Redtail Rise Great Hearts are unheard of

Gunnar traveled the territory, his sandy legs looking a bit out of place, here where there was grass and meadow. He was built for sand, and he was having a hard time adapting to the silence at night. He had always been lulled to sleep by the waves crashing on the beach. It was a piece of home, he would have a hard time forgetting for awhile. 

All things considered he was doing fairly well, he missed his family like an ache. Wondered how his younger siblings and his mother were. He would have to go see them soon. He didn't want this 3 little brothers and his little sister to forget about him. Though he knew it would hurt a bit, when he saw them. All of them looked so much like his dad. He wondered how his mother was handling that.

He sighed and stood, maybe hunting would make him feel better. He bent his muzzle to the ground, and began to sniff. Hoping to find a game trail. It would be awesome if someone would join him, but he didn't really know anyone other than Saena. He had thought he had heard Junior too, but he had yet to run into her, so now he just wasn't sure.

Junior did not consider herself Gamekeeper material but, like any wolf, she was certainly capable of hunting. When hunger gnawed at her belly, she decided to forego foraging and catch some fresh meat. The effort took  most of the morning, though she managed to capture a rabbit just in time for lunch. She was carrying the still-warm carcass when she saw Gunnar in the distance. She didn't immediately recognize him, yet Junior began to trot toward him anyway, eager to meet her pack mates even if it meant sharing her hard-earned kill.

As she came nearer, she realized she had finally located her foster brother. Smiling around the dead rabbit, she hastened her step. When she came within earshot, Junior dropped the hare and yelled, "Hey you!" When he looked at her, she grinned and waved her tail, then picked up the carcass again and loped to close the space between them. Once more, she let her kill drop to the ground. "Saena told me you were here. I'm glad I finally ran into you. Wanna share?"

Gamekeeper was the one trade, that Gunnar definitely wanted. He was anxious to be able to provide for those, that were now his family. Gunnar hadn't met anyone other than Saena, so he was a little bit surprised to see another coming towards him. He didn't recognize who it was either. So he kept on going, figuring they'd make it to him when they'd make it to him.

Gunnar heard Junior's voice, and though his tail wagged, his heart fell like a stone. He would have to give the dirty news of their father. Tell her, he was gone and that it had been murder that had taken him. He smiled though, despite all that and wagged his tail harder. Hey yourself Junya. He teased her gently, recalling the way he had said her name, when they were younger still. He looked down at the hare and smiled, he would share the bad news after they ate. Sure, you get first bite though. Since it's your kill.

Junior grinned, then without a word she bent over the hare and tore off a bite. As she chewed, she quipped, "All right, you turn." She then swallowed the gob of meat and licked her chops before falling still and giving her fellow yearling a long, searching look.

"Saena said you had some bad news about the bay," Junior said after letting the silence stretch on for a moment. She didn't want to guess, not really, but she couldn't help but ask, "Is it Ragnar? Or Thistle?" Had something happened to one of them? Or both of them? Was the bay even around anymore? Was Gunnar only here because it wasn't? Questions swarmed her brain, yet she held her tongue pending his reply.

Gunnar wasn't all that hungry, but he did bend his head to tear a piece off. Taking a bite, he chewed softly. She continued to look him over, he wondered what for. She was studying him, like he was some sort of marvel. He wasn't, he was just Gunnar though he had filled out and grew tall, he was still only medium size.

He swallowed and looked down at her next words, Yes I do He looked up once, and then sighed softly. Dad was murdered Saena and I have no idea who it was. I remember the smell that clung to him, but I can't put a face to a name. It was someone I met when I was young. I do have good news though, I have 3 little brothers and new little sister. Mom is alphess on her own. He grew quiet and looked around, wondering what he could say. The grief was still rather hard on him, he missed his father. Hann hátíðum í Valhalla núna.

"Oh god," Junior whispered when Gunnar delivered the news, which was somehow worse than anything she might have anticipated. She was reeling far too much to absorb the additional news about his little brothers and sister. She wasn't one for pups anyway. She just stared at him, stricken, wondering who on earth was capable of murdering Ragnar, the bay's godlike Alpha male.

"What does that mean?" she asked, still speaking in a hushed voice, when Gunnar spoke in Ragnar's native tongue. Tears sprang to her eyes, falling freely down her black cheeks.

Gunnar wasn't too sure what to do. So he leaned forward and gave her a soft nudge to the cheek. It had been bad when his mother had told him. And he had grieved, and cried. However, now that he was slowly coming to terms with it, he knew dad wouldn't want him to grieve. His dad's main goal in life was to die, and join Odin. So in a way his dad finally got what he wanted. 


Gunnar shifted and looked down sadness on his face. It means he feasts in VAlhalla now. Then he grew quiet and stood still. He didn't know what to say now. All they could do was share their grief. He missed his dad, needed him actually. He still had so much to learn from him. Odin, had however saw fit to take him from them, and Gunnar couldn't be angry at a God. It never boded well. 

She appreciated his nuzzle and leaned into it, yet it did nothing to stem the flood of tears. How had someone gotten the better of Ragnar? It didn't make sense. She shook her head, momentarily in denial. Unless she saw the body for herself, she wasn't sure she could believe Tveir. But why on earth would her foster brother lie, particularly about something like this? Reality sank in and she began crying hard.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered between sobs, blinking at Gunnar through a blur of tears. "I know he's with his gods but where does that leave us?" she asked, her voice bereft. "How is Thistle?" she eked out between paroxysms of grief.

The tears continued, and Gunnar unsure what to do licked at some of them. Trying to calm her, his own throat was full of lump and closed. He himself wasn't sure how the wolf had gotten the better of Ragnar, it had to have been someone he trusted innately to get that close to him. Gunnar would never lie about such things.

Gunnar shook his head, No need to cry Junior. And I'm not sure where it leaves us, other than grief stricken. He taught us all well, we'll be alright. It will just be hard. Gunnar closed his mouth wtih a click, the lump threatening to take over. Mom is fine, she has 4 new babies now. So she is concentrating on them, while working through her grief. Jorunn Eitri, Floki, Ragna, and Kaylan all look like a strange mix between her and Ragnar it's actually pretty cute. He gave her a half smile, trying to drum up the love he felt for his siblings to show her. Because he did love them, loved them so very much.

I think this is my final post in my final thread with Junior... :')
Grief-stricken: that's exactly what she was right now. Gunnar humored her with tidings of Thistle and her pups, though Junior had trouble concentrating. She was happy that her foster mother had the pups to keep her busy, though the yearling herself cared very little for young of her kind. She wanted to visit Thistle, though she honestly couldn't care less about meeting the little ones. Of course, she would never say that aloud to anyone.

Anyway, Junior still couldn't control her crying. "I'm sorry," she repeated, her mismatched eyes blurred with tears. Snot was draining out of her nose. She felt a little ridiculous but she couldn't help it. "I need a few minutes," Junior said to her foster brother, rising in preparation to sweep off and cry herself out, gather her wits, then come back to find him. "I'll come find you in a bit." She gave him a quick nudge to the cheek, then swiveled and fled to finish airing her grief in solitude.