Moonspear long in tooth and soul

arcturus did not yet hear the call of the wild -- that siren song would not come for several months yet -- but as dirge spoke, the astute boy fancied he saw something akin to a longing in the older male's gaze.

dirge had traded his life in the wilds -- but it had not come at such terrible costs. with his domestication on the spear, he was granted stability. a mate. children. these, in arcturus' eyes, were very desirable things (oh, how much he had to learn about family, and the chains that came with it!).

his priorities aligned with dirge's -- in some way. yet maybe, when he was old, he might look back on the indomitable frontier, and long for the feel of fresh snow under his tired paws, of exotic winds rifling his fur...

yet for now, he remained rooted in the comfortable. "children change things, that they do. have you thought of more in the coming season?" for arcturus, the season seemed impossibly far away. little did he know how much things changed.