Dragoncrest Cliffs 'Do' or 'do not'; there is no 'try'.

All this talk of taking back the cliffs left Revui with many questions. He wasn't about to speak at length with his failure of a sister and didn't want to appear weak to @Kiwi for asking for clarification, so he kept his questions to himself and went on a day trip instead. It took a day just to work through the tangled stone-wrought forest due south of the mountain; he was tenacious and did not stop his hunt for this imfamous plaxe until he came to the edge of the world.

The ocean boomed below, the ground giving an occasional quake beneath his paws as he tread closer to Dragoncrest - but there was nothing here. No signs of pack life and certainly no warriors defending it from outsiders. He felt an instant of intense doubt as he hiked the forest; then as he came to the sheer drop which would have landed Revui squarely in Rusalka if he were to slip, he stopped and - of all things - raised his chin to howl a possessive, taunting note in to the air.

Would someone come for him? Warn him away? Start a fight for these cliffs that were so precious to Kiwi? A part of him hoped to get a glimpse of this force, to test whoever came to him and decide once and for all if aiding Kiwi was worth the effort. Revui was impatient and clearly had some impulse control issues.

Attempting to lay low so not to attract the attention of any Rusalka scouts, Opalia had come first to the northern swatches of the former Drageda claim just to check in on it for herself and soon went prowling deeper. After all, she had not visited in quite some time, and when the days were quiet and monotonous confined to the grotto, she believed that her and Dacio's doings could afford to part ways for a bit. She wanted to cover some ground, anyway, but first had to get this itch of homesickness dealt with.. so she had approached from the north to avoid Kiwi's mountain, and loitered quietly beneath the familiar redwoods when a voice rose up in such a proclamation that her hairs lifted with it.

The Drakru's nostalgic mood was turned on its head right then and there, leaving her feeling very rudely interrupted. Who was that? It wasn't Kiwi, or Dacio obviously.. but maybe it was the worst case scenario: Rusalka? Although alone like this, it was not her time or place to argue it outright, she was urged onward by this strange caller's voice; she slipped her way further into the territory, across the routes she had learned so young, and found herself gaining speed as this familiarity comforted the way. All she wanted was to see.. and maybe just a glimpse might do. She would regret not finding out more while she here, incredibly risky or not.

The roar of the ocean got louder, and she had been away from it for quite some time--her longest yet. Her ears folded back at first, but in coming here, she spotted the gray male. Presumably, the voice and not someone she ever remembered seeing when they had fought against the cove-dwelling pack. 

She watched him from a distance first, trying to place him and looking to be sure he was alone before she finally steeled her resolve enough to approach further. The voice that wanted to rise from her felt like trigedasleng, but she withheld that carefully. Until she knew more, it was best she be a nobody, old habits or not. Forgoing a greeting, she stopped with good space between them. Who are you? she asked as she tipped her muzzle towards him while the rest of her stayed carefully, keenly neutral there on her spot. Now was not the time for anything more, not when she suddenly had a slew of questions about him.. and what this was exactly here on the cliff's edge.

The young man expected nothing in return for his summons; but he hoped to be confronted by a rival force, at the very least a skirmish. Something to give him a glimpse of what was to come should Kiwi amass enough troops and have them trained. He had been promised a battle — yet here, standing and waiting for some kind of sign, Revui was met with silence. A distinct absence heralded by the booming of a distant sea against ancient cliffs. In that moment he made up his mind — but then, a voice. A presence.

He turned sharply, eager to brandish his teeth against an oncoming assault, but there were only words and the briefest of looks as their eyes met. Revui contained himself as best he could, but his spine bristled all the same - and he snorted, rounding upon her like a bull who had been prodded one too many times. He did not do much besides watch her, examine her for size and health and possibly signs of combat - perhaps she was a warrior seeking the cliffs for the other side? But she did not appear damaged. 

Revui, warrior of -- he wanted to say Moonspear, but knew he could not. —Nova Peak. The leviathan's voice rumbles from him with an edge he doesn't mean to employ, but he does not correct himself nor change his stiff posture. I serve the true master of these cliffs. Who are you?

She answered his scrutiny with one of her own, and the ridge to his hairs kept her sharp--on guard, but unafraid, for she didn't believe her boundaries overstepped, even if she felt her shoulders get prickly back at him thanks to it. She didn't have Dacio at her side for once, but with the Cliffs underfoot, her boldness got its lift that way with ease. So that's what she calls herself now? Kiwi, right? the gold-furred gona scoffed softly, but settled him with a long look that was well aware of his tension. Where was this guy when that bear had come for Kiwi's mountain, anyway? And, at least he didn't look like Rusalkan, so that was another fact in his favor.

Anyway, she had nothing to hide so tilted up her head a small fraction. I'm Opalia Drakru. I lived here, so was visiting. Kiwi abandoned Dragoncrest once already, I don't really see why that makes her the true master, she provided, whether he wanted it or not. Maybe he'd shed some light on it, since she obviously wasn't sold from what Dacio had carried back with him from meeting with Wildfire's daughter himself.

He hadn't been trying to make Kiwi sound intimidating in any way, and merely used the first words that came to mind. The commentary brought an odd look to the stranger, and the two wolves locked eyes for a minute or so. Neither the gargoyle nor the frosty woman wanted to budge. Then she spoke of Kiwi as if she knew her - segue that in to a prompt introduction, and Revui was left with more questions than answers. He did not know the name Drakru nor the name Dragoncrest, but he could at least make the connection to the cliffs. It was an evocative title for the edge of the world.

She means to take them back, he elucidated, although the tone of Revui's voice lacked much emotion. Stating a fact, except he wasn't sure if it would ever come to pass. I was... Impatient, drawled the beast. He had anticipated so much more than one lone wolf to be here upon the cliffs. If Kiwi wanted to take them back for herself then why hadn't she done it? Why move to the mountains in the north and hide out like a coward? Too many questions. Too much doubt, now, festering inside of him. 

He looks away from the tense woman. While he is still bristling and defensive in his posture, he does not feel threatened enough to keep his eyes upon her and begins to look around at the terrain again, listening to the dull boom of the distant sea. I expected more. Admits the boy with some finality; perhaps he has made up his mind.

Although she knew of Kiwi's intentions prior, she still didn't like hearing it all that well. She could do little more that hard-line her expression and withhold the knee-jerk remark she had on her tongue. Opalia could make no return claim of her own, after all. Maybe if pressed, Dacio may have similar ambitions she would much rather support. Kiwi's just didn't inspire great confidence in her yet, or ever before; she had her perceptions of the fellow born Dragedan colored by her abrupt and tasteless leave, and her mother's as well--so two heavy strikes against her that she intended to hold well before she would follow her as some true leader of anything, let alone the cliffs.

As for Opalia, all by herself right here and now, she just frowned at it first. I know.. she replied, though kept the sigh to go with it short. Is that all of why you're here, to help claim it for her? she asked, sniffing again his way with a hint of disdain on her tonuge. Was he really alone, then? If really was meant to do that so soon.. and if so, that kind of raised a lurking uneasiness in her. If he was, he had worse concerns than just her when the cove pack got wind. Since they had eventually whittled Drageda's patience down enough, some small, freshly-forming group hardly stood an earnest chance.

But his next words tilted her head. He was unimpressed, then? Although she disagreed, she was determined not to show it--knowing sentiment was half her motivation even now. Maybe this poorly opinion would bode well for keeping Kiwi's claim away, or as weak as it was bound to be without good supports. The Drakru glanced past this lone warrior, towards the waves, but quickly back again to be sure to keep eyes on him. What did you expect to find here then? she asked, wondering immediately what Kiwi had told him about it. It was everything she had remembered, just vacant, lonesome; it no longer emanated with the familiar strength it had when it had been a fortress all of their own. Now it was just cliffs, a forest.. and few even knew the worth to her--and she didn't want them to, not if they were going to be a threat to the proper order here like this.

Rankled, but delicately attempting to contain any and all expression of it, she wasn't about to paint him any favors. If Kiwi's supposed warrior wasn't committed to the place, then that was her loss, and if she could, she may as well.