always

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

The return of the queen of the mountain had caused a palpable change in the wolves who roamed her heights. Most noticeable of the changed wolves was Alcide. At the ripe age of eighteen, the king felt as young as the day he had first laid eyes upon the beautiful frame of MoonGlow. Just as that day had forever changed him, her return had changed him as well. His faith had been restored, his desire to live and thrive bolstered by her very presence. When he was not glued to her side, though, he roamed the mountain far and wide, strengthening the markers upon the borders and visiting with Spirane’s inhabitants. This particular afternoon he had been on his way to seek out his youngest daughter, Daenerys, and speak with her. She had been steering clear of both of her parents, which was uncharacteristic for her. Even though the girl had spoken very little of how she missed her mother when she was gone, it had always been obvious to her father. And yet, she had yet to welcome her mother home. A stirring in the pit of Alcide’s stomach warned him that he must speak with her, rooted in the worry that some vindictive emotion might grip her as it had Swallowbane.

As he neared her den, however, a call reached out across the lands to him. He stood for a moment, looking towards the borders and then back to his daughter’s den. Though family always came first in his mind, he did had a duty and responsibility to uphold for the pack. So he called out to Daenerys, inviting her to join him in greeting whatever stranger had come to their borders, before turning and loping steadily through the wooded mountainside.

It did not take him long to reach the young wolf who waited idly for him. He slowed to a jog as he approached, tail stiff and erect, and ears pressed forward earnestly. He trotted right up to the border opposite of the wolf before stopping and extending his nose to sniff at the air between them. This wolf’s scent was heavy with Diveen’s odors, which hopefully meant he was friend and not foe. A smile creased Alcide’s maw and he dipped his crown in greeting. “Hello, stranger. My name is Alcide,” he said, eyes curious but not questioning. The older wolf found himself in such a good mood lately that he found it hard to be suspicious of a wolf who smelled so strongly of their ally pack.

ooc: daenerys coming tomorrow! cut short on time. :/

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