Time's A-Tickin'

Surreal gave a soft chuckle as Glacier spoke of having many sisters and having built a tolerance for the smell of a female in heat. “I’ve taught my eldest son - he’ll be two this autumn - to stay upwind of his sister until winter returns. He should be alright.” He admitted that he knew little of the history, and that Arcanum had also been unknown to him. “Be glad you never had to deal with Arcanum. They kidnapped Falk’s sister, then when her mate challenged for her back, Falk ran off like an idiot, and they took him even as his sister was freed. They let him free eventually, but not before they maimed him first. The resulting injuries blinded him eventually. By the time I got back from burying my mother and getting swept out to sea with my son in a storm, he was completely blind.” The acid in her tone said that it was still upsetting to think about. The thought of it did indeed settle a taste of ash on her tongue, and she tipped her head slightly to take a quick lap of water to clear it.

Glacier didn’t seem upset that she had noted his status, instead complimenting her observant nature and telling her that he and his brother ruled a pack by the name of Donostrea. After her impromptu history lesson, he seemed thoughtful, before voicing his thoughts, including that it must feel odd to see strangers come in who had no knowledge of the history of Alacritia. “Not so odd, if you think about it. Children are born year around; they don’t know the history until they are taught. Newcomers to the land are merely children in that sense. They need only to be taught the history.” His next words brought a warm grin to Surreal’s face. “Thank you, Glacier. It’s honestly good to hear well wishes, and I do hope that we will be good friends with Donostrea, as well as any pack that will accept an allegiance. At the very least, I hope to obtain a peace agreement with the other packs. I’ve heard that Imperium is strong. I’d prefer not to step on their toes if I can manage it.”

Glacier had a bit of history to tell as well, regarding how he and his siblings had come to Alacritia, and how they had decided to make their group into a pack. It was an interesting story, and she waited until he had finished before she asked questions. “So most of your pack are your family members?” In a way, it sounded almost like how Valhalla had been, both under Erani’s rule and Chrysanthe’s rule. There had been a lot of Adravendis in Valhalla, especially after Cairo had given Erani his surname. Would Cairo have been her father if Nova had never come? It was a thought she had visited often after her father had vanished, and her mother had come back from a talk with Cairo looking confused, and yet at peace. Nova hadn’t been spoken much of since then. In a way, Surreal resented her father for disappearing, taking Castiel with him. Castiel had come back with the news that Nova had been killed, but somehow, she didn’t believe that. Oh he was for sure dead now; he would be old if he still lived now. But at the time Castiel had told her, the words hadn’t resonated in her heart as truth. It didn’t mean that her brother had lied. Just that he had been wrong at the time.

“Safely and happily are why I wish to revive the pack. I want all my children to have the structure I grew up with, hopefully with fewer wars and upheaval from challenges.” A soft, almost sad chuckle left her jaws. “They’ve already had enough, what with their father going missing when they were small, and coming back only to go completely blind from his injuries later on, to myself and my son being swept away and lost for a season or more… My youngest born in the first litter went missing during that time. We still haven’t found her, but I feel in my heart that she’s still alive out there.” She shook her head slowly, then added, “At least as a pack, we will have less chance of having our home claimed from under us. And other packs are less likely to force claim a pack wolf.” If they tried, they’d have her to go through.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think