Catch and Release

"Catch and Release" is a BOTGD 2 thread written on [IRL DATE].
== Summary ==
Vox returns home and Treepelt has some strong words for her wayward husband.
== Full Text ==
Treepelt Halfpaw: The Scrublands was a very temperate place to be in Aidorin, one of the best, but the weather turned on a dime every day. Just last week, it had been snowing blizzards, then everything melted and refroze. A thunderous, warm shower had followed, and as of the current day, it was marshy and wet and humid. It required its inhabitants to be adaptable and mobile, for one could never predict when the streams would flood, or when the earth would dry and crack and produce no food, or be buried in three feet of snow.
At the southern foot of the Wilderwest, White Hallows crouched and sprawled like a wiry, opportunistic beast, ready to fight or flee at any moment. It was a tough little town–or a series of towns, would be more accurate, as the people there actually had several locations they would move to depending on the time of year. As of right now, they were at their lowest elevation, right among the tall grasses and the grazing deer and antelope and the outcroppings of rock turned over and stirred up from Ragnarok. In the early hours of the night, a set rotation of guards stood outside the squat, rough houses built halfway into the earth tilled by the gods. In one such structure, a wide bunker, a certain half-breed pulled herself out of bed and rubbed her face, yawning widely, showing sharp fangs for a moment before exhaling through her short pink nose, her green eyes drugged with sleeplessness. Across the bunker, another half-breed was already strapping on a set of armor, broad and muscular and quite stout with patterns of black and yellow round scales across his head and down his back to a thick clubbed tail.
“She’s up,” he said in a gritty, raspy voice.
“You noticed.” She yawned again, ears flicking, and fumbled for her boots. “I’m not late, am I?”
“No, it’s just about time for rotation.”
“Mmh.” Tree knew she was never late. Her rest was always too shallow to allow her to sleep in past her assignments. She joined the reptilian in pulling on a set of thin leather garb and then a set of heavy half-plate armor, finishing by pulling an open-faced helmet over her graying black-and-orange hair. “I’m at…?”
“Front gate.”
“Thanks.” Tree made her way out front, securing a handaxe to the sling over her shoulder and back. The streets were finally quiet and dark, lit only by the sliver of moon above, and she sloshed through the damp road to the entrance of the town.
Vox Arnason: The scout knew it was time for new shoes.
Trudging through what path was left leading to town, he could feel the cold sapping away the remainder of what stamina he was able to maintain. The deer jotting ahead of him conveyed a youth he envied each step that they took. Knowing that any second now, they would be back home for the first time in… Odin, how many years has it been?
“Do you think they’re home?”
The deer turned his head to meet Vox’s gaze.
“Let’s hope – won’t be a very eventful homecoming if you come back to an empty house.”
Vox knew that, regardless of who was where when they arrived, it was definitely going to be an eventful homecoming. He couldn’t fathom what kind of welcome he would get, or if it would really be considered a welcome in any fashion. His stomach was a massive weight nearly causing a physical drag in his movements; his nerves nearly pushing him to vomit at this point.
“Suppose so. Look, that sentry post – it’s just right around this corner.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: “Hey, hold up.”
Tree squinted into the darkness at the two men walking towards her, her heart rate picking up slightly. “What brings you here?”
Vox Arnason: …she sounds so familiar.
He slowed his pace to a near halt; the woman calling out in the distance spoke with authority, and he wasn’t looking for a fight. As they inched closer, he pulled Dario near him once more. He knew the deer was more physically adept to handle any harm that came their way.
“My apologies for the intrusion, ma’am – I wasn’t aware this place had a guard these days.”
The duo stepped ever closer to the woman, approaching with as little hostility as they could relay in their body language. Vox saw a single light reflect off of the helmet she wore as the moon glared down on their encounter. It was almost a perfect compliment to her green eyes that glared directly at him. It was in this instant that the man froze, a sudden realization washing over him.
…I know those eyes.
Treepelt Halfpaw: Tree choked on her next words like they were rocks, physical things that jammed up her throat and disallowed her from speaking. She lowered her hand from where she was reaching up for her weapon and instead moved to the lip of her helm, slipping underneath it and immediately tearing it off, the cold metal catching on the shredded scar that tore her ear, and her loose updone plait fluttered in the strong wind as she lowered the helmet to her side. Her eyebrows lowered into a puzzled frown, realization striking like a match in her eyes. She turned her face to the side in an expression of confusion while keeping her gaze locked on him. Her heart seemed to have seized up within her chest. It couldn’t be.
“C-come into the light. Now.”
Vox Arnason: He was just so glad to see her alive.
There was no doubt in his mind that this was Treepelt. The grey in her hair accented the black and orange in a way that only made her more beautiful. He could see how the years wore on her, and the admiration he was feeling quickly subsided to guilt and anxiety. He took one step into the light that separated the two, allowing his aging features to be properly illuminated for the half-breed he loved so dearly.
“…hey, Tree.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: Tree stood frozen for a few more moments, her eyes widening and flicking back and forth between his, and then, as a silent snarl curled her lips, she wound up her arm and slammed her helmet at the ground between them and shunted past him, her armored shoulder hitting him roughly in the chest as she began storming out past the city limits, her tail thrashing.
This CANNOT be happening.
Vox Arnason: The impact of her armor against his chest knocked him away and suppressed his already bated breath. He could tell immediately that she was not expecting his return, nor enthused about it.
Fuck, I deserve that.
Vox followed his wife as she moved swiftly to depart this situation. She was nearly as fast as the goat they had met just hours prior…
“Tree, please – don’t do this. I am so sorry. I sent letters, I didn’t think it would be that long… please, I had my reasons. I love you.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: “Ohhhhhhhhh no! No, no, no!”
Tree did not slow, nor did she look back. She may as well have been talking to someone else.
“You do not get to do this!” she said, the seizing pain in her chest strangling her words and turning them into short gasps instead. “You do not get to drag your ass back here and tell me you’re sorry!” A few startled heads poked out of several doorways as they passed, tracking the couple as they almost ran through the village. “You don’t get to show up and say you had reasons!”
The angry, scratchy shouting was giving way to dry sobs, and her furious pace stumbled a bit, and instead of continuing, she bit her sharp teeth into the fingers of her gauntlet and yanked it off her hand. Bitter tears started streaming down her cheeks as she whipped around to look at him, her face flushed and wet and twisted with the release of a long-held grief that shocked even herself.
“You don’t get to tell me you love me!!” she bellowed, throwing the gauntlet at him.
Vox Arnason: Vox braced and closed his eyes, ready for the gauntlet to strike his face – she had impeccable aim, and it was no surprise that it would soon make perfect contact…
Nothing.
He slowly opened his eyes to see Dario holding the gauntlet in hand, and the deer seemingly shocked that he managed to grab it.
“…uh, sorry, old habits. You two should talk. I’m so sorry.”
Dario backed away from the quarreling couple, visibly apologetic for the intrusion.
The man stepped cautiously towards the love of his life. He could hear her distressed breathing, and see the effort put into trying to hide the tears dampening her face. He was conditioned to be the one comforting her against the forces antagonizing her… not being the force. He messed up, and any attempt to explain his absence would only be met with more rage.
“You’re right, Tree. It was selfish of me; I know that now. You have every right to hate me and I completely understand if you don’t want to see me right now. I was wrong to leave you and the kids on your own without giving you an idea as to what I was doing, or when I’d be back. I regret it immensely. If you need me to leave…”
He paused, feeling as though his heart was going to burst out of his chest. His voice was broken and fatigued, but he needed to give her an out. He couldn’t bear to watch her suffer like this.
“…I’ll do it. Just tell me if you need time… but I won’t for a moment let you believe that I don’t love you.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: Tree almost jumped out of her skin when Dario got in the way, and her eyes traced him as he stepped away guiltily. He was involved in this. He would get his talking-to later, she would make sure of that. Her shoulders were still heaving with stifled sobs, and her slightly-wrinkled hands shook. They felt numb. She didn’t know how she was still standing on her feet. She felt some of her old wounds troubling her, but the pain felt miles away.
“If you loved me,” she cried, her words almost unintelligible, “you would have tried. You would have tried to come back.” She pressed the heel of her bare hand against her eye, trying to stem the tide of tears, her teeth gritted in an uncontrollable spasm. Her breath misted out before her. She threw her hand down by her side again and looked him in the face again, and seeing his unfettered affection and grief for her made a wave of anger crash over her again. “No, you just left us, Vox! You left all of us, for what!? Why don’t–you tell me what–was so important–that–ten years–!?” Her voice dissolved into sobs again.
Vox Arnason: Watching her break down to this degree was the last thing Vox could want, and it crippled him. He knew she was right, but he couldn’t justify why he was gone for that length of time… at least, not in any way that Tree would be able to understand in this moment.
“In time, Tree. I promise you, I will be able to explain everything. For now, there’s a reason I haven’t told you. Things are… more complicated than I even know how to convey.”
Vox felt his throat grow tight as his voice cracked during every other syllable, as the man fought back any tears that attempted to force their way out. He stepped closer to her, watching as she took small movements away from him. This was the only moment in his life where he could feel that she had true resentment towards him, and a physical manifestation of it would kill him. Reaching out his arm, Vox left an opening for her, should she choose to accept it.
“Please, Tree. Come here. I swear to you that this hasn’t just been for nothing. I don’t want things to be like this for us.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: Treepelt snatched him by the wrist and dragged him closer, squeezing his tendons.
“You tell me now or we’re through.” 
She pointed her clawed finger in his face. Tears continued to pour down her face. She was expecting more heartbreak, more pain. But something must have shattered years ago, because her heart only felt bleak and dull.  “And it better be good enough to explain why you weren’t around when your children almost died.”
Vox Arnason: He could feel the fear on his face, there was no hiding it. This woman he loved was broken before him, and it almost seemed as if there was a real possibility that she may kill him where he stood… again.
“Tree…”
He wanted to badly to protect her. The reason for his hiatus wasn’t anything he expected her to understand on this cold, damp evening. Not while she felt like this… but he was out of options. He knew this wasn’t Tree trying to mince words; she meant what she was saying, and that terrified him.
Well, so be it.
“Tree, I need you to look at Dario.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: He could see in the slight loosening of her features that he’d caught her off-guard; she turned her head, keeping her eyes on him as long as possible before looking over at their family friend, fixing him with a glare.
“What–”
Vox Arnason: She knows.
He could read it plain as day – the half-breed looked upon the young face of an old friend, and it clicked. She couldn’t break the gaze she now held on the deer.
“This… this is why I left. I swear to you, Tree, we only went to find out why this happened… and things got really, really bad.”
He didn’t bother to try and maneuver her in any way, shape or form. The last thing he wanted to do was further upset an already enraged half-breed cat.
“There is so much I need to tell you, but you have to absolutely trust me when I say that things aren’t safe right now… Dario and I are lucky to even be back here now. I know you won’t see it that way for a while and I get it, but you have to believe that I would never lie about something like this.”
He refused to move. She needed to know that he wasn’t going to push her to accept anything right now if she truly couldn’t.
“Just let me know what you want to do… what I can do.”
Treepelt Halfpaw: Tree shut her mouth and looked back at him, face still heated and damp with her outburst, and her mind raced. She cared for Dario, of course she did. Angry with him? Absolutely. He had a hand in her husband’s vanishing act, and she wanted to grab him too, and shake him until he gave her the answers she wanted. What could have possibly happened? Could there be a story he could spin that would quell her fury and convince her that all of this hadn’t been for naught?
She opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly from behind them, she heard the wet slaps of rapid footsteps, and someone sprinted past her and slammed into Vox’s arms, tearing him from Tree’s weak grasp and sending the older man staggering backwards. A young girl, nineteen years old, with dark brown hair and round little ears, with her face buried in Vox’s dust-covered, travel-worn clothes, crying just as hard as Treepelt had before. One of her trembling pale hands came up to sign next to her head as she clutched him tightly.
Daddy!?
Vox Arnason: It wasn’t until he held her close in his embrace that he realized who this young woman was. It had been years… she was as beautiful as her mother. Everything he had hoped she would turn out to be all these years away.
“K-Kendra?…”
He held her tightly, pushing the emotions of the prior conversation to the side for at least this one moment. He could feel himself crying, but it was no matter. He buried his face into her hair, and would not let go until she did. Even if this embrace wouldn’t allow him to speak to her, the physical sentiment was more than enough.
I’m so sorry, Kendra. I am so happy to see you.
Kendra Arnason: She pulled back from his shoulder and touched noses with him, beaming and crying at the same time. Unlike Tree, she wasn’t fazed at all by his appearance. She started rapidly signing with one hand, in order to keep her father in a close hug. I knew you’d come back! I was waiting and waiting, and Mama said you wouldn’t, and she grabbed his hand, finally releasing him, but I knew you and Uncle Dario were doing important work in Central. She laughed as she made the antlers above her head for the half-breed’s namesign. I had faith in you. She gazed up at him with big, shining eyes, taking in his aged face. 
Vox Arnason: He had so many emotions swimming in his skull at once. He watched his daughter sign and tried valiantly to keep up, as he hadn’t used it in many years. Though his understanding of it was lackluster, he was able to pick up the major words that pieced together what Kendra meant.
He used broken hand motions to attempt to reply in a way that she would understand, hoping the gist of the sentiment would be easily read with just his one hand.
I missed you much Kendra. I have many words to speak with you. I am very sorry I left for long.
She was the first person he had seen in so long be genuinely enthralled to see him. Though he understood why Tree was so vehemently angry at him, it was not the dream homecoming he had played out in the days prior.
Turning to Tree, he signed her a simple “I love you”. Kendra showing up was the best possible outcome, given the situation the two of them were in just moments before.
Treepelt Halfpaw: Kendra nodded vigorously with each of Vox’s fumbled signs, smiling widely, indicating that she understood each one. Behind her, Tree pressed her lips together in a thin line, coming to the realization that this would have to be resolved later, and much differently than she’d intended.
She stepped forward, tapping Kendra once on the elbow and signing while she said reluctantly, “Take him home. I’m finishing my watch.”
Kendra nodded, looking a little more somber, and with a last bitter look at Vox and Dario, Treepelt turned on her heel, walking back down the mud-soaked road to the outpost she had been stationed at. She scooped up her helmet from the ground and wiped it off, a final rush of tears spilling down her cheeks and tapping against the dull metal, helping to wash away the muck.
Turning back to Vox, his daughter took a deep breath and then noticed Dario. She’d forgotten to hug him, and she quickly sprinted over to him to rectify her mistake, squeezing him around the middle. She was so, so happy, but there was a lot of tension in the air. Kendra leaned back and took in Dario’s face, gently cupping it in realization before saying, You don’t look… Her hands paused, uncertain. Daddy, did you find out why this happened? That’s why you were gone, wasn’t it? There was something fearful that rose within her upon seeing that her uncle was barely older than she was…ten years later.
Dario Hjort: Dario could read the uncertainty on her face; he knew full well that the Arnason family was aware of the reason for their journey. He hadn’t seen this girl since she was a child, and it still felt as if he couldn’t tell her what had happened in the long span of time that they had been absent. He rest a hand on her shoulder, smiling in a vain attempt to alleviate any concerns she may have held. Regardless, this wasn’t the time – it was late, and the deer needed to rest as soon as possible.
He took a moment to remember basic signs, as he did spend much time at the Arnason household before his departure with Vox, and managed to throw together a somewhat coherent sentence with speech and signs.
“We’re happy to be home, can you take us to sleep?”
Kendra Arnason: Nodding quickly, she took Dario and Vox’s hands, tugging them in the right direction and releasing after a few steps so she could talk more. I’m really happy you’re back. Things have been rough…the Conclave– she fingerspelled the name, with a dark look–haven’t let up on attacking home. Mama joined the guard to help. Liam is gone with Nala to help the rebels. It was a short walk to the house, and she let them inside, where it was still warm from the coals in a recently-stoked fire.
Category:Events
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Treepelt Halfpaw
Category:Vox Arnason
Category:Dario Hjort
Category:Kendra Arnason
Category:White Hallows
Category:Act I