Redtail Rise and what if I told you you could kill your imperfect self?

The chasm between Aventus and @Atreus yawned ever wider.

After the hunt, he should have throttled his son for his disobedience and disrespect, but Arielle had announced her decision to take a personal trip to search for her sister. Aventus could not find it in him then to punish his son, who would likely be reeling from his mother's departure. Yet he made no effort to connect, either.

He saw so much of Merrick in Atreus, and so much of his sister when she was younger, that simply being near the boy made his skin prickle. The disdain for authority meant Atreus would one day be cast out. Perhaps Aventus would be the one to chase him from the pack's borders. He wanted to distance himself from the boy so when the day came, he would not feel a thing.

Yet he had a responsibility to try to set Atreus on the correct path, too. He was the boy's father, whether he liked it or not. So when the sun was crawling into the chilly autumn sky, Aventus found his red-furred offspring and quietly commanded him to, come. He left no room for argument, turning to thread down through the trees, leading his son to where the pack's border markings were strongest.

Atreus looked up from where he’d been staring at the grass between his feet, blinking at his father’s command. He rose, trailing after the swarthy man. Atreus glanced around for Ancelin, though he didn’t see his brother and soon his view of the rendezvous site was obscured by the trees growing beyond it.

He faced forward, staring at the lissome roll of Aventus’s shoulders. With Arielle gone, Atreus felt more attached to his father. He didn’t feel any great calling to please the man, yet he was now less prone to displeasing him. He was curious where Aventus meant to lead him, though there was a prickliness in the man’s silence which kept Atreus’s own mouth firmly shut.

Aventus had yet to notice the change in his son, so the absence of defiance was surprising, but not unwelcome. He dropped his head to sniff along the trail, only stopping when he found a place where the scent markers had recently been refreshed. Not only by Avicus, but her large brown-furred co-leader and the hulking grey wolf, as well.

Here, he said, indicating the patch of heavily marked loam and stepping back to give his son room to inspect it. Sniff. Tell me what you smell.

He gazed sideways into the trees, ears tilting forward at the distant call of a crow. But as soon as Aventus dropped his head, Atreus’s attention snapped forward to observe. He considered mimicking his father, though before he could drop his own head, the Bitan halted.

He instructed Atreus to sniff a particular patch of ground. The boy didn’t even look at Aventus before moving forward to do as he was told, his obedience a byproduct of his genuine curiosity. He inhaled overly emphatically, snorting a little as some dust tickled his sensitive olfactory tissues.

Atreus stepped back after a moment and said astutely, Piss.

More specifically, he had smelled his aunt’s distinct scent, along with a blend of others’. Atreus was too young to decode all the information their urine contained, though he got the gist of it: all were relatively young, healthy and strong. Avicus was, obviously, a female, whereas the others were the pungency of masculinity.

Was that what Aventus wanted to know? He didn’t know if he had the language to convey what his nose told him. Surely his dad could read all of that himself anyway. Atreus’s tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth.

Aventus gave a soft snort, amused. He should have known the boy would give the simplest answer. Yes, he granted, lowering his head to carefully draw the scents into his nose as well. You can learn a lot from this.

The black wolf shook out his coat and reclined upon his haunches. This was the lesson he meant to give to Atreus, his last effort to integrate the boy into the society in which he was born. If Atreus did not learn to appreciate and respect his pack after this, Aventus didn't think there was any hope for his brash son. How many wolves do you smell here?

He nodded in acknowledgement. Atreus wondered what more he could suss out from these kinds of calling cards. He felt like he was only seeing (rather, smelling) the tip of the iceberg. He supposed the only way to get better at it was to practice. The thought of going around inhaling other wolves’ pee was, naturally, humorous to the boy.

But he schooled his expression as Aventus pressed him with a question. Atreus bent to take another sniff, trying to sift out this particular information. It was difficult to tell, since they all overlapped so much. He debated his answer for several minutes, uncertain what his dad might do if he answered incorrectly. It didn’t help that he couldn’t really count past five.

Five…ish? Atreus said slowly.

Difficult to tell, isn't it? said Aventus. Five-ish was about right, but at places where markings overlapped, they created entirely new smells, making it impossible to know precisely how many wolves were here. These are well tended borders. When the scents overlap like this, you cannot know for sure how many wolves may be in the pack. This keeps enemies from trying their luck. There may be five, there may be ten. An enemy may fight one wolf, no matter how fierce that wolf is, but they will always think twice about fighting many.

It is the same when we howl, he said, tilting his head toward the sky as though he meant to unleash one, but he didn't. When all those voices mix together, you can't tell how many are singing.

He looked to Atreus then, wondering if the boy was at all interested in what he was being told. Aventus suspected Atreus was much like Avicus when she was young: bold, brash, confident in his own power. She had once gone into the world with only Tuur at her side, but she had learned where true strength came from. That was why she ruled a pack now.

We are strong together, he said, stronger than we can ever be alone.

Whether or not that was the right answer, Aventus didn’t indicate. He launched into a monologue then, explaining the importance of the scent markings. Atreus paid attention at first, though his attention began to drift as the speech continued.

His eyes went a bit glassy, though he blinked himself back to a focus when Aventus tossed back his head. He was saying something about howling, then concluded by insisting that the members of the pack were stronger together than apart.

Atreus sensed an implication in his father’s words, though he couldn’t be sure. He was in a bit over his head with this entire conversation, though he nodded his head dutifully to show Aventus he understood. And he did get at least most of what his father had to say.

He also understood that his dad probably expected more from him than some wordless confirmation, so Atreus asked, Can we piss here too?

Aventus rumbled with quiet laughter. Maybe Atreus wasn't such a lost cause, if he could be brought to heel, if he could learn to respect his packmates, and walk a different path. Merrick's madness and bloodlust was a part of them all, but it didn't have to define them — that was his hope for the future.

Do not overlap your aunt's markings, he warned, she is the leader and hers must be strongest. Mind her markings and you may mark, too. You will make our collective borders stronger. There was no guarantee Atreus would heed him when he was alone, but he was getting old enough now that any ire he drew from Avicus was his to suffer. Aventus could only protect him so much if he still chose disrespect after today.

His father’s words of warning were delivered so sternly that Atreus initially took them at face value. His aunt was the leader, so her scent must be the strongest. He nodded as if to say, Got it.

But then a thought crossed his mind and he didn’t bother filtering it, asking, What would happen if someone else made stronger markings? Would she try to beat them up? What if they won? Would they become the new leader?

Atreus found himself staring at the ground as if he could see the urine stains there, though they were much more an olfactory presence than a visual one. He marveled that something like piss could play such a critical role in wolfish society, perhaps even upending it.

Mmm, she most certainly would, nodded Aventus. Despite the rift in their relationship, he knew his sister well enough to know she would meet such a challenge tooth for tooth. If there were many wolves in the world who embodied physicality to a greater degree than Avicus, he was not aware of them.

Aventus guided his son to another place on the borders where he might mark freely, explaining along the way how the pack was more than just their leader. Should another wolf ever depose Avicus, they would have an even greater challenge in the form of winning the pack's approval. Aventus was willing to bet any wolf foolish enough to challenge his sister would be run out in short order by her subordinates. He explained all this to Atreus, underscoring all the while the importance of pack bonds and respect.

In the coming days, Aventus would fail to demonstrate the values he wished to instill with this lesson via his poor parenting, leading his poor son to believe he was not only disliked, but entirely unwanted by the entire pack whose bonds were supposedly so important.