keys to the kingdom

For @Paarthurnax.

Kaskara felt that a weight had lifted from her soul, a darkness that she hadn't realized was there until she had seen those beautiful two-toned eyes blinking at her from the dark juvenile face she had long thought dead. Kas grinned as she walked through the creek's territory, a lightness to her step that hadn't been there for many weeks. Until now, she hadn't realized the extent to which the guilt had pressed upon her regarding Junior's death. Now that she knew Junior had not truly died, that it had been an accident, a mistaken misunderstanding, she felt light as a feather.

With this realization, however, she knew that making herself useful to the pack to which she pledged herself was paramount. She was already beginning to train for the Outrider skill, and within the next few days she would travel to Stavanger Bay to speak with Ragnar or Thistle about Junior, but for now she needed to make sure she was seen within the pack's borders. She wasn't sure how she could help, or what she would do, but Kaskara was determined to be part of this pack as fully as possible.

and out of all these things i've done, i think i love you better now

She'd only been back from her trip with Shadow for a little while, and she'd spent almost the entirety of that time fast asleep. Utterly exhausted, emotionally and physically, her only desire upon her return was to curl up in her den and be alone. Paar still did not feel sure of where she stood since her heartfelt discussion with the sterling outrider, and her heart was still uncertain. She needed time, and appreciated his patience.

Surfacing from her hollow, the lithe beauty stretched and parted her jaws in a mighty yawn before she sauntered across the forest floor and in the direction of the Southernmost border to do her part of scent-marking. That way it would be over with, and she could get on with more interesting activities. Along her route she spotted the unfamiliar figure of a sleek, dark-furred female, and she paused to observe for a few moments before picking up her pace and heading the stranger's way with a wuff to announce her presence.

TABLE BY JOHN · STOCK BY .v1ctor Casale. @ FLICKR

Another soon alerted their presence with a wuff and Kaskara turned to observe the pale red female approach. She hadn't met her, but she smelled of the creek, and clearly she had been here a while since she knew her way around. Kas dipped her head in greeting and when she was closer, spoke her greeting aloud, "Hello. I don't think I've met you yet." Not that having new pack members was a bad thing, of course. It was just that Kas didn't know her, and if she did, she would feel mighty stupid in a few minutes.

"I'm Kaskara Gladius," she offered, watching the two-toned female carefully. She was smaller than Kas, daintier too, though not too delicate. Her dark eyes were keen, however, and Kas would be careful not to dismiss her as a damsel anytime soon. "Have you been a member of the creek long?" she asked conversationally, genuinely curious about the girl's history, and wondering who she knew in the pack to bring her here. Kaskara would have an open mind about all this, even if it wasn't in her nature to trust others easily.

Paarthurnax drew closer, and paused in her tracks a comfortable distance away. She let her feathery tail swish contently behind her, more than happy to find a distraction from her wary thoughts. Her smile broadened at the pleasant greeting she received, and politely the crimson medic dipped her pale muzzle. "You have not. I'm Paarthurnax," she said, leaving out her surname even though Kaskara had offered hers. She felt that this was not a formal meeting, and so such exchanges were not necessary, "or Paar for short, if you'd rather."

She lowered to her haunches then, inviting herself to sit while they chatted, when the dark-furred wolfess asked a question of her. Paar could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat, as her thoughts tailed back to her talk with Shadow. If their relationship was pursued to the next step, which was a real possibility, she knew that she would have to follow him further afield. Paar was no longer a wolf of Samarkand law, but if she became Shadow's mate, she would have a duty to him. "Around a month," she said gently, unwilling to let her concerns for the future show through. "What about you?"

I'm so sorry for the delay in this thread. <3 Do you want to do quick posts to get this finished? <3

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Paarthurnax," she replied, giving the girl a nod and a smile. Her coat was beautiful, two-toned red and cream, a mixture that Kas was not used to seeing upon a wolf. Her eyes were also that sandy-red color, almost mixing with her fur and disappearing, but the twinkle behind them kept them visible.

Paar sat so Kas followed suit noticing the delicate grace with which the other female moved. Kaskara was all muscles and sinew, though her brain worked quite well, so she never felt as graceful as Paar looked. "About the same," she agreed, wondering if it had been longer. "Maybe six weeks. Bazi accepted me right before Fox disappeared, if you heard anything about that."

Oh jeez, this is old, I'm sorry for being so rubbish. Wanna fade, or continue? I'm cool with whatever. :)

Kaskara spoke Paar's full moniker, taking a more formal (or brave, considering her name was an unusual one to pronounce for some) approach to their greeting. The crimson beauty smiled warmly in response, and dipped her lovely crown politely in respect. "The pleasure's all mine," she said softly, kicking her inner woes beneath the rug and keen to move on to light conversation with a potential new friend.

"I know very little of Fox," she admitted, though not shamefully. The former leader had departed shortly before her arrival, seemingly cast aside by Bazi for betraying the trust of her followers. It seemed the young wolfess had found greener pastures elsewhere, however, for she had failed to return to re-claim what had once been hers. "We have not crossed paths." Paar did not care to. She was content beneath Bazi's rule, and it had been to the pale Queen that she'd promised her loyalty.

We're almost to 10 posts. Want to do quick posts? Also, do you know that they are related? XD

"I've never me her either." Kaskara was sure she was a nice enough wolf to those she cared about, but sometimes nice wolves did horrible things. "As far as I'm concerned, she made her choice. If she comes back, I'll protect Bazi and this pack." Kaskara didn't think it would come to that, but she would be ready if it did.

"Where are you originally from?" she asked to change the subject. Kaskara wanted to get to know her new packmate, and that meant knowing a little about her background. "If you don't mind my asking, that is." She smiled, letting the girl know that if she wasn't comfortable answering, she didn't need to. Kaskara wasn't that nosy.

Truthfully, she felt awkward speaking of Fox when she knew so little of her. Having not crossed paths with the former Alphess of Swiftcurrent Creek, Paarthurnax did not feel comfortable judging her for her past actions. Perhaps she had her own reasons - good or bad - for leaving the pack without a leader, but it had clearly not failed as a result of her departure. Bazi was young and inexperienced, but so far was proving herself unafraid of commitment and fit well into her new role.

"Not at all. I am from Samarkand," the crimson beauty responded quickly when the conversation moved onto lighter small-talk, "a place to the far South. I lived in the desert there, with my parents and many siblings." She smiled fondly, recalling her happier days as a Princess of Samarkand before Sahrotaar saw fit to spit on their parents' memory and ignore their departing wishes. "What of you? Have you traveled far to find this place?"

As soon as Kas gets back from DFG, let's have a new thread. <3

Samarkand. It sounded like a foreign place, filled with secrets and treasure and sand. Kaskara didn't know how she knew this, but it sounded vaguely familiar, as if she had heard tell of it before. "That sounds lovely," she said, smiling. "I've never been to a desert. Is it hot?"

Then Paar asked where she had come from, and Kaskara felt the need to oblige her new friend. "I have traveled far, but not as far as you. I grew up in a family pack as well, in a place called Dal Riata on Halycon Cliff. My brother, Scimitar, and I grew up there with our siblings and cousins and extended family." Kas smiled. She missed Dal Riata, she missed her mother, but it was great to be here with her brother, at least. "I guess we're both foreign birds come flocking to the same place."

Yes, yes, yes! We must. :D

Kaskara's interest in Paar's former own sparked a lovely smile from the crimson healer, who lashed her tail happily at her hinsquarters. "It was," she answered with a gentle nod of her crown, content to reminisce; "I never saw snow until I left and traveled further North. Our Winters in Samarkand were comfortably warm."

She would miss her birthplace for the rest of her days, but she very much doubted that she'd ever return to it. Paar supposed she made peace with leaving it in the past; she had made somewhere else her home. If Sahrotaar had not forced her to flee from his plans for her, she supposed she might have left eventually to take a young Shah as her mate, as her father always wished for her to choose a royal mate befitting of a Samarkand princess. But her life had taken a different direction, one she did not regret.

Kaskara revealed her relation to Scimitar, causing the Frostfur's ear to cant in surprise. "Oh," she chirped, and found herself scanning the wolfess' dark features in search of any resemblance. Finding none that were obvious, she assumed her amused smile once more. "I'm sorry, I would not have known you were related," she rolled a slim shoulder, "I look nothing like my brothers, either. That makes us the lucky ones?"

Editing in an ending. :)

Kaskara listened to Paar's reminiscing with a grin on her face, knowing that she felt the same about her own birth place. It felt good to talk about it with another, even to just feel it for a moment, before moving on. Kas laughed softly, shaking her head. "Scimitar and I share our mother, and I take after my father," she said. "There is nothing to apologize for, Paar. Nobody would know from just looking at us."

When Paarthurnax suggested that perhaps they both were lucky not to look like her brothers, Kaskara truly laughed. "I should like to think that being dark-furred is sometimes hard. Though I am pleased that I take after our grandfather." She motioned over her shoulder to the light dusting of silver on her back and shoulders. "That's where we get that name. It's like we wear silver-dusted fur." Scimitar was more cinnamon than frosted, though he still had a few silver guard hairs. Kas was a feminine, brown descendant of the handsome Frostfur patriarch.

The two talked for a few more moments, enjoying each other's company, before duty called them both away. Kaskara was glad to have met Paar, for that was one more potential friend in the pack that she could rely on. She hoped they could become friends, because hers were few and far between now.