Swiftcurrent Creek This isn't funny. Come back!

AW!!

Thyme was glad to feel grass under his paws again. He happily let himself fall on the soft underground and had a soft smile on his face. They were a bit away from the Canyon now. His mother not far behind him. He hated that he needed a supervisor because he was - of course - very old and wise to be alone at a mere 4 months. Though, he realized it was kind of nice to have his mother around. There was so much he hadn't seen and that he could ask her. Or when he had an ouch she was there to lick the pain away. It was kind of nice. 

He looked up to see his mother not far behind him. He noticed she had been different since they moved to the canyon. Mom didn't seem to like it. Maybe she was missing Dad too, because she said he was away on an adventure. He knew now what missing someone was, after all he missed Alduin. It was the reason he was here with his mother to look for him. Fo this best friend. "ALDUINNNNNNNN!!!," his young voice called out. "Where are you???"

Arlette couldn't handle seeing Thyme so extremely upset, hence why she got the idea to look for Alduin with him. In the meanwhile she could look for @Derg or if there was any sign of him. She missed him terribly. Sh had told the kids that their father was on an adventure and would be back later. They already traveled down the mountain. Arlette knew it here, she wasn't too far away from her mother's pack. Another reason she hadn't want to move to the canyon...

Arlette had let @Kynareth Deagon know that she would be looking for Alduin north of the canyon and would be away for a day or so. Just so he wouldn't get worried about her either. She had made sure @Mulberry and @Turmeric were with @Simmik for the time being. She didn't expect to be away too long, or expect to find Alduin. Just to have Thyme be occupied instead of sitting and waiting.

tags for reference!

What was he doing here?

He was insane to come back.

And yet, he returned. Step after step. Without Kallik. They’d split ways again, as was custom for them to do. Merrit had intended to stay in the West, but he found his heart tugged him Eastward again, and homeward bound.

He had promised Kukutux he would return with a ballad. Many months had passed and he remained songless. Unwilling to probe the land that was as tied to Valette as she had been to the land. He still grieved - but perhaps this would help him in the end.

Merrit didn’t expect to see such a familiar figure across the rivers of Swiftcurrent Creek. “Arlette?” he called with a string of hope, all while remembering how she had been the last time they had met. She had another with her now, a child… no doubt one of the ones she had been carrying.

Thyme soon saw another wolf and froze. He knew Alduin told him that strangers were bad and should be bitten if they came too close to the territory. He had also been with his father to the border and he had explained why they marked him. The fur on his neck and spine raised, because he got a big wave of stranger dangers. However... There was a difference now. They weren't home, they were far away from home.

And, running into a stranger was kind of exciting someone he had never met. He jumped forward as he was four months old and had his bursts of excitement at times. He was about to approach when the stranger called his mother's name. He had learned recently that his mom's name wasn't "Mom". Alduin had also a mom but she also wasn't really called mom. His mom was called Arlette. And if this male knew his mother's name he wasn't a stranger?! 

His head spun around to see his mother's reaction. She looked surprised and that instantly kicked things into gear for the young pup. Thyme moved to his mother. His reddish brown eyes glanced up at the male while he stood by his mother. He looked like Mulberry! This male was still a stranger to him though. He kept his guard hairs raised a bit. "Who are you!," he asked, clearly not going to take no for an answer.

just so you know, Arlette still doesn't know about EH's demise and Valette's death etc. Not even Greyback's death.

Arlette watched his son as he ran before her, going from left to right shouting his friend's name instead of using his nose. Not that he had do, she was doing so. She didn't smell or find any tracks that resembled a young pup. She was about to call Thyme back when she saw a figure approach. She was a little cautious because she was alone with her son. But the figure... she knew that figure!

Merrit approached her, and surprise laced her features. Which had Thyme running back to her. God he was so cute. She was reminded so much of Derg and how he could come back to protect her. Arlette quirked up her lips as Thyme questioned her bother. "You better answer him before starts nipping at your ankles," she chuckled softly, relaxing and offering him a soft grin.

Last time she had seen Merrit she had been heavy with child. So fearful he would drag her back to Easthollow. He hadn't done that, and also hadn't told her mother apparently since she hadn't show up at the Saints' doorstep. She had always thought that after their meeting he would come to her pack's borders but he never had visited her again. "You never came back to visit me. To meet your niece and nephews," she commented then, perhaps a little hurt by that still. Though perhaps Derg had chased them off without her knowing.

The child looked like no one in their family, but his eyes were Arlette, and his energy reminded Merrit of who she had been, when they had been children, before the world had done what it would with them.

For the first time he thought it strange, that he had been so drawn to Keen as a child. She had always been needier, and in her he had found someone to protect. Arlette had always been a constant, and so much more an equal. His sister’s easy answer curved a smile on his lips.

“I am Merrit, Arlette’s brother,” he said to the boy, and with a try for something playful, added, “which might make me your uncle, depending on who you are.”

He did not presume this child to be his nephew - but he desperately hoped this boy was one of those his sister now confirmed. Her words were gentle, despite the accusation, and his face no doubt grew troubled. “I know,” he said softly, “I should have come, but…” and his eyes settled on Thyme, alive, and very well.

He dropped his gaze. Took a breath. Losing him was no longer a risk.

“Arlette…” he said and prayed for words he could not speak before - but whatever her relationship with mother and Greyback had become, his sister deserved to know, “something happened.”

And hazel eyes searched for hers.

Thyme's guard hairs settling when he heard his mother chuckle behind him. The young child noticed the smile on the other's lips, knowing it was a positive thing. He grew more curious instead of guarded. This wasn't a stranger then. "Mama's brother?," he asked and looked surprised. He had siblings but he never came to think of the fact that his mother had siblings too. Why weren't they around? Did that mean that one day he wouldn't see Turmeric and Mulberry every day!? That kind of worried him.

Thyme then pushed that thought away since he had to answer the man's question. "I'm Thyme! Mama is my Mom!!," he let out proudly, not seeing anything wrong with that he said. His tail started to wag a little. "Uncle... Merrit!," he beamed then. "I also have a bother and a sister!," he added. He had so many questions for this man, but his attention went back to his mother. Thyme watched the male... he looked sad. Why?

Arlette's heart swelled when Thyme was being so adorable when meeting Merrit and introducing himself. Her heart warmed, however, that didn't last long when her brother grew serious. Arlette mimicked the expression, hesitant about what he was about to say. He did agree that he had to visit them, but clearly, there was something that had stopped him from doing so.

Arlette's mind couldn't be stopped from speculating. Maybe Greyback and Valette hadn't liked that he kept her location a secret and forbade him from seeing her? Or maybe he never told them and couldn't just leave for days on end? Or... Well, Greyback was older than their mother. Perhaps... it wouldn't be too crazy. Her blood-red eyes looked at her brother. "Well out with it," she told him, not that naive and submissive little girl anymore since she joined the Saints. Not realizing how much she sounded like their mother.

Thyme confirmed his relation with a question, and despite the gloom that cling to Merrit like a perpetual storm cloud, his smile get an inch brighter, and he did something he hadn’t done in a while: Merrit laughed.

Uncle Merrit. Now there was a title he’d never carried before, and rather than feel odd, there was something quaint and right about it.

“I would like to meet them soon,” he said when Thyme mentioned his sibling - his other niece and nephews - and he gave a slow wag of his tail, only stopping when the inevitable question came from Arlette.

He had learned long ago that she was strong. Though he still wished to shield her from the world, he didn’t try anymore. The world had shown its worst, to both of them.

“Greyback is gone. He passed some time after you left,” Merrit couldn’t remember when, and this felt the softer blow. “But that’s not all. There was an earthquake at Easthollow. Mother was at Stone Circle when the pillars fell. I was too late to save her,” only here did he pause, uncertain how forward to be, until he decided on his sister’s wish. Out with it. “Arlette, mother is dead. Easthollow is no more. Kallik and I are the only ones left.”

That was enough for Thyme, that the man wanted to meet his siblings. That would be fun. Maybe he could also ask why the man wasn't in their pack. Maybe he lived with another pack. But somehow he instinctively knew that this wasn't the time to ask. He noticed that his mother's behavior was different. More serious, and he as a young pup would mimic his mother as much as possible.

He didn't understand what made her so serious, the other adult also seemed serious. Greyback? Who is that? He had never heard that name. Passed? Did that mean he went away? Then there were more hard words he didn't understand like; Earthquake, Stone Circle, and Pillar. All weird words that sounded like gibberish to him. He did stiffen when the word 'Dead' came from the man's mouth. He thought only prey could die. Could they die too?

Mother was another word for Mom, he knew that. He only just realized his mother had a brother, siblings like him. It dawned on him that his mother had a mother too. He never met her, but it seems that he never would. When he thought of his own mother gone forever he instantly disliked that thought. What must momma feel right now? His ears flopped back, looking at her. This was perhaps the first time Thyme actively experienced empathy but he hadn't learned what to do with it.

Merrit didn't soften the blow. Greyback had passed. That was not much of a surprise to her. He had been old, he had a good life. She wondered how her mother was doing though, because well, she didn't have the best of luck in that department. She hoped she wouldn't go after her mother in that way, since well, Derg was currently missing too. "I see," she spoke quietly, searching for the right words. She did feel a sadness wash over her. Greyback had been good to her in a way, like a father, since her own she had never known. But, they hadn't ended on good terms. She had been in a bad place when living in Easthollow after Kaito's death.

She gritted her jaw when Merrit spoke of not being done. She felt her heart pick up in speed. Then there it was... Mother was dead. Valette was dead. She opened her mouth to speak but she was just stunned. She tried to form a word but then... nothing came out of it. One of the stones, that always seemed unmovable, they... fell? She looked at her brother in disbelief. And the fact that he had been there to witness it. But that was not all, Easthollow had gone. With her mother passing everyone just dispersed? She just shook her head a little. She couldn't believe her mother was actually gone. She had lived in so much fear that her mother would drag her back to Easthollow. And now, her and her familial pack didn't exist anymore.

Stunned with that realization, she sank down in a sitting position. She had been mad at her mother, and Arlette wasn't sure if she was still mad at her. She had found peace and a family at the Saints. At the time she really didn't know what they did, what her mate did to some wolves... But it was home now. A group of wolves that valued her for... her. They would die to protect her. A nudge on her shoulder seemed to take her from her touch. Thyme. Her little boy. She automatically offered a lick on top of his head before facing Merrit. "I don't know if I have forgiven mother yet," she spoke then to him. "Though I never expected that when I left Easthollow that would be the last time I would see them," she admitted.

"But, Merrit-- To have seen that. I'm so sorry. I want to ask if you are alright, but... that is perhaps a question I can answer myself." She looked over him. He didn't seem as distraught though. "When... When did this happen Merrit? You said you and Kallik were left? But last time I saw you, you were with Kallik. Which would mean that if you two were together so far away from Easthollow..." She paused, her ears flattening. "When did mother die, Merrit?" She asked again. Had he known last time without telling her?

The familiar look of shock swept over his sister. Expected, despite how strained her relationship with mother had become in the last year of her life. Their love had soured, but Valette was still their mother, Easthollow their childhood, and the news, he imagined, was not what she had been expecting.

Merrit took a step forward when she fell to her haunches, but Thyme beat him to comfort her, and the Raven paused in his advance. “I know,” he said softly. He hadn’t expected that to be the last time she’d ever see them, too.

She asked how he was, and to this he only gave a ghosted smile. Pained, despite the time that had passed. Six months. Was that how long it had been? Merrit held only a vague recollection of all that had transpired between then and now. They had felt fast and slow all the same, and he had not realized how long he had made Arlette wait to hear the news herself… and how he might have never told her, if he had not come across her today, whatever his intentions had been…

But Arlette didn’t need to know this. He’d had his reasons for not telling her the first time they’d encountered one another since mother’s passing, and they were valid and logical, by every one of his standards, and he could spin the wait to be the same.

“It was winter,” was all he said, before he continued in a rush. He would not have her cut him off until he explained himself in full.

“You must understand. I wanted to tell you. But when I saw you were pregnant… Arlette, I couldn’t know how the news would affect you. What if it has made you lose these children, too?” he stepped forward again, am earnest plea for understanding in his hazel eyes, “I couldn’t be the reason. I had always planned to return to tell you, but I had seen so much, and grief, it has a way of twisting time. I’m sorry I did not come sooner.”

Thyme watched how his mother just froze and not respond. He grew a little worried and looked from his uncle to his mother. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and bumped his nose against her. It seemed to get her attention though. He wagged his tail. His mother then turned to his uncle. There were again hard words he couldn't all understand as he didn't know their meaning yet. He did know forgive though. Had his mom's mom done something bad?!

It was all kind of confusing for the poor boy. This talk of death and when it had happened, and words like winter. What was winter? He looked from his mother to his uncle and felt out of place. He also realized that they should be looking for Alduin, that was the reason they were here. "Mama," he spoke quietly. "Mama we should look for Alduin," he spoke and battered his eyes at her.

Arlette was stunned. Her mother had been dead since winter and she had been unaware. She had been afraid even, though there was also some sadness forming now. Her mother would never meet her children. She knew Valette would have loved them. No matter what happened between them. And Easthollow, it no longer existed so it wouldn't be an extra home for her children if there was an emergency.

Arlette looked at her brother and then nodded. "I cannot fault you at that," she told him then. She shouldn't be hard on him. Not on Merrit. He wasn't to blame here. It was her own stubbornness to forgive. She gave him a nod of respect and thanks. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have wanted to know so heavily pregnant. You are right." She listened to Merrit but before she could reply to him Thyme asked her attention.

"I know, dear. Maybe we can ask Uncle Merrit to help?," she offered. "Why don't you ask him if he wants to help?" She smiled at her son. The boy seemed to nod and ask Merrit if he wanted to help look for Alduin, his bestest friend that went missing. Arlette offered a soft sad smile at Merrit.

"My leader's son went missing, it almost feels as one of my own though," she clarified. "I'm glad to have ran into you now, brother. Perhaps we can spend some more time together? Do you have a home? A place to rest? I can ask Kynareth if he has a place for you among us. I could use the company." She wouldn't say the reason as Thyme couldn't know.

Merrit flicked his gaze between her eyes in that desperate, searching way, but any sense of her reaction was shrouded by a look of utter shock. Of course. He'd have reacted much the same if their roles had been reversed.

He was relieved when Arlette accepted his explanation and he nodded his head in returned understanding and respect. "Thank you," he murmured but found his words largely drowned by his nephew's pleas. The urgency in the young boy's voice captured his attention. Alduin? Arlette had never spoken this name before.

A puzzled gaze rose to meet his sister, then turned - softer - to meet his nephew. "Of course I'll help," he reassured the boy with a nod. He didn't need to know who Alduin was to pledge himself to look for this wolf, only that this wolf was clearly important to his nephew and his sister. He was thankful, however, that in the moments after, Arlette clarified the situation in full.

"And I am glad to have run into you as well." For many reasons now. "I... don't have anywhere I'm tied to, no." Only Kallik. Would he contest him if he chose to stay with Arlette for a little while? Perhaps only if he tied himself to her pack. And then, he thought of Kukutux, and Moonglow, and the promise he had made to return to her with a song for Valette. "It may be dangerous if we split up in our search for Alduin, and I will not rest until I know he is found. But I have also made commitments along the road that I must fulfil. This is why I am going to Easthollow..." and a thought came across his face in the pinch of a brow, "Ursus is there, and I would not put it past them to take a child."

Thyme's eyes were quick to lit up when his uncle said he would help. His tail started to wag. They would definitely find Alduin if they were with more they had to! "Alduin has dark fur, but on his body it is like grey and dark!," he explained. 'He said it was something like brindle," he commented with a shrug. He looked at his mother for confirmation.

His uncle talked to his mother, and he figured they were just discussing the details. He already went to scout ahead, and pulled himself away to look for any tracks. His mother taught him that to look for scent and paw prints.

Arlette perked up her ears when Merrit said he was glad to run into her. The female smiled. "Well you can stay with us at the Saints if you like. I am certain Kynareth would let you in," she told him. Arlette wouldn't mind having him around, in fact she might really like to have her brother around.

"Oh you are? Well if you can keep an eye open for Alduin then that would be great. We are located at the Redsand Canyon now instead of the strath," she explained, which also was the reason why they were here in the mountains because little Thyme couldn't travel that far yet.

"Are you sure they are still there?," she asked. She hadn't been there in a long time and there was a reason for them moving here. "But Ursus would do that. You should be careful too, Merrit. They will hurt you too." Arlette was a little worried if he would go there by himself. But she couldn't go since Derg was missing and she couldn't leave all her pups for too long.