Dragoncrest Cliffs Isaiah 43:18

Looking to meet some packmembers!

It was close to two weeks since she had joined Drageda, and she could feel the changes in her body. She could see the changes on her children as their bones disappeared and their coats began to glow again. She too was recovering. She no longer felt tired all the time, nor as if she could never find enough to eat. She gave thanks every morning and night to Molech, as well as Thuringwethil for her new home.

She had just placed a freshly caught hare into the cache, wanting to replace some of what they had eaten. She and the children at first had eaten like they were starved, constantly gorging. She did not want to see ungrateful, though she was sure Thuringwethil had expected the newest members to feast for a while considering their condition. Still, she did not want to give any wrong impressions, and she was steadily working to fill what she had taken. A hare here and there, or simply eating what she had caught herself. So far she hadn't managed anything large, but eventually she knew the pack would hunt together and she would offer her services.

She paused to gaze at the cache, taking stock of what was there. It was still well stocked, it appeared the wolves of Drageda had a profitable winter, despite the conditions. She was happy that her own hardships were, hopefully, behind her.

Often, his attention was on his mate, the pups, or their immediate vicinity, so when he did delve past their small world this afternoon, he had not necessarily prepared to casually track after the new female. It was just a subtle scent of her on the breeze that lured him forward at first, urged by the unfamiliarity of it and the need to investigate (to perhaps remedy this) most of all. The wocha only knew a little about her and her two pups.. considering the timing of her arrival here and his investments being presently elsewhere—if not with the family, on the borderlands, or on the hunt to feed said family. He was busy these days, maybe a little short on sleep, but very content to curl warmly around the two little fuzzy babes and his mate at the end of his day and feel the rest of it all just melt away.

Beneath his long strides, the trail warmed enough to catch sight. Her coat was brighter than he had anticipated, and he honed in on the beacon she provided quite readily. His ears were pulled towards her and eyes on her keenly, observing and looking to gauge her reception of him. After several more strides closer, his lifted tail gave a small wave, and a greeting of a low whuff extended his interest her way. He slowed his pace, closing in on her and the cache she investigated at once.

She was so deeply involved in her observation of the supplies, and the thoughts of what to try to replace, she did not hear the male approach. At the sound of greeting however, she jumped slightly, still unused to being around others. She turned, perhaps a little more quickly than she meant to, but already a smile covered her muzzle. She chuckled a little, embarrassed. "You startled me. I'm still...not adjusted to having others so near." Her own tail returned the wave, but she glanced away from him as she spoke, suddenly nervous.

"My name is Asherah, Thuringwethil just accepted my children and I. Startling or not, it's nice to meet another member of Drageda, to start returning to normal again." She looked back to him now, and smiled again though her nerves still showed. This man was clearly one of the pack wolves, he was covered in the scent of these lands. She was not fearful of him, nor nervous directly because anything he had done. It had just been so long since she had spoken to another, and she wanted to make a good impression. Asherah's nose twitched at the scent of milk on the male, perhaps a new father? Could he be Thuringwethil mate? He wasn't presenting himself dominantly though, and the woman hadn't seemed to be lactating when she'd accepted them, perhaps an unrelated litter.

The image of Ar-Khalba came unbidden to her mind suddenly, and she shoved the thought away with brutal force. This man's children were lucky to have someone who cared and loved them, but her children had not needed the selfish man who had helped to impregnate her. Her children had missed so much because of him, he and Eshamun. Though many emotions swirled within her, she did not allow it to show. She was not going to allow poison from the past to ruin her future.

In eyeing her carefully, he saw her give a start and his ears swung forward to attention for he did not know what would follow such a spook. But, her expression didn't speak of negativity, so Dio's tail swayed a few more times, swung heavy with the closest thing to apologetic he could find in him. Sneaking on her had not his intent—and neither had he stopped to consider her possibly being startled by a strange male striding up on her like this, truthfully, especially since she was so freshly anointed into the commander's rankings.

Still, her introduction came and her words so far seemed to swing for the better. "That's good," he chuffed, referencing to her was finding normalcy again. She would soon learn what normal would be like around here, he believed, and he hoped she was promising enough to continue to thrive among their mettle. "I'm Dio, Wocha of Drageda," he provided, which could warrant explanation of its own, but his stance was appropriately prideful, yet relaxed for now. Having her mention her pups, and knowing how new she had to be to everything Drageda, the guardian knew there were many ways this could go. "Were you own your own for long?" Asherah's actions and words alike seemed to imply it. She was lucky to have found Heda's good graces, he thought, and would find out why that was soon enough if he was attentive. "And alone with young ones could not have been easy. How old are they?" he asked, edging towards a conversational tone, despite the info-seeking nature of the questions.

It was strange to stand before this male now and attempt to make the anxiety within her vanish. She was safe here, he was a member of Thuringwethil's pack, and yet still the avoidance of others stuck with her. She was nervous to speak with him and also excited. She wanted to meet the members, wanted to prove that they had been worth the alpha's time. She wanted, partially, to matter again to a pack. She had craved companionship, and now presented with it, she was fearful.

His name was short, but his title was from an unfamiliar tongue. She thought, slightly sadly, of the language of the Malkaria, of the little of the tongue that she had been learning. She had enjoyed the way it had turned on her lips, the way it seemed so more elegant from normal words. This language was different, not displeasing, but gruffer somehow. More rugged. "Wocha," She repeated, a smile of self consciousness covering her face at the new language and her attempt. "What is that? Does Drageda have it's own language?"

He asked of her time alone and she nodded and shrugged. "Longer than I would have liked to be, considering my children." At the mention of the children, however, she straightened further and her smile grew. "They were born before the big snow came. They're nearly five months old now, my sweet fighters. It wasn't long after their birth that my old pack splintered, they've spent nearly all of their life outside the den without a pack." The glimmer dulled a little as she thought of it, she only hoped what had happened hadn't harmed them. She hadn't kept them alone on purpose, but she'd had to make sure they were strong enough to travel. And then she had to make sure they found a good home. 

At one time she would have recognized how much she babbled, but with her lack of interaction it all seemed to tumble out. Politely, she tried to ask something of him. Perhaps he too had children they could play with? "Do you have any children, Dio?"

She made him curious, but otherwise inspired an easy enough amicability in him. If Heda had seen fit to welcome her into their ranks with her younglings in tow, Dio hoped to see them all be able to immerse in what Drageda had become. He'd been among them long enough to know, and he felt, as a relative 'outsider' to the culture it had come from, he could help her ease into it as needed--so her questions were welcome. "Watcher.. roughly," or so he understood it, and it made sense, considering his basal understanding of the linguistics about it. "The head of warriors and guardians here, essentially. But yes, titles here are in a different language. It comes from the Heda's homeland," and as he sensed, had evolved over time to suit the needs of the residents. If she was keen enough to hear more, he'd have it for her, but his brow scrunched at her answer of a long, arduous road for her puppies.

"They, and you, are tough, then. Hopefully they can settle in well here," his more-relaxed tail switched softly, finding it commendable of her to have kept them alive through it all. He hoped his pair of delicate little lives would never need to see such struggle at a young age, and again, that hers would come to flourish here on the coast. And, speaking of his, answering her question was of high current relevance to him.  "I do, they're tiny newborns still," he supplied. Hers were much older, which was good--soon they could train in earnest for their roles here, while his hadn't even left the den yet. He tried not to get too impatient about them getting bigger and blooming, too. "Sirio and Dalia," came with more tail waves.

Understanding crossed her face and she laughed a little, nodding. "I can see that now, you can hear it, actually, in the word." His role sounded an important one, and she was humbled to have his presence. "How interesting." She thought that Heda must be what Thuringwethil was. "I'll be eager to learn more of it, then. Does Thuringwethil ever speak in the language itself? Or anyone at all? Or is it simply titles?" Would she need to know this tongue to live here? It had certainly played a role in the Malkaria, though one could survive with the basics.

His words of praise made her head dip, but she nodded. "I hope so. They need no more upheaval in their life. I tried hard to keep them from knowing the truth of it all. They're children, they don't need worry so young. I'm not sure how well I succeeded, and I'm a bit fearful to ask, honestly. Perhaps when they're older." Her voice was troubled, her face pained. She hoped her children were no worse for the wear, but only time would tell. She wanted to tell them one day how hard she had tried, but still felt they were too young for anything like that now.

Her tail waved happily as he spoke of his own children, newborns at that. "How wonderful, congratulations. Those are beautiful names, as well. A boy and a girl for you too? A perfectly balanced pair." She smiled warmly. "Of all things that happened to me, of all the struggles, I would do it all again to have my children. How do you find parenthood suits you?"

She understood, which was good, so he nodded. "A lot of the language is like that--sounding similar. Even if you don't speak it fully, you can still pick out a general meaning pretty easily. I came here not knowing any of it, and although I don't often speak it, conversationally, I've caught on," he detailed, as having once been a complete outsider to the language's structure. Exposure, and time, made him much more now; he only spoke it in small pieces, and when absolutely necessary, but understood it very well. "At times, yes, but mostly titles. Several here do speak it, but not all. I wouldn't call it overly frequent, more here and there." Which varied with the structure of the pack and times, with what the bulk of their ranks were made of. Heda, Tirgatao, and Eske were probably her best bets to learn from, if he were to guess. He and Portia knew enough, but he wasn't near the level of volunteering to help teach.

His ears shifted outward and her ache was very evident, even still. At least, he hoped she took solace from knowing it could be on the upswing here where the pups could grow comfortably, safe. "Hopefully the worst is behind you all, too.. worries and all," he mentioned with a slow nod. It wasn't going to be picturesque as could be always here, yet it had to be worlds better than struggling in the wilds with two young ones; he didn't want to think of it ever being like that, or worse, of Portia left to roam with their two, her their only support and safety..

"Ah, thanks, and yeah, one of both," his tail waved gently, proud, while shelving the somber undertone of her past strife. "I do think so.. It's a lot.. sometimes, but even still with them so young and it all so new still, there is only so much I can do and at the very same time, I only want to do everything I can for them and their mother," he spoke honestly, almost convoluted but true--she'd asked. So yeah, he could say parenthood suited him well enough so far. It was difficult feeling so attached to something so.. tiny, helpless, new, and yet..

She nodded in agreement with his statement, though the language of the Malkaria had been more cryptic. Certain words one could perhaps see the connection, but not without hearing it for a time. She smiled at his words, encouragement for her own learning. It was reassuring too to know that she wouldn't need to rush to learn it either. It wasn't something that would leave her alienated. "Noted." She said warmly, grinning still. "I'll have to pay attention so I can adjust to the sound of it as well."

She wished to push the darkness of their time alone behind them, and at his words she nodded, but did not speak further. She would much rather turn her mind to things of a happy nature, especially those concerning children. The pride on Dio made her heart happy and warm, she knew exactly how he felt. There was a small darkness in the back of her mind, a tiny reminder that what she saw in Dio her children would never have. Their father had abandoned them, however proud and awed her had seemed to be at their birth and the news of their conception.

This too she pushed aside. Her children had Molech, and they had her. They didn't need Ar-Khalba, though she'd be lying if she said they couldn't have used a wolf like Dio. She found that she liked the male, and she hoped perhaps, Elohim might grow to know him better. There were many positive male figures in this land, and perhaps Dio could be one of them. "I know that feeling too." She smiled and shook her head. "You do not realize the things you are capable of until someone you love with everything you have depends on it. It's strange, isn't it, to look on something and instantly love it more than you ever knew you could love?" She had never had the chance to discuss the positive parts of having children, not really. That too had been stolen from her. Now it rushed from her, excited and almost reverently.

"Your mate and your children are lucky to have you, Dio. I'm sure you will make a fine father. If you should ever have any questions, or need any help...there are probably others in the pack who are knowledgeable too, but I am here and willing. I learned much about childbearing and the following days before we were alone." She wanted to be helpful, but was worried she would overstep herself.

since my absence made this really pretty crusty, i'm going to wrap up but am def game for a fresh one whenever you are! c:

Based on this, he had pretty good faith in her. She seemed level-headed and eager enough to want to fit into her own niche in Drageda. This came as a relief to see, and at a time when his young were growing up here and the defense of their homeland was paramount along with keeping them all happily fed, meanwhile knowing that they had intelligent sorts among their ranks was all in their inevitable favor.

He did agree, though. This trip into parenthood was being viewed in a much different light than any of his others. He did like to thank Portia for that, and the rest of the pack too. It wasn't like before in the Rise. It was something all its own and he fully intended to enjoy it for all it was worth--and knowing she had the experience behind her did count, as well. "Of course. I'm lucky to have them, too." he mentioned with a small tail wiggle. A younger Dio would not have known to appreciate it as he did now; he had been flippant, and greedy, and once it had cost him. But from those ends had come the beginnings that brought him here, to this, with a position and family to be proud of, well-supported and strong.

With them in mind, he eventually would begin to tidy up this conversation so he could return to his family and check in. Asherah would be free to do the same, for surely her young ones would be looking for her too. Overall, he was glad to know her better, and hoped that his words had given her more foundation for her place here on Drageda's cliffs.