To the Ends of the Earth

With the rising sun of a new day, Raiden was already out and about, wandering the Nameless Mountain in search of someone who might accompany him on his new adventure. As much as he'd love to drag his father out with him, Raiden knew he had other duties to tend to and there were only so many times he could beg the man to take him. Any adult would do really, though he wouldn't lie that he searched for a few specific faces. It was @Osiris' trail that he would catch first and with a wag to his step, the boy would quickly follow in search of his brother.

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Thanks for starting!

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Osiris had made it to Empyrean's borders by the time sunrise had begun. It was his favorite time to patrol, as it was still cool and damp from the previous night. He used the humidity to his advantage, as it amplified every scent he investigated. 

Today had been quiet and slow. Nothing required Osiris to take action, and it seemed as though their borders had deterred any potential intruders. Still, he knew better than to take the quietness for granted. He worked on solidifying the pack's boundaries, stopping to mark their land every so often.

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An active nose would lead the boy near the borders, his pace only slowing a beat as he hovered along marked paths. He knew better than to venture further without a guardian, but that was precisely why he had come here. It wouldn't take long for him to find the brother he had in mind, his similar coloring acting like a flaming beacon as Raiden picked up his pace to find Osiris' side. Though he was still just small enough to mark him apart from the adults it was no small bump as he bunted his shoulder into the older male's. “Osiris! Don't tell me you're busy.” A demand or request it was hard to say given the almost flat tone that carried his words despite his excitement.

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Osiris recognized the sound of Raiden's footsteps as they approached and slowed his pace, allowing for his brother to catch up. He was happy to see his younger sibling, but there was something about his tone that rubbed him the wrong way. "I'm just finishing up here," he answered, bucking his shoulder against his brother's and fixing his brother with a steely gaze. 

They had come across a weaker stretch in the border where the pack's collective scent was fading, and Osiris paused to refresh it. He shook his leg after marking, and then continued along the path. 

"Let me guess," he said after a beat, lessening the edge in his demeanor, "You want to go out and explore?" Most of his younger siblings had asked him to accompany them at some point, so it was easy to put one and two together.

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Raiden took the shove with ease, though it was his brother's stare that cause his steps to miss a beat if only slightly. Perhaps he was too accustomed to those in his litter shoving and demanding freely to realize what he intended to be friendly was just as annoying and rude to others as it had been to him originally. Luckily there was little room for him to dwell on the feeling or his actions as Osiris carried on. The boy's tail wagged at his hocks as his motives were unveiled quickly accompanied by a grin, “The water west of here. I've seen it from the mountain tops and the jagged scar just beyond our borders. Mother says we're old enough so long as someone joins us.”

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"Ah—Crescent Cove North," Osiris interjected. He had explored the territory the most since it was the point of interest closest to Empyrean's claim. "I've been there many times. It's lovely." He looked at his sibling with an approving gleam in his gemstone-colored eyes. "I'd be happy to take you there. You'll just need to keep up." It wouldn't hurt to get in some endurance training along the way. Osiris set the pace—much quicker than his usual meandering gait—and began to lead the way.

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Crescent Cove...so it had a name. He supposed it made sense given the odd shape or at least what he could see of it from their mountain. Fortune seemed to beam on him as his brother's mood quickly changed. It seemed he would get his adventure after all and he'd smile in response with a wag of his tail. “You don't mind then?” Well. Maybe his brother had another idea while they ventured beyond the borders as he quickly turned at a fast pace.

No matter who it was, his family was always out to teach a lesson, though he would never complain. He drank their knowledge eagerly as he quickly fell in behind Osiris as he increased the pace. “If you wish to lose me you'll have to try harder than that!” Osiris hadn't declared it a race by any means, but in his youth, Raiden was willing to take things a step further as paws began to reach beside his brother in an attempt to pass him. He had waited long enough to make this trip and he certainly wouldn't be slowed now by anything. Not his brother, nor his gait, or the distance in between.

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“If you wish to lose me you'll have to try harder than that!” Raiden said once he matched Osiris's pace. "Oh, I wasn't trying at all," he replied. There was nothing wrong with a little healthy competition—he had learned many things through vying with his uncle, Arcturus. With this in mind, he bolted. They would need to pass a large fallen tree and cross a river before they made it, and he figured Raiden would get some good experience running in different terrains. 

When they neared the moss-covered tree trunk, Osiris looked over his shoulder and motioned to the landmark with his snout. "If you see this tree when you come to the cove, then you know you're on the right path!"

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Though he had been the one to start jeering, Raiden was more talk than action with his current limits. His brother took off with limbs far more steady than his own as he pressed onward in an awkward gait. He had the leg length to keep up theoretically, the real question was if he had the stamina and footing. Far too used to the rugged mountains the young boy would stumble on occasion as paws sunk into squishy earth and grass, but Raiden would never lose hope and quickly right himself.

By the time they had reached their first landmark, he was beginning to lag behind as a tongue lulled from his maw. Osiris gestured to the fallen log and he would gladly take a detour to get a closer look. The trunk had been devoured by moss, unlike the trunks that sprout from the mountain tops. It smelled light of rot beneath the pungent scent of moss though he wouldn't linger any longer after committing the few details to memory. Osiris was still running and their destination lay ahead.

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"We're almost there," Osiris called over his shoulder once the creek was in sight. They'd been running for about ten minutes since they had passed the first landmark, and once they crossed the next one, the trail would open up into the cove's entrance. He began to slow once he had crossed the stream—with water clinging to his underbelly and legs—and walked along the path with his tongue lolling. The forest began to vanish, and a hill hugged their left as they rounded the corner. Then—the cove was in sight. 

"We made it," he said, smiling as he looked at his brother as he lifted his leg and marked the entrance. Although the cove wasn't officially theirs, Osiris liked to make their presence be know and warn any wayward wolves that they were encroaching on Empyrean's claim.

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For the first time, Raiden felt free. It was odd to describe considering home wasn't bad, but running here felt different. No plan, no rules, fresh air. It was exhilarating. Like a bolt of lightning, Raiden had torn through the river drenching more than just his undersides. Water still streamed from his fur by the time they reached the cove's opening, but it didn't seem to bother him as he took a deep breath of semi-salty air. It was strange that the water smelled heavier here, though if he moved down to drink the water he would likely find it a tad salty too as the cove entered the ocean.

He'd drink in the view, a grin plastered to his maw as he watched the sun glitter off murky currents. The only thing that would tear his gaze away was his brother as he moved to mark the entrance. “What's that for? We passed our borders once we left the mountain.” He wasn't aware of any kind of claim beyond their mountain, or hunting grounds for that matter. Truthfully he assumed anything they needed was inside the claim and they only needed to mark the borders.

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”It’s a warning,” Osiris explained. ”This cove is popular, and I like to warn them that there’s a pack nearby.” His head swung over his shoulder and he glanced up at their home; The Nameless Mountain loomed menacingly above the treetops and he reminded himself that everything would be fine while he was away. He looked back to Raiden, ready to answer any other questions his brother had.

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A warning? Raiden let his gaze follow his brother’s back towards the mountain though his gaze would flick between the two occasionally. “I thought our borders were quiet.” Then again, maybe that was due to the warnings spread around their territory. Perhaps it kept those away from even reaching their borders. “Are the wolves here dangerous? Wouldn’t it be good to meet them?” Of course he had only known those inside the walls of his world and none had a reason to be bad wolves underneath their parent’s rule.

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"Yes, they are—" Osiris said, "—but they're only as safe as they are because of our diligence." He wasn't the only wolf to regularly patrol. Several wolves frequented the pack's parameters day and night, and he hoped that his siblings would start to show an interest in joining the adults in protecting the pack.

Raiden then asked a question that caused Osiris to pause. Though there had been a few nasty individuals that he'd encountered, the majority had been naive and senseless. "It depends on who you meet," he answered eventually. "I always try and trust my gut. Strangers usually show their true colors very early." He trusted that his brother would be able to make these decisions for himself.

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The boy listened carefully as he continued towards the water-crested cut that ran through the earth. He supposed it made sense. Their family was quite large, not that he had a scale of reference to compare to other families. It was just what he had heard in passing. “Have you ever made the wrong call?” Raiden would drift a paw toward the cool current allowing his toes to break the waves carefully as he tried to gauge the depth further out. It was hard to see the coastline where the scar dipped to the south if it even ended.

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"I have," Osiris wasn't perfect. "I made many mistakes when I was younger. I was too trusting and divulged too much information about our pack to strangers. Nothing horrendous came from it—thankfully—mostly curious indivuduals who wished to join us." While that wasn't nessecairly a bad thing, but a majority of them left after a month or so. It had been frustrating to see them come and go. "Most of them left the pack shortly after joining—which only depleted our food stores quicker."

They hugged the shoreline as they meandered, and he glanced down as the water washed over his paws. "It is up to you who you trust and who you don't. Just try and remember to keep your wits about you and remember that everybody isn't privy to information about Empyrean."

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The boy's ear twitched as he listened to his brother. It may not have been his intention, but his mistakes only made Raiden feel as though he should never reveal information that related to his family. Nothing bad had come from Osiris's judgment, but that was not to say that something bad would never happen. “So they were thieves.”

Harsh perhaps, but they had taken his family for granted and abused their protection. “I assume they were hunted?” It seemed like their mother to go to such lengths for any who wronged them. If Empyrean was not the fit that was fine but to leave without a word or effort to replace what you had taken was despicable and rubbish to those who had worked hard to secure the borders and fill the caches.

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Osiris nodded. "They were," but their efforts had been futile. "We never found them—but they never returned." It wasn't all doom and gloom; mistakes were inevitable with growing up. 

"Do not let this deter you," he said next, looking at his younger brother. "Failing is a part of life—we all do it—" even Hydra had failed at some point in her life, "—they are how we learn what is right and what is wrong." Osiris felt an ache in his calves, and he realized how long it'd been since he'd walked on sand. He'd have to come back here to train sooner than later.

"Your future is bright, brother, and I am here for you whenever you need me."

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Raiden only frowned at his brother's words, even if he attempted to push away the negative. The matter of fact was that Empyrean had its generosity and trust broken. Worst of all, those who had done so got away scot-free. He wished to scoff as Osiris tacked on that those wolves never returned because, of course, they hadn't. Coming back would surely be a death sentence, or worse.

Still, he would nod to his brother's lesson. He agreed, misfortune and loss did leave room to learn and he would be sure to never make the same mistakes. “I am not deterred, only determined.” Anyone who crossed his family would pay for their betrayal. Taking a breath, Raiden attempted to calm himself as he let his shoulders relax the tension he had unknowingly grown. “Thank you, brother... I think I am ready to return home.”

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