Moonspear Idle hands

For the first time since his promotion, Wildfire felt a pinprick of resentment when Floki headed off to tend to his duties, when all she wanted to do was laze around and cuddle on this wintry morning. She felt guilty immediately, then decided she just needed to focus on something else, something constructive, to avoid lingering in this negative head space.

After neatly rearranging their little love nest, she headed down the mountain. At first, she intended to hunt but then it struck her that she hadn't seen her beau's twin brother in quite a while. Floki had told her about their emotionally charged encounter following his rise to Beta and Wildfire wondered if Tevinter was being avoidant.

Her toes splayed in the slushy, snowy mix on the forest floor as Wildfire reached ground level. She licked her lips, then threw back her head and howled, "@Tevinter! You out there?" She glided beneath a nearby sycamore, then paused, ears cocked as she listened for a reply.

She's looking for Tevinter but anyone's welcome. Hope the minor assumptions are okay. :)

Tevinter's patrol of the border paused when the howl rose through the air, recognizable as Wildfire's voice, calling out to him. For a moment, this stunned the scarred twin and he tried to reason through it, while shifting through his guilt that he'd basically been blowing everyone off since his argument with Floki. In truth, he'd made it his purpose to avoid everyone since then. He knew what he wanted, and he figured the only way he could get Charon to at least listen to it (Tev didn't expect much of anything else but if he would at least listen that was all he could really ask for) he would have to be cutthroat and brash about it. Like Ragnar. His father, from Thistle's stories, had been abrasive and brash, never one to dance around the bush and ...Tev was left with the assumption that while this behavior probably hurt a lot of feelings that it had gotten his father far in life. “Yeah, I'm on my way,” He responded back after he weighed the pros and cons of it for a moment.

She hadn't done anything wrong (technically neither did Floki, but that was not an argument he wanted to revisit anytime soon) and it wasn't fair of him to exclude her; never mind the fact that everyone, even Thistle, had been avoided by him since that fight. It took him a while to find her though he'd caught and followed her scent to her location. At first she blended into the shadows around her until he drew nearer, pausing to leave space between them. “Hey,” He greeted her.

No reply was forthcoming, so Wildfire sat beneath the tree, brow furrowed as she pondered whether he was out of earshot or if it was possible he was ignoring her. Before she could draw a conclusion, Tevinter solved her inner conflict by appearing. Without even thinking, the youthful Gamma jumped to her feet with a smile, giving his shoulder a companionable bump.

Then she remembered how he hadn't been thrilled with Floki's promotion, how the brothers had argued and how she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him in weeks. She stepped back, brow furrowing slightly again as she asked, "Hey, Tev, is everything all right? I haven't seen you in a while." She almost mentioned the fight, yet she swallowed the words. Floki had told her about it, yes, but it was really none of her business.

Wildfire bounded towards him, and whatever tension had caused the muscles within his shoulders to pull taunt as she approached relaxed the instant he realized she was not rushing forward with hostility. In fact, he was genuinely surprised she wasn't attacking him. As much as Tev liked to think he was right he accepted that he probably deserved it for the falling out he picked with Floki; and Tev assumed Wildfire knew. Neither his twin nor Wildfire had came out and said anything to him but he assumed they were very close, but Tev guessed he couldn't be jealous of what was going on between Wildfire and Floki because it would mean that Floki had everything that Tev wanted (and would only make his semi-permanent stormy mood worse). 

When he felt her bump against his shoulder he extended his nose to bump against her shoulder in return before she pulled back. “Yeah, I'm sorry for that Wifi,” And he was sorry for it. Just because he was mad at Charon and Floki didn't mean he needed to take it out on everyone else ...but he had needed to think, and he sought solitude to do such things. “I thought it was the best for everyone...,” He inhaled deeply and let it out in a soft sighed, lifting his scarred muzzle slightly, though his gaze was soft were it rested upon her. “things aren't ever going to be the same.” There was no going back from this, from the heated words Floki and him had exchanged towards one another. "There are things you can't go back from." And whether it was intentional or not Charon had given Tev the biggest slap in the face when he'd promoted Floki ...on their birthday no less; and from Floki accepting it. It was selfish to hold that against his twin, he knew...but he'd always been selfish.

She hadn't brought it up and wouldn't if he would rather not talk about it. But Tevinter immediately mentioned his altercation with Floki, his candidness surprising her into a brief silence. Had their argument really been that bad? She guessed she hadn't realized (or perhaps her beau had downplayed the details to spare her). She bit at her lower lip, wondering what on earth could have been said to prompt Tevinter to declare everything irrevocably changed—fucked up beyond repair, her dad would have said.

"What do you mean, Tev? Floki mentioned you fought," Wildfire said, "but I didn't realize it was this serious. Will you tell me your side of the story?" the young diplomat asked, seating herself against the sycamore's roots to give him her undivided attention.

I keep accidentally trying to reply to this on Gyda's account. *flails*

For a moment Tev hesitated when Wildfire questioned him, ready to withdraw but ...he'd begun this conversation and he was tired of hiding. Even if the truth wouldn't paint him in a very good light. It didn't matter, really. It wasn't like anyone had ever had any illusions about him. He wasn't a good man ...and in that he was a chip off the old block. “The fight was my fault,” Tev admitted softly, swallowing thickly. He didn't want Wildfire to think bad of him but at the same time he had no control over what she thought ...and she deserved to know the truth since it seemed like Floki hadn't told it. Whether it was to spare her the details or protect him Tev didn't know. But he didn't need protection. If Charon or Floki for the matter wanted to throw him out they could go right ahead. He was tired of walking on egg shells, constantly stressing if he was going to piss Charon off and the child alpha male was going to spew more rude and insulting things at him again. “I know I should be happy for Floki, I know that but it's hard. It's hard because I've always been the dominate of our litter, and because I want to lead and it...hurts, I guess.” Jealousy and dealing with the backlash of Charon's decision on his pride hadn't left Tev in a very good mood.

“I'm jealous and I mean, Floki being promoted to Beta and me being stuck at the bottom of the adult ranks on our birthday was like a big, fucking slap in the face. It felt like Charon was taking a dig at me, like he was saying: 'Floki is perfect. Floki is so much better than you and you're shit, lowest of the lows'.” He took a deep breath and scowled in the distance, over her head. “If you didn't know Charon doesn't like me. In fact, I'm pretty sure he hates me. He was a total ass to me when I joined, and right now the feeling's pretty mutual so it makes sense that I'm so low ranked.” But if Charon couldn't handle the blunt opinions of his subordinates then he had no business leading (little did Tev know he was not the only one who held Charon in question). “So I climbed the spear to try to clear my head and Floki followed or found me and it just ...everything I had pent up just came out. It wasn't pretty.”

His gaze shifted to Wildfire for a moment, taking in her face before it shifted lower. “I know you and Floki are close so I understand if you don't want to talk to me again or anything. I mean, we said some nasty things to one another and I know I'm a shit brother and starting a fight was a shitty thing to do.” At this point, Tev wasn't even sure his mother was in his corner (but he wouldn't know because he'd been avoiding her).

Of course, Wildfire had a billion thoughts while he ranted, though she said nothing. She let Tevinter air his grievances and explain himself without interruption. It sounded like his beef lay with Charon, not Floki, and that his twin was more like collateral damage than anything else. Her ears flicked delicately as Tevinter swore copiously when talking about Charon in particular. She almost looked around herself to make sure the Alpha couldn't hear—surely he would give the subordinate the boot—but resisted the temptation. Her amber gaze remained riveted upon his face, scarred and presently twisted into an agitated grimace but still as intimately familiar as Floki's.

There was a lot to unpack here and Wildfire didn't quite know where to start. She did make a point to say, "I don't want to not talk to you, Tev. I really don't think anything you said or did will push me or Floki away on any kind of permanent basis." She gave him a pointed look. Admittedly, the relationship between he and Charon was knottier. Rather than attempt to articulate her opinion on their young Alpha's character, she approached from a different angle. "I think it's all a lot less about you than it is about Floki. I know that circumstances were beyond anyone's control but Floki was the one who was around, who stayed at the bay and then helped Charon move the pack here. I think that Charon promoting Floki was his way of recognizing and acknowledging that, not about slighting anybody else."

She paused for a long moment, gathering her thoughts, brow knitted. "There's still another Beta position open and I don't see why you couldn't have a shot at it. All you have to do is prove to Charon, Ame and the rest of the pack that you're a worthy candidate. You just need to build that intimacy and trust that Charon and Floki have." Wildfire took a breath. "And prove yourself as leader material, to them and everyone else." She knew, based on their past conversations, that he had the heart of a leader, but there was more to it than that. He wouldn't climb to the top of the ranks by fighting with the Alpha and Beta males, then avoiding everyone.

Her face softened somewhat as she gazed at him, seeing the struggle behind those all-too-familiar Caribbean eyes. "Tev, success is not a finite resource. Just because Floki's succeeding doesn't mean you can't too. Don't let him overshadow you that way. I know he doesn't want that." And perhaps because Tevinter did look so much like Floki and seeing the strife on his face was too difficult to resist, Wildfire found herself bending upward to gently lick his cheek.

The truth was that Tev didn't look for her to have the answers and he hadn't told her because he wanted her to solve his problems. He knew they were his to work through and try to fix on his own; and he'd been trying to fix things with Charon and despite the charged atmosphere they had when around each other (likely due to the fact that they seemed to be similar even if Tev didn't want to think that) he had thought that they'd been ...doing okish. But he didn't have any other example of Charon to draw from that wasn't personal and thus Tev had taken Floki's promotion as he had. Like Charon was doing it to be an ass to him. There was a small measure of cooling relief to the heat his anger had generated when Wildfire clarified that what he told her, what he admitted too didn't make her want to not speak to him anymore. He hadn't realized how tight he'd been holding it all inside him, coiled tight like a spring that was on the very brink of snapping in two until it was all out in the air. His chest felt ...lighter even if he knew it wouldn't quit feeling heavy until he apologized to Floki. He told himself he would apologize ...eventually. He wasn't really mad at Floki, Floki just happened to get something that Tev really wanted and knotted into the cross hairs of him and Charon's never ending bickering. 

“I know that,” Tev mumbled in a soft sigh in agreement, ears slicking back to his skull. Wildfire's thoughts were helpful, aiding him at finding direction when he felt lost in his own mind, in his own opinions and assumptions. “The truth of it is, I'm too...I don't know. Independent, or opinionated or something for Charon. I don't think we'll ever be able to see eye to eye and as long as that doesn't happen he will never even consider me for the open Beta spot.” Tev knew this, and in some ways accepted it. Of course, there was a way around that: a direct challenge for Charon's own rank. It would be risky, but it was how Ragnar had won the helm of the Cove, Thistle had told him. Perhaps, the issue also lay within the fact that hearing stories about his deceased father made him bold. Gave him something to connect too. Hearing that Ragnar did things, felt the same way, made the legend ...relatable to Tev, like if Ragnar had done it ...then so could he. For ambitious as Tevinter was on his own this was not a good thing for him (at least not now). In truth, Tev couldn't really blame Charon for this ...would the roles had been reversed Tev would not have let someone lead that held that kind of passionate ambition....it was a threat. If he earned the spot of Beta ...there was nothing stopping him from earning the spot of Alpha next.

“I know it's something you have to earn. I know. You have to earn the trust and loyalty of your future followers and co-leaders. I don't want anything I didn't earn, but,” He paused and licked his lips once. “I guess the real issue here is my wounded pride and jealousy.” Tev was the only one holding himself back (and he knew it), but he wasn't going to kiss Charon (or anyone's) butt and pretend to be someone he wasn't just because it led to the path of success. “Ha,” Tev inhaled deeply and let it out. “Guess I'm pretty messed up right now, huh?” He jested at his own expense, cracking a goofy grin at her, only to have his grin morph and sort of freeze when he felt Wildfire's tongue graze against his cheek. For a second, Tev held his breath, secretly relishing in the small gesture, all the more tempted by the fact that it was probably forbidden (because he made assumptions about Wifi and Floki). Inspired by the moment, he moved his muzzle so that, if she didn't withdraw it might brush lightly against her own.

“Thanks for uh, listening to me being the world's most selfish shit ever.” He cleared his throat, wondering why there was a lingering feeling of heat in his cheeks. And to distract himself inquired, “so enough about me, you want to uhm, patrol or go explore, er or something?” Because suddenly the cool, suave Kjalarr was feeling too nervous for his own liking.

He didn't disagree with her (somewhat scattered) thoughts on the matter. He actually seemed to appreciate her feedback. When Tevinter further elaborated on his issues, another thought popped in her head to join the dozens of others, clamoring for attention. But again she waited patiently, letting him speak his turn, before adding anything else—and acknowledging the intimate gesture that had just passed between them.

Pulling backward, she cleared her throat as the intimacy of it suddenly caused her to flush a little. "Ummm," she began, shaking her head silently for a long moment before remembering to answer him, "I prefer the word 'troubled,'" Wildfire quipped a bit awkwardly, amber eyes lingering on that livid scar on his face as if to ground herself and remind Wildfire that this wasn't Floki and she should probably keep her tongue to herself.

"Stop putting yourself down," she chided, entirely forgetting her earlier thought. "If you want to be a leader, you have to own everything you say and do, and act confident." She was poking fun, a little bit, and then she abruptly remembered and blurted, "Tev, have you thought of founding your own pack? It sort of sounds to me like Beta probably wouldn't be good enough anyway." And both Alpha slots were taken. It didn't occur to her—at the moment, anyhow—that Tevinter could challenge that.

"Not," she continued with an accompanying intake of breath, "that I want to see you leave. I don't. But from an outside perspective, it just seems like something you should consider," Wildfire finished with an airy shrug. She was now having a bit of trouble looking at him but she bit her bottom lip and dragged her eyes upward to gauge his expression, see what he thought of that idea.

Wildfire pulled backwards and Tev let her put the space between them though there was a part of him that itched to close it. Alas, Tev was a sort of gentleman and remained rooted in his spot, trying not to think too much into her gesture. Surely, she'd meant it to be strictly platonic. After all, she and her brother were a thing, right? He didn't know for sure but it was the assumption he'd just sort of made and stuck with, probably because he couldn't come up with any other reason as to why they always smelled so much like one another. “Just troubled, huh? Well, that's more stable than messed up.” He would politely agree to disagree with her on that. He was young still and had not yet come to the realization that his problems now were just that problems for him now. Eventually, they would solve themselves (one way or another) and when he would look back upon it would be rather insignificant; for now, however, they were serious problems for him.

“Well, I didn't want to sound too ambitious,” Tev let out a soft chuckle, but the truth was Wildfire had hit the nail squarely on the head. He would be contented with Beta at first because ...everyone had to start somewhere, right? But it would not sate him for long. “to be honest I've considered it a few times, yeah. Stavanger Bay is free territory now and it would be cool to reclaim it one day.” But ...that came with it's own set of pros and cons. It meant he would be out from under Charon's rule and thus away from the brother he did not get along with...but it also meant that he would be leaving his mom, his twin, and Wildfire herself behind. Tev wasn't ready to make that call yet; besides he didn't even know that he could get anyone to follow him. He couldn't just be the only member of a pack. 

“Maybe someday, but you're not getting rid of me that easy, Wifi. I'm sorry, to have to burst your bubble.” He teased her with a coy smirk. She had just confessed that she didn't want to see him leave, but he had throw the playful jab in there anyway.

It seemed he had contemplated this very idea, even selecting a potential territory. Wildfire immediately wondered what Floki and the rest of the family would make of it if Tevinter splintered off and reclaimed the bay as his kingdom. Would they be happy to see him make something of himself there, continuing the legacy and bloodline? Or would they resent him for trampling on their memories and claiming something for his own which was technically the birthright of all Ragnar's and Thistle's children?

She smiled a bit thinly at his quip, having made her stance quite clear a few times already. Neither she nor Floki would want him to go, she felt. But she understood it as a joke, at least the part directed at her. It seemed he was seriously considering the option, though he hadn't arrived at a decision yet. Wildfire knew how difficult it could be to make such a huge, life-changing choice like that and she empathized.

"I'm glad you'll be around for the foreseeable future," she reiterated yet again, her words genuine. "I'm sure Floki and even Charon are too. You guys may be a messed up family..." Her lips quirked to show she was ribbing him, although she did think of the depressed Thistle, the wildcard Kaylan and the enigmatic Ragna too. "But you're still family. We all are. And things between you and your brother," she added, needing to make no distinction, as she trusted Tevinter knew which one she meant, "they'll get better, Tev. Just give it some time," she finished with a slow wink, "and a little heart."

Tev was silent when she responded positively, once more, that he would stick around. The Loðbrok was glad that he could count on her to be his friend. He hadn't been sure if she would take sides and if she had he wasn't so thick as to think that she would chose his side over Floki's. His twin and Wildfire were close, if his gut suspicion was proven to be correct. “Yeah...” Tev drew in and trailed off in murmured agreement when Wildfire made the distinction that they were family. Messed up. But family.  Wildfire offered him words that Tev understood were meant to console him, that things would get better between him and Floki but for a moment there was visible hesitation on his face. Would it? Could it get better? It was clear that Tev's vocal dislike and put down of Charon (and his leading skills) upset his twin greatly. 

Tev was a realist. He liked to think that the bond that Floki and him shared ...special as it was as being twins couldn't be broken. But it had definitely was being pushed. First with the sea sweeping him away, again at his return and now with their clear disagreement with one another. Everything was so messed up since the beginning and he seemed to be on some kind of destructive path that was Hel bent on making it ten times worse. All because he was a kid and let his jealousy get the better of him; but in truth it wasn't even about Floki. He wasn't mad at Floki. Ok, that was a lie. He was a little mad that no matter what Charon did or how he treated those around him Floki stood by his side worshiping him like some kind of patron saint. Tev bet that even if Charon started to fling insults at Thistle that Floki would stand behind him, agreeing with everything that came out of their adopted brother's mouth.

“Maybe,” Tev said after a long stretch, inhaling deeply and let it out with a crooked little smile. He was troubled though and doubting what he no longer knew. Floki and him had been inseparable once but that clearly wasn't the case anymore and Tev could no longer recognize the Charon wannabe his twin had become. He wasn't so sure everything was going to magically work out but he appreciated Wildfire's effort nevertheless.

He replied with a noncommittal, "Maybe." Wildfire didn't deign to push the subject any further. She had said everything she had to say and the rest was up to time and fate (or whatever). Both brothers probably had doubts, so she would hold onto the faith for them. They were her family too, after all, by default of their mutual allegiance. But she felt particularly close to the Lodbroks in particular, of course, and truly hoped these broken ties would mend.

"You mentioned exploring or patrolling," she spoke up after a beat, having not addressed his previous question until now. "I'm a big fan of the former, not so much the latter. Wanna check out one of the neighboring territories? Maybe... the spine? I haven't been there in a while and I know there's some damage from the summer storm. Might be interesting to see if nature's rebuilding itself."

*kicks self* I'm so sorry! This completely slipped under my radar. :c

He was more than willing to put aside their grievances of their conversation behind them, though he felt happy to get his side out to someone who, at least, appeared to see it objectively instead of jumping to conclusions or judgments. He respected her all the more than he had before for it, glad that she did not inherently hate him for how he felt, for what he wanted from life. She brought back up his previous offer of patrolling or exploring and admitted that it was the former she was interested in. “Yeah," Because the more distance put between him and his problems, the better. He had yet to confront them and Tevinter realized that it was unhealthy but the days to come would be pivotal but he didn't want to think about them right now. Right now, what he wanted more than anything, was to forget about those troubles and go exploring with Wildfire. “Lets go, Wifi.” He offered her a charming smile and gestured for her to lead the way.

No bigs! Thanks for helping me finish it, so's I can earn my ranger badge. Maybe one more post from you and then I'll wrap it up? :D

It had been his suggestion in the first place, so Wildfire didn't anticipate a rejection. All the same, she grinned when Tevinter went along with her suggestion, already spinning on a heel to begin leading the way. A small strip of open grassland lay between the foothills between the two mountainous territories and Wildfire navigated across it with a glance in either direction. It really wasn't long at all before her feet touched hard ground again and she began to climb.

When they reached the ridge, Wildfire thought dimly of the caldera; the terrains were very similar. But her parents' homeland had survived the summer storm, whereas the spine had not fared so well. She sipped in a quiet breath as she surveyed the wreckage laid out below. The tornado had laid the forest to waste, then flooded the valley. She had already seen all of this before, so now she squinted, trying to pick out any signs that the place was beginning to recover.

A few towering conifers still stood and the flood waters had long ago receded. For now, the ground remained a tacky, muddy mess of flotsam and jetsam. Wildfire supposed that spring would bring new life. Maybe a new ecosystem would take hold entirely, the former temperate zone now becoming more of a wetland. Only time would tell and, really, not much had changed yet. After a time, Wildfire tore her amber eyes away and looked at her companion's face.

"It's hard to believe a pack once lived here," she commented idly, then added, "I don't think I want to venture down into the muck, unless you do...?" She quirked a brow, fully expecting Tevinter to say he'd seen enough and that it was time to head back home.

Tevinter followed after Wildfire in silence, welcoming the freedom as they moved past the borders of Moonspear. His mood brightened the further away they ventured; though he kept pace with her easily, slowing his steps so he did not get ahead of her. The territory appeared to be mostly muck and he stopped short of stepping in it. He sniffed at it, reminded of the witches' bog when Pasha, Whittier and him were tasked with following a bear trail; though that time the three of them had waded in the squelching, sticky mud up to their bellies. “I know,” Tevinter murmured in subdued agreement as his gaze followed hers. He remembered the summer storm well and the fire that had rampaged through Nova Peak causing them to flee to Jade Fern Grove. 

“No,” He spoke, taking a step back from it. “I waded through muck like that once and that was enough for me. Besides, if it's deep enough the mud could catch you and you could start sinking in.” Like quicksand. If he were a little more inexperienced in life he might have dove right into it and encouraged her to follow along; but he liked to think he wasn't quite so reckless and stupid. “But I'm not ready to return quite yet...maybe we could venture to the terrace before heading home. Unless you want to go ahead and go back to Moonspear without me.”

The choice was her's. Regardless, he had intentions of staying out just a little bit longer.

*fades* :)

He seemed even less willing to risk trekking through the sludge below. Instead of heading home, though, Tevinter suggested they head to the nearby terrace. Wildfire didn't think they would find much of interest there, yet she didn't want to leave him hanging, so she agreed with a smile and a, "Sure."

They headed downhill, angling west toward Silverlight Terrace. As expected, they didn't find much going on there. There were some promising scent trails, though, so their scouting expedition quickly turned into a search and destroy mission. By the time they headed back to Moonspear a while later, they each had a fat rabbit to show for their efforts.