Post by helaku on Jan 24, 2010 18:57:00 GMT -5
Skelaghe - Adult Wolf
Aquene - Adolescent Wolf
----
Skelaghe's plans for leaving are gone. She gave up on the idea with the arrival of Siwa. It seemed, to her, a message. If nothing else, it kept her around long enough to see the cub start to put on a little weight. Can they really be doing much wrong, if the cub is gaining weight? The alphaess is lying a short way from the den, watching the rising sun and enjoying a few moments of silence.
Aquene had been away for a long while, ever since the day after Helaku disappeared, and now that she returned, Aquene was not exactly the same wolf she used to be. Well, she was but now she had less tolerance of idiocy and idiots to begin with. The newly scarred wolf came right through the borders, as they were hers, and kept going all the way to the Hillside where she was born. For her, there was no introduction of herself in the form of a hello for mother, but simply... "This pack best not have changed since I left," she said. "I bring news."
It is not until the voice sounds that Skelaghe looks to Aquene. For just a brief second, Skelaghe thinks to reprimand her daughter for returning with anything but kind words, but that thought leaves her when she spots the girl, as at that point Skelaghe's heart breaks for the obvious trouble Aquene has seen. Trouble that, doubtlessly, came from Helaku. Neither, now, does Skelaghe think to point out that Aquene would have had the entire pack subjected to this. No. She stands, and with little thought given to the disease that may now reside in her daughter, she approaches the girl. "It isn't news that you need to give, child. I already know." Skelaghe's voice is soft and full of remorse.
Aquene's eye watched her mother. She had calmed since the day she had it out with Skelaghe, but that didn't change much on her demeanor, rough and blunt. "I forgive you, Mother," she said, "Father told me everything of what he felt. You see me now, but he was not he whom gave me this. It was the terrain of the old Ute land as we fought when Tobba's Rage finally overtook him." That was good, at least, an assurance that she was not going to suffer the same fate of having rabies as her father, but still she seemed bitter. "If he had stayed, he told me, none of you would have lived. He proved it when it finally happened. He was so fast. I've never seen any creature...move that fast."
That is precisely what Skelaghe told Aquene. Of course, the mother is not surprised that it took being told, and shown, the same by her father. That's how it has always been. Still, Aquene has not been infected. "That is all I really need to know, daughter. You should rest." Skelaghe does not sit herself, since approaching her daughter, but she does relax a little.
Aquene lowered her ears as she approached her mother, burrowing her face into her neck. She went silent for a few moments, the things she had to say things she had to carry with her for several weeks. There was much she wanted to say, but had to say it carefully. "The old lands...everything is dead there. No trees, no grass, no water, no flowers, nothing. The only time I saw anything healthy was after Father died. A small sapling near the dried lake." She had to say that, at least.
That news does not bring Skelaghe joy, either. She'd have sooner never known that. She doesn't address it, though. Why? What good would it do? "Have you eaten?" Skelaghe can see, well enough, what has happened to her daughter in the last few weeks. She does not feel she needs to talk about it. So long as Aquene is here and safe, what good can it do to focus on anything but helping her daughter begin to recover?
"I have eaten," she answered, nuzzling further into her mother's fur. "But I must move on soon. He mentioned another wolf not of our pack he wanted me to seek." Who that was...didn't needed to be answered unless Skelaghe asked. In those weeks away, Aquene learned of several things that Helaku never told other pack members. The family he had among a pack far and away, and other parts of his life he never got to tell anyone.
Skelaghe shakes her head and takes a step back to look at her daughter. "No. You did what you set out to do, and far more than any wolf can be expected to do. Let it be done, Aquene." She can't stop Aquene. The girl, while perhaps not full-grown, can care for herself. Skelaghe would have no right. She cannot stand the thought of her daughter going off to torture herself further, though.
Aquene paused for a moment. She had done enough, but she did not feel like she had. "I have not completed what I set out to do," she said. "When I set out from here after Father, I completed what was needed when I arrived there, but there are things I asked of him I could do for him. I am to find a wolf named Haze. I am to tell you of his thoughts on pack ranks, Teketa to temporary Alpha until Abel, Wyanet not to be Beta but instead a wolf of calmer disposition. Quidel, priceless wolf to have near." She finally looked up at her mother, unknowing of what she had seen while away. She delivered the news, except for one thing. "And that in the future...when you grow old...see the Ute land for yourself. He said by then it will live again."
Part of Skelaghe has to wonder whether these words actually come from Helaku, or from Aquene. If they were from Helaku, he could have told her himself, and he didn't. It irritates her, probably more than she should. "There is no reason for you to leave, Aquene. Not to seek out Haze, or anyone else." Skelaghe is peaceful with the pack that she believes lives somewhere to the south of here. Before Maka's arrival, she'd even considered searching them out herself, to try to find a future mate for her son. Things have changed, though. "And I grow weary of those who would not stay here, like you... like your father... continually taking it upon themselves to question the decisions of those who do stay." She aims to reprimand her hard-headed daughter, not to make her angry or drive her away.
Aquene blinked. "He told me to seek out Haze because they met once," she said. "He did not get a chance to do what he wished, and that was forming a pack bond with his pack." The young wolf eyed her mother carefully. "Perhaps the reason they question while leaving is because it might truly feel unwelcoming. It would seem you've had others tell you their thoughts on certain...individuals. I watched Father's condition deteriorate faster once a certain female arrived here. The stresses she put on him, flirting with him when he made it clear that he was mated did much harm to him." Her ears rose and for once, Aquene had the face of a leader, not the impulsive little pup she used to be, especially on the day she nearly attacked Skelaghe. "If that wolf is ranked, I will leave on my own to honor Father's request, though he made it clear I didn't need to. I'd sooner fight the homewrecker than live among." And Aquene stood, just like Hel and her unknown half brother, and turned to walk away without rest or taking time. "When I find Haze, I will send word back that I was successful."
"It was your father behaving inappropriately toward Wyanet that resulted in his departure. Not the other way around. I would have thought you'd have learned at least a few things I've tried to teach you, Aquene, and it is those who are most rough around the edges that most need our help. And, as Wyanet has proven, who are most able to help us." Skelaghe's tone keeps that hint of reprimand, but she tries to temper it as she attempts to explain why she has made the decisions that she has. "I would have you stay, Aquene. But I will not turn my back on those who need my help, and those who have helped me in return, in order to have you stay."
"I've made my decision, mother. If that wolf did not come here and fraternize with Father from the start, if you hadn't asked him to seek her out to prevent her from leaving, the entire mess would not have occured. You've as much blame as anyone else for Father's departure. I guarantee that if I see that wolf walking these lands, I will attack her with intent to maim or kill for adding to Father's suffering. He did not ask this of me; I decided it for myself. Wyanet has blinded you to family loyalty and does not share Ute precept. So what if Father's words insulted her--she should not have disrespected him by constantly walking away when he spoke, constantly flirting when he didn't want it." And that..Aquene looked back at her mother, her muzzle flared but teeth still hidden. "I might have forgiven you for Father, but if you're going to privy this homewrecker, I must make note that no longer a daughter of you am I. I will die before that wolf stays here if I were to live here. I would gather wolves to tear her from limb to limb before I lived in the same pack as that bitch." This time, Aquene didn't stop walking. She was through. Wyanet had royally screwed the pack up as far as she was concerned.
The young female may not stop walking, but Skelaghe follows after. She is not /angry/. Not as she has been in months past. She is determined, though. "If you would take it upon yourself to pass judgement, as wolves of your generation seem so eager to do, you should get the full story. Perhaps if you leave to the south, you might find your half brother. The one born the same year as you. I think you'll find you and he have much in common. You should know that your father has often needed things from me that I could not give him, after Vincent, and that I would have gladly seen him get those things from Wyanet, if they both consented, and it would not have destroyed us. And you should know that if you raise an unprovoked paw against any wolf in this pack, you will not be fighting just that wolf."
Aquene had intended to leave, but her mother's persuit only added to her displeasure. Intead of letting her talk, Aquene rounded on her very mother, her ears down, tail up and teeth fully bared. "Father told me what I needed to know!" she snarled. "He told me that you would probably not mind if he had things he needed from you that you couldn't give, but he couldn't find it in himself to break his loyalty to you even after Vincent. I all ready know of my half brother, Snow, but I was unaware he had been here. If he left for the same reasons as I, then it is clear who has made an error in judgement. The pack has lost two very well-capable wolves because of how accepting you are of someone who's caused so much damage. I don't give a damn who I end up fighting to get at that homewrecker, and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way of doing so, or die trying. You're failing as Alpha, Skelaghe, sacrificing wolves who can better defend you, your pups, other members, in the name of a worthless whore." Aquene snorted. "If this is the way Ute is going, it is better off DEAD. As dead as Father is when I took a sharp leg bone in my mouth and he jumped right on it under Tobba's Rage, determined to take me down!" Aquene was pissed, sincerely pissed. Her fur stood on end, her muzzle fully showed her teeth and her tail raised much higher than it ever did. Yes, she just said how Helaku died exactly. Yes. Weaponize his death. The peace had been disturbed and there wasn't any going back.
Skelaghe shakes her head slowly, but she no longer tries to follow after her daughter. "He may not have infected you with his disease, but your father infected you with many other things, child. I only wish you could have known the way he was, before he was bitter and angry. Like you."
Aquene snorted. "I've seen happiness in him before," she said. "Those rare moments when he used to smile when playing with me when I was little...that warm gaze whenever I caught my own food. If I am angry and bitter, it is not because of him, but because of others whom harmed him, or defend those that do." She closed the distance between them, nose to nose, her eye bearing into her mother as much as it could. "You want to know something sad? He told me of how he went on a quest to save the original pack, and ever since he failed that he has not been happy. Father had great success with the Miakoda and saved many innocent wolves, but that failure always plagued him. And then for a second time he failed Ute as its Alpha. He must be happy now that he's gone, because the only thing I saw in him when taking his final breaths was a very sad wolf who looked at me as if his entire life had been one massive failure except for being the father of your pups, a sad wolf wondering where his pack was in his final moments. Aquene sniffed and backed away from her mother, the topic brining tears to her eye. "You never saw it. One wish he had was to be surrounded by his packmates when he died, and he coudln't even have that." Aquene backed away even further. "Just leave me alone, Skelaghe," she said. "Go away...back to whatever pack it is you lead now. There's nothing for me here except those constantly degrading him."
It is no easier for Skelaghe to hear others speak ill of her deceased mate than it is for Aquene, probably, but at least when Skelaghe hears such statements, she can understand that they are not speaking about the Helaku she once knew. If only Aquene had known that wolf... Regardless, Skelaghe's daughter gets her wish, this time. Skelaghe does not continue to follow the girl. She does watch as Aquene leaves, though, her heart aching with each passing step.
Aquene continued watching Skelaghe even as she walked away. She didn't want to leave, but she felt she had to. The only thing, however, that she ran into was a tree which had her sitting on her rump, shaking her head. She was still not used to having only one eye.
Aquene - Adolescent Wolf
----
Skelaghe's plans for leaving are gone. She gave up on the idea with the arrival of Siwa. It seemed, to her, a message. If nothing else, it kept her around long enough to see the cub start to put on a little weight. Can they really be doing much wrong, if the cub is gaining weight? The alphaess is lying a short way from the den, watching the rising sun and enjoying a few moments of silence.
Aquene had been away for a long while, ever since the day after Helaku disappeared, and now that she returned, Aquene was not exactly the same wolf she used to be. Well, she was but now she had less tolerance of idiocy and idiots to begin with. The newly scarred wolf came right through the borders, as they were hers, and kept going all the way to the Hillside where she was born. For her, there was no introduction of herself in the form of a hello for mother, but simply... "This pack best not have changed since I left," she said. "I bring news."
It is not until the voice sounds that Skelaghe looks to Aquene. For just a brief second, Skelaghe thinks to reprimand her daughter for returning with anything but kind words, but that thought leaves her when she spots the girl, as at that point Skelaghe's heart breaks for the obvious trouble Aquene has seen. Trouble that, doubtlessly, came from Helaku. Neither, now, does Skelaghe think to point out that Aquene would have had the entire pack subjected to this. No. She stands, and with little thought given to the disease that may now reside in her daughter, she approaches the girl. "It isn't news that you need to give, child. I already know." Skelaghe's voice is soft and full of remorse.
Aquene's eye watched her mother. She had calmed since the day she had it out with Skelaghe, but that didn't change much on her demeanor, rough and blunt. "I forgive you, Mother," she said, "Father told me everything of what he felt. You see me now, but he was not he whom gave me this. It was the terrain of the old Ute land as we fought when Tobba's Rage finally overtook him." That was good, at least, an assurance that she was not going to suffer the same fate of having rabies as her father, but still she seemed bitter. "If he had stayed, he told me, none of you would have lived. He proved it when it finally happened. He was so fast. I've never seen any creature...move that fast."
That is precisely what Skelaghe told Aquene. Of course, the mother is not surprised that it took being told, and shown, the same by her father. That's how it has always been. Still, Aquene has not been infected. "That is all I really need to know, daughter. You should rest." Skelaghe does not sit herself, since approaching her daughter, but she does relax a little.
Aquene lowered her ears as she approached her mother, burrowing her face into her neck. She went silent for a few moments, the things she had to say things she had to carry with her for several weeks. There was much she wanted to say, but had to say it carefully. "The old lands...everything is dead there. No trees, no grass, no water, no flowers, nothing. The only time I saw anything healthy was after Father died. A small sapling near the dried lake." She had to say that, at least.
That news does not bring Skelaghe joy, either. She'd have sooner never known that. She doesn't address it, though. Why? What good would it do? "Have you eaten?" Skelaghe can see, well enough, what has happened to her daughter in the last few weeks. She does not feel she needs to talk about it. So long as Aquene is here and safe, what good can it do to focus on anything but helping her daughter begin to recover?
"I have eaten," she answered, nuzzling further into her mother's fur. "But I must move on soon. He mentioned another wolf not of our pack he wanted me to seek." Who that was...didn't needed to be answered unless Skelaghe asked. In those weeks away, Aquene learned of several things that Helaku never told other pack members. The family he had among a pack far and away, and other parts of his life he never got to tell anyone.
Skelaghe shakes her head and takes a step back to look at her daughter. "No. You did what you set out to do, and far more than any wolf can be expected to do. Let it be done, Aquene." She can't stop Aquene. The girl, while perhaps not full-grown, can care for herself. Skelaghe would have no right. She cannot stand the thought of her daughter going off to torture herself further, though.
Aquene paused for a moment. She had done enough, but she did not feel like she had. "I have not completed what I set out to do," she said. "When I set out from here after Father, I completed what was needed when I arrived there, but there are things I asked of him I could do for him. I am to find a wolf named Haze. I am to tell you of his thoughts on pack ranks, Teketa to temporary Alpha until Abel, Wyanet not to be Beta but instead a wolf of calmer disposition. Quidel, priceless wolf to have near." She finally looked up at her mother, unknowing of what she had seen while away. She delivered the news, except for one thing. "And that in the future...when you grow old...see the Ute land for yourself. He said by then it will live again."
Part of Skelaghe has to wonder whether these words actually come from Helaku, or from Aquene. If they were from Helaku, he could have told her himself, and he didn't. It irritates her, probably more than she should. "There is no reason for you to leave, Aquene. Not to seek out Haze, or anyone else." Skelaghe is peaceful with the pack that she believes lives somewhere to the south of here. Before Maka's arrival, she'd even considered searching them out herself, to try to find a future mate for her son. Things have changed, though. "And I grow weary of those who would not stay here, like you... like your father... continually taking it upon themselves to question the decisions of those who do stay." She aims to reprimand her hard-headed daughter, not to make her angry or drive her away.
Aquene blinked. "He told me to seek out Haze because they met once," she said. "He did not get a chance to do what he wished, and that was forming a pack bond with his pack." The young wolf eyed her mother carefully. "Perhaps the reason they question while leaving is because it might truly feel unwelcoming. It would seem you've had others tell you their thoughts on certain...individuals. I watched Father's condition deteriorate faster once a certain female arrived here. The stresses she put on him, flirting with him when he made it clear that he was mated did much harm to him." Her ears rose and for once, Aquene had the face of a leader, not the impulsive little pup she used to be, especially on the day she nearly attacked Skelaghe. "If that wolf is ranked, I will leave on my own to honor Father's request, though he made it clear I didn't need to. I'd sooner fight the homewrecker than live among." And Aquene stood, just like Hel and her unknown half brother, and turned to walk away without rest or taking time. "When I find Haze, I will send word back that I was successful."
"It was your father behaving inappropriately toward Wyanet that resulted in his departure. Not the other way around. I would have thought you'd have learned at least a few things I've tried to teach you, Aquene, and it is those who are most rough around the edges that most need our help. And, as Wyanet has proven, who are most able to help us." Skelaghe's tone keeps that hint of reprimand, but she tries to temper it as she attempts to explain why she has made the decisions that she has. "I would have you stay, Aquene. But I will not turn my back on those who need my help, and those who have helped me in return, in order to have you stay."
"I've made my decision, mother. If that wolf did not come here and fraternize with Father from the start, if you hadn't asked him to seek her out to prevent her from leaving, the entire mess would not have occured. You've as much blame as anyone else for Father's departure. I guarantee that if I see that wolf walking these lands, I will attack her with intent to maim or kill for adding to Father's suffering. He did not ask this of me; I decided it for myself. Wyanet has blinded you to family loyalty and does not share Ute precept. So what if Father's words insulted her--she should not have disrespected him by constantly walking away when he spoke, constantly flirting when he didn't want it." And that..Aquene looked back at her mother, her muzzle flared but teeth still hidden. "I might have forgiven you for Father, but if you're going to privy this homewrecker, I must make note that no longer a daughter of you am I. I will die before that wolf stays here if I were to live here. I would gather wolves to tear her from limb to limb before I lived in the same pack as that bitch." This time, Aquene didn't stop walking. She was through. Wyanet had royally screwed the pack up as far as she was concerned.
The young female may not stop walking, but Skelaghe follows after. She is not /angry/. Not as she has been in months past. She is determined, though. "If you would take it upon yourself to pass judgement, as wolves of your generation seem so eager to do, you should get the full story. Perhaps if you leave to the south, you might find your half brother. The one born the same year as you. I think you'll find you and he have much in common. You should know that your father has often needed things from me that I could not give him, after Vincent, and that I would have gladly seen him get those things from Wyanet, if they both consented, and it would not have destroyed us. And you should know that if you raise an unprovoked paw against any wolf in this pack, you will not be fighting just that wolf."
Aquene had intended to leave, but her mother's persuit only added to her displeasure. Intead of letting her talk, Aquene rounded on her very mother, her ears down, tail up and teeth fully bared. "Father told me what I needed to know!" she snarled. "He told me that you would probably not mind if he had things he needed from you that you couldn't give, but he couldn't find it in himself to break his loyalty to you even after Vincent. I all ready know of my half brother, Snow, but I was unaware he had been here. If he left for the same reasons as I, then it is clear who has made an error in judgement. The pack has lost two very well-capable wolves because of how accepting you are of someone who's caused so much damage. I don't give a damn who I end up fighting to get at that homewrecker, and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way of doing so, or die trying. You're failing as Alpha, Skelaghe, sacrificing wolves who can better defend you, your pups, other members, in the name of a worthless whore." Aquene snorted. "If this is the way Ute is going, it is better off DEAD. As dead as Father is when I took a sharp leg bone in my mouth and he jumped right on it under Tobba's Rage, determined to take me down!" Aquene was pissed, sincerely pissed. Her fur stood on end, her muzzle fully showed her teeth and her tail raised much higher than it ever did. Yes, she just said how Helaku died exactly. Yes. Weaponize his death. The peace had been disturbed and there wasn't any going back.
Skelaghe shakes her head slowly, but she no longer tries to follow after her daughter. "He may not have infected you with his disease, but your father infected you with many other things, child. I only wish you could have known the way he was, before he was bitter and angry. Like you."
Aquene snorted. "I've seen happiness in him before," she said. "Those rare moments when he used to smile when playing with me when I was little...that warm gaze whenever I caught my own food. If I am angry and bitter, it is not because of him, but because of others whom harmed him, or defend those that do." She closed the distance between them, nose to nose, her eye bearing into her mother as much as it could. "You want to know something sad? He told me of how he went on a quest to save the original pack, and ever since he failed that he has not been happy. Father had great success with the Miakoda and saved many innocent wolves, but that failure always plagued him. And then for a second time he failed Ute as its Alpha. He must be happy now that he's gone, because the only thing I saw in him when taking his final breaths was a very sad wolf who looked at me as if his entire life had been one massive failure except for being the father of your pups, a sad wolf wondering where his pack was in his final moments. Aquene sniffed and backed away from her mother, the topic brining tears to her eye. "You never saw it. One wish he had was to be surrounded by his packmates when he died, and he coudln't even have that." Aquene backed away even further. "Just leave me alone, Skelaghe," she said. "Go away...back to whatever pack it is you lead now. There's nothing for me here except those constantly degrading him."
It is no easier for Skelaghe to hear others speak ill of her deceased mate than it is for Aquene, probably, but at least when Skelaghe hears such statements, she can understand that they are not speaking about the Helaku she once knew. If only Aquene had known that wolf... Regardless, Skelaghe's daughter gets her wish, this time. Skelaghe does not continue to follow the girl. She does watch as Aquene leaves, though, her heart aching with each passing step.
Aquene continued watching Skelaghe even as she walked away. She didn't want to leave, but she felt she had to. The only thing, however, that she ran into was a tree which had her sitting on her rump, shaking her head. She was still not used to having only one eye.