Hoshor Plains pretty like the wind

Pre-Hunt

The hunters prepared in their camps. Rodyn had asked Njord to lead. It was a responsibility he took seriously, though he felt pride and honor to earn the trust of his Moontidian friend. A familiar rush of adrenaline began to flow through his veins each time the redtail’s eyes laid upon the distant bison; small from afar but mighty and dangerous when hunted.

To occupy his mind, Njord moved between the camps of the Moon Villages, reconnecting and telling them of his claim, with Meerkat and Reki, at the Copse.

Then, he saw Chickadee shuttling a school of children up to a lookout. One of them had a bright red tail.

Njord remembered @Kukutux’s words of Rhaegal, @Vairë, and Saltshore, though their paths had never crossed. One time, there had been excitement surrounding their engagement, a new village, and the promise of children… however, any updates quickly fell into obscurity and the man never learned more.

He entered Moonglow’s camp, where many wolves bustled, but Njord did not know which one was the woman he sought.

The hunt would be soon, she knew, and she was anticipating it as much as she dreaded it. Her eyes watched the milling bison, one of her ears swiveled to face the others.

Then, she caught sight of a red tail, and her heart leapt as much as it dropped. The crowd cleared, and she couldn’t tell if she was relieved or disappointed to see it was Njord, familiar to her as Rhaegal’s cousin, or something like that. She waved him over with a flag of her tail, offering him a little smile.

You are Njord, yes? She could see the resemblance, somewhat.

Njord’s gaze tracked the different faces of wolves who frisked about until his eyes met the kelp green of a woman’s. A swish of her tail signaled him over.

She knew his name, and so Njord felt this must be Rhaegal’s wife.

“Aye,” he said with a highlander’s smile; gentlemanly with a bit of roughness. “An’ you must be Vairë?” His good ear cupped towards her as he asked the question. “Do ye ‘ave a moment tae talk?” he asked, not wanting to distract her from any duties.

He was a rougher sort, this Njord, at least that was her very first impression of him. He had the same rough accent Rhaegal had sported, and her stomach clenched to remember it. She looked him over for a brief moment, before nodding.

Of course, step over here with me a moment.

She led the way to a small patch of free space where not so many milled. Vairë turned to the sea-brine man after a moment, feeling tension curl in her muscles.

What would you wish to speak about?

The lass obliged him and the two moved to a quieter side of the camp. Njord gave a small nod of thanks.

He shifted his weight and settled in, sapphire eyes fixed upon Vairë to measure her expression. “The last time Ah spoke with Kukutux it was, well, nearly a year ago.” So much had happened since then. Moonspear had grown, the hellcat had attacked his daughter, and the Copse had been claimed.

“She told me ye were betrothed tae my nephew, Rhaegal. My brother’s son. An’ that ye were foundin’ a village by the sea. Wantin’ children. But…” his voice trailed as his eyes shifted back to the crowd. His nephew’s absence was evident. There wasn’t even a whiff of him.

We tried.

Her face had shuttered with the mention of Rhaegal, her eyes dark beneath her eyelashes. Nearly a year ago, she had been a happy creature. Nearly a year ago felt like a lifetime.

We found a place, we had three children. And before they opened their eyes, he was gone. I have not seen him since their birth. I waited until I was nearly dead, but I was alone. She recited it like it happened to someone else, like she was just telling a story.

Vairë‘s expression became shadowed while she spoke, and Njord’s face darkened as he commiserated. It was a familiar tale, one Njord had lived through, and the shards of an old reverie mirrored fresh pain in the redtail’s heart.

“Ah’m sorry this happened to you, lass,” his roughhewn voice said sincerely. “Truly.”

They might never know why Rhaegal abandoned his family. To Njord, he was a faithful wolf and a capable man. One who didn’t fit the role of a deserter. Had he been killed, then? He observed Vairë‘s sorrow and saw a memory of Meerkat’s face.

And… this meant their seaside village was no more. Vairë was in Moonglow’s tent, and so Njord assumed she, and her children, had been reabsorbed under Kukutux’s wing.

“Ah came, wantin’ tae offer a connection of kinship. Tae ken you an’ your children as relatives,” he explained. “My mate an’ I, Meerkat, have settled a village in tha Hinterlands. Our daughter, Seal, earns her place at Moonspear. They share blood, an’ Ah was hopin’ for them to regard each other as such.”

He paused for a short while. “But… after what’s happened, Ah cannae blame ye if you no be wishin’ this,” the man said.

He wanted the children to know their blood. Vairë did not hide the existence of their father from them, but she did not tell them much. Just that he had existed.

She felt her throat click when she swallowed.

I won’t deny them the other half of their family because I am bitter about byegones. She put on her best smile, despite the hurt it caused.

I would love for them to know you and your family, Njord. You all can come by anytime to see them, if you wish, or I can bring them to the Hinterlands once spring comes. Travel in the winter, with children as young as hers, probably would not end well.

Bitterness. Njord’s face softened at the word in an understanding way. He knew the breed of scar upon Vairë‘s heart. It was an everlasting sort, though Njord hoped its mark would heal and become shallow over time – he wished it for her. For Vairë‘s peace.

Then, a small smile of hope and an olive branch.

“That would be bonnie,” Njord said as a crooked smile warmed his face. “Ah can agree ‘tis a poor time for travel. My wife, Meerkat, an’ Ah hope tae be welcomin’ wee bairns this Spring. Ah will tell them of you, of your children, an’ we shall gather once tha weather warms,” he promised.

Njord shifted his weight and took a more relaxed position. He looked happy. Sun Mote Copse, and the Hinterlands, was a low-traffic area. Some days, it made Njord think of how Caracal and his family had isolated themselves on an island… The more family ties his children had, the better, Njord thought.

“Oh,” he caught himself, “an’ Ah’m sure Seal will want tae ken your family better, too,” he added. "Ah will tell her of this." Seal was much more mobile and closer in proximity.

“Tell me of your lads an’ lassie, Auntie Vairë,” he asked with a breathy laugh. "Uncle Njord wishes to know!"

His accent was so familiar, but so different to her. In some ways, it settled the rankled parts of her. This was not Rhaegal, not the sea-hawk who left her for the open seas. This was someone else, more settled, his feet on the earth and his eyes on his family. Njord was elk-heart man, much in the same way Vairë was doe-heart woman. The kinship between them existed in her children, but she thought for a moment, that if he stayed, she could think of him as uncle too.

Her smile settled itself, grown wider with the thought of her children.

I told you I have three, two boys, one girl. Salaksartok Caraxes, Ipiktok Balerion, and Nasamiituuq Syrax. They carry your name of Sveijarn. Salaksartok is bold, he is cunning, I see in his future a huntsman. Ipiktok thinks, I see in him a medicine man or spirit-talker. And Nasamiituuq is gentle, but shy. She will be caretaker, I think. She happily explained to the older man, her tail beginning to wave.

When Vairë began to speak of her children, Njord observed how a luminance returned to her expression. Each of her offspring had two names. One, Njord recognized, was in the language of Kukutux’s Sunshine people.

Then, he was pleasantly surprised that Vairë had chosen to keep the Sveijarn surname despite Raegal’s absence.

“They sound like braw an canny bairns,” Njord complimented. “Ah vow tae share what parts of the Sveijarn history Ah know… stories of Maeres Island an’ their grandparents… if ye wish it, that is.”

Then, when they were done speaking, Njord departed for the hunting camp -- his heart a bit lighter.

Hope you don't mind if I tack on an ending & archive! Trying to trim down my log <3