Lake Rodney Out of the blue

This is set on the Southwest part of the lake- opposite of Redhawk Caldera. @FitzDutiful, feel free to hop in, if you like!

The large black yearling strolled with confidence through the valley, as if he was on a mission and knew exactly where he was going. Truth was, he had been lost for a while. His journey had started with his sister, Gracious. She had an inkling to do some traveling, and Steady would not let her go off alone. Somewhere along the way, they had gotten separated. The good part was they had a destination, and so he was sure they would be up somewhere along the way, if not there.

Mother nature had set him off course with her storms and general havoc-wreaking. He had expected to be here much sooner. A plus was that Gracious should already be here with FitzDutiful. The black male approached the lake, taking a moment to scan the area for any other wolves. Sure that he wouldn't be bothering anyone else, he went to the edge of the water, lowering his head to quench his thirst. When he was finished, he walked a few feet away and sat back on his haunches, intending to take a bit of rest before continuing on his journey.

nomnomnom

FitzDutiful was having a blast from the past today. With the developments between him and Zaria (however they actually wound up going) he felt like it was a good opportunity to reflect on all the roads that lead him here. He had started his day looking over at the plateau, before wandering back towards Redhawk Caldera.

Mindful of the fact that the Calderians weren't fond of visitors on their borders he kept a good distance away. He had no intentions of seeing any of them - he wasn't really in the mood for conversation and niceties that came with the length of the time that had passed - so he went around the side of Lake Rodney far away from them.

On his way he noticed a black wolf, having a drink and paid them no mind. The Teekon Wilds seemed full to the brim with lone wolves, with packs starting up left, right and centre. At one point he actively sought them out to recruit, but now the Mountain were blossoming nicely, just in time for the autumn that would pave the way to winter.

There was something familiar about that wolf though and FitzDutiful watched as the midnight male padded away and sat back. He had met this wolf in question, though the boy had been so very young and a lot smaller when FitzDutiful had left. If FitzDutiful had a way to know thing, he would know that this male was resembling a female he had known from his past - his father's mate, Melody - but FitzDutiful didn't know that one of her offspring, his sibling, was the one he was talking to. Still, the resemblance struck a chord with him and FitzDutiful approached cautiously.

"Hey," he said, wary, "I know you, right?"

<3<3<3<3

Steady had only just begun to think about taking a rest when a voice from behind reached his ears. His head turned, his body following as he stood to see who the voice had come from. Steady made sure to keep his body neutral, especially since the voice had sounded fairly friendly. He had been a young pup when FitzDutiful had left, and had no memories of him, but the family had talked about him so much, he felt like he knew him. However, he did not know he was standing just across from him.

Head tilted to the side, he responded. "I don't believe so," he said. He had met some wolves along the way, but he didn't remember the male in front of him. He could have been confusing Steady with someone else. Black was a pretty common color among wolves. Feeling the need to introduce himself, he said, "I'm Steady. I've just arrived here, looking for my sister, Gracious. She might be here with my brother, FitzDutiful." Surely, Gracious had already arrived. Steady had gotten off course and took more time than he thought getting here. Maybe this wolf knew them, or knew of them.

The black wolf denied the knowledge, which puzzled FitzDutiful. He looked bewildered for a moment until the introduction was made. A blast from the past indeed.

He went into a state of shock to begin with, before his tail began to wag slowly from side to side and he wondered how to say what he wanted to say; it seemed difficult conversation was a common thing at the moment. "I, um, I'm FitzDutiful." he said, a light appearing in his eyes that only family could invoke - was he finally getting the chance to know his family more? How would Steady react to find that he ran his own pack now? He was even happier now that he had taken that plunge all those months ago.

"I can barely believe it's you." he said, unsure if he was dreaming, "but at least I know why you seem so familiar, you took after Melody even when you were tiny!" Although she hadn't stayed at the home pack for long he didn't have any animosity to his step-mother. He always knew he would never inherit the pack so it had been an issue between them.

"What caused you to leave home?" He wondered briefly if everything was okay with them - they hadn't run into destruction had they?

The other male looked confused when Steady denied that they had met. Steady honestly didn't think they had, but the next words out of the other male's maw made him realized he was severely wrong. His tail began to wag and he smiled. "Brother!" he said. He never cared they were only half brothers. To Steady, FitzDutiful was all family and that's all that mattered. "I didn't realize it was you!" In his excitement, he took a few steps forward, stretching out his neck to poke his brother happily.

At the mention of his mother, Steady smiled more. He couldn't believe his brother had recognized him, even though he had been so young when FitzDutiful had left.

It was Steady's turn to look confused. "You don't know why I'm here? Gracious didn't tell you?" Surely she had met up with their brother. If it was this easy for Steady to find him, surely Gracious had, as well. "She wanted to explore, to come see you, and I didn't want her going alone. We got separated, and I got off track. I thought she'd be here by now. Is she not?" he asked worriedly.

In his excitement, FitzDutiful had completely blanked that Steady had also mentioned Gracious, he wondered what kind of brother he was to miss that important piece of information and so he shook his head, a flicker of concern showing before he hid it away.

"No, I've not seen Gracious. Then again, the Teekon Wilds is a very big place and there are a load of packs around. It's possible she met someone she liked and joined up with them ready for the winter." He had no idea what kind of wolves Gracious and Steady were now, but he hoped that his father had instilled in them the same sense of security that he had in FitzDutiful.

"Come, walk with me," he said, "I need to be heading back towards my pack but tell me what you've been up to along the way." A glimmer of thought shot through FitzDutiful's mind, would Steady want to join a pack that his brother lead or was he wanting to explore the world and see what life was like elsewhere.

Steady had been so excited to see his brother, and assumed his sister would be with him. His happiness dwindled, however, when FitzDutiful said that Gracious wasn't with him. His brother theorized that maybe she had joined a pack along the way in preparation of the coming winter. Maybe. If this territory was as big as FitzDutiful said it was, maybe she just hadn't found him yet. "I hope," he responded.


His smiled returned when FitzDutiful asked him to walk with him, easily falling into step beside him. His ears perked when his brother said they were heading back to his pack. The way he said it was different than how Steady would have said it. "Your pack?" he inquired. His brother asked about his adventures. "Well, most of it was uneventful, but part of the way here, I got stuck in a pretty bad storm that had me holed up for a few days. When I came out, the landscape was totally different, and I didn't know where I was." Trees had been displaced, and the ground flooded with water. "I was lucky to find an old fox den on the side of a hill," he said. It had been cramped, but it kept him dry. "When I got out, it took me a while to figure out where I was going." Eventually, he had, and here he was.

FitzDutiful let the enquiry about his pack slide for a while, letting Steady get his own adventures out. It appeared it had been quite a trek for the young wolf, FitzDutiful recalled his own journey being pretty adventure free when he had stumbled across the Plateau the first time. He nodded sympathetically at the news of the storm and brought the conversation full circle.

"The storm was pretty bad here too, we got lucky and nothing affected the pack all that much. But yes, it's my pack. I'm the alpha and my lady-friend is the beta. I've got two children too!" he paused for a moment before making the connection, "Steady, you're an uncle! You've a niece and a nephew, called Mason Virtue and June Humility." He said their middle names wanting his brother to know he hadn't left traditions behind. Excitedly he continued, "I don't suppose you fancy joining the pack - I know the kids would love to get to know you better and it'll give you a base to search for Gracious from."

His tail wagged as he awaited for Steady's answer.

His brother said the storm had been bad here, too, but not bad enough to affect the pack. He then said he was Alpha of the pack, and he had two pups! Steady's ears perked as a smile appeared on his face. "That's awesome!" His eyes grew wide when FitzDutiful pointed out he was an uncle. "Hey! I am!" he exclaimed happily. His niece and nephew bore the traditional names of the family, which made Steady happy. Though, he would have been perfectly happy whether they did or not.

His brother invited him into the pack, to which Steady nodded his head quickly. I'd love to join! he said quickly. He was glad he would have a home, and hoped he would find Gracious soon so that they would at least know where everyone is, even if she had found a place somewhere else. How many is in your pack?" he asked as they walked. He hoped he could get along with everyone.

Whooooooooo! I gets a Mary Ellen!

Steady agreed to join and FitzDutiful couldn't contain himself, "You will?!" he questioned - absolutely ecstatic! He was looking forward to introducing Steady to his niece and nephew and wondered what Steady would make of them. Realising that his brother knew nothing of everything that had gone down, he also wondered what Steady would make of the fact that their mother was no longer in the picture. He didn't even realise that Steady might make an assumption of Zaria being their mother.

Instead, he turned his focus to the question, "Including you there'll be..." he paused to count, "Nine of us," he didn't know that there would be another joiner in a few days as well. The pack was well and truly on it's way upwards. It had been a stressful six months of rises and falls, but he was now pretty sure that the pack would get through anything.

"How is father's pack doing?" he asked, wondering why Gracious and Steady had left in the first place. He hoped there was no turmoil.

Woo! I'm excited!

Steady nodded his head quickly. "Of course! There's nothing I want more than to be able to call your pack home," he said. There was no question in Steady's mind where he wanted to be now that he had found his brother. FitzDutiful said there were nine in the pack now, including himself. "That's a strong number," he said. Plenty of wolves to hunt and protect the territory and each other.

His brother asked about the pack back home. "They're doing well! I really didn't really have any reason to leave," he confided. "But, I think Gracious was getting a little bored, and needed an adventure. I didn't want her going alone, so, here I am!" The end result wasn't exactly what he wanted, at least not as it was right now. He hoped FitzDutiful was right and that their sister had simply found another pack to be with. He tried not to let his mind wander to more sinister reasons. He just wouldn't be able to handle it.

My last post <3

Steady reaffirmed his desire to joy and FitzDutiful just beamed. He hadn't been this happy since, well, since he found out Raissa had been pregnant. That had been the last truly joyous occasion, he didn't let his mind stray to the turmoil that they had gone through afterwards.

"Come then!" he said, speeding up a little bit, after Steady had reassured him that their family was still doing okay, "Let me show you some sights along the way." It was time for the two of them to head home. Together.

If this pack hadn't been family before it sure was getting there now.

I'll get this archived <3

The darker brother was just as excited to be welcomed into the pack as FitzDutiful was to have him. He looked forward to the coming days, exploring the land, meeting new friends, and hopefully running into their sister at some point. He was realistic, though. It could very well be spring before he had any chance of finding her, especially if winter was going to be rough.

But, for now, he focused on adjusting to his new life with his brother. He followed FitzDutiful, matching his pace step for step, as his brother showed him the ropes.