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 Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:17 am
Iosef was exhausted. He had really expected this whole visit to go a bit differently, although in hindsight, he wasn't really sure why -- nothing ever went smoothly where his family was concerned. Still, he had certainly not planned to be here this late, and he wasn't keen on walking back in the dark, especially not with only one warrior in his midst. Chimera, he knew, could probably hold his own in a fight if they ran into trouble...but he discounted the possibility as quickly as it had come to mind, because it was absurd. No, there was nothing for it. They'd have to take Balios up on his offer to stay the night, after all, and leave first thing in the morning.
Sighing, finding it nearly impossible to get comfortable in his entirely-too-large, drafty den, he decided to seek out Casimir's company for the evening. The pups were all out socializing, anyway, and at least he was fairly certain they would be safe in a large pack like this. He might as well try to make the most of this visit by catching up with an old friend.
Cas was busy simmering in his private shame, but even what amounted to the possible humiliation of a lifetime was not enough to drive Iosef's presence from his mind. And how could it, when his old comrade had been right there with him in his shame? He felt his ears twist in anguish. But, he would have lots of time to worry this situation to the bone, and Iosef would surely be needed back home soon. So he put himself to sniffing out the wolf who had done him such a favor when his pups were born.
As it happened, Iosef very nearly walked right into the large wolf. He managed to stop himself before impact, luckily -- any further embarrassment may have actually killed him -- but his heart gave an uneasy jolt in his chest and for a moment he panted as though he'd just had to run for his life. "...it's strange, being somewhere I don't know. It's a miracle I haven't walked right into the river, at this rate." He smiled an uneasy smile and backed away a few steps, to a more reasonable distance. "I was hoping I might bump into you this evening. Figuratively, I mean."
Reliably, Cas mustered a sunny grin for his old friend, bouncing backwards and giving his tail a light wag. "Literally's fine too," he replied, looking on fondly. "You can't imagine how homesick a Slave can get when he's got no chance of spotting Varia in the corner of his eye. How are you? How are your pups? How's the pack?"
He settled back to his haunches, tail thumping. Here was as good as any for a place to chat. It seemed cozy, in and amongst the trees, and quiet. Wolves here lacked the militarized precision of wolves back home, and so tended to straggle out long past bedtime, and the sheer number of them made him very nervous. Especially as he had no idea how to relate to any of them. "You seem to be settling in well enough, though. I'm afraid Varia isn't nearly so charming as she is in memory." And he would know that well enough from his own experience as well.
His eyebrows raised dubiously. "I hate to tell you, but she doesn't get much more charming in hindsight." And his smile returned. "And, yep, yep, all things considered I think I've settled fairly well...I mean, some stuff may never feel natural." His mouth tightened as he forced the memory of Galahad barking out orders to his sons aside; that was unpleasant, and terrible fodder for a reunion conversation. Instead he found yet another thing to grin about. "They send me out for border patrols, for instance. They gave me about twenty seconds of instruction and a kiss on the cheek, and sent me off."
He chuckled at the Varia comment, but outright laughed at the notion of Casimir on a border patrol. He shook his head, disbelieving. "You? Really? What do they expect you to do with a stranger, lick his feet?" His eyes sparkled at the sheer absurdity of this notion. He shook his head, and then, though he hated to bring it up, it seemed impolite not to extend the courtesy. "I apologize for my children's behavior earlier. Chimera is...excitable...and Isobel is passionate. Together I'm afraid they may have gotten off on the wrong paw with your boys."
Cas beamed, suppressing a little prance at Iosef's delight. "It's ridiculous. I miss things all the time, and if anyone threatening came to visit I'd probably follow on their heels apologizing as they came to wreak havoc on the pack, but nobody seems to mind! It would be terrifying if trouble didn't seem to keep well out of our way here." He winced. "Honestly, my boys are probably the worst trouble in the pack. Those two fight all the time, and I feel terrible that they, ah, well, they put all of us in such a hot spot." The big wolf drooped, and pawed at the ground. "They have good hearts, you know, but they have no interest in staying out of trouble." He looked remorsefully at Iosef, perhaps trying to get a hint at how his whole parenting experience was turning out.
He tut-tutted sympathetically. "I'm sure they're not so bad. They're probably just bored. Seeking some more direction in their lives." His general belief was that boys, left to their own devices, were built to destroy everything in their path. They needed to be held down and properly trained in order to be safe and productive. "Chimera is learning how to fight," he said, and looked appalled at the very idea. "Getting private lessons from Achilles."
He shrugged, looking downcast. "They do need direction, but Anatto and Django are too busy making a stink to ever take it these days." He finally sat down, and his mouth quirked a little at the thought of his least troublesome son. "Vercinix will do well here, though. And he would have done well at Antianeira, too. He's quiet, obedient, relatively considerate."
But he made a face about this news with Achilles. "Why on earth are the Sisters letting that get by? And the Consort is only setting him up for trouble, that's irresponsible of him."
He shook his head, his expression the very figure of disgust. "It's all kept very quiet. Supposedly it's just so Patroclus has someone to spar with, but...well..." he shook his head. "Every day I wake up positively terrified that he'll decide to start a fight with a Sister, and then it'll be all over. But of course I can't explain that to him." Now that he was talking about his parenting woes, it all just tumbled out of him. "And Romir! You saw how he was acting. I don't know what's gotten into him!"
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:50 pm
Cas let out a billowy, world-weary sigh, his speckled face pulling into a wince. "Sometimes I think...what they need is a mother who can beat some sense into them, do you know?" The big wolf stared at his paws. "I mean, I try, but...you may as well need a fish to fly."
Iosef chuckled. He tried to imagine his own mate beating sense into anything, and could hardly envision it. "Perhaps there are more duties they could take on?" He glanced around, as though searching for work. "A pack of this size, surely there's something to be done?"
The idea of living in a pack without the strain of constant work made him uneasy, even frightened.
Now Cas simply looked uncomfortable. What would he do - ask his alphas to step in, hound his children into obedience? The asking alone would be almost too much to bear, but in the end he simply couldn't see anyone here putting Nat and Django in their place the way a Sister would, and he couldn't see the use in such a lesson now that they were nearly grown. I ******** up, he thought bleakly, and not for the first time; his whole face drooped, and for a moment the poor sucker looked like he might cry.
"Hey, now," Iosef said, looking alarmed. Oh, but he had said the wrong thing! He ditherd, trying to think of something comforting. "They'll grow out of it, I'm sure. We were little hellions once, too, remember?" Had they been? Iosef could hardly remember a time when he had been disobedient. A waste of breath, certainly. A quivering, miserable ball of wolf flesh, definitely. But a hellion?
Cas peeped up guiltily into Iosef's violet eyes, a bashful smile tugging at his lips. "Of course. I just, ah, I never thought...but they do have good hearts, I know it." His smile broadened, and his eyes gained that soft, fond look of parenthood. "They're pains in the a**, but they care about each other. And that's the most important." He looked to Iosef again, and shrugged the topic away. He had so many regrets about those boys, he couldn't get two sentences in without stumbling over something he couldn't say, so he may as well move on.
"Yeah. Family is most important...after duty," he said, his face growing suddenly stony as he remembered why they were here. Right. Family. What a fiasco. Lucky Casimir had no father to worry about. He glanced around uneasily, looking for a safe topic of conversation, and his paws came up empty.
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