Stone Circle I was weak, I was broken, I was tossed out in the ocean

Perhaps he was presumptuous. But why should rank hold him back? Merrit climbed the hill to Stone Circle, reasoning through his ideas though he'd wrung his cloth more than dry, certain he would find his mother there. And if he didn't, well, he would simply keep looking for her until he did. This was his family - his inheritance, now that Ezra and Steph and Clary were gone, and Arlette had run like Keen, now that Clay was dead, and Newt had vanished, and Leta, too, had left for greener hills.

Moonspear would not be easy for his sister, but at least she would be safe with them.

Safer there, than here, anyway. As long as Ursus lived beside them, it was for the better that those siblings who remained stayed away, even if he would have preferred Easthollow to grow strong again, with their contribution as the backbone. But this was the reality: only he and @West remained, and once he spoke with his mother, he would seek his brother next.

For now, he and @Valette had much to discuss.

Valette was at the stones a lot lately. Most of her children had left their nest, which was good in a way. Still she had always hoped some would stick around. Guess she royally screwed that up with Arlette. Greyback had been away for a bit to visit Kaistleoki. She felt alone without him. But she was also realistic. She would probably outlive him. He had really aged ever since they had pups and she wondered if her mate was going to make it through winter. It worried her. As a wolf, she really disliked the thought of being left alone.

The female turned when she heard footsteps. She quirked up her lips. "Merrit," she greeted with a soft smile. Her tail wagged. She had a feeling he was going to say goodbye to her as well. He seemed to like to travel, and be with other packs. Valette just appreciated the time they had together really.

Mother was here, and when he saw her, the gravity of his thoughts seemed to float away into something less consequential than what he knew they were. Her smile brought a faint echo from him, a thin trace of his lips quirking upward and touching his eyes in a way he could only feel.

"Mother," he greeted in return and climbed the final crest of the hill until he passed between the stones and joined her within the circle. His gaze drifted toward his patron stone out of habit, even as he settled beside her. "Could you help me clean my wounds?" he looked to her then, his voice soft - and he still found it strange, that he had to tip his head down to see her now, "I can't reach them, and they itch." She would surely see the scores of exposed flesh Illidan had carved into his face, and how they still oozed, and while Valette was no healer, she was his mother, and he trusted she would know what to do.

Valette didn't expect Merrit to ask that, in fact, she thought he would be leaving again. "Oh. Yes, of course," she responded, as she couldn't help but to be a little surprised by the question. She would be happy to do it really. The female quirked up her lips into a soft smile as she got closer to her son. She was reminded once again that Arlette was gone, someone who would usually do this. Then again, she really wanted to spend more quality time with Merrit and this seemed to fit perfectly.

She realized how much bigger he was, he had to lower his head for her. Valette smiled, it was good to have her son growing up so big and strong. She started to lick his wounds with firm licks. She was no stranger to licking her pups clean, though, she never really licked any of her children clean at Merrit's age. She paused briefly. "What happened?," she asked curiously before continuing to lick his wounds clean, knowing Merrit could perfectly explain in the meanwhile.

Assuming he'd have heard about Ursus through Greyback and West after the fight (if not, I can fix this!)

Merrit lowered himself onto his belly, to allow his mother to reach his wounds without any hassle, or straining herself. He noticed the surprise in her voice but made no comment. He was well aware of who he had been before and Merrit chose to take this surprise as a good thing, despite the guilt that burned along his cheeks. A sign that maybe, he truly was doing things differently this time. Being more like the man he wanted to be, while still ever aware of his demons that still crawled through the ditches beside him.

He thought on her question. What happened? Well, there was much - and while he knew she asked about his wounds, he thought further, back to Moonspear, and Hydra, to blackhead, and Theseus; to Clary, and her family; to why he had returned. He thought to the scent that Ursus had carried. The reason he sought her now.

"Ursus," he said, as mother worked his wounds, and he wondered how much Greyback or West might have told her already, "they attacked a stranger near our borders," he kept the part about Arlette out of the picture; she had left on her own volition, in secrecy... and he did not know if this was something she wanted their mother to know, "and we fought them off." He paused. "Mother," his demeanour shifted, and he looked up to Valette through a taut and steady stare, "do you know who those wolves are?"

I feel like she would know, with GB attacked/injured as well

Valette nodded in reply to Merrit. She could have figured that one out that it had been that attack, another one from Ursus. She sighed. The mother had hoped that Merrit hadn't been at that fight but he had. She continued to lick his wounds clean. She listened to him as she was cleaning him. There had been a stranger at the border, and that one was attacked as well. "Did you know who? Any details why they were attacked?" she asked when she pulled back.

Her face grew serious as well when Merrit's did. "Which wolves? Ursus?," she asked. She decided to answer right away and shook her head. "No, I don't. They settled there and instantly hated us for no reason. I haven't really gone out to meet them, because if I would they might have taken me," she commented. It was a real chance, she figured.

Merrit gave a soft shake of his head. "No," he said. A friend of Arlette's -- he wondered, briefly, if perhaps it would help to give this identity. But he remembered what his sister had spoken to him that day long ago in the Glade, her venom against their mother. "He was brown. Other than that," he only remembered the witch, who had turned out not to be the witch at all. His stomach turned. "I'm sorry, I didn't get a good look at him."

Ursus. His skin crawled at mother's explanation - and even more, at her naivety and lack of knowledge at the extent of the evil that lurked beyond the thin wall of the mountain between themselves and the Valley.

But his mother was resourceful and familiar with the world, and this, perhaps, is what had kept her safe. What always did, but for how long? "I'm glad you didn't go," he said, "they are dangerous, mother. More than troublemakers," in this, he did not question how much he should tell her, "they're murderers. They kill for pleasure. I wouldn't be surprised if half the Wilds are after them. Hydra and all of Moonspear have been hunting them," and now his mother would know, "and so have I. They are allied with the witch -- the black-face -- " and while he did not pause, his voice did strain, enough for any attentive ear to catch, "the one who tried to kill Leta."

Valette frowned, she was about to comment that there were a lot of brown wolves. "That is pretty vague. Brown like me or more sandy with black?," she asked curiously. Not sure if it really did matter. She let out a long sigh and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I am glad that you are safe." She didn't want Merrit to get more injured than he was now.

Valette nodded. "I know. Merrick, he killed his mother Indra, sister of our Laurel," she explained to Merrit. She raised her brows at that. "That is good news. Hydra as a lot of wolves that can fight for her I believe," she commented. "If they could help us that would be nice. But, I feel if I go against them I only get a target on my back. I really don't feel much for that." She didn't want to end up like Indra. Valette bared her teeth. "That Bitch," she snarled, without meaning to. She never really cursed. "I hope they all die a slow and painful death," Valette showed a bit of resentment.