Blacktail Deer Plateau mine was a religion and happiness was a fact

For @Harlyn! <3 Sorry for the short post, I'm spacing out so bad right now but I wanted to toss up something for us anyway, if you've got the time!

It would have been an absolutely clear day, if not for the smattering of clouds that rolled across the open sky. Spring had a firm grip on the region now, from the buds and blossoms of the greenery around them to the absence of coldest nights. And for a change, Mordecai felt the pain of his injures did not nag at him as much; the sense of freedom renewed crossed him as he beat a path across the plateau in no particular direction. He sought out Harlyn, though he did not call for her. It was more fun trying to find her across the mess of terrain and elevations, much in the same way she had sought him out a time or two within the Spine.

grieves — lightspeed

eeeeee joy joy joy joy GLEE GLEE GLEE

Harlyn was thrilled at finally having found Mordecai.  While it would be a while before she could move forward with the rest of her goals, she was content for now simply being near him again.  Her first days at the Plateau had been quiet while she settled in and got to know the land.  It was in truth a beautiful place, but the Cinderloch had a different idea in mind for what her and Mordecai's kingdom would look like.  As nice as it was here at the Plateau, Harlyn knew that it would only be temporary.


For that reason, the druid felt rather discontent.  Her brief stays at her prior two packs made her feel guilty looking back on.  She'd pledged herself to the Spine, and then she'd abandoned it.  She'd pledged herself to the alpha of the Gully, and then she'd abandoned him.  In truth, it was upsetting to Harlyn to know her stay at the Plateau would be similarly temporary, but she contented herself in knowing that her next pack would be the one she remained in for the rest of her days.  And Mordecai would be right there with her...

Harlyn gave a dreamy sigh as she dutifully plucked large swatches of thick, green moss from the bases of the trees.  She knew that the Plateau already had quite an accomplished healer - in fact, the beta was one of the first wolves Harlyn intended to hunt down, eager to compare their knowledge in medicine.  But still, it made her more comfortable having supplies of her own.  As it was, the druid was completely unaware that the cause of her happy musings was actually seeking her out at that very moment, nor that he was in fact quite close to stumbling right upon her.

I have such massive ADD lately, omg. Literally stared out the window longer than it took me to write this. :|

His search continued on, though he had a few ideas of where she could have been. In reality, he was just as unaware that he was so near to her as she was to he; finding her came relatively quick in the form of turning a bend. His pace slowed as curiously came about, watching as she plucked and pulled away at the moss that had begun its growth once more. Mordecai approached, though not as quiet as to give away he had come across her.

"Hey," he said to her, not wanting to detract from her self-imposed duty, "what're you doing?" He couldn't quite think of why she was out there gathering moss left and right, and well, he was bound to find out. For as skillful as she was, he was not entirely aware of just where those skills ended and began as different things.

lol I know the feeling

Harlyn set down a particularly impressive mouthful of moss just when she heard the sound of someone approaching.  It didn't alarm her at all - now that she was back within packlands, the solitude she'd grown so used to was bound to be interrupted with the comings and goings of other wolves.  She hadn't expected that it would be Mordecai's face she set her gaze upon when she turned towards the sound.  She could not have been more delighted, though.


"Hey to you too," Harlyn replied, smiling broadly.  Her ears slipped back upon her head as she leaned towards him and placed a soft lick upon his chin.  It was a gesture she'd given him often when he was her alpha and one she gave now to subtly reinforce him to think of himself as such (she so sneaky).  Plus, she just liked to touch him.

Turning back towards her work, she decided to answer his question.  "Well, I have this friend who apparently likes to get himself injured when I'm not around," she replied with a small grin, "So I was just gathering up some medicinal supplies just in case I look away for a few minutes and he takes advantage."  She looked back at him, both brows raised and tail swaying gently.

so i said, i'd reply to things after work... and my attention span is no better. sorry you are getting fail posts from me, stevie. :C

Her gesture was received warmly, though he weight behind it didn't quite occur to him. He enjoyed her affections and returned them readily with a reassuring lick across the top of her dirty forehead. A rogue smile broke across his features then, entertained that her gather was in part to look after him. But he felt it was for more than just him; his wounds were far from needing prompt care now.

"Need an extra helper?" he queried, wondering if she would be at all opposed to having him try and aid her. Mordecai knew very little about the specifics in healing, though he could have been versed enough in minor things. Gathering things fell into that category in his opinion. "What kind of moss are you looking for?"

You know i no mind!

Harlyn felt relief at the gentle kiss he planted upon her forehead.  It was nice in itself just to be touched by him in such an affectionate way, but it also served as a reminder that she wasn't completely fooling herself by pursuing him like she was.  She couldn't be certain, but she often wondered what was going through his mind.  Sure he liked her - he'd proven that with his manhood plenty of times.  But did he feel what she did?  Did he see his future when he looked at her, like she did with him?


He smiled at his offer to help, only grinning broader when he asked what sort of moss it was she was searching for.  Luckily, she wasn't searching for any particular type as she wasn't certain he'd even know what she was talking about if she did specify one type of moss of another.  "Just any kind that's nice and thick," Harlyn explained, "It's good for pressing into wounds to stop the bleeding."

well i do! i hate this weird funk i've hit all of a sudden. :C

Harlyn did not turn down his help at all which pleased him, and he set to work easily. Pacing towards the next large tree just beyond her, he scanned over the ground trying to find the right sort she had been talking about. Something thick and as he imagined, something strong enough to hold up. It was a quiet stretch but short, as his search turned up something on his second go around of the tree trunk. Beneath a litter of decaying leaves he uncovered moss. Getting it loose from the ground was another story, but one he attempted all the same.

The taste of the moss was more than just earthy to him; it was bitter. "So where'd you learn this trick at?" he found himself asking between small tears. In spite of the time they had spent together, Mordecai found that there were things to her that he didn't know. She had always been enthralled with the earth beneath her feet, interested in the things that grew wild and generally without their confines. It made sense that she would draw the urge to become a healer from that, he believed.

Mordecai set to helping her collect the green roughage and Harlyn moved to do the same.  She couldn't help but be distracted by watching him, though.  It was clear he wasn't too sure of himself, but that just made it even more endearing to her.  She crept around the other side of the tree trunk, eager to peek around the bark to see him attempting to dislodge a bit from between the roots.  A tiny smile slipped across her muzzle, but it disappeared the moment he spoke as she hurriedly busied herself nosing about at the ground, trying to cover up the fact that she was watching him at all.


"My grandmother was a healer," she answered, "She shared much of her knowledge with me, though she passed on when I was a year old.  My mother took up the mantle, but she was not as practiced as máthair mhór.  I learned much on my own, some from travelers that made their home with our pack for only a season.  Here and there, really."  Harlyn paused to brush away a patch of damp leaves out of her way, hoping to find more moss below.  No such luck, but she wasn't too concerned with that anymore.  Now that Mordecai was here, bonding further with him was her main focus.

She spoke candidly and fondly of her past then, and her observation of him had gone unnoticed. Like many stories, he found himself fascinated with the origins of those he came across. Social constructs deemed the appropriateness of such talk, and had they been less acquainted than they were, Mordecai would have attempted to avoid the intrusion for the sake of his interest. At least to some extent, anyway. The tinge of foreign tongues lent to her a sheen he had not expected; he lingered silently for a moment with moss clenched between jaws before he placed it gently to the side.

"Máthair mhór? I wouldn't have guessed that you spoke a different language," he commented. It felt strange for him to repeat her pronunciation, though his own was far from flawless. There was weigh to it, though the meaning of such was not imbued with some sort of power, as truly it was a title of some sort. As he peered around the trunk to follow where she had gone, he rattled on.

"I never got to know my grandmother, though I am told she was quite something. My father always spoke of her." And then again, so did his mother, though more oft of her own parents than his fathers. While he had never pried into his own lineage, Mordecai had the distinct notion that the pair of grandparents had never really met. "She was fond of the stars at night, knew the constellations and stories behind them. But she mostly spent her time as a leader of a pack or two too."

In response to Mordecai's comment, Harlyn could only smile.  It wasn't too often that she chose to speak in her native tongue, but when it came to her family members, it felt wrong to use the traditional english references.  Her grandmother's name wasn't "grandma" - it was máthair mhór, and that's exactly what she intended to call her whether the person she was speaking to knew the language or not.


While Mordecai proceeded to share some of his own family history, Harlyn continued to pick at the moss.  She listened carefully as he spoke, though, and by the end of it found herself watching him intently instead of continuing with her work.  "That's so wonderful," she commented with a soft smile, "Did your parents ever share those stories with you - of the stars?  I'd be interested to hear them."

Her tail wagged as she began to wonder if he perhaps had a favorite.  Her musings quickly turned into a mental image of Mordecai as a little boy, begging to hear the tail of the crow or of the big bear while nestled in the crook of his mother's arms.  A longing stirred in her heart, not for the first time, but perhaps stronger than before, and growing every day.

"Oh, they were certainly shared," he answered with a chuckle. Open night skies were more than just a sight to see in Sedona; they were commonplace. Many stories had been shared and retold beneath them. "Whether or not I can remember them is another story altogether. It's been quite a long time since I heard any of them." This fact did not draw sadness to his features, as it was simply something that had meant to be. He had ventured away from the bulk of his family and fairly, the stories they had told time and time again were absent. And it wasn't quite like he was in the position to be much of a storyteller anyway.

"But perhaps when we have a clear night I'll have to see if I can recall them. Maybe regale you with a fantastic tale or two about why the stars are they way they are, or something along those lines." He smirked, but purely out of fashion to withhold another humored response. He knew she would like the concept all the same, even if he felt he would be in poor form to describe what he did know. Far too much of his life had been rooted in what was concrete.

Her companion's response brought a laugh to her throat.  She shook her head as she chuckled at his doubt in his own ability to recall the stories his family had told him.  She became quiet again when he brought up the idea of spending a night together stargazing and telling stories.  Her heart was hammering in her chest as she was flooded with romantic notions about such an evening, but she kept her composure as she gave him a smile.  "That sounds lovely," she replied with a chuckle, "I'm sure that I will not be disappointed."  Whether or not he was able to weave an enthralling tale would have very little to do with her enjoyment of that night, but she kept that to herself.

A thought popped into her head then quite suddenly and Harlyn's very expression and posture changed with the surprise.  "Oh, Mordecai!" she said, "I completely forgot to tell you.  When I first came back to the Wilds, I stopped by the Spine to see if you had returned there.  I ran into a wolf named Lotan who I think might be a relative of yours - his surname is Ostrega.  He said his parents were Chakra and Youmi from Sterren Hollow.  Are you familiar with those names at all?"  She gazed eagerly at her friend's face, wondering if any of it had struck any bells.  She hoped it would for she hadn't gleaned any further information than that from the boy.

sorry this is crap. :/

Smiling to himself as she agreed it would be lovely, Mordecai tore another strip from the mossy growth at his feet. Only then did he heard the note of surprise in her tone as she called after him again, this time drawing his attention readily. He looked upon her curiously, listening carefully as she spoke of another Ostrega in their midst. Of a sort, anyway, though he had little intentions of going near the Spine if he could have helped it.

"Chakra's my brother," he said with a nod, though it had been a long while since he had seen hide or hair of his sibling in years. And Youmi, Mordecai couldn't recall if he had met her at all, but knew that she had been Julooke's sister. Verrine's mate. But this association did not bring about the sadness that he was inclined to feel. "Guess it's a small world after all," he added absently, thinking back over the smattering of siblings and their offspring that had spread to the Wilds. Mordecai did not know what to think of it all.

"Can't say that I've met Lotan though. I knew my brother had children, but I don't recall having met any of them." Chakra had always been about as absent as Mordecai had become to the sprawling mesa of Sedona; his meetings with his elder brother were far and few between.

Harlyn smiled broadly when he told her that Chakra was a relation that he recognized.  His brother, no less!  The idea was exciting to her - to have family you'd never met before so nearby unexpectedly.  Harlyn came from a sizable family herself, though hers lived quite far from the Teekon Wilds.  She wasn't anticipating running into another Cinderloch before she left this world.  That was alright with her, though, just as long as she left plenty of young Cinderlochs here after she left.


"Lotan.. He'd be your nephew then," Harlyn commented thoughtfully, "Like... was it Viggo?  Was his father Chakra also?"  She wasn't completely clear on her Ostrega family history, but she definitely wanted to learn as much of it as she could.

He nodded — Lotan would indeed be his nephew. Whether or not they had the opportunity to cross paths was another story altogether, though Mordecai did briefly entertain the thought of seeking him out. Yet the desire to steer clear of the Spine altogether was enough to vanquish that notion; what was done, was done. He had made the decision not to return to its doorstep any time soon and wouldn't, especially if he could help it. He wouldn't out rule it entirely of course, because who knew what circumstance would bring to any of them in the future. But in the present, right then and there, he found he would not let family draw him in towards what easily could become a thorny situation. He had enough of that to last him quite a while.

As for the remainder of his family, the mention of Viggo also smashed through some of his desire to let the past be the past. He did not know when, or if, he would see his littermate again... thought their upbringing was more unconventional than anything. "No, not quite. It's complicated, really. Viggo and I grew up together, almost literally at the same times. He's my eldest brother's — Syntax's — grandson, believe or not." And though he spoke like Harlyn would know who these wolves were, he knew that she didn't. Meeting them would always be off the table in his mind. "Syntax is pretty old. At least to me, anyway," he added thoughtlessly, chuckling.

Harlyn had no idea of Mordecai's aversion to returning to the Spine.  It would have been surprising to her to learn, though it would have passed quickly enough.  During their travels together, Mordecai had suggested that his and Cara's relationship had never been very amicable.  She had never noticed it during her time in the Spine, but once he'd admitted to it, it was hard not to notice the coldness between them in the memories she had of being with both of them at once.  Still, the thought of seeing a relative would be enough to draw Harlyn back to a potentially uncomfortable situation.  That was her, though, and she understood well enough that not all had that sort of perspective on such things.


Harlyn was an attentive listened as Mordecai shared some of his family's history with her.  So, Viggo was the grandson of another of Mordecai's brothers, which made Mordecai his.. great uncle?  She smiled at the thought, the depth of his family's history striking a fond chord with her.  She laughed along with him when he commented on his brother's age, choosing that moment to add a cheeky comment of her own, "I'm sure your younger siblings and great, great nephews and nieces are somewhere right now, making the same comment about you."

Her comment came upon him so slyly that for a moment, the look he gave her was borderline confused. He had never quite thought of it that way, not even in the slightest. But in a way, it could have easily been true. "So you're saying that I'm old," he countered with mock disbelief posing a front for a toothy smile. In truth, he wasn't really much of a spring chicken any more but who could have really been the judge of that? Life in the wilderness was something else and for some of them, they didn't last long. Others went on and on, putting years behind them like they did the days and weeks of the present. His parents could have stood among that collection, but his eldest brother certainly wasn't too far out of the picture on that note either.

The look on Mordecai's face was priceless, so much that Harlyn was hard pressed at keeping her laughter tucked in her throat.  She bit her lip as she smiled at him, her tail swaying gently as he cornered her into admitting her intention with her words.  Feigning a look of complete innocence (poorly, I may add), she shook her head to deter him of the thought.


"No no!"" she insisted, "I'm not saying that you're old.  I'm saying that your family probably thinks that you're old."  She couldn't help it then, the chuckle that escaped from her lips as she gave him a smile.

He saw through her charade probably as easily as she saw through his and her chuckle was enough to prompt him to laugh himself. "No, no... I think that's what you're saying," he went on, verbally probing what may as well have been a grave she was digging for either of them. "So you think that I'm an old guy, I get it. Is that why you're sticking so close to me? You think I'm gonna fall and break my hip next?" He couldn't have hid his grin any longer, absolutely taken with the social faux pas that was unrolling between them.

I DON'T EVEN WANNA MAKE UP PROSE TO GO WITH THIS IRL LOL

PROSE IS OVERRATED WOOOO

It was hypocritical of course for her to be poking fun at Mordecai's age.  She was just approaching her fourth summer and so wasn't too far behind him in the timeline.  Nevertheless, it was proving to be amusing to tease him so.  Being the sophisticated, mature female she was, it wasn't often that she took to kidding around and playing like she was now.  That was just another of Mordecai's charms, though - being able to bring out this more relaxed, humorous side of her.

Harlyn laughed at his comment, regarding him appraisingly before fixing him with a cheeky smirk.  "Well.. that and I need to keep an eye on you, what with your old man brain; I want to make sure you don't get confused and wander off on your own and get lost," she leaned towards him as she spoke to poke her nose teasingly at his cranium, her eyes dancing with mirth.

at times yes, but i am usually full of it lmfao. MUST HAVE CONTENT OR SOMETHING.

He snorted, shaking his head at the concept of him getting lost with another chuckle. "Impossible. You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going in the first place." And though it was funny to say that for the implications, for him it was truth. Mordecai did not have the notion of being lost. And perhaps lost wasn't even the right word for it; he couldn't pluck down the word that would have fit better if he had wanted to.

As his own mirth ebbed away, he shifted his gaze to what they were beginning to gather. "Have you figured out a cache for these things yet? There's a few good little caverns across the territory that I don't think are in use. I could show you them, provided you aren't concerned I'm going to walk us off a cliff on the way."

Harlyn smiled at Mordecai's response. One of the things she adored about him was his free, easy spirit. It was what made him the beautiful creature he was, but also what made her so uncertain about whether or not he would want to share her future with her. She wanted to settle down to a life of leadership and parenthood. Was that really what her footloose prince would want?

She shook her head when he asked if she'd picked out a cache yet for her supplies. "You seem to be having a good mental day, so I'll trust you," she replied with a laugh, "Don't be offended if I keep an extra eye out anyway."

holy crap, it just dawned on me that today is the first day of may. wtf, where is THIS YEAR going already?

"Four eyes are better than two," he answered, moving to pick up the moss that he had gathered thus far. A meager pile in comparison to Harlyn's own, but helpful nonetheless. Wasn't like they couldn't pick up more on the way and he figured it probably was good if they didn't strip an entire area clean of them anyway. Gesturing for her to follow, he waited for her to gather her own supply before setting off the way he had come originally. It wouldn't be a lengthy jaunt to bring her to one of the caves, though he had no idea what she would be looking for in particular. He figured she'd be the best judge of that and truthfully had no qualms about leading her around to several if need be.

Harlyn had absolute faith that Mordecai would lead her somewhere worthwhile.  Though she knew that he wouldn't know exactly where they were going, that mattered little.  She'd find somewhere to store her herbs in the end, and in the meantime, she'd have a very enjoyable time with the man she adored.  How could a girl complain?  


The druid cantered faithfully in her companion's wake for a little while before putting on a burst of speed to bring herself right up to his side.  With a devilish look in her eye, she hopped towards him to bump her shoulder into his, hoping to knock him off course.  Another burst of speed followed the first just after she made her playful move, hoping that she'd enticed him into a playful chase.

WHERE IS THIS MONTH GOING

Her arrival at his side didn't slow him, but the knock of shoulders certainly did. He felt his steps go off-balance, the staggering walk nothing more than a nuisance as he righted himself to see her bolt off and ahead of him on the path. With a toothy smile coming to his face, Mordecai eagerly broke into chase after her. It wasn't hard to entice him into a good chase, though catching Harlyn was bound to be another story altogether. Still, he took the opportunity of a level terrain to pick up speed, snaking through the undergrowth after her.