Moonspear pure imagination

Her recent chat with Haedwig had jogged her memory, reminding her that she owed @Kira Lazore a conversation. Tiuttuk also owed Moonglow a visit, though she put a pin in that plan. She would give Arrluk et al time to settle back at home following the great hunt. Besides, she would always prioritize matters at her own village.

Unsure whether Kira had joined the hunting party—or whether she might even now linger at the hunting grounds—Tiuttuk set out around midday to search. It wasn’t so pressing that she would call out to her pack mate. Besides, she enjoyed the opportunity to track her scent trail as she moseyed around the mountainside.

She stopped at a small spring that cut across the footpath before tumbling into the open air beyond a nearby ledge. Pie dipped down to drink, then caught a whiff of mingling scents at the water’s edge. One belonged to her target. The other was @Kindle’s. She couldn’t help the slight jealousy that knotted her stomach.

Forgetting about taking a drink, Treepie hopped to the stream’s far side and continued her search, her earlier patience abruptly growing thin enough that she finally tipped her head skyward and called out to Kira directly.

Kira heard the call and her ears perked with curiosity as she ran toward it. She caught a whiff of Treepie's scent and made her way toward it. As she got close, she also caught her scent, though more faint. And Kindle's.

She made her way closer to Treepie and her tail flicked when she saw the other wolf. "Hello, Pie!" she said with some excitement. "How are you?"

She was prompt, Treepie noted with a touch of sourness. Catching herself, she shook her head lightly. Just because she and Kindle were together didn’t mean he couldn’t socialize with other women, of course. He had agreed to exclusivity and she trusted him… if not Kira herself. But the woman had been nothing but absolutely affable, so Tiuttuk gave herself a swift inward kick to get her shit together.

Hi, Kira, she said more warmly than she’d thought possible two minutes ago. I’m doing well. I hope you are too. Hopefully I’m not interrupting anything. She paused, then continued, I haven’t forgotten about my promise to follow up with you on our earlier chat. What’ve you been up to since then? Pie asked, genuinely curious.

She folded into a sit, then motioned for Kira to do the same. Despite her own inner chastising, Pie felt a little thrill go through when she realized she’d effectively won their (not a) competition. But it was kind of an ugly thought, so she kicked herself again even as she bit her lip, yellow eyes shining.

Kira was completely oblivious to the two wolves’ non-competition. Though Kindle was nice, she had no romantic desire for him. Nor had a romantic desire crossed her mind for, well…anyone.

At this point in her life, she simply wanted friends. And, so far, Kindle and Treepie seemed like they’d make great friends. 

“I’ve met more of the other wolves,” she said. “And I went out on this big hunt. And I’ve been thinking about our conversation a lot as well.”

She sat near Treepie and watched. “You had a trip, right? How’d that go?”

Part of her badly wanted to trot out her new relationship status, of course, but Tiuttuk refused to entertain that ugly part of herself that seemed so keen to show itself today. She shoved it down by reminding herself that Kira deserved none of this inner pettiness. She was, as far as Pie could tell, a lovely woman, inside and out.

Perhaps that was part of the problem. Her yellow eyes tracked over Kira, noting the way her hooded features were perfectly offset by her hazel eyes. Unlike Treepie, her fur blended in a pleasant ombre that really showed off the slender curve of her neck. Her primary coat—a fetching cream color—highlighted her petite figure and long legs. Honestly, she was kind of stunning.

Tiuttuk’s eyes flitted back to her face when Kira spoke of meeting more wolves and, indeed, joining the great hunt. She said she’d given their last conversation a good deal of thought, an admission which made Pie’s heart skip a beat. She tried to figure out why that was as Kira settled beside her and posed a question about her recent foray to the caldera.

The politely inquisitive expression on Kira’s umber face made her heart do a funny little dance, as if it couldn’t decide whether to skip another beat or sink into the pit of her stomach. She just stared at the other woman for an uncomfortably long beat before catching herself, blinking and shaking her head as she stiffened her spine.

It, she said slightly haltingly, tearing her eyes away and pointing her gaze toward the distant caldera, was wonderful. From there, she quickly fell into the rhythm of reminiscing aloud, Not only did I get to catch up with my family, I got to be there to welcome some new members to it. She sighed, a happy little sound, and looked back to Kira to add, Thank you for asking.

Not only was she pretty, she was kind too, making a point to ask Treepie about her trip. The Ostrega felt weirdly dizzy for a moment, though she took a few steadying breaths and tried to organize her thoughts as she let her yellow eyes drift away again.

So, you’ve given some thought to what you want to do? Did the hunt help with that? she guessed conversationally, speaking to a nearby rock before glancing Kira’s way.

When Treepie turned her gaze, Kira did as well, watching where her new friend looked. “That’s wonderful,” Kira said, turning back. “I’m glad you had a good trip.” 

When asked about the hunt helping her, Kira paused for a moment. “It did. Well, it didn’t hurt. But some of the conversations I’ve had with other wolves helped as well.”

She dropped her head to rest on her paws. “I want to help. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and now, I’ve got others to help. I think I’d like to learn medicine. That’s how I feel I could be most helpful.”

She mentioned her conversations with other wolves again, piquing Pie’s curiosity. Kindle had probably been one of them, though suddenly that thought filled her with the chagrin it was due… if not for exactly the right reason. She gently cleared her throat and prepared to ask her for more details when Kira delicately flopped to the ground and declared she aspired to become a healer.

Tiuttuk stared down at her, a smile creeping over her face. Walking her paws forward, she sank into a sphinx pose facing the other she-wolf, wondering about the exasperated body language. Maybe that wasn’t it. Perhaps she was just relaxed in Pie’s company, the two of them settling into a proper Girl Talk™. That filled Pie with a strange mixture of guilt and pleasure.

That’s an excellent vocation, Tiuttuk opined. She thought about mentioning her anaa, but instead she asked, Have you met Alaric yet?

He would make a wonderful mentor, though Treepie had a suspicion that Kira already knew that. She’d heard about Alaric’s healing circles and guessed that the Lazore may have joined one and perhaps discovered her calling there. Her tail tapped the brittle grass, her misplaced jealousy swiftly transforming into an intrigued sort of admiration that was certainly helped along by the pretty sweep of dark eyelashes.

Kira was comfortable as they talked. And she liked to show that, hence dropping her chin into her paws.

“I have, actually. We talked about his garden and that’s when I first said I think I’d like to learn medicine,” she said. “He was telling me about the herbs and their qualities.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I just worry that medicine won’t be right for me,” she admitted. “It’s hard to learn something new.”

The only way to find out, one way or the other, is to try it out, Pie encouraged, remembering her own intention to dabble in counseling. And maybe it would be nice if it was easy and effortless, but then you wouldn’t get that sense of accomplishment. Right? Learning is hard… but it pays off in the end. And you couldn’t ask for a better teacher than Alaric, honestly.

That made her suddenly think: what would her old friend think of her relationship with Kindle, especially after what they’d talked about all those months ago? Thinking about that conversation still made Pie cringe inside. But she adamantly believed Alaric was a catch, that he deserved his happily ever after too. Would he be hurt that she’d chosen someone else?

Realizing she’d gotten lost in her thoughts, Pie cleared her throat again and said, So you’re interested in herbs and medicine. What else? I’m not talking about just trades, either. Now that you’ve settled in and started making friends, what other things have you discovered about yourself? And your interests?

Kira nodded. "Alaric seems very kind and I would be happy to learn from him," she said. "And you're right. If it were easy, it would be pointless."

The wolf was also lost in thought for a moment, trying to think about her future with the Dawnspear pack. Would she feel fulfilled as a healer?

Treepie asking another question made Kira think some more. "Well, I enjoy singing. It can be very relaxing. I've learned I have a lot to be thankful for. This chance that I have to start over is very welcome."

Aya, Pie found herself blurting for the first time in a while, you should get together with Kinusi then. I’m sure you’ve met her, seeing as she was the leader and all, but did you know she loves to sing? She also happens to be Alaric’s daughter. She hummed. You know, she told me she learned the art of healing before she came back home. Sounds to me like a good recipe for besties…

The words had come out of her own mouth, yet that didn’t stop the small stab of jealousy she felt a second later. Treepie was getting a little bit fed up with the little green monster hiding inside her, to be honest. It was probably one and the same with Mev. How she wished she could exorcise this demon. Maybe she needed counseling.

Haedwig has some medical knowledge too, she thought aloud, doing her level best not to dignify her silly sentiments. Her yellow eyes brightened with a sudden thought. Between the lot of you, we should have a well-stocked healing ulaq, just like the good old days. Only, the original one is out of commission. I don’t think anyone’s decided on a new one. Maybe that could be a good way to get your feet wet?

"Yes, I met Kinusi!" Kira said. "While she was singing, in fact." There was a bit of excitement in her voice. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the comment about recipe for besties. "I'm not sure about besties," she said. "I mean, everyone's great. I'd love a new best friend, but I'm not sure."

The young wolf didn't have a whole lot of confidence in herself, it seemed. She was happy to talk about the healing stuff.

"That really could be a good way to get my feet wet," she agreed. "There seems to be quite a few of us."

Kindle trotted up without a care in the world, still on cloud nine from recent canoodling. It'd been days now, but still — a guy didn't forget a night like that easily. Or he didn't, at least. Not yet.

"Hello, Pie, he greeted his kinda-girlfriend, unsure how to act around her in front of others, but warmly all the same. He turned a little smirk on Kira. "And cousin. What are you ladies up to?"

He was still getting used to the revelation. Kira wasn't his cousin by blood, but that hardly mattered to a Morningsider. She was another piece of family in this strange new place, and Kindle was glad she'd made it to them, seemingly unaware of their connection until just the other day.

Kira, Katmai, and now even Madhu — he was glad to have family around. And now Kinusi was becoming family, too, and Treepie, and Alaric and Tikaani with them.

He only hoped that Haedwig and Europia and Cosmo would continue to feel at home.

Tiuttuk didn’t miss the slight narrowing of Kira’s eyes, which intrigued her. She didn’t seem so certain about achieving that status with Kinusi. Pie wondered why, though she wasn’t too sad to hear about it. Maybe she could become besties with Kira. As a matter of fact, that thought suddenly sounded excellent, despite her earlier spates of ugly jealousy.

Before Treepie could comment on the popularity of medicine, Kindle arrived so suddenly that she could only gawk at him a moment. Her yellow eyes widened when he called Kira his cousin. Just like that, any remaining dregs of malcontent drained out of her. Pie grinned.

She sort of wanted to press that grin against Kindle’s cheek in a kiss, though her earlier desire to rub their relationship in Kira’s face had left her. Part of her suddenly didn’t want Kira to know about them at all, which made her hesitate. Then she felt like a heel for an entirely new and different reason, the nuances of which she didn’t even have time to puzzle through right now.

Hey, she ended up puffing a little too loudly. We were having a Girl Talk™, actually, Pie replied, throwing an elbow at him in a way that read less like flirtation than like banter between buddies.

She fell awkwardly still after that, realizing she had no idea how she should—or even wanted to—behave around Kindle in public.

Kira’s uncertainty with Kinusi being her bestie had nothing to do with the other she-wolf. Kinusi was rather great. Kira was simply uncertain about herself. 

She was enjoying the conversation with Treepie, who she could also see being besties with, if Kira weren’t so self-conscious, when Kindle approached. She grinned when she saw Kindle. “Hey, cousin,” she said back. “Yes, we are having Girl Talk at the moment,” she added. 

Her heart leapt in her chest in a way she didn’t fully understand. General excitement over the newfound family, perhaps? But she ignored it as she watched Kindle and Treepie curiously.

“If Kindle wants to join, he could. Unless you want to talk about him next.” Her words were teasing as she didn’t expect Kindle to actually be the next topic of conversation.

"Girl talk!" Kindle remarked, surprised by this, somehow. He hadn't really had to deal with Girl Talk since Steadfast and Dreamgirl had stopped featuring so strongly in his life. He missed them, he realized with a pang — and the way that they'd sometimes whisper together, banding against him and Day.

He squinted between the two of them, but his wheeling tail broadcast his true feelings on the matter of their conspiring.

"By all means," he offered, taking a step back, "talk about me."

His smirk turned to a more wily grin before he turned and sauntered off, on his way to the borders once more. He glanced over his shoulder to wink at them before hopping down a ledge and out of view — off to do some border marking, ostensibly.

Kindle didn’t seem particularly keen on any public displays of affection either, which was at once reassuring and confusing. Before Treepie could arrive at any kind of decision about how to behave, he was sauntering off again. He tossed a wink over his shoulder, though it seemed to be directed at Kira as much as herself.

Belatedly, Pie registered the bantered exchange between the other two. Of course, they’d only been kidding around, but should she say something about him? If she and Kira were destined to be besties, she should probably “spill the tea” or however the saying went. But Tiuttuk felt herself holding back from that, for reasons she couldn’t quite figure…

You two are cousins? Really? she blurted instead.

Kira had only been joking about talking about Kindle, but he left before she could tell him she was only kidding. Before she could say anything to Treepie, after Kindle left, Treepie asked her a question.

"I guess," she said. "Kind of?" She shook her head. "My father's brother is his brothers' father," she said, slowly explaining her relationship with Kindle. "His mother recognized my surname and I look like her son, so she told me about it."

She was still confused about it, but she was also just happy to finally have family.

The particulars of the relationship were slightly difficult to follow, though it didn’t matter much to her. If Kira and Kindle were family, she had never been competition in the first place. And reflecting on her earlier jealousy made Tiuttuk feel more than a little foolish, in light of that and her burgeoning feelings of friendship toward the woman in front of her. She supposed she should be glad she hadn’t really acted on them.

Wait, she suddenly realized aloud, you spoke to Kindle’s mother? Recently?

"Yeah, she was here to visit Kindle and Katmai," said Kira. "I happened to hear her howl and found her. "She's very nice. Accepted me as family as soon as she realized that I was Aureli's niece."

Kira thought for a moment about their conversation. "She wasn't planning on staying long, she's got a litter on the way," she added. "She wanted to be home before she had the babies."

She felt her jealousy stir again. Shouldn’t she meet Kindle’s mother? Then again, they had only just begun courting, so perhaps it was too soon to meet her, at least in any formal capacity. Pie pondered that for a beat before shaking her head lightly, then tugged at the most important thread of information Kira had just shared.

Kindle has some baby siblings on the way? she asked, a smile in her voice as much as on her face, the question quickly followed by an, Awww. She paused another beat, then said, I guess I’m sorry I missed her, she sounds like a nice lady. And…

Thrice now she had hesitated. It was beginning to feel disingenuous all around. Treepie shifted her weight, then let the cat out of the bag.

Well, we’re involved, she hinted with a little glimmer in her eye.

"Yeah, I guess. She's pretty close, too," Kira said. In the space of time between Treepie saying she thought Easy seemed nice and telling Kira that she and Kindle were involved, Kira, unintentionally, filled the space.

"Oh, yes, very nice and sh-"

Treepie's words stopped Kira. 

"You are?" She asked, her tail flicking with excitement. "Why didn't you tell me? Here, I thought we were having girl talk and you're leaving out the most important bits. Tell me everything." She gestured for her new friend to dish the details.

Treepie winced a little at the accusation, though only on the inside. Kira didn’t sound like she meant it at all seriously, though Pie deserved the flicker of guilt for that and more. But Kira’s obvious excitement quickly cleared it away as she urged Pie to give her all the details.

Well, it’s pretty new, she began, then trailed off thoughtfully for a few seconds before confessing, So new, I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle myself just now. She gestured at the spot where Kindle had stood just moments before. We’re not mates or anything; we don’t even have labels. We’re just courting.

It seemed important to mention that “just,” even as it tripped clunkily off her tongue. Pie didn’t intend to downplay it, especially since it was one of the most exciting developments in her young life, but she was beginning to realize that she still wasn’t certain exactly how to feel about it all.

So new, she repeated, that I’m not sure what I’m doing, to be honest. Have you ever…

She trailed off again and, this time, stayed mum. From what she could recall, Kira had been fighting for her life up until joining Dawnspear. She probably hadn’t many opportunities for dalliances. Besides, there was something—something quite endearing, now that Pie had noticed it—very innocent about Kira. Even before she could reply, Tiuttuk just knew the answer.

Kira's accusation had been more of a tease, as she could understand why her new friend would wait to talk about her new courtship. Her tail flicked excitedly as Treepie talked about it. She thought it was so sweet that her friend wasn't sure how to handle it. 

The she-wolf nodded along as Treepie talked about not knowing what to do, and then when asked if she'd "ever..." Kira shook her head.

"I have not," she answered simply. A lot of things to add came to mind. How she wasn't sure a relationship would ever happen for her or to mention having spent a lot of time just trying to survive that the thought was impossible. All of that seemed like it would only bring down the mood. 

"I've been on my own for so long, I hadn't thought about it. One day, though, I hope to find someone. I can't give you advice, but I hope that when my time comes, you'll be able to give me advice." She grinned at her friend.

"And, even though I can't give you advice, I can listen to you tell me about stuff."

Kira confirmed her suspicions, explaining that she’d never really given it much thought before coming here. Now, she sounded open to the idea. Although Tiuttuk scoffed at the concept of dispensing advice in this department—she had no idea what she was doing, that much was clear!—she felt her heart thump a little harder at her friend’s prospects.

I don’t know how much advice I can give but we can definitely exchange anecdotes, she said with a laugh. On that note, I have to know: when you picture your perfect someone, what do you see? Pie demanded. Man? she thought, though didn’t say out loud. Woman? Even if you can’t necessarily picture what they look like, what sort of personality traits are important to you?