Noctisardor Bypass To the meaning of life

Open for any! Maybe @Ashlar, even though I already have a couple of threads with ya on Warlock? And I still want another @Kaertok thread at some point if he's in the area sometime (or for my earlier AW, which can be backdated a bit too). And @Zarya if you are going to be joining Legion, feel free to assume they very briefly met before Arbiter went off on her adventure? :)

Trip over, nothing gained. Unsurprising at that, but now she had borders to tend, to patch any holes that had developed in her claim while she was absent those few days. Sure, others could help, but they weren't her. The reality that Terance and Pike didn't seem to be coming back any time soon had been something that she had accepted, but not something she had been happy about. The feeling simmered and the rain didn't make it fade.

But the thing about Arbiter was that she continued, regardless. She was stubborn, perhaps too stubborn to crack if such a thing was possible. She moved swiftly through the layer of snow that still remained, nose cruising along the surface, searching for where she should take her time. It was an ongoing, repeating process -- prowl along, pause, scrape the ground or leave other marks, move along again. She looked out to the world beyond, then back to her path. She would build with whatever repetition was needed, for each time was another nail, another plank, and home was the result.

Baba was gone, and as much as Ashlar tried to be brave, he had never felt more alone.  He cried the first few nights, and he still felt a sort of despondent loss over it.  The boy was a sensitive soul.  He was not angry; he was glad mama would have news and company.  He just hated that he couldn't be there with them too.  

Ashlar sniffled as he walked through the claim that would be their new home, whenever they had enough members to claim it.  He didn't want to seem like he was a crybaby, so he walked a little hesitantly, making sure Warlock and company weren't anywhere near.  Instead, he almost ran smack dab into Arbiter... only a quick, awkward backpedal saved him.

O....oh!  S...s...sorry.  He stammered out awkardly.  I... Ashlar was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry again, so he clamped his mouth shut and tucked his tail down, waiting for her to yell.

She had expected he'd stop. Arbiter had seen him coming, after all. And then it seemed like he wasn't. Her own steps hitched slightly about the time as he came to a sudden halt. She, too, stopped, one paw off the ground for a moment before she sat it down on the earth again.

Arbiter hadn't been told of Gannet's departure, as far as could be told. And though his scent had started to fade, there were so many in her pack that scouted, she felt like, that it didn't seem too unusual any more. It was something she needed to fix. She'd need them some of them to stay closer to home. But something to see about fixing over time. Either way, she wasn't blind, as cold as she could be, she was fairly sure something was wrong. Arbiter's head tilted, curious, Ashlar? She was not perplexed of his existence, as obviously Terance had welcomed him and Gannet in and her own son had met him... More was the issue was that if something was afflicting those in her pack, it was something that needed to be sorted out -- that was what she was asking.

She was nice, and that only made Ashlar choke up a little more.  He'd never been apart from his parents before.  Mama he'd left, but in doing so, he'd been traveling with Gannet and could forget it.  Now that Baba was gone, he missed her more as well, and it was a weird uncomfortable fear that settled deep in the pit of his stomach.  It wasn't fair.  He shouldn't be sad.  Baba had trusted he could do this, so he could do this.

S...sorry. He apologized again, sounding a bit like a broken record.  Ashlar swallowed, and still couldn't look at her.  B... Papa left.  He said he needed to go back to Mama.  He sniffed.  D...d'you need help with anything?  He wanted to stay, to prove that he could and help in the way his parents had raised him.  But he was at a bit of a loss at the moment.  Maybe a job would fix that.

Perhaps had it been a year ago she would have brushed him off. But here she was, having had her own children -- and now with one of them and her mate missing it certainly provided a different perspective. not that it ever showed. It was best it never did on the outside -- her actions were the things that would show who she was as a person, as they did always.

A pause and quiet, Ah. Well, explained a few things. But Arbiter wasn't looking down on him for that or anything, she was her usual practical self. The thing that I need is to know is what you need. If there is something that will help you, then that's what is needed for the good of the pack. She didn't move to comfort outright because that was not the way she was -- he was an adult now, and the way Arbiter saw things, he should be able to find a way to solve his problems or know how to ask to find the answers. Things weren't always pleasant, but life moved on. He could ask, she could offer, but a pack was supposed to work together for the betterment of all.

What he needed was his parents, but that wasn't really true.  He felt like he needed them, but he was still here, and the rest of them were still here.  Arbiter was still here.  He'd be okay.

So now he knew what he wanted, but what did he need?  I don't know, he admitted, tucking his tail a bit instinctually.  Ashlar was ashamed to admit it but he wasn't quite sure what came next.  He looked at her, dwarfed a bit by her large size.  I want to help.  Maybe a job, o..or....  Ashlar trailed off, thinking.  He likes to sing, and to hunt, and to learn.  He wasn't sure what skills he had that she could use; Baba's healing lessons hadn't stuck much with him.  He'd never considered there might be a time where Baba wouldn't be here to do it himself.  So now what?  Papa taught me some things, he said softly, and a little timid.  He wasn't confident in his abilities, but he remembered some of the more basic ones.  He'd fetched a lot for mama back home.

So this wasn't going to be a simple to solve thing. She did have patience about some things -- her own children had taught her some  But she would watch and see if anything she happened to say struck a chord. I made this pack to give everyone opportunities. I'm sure you can find one that will fit you. Even if he seemed even more meek than Spook, which was certainly saying something. So she wasn't going to go chucking him onto the front lines. That would be both useless and needlessly cruel. 

So what would be a good solution to this puzzle? Something that would make sense for him. I know you've ventured farther than my own children. Do you want to adventure more, or are you here to stay? She'd already mentioned him to Jomyo, but eh.. She could confirm first on her own. And she felt like adding on for good measure: You are not alone here. If in the end there are no ideas you like that I suggest, perhaps another might have something that agrees.

He was still a little misty eyed as she continued, but he managed to pull himself together when she mentioned an idea that he'd never really considered.  I... I don't know, he answered quietly and truthfully.  Ashlar had never thought about wandering.  Anytime he'd traveled, it had been because Baba or Mama were going.  Of course he had followed.

I could try.  Traveling with Baba had been exciting.  It scared him now because it would be alone, but if it was a way that he could help then he would not turn it down.

Is there a lot here? He asked then, a follow up to her statement.  I haven't.... haven't really met a..anyone.  He faltered a little more on that.  He felt ten times more nervous about meeting anyone new now.  Maybe he'd just stick close to the ones he knew to be friends for a bit, just until he felt a little more okay again.

So perhaps giving him a job really would help -- he seemed to be calming down with the offer. Then Jomyo would be the wolf you should talk to. Kaertok has also been scouting for us, but he has been going much farther away. And to her seemed less approachable for someone like Ashlar. Maybe she'd be wrong. But at least right now. But in the end, the choice is yours.

Hopefully he'd settle in and find his place. Arbiter wasn't one to think that it was somehow an awful thing to be freed of their parents' bonds (except maybe in the context of she wasn't sure her own children were ready for that), We are not a huge pack, but there are enough. I believe you met my children long ago, two of them are still here. You may remember Pheiros, he's still here too -- I know he wanted to learn to heal, but I haven't had luck finding him a tutor. There are others around who you wouldn't know, but they all should be willing to help you however they can. And you can find me whenever you need me. She'd help him however she could -- to a certain point he still seemed to act like a slightly younger wolf to her in comparison to his actual age, which probably was the reason for that.