They needed me in the audience."

How was Kini to know she was such a topic of commodity. She was not with the young men when they spoke. It amused her though. Her father had always said. Whatever you, Do it well so they speak of nothing for days.

A small smile. Sometimes bird come to song. She challenged back. Only a few and only so far, but they did come in.

His next words distressed her and it showed. She frowned and shook her head. Everyone should recieve a chance to sing. No one sings badly. Some just need practice. This is upsetting.

She studied his face. Never fear singing around me. You needn't be just the audience. I promise.

 

Kindle was quietly horrified when Kinusi seemed to take pity on him. Clearly he'd miscalculated in his self-deprecation. He'd meant to be humorous, but Kinusi was not amused. He began to feel defensive instead.

"Nobody's holdin' my mouth shut," he assured her, trying to brush off the topic with more laughter. "Don't worry, Kini. I'll sing if I feel like it."

But he was even more reluctant to sing now, as such a big to-do had been made of it.

"Treepie showed me some of the slopes the other day," he said, making further efforts to change the topic. "I wanted to ask if you'd done much hunting on this terrain. I know you ain't lived here in a while, though."

Kini studied him, but said nothing at first. She had misunderstood what he had been saying. So she gave a nod. Accepting his truth. He had simply not sang. Foolish if you ask her, but not everyone liked to sing. 

A look around and a nod. My dad taught me to hunt rabbits and such on the slopes. We hunted goats on occasion. Dangerous but fun.

She motioned with a paw. When I did leave home. I wasnt far. The neverwinter forest down the way there.

Kindle was easily distracted from his own line of questioning, as it turned out. His head whipped 'round as if she were pointing out someone standing right behind him instead of some distant territory.

There was a speculative gleam in his eyes when he turned back to the other wolf, now inviting himself to walk alongside her.

"Why's it called Neverwinter?" he asked, his head tilting to the side. And, just in case she tried to shrug the question away, he added: "And I know you're a storyteller, so you'd better make it good."

He was only jesting! But he did hope for a scary story, if he was being honest with himself.

Kini snickered a little as he whipped around. He was a fun one. Katmai was easily distracted too. This may work in her favor someday.

She grinned. Her voice lowered to a whisper.There's always a cold chill, even on the hottest days. Wind blows through the trees winding and twiling around branches that reach up boney and weakened towards the sky. But they never make it. The wind always has a quiet sound like voices chattering or laughing. And when you stand in the silence e you're never really alone. They say ghosts walk beside you every step of the way.

Kindle watched Kinusi speculatively, trying to suss out whether or not this was the truth. He'd almost asked her to lie to him, of course, so it was a silly game to be playing with himself.

"Alright, that was a good one," he conceded, shaking out his pelt to try and get his hackles to lie back down. "What all were you doin' out there, if it's as haunted as all that? And shouldn't it be called Alwayswinter?"

The art of a good storyteller, kini believed was half truth half lie. So she told the truth with embellishments. Never winter was mystic and unfathomable and part of her wondered if the leaders disappeared brcause it was supposed to be unattainable.

Oh you know I was learning to heal and sing. Ther was a really good storyteller like historian guy there. He had knowledge for days. And it was warm sometimes just mystical

"Hmm," said Kindle, seeing a few inconsistencies in this story. But he'd put her on the spot, after all; he would hold his tongue.

It was peaceful under these trees, though they were now nearly as bare as the ones that Kinusi had described in Neverwinter. Only the conifers had retained their full regalia; the rest were clothed in dull brown scraps. It would have been frightening to him if he hadn't seen it the year before. Part of him was still awed by the turn of the seasons, knowing something could change so much over time.

"What about this place?" he asked her, still meandering along at her side. "What's the story here?"

Kini laughed again. Her voice ringing out. Blue eyes snapping delight. Stories are fun. Neverwinter is an enigma. Much like me.

Fall had put it's warm colors all over. Kini enjoyed the noises of fall. The crunch of leaves. The slithering of creatures beneath the loam. It was filled with noise.

MMM tragedy and hope. This place is tragic. Steeped in it. Deaths and loves gone awry, but wolves hold onto hope here. They are loyal and steadfast and true here.

Kindle was intrigued, though once again, he suspected she might just be saying pretty words to sound grand. Grand and, as she claimed, quite mysterious. Almost in retaliation, Kindle pressed for details. As if storytelling were a two-player game that could be won or lost.

"Tell me about this love gone awry," he suggested/demanded. "They say that history forgotten tends to repeat itself — I wouldn't want to fall into any fateful traps."

In this aspect, Kinusi was not lying. Everything in this case was true. Moonspear was steeped in the tragic. It held dark history and grief in its very foundations. 

A sad look stole across her face then. As she thought of her dad and mom. Her father had told her a bit about his life before. She knew darkness had found him. Her mom, he had started to let in. And she left. Sialuk had lost both her loves and then disappeared from treepies world. 

Sialuk the leader before my dad, was a woman who had many lovers, but it was her culture. Two were at the forefront of her love though. My mother and a wolf named Argent. I don't know much about him. He was gone before I was born. Then my mom left. And Lady Sialuk got very sad. And then she left too. Tikaani's mom left. Hopefully is three our better mothers than our own.

Many lovers made his brows raise, but it was quickly clear that this was not going to be a lighthearted story. He listened diligently, just a little nonplussed as Kini's mother was included amongst Sialuk's lovers. The tangle of ties and the resultant children confused him, but he supposed he would get used to it.

"Sounds like it would be difficult to be worse," he commented, not really making light of it, but the stunned words making it past his filter.

He shook his head.

"That's about as awry as it gets, ain't it," he said, still trying to wrap his head around the story. "I hope we won't be havin' none of that. Leavin' kids behind, I mean."

Kinusi didn't really have an issue with the many lovers bit. Her father was a trader. He literally traded his body for things that he needed when he had been traveling. And even now he still did. IF a woman needed/wanted children and she didn't want a man. Her father was willing to offer that, and the self-care involved afterward. He had never hid that from her. But she also knew that if he was in a romantic entanglement if asked he would not partake. 

Kini despite herself and the true heaviness of the conversation, laughed outright. Well you ain't lying. I don't give ma enough credit. She was a good wolf, really. She did not have many lovers other than SIaluk and my dad and she really did love my dad, like a lot. But she did still leave.

She shook her head. I won't be leaving any children behind. And i know for dang sure, Treepie won't.

What could drive a wolf to leave their family? Kindle contemplated this through Kinusi's explanation, finding himself at a loss. It couldn't be that they were all just morally bankrupt. Apparently, they'd loved each other, and had tried to love each other well. The mystery of it unsettled him, and as a result, he was especially vehement when he said, "Me neither."

He did not speak on Katmai's behalf. The kid had up and left his own family, after all. That was none of Kindle's business, though, and he hoped he wouldn't do that to a family that he made himself.

"Was Treepie's momma... y'know. Like her?" he asked, giving few hints about what exactly he meant by this question. A moment later, he walked the question back and said instead, "She seems like she'd be a real dedicated mother."

She'd said as much, but Kindle didn't think he needed to repeat that to Kinusi, either.

"Kat's all about gettin' some kids up here," he told her, hoping to shift conversation away from Treepie entirely.

Kini raised a wolfish brow, But didn't comment on his vehemence. Perhaps he wasn't as silly and joky as he acted. Perhaps he was a super sensitive guy underneath and that's why he acted a bit silly at times. Her dad was like that. 

A severe look at him, really looked did he mean her body anatomy or Treepie's core personality. She decided it didn't matter, she would not deign to comment on the former, because it wasn't her place. Tiuttuk sorry er Treepie momma Sialuk was different than Treepie. Not big different, but different. But to be fair I don't remember her well. I left here when I was 6 months and she was already gone before that.

Kini laughed. Well he hasn't talked to me about it yet. So we shall see.

It was Kindle's turn for his brows to jump. Twice, actually. First in surprise at the age she'd left home, and then again when her stance on puppies was made known.

"Well, that's the way of a pack," he said sagely. "Even if you don't wanna 'em yourself, someone's gotta have them. New blood is life blood. It's why the seasons turn."

But he wasn't here to try and convince her of anything. It wasn't as though he was a better contender, having not even a maybe-girlfriend to his name. What he said next was,

"You'n'him match, though. Leavin' home so young." Maybe they were well suited in that way. Were built the same, perhaps, or had at least learned the same hard lesson. Kindle didn't know; he'd waited until he was almost a yearling, at least. "Where'd you go?" he wondered. Katmai never talked about his earliest days away from home. What little Kindle knew, he knew from eavesdropping on adult conversations as a child.

Kinusi didn't not want babies. Why did everyone assume when she said they needed to talk about it they needed to talk about it. That kind of felt like a conversation that should be had. Hey do you want babies or not? And can we take care of them? Kind of freaking important. 

Kini blinked. Why does everyone assume I Don't want them, when I say we need to talk about it? I feel like this is an important conversation to have together Katmai and I. Not just hey you know what let's bring babies into a world? A world where we may  not know how to feed them or take care of them, but because it's our job we should totes do that?

She sighed. I am not annoyed with you I promise. You are simply the second person that seems almost disappointed in my thought process. I promise I love babies. Would I like some yes. But there is somethings that need talked about first.

His next question and she made a soft hum noise. I didn't go far. Went down to that forest yonder. But I traveled a fair bit before that. Almost made it to the sea. But not quite. I just felt itchy in the spear at the time. It didn't fit me yet, or perhaps I didn't fit it yet.