It was hard to believe that her children had grown so swiftly, the once tiny Aslan, Varda and Herne had now caught up and even overtaken their parents in size and strength. They were yearlings, no long little Drafts but ready to learn more and truly begin helping with the pack. What scared her the most however was how little help she had to teach them what they needed to know, to aid them in their duties and studies. Gitan hadn't been much help with Symphony and Cerise still missing. Sorrel had been learning quickly and Féli was certainly eager to help though neither she felt were quite ready for Plot positions to begin officially teaching the others in the pack. Fresh faces were starting to appear it seemed, though Hecate was in no state to help out much let alone have the confidence to teach a lesson of any kind. Not one of those would be her first thought however, instead her mind would leap straight to Legend.
When he requested to join he had expressed a desire to help teach the rest of the pack how to fight. Would he still wish to do so, did he feel he had settled in enough now, worked on his own skills to feel ready to take the role of Action? Well if she could be an alpha she certainly thought he could be a wonderful teacher, perhaps she was biased though she had discussed the issue with Frith and now she found herself seeking out her brother prepared to discuss it with him. She would give a short call for Legend, and sit and wait for him to appear.
(OOC: I didn't know if you were placing this after their parents death, so I tried to keep it a little vague)
The man had laid pretty low since his joining back with his family here in Threar. Though he never did mind being stopped on the way out or in, or meeting others on his travels past the borders for other stray meats. He hadn't been out in a few days though, only catching small meals and not really feeling up to going to far from home. Which made his sister ever so lucky to catch him at her call as he was longing about; something he never really cared much for. He was restless when there wasn't enough action, but lately there really wasn't anything to do around home. No one seemed to bother them, there weren't any freak accidents. Of course, Legend didn't want something horrible to happen... Just a little excitement every now and then.
He would rise from laying outside his den, leaning his head against the walls and almost immediately reacting to Novella's call for him. He was sluggish, but still had a little spunk in his stride as he almost excitedly came before her. Seeing that she had taken a seat in waiting, he would do so beside her, but angled enough so when he looked at her his head wasn't twisting too roughly.
"What is it Novella?"
He spoke very kindly and curious as to why she called him to her. He hoped it was something exciting... But if she simply just wanted to talk, that wouldn't disappoint him. It was something other than laying around on his back all day.
ooc: Sorry for not being clearer, yes is meant to be after their death.
It was perfectly understandable to have been a little sluggish as of late, the entire pack in fact had been though there had certainly been a lot to deal with. From illnesses to missing members to deaths, it almost seemed like life had been determined to drag the little pack down somehow though they continued, as Frith told her they had to. Just continuing wasn't quite enough though, there was more to be done and hopefully her brother could help that.
Of course it wasn't all business, Legend was her brother after all and had gone through the same pain she had only without someone like Frith there to carry him through. He seemed to have found his own way to cope, though she of course didn't want to ignore him. She would nuzzle him as he stopped beside her the affectionate greeting the only thing he would receive for a moment though of course he was curious and would swiftly enquire what had caused her to call him out like this.
"How are you doing?" Family matters first, the stuff no one really wanted to talk about but they had to. They certainly wouldn't just forget their parents, and that wasn't what they wanted to do either. It was the pain and sadness that their passing had brought that the entire family wished to avoid.
Legend leaned into her as she gave him an affectionate nuzzle as she did most the time. He would offer a smile though there was something missing inside of it. She had asked how he was doing, and his attempting grin should have really told her other wise. Though he wasn't completely lying, he wasn't in shambles over the matter. But then, he thought a second. Novella would be able to sense that off feeling about him... So why tell her otherwise?
"I'm Surviving."
His voice was still warm, a silent chuckle after his words but how appropriate would that be? It certainly was no laughing matter... Of course, sometimes laughter was the best medicine. But not today, not right now. He was ready to start seeing joy in his memories...
"I suppose I could ask you the same?"
It felt like he just showed up on the borders yesterday... Like hearing his parents passing came after he was back. He had been gone for too long; maybe not so long, but too long. He would feel guilty and blame himself later for not being here. But again, not today and not now.
They were certainly a rather close family the Destructions. They had their difficulties of course but they were there for one and other and as Legend rightly guessed now had gotten fairly good at reading one and other to some degree. At the very least she could have guessed that the death would still be hitting them all pretty hard.
"I suppose I could answer the same." She responded with a soft smile of her own. Yes they were surviving though it was certainly a difficult thing to attempt to get over. She had a little more support though than her brother, though she hoped he realised any time she was still here for him.
"I’m hoping for a little help from you though." She responded, it wasn’t an obvious topic change and so she would of course go on to explain the matter a little more for him. "Frith’s back on his feet now and perhaps its time to try get the rest of the pack active again. It’d probably be a lot easier if we had some of those plot positions filled, do you still think you’d want to take on position of Action?"
His smile would grow warmer as she responded by copying him in a way. He knew that they could get up and get through this, especially with each other's support. But there was no way to just forget their parents, they would just have grow on the fact that they wouldn't be curled up in their den like they were for so many weeks. Everyone had to understand that they wouldn't be there anymore.
But Novella would move onto to her desire for his help on other things. He knew that his sister would be there if he was desperate for her, and he could only hope that she knew the same about him. So moving on to the next thing wasn't like avoiding their parent's passing.
He waited to know she was done speaking before doing so himself. "Novella, I would love to help you in anyway that I can." He was glad to hear that Frith had gained his strength back, he didn't want another loss for his sister. But she offer him a higher position, a promotion, but he wasn't sure if he was quite ready yet. Maybe moving up would help him ease his mind by being more active in such a position.
"I'd be honored to take the position of Action."
If he wasn't ready, he would make himself be. He needed to start pushing himself... Life wasn't going to get any easier. He couldn't just lounge around all day like he had been. It was about time he stepped up, and Novella was offering him the time.
If that illness had proved deadly for all that had caught it Novella honestly wasn't sure that she would have coped so well at all. Frith's comfort and support was perhaps the main reason she could stand here somewhat like the leader she was meant to be now. Honestly she didn't doubt for a moment that she would still be curled up in a den somewhere like a child without the support she had been given. Family of course had helped, though he was an example of a man who had once lost everything and still survived and found something worth living for.
She was glad to hear his acceptance of the position. Chances were she would have tried to push him into it at all though she would have been disappointed if he had declined. The pack certainly needed at least one of it's teaching roles filled at the moment, someone to help the younger members of Threar learn and be inspired to begin training. The little pack needed to move up in the world, they deserved it after the awful end to the year.
"That's brilliant Legend, thank you." She smiled warmly. "I'll call an official meeting to let everyone know. And then you can start any lessons as you please. Frith will help you with them too I'm sure."
"I will be there." he would respond gladly with a slight chuckle. At least the next meeting of Threar wouldn't be as sad as their last gathering. Hopefully the rest of them could pick up and move on, of course mourn as they pleased. But Legend hoped that the other's would be so drowned in their lost. His parents were probably in a better place now.
He picked up his ears as she spoke of Frith helping him out, and oh how much he felt he needed it. "I'm glad to hear that." He gave her a raised brow as he finished, "I could always get more time with Frith."
He felt like he needed to go out to the battle field and grab some spars, get himself a little up in those spirits. Of course not so many that they would leave actual injury, but he really did need some of his own practice. Not that the young ones would be shooting towards an expert level on their first day. But he was eager to teach them, and knew that they would be well behaved in their learning. Of course, training could go for the adults of the pack... Maybe even help the little ones learn too. It could be plenty of bonding time, or time for those who haven't met to see each other.
Legend declared he'd be at the meeting and a smile found it's way across her own expression, joining in softly with the little laugh. "I should hope so." She responded. "It won't look too good announcing your new rank with you nowhere to be seen." She was certain she could count on her brother though. He may have had his little period of wandering but hadn't they all? He was here now though and that was all that mattered.
Apparently the lack of self-confidence ran in the family, Legend certainly feeling he could do with the help. It was quite ironic really that needing help was part of the reason he had the position now, Novella needed his help. The thoughts wouldn't be voiced though and she would remain in the dark as he responded simply that he'd be glad for the help. That confirmation relieved her, she certainly hadn't wanted to make him feel that she doubted him at all, she really didn't, just thought the help would be nice and a good excuse for the pair to spend some time together.
"I'm sure he'd be glad to spend more time with you too." She assured him. There truly wasn't anything more she could ask of her husband. Though his own family had been small he hadn't recoiled or ignored her own in anyway at all, truly integrating himself into her life there was no need to choose between them though truth be told it'd looked at one point like her parents were going to make the choice for her long before she even knew how she felt about the man. She was glad Symphony had been there to help calm them, that they had given in and allowed him to stay. She was even more glad that they too had warmed up and welcomed him into the family.
He would look at Novella with his friendly, loving smile for a moment; frozen in place as he thought about how glad he was to be surrounded by his family again. But he would then look away and out at the land around them. Promotions were great and all but there was more they could talk about than that. He was always here in Threar, he never went too far from the border. He could take care of himself of course. But he had no desire to find love, to make more of his own. One day he would but not now.
"Have your children been well?" He asked gently. His eyes would come back to the white woman, a raised brow to his question. Maybe they should spend some more time together. With her, Frith, and even their children. He need to start getting out a little more, he was starting to feel like a bum.
Novella would of course make time for her brother and she was sure that the rest of the family would do so as well. Having lost the chance to get to know two members of the family well, she got the impression that Aslan would be quite eager to change that and spend more time with other Destructions. Legend would bring the children up now, asking how they were doing.
"I think they're a little upset they didn't get to spend much time with their grandparents." She began, perhaps bringing the mood down a little more than originally intended but she would try to move off and lift it again. "But they're very well otherwise, though it's hard to believe they're already a year." How had that year passed by so quickly?
