Sun Mote Copse And I'm breaking down, I think I'm breaking down

After having finally spoken with his mother- their first real conversation since he'd left for Moonspear, he decided that there was another wolf in the Copse he needed to track down. He'd caught her scent- and had noticed with satisfactied curiosity- if there was such a thing- that Figment as well had returned, but that his certain cousin didn't seem to be in the area as well. He meandered through the Copse, head down and nose sniffing furiously until he found himself tracking her down the most recent path of scent she'd left behind. 

It wasn't an easy task, hunting her down- and when he caught sight of @Fennec, he noticed the tension in her shoulders and the firm set to her jaw. He leapt to the conclusion that she was pissed off at Penn- and was happy to join her so that she could gripe about his deadbeat cousin. He woofed, to catch her attention, and picked up a lope to close the distance between them, assuming she might hold up enough to let him catch up with her.

Despite the days that passed, Fennec's ire hadn't died out much.  She always could hold a grudge.  Which was why, when Bronco woofed, she only got more defensive.  Their last conversation had been in a pretty similar vein to her current issues with his mom, and she wasn't above lumping the two of them together in the doghouse right now.  Niamh was the direct recipient, but he was going to get the stray barbs too.

She did pause, but there was definitely a cold edge to her What do you want?  No hello, no how are you.  She hadn't seen him in forever, and on some level it was probably good to see him.  But she wasn't much in the space to be appreciating shit like that right now.

The briskness of her pace faltered only for a moment- and for some reason, she begrudgingly acknowledged his presence, and deigned to question him with an abruptness that made him skid to a halt. While he hadn't been terribly certain of how she might react, he hadn't been prepared for her to be so hostile. He tucked his tail slightly, and turned his ears back sheepishly as he padded forward, and while he knew that his posture wouldn't be of any use to Fennec, it did influence the tone of his voice, and the energy he exuded as he padded toward her. 

"I wanted to see you," He said. "S'been a while, Fenn," He wanted to reach out and touch his nose to her shoulder, but wasn't sure he'd be able to do so without getting snapped at, so he remained a couple feet away from him. He studied his features, noticing how she'd matured in the time they'd been apart. But it hurt to see how stern her expression was, and how it aged her a bit. "I know I don't hafta say it, but I missed you."

There was no way she was going to let his sincerity soften her up.  No.  fucking.  way.  Yeah, right, she scoffed.  Well, I didn't miss any of you.  It was amazing and I wish I didn't come back to this stupid pack.  Of all of the baldfaced lies Fennec had ever told, this was definitely one of the biggest.

She could almost feel bad about it, but she wanted to cut him, because being a bitch right now felt better than admitting she was upset.  But, in the end, she relented one single detail that was more to the point.  I hate her.  She said this quieter, then growled.  No wonder you went and left too, having to deal with that. Finally she shut her mouth, simmering into the stormy sulk that had characterized her recent days.

Unlike his mother, who had an outburst when Fennec got lippy with her, Bronco's lips pulled into a small, but apologetic smile. Fennec was the sort of wolf who threw out insults as a defense mechanism, and he was able- by now- to see right through it, and not take it too personally. It was almost her way of showing that she did care, and that she had missed them, though she was potentially too proud to admit it. Her actions spoke volumes- she was back in the Copse, after all. It went without needing to be mentioned that if she'd had such an amazing time roaming with Penn and Figment, then she'd still be doing just that. "Yeah, this place is kinda lame," He agreed softly in response to her regrets, choosing not to feed her ire. 

But when she mentioned someone else- a her, that he had apparently left behind, he was surprised. "Wait, who're you talking about here?" He asked, but then answered his own question as the answer was relatively obvious. "My Mom?" He asked. Of course, he had his reasons to have left the Copse, and she was one of them. But why would Fennec hate her? "What'd she do now?" He asked. While Niamh had been hard on her own children, he'd never noticed her being tough on any of the others- she'd spared his cousins the discipline, as she had for Towhee and Phox's children...But suddenly, now- was she picking on the others in his absence?

That was all she really needed - he had given her an open invitation.  What did she do now?  Fennec tended to keep a pretty tight lid on things, as a rule.  Small smiles, sarcasm, and cutting remarks were how she showed both affection and anger.  So when she felt herself beginning to seeth again, she had to begin to pace.  She didn't know how else to let it out.

She's the fucking worst is what!  I'm learning to be a fucking healer, and first job Eljay gives me, she won't even let me do it.  She spat.  What, I'm so blind, better to knock me off my fucking feet than let me dare try to do something useful?

She had forgotten who she was talking to for a moment, but a second later, it clicked.  Shit.  So far, she'd been making Eljay keep it a secret that she was training.  It still hadn't occurred to her that this was a large portion of her current troubles, but it did occur to her that now, Bronco knew.  Well, so what?  It wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

Still, she kept her mouth shut, waiting with a weird sort of trepidation.  She didn't know why it was such a thing to her, admitting it.  But it was.

Woah. This was a lot more than what Bronco was expecting. Generally, he might've expected something more vague from Fennec, more of an allusion or insult cast in his mother's direction rather than for her to open up about what had happened. Getting detailed information from Fennec was like trying to pry a pearl from an oyster- except that the oyster had fangs, and was still alive while it was being shucked, ready to bite. This time, however, she'd definitely been pushed over the edge- and her confession spilled forth from her like an overflowing fountain. 

At first, he missed the aside about her learning to be a healer- and was more gutted by the shock of knowing that his mother had lashed out at her. He wasn't quick to leap to his mother's defense, though, having been held at the sharp edge of her sword more than once before. "Jeez, Fenn," He gritted. "She actually hit you?" Sure, he'd given her a few thumps, kicks and playful headbutts throughout their childhood, but he had never intentionally lashed out at her, in spite of all her sharp witticisms. Given how angry she was now, though, he could imagine the scenario...The easiest way to piss his mother off was to say something, or do something, that dug into his mother's insecurities, or undermined her authority. He wondered if Fennec had said something- but that wasn't the point, and she probably didn't want to be interrogated right now. "What a piece of shit," He said. His mother hadn't mentioned the altercation to him- but she had been pretty distant and abrupt.

Bronco's immediate agreement soothed her some, though she still felt agitated, like there was an itch beneath her pelt that she couldn't scratch no matter how she tried.  She didn't like this feeling one bit, and little by little, she began to try to draw herself back in.

He was more caught up on the hitting, but that wasn't the part that upset Fennec.  It sucked, but she'd trained with Towhee.  She was no stranger with being punted into the dirt.  What she didn't like was the reasoning and what the move had implied.  But getting into that was really close to oversharing, and Fennec had already crossed one line today.  She wasn't about to breach another.

Yeah, well.  Whatever.  She can kiss my ass anyway, I don't know why my dad even likes her.  Doubling down, she took a breath, then stopped her pacing.  Right.  It wasn't even worth it.  Wasn't like she ever had to talk to her or deal with her anyway.  As she tried to level-set, she felt the awkwardness of her earlier greeting with Bronco fall over her, and she let the silence stretch for a moment.  So... you really left, huh?  she finally asked, a peace offering of sorts.

Finally, the pacing stopped, and she seemed to have calmed down a bit. Stiffly, she extended an olive branch, which he took also as an apology for snapping at him earlier, thouth he was humble enough not to acknowledge it that way. He wanted to say something to his mother- but part of him knew she would defend her decision, snap a bunch of excuses at him or send him flying into the dirt. It wouldn't make much of a difference. He had yet to find a way to get underneath his mother's skin- but it was sometimes like trying to throw a pebble at a dragon. 

To be fair, Fennec was right. He found it hard to believe someone as genuine and kind as Phox had chosen to take his mother as his mate. "You're right about that," He said softly, as a response. And to her question about his absence, he nodded. "Yeah, I did. It's been good- lots of training but...It's been good to get away." He said, and felt that Fennec would understand exactly why he'd felt that need. "You're..Are you back for good then? And training to be a medic?"

Fennec listened silently as he talked about Moonspear, and she felt the stirrings of something underneath the cooling anger.  Jealousy.  It wasn't enough to stoke her up again, but she was definitely envious of the casual way he talked about training.  Also, presumably, how easily he and Meerkat had made the move in the first place.  She was deluded on a few things, but anyone but her family being willing to provide for her? Definitely not one of them.

Sounds alright, she replied, a little dismissively.  And yeah, maybe.  I told Eljay not to tell anyone because I don't know yet.  So you better not either.  This last part had a little more push to the tone. 

What are you training in there?  She didn't remember really what he'd been into here.  Scouting? Hunting?  She didn't answer the second of his questions... if she was here to stay.  If she was honest, she knew what she wanted the answer to be, but the discussion around why that wasn't possible anymore wasn't something she really wanted to talk about with Bronco now.

She was training under Eljay, which seemed like the likeliest course for success. He wondered if he should mention Sugar Glider, and how she was travelling freely as she trained, but thought otherwise. Perhaps Fennec- as sensitive as she seemed to be about others knowing that she was in training- might not want to hear more about their cousin who already had a head start. So when she put the same gag order on him, he responded with an oblivious "Tell people what?" His way of promising her that he'd keep her secret. Though, with a moment of consideration, he decided to toe the line and push Fennec's comfort levels a bit. "For what it's worth, though- I don't think you need to keep it a secret. I think you're gonna be a natural at it," He said, with a shrug even though he knew she wouldn't see it. 

She seemed more comfortable with talking about him, but he wanted a bit more of a quid pro quo; but he'd have to give her a bit before he could ask anything of her. "Guarding and hunting, mostly," He said. "Learning how to tuck-an'-roll every time I go arse over tea kettle down the slopes," He said with a slight laugh. "At least I don't have some harpy breathing down my neck the whole time, though," He continued, softly.

She didn't need to hear it, so she didn't thank him, but she did appreciate his confidence.  She was sure she would too... that wasn't the problem here.  The problem was she didn't really think it meant all that much.  Not when it compared to the skills she'd tried and failed at before settling on this course.

Fennec smirked a little at his final comment.  Well, congrats.  She could try to be happy for him... and she almost was.  Almost.  She let silence hang there for a moment, awkward.  

She'd been so happy to come back to the copse for a visit, back when that was all it was.  But Penn had pushed her almost immediately, and now that she'd pushed back, her plans of continuing to travel with him were gone.  She hadn't told them, no, but that had always been the plan.  She knew it now.  And it was amazing how quickly, after those plans shattered, the copse went right back to feeling like a prison sentence.

There was a pause, a silence that hung between them. And for a beat he considered telling her that he'd missed her- but any emotional sentiments he'd ever shown her had only ever merited something he interpreted as disdain or discomfort. She'd shrug him off, or tell him off- it was her sort of self-defense mechanism, and while it did bother him that he couldn't get real with her and talk about his feelings, he felt it was likely best that he avoid plucking the wrong chord with her, and keeping things stoic. 

"So you think the next time I come to visit," He drawled, "You'll be able to cure whatever wounds and sicknesses I pick up, right?" He said, but before she could answer, he continued. "Just think of it. Someday, I bet, you'll have a list of wolves who owe you a debt for saving their lives. You'll never have to do anything you don't wanna do ever again," He said.

It's good that he didn't give her time to answer straight off, because the snark was ready.  No, I'm gonna be a medic purely for birds, shithead. Fennec had been more prickly than usual, if that was possible; no one had been safe from her barbs, not even her parents.

He struck the nail pretty hard on the head with the second part, though, and the sarcasm died on her tongue.  That's the idea, she said, and while she was hesitant, it did feel good to admit it.  So you better be ready to pay me what a proper witch deserves, she added.  She'd settled on the title and it was what she was going with; no other would do.  She'd live in a creepy af marsh and brew remedies and poisons - no one would mess with her.

Bronco blushed when he realized he'd found something that Fennec showed an interest in- exchanging healing prowess for favours. And he thought it quite likely that a wolf- once they had built up a reputation- would be able to do such a thing. Not all packs had a medic, so if Fennec was able to spread the word about her skills, she might be able to curate some interest in her consumers and patients. 

"Like my soul, or firstborn child?" He asked, with a smile. "Or d'you mean more like...The softest pelts to sleep on, and the finest meats to eat? You could really ask for both if someone really needed help," He insisted. An idea occurred to him- but he snapped his mouth shut, his eyes glimmering with glee. He had an idea now, of something he could potentially do for Fennec, but he didn't want to ruin the surprise of it.

Or the soul of your firstborn child, Fennec teased back.  This was more like it.  But I would take the others as a down payment, yknow, in the meantime.  Since who knows when some sad girl will settle for you.  She smiled as she said this last part, and reached out a paw to try and cuff him where she approximated his shoulder would be.

She missed this.  Fig was the best, but he didn't really joke anymore.  For some reason, he'd taken it on himself to become responsible or some nonsense, in a way she and Penn and Bronco hadn't.  Bronco reminded her at times of her brother, and that was in part why they'd clashed before she left.  But he could dish it and take it too.

Guess that depends, though.  Bet you have your own share of medics over in Moonspear. She didn't know much of the place, other than that was where he and Meerkat had gone, and that it was a mountain.  And that Wraen hadn't liked them... which Fennec found intriguing.  Wraen had liked about everyone.

"Ouuuuh, good call. Bonus points for creativity," He responded immediately, when Fennec decided that the soul of a firstborn child would be the price for saving a life. It was all in jest, and all completely hypothetical- but a cherished soul for a selfish wolf's live seemed like a fair enough trade to him. He arched his brow when she commented on his failures at wooing women- and he was distracted for a moment by his thoughts, reflecting on the pretty faces he'd come to admire- when he felt Fennec tag his arm with her paw. "Oh, hey, come on now," He said softly. But for some reason, it didn't seem fit to boast that there were several other pretty young women who had caught his eye. "I'll have you know that compared to most others guys I'm like...Actually pretty good lookin'" He said, while completely aware that physical appearances wouldn't matter much to Fennec. "Must just be my personality that turns 'em off. Just gimme some time, they'll come around." He said with a bit of a shrug. 

She'd seemed to warm up a bit, so he sat down and fished at one of his ears with a hind paw to scratch an itch. She fished for information about the medics on Moonspear, and his ears perked. Naturally, he read more into her intrigue than she'd perhaps intended, and he was quick to buy into it. Maybe she was asking- and asking in the way that she did- because she wanted to hear that they needed help. Maybe she'd want to come live with them too; and it made him feel oddly hopeful. But he had to play this cool, or he knew he'd scare her off.

"Actually, we have one, her name's Kukutux," He said. "She's really good with herbs, an' making pelts into like...the softest bedding. She's super gentle and kind," He said, leading him to compliment her further, but with a goal in mind. "...And a good teacher. I don't think she's got any apprentices on the go right now, though," He said, steadily watching Fennec's expression.

Fennec prided herself on being a pretty closed book most of the time, but he read her clear as day.  She was absolutely fishing, and what he delivered was near on exactly what she wanted to hear.  A part of her felt guilty, because she enjoyed Eljay's teaching.  And she wasn't sure she'd take them up on it right this moment... but just the option.  The choice.  She had to know there was something else out there, especially now, when she felt slighted and alone and left behind.

There were a whole lot of benefits.  Meerkat was there, and Bronco.  Penn would be PISSED if he ever found out, and wow did she ever love that.  Towhee would be upset, and Phox, and Fig... but obviously the others came to visit.  She could too.  This Kukutux might have more to teach as well, things Eljay couldn't.  Maybe she could even come back and teach him.

She sounds awful boring, but that tracks with Eljay too.  What's nice even got to do with healing?  She asked, but there was definitely a piqued interest there.  Damn.  Maybe sometime, instead of pelt or something, I'll take an introduction... as pre-payment, yknow, for whatever stupid shit you are bound to get into.  She couldn't outright ask, but now, she had something to kind of trade with.  It was still hard to admit, but she knew if she showed up blind and alone they'd probably turn her away on sight.  There was no way any pack would want her, and she would need the chance to at least prove she was worth something to them first.  This was her best shot at that, and if she pulled it off, it meant she'd achieved something huge.  It meant... well.  That she could do it, with or without her family.  She loved them, but she knew she couldn't rely on them forever.

He chuckled. He'd never found Eljay boring- shy, for sure, but once you asked him enough questions and got him to open up a bit, the guy was an open book with lots of answers to his silly questions. He certainly wasn't boring. And Kukutux, he found, was possibly one of the most interesting wolves in Monspear, as she brought with her the experience of living in a completely different place with very different customs. He wondered what Fennec might think of her when they met- if the soft-spoken snow duck might get through Fennec's abrasive shield, or if Fennec might think Kukutux too gentle to be useful. Still- the conversation was going in the right direction. 

"I'll take that," He said, with a nod. "I'll talk to Kukutux when I go back, but I'm sure she'd be willing to meet you an' teach you a couple things." Maybe he could butter her up by bringing her a nice gift- that might just work. "An' when I come visit next month- we visit every new moon- you could maybe come back to Moonspear for a bit, with Meerkat an' me?" He asked. It would possibly be the best time for her to come visit, and spend some time there before the snow began to fall. "An' who knows. Maybe she'll like you so much she'll make you her official assistant an' you'll just have to stay there with us." He said with a grin. "What d'you say? Someday you could be the official Mountain-Witch of Moonspear."

Maybe.  But don't get ahead of yourself, because I dunno, been pretty nice and quiet around here last few weeks.  Fennec lied.  It was supposed to be a joke, but it fell a little flat, even for her.  Apparently even she had a limit for how bad a lie could get.  She shrugged it off.

But official mountain witch is a cool title.  So maybe.  She could probably make it another moon, though the wait would be a long one.  A month of dodging, training with Eljay, and trying to figure out how to tell her parents what she wanted to do.  At least it gave her plenty of time to warm them up to the idea.

Nice and quiet? From what he'd heard, his mother had been neither of those, and whatever mood his mother was in seemed to set at least part of the tone for what life was like living in the copse with her. "And you'd be happy with 'nice and quiet' for the rest of your life?" He asked, as a gentle tease. He knew she liked adventure, but part of him was also curious to see if Fennec would ever accept a lifestyle that wasn't charged and full of drama. And while Bronco himself liked adventure, he didn't like conflict. He'd take peace and quiet over a dramatic racket any day. 

"Maybe it is, then," He said, though secretly he was excited that he'd found something that sounded like it might appeal to finnicky Fennec. "Whell. I should probably go see where Meerkat's at, and see when she wants to head back. I'm glad I ran into you, though, Fen." He said, though there was a bit more sentiment to his voice than he knew she'd normally allow, so he followed it up swiftly with a quip. "Don't get too witchy while I'm gone, hey?"

Not in the least.  It had been downright boring since Penn dipped.  Eljay was nice and Fennec actually was growing fond of him, much to her chagrin, but holy shit she missed.... just... shooting the shit with someone.  For no reason other than to be lazy.  Or dipping out herself and getting away for lengths of time.  Things had changed, and she didn't know how she fit here with anyone else anymore.

He was winding down, and Fennec remembered that initially, she'd wanted to tell him about everything that went down.  It was still tempting, but now it would be weirdly out of place to do it.  Besides, she'd already gone on a bitch fest about his mom.

  Yeah, yeah.  No promises.  She answered, and gave him one last small bump with her shoulder before she let him go to find her sister.  As he left, she found herself feeling weirdly lonely.  She tried to shove it away, and began to sift through the undergrowth, looking for plants she might be able to identify.  Just one month and he'd be back.

He wished, before he left, that perhaps she'd lingered just a bit longer. She didn't seem comfortable with anything beyond pushes, shoves, nudges...But it made him wonder more and more if she would ever soften toward him, bend like a young aspen and lean against him the way his other friends did. He wondered if perhaps her sense of touch might've been heightened, or if physical proximity made her uncomfortable as it shielded her from the rest of the world...But today was not a day to find out the answers to those questions. 

"Later, Fennec," He said softly, before he trotted off in search of his sister.