Whitefish River Visvi

Today was a beautiful day to lay by the river with a liver-colored paw dipped in the fast moving waters. Losi snoozed there on and off, her bright amber eyes half-lidded, heavy with a recent sleep. She yawned, deeply, before removing herself from the edge, licking her paw free of excess water. Thankfully, the Wild’s winter had abated, she need not worry of potential frost bite. 

Spring was her favorite time of year. Her unitsi, her mother, would bring Losi and her sisters, Elohi and Ama, to the center of their pack lands: a valley filled with roses and beautiful wild flowers. They would sit on their favorite rock that jutted from the rock walls surrounding the Valley, warmed by the overhead sun, to watch life take its first breath of the day. To this day, Losi did not know how their unitsi knew the perfect time to take her children, to watch the fauna and flora of the Valley wake from slumber, but she did and it was a site to behold.

Here, she was alone; not wholly alone, for she did have Tawodi, her red-hawk companion, but he was out hunting for the time being and would return when he was finished. Shaking herself free of any debris collected, she sent a howl for him, one word woven into the notes: uyvtlv. North. He would understand that she moved north up the river and find her. He always did.

Something called for her to keep moving.

The river traces an umbilical path from the ogre woman's treasured lake.

Kaxwaan follows it.

The blue gullet takes him North, far away from where the desert man had come. Kaxwaan does not like him, needless to say -- every code of instinct demands that they duel. But the desert wolves are alien and effete, and the decrees of some nameless, faceless king supersedes all of nature.

He does not understand this calculus. Even the ogre woman seems to be bound by it. He is glad to be away from the lake for some time.

As he prowls riverside, a wolfcall prickles his ears, and a hawk orbits slowly above him.

His eyes, pools of molten gallium, scour his verdant surroundings.

AH! Thank you for popping in! <3

Tawodi returned the call, appearing overhead signaling the end of his hunting travels. Not a second goes by as Losi watch his descent did he let loose a shriller call, one that set the liver female’s fur to bristle ever so slightly. Not quite in fear, but apprehension.

They were not alone.

“Wado, Tawodi. Thank you. Continue ahead until I send for you. Anagisdi. Go.” At her command he circled once before catching a wind current upwards to continue, his form growing smaller as the distance grew. She knew her companion would stay close, but far enough out of reach should things go awry.

The she wolf continued on her earthly path along the river, mirroring the hawk above. Though as he continued ahead, she stopped short as an unfamiliar scent hit her. Male, canid. Another shrill call from above guided her eyes upwards to the bird, his fly pattern indicating the direction of where she would find the other.

Eyes of gilded sunlight found him, perched at the waterside; his appearance tattered and frayed, as if moth-bitten. As all wolves are upon meeting, he was neither friend or foe, and she would very much like to find out which category he would occupy. And, he was very well the first she has encountered since arriving to these lands.

She called to him in greeting, a short bark, with a neutral look upon her face, but her stance was wary. “Osiyo. Hello—I hope I am not intruding. These lands are not mine, I do not know them well.” The common tongue, infused with the accent of her people, was one she practiced as a child after having been told would be important to master for later in life. Hopefully, her accent did not impede the words too much.

<3

The hawk's screams grate at his inner ears. Disgruntled, he watches it as its broad wings eclipse the sun above him.

The woman, a mongrel, speaks first in a language he does not understand, and then in common.

Tláykʼ, the iceman responds. Confusion spasms across his face.

Qang'a, he tries again, in the tongue spoken by the coastal people further north. But no luck. He has never seen anyone like her.

Goot'á kwáan sá wa.é?

His patience chafes. If he were not already distracted by the presence of the desert man, he might have resorted to his usual aggression. But the girl, with her foreign ways, her hair and eyes both flaxen, is easy enough on his eyes.

His responses were not of common tongue, but rather a language, or two, that she did not recognize. He must be attempting to speak hers, she thought. She smiled at him, then, grateful in his attempt at communicating with her, even though it was none she knew.

“I am sorry, I do not understand…might you know the common tongue?” Her ears splayed apologetically. “I speak Tsalagi, it is not a language found here. At least, that is what my…how you say…Elder once told me, anyway. I’m sorry to confuse you, that was not my intent.” She sat, allowing him to approach her if he wanted. She was no threat to him, her tail brushing the ground lackadaisically. 

“I am Losi.” 

Common, he acquiesces. Civil, for now.

Many packs near here. The plains just north of the lake seemed to be teeming with pack wolves. Of course, there was the matter of the desert people. And he did not doubt that there were more; after all, water attracted creatures of all types.

Must be careful. His tongue swipes over the broad front of his nose. He pants lightly in the warmth of sunlight.

Ah, pack wolves pose many problems to lone wolves. Though there were two of them now, she did not trust that this man would remain should a pack arrive. 

His warning brought a question to the forefront, her head cocked. “And when it comes to you, need I be careful?” She had caught his gaze raking over her, taking her in. Her looks were foreign, she admitted that; even among those in her village was she vastly different. She shared the same lineage as her sisters, but she, of the three, had been painted in a way that was not…well, normal.

She had always felt it was to mark her as someone with a bigger purpose in life. It was why she ended up here in the first place, on her visvi.

The female eyed him, taking in his panting form. Should he prove to be somewhat friendly, she would offer for them to get out of the sun, or a wade in the river. It was better to journey with others than alone, even for just a moment. Whatever he allowed.

He can't help but laugh at her question.

For you to decide. Am not your elder, he jeers.

Her people, her language, are all unfamiliar to him. But he is certain they are not from the harsh mountains of Anaáski, not whetted on hoarfrost and snowsqualls. Most likely plainspeople, the reptilian brain surmises. Lesser creatures fed on quail and grain.

Why do you sing to the bird?

So, he wasn’t pleasant, Losi decided, slightly peeved at the male’s laughter and his mocking tone. At the very least, he was being civil, so she curtailed the slight lift in her lip and took to grooming herself as a coverup for her displeasure. 

Sentinel ears swiveled his way at the question he volleyed, sunlight eyes peered up at him, though she did not bother to stop her grooming. She took her time, feigning meticulousness, for she truly was not this obsessive over cleanliness.

The moment the liver female finished, she lifted her head and called for the hawk in question. She watched him circle, his own call acknowledging hers, and he dove.

“Tawodi, he is my companion, my soul. Our lives are one, we share all things.” The relationship between her and Tawodi was not seen often, even in her own village, and surely it was rare here.

The hawk, an adult male red-tail, flew circles around the wolf now, a screech emitting from him as a warning, before he decided to land on the shoulders of Losi, a nuzzle to her cheek as she greeted him in return.

Fading here unless stopped, thanks for the thread! I love Losi and hope she doesn't run into many more assholes like him haha

He can see it: the girl is offended; the girl wants to avenge the rudeness he has dealt onto her; she believes in eye-for-an-eye, an invisible symmetry which girds the world in its static image.

Kaxwaan does not.

The hawk flies by him, close enough so that he can feel the air displaced by its great wing beats. It screams, and a muscle twitches in his face -- but he does not raise a hand against it.

A bed, too?

The fine skin around his eyes bunch up in wrinkles as he smiles: a thin, wry crescent filled with yellow teeth.

Then he laughs again, and turns to leave.

Thank YOU <3 he’s an interesting asshole, that’s for sure! She’s determined to change the world so maybe down the road they will meet again!

His jab did not bother her. No, it made her laugh, the sound following him has he turned to leave, mingling in with his own. She did not stop his departure, for he was not a wolf that would satisfy her life’s purpose, but he was her eye opener to the world of the Teekons.

If the male was any indication of the people that inhabit this place, she had much to do. Much more than she had originally thought.

“Nvwadohiyada, nvwatohiyadv, ale alihelitsidasdi. May the spirits guide me to rise up to this challenge.”