Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He wasn’t sure what was wrong with his mother, but he was going to find out, one way or another. Regulus had had enough time to watch his parents after he’d gotten back from exploring, and for the last few days, he’d been aware that his mother smelled funny, acted grouchy and inconsistent in her moods; one moment, she seemed fine...ish, and the next, she seemed downright testy, and would go for a hard run. And she was avoiding Father. The last time that had happened, it had been after Father had come back from his disappearance. Regulus and Zuriel, once they were old enough to understand, had been told why their Father had vanished, and why he could no longer see. It was the fault of the now gone pack, Arcanum. But what had happened this time? Sure, father had gone out, and come pack; not having gone far at all. But after that day, Mother’s behavior had changed. She seemed confused, upset, and she didn’t come in to sleep in the alcove. He frowned as he trotted toward the boulder his mother used to call the big family get together they’d had a while back. That had been fun. He doubted this talk would be as fun. He gathered himself as he reached the boulder, leaping up onto it and settling his haunches on the flat, worn smooth surface. Now it was a matter of getting up the guts to talk to Mother about whatever it was that had upset her. Cinder scampered up after him, settling between his front legs, hunkering down in a comfortable cat ball, tail twitching as she waited for him to make his next move. Finally, he lifted his head, parting his jaws and let out a call for his mother. He wanted to help, if he even could with this problem. That was what family was for.

Surreal Adravendi

Surreal still didn’t know her answer. Her heart ached every time she thought of it. The inner turmoil was agony. She knew there ought to be a better way to handle this, but for the life of her, she didn’t know what it was. More than anything, she wished her mother was still around. Her mother had always been the kind of wolf who knew what to say to settle a racing mind. Surreal’s heavy indecision wasn’t aided by her heat. It messed with her emotions, rattled her usually stable routines. Even her children had begun to notice the tension in their usually steadfast mother. And, let’s be honest, how could they not, when she was avoiding their father, and sleeping in Alsander’s old den? Her paws pounded the earth, a stride behind the rabbit that had been unfortunate enough to dart into her path instead of remaining safely tucked away in its bush. Another stride later, and her teeth snapped shut over it’s frantically fleeing back, dragging an agonized shriek from its jaws. She gave her head a vicious shake, snapping the spine, and resettled the limp body in her jaws to finish the kill if the shock hadn’t killed it already. The final crunch was overridden by the call of her eldest. Surreal’s head turned as she listened. There was no fear or urgency in his voice. Turning, she loped toward his voice, pausing to drop the rabbit at the mouth of the ravine, giving a sharp bark to alert the others to a snack, before she finished the trek to her vibrant, massive son. He sat on the meeting boulder, and she paused to study the scene for a long moment. One day, her son - her heir - would be sitting on this boulder, calling his pack to meetings. If all went well. He had the makings of a fine King. Benevolent, fair, gentle, but not afraid to fight. Finally, she completed her approach, greeting Cinder with a smile as she leapt up onto the boulder, taking a seat beside her tall, brightly colored son. His eyes reminded her so much of Erani it hurt. Leaning in, she gave his cheek and ears a good grooming, vaguely amused that she had to rise slightly to do so. Had it not been only yesterday, that she had to bend to kiss her children? Tornach was going to be massive, too. Would all her sons be huge? "Sea, mo mhac? Cad é?" She finally asked, choosing to speak in her most comfortable language. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

His mother was quick to answer; he never, ever doubted that she would come to one of her children when they called; only death or severe injury would stop her if she could hear her child calling for her. He cocked his head as she stopped a ways away and gazed at him, wondering what she was thinking. She didn’t share the thoughts with him, though, instead coming to settle beside him on the boulder, smiling at Cinder and rising slightly to give Regulus kisses, like always, before she greeted him, asking what it was. He shifted slightly, ears tipping back slightly in thought as he looked down at his mother, before he answered, slowly, "Bhfuil rud éigin cearr idir tú féin agus Athair. Cad atá cearr? Is cosúil go tú chomh trína chéile le déanaí." He readily kept to their family tongue; it flowed more easily, though he had been born and taught both common and the Old Tongue at the same time. He paused, then added softly, "Tá mé buartha, Mama. Ba mhaith liom a cabhrú leat." He looked to his mother beseechingly, tail flicking to curl lightly around his hips. Cinder stayed quiet between his paws, choosing to let the moment continue without her input, though he could feel by the attentive stillness in her lithe, fluffy body, that she was listening intently to hear what was going on. Regulus refused to look away from his mother’s face and form, wanting to catch every nuance of her reactions, as well as hear her answer. He wanted to miss nothing.

Surreal Adravendi

She watched as her son thought, noting the way his ears tipped back. Not an easy topic? No, as soon as he began speaking she felt her ears fall back of their own accord. No, not an easy topic at all. How was she supposed to answer this? He was old enough to understand everything, and by all the teaching she and her mother had given them, he ought to be able to. If it weren’t for that butterfly. Surreal suspected that Regulus may not have paid as close attention to that lesson as he had to the butterfly. Surreal remembered clearly how she had looked away briefly as she was speaking, and looked back to see Regulus frantically pawing at his own tongue, trying to remove the butterfly wings. It was Regulus’ soft words in the end that finally decided her. She would try to explain to her son what was going on. Maybe, as an observer rather than a player in this mess, he could provide some insight. So, she gathered her thoughts and began slowly, "Do col ceathrar Amalia mian leanaí i mbliana. Ach a maité, Fiachra, ní féidir a thabhairt di an bronntanas. Fiachra a aimsiú fear léi genes. Tá do athair deartháir leath Fiachra, mar sin tá Athena Armada do aintín ..." Here she paused, going over what she had just said. Gods, this world really was small, wasn’t it? She hadn’t thought about it when Falk was telling her, but Athena was as much a part of this family as Amalia was. That made it even more confusing to her, but she pushed on, marshalling her emotions. "Athena mian le duine de na h deartháireacha a thabhairt Amalia bruscair i mbliana. Agus bhí ar siúl sí isteach i do athair cúpla lá ó shin agus brúite an cheist." She paused again, trying to slow her heart rate, took a deep breath and studied her son to see if he was understanding anything of what she was saying. Finally, she went on, finishing in as calm a voice as she could. "D'athair a dúirt go mbeadh sé ag iarraidh orm. Agus rinne sé. Agus anois Luíonn sé ar mo ghualainn. Má bhí na aon wolves eile, mo mhac, ní bheadh ​​d'athair a bheith ag fanacht linn. She blew out a sigh, rolling her eyes to the sky, watching a skylark climbing high into the sky, out of sight with it’s melodic calls fading into the distance. "Ach tá Amalia agus Athena teaghlaigh. Agus níl a fhios agam cad atá le déanamh. Tá mo chroí á ceirteacha tarraingthe ar dhá bhealach. Is breá liom do athair le gach rud i dom, agus tú leanaí chomh maith. Ach tá siad mo theaghlach, chomh maith, agus ba mhaith liom iad a bheith sásta." Surreal lowered herself to her belly on the boulder, gazing out into the Plains, toward the den, hidden away in its wooded hill. "Ba mhaith liom ach gach duine a bheith sásta." Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

His question caused her ears to fall back, and inwardly, Regulus winced at the clear discomfort he’d just thrown his mother into. The way her eyes widened just slightly, and flicked down as though she were thinking hard. The next several seconds, he listened while she explained, and tried to wrap his head around it all. Cousin Amalia wanted children. Aunt Athena - now how on earth did that happen, anyways? That your aunt could be your cousin, too. - couldn’t give children. Why not? She was a female, wasn’t she? She could give birth. So far as he knew, puppies just happened, not long after the mother got really… round about the middle. He was not about to insinuate that his mother had ever been fat. But if puppies just happened… Why would they need his father? For that matter, if puppies just happened, how was his father even his father? Back to the matter at hand. His mother was confused, upset. She just wanted everyone to be happy. Cinder chose that moment to speak up. Clearly she had been paying more attention to the lessons his mother had given him and his sisters that he had. "B'fhéidir, san fhadtréimhse, beidh tú a bheith sásta go bhfuil tú in iúl dó cabhrú?" He looked down at his companion as she stepped from between his paws to get a better look at his mother. He thought a moment, before asking, curiously, "An mbeadh na páistí a bheith ar mo deirfiúracha? Nó mo chol ceathracha? Bheadh ​​siad teaghlach?" After another moment of thinking he said, finally, "I mo thuairimse ... Ba cheart duit a rá yes. Tar éis an tsaoil, tá sé ach uair amháin, ceart?" He just wanted his mother to be alright again. "Agus b'fhéidir nach mbeidh Aintín Athena fiú gá Athair sa deireadh. B'fhéidir go mbainfidh sí a aimsiú deartháir eile a chabhróidh?" He suggested hopefully. If that happened, everyone would be happy; Mother, Father, Aunt Athena, and Amalia, and everyone else in the family. Right?

Surreal Adravendi

The soft voice of her son’s feline friend reached her ears, and Surreal turned to look at Cinder. Regulus spoke soon after, and she listened to the young male. Siblings, that were also cousins. That was what they would be, if she gave the word for Falk to give this gift. True, maybe Athena would manage to find another half-brother to donate the seed to Amalia by the time Surreal was ready to concede and share her mate with another woman. Would she be able to look Falk in the face if she said yes? Would she ever be comfortable enough around him again to couple with him to assure their next litter? She wanted more children, of course, even if she was considering not having a litter this year. Finally, she blew out a long breath and sat up. An alpha must set aside her own selfish feelings for the better of those in her family and pack, and though Amalia and Athena weren’t part of the pack she intended to raise, they were family. Both of them. "Más rud é nach bhfuil siad le fáil aon duine eile ag an am labhairt mé leo nó d'athair, ansin beidh mé a thabhairt mo thoiliú." She said, forcing the reluctance away from her tones. Then she looked at her son shrewdly. Her suspicions had been confirmed by the vein of confusion she’d seen in his eyes as to why she was so upset about all of this. He had missed a vital chunk of his birds and bees lesson. She just hoped Zuriel and Faite hadn’t missed anything. Regulus might be capable of leaving children behind in the wake of an adolescent’s first fumblings, but they could be saddled with children, and considering the size of some of the males in the land, those children could easily be the death of them if something went wrong in a birthing. Surreal herself could easily have lost her life with Regulus had her mother not been there to help. "I mo thuairimse, ní mór dúinn a chaitheamh ar na héin agus na beacha, Regulus. Agus an uair seo, ní féileacáin, ceart?" She said, opting for a sternly joking expression. She was ready to shift to a slightly different subject, now that she had come to a decision. Or at least half of one. It wasn’t a decision she could wholeheartedly say overjoyed her. But it was a decision, and it helped to assuage some of the confusion, even if it didn’t help the pain in her heart. Time would heal that, right? Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He could tell his mother was still upset, but as she gave her final answer, he could tell that something had shifted in his mother. Resignation, maybe? He could tell that she didn’t like that answer, but it was as much as she was willing to give at the moment. He allowed her to change the subject, although he wasn’t sure he much liked the new subject. The same lesson, all over again? Still, he nodded and settled back for what was surely to be a longer talk than he’d expected when he’d called for his mother. Cinder was having quite the laugh under her breath as she settled between his front legs again; he could feel her body shaking with suppressed mirth. He opted to squash her under his chest briefly, drawing a squeak from the cat as she squirmed until his straightened again, eyes on his mother. "Is cuimhin liom roinnt de na sé, Máthair ... Is féidir Baineannaigh a bheith laonna chomh hóg le leath na bliana d'aois, ach is mó chomh luath agus is téann siad beirt..." He trailed off as he wracked his brain for the rest of the information. He could hear his mother’s voice, but all that came back was “Butterfly.” Cinder was trying, and failing miserably, to muffle the laughter coming from her jaws; it sounded rather like she had choked on a hairball and all that was coming out were squeaks. Regulus ducked his head as he met his mother’s eyes. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t been listening as much as he should have. "Cad ... go raibh an chuid eile de é?" He asked, a sheepish grin on his face as the last three inches of his tail tapped against the stone under his paws. Ho boy… well, he’d had it coming, might as well settle in and listen. And if Cinder didn’t stop wheezing she was going to asphyxiate.

Surreal Adravendi

Surreal always found the antics of her son and his cat amusing. Cinder seemed to be enjoying Regulus’ predicament a great deal, and Surreal hid a grin as she waited for the two to settle and for Regulus to pay attention. He offered some of what he remembered… And it wasn’t very much, but she nodded confirmation. As he gave her a sheepish smile and tapped his tail apologetically, she chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Beidh muid tús a chur ag an tús, déanfaidh muid?" She offered gently, sitting up straight and leveling him with a look that said he would be hearing everything she had to say, and she would let nothing distract him from what he was to learn. And she would hammer it into his and his sister’s heads if she had to; they turned two years old next season. Zuriel would be in her first heat and vulnerable, and Regulus would need to know how to handle being around a female in heat. That was a good place to start. She leaned forward, toward him, offering her fur to his nose."Glac nóta de mo boladh, mo mhac. Go cúramach, anois .. Cad a dhéanann tú boladh?" She was pretty sure he must have noticed the changes in her scent by now; he was usually a very observant fellow. She knew that, instinctively, he knew what it was, but consciously, he was oblivious. She needed to shake that oblivion to its core and show him what to expect around a female that smelled like that; what to do, and what not to do. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

Oh boy. The look she gave him as she straightened and suggested starting at the beginning. He wasn’t getting out of this. No way in hell. So, dutifully, when she offered her fur for him to sniff, he sniffed carefully as directed, analyzing the smells on her coat. There was the Plains, of course; the smell of summer sweetened hay and wildflowers, open spaces and wind, and the western pines and deciduous trees that made up the wooded areas. There was the smell of his siblings and himself, and more faintly, days old, his father. Very recently, the smell of rabbit. And the smell that was undeniably his mother. He snuffed out and took another delicate sniff, the same way a scholar might have turned a page many a millennium ago. There, over it all, was a scent. He vaguely recalled smelling it on her toward the last days of their being lost on the southern continent, but he’d been too busy trying to get his injured mother home to notice it beyond that. It was compelling, and exciting in a really strange way. Sweet, heady, musky, exotic. He pulled his head away and sneezed, realizing his head had been a bit cloudy for a moment there. Had she said anything while he was cataloging her scents? Realizing she had asked him to tell her what he had smelled, he sat straighter and recited his thoughts in a more abridged version of the originals, pausing now and then to look at her for confirmation before continuing. "Boladh mé an Plains, mé féin agus mo deartháireacha, agus tá athair ann, freisin, ach fainter. Tá tú i ndáiríre gafa le déanaí agus maraíodh coinín ..." He paused, feeling a little embarrassed, though he wasn’t sure why, then finished, honestly, "Agus boladh tú i ndáiríre, gur maith ar bhealach i ndáiríre aisteach ... Cad a rinne tú rolla i? Fhaigheann tú boladh is mian leat, ach ... Tá sé an-difriúil." Between his paws, Cinder was in spasms, laughing so hard she wasn’t even making any sounds. He nudged his friend with a paw, sending her rolling off the boulder, where she only laughed harder. Really, what was the deal, here?

Surreal Adravendi

Surreal listened as Regulus recited what he’d smelled, nodding confirmation each time he paused to look at her, and when he shuffled, then gave the rest of his observations, she nodded once more. "Ciallaíonn sin boladh mé i teasa. Is é mo chorp ar oscailt do síol fear ar. Is féidir le mná a smells mar seo a bheith ag iompar clainne níos éasca nuair a cúplála le fear. Má bhí mé a leagan le do athair le linn an tSamhraidh, go mbeadh tú a bheith níos mó siblíní ar an mbealach is dócha.." She paused to allow the information to sink in, before continuing with the lesson. Now to make him aware of the dos and don’ts when it came to a female that smelled that way, starting with what do do where his family members were involved. "Beidh Zuriel boladh mar seo séasúr seo chugainn. Cad Tá mé ag dul a insint duit go bhfuil tábhachtach, agus ba mhaith liom tú a chur de ghlanmheabhair gach focal ar an prótacal Tá mé ar tí é a mhúineadh agat.." She said sternly locking eyes with her son as she went on. "In ainneoin a bheith linn teaghlaigh, beidh do dheirfiúr boladh teas a dhéanamh go fóill do ceo inchinn os a chionn, agus d'fhéadfadh distract tú ó rud éigin tábhachtach. Dá bhrí sin, séasúr seo chugainn, nuair a bhíonn tú timpeall uirthi, fanacht upwind de di. Beidh an cúnamh a choinneáil do shrón agus ceann soiléir.." She paused once more mismatched eyes locked on his deep sapphire gaze until she felt he had absorbed the words and meaning and would remember them if asked later on. "Next, nach bhfuil sé béasach cainte ar bholadh mná ar bhealach ar bith is féidir go bhfuil an chuma rude. Den sórt sin mar conas a dúirt tú ar an mianach. Is féidir leat compliment di, ar ndóigh, ach nach rá boladh sí aisteach, greannmhar, nó aisteach. Ní Go háirithe ná cainte ar bhealach a mná strainséir. Is féidir linn a bheith moody, agus nach féidir a thuar i ár timthriallta teasa." She gave her son a wry grin and a raised brow point, letting him know she wasn’t angry with him, merely correcting his misstep, before moving on to the next part of the etiquette she expected from him regarding this matter: Space, and what to do if a female was invading it while under the intense drive of her instincts and hormones. "Ní mór duit meas ar a spás, agus ní mór duit éileamh go bhfuil sí an gcéanna. Is féidir le roinnt mná a bheith in áit ... cairdiúil Ró. Is féidir a bheith i teasa a bheith an-míchompordach, go háirithe nuair nach bhfuil ina comhpháirtí a fuarthas a ... ah ... foluain na riachtanais. Bí dea-bhéasach má faigheann sí ró-ghar, ach a bheith daingean. Agus má ní mór duit, bogadh ar shiúl ó di a threisiú do teorainneacha.." She spoke from experience. Her first heat had gone untended, Falk having been missing until after her cycle had been over with. She’d been irritable, and until her mother had reminded her, discreetly, what season it was, and how old she was that year, she hadn’t realized why her uncle and cousin Alsander were staying upwind of her. She’d thought, for a while, that she must have stunk, or something. Well, that had been half true. "Nuair a sheal tú dhá seo Fómhar, beidh tú a bheith go fisiciúil aibí go leor a atáirgeadh. Beidh tú in ann a mhná torracha a fháil. Mé le fios go mór tú a maité ach amháin le mná leat tar éis titim i ngrá le agus más mian leat chun fanacht ar feadh a saoil. A bheith ina láidir, athair cobhsaí le do leanaí agus maité grámhar chun máthair do leanaí. Smaoinigh dóibh, sula tú féin." The last words she said more forcefully. When he had children, she wanted him to always have them in his mind. Like being an alpha of a pack, the needs of those little lives and the mother that had borne them must come first before all personal desires. Now, she paused, to allow him time to take in all that she had said, and to ask any questions he might have. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

Regulus took in the information his mother gave him quite well. He’d always been a good learner, as long as he was paying attention to the lesson. But it was quite eye-opening. Males were actually needed after all? He took another careful sniff of his mother’s scent, committing that particular aroma to memory. He still didn’t quite get the part about ‘laying with his father’... Maybe his father would have more to say on that? After all, Father was male, too, and might be able to give more insight on the male’s side of this whole reproduction thing. Zuriel was going to smell good… On his own, Regulus came to the conclusion that he was going to have to keep a sharp eye on his sister this autumn. If that smell could make Regulus’ brain feel that muzzy and foolish, other males might make trouble for her. He was glad for the tips his mother had for him. Stay upwind of the family females during their heat cycles to avoid a muzzy head: check. He’d remember that. His head ducked as she got to the part about remarking on a woman’s smell. Oops. He had kinda blurted it out, that question of what had she rolled in… But her tone wasn’t angry, and in fact, she seemed to be teasing him about it. Respect her space? Definitely. Since he was often so much larger than the females he encountered thus far, keeping a bit of distance was usually a pretty good idea, considering he still sometimes managed to trod on Cinder now and then. And be firm but polite in saying how close a woman should come to him. What exactly did she mean by overly friendly? And finally, his mother would get to the point about him being old enough soon to get a female pregnant. Really? He could make puppies happen? That had never occurred to him before. After all, he’d never seen his kind breed before. He’d seen other animals, though, but it had never clicked in his head that those animals were doing certain things. He’d just found it really odd that the bull elk was lunging onto the cow elk like that. His mother’s words about mating only with the one he was in love with, and that he must think first of his children and mate before himself were not missed. He committed them to memory, just as he had the rest of the information. Was this why his mother was so upset over his father possibly making children with Amalia? It was beginning to make more sense to him, now. His mother fell silent, looking at him expectantly, and he realized she must be waiting for him to ask questions. Well… he had a few, yes. He took a moment to round up the most relevant, and started with the subject of respecting one another’s space. "Cad is 'ró cairdiúil'? Cad iad na comharthaí ba chóir dom lorg? Cad a tharlaíonn má nach mbeidh sí fanacht fós amach as mo spás pearsanta?" He tilted his head, pondering whether or not to ask more, then looked at his mother, deciding to let her answer the first few questions before he added more.

Surreal Adravendi

She was glad; it seemed the information was going smoothly into her vibrant son’s head, like any lesson. Amazing what he could take in when he had his full attention on the lesson instead of a bright, colorful, fluttering bug. She waited patiently as he thought, and listened to his questions. All three were quite good, and he looked like he had more coming but wanted those answered first. She chuckled softly, and thought back to her mother’s lesson to herself and her siblings, bringing the words to the forefront of her memory and picking and choosing from them. "Bheadh ​​cairdiúil Ró bheith ... invading do spás pearsanta, rubbing í féin i gcoinne do chorp gan do chuireadh. An chuid is mó mná go ginearálta níos rialaithe go bhfuil an, aigne, ach tá roinnt ar fud an domhain d'fhéadfadh a bheith mindless le rud ar bith níos faide ná a gcuid riachtanas." She stated patiently, pausing to allow him a moment to absorb the information before going on. "Má leanann sí chun invade do spás, á reáchtáil mar ifreann, más féidir leat a sheachaint coimhlint. Insint di aon mhodh ar bith.." She paused once again, then cocked her head slightly locking eyes with him. "Agus téann an gcéanna do duit, Regulus Anatolii Adravendi. Má deir sí 'Níl' ar do cinn, ní mór duit meas a mianta." She growled. This was something she wanted to be etched into his brain in fire. So son of hers would dare harass a female for sexual pleasures. If he did, she would neuter him herself. She glared at him until she was sure he would remember those words, then sat back to await more questions. Thus far, this was going quite smoothly. He was asking questions she could answer easily. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

Regulus drank in his mother’s answers, committing them to memory. He was glad that there might only be a few rare instances where he might have to encounter a female who was too far gone in heat to care about personal space. He liked company and affection as well as the next wolf, but a complete stranger rubbing up against him didn’t sound all that enjoyable. Her growled command regarding him respecting a woman’s wishes was received with solemn sobriety. He’d already learned that no meant no regarding many things in life. Such as crossing pack borders without an invitation. That was a really big no. So he jotted the no means no regarding females and advances in the list of big no’s at the back of his mind, nodding solemnly to his mother to assure him he understood. As she waited for his next questions, he thought them over, picking and choosing out of the horde of questions clamoring for attention in his head. Finally, he lifted his eyes to hers. "Conas a bheidh a fhios agam go bhfuil mé i ngrá?" He hoped it wasn’t a dumb question, but he was certainly curious. Was there some sign that he’d found someone like his parents had found in each other? He wanted what his parents had, that much he was aware of, but even better. He would be an alpha someday. And she, whomever she was, was going to be as much of a rock to the pack as he would be. So… strong, loyal, caring. Beauty, he didn’t think about, just yet. It was just an assumption that whomever he found to be his would of course be beautiful. It wasn’t something he was looking for specifically. Beautiful on the inside, however. That was something he wanted in his future mate.

Surreal Adravendi

Surreal hadn’t been worried that Regulus wouldn’t understand or accept her demand that he be a respectful member of the male gender. With his upbringing, how could he be anything but? But she glared at him until the solemn nod of understanding and acceptance. His next question brought a soft smile to her maw, her ears tipping back slightly as she answered gently, "Táimid go léir difriúil. D'fhéadfadh do chroí soar ag an radharc ach ní bhíonn ach a, nó b'fhéidir go dtiocfadh leat a fháil duit féin ag smaoineamh faoi di aon am ar leith. Ach beidh tú a bheith fíor in ann a insint do cinnte. Tá a leithéid de rud mar grá ag an gcéad amharc, ach tá sé annamh. Ní raibh mé ag titim i ngrá le do athair láithreach. Thóg sé tamall dom a bhaint amach mo mhothúcháin dó." Her tail curled around her hips as she shifted her weight slightly to one hip. There was a saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. Perhaps that was what had happened with her and Falk. When they had first met, she had still been a yearling, recently officially a secondary Beta in training for Valhalla, under her uncle Cormalin. She’d been training and preparing for war with Glaciem. They’d sparred; well, played was more like it, and he’d been dismayed to hear that it was his own father causing her and her pack so much worry. She’d liked him then. That had been the last time she’d seen him before the siege. It was only after her first heat cycle, when her mother was the alpha of Valhalla and she was the Lead beta, that Falk had made a graceful return to her life. Some time during the time he’d been lost, having hit his head during the storm that had swept in during the time Chrysanthe had moved Valhalla to Nephilim Island and subsequently had memories knocked from his head, Surreal had realized that her feelings toward the russet Armada had evolved from friend to more. That love had only strengthened through all the trials that had come after; the plague, where he had never left her side, no matter what, despite the hallucinations and bloody tears, the spasms and seizures. He had always been there. And then when her mother had fallen in battle and Surreal and her immediate family had retreated to Atlantis Island, where they had stayed until Erani was healed and well enough to make the swim from the island to the mainland. She had never stopped thinking of the russet Armada with the kind, sky blue eyes. That he had never swayed from his affections for her during her absence, and had never turned to another female and given up on her had only served to strengthen the love ever more, which had led to the night that had begun their own chapter in life; Regulus and his sisters. There had been knocks to the relationship; Falk charging off without thinking about Surreal or his own children, and what might happen to them if he were killed or taken. Surreal had been furious. And then to come home at last from being swept away at sea after watching her mother die, however peacefully, to find that Falk once again was thinking instead of his own pain, instead of striving to stay strong for his remaining daughter as she toiled to keep him even remotely healthy. That had infuriated Surreal even more. But that was over, and thus came the second litter. Tornach and Baine. Surreal had been angry with him. She had been exasperated by him. But she had never stopped loving him. And it hurt all the more deeply to think of the current situation that had driven her from her own den to sleep in Alsander’s den. I love him, so much. And I love my family just as deeply. No matter what I do in this, I will still hurt. But sacrifices must sometimes be made. "Ar mhaith leat a fhios roinnt leideanna do cad a roinnt mná mhaith i fear súirí?" She asked, forcing the thoughts away in preference for teaching her son a bit about wooing a lady from a female point of view. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think