Sleeping Dragon you look like the rest of my life

Thuringwethil knew changes would occur within Drageda as a new empire wher ethings were often the same day in and out with Seageda. Their foundation is not as strong nor deep as her former home but their roots are strong and continue to sink into the mountain they have claimed as their own. The changes are to be expected, no matter what kind of turns she faces, and she’s confident in her wolves that, one day, they will all serve Heda as much as the former generations had. Her old wolves may one day come to Drageda when Trigeda is stable enough but she does not require their presence, content their dedication to their brothers and sisters (and everyone outside the binary) is as strong as ever.

Her own wolves, as new to their ways as they are, have proven themselves just as much. Portia being the newest member of Drageda once her contribution had been proven and a ritual she is to perform in the coming days, she’s gathered the things necessary the skayona instructed. The herb she obtained from the woman, uncertain of the name—not that she needed to know what it is for the purpose—and wet ash collected in a lump on the cave floor next to a sharpened rock she’d ran over and over against stone to file the edge sharper.

With plenty of daylight still to spare, Thuringwethil then lifts her head to call for @Wildfire.

Wildfire had accidentally stepped in a pine cone the other day, hard enough that it left gashes in the soft leather on the underside of her paw. Due to her allergy, they swelled and wept pus for a good day or so, making it difficult for her to walk around. It was finally feeling better today, though, so the Bandrona took advantage of the fair weather and went for a leisurely stroll about the territory.

She wasn't far from the commander's den—she tended to gravitate toward it a lot of the time—when Thuringwethil called for her. Wildfire's heart immediately leaped. She hastened to the cave, smiling fondly at the Heda even as her amber eyes asked the unspoken question, What's up? Carefully glancing side to side, she closed the space between them and sneaked in a kiss to the corner of the Alpha's mouth.

It is not long before Wildfire shows up, sneaking a kiss in that puts a smile on her features. Thuringwethil leans into it and gently nibbles against the fur on Wildfire's cheek without looking around once. It will be soon, she's certain, and she knows the girl will be relieved. Thankful they will not have to hide, regardless of the backlash they may receive, she's still a little uneasy. It will take some time for all of them to adjust, certain only a few may have a negative reaction, they will know they've all experienced changes and her word is, as always, final.

"How is your foot?" she asks, pulling away from the greeting with one scan of the area that acts mostly as habit at this point. "Did you see Portia?" A request she likely asked for when it happened, if only to make sure everything is all right even if the swelling had obviously gone down.

After exchanging the brief romantic gesture, Wildfire stepped back. She absently glanced past Thuringwethil into the den, brow furrowing curiously when she saw the herbs, ash and rock in a small pile. She opened her mouth to ask about these strange objects when the commander asked a question of her own. The Bandrona smiled sheepishly and shook her head.

"No," she admitted, "but it'll be fine." She sat to make it easier to lift the injured forepaw up for inspection. "See?" The cuts were shallow and pink, the skin aggravated but no longer an ugly, weeping red. "What're those?" Wildfire asked without missing a beat, glancing at the items behind Thuringwethil and wondering if they were perhaps to help with her paw somehow.

A flash of a scowl crosses her features when Wildfire tells her she hadn't sought out their healer. While Portia didn't bare the title necessarily, she knew of herbs well enough and the use of their functions to act as one in the absence of others. Whether or not Gluskap will return to Drageda is left to be seen, they are able to hold their own while he's gone. Thuringwethil almost insists she goes to see her now, setting the ritual aside, but she's asked of what she has and she turns to look at the little gathering. She takes a quick inventory again, knowing nothing would be missing, but she refocuses on the purpose of calling the girl to her.

"Things will be changing soon and I need something from you," she says, swinging her head back around. "We carry the dead with us that we are responsible for," she explains. While the heda is responsible for ever death her wolves make, she cannot bear all their markings, and follows the tradition for those she is directly involved in. "The scars on my shoulder symbolize the ones I have taken. Typically, the ritual would be preformed in front of the clan and," she pauses, knowing they really hadn't talked much about what happened on the borders some time ago. "I will be marked of the loner's death in front of our wolves but there are some unaccounted for, when my former home disbanded. These wolves, except for Gavriel and Rebekka, are not apart of my former home and this is something I should do on my own."

While she can't exactly do it on her home, she takes a step closer to nudge Wildfire's nose, wondering if she'd be up for the task. She's take to their ways well enough but knows there is plenty she has to still learn.

"You are the closest one to me, the one I want to do the honors. It will finally put Seageda to rest and we can go forward." Thuringwethil takes a deep breath as she falls silent, looking upon her love with tenderness.

The random segue threw her for a loop, albeit only momentarily. Wildfire's heart skipped a beat at the mention of changes, though she remained mum, allowing the commander to elaborate. By the time Thuringwethil finished and the Bandrona understood what was being asked of her, she felt two very distinct and contradicting emotions. She was honored that the Heda would choose her to perform such a significant ritual. But the idea of engraving her lover's flesh was abhorrent to her. Her stomach literally squirmed at the thought.

"I'm—I'm not sure... am I even worthy?" the yearling blurted stupidly, feeling her cheeks flush. She didn't want to displease or disappoint Thuringwethil. She caught herself staring at her paws but dragged her gaze upward to meet the commander's. She saw love pouring out at her, which gave her the strength to confess, "The idea of hurting you—I'm not sure I can do it." Don't hate me, she added with a mental cringe. "I mean," she continued, aware that she was babbling, "I can, if you really want me to..."

She doesn’t expect the task to be easy for her to stomach but she knows she doesn’t have anyone else that she wants to do it. She nods, once, and wonders where they may go from here. She can add on the markings in the public ritual but their connection to the kill is limited, or seek out the former Seageda wolves to be apart of it, but she puts the thoughts to rest.

“You would not be where you are if you were not worthy,” she assures, bumping Wildfire’s chin once with a smile. “You won't hurt me. I'll guide you through it, but I will not make you do it if you cannot. I called for you because there isn’t another I want to do it.”

As the commander spoke, Wildfire mindlessly inched nearer, resting her head against the side of her neck, drawing solace from the contact. She took in a deep, steadying breath as she digested Thuringwethil's words. She felt her stomach pinch. How could she say no to that? "You won't hurt me," the Heda assured her. Although Wildfire found this doubtful, she decided to cling to these words.

"Okay," she breathed against the other woman's neck. "I'll do it, for you." She paused, lips quirking. "But only because," she added, pausing for effect, "I love you." There was still worry in her warm amber eyes but now they danced with good humor too.

Relief sinks in as Wildfire agrees, maybe reluctantly, but she leans into the embrace and rumbles a low, purring growl. It will be the first time she coaches someone through the process, always having someone else knowing what they were doing for their rituals. There is plenty she has to teach her followers, with the help of the few from her home, but she gives her a reassuring smile as Heda pulls back.

“This is sharp enough to pierce the skin,” she says, stepping back to show what she has brought together. “They should be about the same length as the others and then covered with the ash,” she explains, ears swiveling once upon her head. “Take as much time as you need,” Thuringwethil adds, dipping her head once with an encouraging bump to her shoulder. "Just one at a time, okay?"

The words "pierce the skin" made Wildfire's stomach flip uncomfortably. She swallowed and did her best to listen to the commander's instructions even as she drank in more deep breaths. She really didn't want to do this but she kept further protests to herself. She had already agreed and she could see how much it meant to the Alpha. It wasn't unlike the day when the yearling had (unwittingly) accepted a leadership position. She had done well with that, so perhaps the same thing would happen here.

"Um, okay," Wildfire said weakly, heart squeezing in her chest as she prepared herself for the task. She squinted at the existing marks on the commander's shoulder, then looked dubiously at the sharpened stone. She bit her lip, then dipped her head to take it into her mouth. It rattled noisily against her teeth as she pushed her tongue against it until it was positioned properly.

Wildfire paused, looking to Thuringwethil and waiting for her to get into position. Her eyes squeezed shut a moment, then popped open again. You can do this, she told herself, swallowing as drool naturally began to pool around the object in her mouth. Just get it over with quickly, she added, slowly moving in until the sharp edge of the stone pressed into the Heda's flesh.

Here she paused, awaiting permission or guidance or reassurance; she wasn't entirely sure.

She can see the reservation behind Wildfire but she watches her closely, silently guiding her through the motions. Thuringwethil steels herself in position, waiting with a patience she’s had since she can remember, and lets the girl move at her own pace. From scooping up the long, jagged rock and positioning herself nearby. She turns and locks eyes for a brief moment, nodding her head to give her the go-ahead to proceed.

“You’ll be fine. I’ve endured far worse,” she says with a brief smile flashing across her features.

I know, Wildfire wanted to say. But I can't bear the thought of hurting you, ever. Of course, there was a rock in her mouth so she couldn't speak. She hoped the long gaze she gave Thuringwethil said it for her.

Pressing her lips firmly around the jagged stone, she pushed its sharpened edge against the commander's skin until it broke. It was not unlike sinking her teeth into a kill, although it felt a lot wronger. Ignoring her instincts, Wildfire pressed even harder. She felt slightly shaky but managed to etch a solid, bloodied line in the Heda's yielding flesh.

The subsequent etches were a little easier than the first. She simultaneously rushed through them and tried to take her time. The instant she was done cutting into Thuringwethil, Wildfire unceremoniously dropped the gored rock. "Can I clean them? What do I do now?" she asked, eyeing her handiwork for a moment before her worried eyes flicked to the Heda's face.

Thuringwethil remains patient through whatever reluctance she may still feel and keeps her body steadfast in place. When she feels the stone against her skin, her expression is stoic and it isn't until it gives way that she refocuses on something else. In the heat of battle, she doesn't flinch when it comes to wounds, but there is adrenaline pumping through her system. Anxiety has settled in her, amplifying the response so that she offers only a hint of a grimace. Trying to keep most of it out of sight so Wildfire doesn't see, she grits her teeth through each mark that she doesn't notice the blood streaming down her front leg.

Slowly, she unclenches his jaws so she can turn her head and inspect them but she doesn't move to care for what has been created. Instead, Wildfire asks to do that for her.

"Yes, and then you'll cover the stone in ash and apply it," she explains, shifting her position only a fraction to ease the tension in her shoulder. "And then the herbs are used as a salve over it," she adds with a flick of her tail. Her head nods once, giving the fiery woman all the time she needs to finish he task.

Wildfire immediately set about cleansing the wounds, then followed the next few steps, looking to Thuringwethil for guidance as she set the marks. When it was all said and done, she let out a shaky breath and planted her hindquarters on the floor. She was glad it was over and done with. It was hard to look at the livid tears in the commander's flesh without feeling a twist of guilt, even though it's what the Heda had wanted her to do. Despite her hunter trade, Wildfire didn't enjoy inflicting pain and suffering.

"Never," she joked weakly, "ask me to do that again." She forced a quivering smile onto her lips, then bent over to nip fondly at Thuringwethil's ear. Truthfully, she would do anything the dark she-wolf asked of her, if it was within her abilities. But even though she was honored to have been chosen for this small, significant ritual, Wildfire was not keen to ever repeat it.

As Wildfire finishes up cleaning the wounds left, her skin jagged and stinging with the foreign material within them. The salve offers a little numbing to the area but it isn't enough to make her forget what happened. Wildfire gives her a resolute and then nips at her ear, in which Thuringwethil eagerly leans forward to close the distance. Her dark eyes close and she slowly lowers her rump to the ground. Each of the prior marks had been one at a time, months apart, that four of them left her mind a little dizzy.

"Mochof," she murmurs. "When they have healed, a meeting will be called. The final mark will be made, by someone else." Perhaps Wildfire wouldn't like it happening again, but she won't force her to do it again when she struggled with this. Someone that knows the herbs and Drageda well enough is required and she's certain Portia can easily live up to the task.

Post #1800 for commander!wife. :)

Final mark? Wildfire thought, though she didn't ask it aloud. She did say, "Who?" And then she thought back on what Thuringwethil had said earlier, prior to asking Wildfire to make the etchings. "Things will be changing soon..." Her curiosity flickered and grew, like a flame. "What will the meeting cover?" she queried, feeling it was her place to ask, especially as one of the Hedonakru.

"Portia," she answers quickly. It does not surprise her that she may want to know but the woman has made her mark in Drageda, just as they all had, and Thuringwethil has enough trust in her. "She has become one with Drageda now," she explains further, though she can't help but wonder what her other might think of it. 

Thuringwethil twists herself to move away from the mess of ash and herb on the cave floor to somewhere a little more comfortable, a little closer to Wildfire. 

"It will cover the new wolves, and Dio being announced to Wocha. Freyja's apprenticeship. Portia will perform the ritual, and then... I will tell them about us," she says, though finds herself with the words catching in her throat as her own unease resettles.

Irrationally (especially considering her own reluctance), Wildfire felt the briefest pinprick of jealousy that Portia would get to make the final mark on her Thuringwethil. It quickly ebbed away, however, and the Bandrona smiled. She was happy for Portia. She didn't know the other she-wolf that well, yet what she did know, she liked.

When the commander moved, Wildfire adjusted too, wrapping against her a bit like a fox fur scarf, careful to mind her wounds even as she provided her warmth and comfort. She found herself nodding when the Heda talked about Dio, Portia and especially Freyja. The Bandrona felt so incredibly proud of the girl that had become her pupil.

But she forgot all about Freyja and anyone else besides Thuringwethil at her final and somewhat choked-up declaration. Wildfire's lips fell open and she stared at the side of the commander's face. Her heart squeezed in her chest. She'd like that, very much. She wanted to build a proper life and future with the Alpha female, as part of their community.

"Are you sure?" she had to ask, trying to quell the hopeful feeling blooming in her chest. Wildfire needed to know if Thuringwethil wanted to do this, for herself, and not just for the sake of her young lover.

As much as she wants to keep their lives separated from leadership, from her wolves, she knows she can't keep it a secret. Letting it out, one by one, leads to far too much trouble than she'd rather put up with. Pulling it off like a bandaid, all at once, would bring the... hopefully the best way. What should be as insignificant as the other wolves lives may be received as negatively as Thuringwethil expects.

"I think so," she says, though the hesitancy calls for a need to explain. "It is not customary for Heda to have these things." Words she'd said before but she doesn't know if Wildfire understands the weight of it all. While things may go over without much backlash, she knows it wouldn't be received well if they were farther north on the coast. "Most of us are not from my home and that gives us the advantage, but I cannot promise you peace once it is out."

The commander's reply, though honest, made a strange feeling curdle in Wildfire's chest. She took a breath. Her lips parted to say something but Thuringwethil wasn't finished yet. She warned the Bandrona that some might not take the news well. She nodded perfunctorily, her mouth pressing into a thin, pensive line. She remained mum for several beats.

"I get it. It's not exactly orthodox, regardless of the pack's culture," Wildfire pointed out quietly. She paused. "But I'm not scared or ashamed. I want to be with you." Her voice shook a little, so she paused again, then continued more steadily. "And they should know, whether or not they agree with it. They deserve—um—honesty." She faltered. "The truth. And the truth is that we're in love. Right?" She hated how insecure she sounded there at the end, after speaking so candidly from the heart for a few minutes there, but Wildfire couldn't help it. Her amber eyes bored imploringly into the commander's blackened features as her teeth dug into her lip.

Thuringwethil knows Wildfire understands as much as she's able to. The reaction their current wolves will give them will be far less drastic than if they were in Seageda, with everything remaining the same. If Wildfire had been a little further north, she wonders where they'd be and if they would be just as close, but the uncertainty causes a little wavering. She turns her gaze away for a moment as Wildfire continues but she still nods her head all the same.

"I agree that they should not be kept in the dark," she says, which is only followed by having the meeting and letting them know. Should they bare pitchforks, she will take it, and hope they know her intentions are still strong with their growth. "Right," she adds on and a smile returns briefly to her features as she leans in to bump her nose against her cheek once more. "I just don't want it to catch you off guard."

Her insides literally tingled with relief when Thuringwethil agreed with her on all counts. She leaned into the bump to her cheek, chasing the commander's warmth. "I won't," she replied quietly, angling to nip ever so airily at the Heda's chin. "You're worth it," she added in an even lower voice. The Alpha's love was worth any obstacle the two of them would face for that very sentiment. Wildfire closed her eyes for a beat, steadying herself with a deep breath.

She then leaned backward slightly, drawing far enough away to look Thuringwethil in the face. A smile crooked up the corners of her mouth. "We're going to be official," she stated, the tiniest amount of inflection turning it into a question. They were going public, certainly, and the Bandrona was pretty sure what that meant... but it couldn't hurt to clarify it or hear the Heda say the words. "We'll be mates?"

wanna wrap it up?

Thuringwethil wants to say it all has happened so fast but what does she have to compare it to? The chances she’d been given were far different than if she hadn’t been chosen for this path. Wildfire hasn’t mentioned any thing and her excitement continues to lead her to believe everything is fine. Everything will be fine. There has never been a rule, or law, that forbade her from such, but the implications and complications it will likely bring has always been forewarned.

Shaking it off, she smiles and nods her head. “We’ll be mates.”

The woman then leans hard, despite the pain arising in her shoulder, and puts most of her weight on the fiery girl in an overdramatic fashion. One paw lifts to swat at Wildfire’s nose before she preens the fur along the base of her neck. “Now what’s for dinner?”

She felt her stomach flipflop joyfully at the verbal confirmation. We'll be mates, Wildfire repeated in her mind. She was still a little apprehensive about how the pack would react, yet mostly she was just happy. And when Thuringwethil more or less draped herself across the Bandrona, an airy laugh burst from her smudged muzzle. She pressed back against the commander, leaning slightly forward to peer at the weeping wounds but then sort of losing track of everything when she felt her lover's teeth at her neck.

"Whatever you like, I'll hunt for you," the yearling murmured, eyes fluttering closed as she let herself enjoy the sensation for a few beats. But then Wildfire reopened them and growled playfully, "But first..." She began to leave a trail of nips and kisses down the column of the Heda's throat, laughing quietly, until she finally drew away to go scrounge up some supper.