• Closed • Deep Thoughts

[Nir'wei]

Seeking out Kura when he found need for her was easier than most others. They all shared a scar, something almost like a Fracture Scar of legends, that intertwined them in some way; when he focused, when he wanted to find her, it was almost like he could simply walk in the direction he thought she was, and it worked. Some unseen hand guiding his sense of direction. A byproduct of technically giving their lives to save Scalvoris, what felt like a very long time ago now, but couldn't have been more than a few arcs. He'd let it guide him now, and found it leading him towards Scalvoris Town, though not directly, and not towards where he'd expected.

He probably wasn't what anyone else would expect, either. He'd taken his wolf form the moment that he'd landed, and let the others form around him, but there wasn't just a pack anymore. There was a crowd. Above walked two specimens that would have towered over most horses, somehow freakishly large, even compared to the typical standards of freakishly large. A third in the middle, just as big, and flanked by two more that came up to his shoulder. The three that trailed behind, smaller still, still would have towered over ordinary dogs and wolves, though compared to those that came before them, looked almost like children. Almost.

All three groups were thoroughly outnumbered by the actual children, though.

Pups scrambled ahead, tripping over their own feet and bumping into one-another in an effort to keep up, under the watchful eyes of the flanking wolves at the outer edges. More still clung close to the middle, making some of the larger wolves huff as the scrambling of wolfpups made them stumble in step. The three at the back were meant to be herding the stragglers and keeping them from falling behind, but they were constantly fighting a losing battle, splitting off to pick one up by the scruff or nudge them along with the rest of the group. Some of them played as they ran; snapping at each-others ears, squeaks and growls mixing with barks of alarm when groups stumbled into each-other and scuffled until a firm nudge separated them again, or their playful attacks distracted them enough to fall behind. Including the adults, the children, and himself, it made for twenty-three wolves. He remembered when it had just been one.

"Did we have to bring all of them?" Cold huffed, glancing across for only a second before returning his gaze down. Despite the grouch holding a rough and malcontent tone the entire journey, he didn't dare take his eyes off the pups for more than a few seconds.

Nir'weis eyes never stopped looking forwards. They were getting close. "Yes." He wouldn't have elaborated any further, but he could feel the question bubbling to the surface in Cold's head, and he answered it immediately, rather than waiting for him to broach it. "I won't leave you behind with them, in case you need me, or I need you, while out here. We've spent enough time apart and I promised myself it wasn't going to happen again. Not anymore." He'd spent far too long just... avoiding the wolves, or refusing to let them out when they needed to be, out of fear that he'd be seen as different, out of discomfort of being an inconvenience, or somehow making a scene, wherever he went, whatever he did. In some way, it let him believe he was still normal, doing that. Except when lives were on the line and he'd fully embraced them, those same people he'd tried to comfort, he'd tip-toed around to conform to their expectations, had screamed, run in fear, turned on the animals even while they did everything they could to save lives. It was the moment he realised no matter how he tried to limit himself for those around him, they just wouldn't understand, not really. He would never hide them or separate from them again, for any reason.

"Besides. You can't hide them in the Faldrass forests for the next two arcs, hidden from the world like it doesn't exist." He snorted at the mere idea. The world wouldn't give them the luxury of hiding away, anyway. Crises found him like flies found dung. "They'll learn what we do and they'll learn it young. That way, they'll be more prepared than we were at their age... and in two arcs, they'll be happy that we gave them what they needed. Even if it wasn't always what they wanted." It was a rationale he'd had to reiterate. It wasn't one that all of them shared, but enough to defer, with certain conditions, of course. He wouldn't take children into dangerous situations, as he had with Squeak, if it could be absolutely avoided.

During their little internal conversation, they'd neared where he'd pinpointed Kura would be at that moment; the Scalvoris Town Council Hall was far from the lavish states of old Rynmere, or Rharne, but it was still more than good enough, and thankfully its doors were just about large enough for the hulking forms of the larger wolves to duck down inside, coming across a very startled-looking receptionist who looked caught between raising her voice at the crowd or silently sitting back in her seat. It looked like she might collapse with relief when he stepped forwards and shifted back into a more traditional human form before her, giving her a respectful nod which she returned once she'd calmed herself.

"Is Alberach Kura currently in a meeting, or scheduled for one in the next few breaks?"

The receptionist paused, glancing from him to her book of notes for a moment, then back again. "Not at the moment, Councillor."

"Good." He didn't need to tell her where he was going, and she didn't need to ask. He let the sense of her location carry him as he took off again, wolves filing in behind like some grand procession. At least there'd be no doubt she'd hear him before he arrived.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura was going through resource records in her usual office in Scalvoris Town. There was the trap for the remaining Pirate Lords to set, the rebuilding of Havardr and Almund to see too, the military to manage, and just general recovery and management work to oversee. She had been more absent than she had realized during the prior cycle, and now that she was more settled, she had been able to turn her attention back to the matter of ruling Scalvoris. But before she could do any of that, she needed to see what was available for use. That was the task she was working at when Speck, an owl who was her oldest familiar, spoke up in her head.

"A small of horde of wolves is walking through Scalvoris Town. There's a few that look bigger than regular wolves, like Velduris wolves, but most of them are puppies. Is your mum coming to visit?" she asked, her tone both curious and surprised. Speck and Ornery, Kura's other owl familiar, rarely spent that long in Kura's office and both liked to find high places where they could perch and watch the city while she worked. Kura looked up at the question and thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so. But I believe Councilor Nir'wei is her Champion. It's most likely him comin' our way." she said, her tone thoughtful. Cally, Kura's adopted, and only recently acknowledged, daughter and assistant stood up and went to the door to open it for Nir'wei.

"Not yet, Cally. Speck saw him comin' through the city but he'll be a bit yet, if he's even actually here to see me." she said, turning her attention back to the supply records. It didn't take that long for Nir'wei to get to the Council Building, and she was informed by her owls when he arrived. The sound of a large number of approaching paws confirmed he was coming to her office, and Cally opened the door ahead of the first oncoming puppies. They spilled into the room and Cally seemed utterly delighted at the sight, but stayed at least reasonably professional. The office's third occupant, Kura's own Beta Wolf Phelan, looked up at the puppies and Nir'wei's pack when they came in, his tongue hanging out in a wolfy laugh.

"Well, you lot have been busy." Phelan said, his tone amused. The Velduris wolf, who had been one longer than any of Nir'wei's wolves besides Sovar. In fact, Phelan's gaze did briefly seek out Sovar and he gave the other wolf a nod. Both were from the Spectral Forest, after all, rather than from any of Idalos's regular forests. "Sorry to say that Skadi and Marrok aren't here, but they've got their own duties." Phelan said to Sovar. Indeed, Kura's two Omega Wolves were back at her house, protecting the rest of her family. Noah and Madison's own Velduris Wolves, Nova and Starr, were still growing, after all. Greetings done, Phelan took one look at the puppies trying to drive their parents to distraction and promptly joined in the pups play.

Kura, for her part, had smiled slightly at the puppies when they had poured into her office and done nothing more than shake her head when Phelan had started playing with them. When she looked up at Nir'wei, he'd almost certainly be able to notice a change in her demeanor. She was less guarded than she had been before, more open and more at peace with herself. Not, however, any more vulnerable or any less dangerous. More like she didn't seem to feel the same need to keep people at arms length anymore. "Hello, Nir'wei. What brings you and yours out into the wilds of civilization?" she asked, some amusement in her tone, though there was a sharper edge underlying it. She knew full well that he wouldn't have come to see her on a whim, after all.

[Nir'wei]

Though he was the only one who knew where he was going, it didn't stop many of the puppies charging ahead, those characteristic squeaky barks filling the corridor long before they'd arrived at their destination - and the moment the door pulled open, they charged in all at once, with wolves quickly filtering in after them and Nir'wei somehow finding the space to squeeze between the eager crowd. At some point, he'd have to teach them proper manners; how to walk in order, line up to pass through doors, and to actually make room for him! That would be for another time, though. Probably when they were much older than the squeaking pups that tumbled over each-other now, filling the room until it became difficult to even make a step without checking under his feet for fluffy balls of terror. "I'd apologise for the intrusion, if I ever thought you'd not want to see that," he chuckled, easily noticing that look of glee on Cally's face and leaning in conspiratorially. "They're friendly, go on."

The pup's parents filtered in not long afterwards, setting themselves around the edges of the room and with eyes practically locked on the pups scattered under the desk, awkwardly struggling to climb shelves, and pawing at the ankles of anything they could reach. Sovar chuckled and nodded back to Phelan, shuffling closer to the fellow Spectral Forest wolf with his mate Kin practically glued to his side, ridiculously outsized. Castile's imperious gaze and Squeak's dopey smile were locked together, and Cold and Myrth's proud parental gaze had that age-old familiarity that meant even on other sides of the room, they were practically locked in step. The pups were such a mad mix that there was no telling which belonged to what pair, and none of them answered Phelan; Greyhide did, chuckling softly. "It was a long time coming, frankly." Some pairs had come together much faster than others, but they'd all been together for arcs now.

Nir'wei snorted softly at that and left the wolves to organise themselves, Phelan immediately overwhelmed by several of the pups flocking to the unfamiliar wolf and harassing him from every angle with blunt teeth and squeaks closer to that of a bird than a wolf. Instead he looked back to Kura, a hint of a smile still on his lips. Well, how could he not? It felt nice to be around people who didn't look at him and his own with intense suspicion, as though the puppies at his feet would eat a man like a school of piranha's at the command. "Oh please. I'm practically the scourge of civilization at this point." Twenty-two wolves was still just a fraction of what he could have brought. He looked down to the miniature horde again, consciously stopping himself from another chuckle. Karem above, though, he couldn't stop looking at them without smiling a little. "I'm the Wilds That Walks now, I should think." Again, he looked back to Kura and tried to keep himself on-topic.

"Anyway. I haven't come over anything dire, really. Just to ask a favour, one I felt was better to ask about in person than in some letter, or over scroll." His handwriting was atrocious, and he wasn't great with words. Better to look people in the eyes and do things the right way. "Also, I was hoping for some advice. The way some things are going... aren't going the way I want them to, I guess you could say." That was putting it charitably.

Well, there was no point in stalling. Even if there was nothing he would have liked better. "I always secretly wanted to run one. Never thought I would, or could, but that pirate attack... made me realise just how valuable it could have been, back then. I want your permission to build a... let's call it a specialist team. Small, tight-knit. Natural Affairs, but... ready, to do things like I do them." It all sounded incredibly egotistical, when he said it all out-loud, and would have been laughable, if not for the fact he was living proof that it worked. "I want to teach them how to turn a shoal of Sea Wolves into a force strong enough to sink a galleon. I want... the next time someone threatens the shores, for the sky to turn black with Emperor Bats." He grit his teeth and huffed to himself, softly. "The Rangers are good. Better than good. The Elements... damn, do they try, I saw them out there. But those animals, when they go down... we can just breed more. I'll teach them how, I'll learn myself. They don't need to be paid. They don't go on holiday. They don't even answer back." A little of his own bias crept in. "Plus... I'd be lying if I didn't admit, I'd hope most of them take up the obvious choice and pray for Karem's Blessing."

He knew what that was going to get him. "I'm no priest, preaching from the halls like the Devout, and Karem... I know she's not in it for that. But damnit, Korlasir..." It was the first time he'd met other Wolfwalkers, besides Kura. He couldn't help feel slightly awed, even as Champion. "I saw something there that we could have here, something... brilliant, and powerful, like nothing else. It doesn't just come from the powers she gives or the wolves we keep, it's something stronger, it's faith, it's a greater purpose, that I saw in Rynmere's worship of the Seven and Rharne's zealots to Ilaren, but not here."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When Nir'wei told Cally that the puppies were friendly, and with nothing more than a slightly amused nod of permission form Kura, Cally promptly sat down and started petting, scritching, or playing with any puppies that were in reach, trying her level best to give all them any attention they requested. Phelan, for his part, took being mobbed by puppies with ease and was content to let them nibble and squeak at him without a fuss. He did look up at Greyhide when the other wolf spoke up, though. "Wow, you laughed. I wasn't entirely sure you knew how when we first met. You always seem to take yourself so seriously." he said in the middle of playing with a few of the puppies, his tone lightly teasing.

Kura let out an amused huff when Nir'wei called himself the scourge of civilization, but did give a slightly more serious frown when he called himself 'The Wild That Walks'. "Not a bad title, but don't go gettin' wrapped up in it. Names like that are good for losin' yourself in, and you don't always notice it happenin' until someone points it out to you." she said, her tone turning rueful at the end. "As I've recently had pointed out to me." she said, shaking her head slightly. When he asked for a favor and advice, she smiled and gestured to the chair across the desk from her. "Advice I can give, often whether people want it or not." she said, her tone a little self-deprecating. She was, as Faith had once called her, meddlesome and didn't always do a good job of reigning it in. "The favor will depend on what you're wantin'." she said, her tone calm.

She leaned back and listened quietly to his proposal, or maybe it was a question, though she noted that he went about it kind of backwards, coming to what he was talking about in more the middle of the thing rather than at the beginning. Then he turned to what had inspired him to bring the matter up with her and she smiled slightly when he talked about what he'd seen in Korlasir. It was where she had grown up, after all, and she had always found it rather inspiring herself. "You want to, essentially, make a military branch dedicated to weaponizin' Scalvonite fauna, is what you're sayin', yeah?" she said, before giving a smile that was rather reminiscent of the look a predator animal might give right before springing an ambush. "Oh, I do like that. Brings us closer to our own nature and gives us an edge no one can predict." she said, her tone surprisingly cold.

"Now, as to whether they turn to followin' mum, that's between them and her. I've no trouble with you encouragin' it, just make sure they know how she feels about prayer if they ask." she said, her expression and tone returning to normal. There was a pause as there was a quiet yip and small growling coming from around her feet and she bent down to pick up the wolf puppy that was busily trying to eat her feet. "I'm a bit out of your league yet, wee one." she said, her tone amused as she set the puppy in her lap and started scritching it behind the ears. "In all honesty, your proposal comes at a good time. The Elements are gettin' restructured a bit and I'm honestly considerin' a more...significant re-organization and restructurin' of our military." she said, her tone thoughtful.

"As for Korlasir...yes, we lack the kind of unifying purpose that the Empire has, though it would be difficult for us to have one. My eldest grandchild is almost as old as this government is, and moreover, this government was made out of necessity, not out of ideals." she said, her expression turning slightly abstracted as she thought. "Empress Raskalarn unites her empire behind her vision and her will, even someone as powerful as mum is. A committee cannot inspire people in such a way, and its disunity affects the island as a whole." she said, her tone thoughtful and almost distant. After a moment, she shook herself and looked back at Nir'wei. "I gather that this specialist group is the favor you spoke of, and I support its creation, but you mentioned advice as well. What's troublin' you, Nir'wei?" she asked, her tone back to its usual calm, though there was more warmth to it than there had been before.

[Nir'wei]

Greyhide snorted at Phelan's assessment - but it was a light-hearted sound, while his eyes focused on the pups gnawing at his ankles and tumbling over themselves in a blunt-toothed frenzy. "I think I just... haven't had a lot of things to laugh for, until now." Of the seven wolves soon sat loosely around the room, nudging a pup here or there or simply standing guard while Kura and Nir'wei spoke, Greyhide was the odd one out; the only one without a mate to call his own. Just because none of the pups of the pack were his flesh and blood didn't mean they were any less his to watch over, however. If anything, it made him closer to them all; he'd settled surprisingly well into the role, and constantly swarmed by pups, taking over whenever a couple needed their rest, had given him a lot more time reflecting on himself. Much as Nir'wei had. Much as they all had, really. None of them had really considered the idea that they could still raise a family, given their upbringings and circumstances before Nir'wei had taken them in. Now... it was like their whole life was open in front of them again. None of them were going to take it for granted.

Meanwhile, Nir'wei raised an eyebrow at the comments on his 'title'. There was something more going on there, that talk from experience, but he didn't pry. "I just came up with it in the moment," he said, dismissing it easily, "but people have a way of creating a reputation for you, if you don't make one for yourself." He didn't need to remind her of this nonsense of being an 'Imperial Spy' again, he hoped. "I'd rather have some title of my own design than let others make one to call me behind my back. At least then, if nothing else, I'll know that it's accurate." Whether he really intended to live up to it, or whether it'd just become something to hide behind, well that'd all come down to a good bit of luck.

Much like the luck he'd thought he'd need to convince her of this team. "Thought you might. That's exactly what it'd be." Though of course he didn't really intend to limit them all to just Scalvoris fauna. Not when there was so much more interesting things they could cultivate, but that was something to approach when the time was right. One step at a time. "Just because I'm no priest doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about what real devotion to Karem looks like," he chided lightly, rolling his eyes at the mere thought of them all bowing to effigies of the Wolf-Goddess and dedicating kills in her name. "Whether they decide to or not is entirely up to them, but... I lead through example, and I'll make them into something that Karem would feel proud of." A slightly warmer smile settled comfortably on his face. "Loyal to themselves and each-other. To this island. To me, and to you." There was the unspoken implication there that he didn't bother pointing out, of course. Loyalties to Karem would give them a unique position, putting faith in Karem, and by extension Kura and Nir'wei above that of any other chain of command, if needed.

It felt even more poignant, given Kura's soft musings. "I agree, in everything you've said. But I think you've already said the answer to that problem." He didn't prod any further though.

Turning away when the conversation returned to him, he swallowed back a slight sigh, looking over the crowd of little fluffy piranhas that swirled around Cally, between Phelan's legs, and playfully chased each-other around the room, weaving between the legs of tables and chairs. "It's becoming harder to be around people." He nodded to the pups. "The pack's growing. At some point, Arle and Bachu will mate, and Karem willing, I'll begin to restore the Hyx species from the brink of its extinction." He pursed his lips. "These are just the beginning. My pack is going to get bigger. Much, much bigger. But it's going to scare a lot of people, just like it did during the pirate attack." Of course she'd probably heard already, one way or another, about what had happened in Hopetoun. "I know that it's wrong. I know that it is, really. But sometimes it feels like things would be better for everyone involved if I just took a forest and called it my own. Really, completely, mine, and stopped bothering with hiding so much of myself every time I go outside, just so that I don't cause a scene." If there was anyone who might understand that, he'd figured it might be Kura, really.

"How do I manage both sides? The part that's me, and the part that needs to be something else, for everyone around me?"