Moonspear i never found my father, i never found my mother

@Hydra, @Dirge but others welcome too

arcturus was a man who processed things in his own time. while he was far from slow, he often took the day's events and overturned them as thoughts in his head slowly -- dissecting and disseminating what came to pass.

following the spear's foray for the moose-kill, something had occurred to arcturus that bothered him in a way that was both profane and confusing. a scent among the nightwalkers that had been familiar... and yet...

it had taken him weeks to place it. the scent was not one, but two -- and in confusing but scant presence. enough that the male did not immediately run to hydra, not until he was sure what he had suspected was true.

finding her scent (along with dirge's) among the pebbly ruins, arcturus chuffed lightly for their attention, his yellow eyes full of solemnity

Hydra and Dirge inspected their territory for any sign of aftershock or danger; the children were permitted to wander more of Moonspear as the days passed, and so the duo made sure that there was no stone overturned that would mean impending calamity. They had done so for several days, and thus far there was no sign of this; Hydra felt much better for it, and once she was done investigating and testing things around her she looked to her mate with a pleased look: all good, here. 

An errant pebble rolling against stone—only to land softly upon earth—caused Hydra to look in that direction with a sniff. She saw the look upon her brothers visage, and turned to face him entirely and move her course to meet him. Once she was near enough to him, she searched him for any sign of injury but could see nothing she had not already been aware of. Few things could cause her brother true upset, and Hydra looked to him with some concern, silently awaiting his news.

Unsettling most of all, it had quieted at last.

Or so it would have seemed—the tremors were farther and farther apart, as though whatever unearthly beast down below had finally quelled what had troubled it so. A tentative, uneasy stretch of days had given way to more lax moods but given the state of unrest outside of their proverbial, forested walls, calling it easy going would have been untrue.

They had endured as best as they could have, but Dirge could not help the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop in a manner of speaking; he sought distractions more often where he could and as of late, they had come in Hydra's company more than any other. At least today all seemed well until they were joined by Arcturus and the pressing sensation in unspoken words that something else was ill at ease.

Hydra set to looking him over first and Dirge was a distant second. There was nothing that seemed out of place about the lad than a perceivable emotion. Haunting at best, but far from an etiolation; his was a gaze ever sharp and vibrant, but it had been a curious sort of thing to watch as more readable feelings shifted and rose to the surface of a rather callous countenance. And like his mate, he too waited for what troubled him, and suspected it would take no longer than it did Arcturus to sum up what needed to be said.

joined first by his queen, arcturus met her with a dip of his noble head. she well read the emotions under the surface of his countenance; then dirge, who at first was some distance away.

arcturus fell in easy step, closing the distance so all three held council before him.

arcturus had many thoughts which wove like ropes through his mind — and the more he pulled and disseminated, the more these thoughts split off into tangled threads, each somehow interwoven yet separate from the last.

something i cannot put out of my mind — how did our alliance with the nightwalkers transpire? he paused to listen, the second question springing from his jaws shortly thereafter. and what does their leader look like? arcturus had one or two ideas of what manner of wolf lead their allies — but the more he thought, the more troubling it all became.

The question was not one she had expected to be the cause for concern, and Hydra looked at her brother, feeling the string of her own patience being tugged. She had explained to Dirge about it all, and Arcturus too—he was not one to forget, but perhaps he had a greater point to make. You know of my ambitions, she began, firstly, and with them is where I begin. They are not the most savory sort, I know, Hydra drawled, but they are reliable, and fight with us as we need. They are wolves for hire—but our alliance ensures that they cannot be hired to work against us, she finished. It was a wise decision, she felt, though she understood their mistrust; it was not as though she trusted any but for her family in full, after all. But Hydra liked Vengeance well enough, unsavory traits and all; it would be nice to be able to command wolves to simply kill when need be. To take a leader at their word and act—if that had been their way, Titmouse would be dead. But they had softer wolves then; Hydra knew that the wolves among her now would protect their own without question. 

Against the Nightwalkers, if ever their trust was broken—but it had not been, and Hydra suspected it would not be. She hoped not in any case; she appreciated the bonds they were forging. 

Hydra looks to him, blinking; he did not remember? He was the wolf who stood over the moose carcass, she sniffs, searching for any indication that Arcturus might not be well... but then, even she in this moment, fretful as she was over her brother, could not recall with any clarity if he had mentioned his name or role then. The large wolf, Vengeance, Hydra clarified, remembering, at least, there had also been a cub there beside him. 

The Ostrega woman looked to Arcturus then with an expression that requested he get to the point; was there something she should know about? Something that had transpired between the then-and-now that needed to be addressed? She was a patient woman, but she never appreciated being left in suspense for very long.

Though he knew the bits and pieces to the finer workings that went on with their so-called alliance, Dirge could not help but listen in as she explained to Arcturus. It was a good refresher, if for nothing else than to remind him why they were to be tolerant of such creatures... even if they seemed to have some rather unsavory workings at hand. His thoughts went to Reiko briefly, but she had gone just as soon as she had been brought back with them; he knew that to be Hydra's doing too, and it would have seemed there was little he could have said to sway the still healing she-wolf into lingering.

"At least they made good on that alliance with the moose," he murmured in thought, not to detract from the truth of things. They had held up their end of the bargain, had taken their share of the spoils. It also reminded him of the girl and the fen she hoped to take for herself—something that had been swept underneath the rug with all that had happened in the time between then and now—but this was hardly the time to bring that up.

His lips pursed to let Arcturus speak before he would breach that topic.

it seemed the sort they had taken under the wing of their alliance were bloodwhetters. arcturus received the news of their mercenary friends with a pursed lip, still troubled. his mind was following a similar tangent to dirge’s, though he snapped from his brief wallow in memories as he caught the sharp look hydra delivered him.

that man, the one that stood by the moose — that man was the man we chased from reiko. i thought the scents were familiar, but seeing him there drew it all back. he and a woman.. “accidentally” ... mistook her for someone else — i believe they would have killed her had we not arrived in time. his expression darkened as he recalled intervening, and how something had not quite seemed right about it all. it seemed important. though i don’t profess to understand the motives of our allies, i do not trust them.

Hydra listened to her brother, and glanced toward Dirge. Yes, she drawled, gaze shifting back toward Arcturus, Dirge had his suspicions then, too. Perhaps he might have, Hydra agreed; she had said as much with her mate, and now shared with her brother as it seemed Dirge had not, it was no accident. It was a test of loyalty; a job. Her tail lashed behind her and she blinked. Did he see, now, her own point?

I do not trust them either, not entirely, but I trust them enough to believe that they know the consequence of turning a fang against us. And they have not done so. They have fought by our side, and listened to my own command. The extent of their honor is in their allegiance, and we have it. For now, she was content with this and their lot. Until she caught wind of any betrayal, she would respect, even if she did not entirely trust, that Vengeance would not turn against them—she was not so foolish as to think it was impossible. 

Hydra tilted her head, not wanting to speak what else was on her tongue lest she bring it into existence. But she had already made her mind up about what was to be done should they be betrayed. Moonspear was savvy enough to protect their own and to always err on the side of caution. To start off ill with the Nightwalkers would simply be, for no reason at all, painting targets on the backs of her children and her family. She was inclined to trust them first enough to work with them and have them work with her; it was more to her benefit than it was not, as had already been proven.

Raptly, he watched and listened as Hydra went into an explanation of things and he wondered if they would be enough to fulfill, or at least sate, some of the wonders that Arcturus had. If nothing else, he saw it as a balm to soothe them; a reminder that even with their alliance it would pay to keep an eye turned upon them. Dirge presumed that they did the same towards Moonspear, at least if they were a wise sort.

"I still have my reservations," he chimed in, "but they haven't done anything to cross us personally." Yet—it went without being said, and he was certain that point lingered in his tone. Had Reiko been among their numbers before her unfortunate encounter, this would have been a very different conversation. It was enough to give them all pause and leave them to their own considerations.

"Though charlatans they may be, with everything going on, it seems to better our interests to have them on our side. We've already enough to contend with given those trying to rally stragglers to their cause north and south of us." It was a segue to the point he had thought of moments ago, and his gaze shifted between the darker pair briefly. "If they succeed, they'll narrow our hunting grounds and have a better choice of things going through the weald and the fen with the pass caved in."

Though the Roangeda girl had seemed to respect that he asked her to mind their swath, at least. He couldn't have said the same of Andraste, but that was more Hydra's doing than his own.

arcturus was still not so keen on their allies -- but hydra's words rang true, as did dirge's. he had his own conclusions to draw -- but as far as their purported loyalty, arcturus assumed that with all things, this alliance was likely conditional -- and the fact they had yet to turn fang against them was not a testament of their loyalty, but a testament to the fact conditions had not been good or favorable enough to do so. with all things, give it time.

"if they are smart, which they may be, they likely see little use in antagonizing us. they are sellfangs, right? perhaps their loyalty could be tested by chasing out those wolves attempting to settle too close to our claim. i would rather they do the risky work, than one of our own."

Hydra listened to the duo, nodding along and listening well to them both. Hydra had no qualms with her brothers idea, though she had no issue with removing them herself either. Still, perhaps they would like something to do. Shifting her weight, Hydra considered things. Her ears swiveled atop her crown, and Hydra's gaze shifted to Arcturus. Should those new settlers prove to be more trouble than they are worth, we will see just how sufficient the Nightwalkers are at completing a job, she decided. Hydra felt the settlers might be, though as of then had nothing but her brothers and mates complaint with the newcomers. She trusted them of course, Hydra simply wanted to meet the boy herself prior to acting. Better to know ones enemy, and all of that, and what sort of wolf could get under her brothers and mates skin; a difficult thing to do. It would also give her a chance to see Vengeance at work; she did not doubt him nor his abilities, either.

But Hydra desired to not act too soon, nor too rashly if it was not worth it. But then again, due to the disturbances around them as of late perhaps it was better to act sooner rather than later. She was a preventative woman; she liked to act before any real problems came about. This was but one bothersome wolf that could become more in time... but then, maybe not. Time would tell, and with it they would decide. They would each keep an eye out.

His thoughts aligned with what Arcturus had said; Dirge was never one fond of dirtying his own when there were plenty of other able bodies to do it for them. Especially when it came to matters of the political realm—he was finding he cared less and less for the likes of them. It had been easier to simply let Hydra handle matters, and he be an aid to her if nothing else than a voice of reason.

"Our neighbors to our south seem to understand which is ours to avoid," he provided, not knowing whether or not the same could be said of others. "And if their numbers stay small on all accounts I don't think we'll have much to worry after. Though should the time come, I too am curious just what our new friends will do." And though he did not add, he wondered if they would employ the tactics that they had already had in their arsenal... and if they would hit the right mark rather than the first stranger they laid eyes upon.

arcturus' gaze fell as hydra spoke, listening with carefulness to what was both said, and left unsaid. he would have personally been one to drive them out before they presented as a problem: hydra proposed to wait.

he supposed that decision came from experience he did not have -- once again, arcturus felt frustrated by his youth, but did not speak. as dirge's assent filled the room, he wondered alongside the duo what their allies were capable of. he did not want to find out on the wrong side of their tooth, so to speak.

nodding, pleased he had at least been heard (and pleased too, to be in a position to voice his concerns freely) arcturus accepted the decision with a sweep of his tail. "here is to hoping we won't need to call upon them."

Fader bc I suck!

 

Hydra nodded, considering all things brought to the table. All ought to benefit Moonspear, and if it did not it would bode well for no new settler. So long as it did, though, they could rest easy. With a sigh, Hydra moved several paces ahead until she was beyond Arcturus. I am going to see the children; perhaps you could continue where I left off, Arcturus, she half-requested. Hydra did enjoy knowing Dirge and Arcturus got on; it comforted her to know it so, given how important he was to her. And so with that said, Hydra quit the scene and did as she had said.