First Quarter

"Orion… Orion, get up. We're moving out early."
Underneath the blankets and furs, the boy stirred, shrinking back like a turtle into its shell when he saw the bright daylight.
"...'s not dusk yet though…"
"I know, but we've gotta go. Come get your sister ready, I need to saddle and feed the horses."
The boy sat up at that, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Why're we taking the horses…?"
Try as he might to hide the growing look of concern and fear over his face, the boy's father couldn't, but it gained more haste from his son in getting ready to move.
"The horses… the horses are quiet and we can fit on the back roads. We won't be tracked as easily if we stay in the forest.”
---
"Choking Hound, where is your beloved? I thought they would be going with you."
"They left just before dawn, before I put the kids down to bed. They're going to make sure their parents are safe and get 'em somewhere remote."
Orion frowned as he buttoned his sister's coat for her, straining to listen to the adults talk over her babbling. He missed the look Ryoten gave him from behind, or that his father fell into a whisper to the hunter.
"-Tell the pack to send their kids to Haskala, she'll take them to the rendezvous and I'll handle it from there."
"Aye, you're worried enough you'll bark above your rank?"
"I'm worried enough that I'm getting my kids to a place they'll be 200 miles from the next nearest person and you should do the same."
Throwing the remains of the man's tent over her shoulder, the hunter considered it deeply, finally nodding.
"...Aye. You're a flighty brat but I've never known you to be a coward without reason. I'll send word to the Heartlands pack too, they've got a couple of youngsters since we last saw them."
"The youngest is…?" Ryoten began loading the horses as he spoke, still passing the occasional glance to the kids. He and Burke shared a nod as the other man passed, with Coriander in tow- the fact the pair carried their weapons with them openly made Orion worry all the more.
"...four, I think right. Was the cookout in Idaho we last saw their scrawny hides."
"Quit calling 'em scrawny, not everybody eats a bull moose for breakfast every morning."
"Are you complaining about my moose sausage? After all the years of me making you your breakfast so you don't live off of nothing but animal crackers and apple juice?"
Their conversation was far from a whisper now, especially as Orion approached and began to add his things to the horses' bags. Ryoten helped him up onto the back of the mare before he himself climbed into his horse's saddle, running a hand through his black mane.
"I swear on my own blood and flesh, I'll eat something other than snacks this time."
"Make that a real promise and bet your camera, else you'll come back a prune."
"...Be safe, Gina."
"Take care of your kids, I need your little one alive long enough to teach her to trap game."
---
Throughout the ride down the mountain, away from the camp and on a game trail, it was quiet, the only noises from the vampire occasionally flicking on the radio and muffled sounds from his headphones or shushing the horses.
"...Dad?"
"Yeah? Everything okay back there?"
"Mhm… did something happen, is that why we're leaving?"
Ryoten pulled Haus into a trot to let Nishka catch up to him and walk alongside, so he could be side by side with Orion.
"Nothing's happened yet. I don't know what's gonna happen, but there was a meeting of the gods a few days ago." He was clearly lying, or at least hiding something, but Orion couldn’t place what exactly it was.
Orion thought about it, tightening his arms around his sister.
"...but it's not the end of the month."
"Exactly, that's why I'm worried. …something happened that they needed a meeting, and grandpa went to it."
"Did he tell you what happened?"
"...He's not back yet." The rest of the road was quiet, even as they passed other members of the pack- headed in the opposite direction. Desperately, Orion wanted to ask why they weren’t going with them, or why Ryoten’s hands kept drifting to his rifle strapped to Haus’ side whenever he heard a sound that didn’t make itself clear.
A loud crackle from the radio before it shifted into words made both nearly jump out of their skins, and Nishka shook her head, seeming to scan the area herself.
“-Choking-Hound, Idaho and Lahar Valley will be joining you at the 18th rendezvous with supplies and their own “drop off”. Over.”
Even he could tell that it was code for something else, but Ryoten simply gave him a strained smile before nudging the horses into a quicker trot before responding.
“We’re two days out, I’ll meet them there.”