Redtail Rise stanzas

not sure what the current sitch is, so I'm okay to just roll w/ whatever!

she's still quite vexed by Atreus's departure. not like she hadn't lost wolves before. but they'd slipped away without a word, gone in the fog, never to be seen. her nephew had made his departure known—very known—and it was, undoubtedly, partially her fault.

her mouth is bloody as she trots across the Rise, having just devoured a squirrel, feeling winter set in.

Avicus howls for @Ancelin, brows knitted tight with concern. does he share his brother's incalcitrance, his wanderlust? or is he, indeed, more rooted to the Rise?

the red woman halts in a small glen, shouting distance from the rendezvous, and begins to pace.

if their father cannot rein them in, then she will have to.

at least the one that remains.

<3!

ancelin knew better than to ignore his aunt's call. he came at once, tangled and mussed with dirt. debris and fur hung in his hackles from where he had rolled on a weasel carcass. he reeked of the musk.
ancelin was not sure how to feel about atreus. he actually avoided thinking about it, because it reminded him of his mother next and how she was gone. 
the boy had grown. he was almost his full height now, and his indigo eyes were slitted respectfully as he came to join avicus. he licked her jawline and cupped his ears forward, wondering why he had been called.

his sign of respect warms her greatly. she gives him a nudge, a friendly growl purling in her throat, then pulls back, staring down upon her loyal nephew.

i know your broh'her ihh' gone, she says, gravely. i know why he leff'. buhh'.. .

she cuts right to the chase, teeth grinding tight together, lips pursed in a frown.

i leff' my pack, long ago, she tells Ancelin. a figh' wi' my broh'her. your da'. i shouln' have. ihh' wah' a mihh'hake.


her indigo eyes light upon his face, searching. we needh' you. he will be okay. buhh' your home ihh' here.

no matter what.

you will regrehh' leaving, Avicus says. you unner'hhandh?

his aunt spoke more deeply of herself than she had before.
she talked about atreus and her own past. a muscle jumped in his jaw and he smoothed it. the boy nodded earnestly. "i don't want to have regrets."
"i'm not leaving." his voice was heavy with the resolution of an older wolf, and he dared to lift his eye as far as his jawline. "but my dad and i, we have to look for atreus too. have to look at least a little."

i unner'hhand, she says, in contrast to her previous query. she allows her face to soften upon Ancelin. she sees some of their family traits in him, but they're softened, unlike Atreus's jagged edges. perhaps from Aventus's more understated nature, or, more likely, his mother.

she wishes Arielle were here now to talk some sense into the lot of them.

a pause, then she gives the boy a firm nod. walk wi' me, Avicus continues, and juts her chin toward the path ahead of them. 

once she's sure he's followed, she glances over and asks, have you been 'hhparring wi' Lilia? she'd commanded him to do so, upon her meeting with the young wolves.

ancelin nodded. "i have. she's tough!" he said of the girl. and bossy, but that didn't matter really. he was used to women holding the order in his home. "snapped me really good."
his tail waved, then stopped. he walked beside avicus in a brief silence. "is there anything else i should be doing?"

her eyes light up, pleased at his response. goodh, Avicus murmurs, nodding. a bit goes by before he asks her if there's anything further he should do.

she stares at him, words blooming then dying in her mouth. she's afraid. afraid that something she will say will drive him away, just like his brother. that the contention between herself and Aventus will haunt the next generation.

destiny, perhaps.

but fuck that.

you are good, Avicus responds. you are a very good wolf here. an' I hope you an' your dad can findh your broh'her.

she touches her muzzle to the crown of his head, a kind of benediction. the good boy. the obedient. she values him greatly.

his aunt's praise sent ancelin into a staccato wag. when she touched him, he held still, completely so. there was a lick to the bottom of her jaw when they moved away. "even if i leave to find him, i'll be back."
this place was his as much as her own. he felt it beating in his blood every day.
"i hope he can too." his face was somber. he loved atreus. but maybe this wasn't the world for him.

her lips curl upward in a smile at his reciprocation, even as she feels sadness upon his next words. he, too, must know the hopeless mission that will be bringing his brother back here.

didh he ever 'hhay any'hhing? Avicus asks, curiosity getting the better of her. her gaze watches each flicker and twitch of his countenance, looking for answers even in the silence. abouhh' here. abouhh' me.

she already knows many of the myriad reasons why Atreus had dispersed, 

but perhaps there's something to be gleaned from his brother, the boy's closest confidante.

he thought for a long moment, then shook his head. "not that i can remember." what sort of question was that, anyway?
but his young curiosity was no match for the respect he bore her, and so he simply would not ask. "are you like, worried he's dead?" he heard himself blurting anyway, one of his very worst fears.

her mouth firms. of courhh' i am, she shoots back, a little sharper than she intended. she breathes in, then out, calibrating her next words to the young wolf who had shown her such respect. 

i am, she tries again. we are family, righh'? i do hope you findh' him.

with a soft look and gentle admonition to be safe, she takes her leave of the boy, looking back once to take him in. 

a young man of many colors, and yet his loyalties were true.

she would have Aventus's head were he to forever take this promising warrior from her ranks.

ancelin blinked, beginning to step back. but avicus spoke again and easier. she was worried over atreus; he shouldn't have even asked. 
"i'll find him, auntie," ancelin muttered once she had gone, not daring to call her something so casual to her fierce face.
or into the eyes they shared.
taking a deep breath, the young man set off to find his father.