Neverwinter Forest tonight, i am tristessa

Tags are for visibility but you’re welcome to offer a cameo for timeline purposes. Note: Editing Ette out of the thread.

Through the short life of Drageda, it has seen it’s share of troubles but they have been lucky not to have gone to war. Not really, anyway. They’ve threatened their neighbors—the Seadogs that proved annoying—and the Phoenix wolves that gave them more strife than anticipated. Reek had been a parasite lingering too long nearby and it’s been a long time since she’s seen any of his wolves, she wondered if he’d been there at all. The two messengers she’s sent to investigate never returned and without those answers, she doesn’t know what to make of it. Her enemies of days past are long gone but Blackfeather Woods—and more specifically Cicero—have easily filled that spot.

While they are not going to war right away, as much as she wants to, they need to prepare. Redhawk Caldera does not have the warriors they need but she knows she does and she can offer them, even send them down before the worst of winter to help them train. There is nothing pretty about war and the only part that is considered is the initial attack to determine whether or not they have the upper hand. All of it now, before they step to their borders, are speculation and planning. It will be good to get home and rest and prepare and train, keeping them on their toes until they make their move.

They spend the night in a forest of pines. They could probably keep going through the night but she already feels the exhaustion settling in. She’s only had a few hours of fitful sleep but her legs are restless. She briefly disturbs @Eljay to let them know she’ll be back and she moves, stretching out her legs. Occasionally, her nose drops to the ground for any trail of prey she can take back to the three of them, but she doesn’t make a pointed effort to find anything in particular.

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An afternoon hunting and lurking the edges of glen turned quick to night, and while the stately pines of Neverwinter loomed overhead, she didn't feel obligated to turn back to the peaks just yet. It was mild enough for this late in autumn, she had the energy to burn, and for once, it seemed she traveled alone.

In veering her route up this way, she had done well to resist that urge to creep closer to Blackfeather to get her nose on the situation herself. It was painfully tempting, especially after Charon's continued need to protect their Potema, and now knowing that Redhawk intended to do something--as to what, exactly, she didn't know, but she trusted she would find out in due time. But time and time again, and considering the nature of what they did know and where the most effective opportunities were, she had come to understand that patience was key. She didn't need to potentially reveal herself unnecessarily to the wolves of the dark woods yet. They knew her cerberus through the scar they had left them, they knew Charon from him coming knocking to voice his opinion.. and while this was a statement all of its own, they didn't know her. Maybe of her, true, she had almost always been here in some way, watching, but she intended to withhold until it was just right.

She was thankful for the distraction the forest could provide as she perused after vague scent trails, none actively, but taking note with each step deeper in. If snows did get heavy this year and hunting ever went slim on the mountain, she knew where they could look, especially since no others claimed it this year and she could travel freely here. If all stayed well, none others would notice the worth and try to encroach seriously on here either. She found she was less in the mood for neighbors these days with her ranks full and their need for resources at new heights.

But here at her disposal, nothing really caught her interests for a time. Not firmly enough to slow her up any, and because of  this perpetual motion, she eventually came  into the slightest of hints on the breeze that did interest her plenty, one just barely eking over the strong pine scents. At first, she guessed she'd been wrong, and maybe half-spurred by a measure of wishful thinking (how convenient, after all).. there was the tiniest touch of familiarity lingering too that kept her moving deeper still into the night, urged along by a confident curiosity. Ahead, she thought she could hear something breaking the silence, and finally this gave her a point to zero in on. Moving quickly, quietly, she did exactly this until she had closed in enough to run upon a parallel path. It was the coast wolf she had realized with a subtle rush, and unprepared for her wanderings to grant her this much worth, she would go with the flow.

When she was close, she lowed up and growl-chuffed a greeting, but didn't stop her paws, nor an arcing wave of her tail. On her coat, Ame smelled the fresh Redhawks. "You are pretty far from home again..?" she asked easily enough as she quirked a brow over her shoulder, keen to hear all she might share.

The redwoods in Drageda are tall and drape the sky but they are far enough apart to let the sun or moonlight through. On most days, she misses it. On this night, the way the pine forest offers little light, is mesmerizing in a way that offers a close comfort, as if embrace by the closeness of trees. While she hopes she never has to leave the cliffside Drageda now claims, she feels she could easily get used to something like this. Her head angles up at a particularly open spot, offering a beam wider than the others. When she looks to the ground floor, she sees things better in the bright light. It looks worlds different with a new glow and she suspects the morning will offer a gentler light than anywhere else.

Thuringwethil’s nose twitches and she turns her head when she hears the sound of the frozen ground being walked on. It is not long that she hears the chuff, low and rumbly, and easily pin points the direction. She’d been closer than she preferred before she noticed her in the background but she does not shift or flinch away.

“I am,” she says lowly, watching as the woman keeps going and Thuringwethil takes a step after the woman, but hesitates any further. Slate eyes narrow as she gleams in the moonlight before her. “I am returning home. We stopped to camp here, but I did not think we were close enough to you,” she says. She’d taken no notes of pack life within miles of here, but perhaps she’d not gone far enough. “We will move along if we need to.” She is only one wolf (does Eljay really count for much?) against the possibility of another pack. While Thuringwethil is prideful in the wrong places sometimes, she knows better than to put herself in danger unnecessarily

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She kept a watchful eye, and all senses keened to these unknowns as each second only seemed to urge more questions. She could smell another wolf more freshly mingled on her coat now that she was in closer, although she couldn't pinpoint exactly how near they were to the here and now. Amekaze still didn't find any worry, however, and shook her head softly. It wasn't exactly commonplace for her to come out this way anyway. "You are not that close," she assured her. Nothing of that nature had lured her out this far, and alone, to a wolf of her neutral allegiance (that was too far away to contend), she had no inkling for violence or even pressuring her out. A stone's throw closer to the mountain and should she be looking to set up something more permanent here, then yes, far more likely. 

In the past, this had been claimed to no real consequence of her.. but she would admit that she preferred it open for now, and free to rove on--not just because winter was close. These days, the fewer the neighbors, the better.

But these were not the current concerns. "Did you come up from Redhawk?" she asked, since a thought on neighbors inevitably brought that back to mind. Then, to allude to what she knew, and potentially worth more than just a mention: "Little more than a moon after we had seen you last, Hydra found out about Wildfire.." Thanks to her ties with a young Redhawk.. which was proving to be a useful enough thing, as what Hydra found out inevitably made its way back to her without any direct dealings with the Caldera wolves herself--just as she preferred.

She’s able to relax a little when Amekaze tells her they aren’t two close. It’s just two of them. They are hardly a threat, but she does worry when she returns with those in Drageda in tow again. They’d pass by once with a significant number of wolves and ran into them once but she’d gotten too close then. Their direction will remain the same, however, and they plan to return as easily and quickly as possible when they are both ready. She’s made foolish mistakes in the past, attacking too soon and getting many killed. It won’t happen again this time. It will only be the enemy that falls.

“I did,” she says, but her attention is more focused on what Hydra has learned of her mate. “Has she,” she says more than asks, taking a long moment to consider what to do with this information. Moonspear has problems with the wolves—or one wolf, she remembers—and she is curious. “Drageda and Redhawk share an interest in getting rid of them,” she states with an irritated flick of her tail. “Does Moonspear?”

"Only roughly," she added about Wildfire and slanted her ears back when she said so. Ame had never needed the details of what had been done. She knew it was Blackfeather that had been responsible for making it happen. The finer points of the torture, or how it came about, didn't exactly pertain to her, necessarily. She just knew the move made for some enemies, and pure proof of that came in what she said next.

She didn't bat an eye and thought of what Charon had expressed over his friend's safety. It wasn't just going to be up to her and her warriors if she stayed safe, as suspected. But Thuringwethil had solidified a stance with the Moonspear alpha in saying so. "We definitely want the scarred pale male." Plans had started to shape to make it happen, she wouldn't lie. Now that she knew he was Tevinter/Jorunn's blood too, a defector of Moonspear once, he'd be a satisfying trophy of a skin. She knew that Hydra was going to go after him sooner or later--she was going to find a way to make it happen. Ame knew she was looking, and thanks to that, she knew all of what she did about them as well.. so she was keen to see her succeed in this since they'd all benefit if they made it happen here.

It took her a second to find just the right way to finish her answer. She knew Charon wanted Potema safe, but he had told her she was the mother to the bastard.. and that was doing little to convince or temper her. Amekaze wasn't sympathetic, a longtime friendship or not. If she was wise, she'd already see it coming thanks to Charon. That was going to be the extent of the saving grace she would get. "The rest are inconsequential to me." she decided. While they had never bothered her before now, she had no investment in their future and maybe something to gain by their absence. Fewer neighbors, less concerns. The involvement of Redhawk still had her wary based on past experience. "How so?" she asked. "Or is it that clear yet?" Hydra's reports only mentioned the Caldera wanted to do something. Ame had recently begun to plot on her own course, but for best effect, knowing what they were up to would only help her now that her interests were out there.

She is curious to know what all she’s learned, as well as how. The caldera and Moonspear are close enough together they should warrant a steady relationship, and if they share the same interest in removing the other pack, then perhaps they’ll be part of it too. Two against one offers a good chance in their favor, but an added bonus of another gives them a superior advantage they didn’t have before. Calling on the rest of Drageda that resides with Gabriel and Gyda hasn’t been an option yet when they can handle it. Plus, in the name of her mate, she doubts she’ll be able to properly rally those she would need. Drageda is not in danger but the taste of vengeance is fleeting and she wishes to cling to it for now.

When her companion admit their interest is only in one male, Thuringwethil’s expression remains stoic. Her attention is on one male, but there are others that had a part too, including the one Moonspear wants. After a few seconds, her mouth opens and she half licks, half yawns, and glances away in thought.

”He had a hand in what happened to Wildfire and will not survive if I get to him,” she states, though nothing else on the matter. He deserves to die, too. Her ire is still with Cicero and part of her wants to revel in his capture and torture rather than the easiest way out through death. But whoever gets in her way to any of them will be mowed down, too. ”Our plan is only shared with those involved and our return will be soon.” Thuringwethil falls silent then, slate eyes returning to Amekaze curiously.

In the beginning, and before the whole scope of it, theirs had been content with just the failed assailant, carefully counterbalanced by Charon's want for Potema's safety. Ame felt that hardly restrain her, especially now with the potential for so much--something so effective as to wipe their presence completely, seemingly without large risk to her family alongside so many others. She wouldn't outrun the selfish appeal of it. Blackfeather were not of her ilk, nor even an ally in these times. Instead, they had warped and twisted into a pesky hindrance she could delight to see snuffed out before it just got more out of hand to bother her more immediately.

In every word she hear, Ame sensed the conviction, and that this was not an empty threat by any means. They would not be surviving Drageda's onslaught unharmed if they wielded the power to back that. "While I prefer to keep clear of anything involving too much Redhawk," she knew how questionable this sounded, but when Redhawk became synonymous with chaos, she steered towards less of it. "Our interests align too well," and magnified her own, it seemed, to the point that with the added potential element of this dark warrior's wolves made her want to overlook her disdain towards the Caldera's lot if only for a second. Not that she expected very much of anything organized from them when it came to offense, anyway, and that was what she was most keen to hearing about. 

"I have nothing to lose from fewer neighbors. Hydra does have her contact with a Redhawk guardian, at least, so that is how we knew they would do something," she said, sourcing where she'd come to learn what she had, although it was a longtime, ongoing compilation. Redhawk seemed to keep to their own defenses these days and now with Drageda also on the cause, that was all help in their favor. "Us, we are warriors. A select few I already planned to have go there to pursue--one of which who has been inside their territory before. The when, exactly, is all we do not have." She stood poised with a quirk to her lip, and  had let it be known where they stood, and what they would do--and she was willing enough to coordinate a bit. Right now, she had little weighing her down. The pups well-weaned and grown, warriors healed and rested, and pack full enough of guardians so that a few gone would come to no consequence to the home's safety. Now, she still had to make sure to keep Charon's resistance at minimum.

It is a curious thing to see the older wolf realign her words to suit what she wants and her own lips twitch, wondering how far the other will go. She’s said nothing she hasn’t spoken already between either of their meetings but perhaps she can be pulled into war. The more they have on their side, no matter how much they know of the Blackfeather wolves, will benefit them. From all the information she has been given, they’ll need more than brute force, but Wildfire’s explanation and Étoille’s scouting is what has set everything into motion. Before long, she’ll be making her way back with more of Drageda.

Whomever Hydra has as a contact is beyond her but it is possible they will find out this information anyway, but not from her. It is foolish to tell the plans to those not involved, but if she can get them involved in the long run, she’d be more than happy to share. But not tonight. “I can call for you when we return,” she tells her with a slight swish of her tail and quirk of her brow. She’s hesitant a few warriors will be able to extract what they need based on the complicated structure. By the sounds of everything, this isn’t even their first problem, but they certainly picked the wrong ones to mess with this time.

Ideally, she'd prefer no Redhawk interest here at all to keep this all smooth and simple. She doubted they would bring that much of worth, and of course it was they who were involved--proving that they were still awfully prone to weaseling their way into everything. Her longstanding disdain for the family made it hard for her to expect much of worth, even united behind a common enemy of her own and even knowing that Hydra had alright terms with one of them; she'd never trust them fully, no matter how became of all this.

But Drageda.. she could not judge in the same way, and took to them with a much more curious interest. It was one she would never find for the Caldera alone, a group she had certain negative expectations about that no span of time was bound to erase. Drageda posed more than they could, even knowing what little she did. So far. "Alright," she nodded, and could ask for nothing more than just that. She would be nearby, of course, and she would be sure to have her matters tidied up somewhat in the meantime. "We will be around," she said, matched with a tail flick and small smirk as she processed the potential for what was to come.

There was little more to be said for the here and now. She would see this to an end, and part ways with a good start when the time was right. The Drageda wolf had miles to go, and Amekaze would eventually head back to her own fellows to make sure they were on the same page.

my last cause i gotta