Duskfire Glacier mark how the tempest roars

forwarded a few days after wintersbane's death.

the evening was overcast; dull streaks of grey of heavy, pressing clouds with a rumbling storm on the horizon that matches his mood. even the threat of rainfall did not drive arius from the borders; walking patrols — the same patrols his father once made — until his pawpads cracked and bled. it was easy to make sense of: protect the pack from any threat and bury deep the anger at his father, warring as it was with the sorrow that grips him.

he focuses on each breath as it lingers and leaves his lungs, on the pain in his paws ...on the biting chill of the rock and the ice underfoot and as he approached the border where the glacier bled into the frostfire ridge, arius stops and casts his gaze upon his kingdom.

he was a duskfire after all, and wintersbane built this legacy for him and his siblings.

It was with a heavy heart and the feeling of bitter bile in his throat, that Ensio made his way to the outer reaches of the Glacier's territory. He was an observant young boy. The death of his father was not lost on him. In fact, it had hit him hard. But equally devastating, if not more so, was the death of his mother. He felt hollow. He and Arius were orphans. At least Veteran still had his own mother.

Silently, he padded up to his brother. He wondered if he knew about their mother too. Stains of long dried tears marked his face. He showed little emotion. He honestly didn't know how to feel, feeling so lost. Sitting down beside his sibling, he exhaled loudly. Then in a quiet voice. "I don't know what to do. Not anymore." Icy teal eyes stole a glance towards Arius' pale form. "Except...that we need to stick together."

i'm going to play that arius is aware of tzila's death / was told and/or saw for himself behind the scenes. <3

he is angry at the world, at wintersbane and tzila ...at makatza —

and he mourns them all, in their own way ( despite that their sister hadn't died but left ).

it was a lot to process in such a short span of time; but it helps when he focuses on things. on patrolling. on what this means for ensio and him.

it does not surprise him when his brother joins him, even if his hackles bristle and prickle at the initial sound of approach. they smooth back down the moment arius casts a glacial look over his shoulder; allowing his brother a seat at his side.

arius reaches out to bump his skull against his brother's jaw — a gesture of affection, and a non-verbal communication that he was there and he wasn't going anywhere. they were in this together ...and though they were low now, they would rise in time. together.

i do, veli, the tundrian word for 'brother' rolls off his tongue, drawing with it a pang in arius' chest that he tries to ignore. just because wintersbane was dead did not mean that his legacy was going to die; and arius would speak in tundrian ( or at least use words here and there ), as his father had taught him.

we stick together, arius echoes. and we train and when we are ready we take duskfire glacier. we lead together. perhaps 'take' was a bit strong, arius holds out hope that lane and issorartuyok would return the glacier into the paws of those who were duskfire by blood. it is our legacy. our father built this for us.

He shared his brother's anger. He was angry at his sister, angry that their parents had left them. He even felt a twinge of resentment and a dash of jealously towards Issoratuyok. The man had been chosen to lead in place of their father while it remained to be seen if he would recover from his injuries. He never did. Ensio saw him as nothing but a fill in, a wolf with no true right to the Lead position. He was not born into the Glacier, nor contributed to it's founding. Not a true Duskfire. 

He rumbled low, a sound of certainty. Of comradery. He reached over, returning his brothers gesture with a head bump to a shoulder and a solid whack of the tail to a haunch. They were so much alike, the two. Not just in physical similarities, but in mindset, feelings and aspirations. "Veli..." He echoed in Tundrian, for the first time. "I stand with you. Always." A cold wind tussled his growing guard hairs. Despite the chill, it felt right. Comforting, as together, the brothers gazed out over their kingdom. "You need not worry. Father's dream will live on, through us, when our time comes." His icy eyes grew dark, thoughtful. "What of the others? We are not the only children of Father..." 

the affirmation that ensio is with him, soothes the worst of the tempest raging within arius. a balm to the pain; a lighthouse upon the shore guiding him home. keeping him rooted. a rumble of affection lingers in arius' chest. he does not offer words; not until ensio brings up their half-siblings.

for a moment, arius is quiet; contemplative.

his glacial gaze traces the fierce crags of rock and, the yawning forest, the icy glint of the glacier. they are our siblings, ensio, he breaks his silence. and we stand together. realizing it was a bit vague, he draws in a cool breath and releases it. we are duskfires and we all have a right to lead, should we want it. he thinks of their sister then; of how she'd gone about it all wrong. letting her status spoil her and carve her into something ugly. a bully.

the ridge could be claimed. a sister pack, if there is too much tension vying for the glacier. there was room for growth and expansion. i will not fight with our siblings. not when there could be room for expansion and growth. he puts his strategic thoughts into words then; favoring a more diplomatic approach and giving way to the fact that his mind was made for tactics ...war or otherwise.

"Good." He breathed. "It is how I feel. They are Duskfires by blood, like you and I." Except that he no longer considered Maktaza worthy of the name. Moving on. "We should stand united, together." His brows pinched, a frown touching his maw. 

"Although...Veteran...he is especially close with Issoratuyok. I don't trust the man. It makes me wonder, given him or us, who our half brother would stand by." His hackles lifted again, this time more fully. It was the thought of the northerner that made his anger flare some. "We will challenge him, one day. He has no right to our father's title. He might even be enjoying it too much, while his kin pour in, while we mourn our losses."

arius is glad that ensio is on the same wavelength as he is in regards to the glacier and the duskfire legacy. though arius can not pretend to know wintersbane's thoughts on it, he suspects his father would not want brother to spill the blood of brother over land. their legacy was like a tree: it's roots could grow and branch out from where it was planted and with their claim uncontested in the taiga there was plenty of room to branch out. there was something about frostfire ridge that arius liked.

ensio's concerns about veteran were valid and arius considers them in a prolonged moment of contemplative silence. i don't know, the tundrian drawls in a soft sigh. i don't trust the man either, arius admits, though admittedly his lack of trust comes from not knowing him. he doesn't know the first thing about the current alpha male nor his intentions, his desires. but my mistrust is biased. i do not know him.

it was important, arius cannot help but think, to be the voice of diplomacy despite how his blood and bone calls for war. it is not his fault his kin has found him. though it was a bit unsettling how they came in on a giant flux. perhaps they were letting their grief and their instincts get the better of them; at least arius knew his were. i don't think making enemies is the right way to go about this, he says softly. at least, not until we have a reason to make enemies. but he is not eager to be so hasty; at least not while his temper was cooling and his grief was becoming manageable the more they spoke and planned.

"I don't know him either. I cannot help how I feel towards him now, brother. Maybe the loss of our parents is making me paranoid." He sighed, feeling much more calm with Arius by his side. With him, he could express how he felt to the fullest. "I just...worry that he might take this all away from us. What father worked so hard to build, for us."

He glanced over another time, sharing a nod. "With that, I agree. I will not go out of my way to make enemies with his own family. Maybe...reaching out to them, talking to them, will give us some clarity on the kind of person Issor really is. But the bottom line remains the same; when I feel the time is right, after I sort through my feelings, I will come to him personally. A direct, one on one should smooth out our differences. Or not." In other words, he was begrudgingly giving the Northerner a chance.

i understand, arius attempts to assure. the topic of their new alpha male was a very battered and sea torn shore — there was no telling whether the clouds accumulating would form a tempest or dissipate to smooth sailing. only time and their own experiences when they sought him out. that is always a possibility. but he is trying to give the benefit of the doubt despite his jealousy ( for that is probably what it is ).

arius draws in a deep breath and lets it out in a heavy exhale. it was the sort of exhale that should've brought with it relief but the weight pressing upon his shoulders does not lift; he is left to suspect that it would be some time until it did. if it did. walk a patrol with me? arius inquires of his brother, ready to work his thoughts out in the form of something more physical.

fade here? <3

Fine with me. <3

He breathed out, relieved to know that his brother understood his feelings. His fears. Relieved in knowing that he would always be by his side, no matter what. They could only take things one day at a time, use their best judgement, while trying not to lash out. It would be a challenge.

Setting such thoughts and the associated negativity he felt aside, he leaned heavily against Arius' side in a brotherly way. He nodded, dark muzzle bobbing. "Yeah, of course." Taking the initiative, he began to move towards the nearest border, but not until Arius was right at his side.