Dragoncrest Cliffs make a fury of me

@Artaax and @Blixen

Thuringwethil decided against hunting and using her energy when they had a cache to take from but she also hated taking from the cache and leaving the other wolves behind. Robin and Artaax are turning into budding hunters and Eske has proven her worth, as well as many others. They are capable to help keep things stored for them to eat. Perhaps they will even be lucky enough to incur another kill. The turkeys had been an exciting time and the deer she hunted with Dio and Shalon is long gone. As much as she has anxiety leaving her pack for such an extended period of time that is not to Trigeda, she knows she is leaving them in good hands.

Leaving her children is proving to be harder than she expected, too. Wildfire is already missing from their little family and she doesn’t want to leave them as the last remaining parent. Even Dio, whom they are still blind to being their sire, is leaving. Between Eske—even if she is preoccupied with the newest child she brought him—and Tirgatao, she is sure they will be fine. They are already old enough to start taking care of themselves and she doubt it’ll be any struggle for them to continue to grow into healthy, devoted adults.

After several minutes of battling with herself, she picks through the cache until she finds something that is enough to fulfill her without taking more than she truly needs to leave behind.

 at the meeting, blix had bitten her tongue, ever the well-behaved child. but it just won't do. she thinks about finding furi, trying to find some reassurance that staying behind would be the right choice (or at least an okay choice), but when she catches her nomi's smell by the cache she takes off. blix doesn't quite barrel into nomi's side but she comes close, eyes fiercely bright: "i'm going too! nomi, i'm going on the trip." it is rare for her to be so bold in declaring what she wants; or maybe it isn't, and hasn't been since mother disappeared and she decided to step up for drageda. still there is a part of her that feels a rebellious thrill as she squares off. declaring her intentions to train and demanding she be included in the scouting trip are, after all, very different animals. but blix is not about to take no for an answer, and she's a rowdy handful of teen.

Artaax had been hunting for his mother. The meeting had sat ill with him as well, however he had no intention of responding the way his sister did - a sight that he was just in time to be present for. He intended to calmly and respectfully request that she consider bringing him along, and was frankly appalled to see Blixen behaving the way she was. The boy stepped towards them with a soft growl, giving his sister a disapproving glare, though he otherwise held his tongue. He came to a stop a few feet away from the females, glancing at his nomi to see how she would react.

She is caught by surprise first by her daughter and then again by her abrupt determination to go with them. She barely has the kill between her teeth but drops it to the ground to address the situation. If she were any other child, she would have little problem. Drageda children are, after all, trained young and early for this very purpose. They fight young and enter battle young at a great risk they are well aware of. Blixen knows all this, has been training, and is capable of handling another her size. But she is her daughter and out of reflex, she wants to say no.

It is a dangerous world out there.

Before she gets to answer, Artaax pops up almost out of nowhere. She hugs a gentle sigh but stifles most of her frustration, watching as the boy gives his sister a luck. Instead of addressing the original concern, she stares at the boy a moment longer. "Yes?" in question to his approach.

 nomi does not immediately react, and she opens her mouth to plead her case before noticing artaax's arrival. her jaw snaps shut as she catches his disapproving glare. at first she scowls back at him, his judgement irritating - yeah, that had been a little bit rude of her but nomi's not reacting (yet) and who is he to judge her behavior anyway?

though.. she will admit she has been a little more quick to lash out lately. her anger abates, leaving her feeling a little - not embarrassed, but maybe slightly nonplussed, and she takes a step back. takes a breath to calm herself. and when she looks back at nomi, her gaze is back to being determined as before (but maybe a touch more settled). "we've just started training," blix says, figuring she might as well plead her case before nomi tries to say no, "i don't want to fall behind - and it'd be good experience, right?" there, no way nomi will say no to her now. she shoots another glance at artaax, less scowly, wondering if he'd come to ask the same thing as her.

Nomi withheld her reaction to Blixen's petulance, instead fixing him with a look and a question. Artaax glanced his sister once again, this time pointedly to signify that he was irritated with her behavior. He remained silent as the fire-furred girl settled somewhat and more calmly explained her reasoning for wanting to go, and Artaax too found his irritation melting away as she made all of the arguments he had formulated for himself. His ears fell as yearning replaced frustration and the tension in his frame fell away. He looked at Thur now, his own hope of being included written on the pleading look on his face that mirrored Blixen's.

"She's our mom," Artaax said after a long pause, his eyes searching Thur's face as emotion hitched in his throat, "It isn't right to do nothing when we can help." He fell quiet again as his ears fell back from embarassment, refusing to allow the emotion he had worked so hard to keep hidden from overtaking him. He was an adult now - Hompleia - Higher ranked than all of the other kids his age. He couldn't bear to appear at all unworthy of the rank by actually showing how young he truly still was and how desperately he just wanted his mommy back.

When Blixen does not give her brother the chance to speak, still trying to explain her case, she gives her a singular look and flick of her ear, following by the slight quiver of her lips. It is short lived as Artaax speaks up, offering the same thing his sister has given her. She lets out a soft sigh that appears more snort than anything, shifting her weight to look between the two. Blixen has done well in her training and Artaax has already succeeded into Dragedakru above the other children. His sister only trails him but she is not quite there. The trip, if allowed, may push her over the edge to give her the full maturity she needs to become an adult in their eyes.

They still have plenty of growing to do but Artaax has filled out for his size, albeit a little awkwardly as expected, but none of these are reasons to prevent them. It is a danger they will be facing but if they were not her children, she would offer no qualms if they were just as capable. “You may come,” she tells them. For a moment, she hears Wildfire’s voice in her head not to let them go but she shakes it off. “You will stay with the adults and avoid roaming away, do you understand? And you will be respectful to those of the Caldera when we get there. They are part of your family too.”

oof, the look. blix has yet to be on the recieving end of one of those subtle looks - it's enough to make the girl shut up at any rate, her ears flicking back apologetically. artaax speaks up, echoing blix's own feelings and she glances at him gratefully, the last vestiges of her annoyance fading. 

in any case, the children get their way. blix looks back at her nomi and nods, serious. the restrictions don't bother the warrior-in-training: she's coming so she can help keep them safe - she's not a scout by nature. "sha, nomi. chof,"  she thanks nomi with a dip of her head - even a month ago she may have grinned and wagged her tail, excited to have won her way, but now she accepts the order with a measure of calmness, knowing it is not a game but a serious responsibility nomi is  granting her. still, there is a part of her that's a little excited - a chance to visit mother's - and by extension, her - family is not something to take for granted even under the circumstances. and of course she holds deeply onto the hope that this will be the trip where they find her mother and bring her home, alive and well.

Artaax felt his heart swell when Thur said the words. A smile stretched across his lips, but he stifled it quickly as nomi continued to give instructions. He nodded to confirm that he understood each word. None of it would at all be a stretch for him - he was always obedient and respectful. The fact that the leaders he would meet would not be of Drageda was inconsequential to him (at that moment, anyway). They were still leaders, and he would treat them as such, even though they were not kru and were far inferior to them. Yeah, this would be great.

Blixen spoke words of gratitude aloud, but Artaax only gazed at the heda with the emotion written upon his face as he bowed his head to her. He looked at his sister then and commented, "We should prepare." And then he realized... "What can we do to help prepare?" Should he hunt? Would they bring food with them? Maybe he should attack a stick.

Perhaps it is only in her eyes but the revelation they will come seems to change them. Their features morphed from child to adult and they seem bigger in a matter of seconds. Wildfire isn’t here to see their ascension from child to adult and she closes her eyes, looking away while Artaax asks about what they should do. It takes her a second, but she opens her eyes again and gives them a thoughtful expression to hide the unsettling feeling in her bones.

“Eat, rest,” she tells them, “train. But do not tire yourself out. This is a long journey.”

her brother's question is (surprise) a sensible one and she listens to the answer quietly, her head already buzzing with ideas. later she will feel anxious for the journey and the implications of it, but for now the ginger rides the high of getting what she wants - to be treated as an adult - and after thanking her nomi once again, she heads off to prepare.

Artaax nodded as nomi gave them instruction. He intended to do all of these things, though didn't realize just how difficult the resting part would be for him. Anxiety had begun already to tingle in the pit of his stomach, but it was nothing that couldn't be worked out with a bit of good training. His plans set, he too thanked the heda with a silent dip of his muzzle before setting off himself.