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 Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:39 pm
She smiled at Jove, who sat beside her, and wondered if she would have felt so safe had he not been nearby. Her father could not be here, but the big, bluff wolf beside her was almost like another father. He was careful, strong, a good hunter and ready with the advice - even when she didn't want to hear it. The fact that she didn't have to worry about advances from him, too, helped. They knew each other too well, thought of their relationship in too much of a familial way for any thought of that to enter into their minds.
Not that that had stopped her with Kalain, right enough.
Coming out of her drifting thoughts, she caught the end of his report... or so she had thought.
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:41 pm
"Are you even listening to me?" he scolded gently. Seeing her embarrassment, he sighed theatrically. "Spirits take me, if you're not going to listen I might as well talk to the hills!" his tone was gentle, though. He knew she had a lot to deal with, and she was doing well at the job she'd been trained from birth to do. He was proud of her, really. He'd seen her take her first steps, taken her on her first hunting trip and taught her as best he could. She had made a fine hunter - one of the best of her generation - and now she was a strong leader.
Smiling inwardly, he continued "As I was saying..." he gave her a quick summation, knowing her heart wasn't in it this evening. the debriefings they held once a week were for the good of all, though, and it wouldn't do to let them slip entirely.
As a final note he added "It's a shame so many of your young ones are wedded to being spirit-talkers. Orion's a fine hunter but I think they're taking far too much after their father" he scowled disapprovingly. He had made no secret of the fact he wasn't a fan of Kalain and the one area he thought Mu'sha lacked judgement was in her choice of partners. Kalain was the last person he'd expected Mu'sha to turn to and he had told her so. They'd argued over it a couple of times, though, and it was old news by now. Her look told him he wasn't to dig further into that and he sighed a little.
"It's going to be difficult to go into winter without another hunter or two - we might need to recruit some southerners if you can't convince a few more to take up hunting as seriously as they look to their devotions." Jove was a spiritual wolf, in his own way, and he deeply believed in the packs version of the world and the spirits, but he was also practical and knew that a whole pack of spirit-talkers wouldn't last long on their own if they didn't learn to hunt. He didn't much like the idea of having to take in southerners to do such essential tasks, but sometimes needs must - and they didn't have nearby relatives who wanted to move around to up their numbers like they would have back home.
Suddenly his ears pricked up and, seeing Mu'sha notice the same sound he did, the pair turned their eyes towards the source of it. It looked as though their moment of peace was coming to an end.
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Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:20 am
"Good evening." Var wasn't much for words, but politeness was bred into him. It had been a while since he had last spoken more than passingly to Jove, but considering his recent restlessness maybe it wouldn't be bad to get more varied opinions from the pack adults, rather than just his father's viewpoint. Var was so interested in his father's connection to the spirits, but the draw he had felt as a pup was... all but gone, really. He'd had all of his questions answered, and answered as he figured he was expected to, but when he had recently begun growing into his paws, he realized his sisters were growing more adamant about it than he. And then he realized that they weren't getting more interested, but that his lack of talent in that area was making him less interested.
"I can return later?" He offered, figuring that sounded right. "I don't want to interrupt pack business."
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Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:09 pm
Mu'sha's smile turned to her son. She loved her children - though she felt bad at the amount of time she'd been taken away from them with pack business. She wondered if that was why so many of them had gravitated towards their father and had become acolytes. She couldn't fault them, for that, but it did make her a little sad - so to see Kevarian come visit her brought her a little kernel of sheer joy. Her tail shuffed against the ground and she got to her feet, moving to meet him, giving him a soft nudge with her muzzle.
"Var..." she welcomed him, softly "we were just about finished anyway - is everything ok?". She rather hoped he'd just come to see her for the sake of seeing her, but like any mother knew that sons rarely did this. Still, Kevarian had always seemed so attached to his father...
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Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:16 pm
Jove greeted the youngster with a curt nod. He didn't know him all that well - the young one seemed to like all the airy fairy stuff like most of his siblings. It was a tiny demerit in Jove's eyes given his dislike of the shaman, but he wasn't so blinded by dislike that he couldn't realise the young wolf was his own person.
He wondered, though, why he was here. If he wanted to see his mother on his own... The big male stretched, pulling himself onto his feet and yawning massively. "Well, we've talked the hills to boredom, like your mother said - so if you want to talk to her alone, I'll be off". He didn't leave right off, though - might be the young male didn't want to speak to his mother alone - sometimes it was good to have backup to stop ones mother from being truly irate about ones misdeeds.
He aimed a questioning eyebrow at Kevarian.
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:19 am
Var debated Jove's words. Despite being a statement, there was really question in it and in the look Jove directed at him. What was the best thing to say?
"Stay. Please." He looked at Jove and held his eyes for a minute before dropping his gaze to his mother's paws in deference to Jove's experience and higher rank. "It would be better to talk to both of you now. It's not personal, not like that."
He smiled slightly at Mu'sha and again took a moment to decide what was best to say. "It's as much a business visit as a personal one."
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Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 8:08 am
Mu'sha tried to hide a small, amused smile as she watched her son's serious face. He always had seemed thoughtful to her, more inwardly inclined, and she took that at face value - he was a little shy, a little awkward, he'd grow out of it, or so she thought.
She did wonder, however, what it might be he was concerned about that needed the pair of them. "Well, Var, what is it we can do for you, then?" her tone was semi-serious, but a motherly love and a tinge of pride was in her eyes. Her little pup was really growing up.
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Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 8:18 am
Jove was amused to see even an ounce of the motherly side of Mu'sha. It was just a little odd, and endearing, to see the little female he'd watched over all of her life act so similarly to the mother she'd barely known. Jove had known her mother, had been sad to see her pass on, but it was obvious there was something of her still left in this world.
"Well, let's hear it then" he added to Mu'sha, a little glad to be included. There were so few hunters to train that he had been feeling somewhat at a loose end when he wasn't on the hunt. There were only so many patrols one could do without wearing a rut in the path.
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:03 am
Another question requiring an answer. There was so much to say, but it was about picking what of it really needed saying... He could mention his disconnect from the spiritual, or his drifting from his father, but they would just serve to make his private business personal and wouldn't do much more than maybe hurt Kalain's feelings and draw out the story. Keep it simple.
"I want to take on the path of a hunter." There, simple. But one of them would want to know why, so some kind of explanation would probably be good. "It's something the pack needs, and I need to learn a skill that will help the pack. I want to."
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:32 am
Mu'sha was, to say the least, a little surprised. Her son, despite being the one of her young which looked most like her, had never seemed to take after her aptitude and liking for hunting. Perhaps he was growing up and had decided to learn about new areas to improve himself. Perhaps, he was just bored.
"That's very responsible of you, Var" she said, referencing his stated 'reason'. She was proud of her son - he really was growing up, no matter how much she denied it to herself.
Looking at Jove she raised her eyebrows "Well, what do you think, Hunt Master?" her lips quirked up with light amusement. The name was a formal one, designated to those who had excelled in hunting and who led hunts at the alpha's behest. Her father had given it to him, and although he grumbled about silly titles meaning nothing, she knew that, deep down, it meant something to him.
There was also the fact that he was the one who was set to training the younglings - so any wolf wanting to start hunting training would be under his care. It was, really, his choice.
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:37 am
"Ah, finally decided to do some real work?" Jove said, only half jokingly. He was as spiritual as the next wolf, and would never have forced an acolyte into being a hunter, but there was a gentle rivalry between both sides at times and he felt his side was 'losing' here and now. Too much of the influence of Kalain, he thought.
"Well, we can certainly use the extra paws - and I'm sure your brother would be happy to have some company as he learns. Let me see you" he eyed Var up and down as if measuring his fitness for the task ahead. "You'll do" he conceded with a lop-sided smile, a glint of enthusiasm in his bi-hued eyes.
He was looking forward to have another young one under his care, to tell the truth. Orion was a good student, and Jove enjoyed teaching him, but Jove had once taught anywhere between five and ten wolves a season, sometimes more, if the neighbouring packs had sent their young ones to learn.
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 5:16 am
Kevarian was more than happy to allow Jove's question to become rhetorical, because he had no idea how to answer it appropriately. Obviously, the correct answer would be to agree, but they might think that was sucking up. So overall it was best to remain silent while Jove inspected his worthiness and apparently found him passable. Var smiled and his tail wagged slightly, genuinely pleased that he had been approved.
"Great. I mean, thank you."
He looked to Mu'sha and his smile increased, despite his inner chastisements to be adult. Finally, he could learn a skill that would actually pan out for him and assist the pack. In Aves, everyone-- and that even included Var-- frowned on wolves who couldn't offer the pack something useful. If he had no ability spirit-talking, well, then he'd just have to try hunting instead. Hopefully, if the spirits hadn't blessed him with the one gift, they had given him another in its place. He'd have to ask his father to say a prayer with him later. ... Or not. This was a new time. He'd look at spirit-talking and prayer only where needed in the pack. There was no reason to look further. His stomach rolled slightly at the thought, sick, but he ignored it. All it was was nerves, and he wasn't about to be a coward.
His smile had faded slightly and he looked at the ground for a brief moment before glancing over his shoulder at a distant howl. One of the pack guards, maybe? He glanced up at the crescent moon that had claimed the sky while the group had been talking and smiled again.
"Maybe I should find Orion," he suggested, looking back to Mu'sha, then to Jove. "He may be able to get me started on what I've missed so far, so I can be prepared for tomorrow."
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:13 am
Of course Jove wouldn't have said no to Var, but she could see the big male was cheerful - moreso than even a half hour ago, when he thought they were going to lack hunters. Of course, one young male did not make up nearly the numbers they'd truly need - but it was a good start and, perhaps, a good omen. Maybe, as they matured, the lure of the spiritual side would wear from more of them?
Ah well, no counting chickens before they'd hatched. She would be glad, for now, that she might get to see more than a glimpse now and then of another of her children. "Well, that's settled then" she said, her ears pricking at the same howl Var had heard.
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:24 am
"Yes, talking to your brother is a good idea - he and I were going out on the trail tomorrow - border patrol, but we usually go over lessons while we walk - you should join us" his tone suggested that this wasn't an invite Var should pass up if he expected to learn. Jove knew that eagerness sometimes fled in the face of hard work and, whilst he didn't want hunters who were scared of their hunt leader, he felt that instilling discipline was the best way for a hunter to become more than 'good'.
Jove believed all hunters should strive to be more than 'good'. Spiritualists had much more leeway, if they wanted to help with the hunt, but a hunter whose sole contribution was hunting should want to excel, he thought, as much as if he or she had wanted to be away with the winds, half the day. Efoort was the thing, really - Jove wanted 110% from every wolf in his pack and was quick to show his annoyance at those who didn't pull their weight.
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:34 am
"I would be honored to join you," Var agreed, recognizing the clear "not suggestion" in his words. It was intimidating, in a way. "I'll find Orion, for now, and we'll see you tomorrow."
He redirected his gaze and a smile to Mu'sha, and stepped up to give her a quick lick on the cheek. "Good night, Mother." He stepped back and nodded at Jove. "Good night, Hunt Master Jove."
He turned and trotted off into the night will considerably good spirits. That had gone very well, and he would put all of his effort into becoming a good, if not great, hunter. His mind turned to the task of trying to remember where Orion would be around this time. He'd try the den first.
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