Lost Creek Hollow pt. 2

Before looking for @Breccan, Rannoch had picked up a duck from the stockpile that was closest to his den. They were long overdue for some father and son bonding (thanks, Shardik), and he figured that bringing along lunch wouldn't hurt; he had learned from his interaction with Deshyr. 

Through the smell of day-old meat, Rannoch navigated the territory with an unsteady gait. He had picked up Breccan's somewhat-recent scent trail and, hopefully, would find him in time. Although Rannoch was in no rush, he knew that his son could easily out-pace him now and he didn't want to miss the chance to sit down and catch up.

Really, Rannoch didn't need a duck to entice his son to hang out with him. As soon as Breccan came across his father's scent trail and deduced that it meant Rannoch was out and about, he started tracking him down. Now, this meant that the two were probably moving in a big circle for at least a short while, as they tried to follow each other, but eventually their paths intersected with a little help from said duck; its delicious odor was a helpful indicator of his dad's location.

"Dad!" the youth barked happily, tail swinging in a wide arc as he crossed the snowy ground to approach him. At six months old, Breccan was swiftly nearing his adult size and was beginning to fill out and lose his baby fat. Naturally, he wasn't aware of these changes to his own body -- until he strode up next to Rannoch and realized that he wasn't that much smaller than his dad anymore. It was enough to startle him briefly, but that feeling was soon overridden by sincere and overwhelming gratitude that Rannoch was okay again. "That smells good," he said, eyeing the duck.

Breccan neared from up the trail, and in his approach, Rannoch felt a pang of grief; he had missed seeing his son grow up. Breccan was no longer a child, he was a juvinile who was almost fully grown. Rannoch smiled carefully around the duck as he watched, and his eyes softened. He had so much to catch up on. 

When Breccan was within speaking distance, Rannoch placed their meal on the ground. "Son," he replied warmly as he lifted his head; his sadness was forgotten. 

Just as Rannoch was about to remark about Breccan's size, his attention was drawn to the duck. "It's for us," he explained, "I was looking for you—I wanted to see if you had some time to catch up."

Breccan's gaze followed the duck as Rannoch moved to place it on the ground. He was already beginning to salivate; he was a growing boy, and "hungry" was almost a constant state of being for him, no matter how much he ate. He licked his lips but held back from digging in, waiting for a sign from Rannoch to avoid being rude.

Besides, eating wasn't the only thing on the agenda for today. His father expressed an interest in spending some quality time with him, and Breccan's rumbling stomach was briefly forgotten. He had yearned to be able to do normal things with his dad, and he was so relieved that Rannoch was up for it. "Of course," he replied with a broad grin.

Rannoch smiled; it had been a while since he had felt any sort of normalcy. With their agenda set, he motioned towards the rabbit and sat. "You take the first bite. I insist," he said, knowing Breccan to be a polite young man. 

"So," he began once Breccan had settled, "Tell me about everything," Rannoch said with enthusiasm. Figuring that "everything" was a lot to cover, he clarified his previous statement. "What have you been up to?" Rannoch couldn't help but be excited—he had waited a long time for this moment.

Rannoch didn't have to tell him twice. Without missing a beat, Breccan dug into the meal, pulling at the feathers with his teeth so that he could take a hearty bite of the delicious meat beneath. He was quiet for a moment or two as he chewed and then repeated the process, though his ears remained tuned towards his father to indicate that he was listening.

Settling back with a mouthful, he contemplated Rannoch's prompt. "Well," he said, around the food still in his mouth, "I'unno. Not much. Hangin' out with Nuna." He blinked and swallowed, then abruptly asked, "Where'd Wisp go?" He hadn't been all that close to his aloof sister, but he still felt her absence, especially since it had caused Liffey and Rannoch some concern.

Rannoch nodded. It seemed as though Breccan had been doing well. He had recently met Nunataq, and although she was slow, she was kind. Rannoch didn't have any reservations with their developing friendship; he welcomed it. 

The mention of Wisteria sucker-punched Rannoch right in the feels. Although he was sad about his daughter's sudden and unexpected vanishing, he would not sugar-coat his reply for Breccan's benefit. "I have no idea," Rannoch answered somberly after a pause, his smile frail. "I wish we could have found her but, she's just... gone." He didn't understand it. "Did she ever anything to you about leaving?" he asked then, wondering if there was some indication of her intentions of leaving that they had all overlooked.

Although Rannoch didn't really have an answer to Breccan's question, the boy still appreciated his father's frankness and honesty. It was easy to see that he was just as upset about Wisp's disappearance, which helped to validate Breccan's feelings. When Rannoch asked if she had ever mentioned leaving to Breccan, he tilted his head slightly as he wracked his brain, then shook his head after a moment.

"I don't think so," he replied, accompanying this statement with a shrug of his shoulders. He reached down to take another bite of food, and as he chewed, his mind wandered away from the topic of his sister. It wasn't that he didn't care about her; but his thoughts were in constant motion, like all young children, so his next query probably seemed a bit out of the blue: "Can we practice hunting sometime? Treason taught me a little bit, but I want to try with you."

Rannoch wasn't surprised when Breccan revealed that hadn't heard anything. Wisteria's disappearing had been sudden—as if it had been decided on a whim. "It's okay," he affirmed. "I didn't know anything, either." 

The subject changed suddenly, and Breccan mentioned hunting with Rannoch; he melted on the spot, excited that his son wanted to hunt with him. "Of course we can, " he replied, "There's plenty to catch here." Rannoch hadn't heard about Breccan's adventure with Treason, and he was curious to know that they had done. "What did you and Treason hunt?"

Of course, he hadn't expected his dad to say anything but "yes" to his request; yet he was still excited when Rannoch confirmed that they could have a hunting lesson. His tail wiggled enthusiastically and he obediently thought back to his experience with Treason. She likely hadn't intended to teach the youth on that particular instance, but she had graciously stepped up to the challenge and offered him some pointers as they tracked an injured deer.

"It was a hurt deer. We followed its trail. She showed me how to learn lots from the smell and the footprints and blood and stuff," he said.

Rannoch beamed at Breccan and nodded encouragingly as he spoke. "Sounds like she taught you a lot," he remarked; Rannoch was thankful that Treason had stepped up when he hadn't been able to be with his son. "You'll have to show me everything that you learned when we hunt." 

After a pause, Rannoch had an abrupt thought: "Would you want to make a trip out of our hunt?" It'd be a good excuse to get some one-on-one time with Breccan. "We could explore one of the mutual territories around here, and see what they have prey wise," he said, elaborating on his idea.

Breccan nodded his agreement; he certainly had learned a lot from his impromptu lesson with Treason. It had awakened his instincts as a hunter, and reflecting on the experience now only made him more excited to further his knowledge under Rannoch’s tutelage.

When Rannoch elaborated on the idea and suggested that they go outside of the hollow to hunt, he was met with an eager yelp from Breccan. Yes! the boy chirped enthusiastically. Which place? he wondered aloud.

Rannoch had a place in mind. "There is a territory to the north of here—I'm not sure what it's called," he admitted. "But, when we moved here from Sunspire, I remember that we passed it and it had a lot of prey-scents." It'd be perfect, he figured. 

"I'm excited for this," Rannoch said, looking his son in the eyes. "I know that I haven't been very present in your life, but I want to change that." I want to be better for you" he thought—but this notion went unsaid.

"Cool!" Breccan replied; although his dad didn't know the name of the place, his brief description was enough to please the boy. Rannoch expressed his own excitement, and in the next breath his tone became more somber. Breccan's enthusiasm faltered then; not because he agreed and felt like his dad hadn't been there for him, but because he hated to see even a hint of upset in Rannoch's eyes.

"It's okay -- you're still the coolest dad," he replied with a tentative wag of his tail.

"It's okay—you're still the coolest dad," Breccan said. 

"And you're the coolest son," Rannoch replied without a second thought; his heart was full, and he felt contentment from the high praise. His tail wagged, and he leaned towards to nudge his son's cheek. "I love you, bud," Rannoch said as he pulled away, "And I'm proud of the man you're growing into." 

The exchange between father and son did not end there—their conversation extended well beyond the completion of their shared duck.