Duskfire Glacier Tuttusiugiak

After having rested his body, Issorartuyok began setting to work. He wanted to prepare for the celebration, wanted to make sure that he could assist Lane, and he needed to speak to the boys who had been left behind. He did not want them feeling that they were alone, no matter the circumstances that had impacted them. The northern man would do what he could to teach them the things a father should, if they would have him in Wintersbane’s absence. Not a replacement, just another teacher.

Issorartuyok searched for @Ensio that day. He wanted to ask if the young man would like to hunt the rest of the ill stricken prey. After all, Ensio had been one of the young men who had found the sickness. After the northerner discovered that it did not transfer to wolves, he thought it wise to allow both Ensio and Veteran a chance to help cull the remaining sickness.

The large man called in a low howl for the boy, hoping he would be given audience.

Ensio's response was swift, silent. He hadn't been far when the Northerner called out, specifically for him. He was surprised he did at all, making his hackles raise in the cold air. He turned away from the caverns and set off with a purposeful stalk to his gait. Issor would get an audience alright. Because Ensio had one hell of a bone to pick with the man.

As he materialized, seemingly out of the landscape, his air was anything but amicable. Glacial eyes were hard, yet burning with a white hot flame. His thickened winter coat left no question to whose son he was, making him, a boy not yet fully grown, seem bigger than he really is. His charcoal masked face was firm, oddly mature for his age. With the presence of his sire and the ferocity of his mother, Ensio (and his brother) would be a powerful force one day.

He didn't want to hunt. Didn't want to bond. He wanted to spar. To vent. To set things straight, once and for all. He prowled up to the dark Northerner, tail blatantly raised. "Finally taking time out of your busy schedule, I see." He rumbled. "Or have you decided I am not invisible after all?" His emotions were ready to burst. His temper hair trigger thin. Ensio was confrontational and even rude (all of which he considered justified), but he was not a violent young man.

The boy was swift to approach. At first, this was pleasing to the northerner. Issorartuyok believed that he might have been eager to partake in a hunt, even a conversation. When Ensio approached with anger upon his face, his words harsh and blatantly cocky, the man withered internally. 

Invisible? 

Issorartuyok did not bow to the boy's show. He did not want to believe Kukutux and her cool words of finality. The man did not wish to remove the boys from their home, their family's home. It would not be honorable. 

Did I do something, young protector? To make you feel this... way. Invisible. Issorartuyok was polite, calm and patient. His worry flared inside of him.

He did not lose his temper. He did not lash out or fly into a rage, like his sister. The young Duskfire was far more controlled and mature than that. Arius, so often the voice of reason, rang clear in his ears. His brother did not wish to make enemies if it could be helped. Rigid but no longer bristling, Ensio eased himself into a poised sit. One that said this was gonna take a while. That this occasion was serious to him.

He looked Issor dead in the eyes, his lips firm, but not drawn into their darkest of scowls. "Invisible is the tip of the iceberg of what I've been feeling." He paused to emphasize, then continued. Time to rewind a while back, which he took the courtesy of doing for them both. "When Veteran and I found that first Caribou carrying sickness...we both displayed our instincts. Mine, caution, not fear. I was against killing it until we knew what we were dealing with." His glacial eyes narrowed some then. "After I corrected Veteran, I was in no shape of form, acknowledged by you nor Eldritch." His tail swept at the ground, once. "I felt like I wasn't even there. How do you think that made me feel?" He demanded. His tone stayed even and firm through it all. "Then, then my father gets struck by lightning, seriously wounded, while my mother worries herself sick. While my world starts to crumble as I watch my parents struggle. All that time, you visited them, what, once? I didn't even see you, then." He stomped a paw down firmly to express his frustration. "What kind of Alpha does that?"

It did not take much for the young Duskfire to speak. Once he had started, it seemed that words flowed freely, tumbling from his lips, articulated the way a boy of half a year would. Issorartuyok was not blind to the changes that Wintersbane and Tzila’s death had caused. It had sharpened the children, made them more keen and more dangerous. The northerner did not envy their situation.

It seemed that Ensio felt he had been overlooked when they had discovered the illness in the herds. Issorartuyok nodded his head, mulling over the day when he had happened upon the young boys with Eldritch. It had been a jarring experience, having watched his younger brother’s litter die from a mysterious sickness. Issorartuyok felt he had noted Ensio’s caution as being the most appropriate response to such uncertainty. That was, before the boy huffed and disappeared.

Ensio wanted to know why Issorartuyok had not visited his father when he had fallen injured. The boy wanted to know what kind of Alpha behaved in that way.

One who is still learning, the man answered gently. Issorartuyok’s intense gaze had softened on Ensio. He wished he could remove the hurt that was felt. He wished that a boy of his age did not have to endure such hardship. This would never be the case. There was no rhyme or reason to tragedy, only enduring.

I will ask your forgiveness, young protector. I did not think it appropriate that I visit the glacier man when he needed his family close. I did so once, in the private of the night, and I offered the strength of my spirit to him. Even admitting it then, it did not feel appropriate. It felt that Issorartuyok had crossed a line where he should not have – Wintersbane had been gravely wounded and his replacement had wandered in to gaze upon his dying body in a macabre show of support.

You are right, of course. An Alpha who is good to his village and his people would do all he could to be there. I did so in the way of my people, the culture that I learned as a boy.

Issorartuyok felt that he was talking too much for the child, that Ensio would grow tired of hearing words.

I am still learning, Ensio Duskfire. I am still working to be better.

The large man gazed somberly at the boy and waited for the righteous anger to judge him. Issorartuyok was not afraid for himself. He wanted the boy to understand. He also knew that there was a chance Ensio would never truly hear the meaning behind his words. There would be no way around that.

After he had said his piece, Ensio gave Issorartukyok the same courtesy. Let the weight and substance of his words sink in. To be digested in what way the Northern wolf may choose. He seemed to acknowledge his feelings about being overlooked, even if Ensio had been mistaken. He even went so far as to admit his imperfections as a Leader, that he had much learning to do. While stone faced and rigid as ever (undoubtedly a quality from his sire), the glare in his eyes wasn't quite so harsh anymore.

"No one should have to lose their loved one's..." He said, his voice still naturally roughish, but softer. "I dreamed of living my childhood with them. Now...everything is backwards. My parents worked so hard for this place...now they are gone." He sniffed, ears flitting back. "Yeah, maybe you did come by once. But more...might've shown me a stronger message. Though, I will not fault you for following the only way you knew, that of your own people."

He rolled his shoulders forward. Not as a means of intimidation, but a small gesture to show his seriousness on the topic at hand. "If you want to be better...maybe you could start by dividing your time equally between Veteran and my brother and I? Arius still has reservations about you, but I believe he will put forth his own effort. And more importantly, now that you lead the Glacier, what plans do you have for it? For us?" He lowered his head an inch, looking him deep in the eyes, hard but without hostility. "My parents strived for a pack of unity. Of a tight knit, inclusive clan. I will not let that vision die."

I would be pleased to, Issorartuyok said firmly, nodding his head to Ensio with a gentle smile. He had not known the boys wished to be taught by him. If he thought on it, he realized that he would have assumed their father would carry their teaching. Wintersbane was gone, but what had they learned from him before his passing? They were capable of talking and expressing their feelings – this was beyond anything the northern man had been capable of at such an age.

These lands will be for all. We will treat each member as family, as a piece of our spirit. We can only be strong together. The dream Ensio’s father had for the glacier would not be forgotten in its new leadership. Issorartuyok intended only for them to grow closer, to become more stable and confident in themselves. He wanted their village to be the soundest in the land, and he had no intention of resting until that happened.

You are not alone, young man of the glacier. You have family in the glacier. I will do all I can to help make you and your brothers strong, to teach you to be good men. You will be honor to your father and mother.

Relief flooded him like a tidal wave. Pride swelled in his chest. The tiny spark of trust grew stronger...burned a little brighter. The Duskfire still had some reservations with the man, but he would let time and his own actions, show whether or not his growing sense of trust was justified. "That is what I want. Unity. Not for us or my parents to be forgotten. I never wanted conflict."

The boy, in a rare moment, crumbled emotionally. Hard glacial eyes softened, almost pleadingly. He stepped closer, as if asking for permission to tuck in close. To receive the touch he so badly needed, if even for a moment. He was hardened, yes. Still very much a child. When and if his plea was granted, he would speak with pinned ears and downcast eyes. "I just...grew so angry. I didn't know how to channel it. I'm sorry. When I learned...saw my mother take her own life. She...she told me something...a secret...long ago when I was young..."

Issorartuyok did not shy away from the boy when he saw Ensio step forward. The northern man drew nearer to the figure of the glacier child and lowered his head to where the smaller figure was. There was never a good time to learn how to be a comforter, but the large figure could not help but to feel pained, grief-stricken by that softening in the young man’s gaze.

When Ensio spoke of his anger, Issorartuyok nodded his head in understanding. He rested his chin atop the young wolf’s skull. It was not the soft touch that a mother would offer, but that of a man who knew that he was not enough… but would still try. If the rest of his days were spent in an effort to show love to Ensio and Arius, he would be content. If they saw him as nothing more than a persistent presence in their lives, he would be content. As long as the boys of the glacier were not alone.

Atautsikut, the northerner breathed out to the young man.

It is a northern word. It means none left behind, all together.

When his dark brown gaze settled on the yearling’s features, they were filled with the warmth and love of a father that should be, but wasn’t.

We will be Atautsikut.

Fade here? <3

When the embrace was accepted, Ensio hesitated before slowly leaning into it, fully. He would try and trust this man, who was the Glacier's new Alpha, but not his father. Could he even hope to see him as a parental figure? He wasn't sure, because that was not on his mind at the moment. At the forefront was seeing how things played out, if Issorartuyok was as true to his word as he said. 

"Atautsikut..." He repeated, in a low breath. "I like the sound of it. Strong...reassuring." He went to bump his platinum crown against the underside of the Northerner's dark chin. Gods forbid if Arius saw him like this. Who knows what he would do. Probably lose his shit. "I think..." He paused, considering. "No...I know that is what my parents would want." Pulling out of the embrace, glacial eyes met earthen brown, with the unspoken demand; Now, let's get down to why you called me.

As Ensio pulled back, inquisitive and sharp in his look to the glacier’s new Alpha, Issorartuyok smiled warmly to the young man. The foundation had been made. It could be seen in the way the boy spoke and responded to his emotions. Wintersbane and Tzila had done well with their children, up to that point. Ensio and Arius could only get stronger with passing time.

I wished to ask you to hunt. We have found that the Moonglow hunters are not being harmed by the illness in the herds. You and Veteran found them and you deserve to bring them down for your sharp senses, the northerner said to him with a firm nod. Let us see how sharp those fangs are, young protector. The man offered a gentle laugh before he pointed them for the distant hunting grounds and the duo set off on their first hunt together.