Orion was not looking forward to this little chat with his mother. He'd played it over in his mind several times and still hadn't decided just how dead his mother was going to make him. I mean, was there really any point in worrying how badly she'd react past the certain minimum level of terrifyingly? With a sigh the young male plodded up to the main den, sodden with drizzle and looking as grim as the rain-heavy skies.
Hearing voices, raised voices, he pricked his ears up. Great... father was here too but why were they shouting at each other. He didn't get to find out as the pair turned towards where he stood in the entryway. He'd obviously interrupted something - his mother looked irritated and was even bristling which his father merely looked slightly pained and tired. Awkwardly he cleared his throat, but this did not have the desired effect - focussing his mother onto him instead of his father whom had obviously been the latest subject of her ire.
It was weird - he'd never seen them fight before, to be fair, though, he'd rarely seen them together all that often outside of formal events or when they had pack issues to talk over. He'd always felt Jove was more of a father figure - he'd certainly been around more - and Orion had never really understood the odd relationship between his parents.
All thoughts along that line, though, were swirled out of his mind when his mother started in on him.
Bloody Kalain and his stubborn bloody ways. Was she ever going to find a way to get him to come around to the idea?
"What is it, Orion?" she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone, but she could see him flinch. Instinct kicked in and she realised that he looked as though he was ready for a telling-off and thus had probably done something worth being chewed out for. "What have you done now?" her brows furrowed and her voice almost growled. She wasn't often this irate but after yet another argument with Kalain she was not in the best frame of mind to deal with other things.
"Well, I uh... that is, I just wanted to ask uhm something". Great start, champ, really. So much for the bold entrance, the swaggering demands and the golden oration you were going to deliver. Yeah... Still, it was hard to really demand something from your mother when she was in such an obviously bad mood - he'd only rarely seen her so tetchy and he would have preferred to start this conversation without her already being grumpy.
"I can, uh, come back another time if you two are talking?" he said, almost hopefully. Maybe another day he'd ask. Yeah, another day... It might not even be a bad idea to get Dad on board first - why hadn't he thought of that before? Kalain had stood up for Cora afterall - he was 'cool', even if they hadn't been all that close.
"Out with it" she grumbled, trying to keep her temper in check - it wasn't the boy's fault that his father was being a selfish b*****d, afterall. Still, if he'd gone and gotten a girl pregnant... oh gods, what had she done wrong with them that they all seemed to rush headlong into things like that? Why was she so intent on having more when her first litter seemed to have so many problems?
She sighed, giving him the 'mother's look' until he started to squirm a little. She had thought Orion, of all her pups, was growing to be a good heir - he was a decent hunter, cared deeply for the pack, had found his totem easily and until recently had been, essentially, the model child. Now he was always wanting to go find the nearest packs, go explore the tops of the mountains and all sorts of dangerous things which took him away from her.
Orion looked from his mother to Kalain and back, taking a few breaths and trying to calm himself. This wasn't going to work if he acted and spoke brashly, like the child his mother still treated him as.
"I want to go on a trip. A long trip - to explore the Southlands. I won't be gone that long, but I want to see more of the world before I settle down. I'm tired of just skirting the edges of the territory, tired of looking down at everything from a mountain-top" he said it all in a rush, as if he took a breath she'd interrupt and deny him his chance.
Of course, not saying no in the middle didn't stop her saying no in the end and it was with a big effort that he lifted his eyes from the ground, where they'd slid to whilst he spoke, back to his mother's.
He had not expected to see tears...
"Mother I..."
"It's ok Orion, why don't you go outside for a bit and give us time to think about it a little, hmm?" Kalain said gently - he wasn't entirely surprised that it had come to this, what with Orion taking trips further afield and for longer. It wasn't uncommon amongst their old packs for some to take a trip to another to live for a while - take time to live and grow outwith their parent's gaze but with someone keeping an eye on them in case things didn't work out.
"'Sha?" he asked softly, moving beside her.
Mu'sha snuffled, feeling at the same time miserable and eternally stupid. Was she a big pup, to be blubbering away like this? The alpha of a pack shouldn't end up in tears just because of some family issues, right? But she couldn't help it - she was being denied motherhood and the young she had were growing up or wanting to leave her side. Cora she'd not been surprised by, that girl had always had such an independent streak, but Orion now? He was her pride and joy - the one of the bunch who was a wonderfully skilled hunter and she had hoped, one day, her heir.
Eventually her tears and snuffles ceased and she took a deep breath. She felt cleansed, all of the emotion drained out of her and finally calmness descended again. "I'm ok" she said, as much for herself as Kalain, whom she was leaning lightly against. Their argument of only minutes before seemed silly, now. The issue was not, but their fighting over it truly was not going to solve anything and she'd told herself that so many times before - it was a pattern she needed to break.
"I don't want him to go" she said, sadly.
"I know, but you know we can't really stop him" Kalain mused. He knew, as she must, that their grey-pelted son would eventually make his own decision on the matter. He'd resent it more, too, if he had to go against their wishes rather than with their blessings and he said as much to her.
"He's an adult now - he shouldn't be asking you these things, he should be discussing them with you and telling you" Kalain added. Mu'sha had always been rather strict with Orion, he felt, as the one child who'd clung to her closely she seemed to have pushed him the hardest - he was strong for it in some ways but was perhaps still to much under his mother's yoke. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea for her to have something to distract her... No, that was not a good basis for making that decision.
He licked her cheek softly, clearing off tear-stains.
Mu'sha only nodded. Why did Kalain always have to be so damned 'right' about these things. Screw the fact that he was a spirit-talker - she was a mother! she should know these things, intuit them, better than he did. Still, she couldn't entirely hate him for it - she'd relied on his good sense on plenty of occasions to make things work smoothly...
"If he goes now, though, he won't be able to come back until after the snows are gone in spring" she said, slightly plaintively, but it was only a wishful thought that he'd be stopped by that - more likely it would spur him on, not wanting to be stuck in the mountains for another winter.
"I'll miss him..."
"Tell him that, then" he said, smiling softly, glad that Mu'sha was accepting that Orion was likely to be going rather than that she would have to stop him. He'd probably thought it was the worst time to ask her, but Kalain figured it might have been for the best. She'd let all of her emotions out in one great burst and was rebuilding them - hopefully settling into a new equilibrium and letting go of old hurts as so often happened with such breakdowns.
"He won't leave forever, you know that. He's tied to this place, he loves us and his home..."
"Mmm" was all she acceded, not really wishing to say 'you're right'. It was nice, now that the storm of emotion had passed, to relax and forget the arguments, the anger and the recriminations. Why start it all off again?
She had work to do, afterall - she had to find out where Orion inteded to go and exactly how long. Now that she had calmed down she realised that a certain little orange minx might have dragged him into this endeavour - or at least put it into his head - but she had to admit to herself that she preferred the idea of him travelling with company to being alone. Still... she migth have to have 'words' about the sort of things that might be appropriate between himself and such a young 'impressionable' (HAH) girl.
Kalain relaxed, lying down beside Mu'sha and watching her face as she worked through the various stages of coming around to the idea that Orion would likely be away for some time. He could see her occasional glances in his direction, as if she was wondering, too, how to deal with him, but he studiously ignored them.
He had to admit that when she was like this - vulnerable, he supposed, he found her far more attractive. Perhaps it wasn't surprising he preferred it to when she was more pro-active and demanding his agreement. He did enjoy, sometimes, verbally sparring with her but it was at times like these that she reminded him, just a little, of her sister.
"I guess I'd better go speak to him..?" she half asked, half stated. She'd have to choose her words carefully - not drive him away with recriminations.
"I don't know where to start with him... I don't want him to be hurt, to run into the likes of those who hurt Quin, to... to not come back.
"What do you think your father thought when you came chasing after me?" He'd held of on saying it, not wanting to push her until she was ready to accept it with grace. When he had left his pack, gone into the wilderness - into a land that he had, at the time, known less about she had followed him. She had wanted to drag him back but when he resolved to stay so had she and she had made so much good spring from that decision - never, so far as he could see - regretting it.
"You were older than him, yes, but not so much. You know your father wasn't scared, though, because he trusted you and your abilities. He trusted that you'd learned your lessons well and he knew that you had to leave home to stretch your wings. A bird who stays in the nest never learns to fly, afterall". It was a little trite, but such old adages did hold some wisdom.
Mu'sha nodded, starting to come to peace with the idea - even, maybe, beginning to believe it would be a good thing for him. Maybe. She'd worry, of course, it was a mother's prerogative, but she would endeavour to be proud that he was strong enough and bold enough to adventure further than she ever had.
The big female got to her feet, stretched the tenseness out of her limbs and padded towards the entrance to the cozy nook which was the main den. With a glance over her shoulder at Kalain, she slipped outside "Thanks, Kai".
Orion got to his feet in a hurry as his mother came out, bracing himself for the impact of anger or, worse, scoldings. He'd almost worked himself up into a fury as he sat out here, determined that he'd go no matter what she said, but the rain had damped that down eventually and he was simply miserably waiting to see what she'd say.
The sad, almost wistful look on her face on her face surprised him, as did the wry smile. She seemed to be looking him up and down, as if weighing him. He tried to strand up straight but with his wet fur and muddy legs he was a bit of a sorry sight.
"Your father and I travelled a little south before we came here, we can give you some directions, and you should ask the others - Quin, Ely, Maia and YuJiang what they know too. You shouldn't go unprepared and there better be no 'trouble' with Li Ming - I assume she's heading with you?" her raised eyebrow made him squirm and his not answering was answer enough by itself.
"You'd best remember what you see, too - I want to know if there's anything we should be worried about. Those southerners are an odd lot". She scowled a little, without any real heat in it "and you'd better dry off before you go inside again or you'll leave puddles!"
Orion was more than a little bowled over. More like head over heels! He hadn't expected her to actually agree, to be giving him suggestions no less! He hadn't even actually believed he'd be going - not really. Wow. He had to tell Li - she'd be stoked. His tail started to wag, even sodden as it was and all he could do was agree and frantically thank his mother, vowing to never in his life ever stain her clean den ever again with muddy feet.
With eager steps the young male bounded into the night to see what parts of the plan to travel he could get started on right now.
