Moonspear for lack of a better name,

occurring simultaneously with the cougar thread, deeper in the territory! pp'ing @Alya for now, mixed, you can hop in at any point <3 Kiddos can hop in, too! Also, going to participate in the June challenge of WotD usage :) @Kukutux

 

Hydra watched them come, @Lyra still lingering at her own side; Jarilo was not in sight then, so she presumed he must have gone to join the rest. Though Hydra longed to do the same, she knew her place must be here should the cougar find a way to evade the tooth and claw of Moonspear. Should they, the creature would find no matter where he turned, their death awaited. 

Strange how on this day, a bizarre rendition of the day the bear had come here with Galaxy in tow—Galaxy, thought to be dead after falling through a crevice in the Spear, which Hydra had been sure to ensure no such thing was near to their rendezvous—played within her head. The beast had fallen; her jaws had closed around the sows throat. Already the matriarch tasted blood, her anger with the felines intrusion a palpable thing. 

Half-in, half-out of the den, Hydra emerged from the whelping den to look over those that arrived. No worse for wear physically, she turned to enter the den again, offering a crooning note of invitation to Kukutux and Alya. Lyra wished to participate in the fight as much as Hydra, and so to her Hydra drawled, if you must go, keep out of reach from its claws, its teeth... If any wolves are injured, we will need you then too, she expressed, and the undercurrent there was also plain to see for her twins: I need you.

he's just lurking around the vicinity, so you don't have to mind him for any post order ❣

When the call to arms had risen to the winds, he had been high in the elevations, roving pathways that a warming spring had granted him the access too. He was less familiar with these spaces loftiest, but drawn nonetheless, to where the air thinned away and nothing but the crisp, clear, essence of mountain remained--so it was the urge to explore them that had lured him. It was this pull that did not work in his favor today, however. Antares was far flung from the summons, and paused to listen to what accompanied with a growing frown creeping onto his features. Even before the note died down, he turned on a heel and started for a route down, the way which he had come.

Still, despite his bad timing, he went down the slopes but not towards the outerlands with his father. Knowing, trusting, even--that his siblings would join at his side, he and went towards their mother's densite instead. Though he ached for the thrill the glory beyond could bring them or to see the fight that might ensue with the rest of the family, he must grant his watch elsewhere. Yet, not without a sliver of reluctance--what might he miss out on with Dirge? Maybe if he really rushed, he might... but surely, the nearest warriors were already on their way, perhaps even there already. He could divvy the resource for elsewhere, this time, and bite back the frustrations for now.

He closed in on the densite, but did not approach it fully--yet. His mother, or aunts, would know he was here before long. Before he went , he circled the area, combing through the woods with a scrutinizing navy glare.

she blinked, and hydra's scent filled her nostrils.

jarilo was out there, somewhere, among the hunters vying for the blood of the cat. kukutux still had not seen their demon-quarry, but the reek was like that she had scented when she saw arcturus during last moon. an evil thing. a wicked thing. the girl gathered her too-new children close to her bosom, glancing shyly toward aakauraga.

the woman was alert, her dark eyes settling on the younger wife. kukutux glanced upward with a grateful half-smile, one that faded as she turned back to her little ones, and then turned her gaze toward the wild, darkened world from which her husband might not return.

Hydra had become, over time, an intuitive woman, though that did not mean she had ever become a woman well versed in comforting others in times of their inner turmoil. What she was best at was the fight, and as she observed the concerned shade in the visage of her sister by love she wished she could be there among the wolves together to be rid of the savage thing that lurked too close to their domain. She was more equipped to respond to that than to this. Hydra could not lie and act as though everything would be alright on those front lines. She feared for her children, she feared for her husband, and she feared for her sisters that might have responded to the call. Those left. Those that would answer the call. 

Alya was better at this; better at kindness and finding the right words for sensitive moments like this, without needing to lie. Lyra would be as blunt as she could be, perhaps a little more. Medicine woman though she was, she could doctor wounds only that she saw... not of the mind. And so she was not sensitive to them. Hydra could hardly be called that, either. 

If they could take this thing down, they would be closer for it. 

Where you were from, she started, circling 'round to better escape the whelping den should she hear a ruckus near, have you and yours faced dangers such as this? Was it all the same, here, there, and everywhere, she wondered? What did her family do in such times?

hydra was speaking again, conversationally. out of deference kukutux stirred to listen, though she could not keep jarilo from her mind. a blink, and a nod. "when aglux came onto our land, sometimes they dressed as wolves. the hunters would go to the ice, and leave their wives behind." save for a guard or two, usually an old man or boy too young yet to be a man, the wives of the isle would manage without until the threat was staved off.

she glanced to saviguk, seeing the color of the ostregas in him. "sometimes, even when many of them returned, a few did not." her voice, faint, body, faint; hues swam before her eyes and the duck shut them to steady herself.

His circuit of the densite went on, and therein, he could find nothing amiss--despite his best efforts to suss it out if it were. Kukutux's scent was the biggest abnormality from the times he had come by prior (used to the presence of his aunt-mothers), and that was no cause for concern given the nature of the howls with the situation they possibly faced. Plus, he guessed his uncle had joined the others, so likely this was the best short notice could afford.

Antares was left to suppose that this was a moment when no news was good news so far, though it did nothing to keep his thoughts from venturing down the mountainside, wondering how his siblings fared, and if their father had engaged the foe yet--perhaps, if victory may be theirs already, or if this might be simple deflection. The dark yearling could only wonder, and inexperienced in that regard, his imagination went on.

But in the event that the front line was not enough, he hoped to be their next line of defense for the mothers in whatever way. He watched the area, careful over every twitch of the scenery, scrutinizing every turn. Eventually, on his long rangy walk, he did circle back towards the entrance of the den though still did not approach entirely. His nose quivered in search of the pups' scents, for he was not yet all that acquainted with any of them, and he moved to a vantage just nearby--above, a touch, and sat himself down with a quiet huff to pin a stare off beyond.

He couldn't quite make out the lull of conversation from within, but it didn't matter enough for him to try. On guard, he sent his energy elsewhere.