Emberwood An easy day, some appreciation

Most days, Fennec spent in constant motion. Charting the borders and the woods, gathering supplies, attempting to hunt, seeking recruits. The latter was slow going, the rest mildly boring, but all of them kept her busy. Lately, more and more, she hated to not be busy.

And lately, more and more, even that wasn't enough. Today she was itchier than normal, wound tight and keeping to herself by stalking the borders and marking her way along. By now she nearly knew them by heart. That was good... she was distracted.

Spring is coming.

She was trying hard not to be impatient. To give space, to not ask for anything, to wait. But the more that thought occurred to her, the harder it was to do that. Things weren't changing.... but Fennec had changed. Killdeer had opened something in her she hadn't known was there, and the thought of not getting to experience it again hit hard. Especially since, this time, he was here.

Fennec blew out an impatient breath, then crossed the scent line she'd just drawn, wandering a short ways outside the forest's border before beginning to scent about. Some tracking would clear her mind. She sucked enough at hunting still that it took most, if not all, of her concentration.

He'd nearly let her pass on by when he'd spotted her through the trees. It was wonderful getting to spend time with his family again after so long, so much that he had to make a conscious effort to stop himself from monopolizing their time. He had patrols to do, borders to make, all the wolf-y jobs that came with being a Guardian and a packmate. But there was something in the way she carried herself that drew him to her. She was clearly in a mood, and while that drove most away, it had the opposite effect on Fig.

He walked up alongside her, doing nothing to mask the sound of his steps so she'd know that he was there. He didn't say anything, nor did he reach for her to offer any sort of greeting. He just matched her pace and began to hum a random tune, as though he meant only to keep her company and not pry into whatever it was that was bothering her.

Fennec wasn't really in the mood for company, but her brother barely counted as that. Even as kids she'd rarely ever told him to get lost. Not a courtesy she'd extended to many (or any) others when she was, for whatever reason, upset.

From where she was, taking a scent, she smiled without lifting her head. What, you hoping your sister can give you a lesson in how a hunt is actually done? Because I'm open to it.

They both knew that was a joke, though it was one of those subjects where she could give herself shit, yet wouldn't take it from anyone. Hunting would never not be a touchy subject for her.

Fig continued to hum, even when his sister acknowledged his presence. He lowered his volume so she would know he was listening, then smiled through his song. An answer popped into his brain. He parted his lips to say it aloud, but then paused and thought better of it. There was another way to respond to this.

With a clearly exaggerated jolt, he jumped as though startled to find her there. "Woah, Fenny!" Fig said, sidling back up alongside her with a shake of his head, bumping his shoulder against hers, "Oh man, I didn't see you there! How long you been walking next to me?" He grinned at his own joke and wagged his tail, intentionally bashing it against her haunches.

His song was pretty, whatever it was, though he could occasionally drift a little out of key to her ears. Fennec couldn't sing for shit, of course, so she enjoyed the sound without a word.

Fennec laughed, shoving him a little back when he sidled against her, but then closing the space again rather than let it stay. She didn't want him to think she wanted the space right now when, honestly, it was the last thing she wanted. She had enough of that with others.

Since you rudely interrupted me, blindo. She enjoyed pulling out the old name Penn used to toss at her. No doubt Fig would recognize it. And here I was, minding my own damn business. What gives?

Fig bowed his head as though ashamed of himself, but his grin remained. It made him happy that he’d so easily broken through her bad mood, though he didn’t fool himself that it had completely passed. He didn’t know what the problem was, or if there really even was one. But he suspected he was correct, and it didn’t really matter anyway. He was here now.

The name she used on his triggered a memory, but he didn’t comment. He saw no need to bring the conversation round to her old friend. They were all better off letting the memory of Penn stay a memory. Maybe even a forgotten one. ”What, can’t I come mind your business too?” he asked, ”Do I have to mind my own business just because you decided to mind yours?” Maybe hers was more interesting. More interesting than his own, anyway. One day, he would have to stop being so boring.

I don't want to cut this short if you want to continue, but I don't mind fading either since so much has happened!

Joke's on you. When do I ever mind my own business? She shot back, though internally her mind flashed to her mate. There she was somewhat minding her own business, actually, and that was the majority of the problem.

So why are you really here, nosy? Just couldn't handle being away? It didn't sound like he needed anything, and while she didn't mind, she was curious why he'd followed her. She wasn't aware that her bearing had resembled a trailing storm cloud.

I was actually going to hunt, if I could pick up a trail. Unfortunately it smells like everything but you decided to have better places to be. She wasn't picking up a single trail here.

He grinned, dropping his muzzle to look down at his paws for a moment. He considered the comment briefly, but his thoughts were more on just how nice it was to get to be with his family again, to laugh with his sister and just walk together. His thoughts strayed to Towhee and Phox, then to Meerkat, then Alyx, Q and Prim. He missed them all, but he set the thought aside. He wanted to stay in the moment with Fenn and just enjoy it.

"I was just heading to the borders to take another few loops," Fig replied, "I actually went out the other day to see if we had any neighbors nearby. Ran into a man and a young girl. They were looking for someone and ended up telling me about a neighboring pack that was attacked by another one. A place called Rivenwood." He glanced over at Fenn to see if the name would cause any sort of reaction.

technically this is before but I don't care, what are timelines? Pfft

The name definitely struck familiarity, but it took Fennec a moment to remember that it was because of the woman who she'd provided poison to a day or two ago. She'd been from Rivenwood, right? And talked about kids who were missing.

I heard they lost some kids in the fight. Like, they were taken. I ran into someone from there, but it doesn't seem like their pack is much of a pack now. Still, if luck has anything to do with it, whoever took those kids will get what's coming to them.

There wasn't a lot of emotion to what she said, since she had little investment in a neighboring pack who she had barely met, but her eyes did light up a tidge at the thought of them making things right. Look, sometimes the world wasn't fair - and sometimes you had to make it fair. If her skills helped that to happen, cool.

You have any interest in picking up a rank as a spy? Daring rescues, and all. Cept I suppose spies have to be good liars. And you suck at it. She laughed, lightening up after the downer that was kidnapping and war and other shit they luckily didn't have here. She, on the other hand, would kill to be a spy. But in order to be one, she had to work for someone... and she had way too much fun calling her own shots.

Fig was semi-surprised to hear she knew about them already, though he knew he probably shouldn't have been. Underestimating his sister was never wise. He nodded along as she spoke. "Maybe that's who they were searching for, one of those stolen kids," Fig replied, "They called her Druid, though didn't say much more."

He glanced sidelong at her, wanting to ask if that worried her at all to know the wolves nearby were potentially a danger to them. The question died on his tongue, though. If she knew of the threat and hadn't changed their course, then that was his answer. He might not love it, but he knew better than to fight it.

Her next question made him smile. "What do you mean? I'm a fantastic liar," Fig replied with a grin, "This whole time, my name has actually been Tom, and you never had any idea."

She hadn't learned the names of any of the kids. The woman she'd spoken to about it hadn't been exactly trusting, but Fennec didn't blame her. She'd have acted pretty similar if something happened to Killdeer. Except probably with more face-eating and less talking.

She didn't like to think about that even in theory, though, so she was glad when Figment latched onto the new joke and ran with it. She snorted once.

Is that right, Tom? Well, I hope you like that name, because now that you've revealed your secrets, you know I gotta use it. He was Tom now. He really should have known better. So, what d'you say, Tom? Want to help me find something to eat before your poor sister starves to death?

Fig grinned, glad to have given her something to hold over his head, knowing how much she enjoyed such things. Of all the nicknames she could give him, he found Tom to be completely acceptable. With an eager nod, he accepted her proposal. ”How can I say no with stakes like that?” he replied with a grin before setting off for a hunt.

Wrapping!