always

oh your hands can heal, your hands can bruise. I don't have a choice but I'd still choose you.

The cold months were finally waning, winter slowly releasing its grip upon the lands of Moladion. The snow that covered the mountain was beginning to melt away. It would be a few weeks into spring before the majority had gone, but Alcide had grown accustomed to these patterns over the past few years. It allowed his coat more time to properly shed out before the temperatures got too warm. On this early spring morning, Alcide roused Daenerys and told her that they would spend the day together, scouting throughout the territory for spots where the beginning of the snow melt may have caused damage to the terrain, or where a large area of melt might provide a good source for drinking water for a week or so. As the morning wore on, the two wolves covered great distances through the range of mountains. Their pace was a steady jog, and occasionally they would stop so that Alcide could show his daughter such things as where a mother badger had dug her den in preparation for birthing her babes. It was important to know of the company the wolves kept upon the mountain, it would do them no good to agitate this mother who could easily wound an unsuspecting passerby.

When the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Alcide decided it was high time that they took a rest and enjoyed the warm sun as it beat down upon them. They chose a large, low outcropping of rock that did not have much for trees around it. It was a perfect area for them to stretch out, soak up some sun, and perhaps nap for a bit before they continued to investigate their land. Side by side they rested, and Alcide laid his head upon his paws and fell into a light snooze. He was alert, even as he dozed, ears perked upright at all times. So when the peaceable call of a foreigner rang out across the mountain to summon him, Alcide was aware enough to know exactly whose voice was the source. Daenerys rolled up on her side as the alphen rose to his paws. His tail immediately curled over his back and he simply stood there for a moment. Tesseract was beyond the borders, requesting an audience of an assumedly very different nature from their last encounter. After a moment, Dany stood at his side, inquisitively looking at her father and waiting to see how he would respond. Neither spoke, Alcide simply flicked his torn ear as he recalled the fight he had won against the younger male. He was well aware that Rhoedias had not been so fortunate; she now resided within Spirane herself.

After allowing the air to still after Tesseract’s call, Alcide raised his maw to the sky and howled out a response. Alcide would reach his location shortly, and Tesseract was to remain where he was until he arrived. Dany was eager to accompany her father, and so with a nod of his head at her questioning if she could come – she was two years old now, after all, this would be a good experience for her – Alcide leapt from the outcropping of rock and set off at a lope towards where Tesseract’s call had originated. Luckily they had not been too far from the southern border, their place of rest laying in the south central region of the territory. Within ten minutes or so they began to descend into the small faction of rolling foothills at the base of the mountains, and Alcide spotted him from a distance. Even from this distance the king of the mountain could see a difference in Tesseract.

With confidence in his stride, he crossed the border of Spirane and slowed his pace to a jog, approaching the other Alpha with his tail waving proudly over his back. Tesseract held himself with a certain air of pride and respect that he had not when last they’d met. Of course now he had a reason to be proud, he was a leader and he had earned his stead. Dark eyes watched the lighter hued male as he came to a stop some five feet from his former adversary. Daenerys stood next to him, her own tail lifted so that it was a fraction of an inch higher than Tesseract’s. Alcide offered a curt nod of his head, “Tesseract,” he said, “Lordship suits you well enough.” The comment was short, though there was the simplest of compliments laced within his even tones. It was a relief, of sorts, to know that Tesseract had been successful elsewhere, even if it had caused suffering to dear Rhoedias. The knowledge that Alcide would not have to face the younger male again was welcomed. He had lacked experience when first they had met, but that was clearly no longer the case. He remained upon his feet, watching the beast that stood before him, and glancing at the youngster who stood behind him. No questions of motives were asked. Clearly Tesseract was here for a reason, and Alcide was not about to play guessing games at what that was. He knew the male would not waste such a long trek to simply say hello.

alcide | seventeen | moonglow | polaris of spirane
sleekwing, swallowbane, orca, daenerys, ceal, taliesin | ♥