Noctis General Hunting Grounds

Raisa had followed behind the three that were more acquainted with these lands. She made sure that all of her pups had followed. Rhea was ever outgoing as she talked with the others and Raisa gave her only daughter a smile before looking towards the other two and seeing how they were fairing. Zacari was their leader, while Hastios was a follower. Her pups had established their own hierarchy in the time that they had been out, but they all listened to her and Simon, even if it took some coaxing when it came to their older brother. Looking towards Mercy, Bee and Sage, she gave a small nod to them. She remembered Mercy’s comment and gave a slight chuckle.

“I didn’t realize Joy had children. How wonderful,” Raisa said to him as they walked towards the hunting grounds. “I come from a pack that was washed away in a flood, the same one that Joy and Simon were raised in,” She told the young wolf. “I was the guardian of that pack and the mate to the Alpha who has passed. I watched your mother grow up,” She gave a slight chuckle. “If you’d ever like to hear stories I would be happy to tell,” Rose colored eyes drifted to the lands they ventured into. They were beautiful, teaming with life and she caught the scent of a fresh kill as she looked towards where wolves were congregated. Her ears swiveled before her eyes locked onto Joy as she gave a friendly bark towards her. Trotting up, she gave a bow of her head.

“My dear, it is so good to see you,” Raisa said. “If I had known you were here I’d have brought a much better gift. Instead I only bring myself and my children,” She swept her tail behind her as eyes holding nothing but care and love looked towards the young she-wolf. She’d missed many members of her pack, and she was happy to see that one of them was in such good health after the flood. The devastation that sought out Sorelus had buried itself deep within her heart, but knowing that life still sprouted from those that had survived made it easier to heal.

Joy Mercy Bee Sage Simon Rhea Hastios

If Joy's focus hadn't been driving straight through the hole in her stomach while chasing the most craved feeling of filling it back up with fresh meat, she would have taken a good, long moment to register what was settling over her territory like an increasingly dense fog. A spot in her brain had been waiting years for this smell to make its way to her senses again, but an even deeper stain had been silently procuring a mountainous defense against it. In spite of her own illusions, she'd have to face that wall when the hunt drew to a successful close.

“Your siblings are back, they brought company with em too.” Words had never been so assuring and condemning at the same time. It was true. Her hawkish gaze smeared a restless dread on her visage she hoped Bear wouldn't see, even worse if his sensitive emotional receptors could feel the anger rising in her blood against her own nature. Everything she had done to get here was exactly what she asked for, the unlearning of her love for someone else just to learn love for herself was a necessary, brutal suffering of her soul. She didn't believe there'd ever be a day when she could say she had it all, but suddenly it was here, and all she could feel was that suffering all over again.

But on the precipice of this memory-soaked guilt there was still a connection buzzing between her eyes and Raisa's, and Simon's, too. The gratitude she felt towards her mother had never left her, it'd been passed on to her own kids. Seeing Raisa here with more of her own was a gift straight from the divine that proved to her that a love nexus world was real, and Joy might have a chance at forgiving herself. And forgiving him.

All this and she hadn't drawn in a single breath. Not until she melted into Raisa's fur. With her neck wrapped around the shoulder of the only mother she'd known her eyes were free to scan the injuriously familiar face in front of them, and as tears sunk into the warm abyss of Raisa's body she mustered the courage to look at him. The merit of her spirit rewarded her with stillness, finally, as the surface of her skin warmed itself up, and she suddenly couldn't take her eyes off of him. A smile even painted itself across her maw.

"You've given me the greatest gift in the world," she replied to Raisa elegantly against the will of every muscle in her larynx to break down and choke, the fixed stare on Simon's eyes keeping her tone steady. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to give up on you. I didn't want to." As the words came out she began to realize they were a lie, but those feelings didn't match the truth of her emotions as she felt them now. For the moment she was seeing the world with him in it again and the love was folding itself into every ounce of memory she had. "But I found a family of my own. Bear, Mercy and Bee. They became my world, but I never forgot either of you. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Simon Raisa

Nimble and precise steps had him jumping out of the way as one of the pups was able to bring the doe crashing down to the ground. Elio skidded to a stop, kicking up frost from underpaw as he launched himself back towards their prey, latching his jaws around her throat and shaking his head violently as he felt flesh tearing beneath him. He gurgled a victorious growl through a mouthful of blood, sure to keep his hold strong until the doe fell limp against the ground. Elio retracted his freshly blood stained maw and looked down at their kill with a proud huff. He went to look between his comrades to offer them a simple "well done", but it seemed that the apparent leader of this little group he had found himself in had more important matters to attend to as she broke away from the doe to interact with a whole new batch of fresh faces. Elio huffed, a little bit annoyed by the fact that there were only more stomaches that might want to claim a piece of his hard earned meal.

He quickly trotted over to the charming she-wolf who had shoved past him so easily only minutes ago. "What the hell is happening here? This isn't a pack or something, is it?" He spoke his suspicions aloud to the brutess. "Pretty shit pack if y'all don't even have clear borders, how the hell did I end up here." He mumbled rhetorically, more to himself than anyone else.

This train of thought kicked up an idea in his head. It had been years since he had found himself within the ranks of a pack, and it was there that he had been sorely mistreated for the majority of his life. What if this was the world telling him he needed to finally anchor himself again? Maybe this would be different, maybe his efforts would be appreciated rather than ignored or taken credit for. His charcoal brow furrowed at this idea. He had sworn off mixing himself in the affairs of pack life the day he had left the one he was born into, but the way these wolves had welcomed him into their hunt and were now interacting so warmly, already they had proven to be nothing like what he was used to. Elio's ears flattened against his crown as he felt himself succumbing to the thought of rejoining a pack and maybe finally finding the family he deserved.

His amber gaze turned that extra inch upward towards the female he had asked the question to. Uncharacteristically, and for once in his life, he hoped she would give him the answer he was now newly hoping for.

Olympia

With her own damage done, Wren's keen amber eyes evaluated Luke's sons in their hunting. She didn't know where they had been for all this time, let alone if they had been trained more than just the basics taught to young pups before their first hunt. Her body didn't know whether to be anxious or excited! She fell back slightly, eyes flicking towards her children while her body continued on autopilot over lands she trusted with her heart. Haruka attacked first, his bite and weight aimed at the doe's side. It was a helpful choice, but one that was clearly inexperienced and just trying to help. He did well, injuring the doe and getting her weight even more unbalanced. It was probably best that he didn't go for a hoof or leg with his level of experience, as one wrong move and he might end up blinded or worse. She was proud of his effort and of his communication with his brother. Talking to one another was a key facet of hunting, and it was a skill she was sure he would continue to use in the future.

Makoto delivered in kind, his attack landing on the upper leg of the doe and causing a dramatic domino effect. It lurched to the left, legs tangling as it's shoulder plowed into the rich earth. Olympia darted in, the final piece of the puzzle, and finished the doe off. Wren mused to herself that it was possible Makoto had found a rogue band to hone his hunting with. He seemed more confident than his brother, but both still had much to learn. Hopefully, Joy would allow them to stay within her new pack and she could teach them, alongside Sage, all her tips and tricks. She had looked forward so much to raising the boys when they were pups. Teaching them to spar with their father, to hunt with their adoptive mother, and to be grateful for a good life with the rest of the pack. The floods may have washed them away, but they could not shake Wren's conviction to see that her children were raised right. 

As her heart rate began to steady, she shot a bright smile to Olympia as she checked in with the rest of the party. The former Alphess shook her head, affirming that she hadn't been injured in the slightest by the hunt. Wren returned Makoto's affectionate rub against her with equal pressure as she moved towards the downed doe. Ripping off a small piece, she turned her attention to the incoming wolves. It seemed that they knew Joy, as their hushed conversation seemed far too intimate to eavesdrop on. Turning her attention away from the apparent reunion, Wren's eyes fell on an older she-wolf, stretched out in a nap close to where the hunt had began. 

An idea quickly forming in her head, Wren trotted back to the doe, tearing off a second, larger chunk. With both pieces of meat hanging from her mouth, she padded back over to the greying figure, Granine she believed Joy had said before addressing her and her family. She set both pieces down a short distance from her, picking up the smaller one to leave the elder in peace to nap. Joy had said that all who could prove themselves and provide for the family. Wren wasn't anxious about proving herself, but she did want to provide for whatever family would be made here on these lands. It just so happened that her previous one had, thank the stars, come back just in time. 

Wren took her smaller chunk over to where Sage had situated herself. The younger she-wolf hadn't been present for the hunt, instead delivering these wolves here from deeper in the territory. It hadn't been nearly as long since she had seen Sage, but the traumatic nature of their departure made seeing her face again just as sweet. Sitting on the opposite side of the she-wolf to one of the younger wolves, Bear she was pretty sure his name was, Wren finally dug into her meal. "How have you been, Sage? I was so worried after the fire that I had lost everyone again," her motherly voice was quiet, a deep care for the younger she-wolf present in her words. Amber eyes searched over Sage, scouring for any scars or burn marks that may show through the thinner fur on her face while she waited for a response.

Sage Makoto Haruka @granine @y'all