@Gavriel is with her in the background. LOCUSTS! :)
Although the locusts weren't attempting to devour them—the same could not be said of all the spring greenery—the sheer amount of them frightened Wildfire. The air was
choked with them. Because of this, she and Gavriel mutually decided to forego their destination and run north. They hoped to stay abreast of the swarm. This proved an exercise in futility; despite a slight head start, the swarm caught up to them almost immediately. They could run but they could
not hide from this phenomenon.
Lungs fit to burst, the pair of wolves slowed down and admitted defeat when they reached an open plain. The air clicked and vibrated as the locusts swirled around them. Her eyes were barely slits as Wildfire guided Gavriel to the nearby river. The insects were slightly less populous along the bank, allowing the wolves to take a much-needed drink. They discussed where to head next. Although they clearly couldn't outrun the locusts, there was still an urgency to their plans. Both of them wanted to get home and see the state of
Drageda. But surely the locusts would slow them down, if not make travel impossible.
"Look," Wildfire murmured, gazing over the grassland. In the very sparse patches here and there, she could see that the grass was stripped bare, revealing parched earth. She swallowed, feeling very unsettled as she realized aloud,
"They're not just eating the green stuff. They're wiping it out entirely..." Even as she spoke, a wayward bug collided with the side of her head, its wings beating against her cheek, as if to say,
Ding, ding, ding!
Per discussed with Gavriel! :D
Her introductory into the Teekon was not a desired one. Her coming of age had marked her freedom from Trigeda, after learning under her superiors. They had not put up much of a fight when she left, to her amusement and great satisfaction. They had many more for the leader council, but none would have the same ambition as she did. They would miss her, but she would not miss them. She could only withstand their orders for so long, and no more. She would find a new commander, but for now, she needed to learn on her own. It would not be hard. When the first few locusts that arrived, flying past her head to land on the foliage nearby, she did not take much notice. There was nothing special about a flying grasshopper. The packs nearby were more of her concern. She was marked a loner now, an unfortunate state. Perhaps she was a threat, but at the moment she was not. Her concern was that she would not find a worthy pack. She could not just pick any. She could not settle for mid level. Her Heda will be strong, unlike the peasants she usually found in high places.
But when the sky turned unnaturally dark, casing shade in brighter places, her brow furrowed in curiosity. Was this normal in the new land? She would have continued to believe so if not for the low, ominous humming she heard from afar. The flying bugs seem to fly past more often now, settling on the forest density around her. They were eating everything. Tiny things, stripping trees of their skin. She stepped back, horrified. What hell had she arrived to?
"Chit ste disha?"She ran until she could hear her heart in her lungs. It did not help that she almost ran into some red colored girl in her haste to get away from the swarm.
"Chit laik emo?", she demanded to know. It not come to her that not all spoke her language. She didn't care, she did not want to be in this crazy land.
I wrote this while at work/on my phone, so italics are trigedasleng.
No matter the purpose of Wildfire's travel, and the agreement to return home instead, still left Gavriel following her charge as they moved from one territory to the next. It was all foreign to him, but the further they moved, the more everything started to look the same. The trees were near bare, plants stripped to the root, and the grass beneath them barely prickled stubs against their paws. Between that and running in dirt and rock, his pads were a little tender. Eventually, they came to a stop in open territory which seemed to offer a little refuge where the locusts don't have somewhere to land, but it is a futile attempt.
The large wolf, once led to water, drank until he thought his sides would swell. It quenches his thirst for the time being but after several minutes of panting, he feels dry once more and drops his muzzle back to the water and drink again.
The buzzing overhead is loud, but has slowed down enough that he doesn't have to strain to hear Wildfire speak.
"This isn't good," he responds, but before Wildfire has a chance to answer, he shoves himself forward between her and another wolf. She manages to stop before the collision, but Gavriel still braces for impact that never comes. The stranger's words catch his attention, and he cups them forward. Her face seems familiar, but a name is lost to him. He knows she doesn't come from Seageda, and his time with the Trikru had been limited until he set out again in search of their collective leader. Had Vercingetorix's message from
heda reached them so quickly?
Gavriel isn't able to piece the timeline together in the matter of time he's allowed so instead, a gruff and loud question slips his tongue:
"Who are you?"
She gasped at the impact, then collected herself and glared at no locust in particular, considering there were millions of them everywhere she looked. In fact, Wildfire found herself making wild guesses to how many insects were in this swarm. She gave up quickly, the concept of such a high number making her head hurt.
Suddenly, the two of them were not alone. This wolf did not approach slowly, like Tevinter, but exploded onto the scene with startling swiftness. Luckily, Gavriel was quicker, putting himself between the stranger and Wildfire even as the latter braced herself. A collision was avoided even as the she-wolf—very striking in appearance—began babbling incoherently.
When her companion responded, Wildfire realized she must be speaking in the native tongue of Dregeda. That made no sense, though. This wasn't a pack mate, was she? Wildfire's face twisted into a confused frown as she did her best to follow the conversation, listening for cognates even while batting the occasional bug away from her face.
Her state of shock abruptly stopped when a gruff looking male wedged himself between her and the other. This however did not end, only when her spoke did a shiver of recollection trickle down her spine. She stood, baffled at his native tongue and question, and the fact that she knew him from somewhere. It had to be from one of the clans, there was no other explanation. She glanced at the girl behind him. She was not a geda wolf, which only increased her confusion. "Chon yu baliak?" She retorted. She did not trust these strangers, even if one spoke like her. The other, she assessed as small, and he was not. Perhaps he was her guard. But she was not Heda, she could tell. They were soldiers.. or subordinates as the proper term was. Was such diversity normal? Trigeda was a close knit clan, outsiders were not shunned but not entirely welcomed either. She dismissed the fact. This was no Trigeda, and she didn't wish it to be.
She found herself shaking ever so often, attempting to get the bugs off of her. This was crazy. She did not leave her tribe for this! The other girl seemed to be having the same problem as well. Maybe this was not normal, nor hell either. But also, she did not seem to understand her question, and the male seemed to ignore it too. "Gonasleng?" She questioned, looking from between the two. She was not good at the English language, to her superior's great disapproval, but she knew enough key words to string together a very rough sentance. She wanted them both to hear her. "W-.. where-am-I..?" Her accent obscured her speech, though she hoped it was enough for them to understand.
Yet she could not help to feel that she knew the male. Something was just.. familiar. It was odd, yet haunting. Seageda had merged with Trigeda.. he could have been with them too. Alas, she did not know for sure. But she would, very soon.
The stranger speaks, once more in their native tongue, before attempting a default in the common. He narrows his eyes and glances back toward Wildfire, though he doesn’t linger for long. His attention, for the time being, returns and remains on the wolf he feels like he should know. His time in Trigeda had been limited before setting off after their collective leader and Vercingetorix’s return back to them had only occurred a few weeks ago, unlikely to have resulted in a wolf already so close—or, well, not so close.
“Gavriel kom Drakru. Seakru,” he introduces, turning his nose slightly toward her companion. “Wildfire kom Drakru,” is his only addition, separating her from Seageda.
It had never been uncommon for some wolves solely learning their native words between the clans but being so far from home, Gavriel knows he can’t depend on it. Though to hear it from a familiar wolf is comforting, he doesn’t have time to think much about why she is here and instead on how to get the wolf to Heda.
“Far from home,” he says in their native tongue once more, knowing Wildfire wouldn’t understand, but getting information felt more important in that moment than trying to stammer in words she’s unfamiliar with. “Heda has a new empire. You from Trigeda?”
Trying to swat the locusts away was totally useless, as a dozen more always sprung up in the first one's place. Wildfire gave up, just letting them smack, whack and thwack right into her. All the while, she really tried to follow the conversation. She caught a few familiar words between the two of them and opened her mouth to say something—only for a small locust to shoot right in there, nearly choking her. The yearling retched, spitting out the bug, then quickly returned to the water to wash down the two or three spindly broken legs currently caught in her gullet.
After swallowing, Wildfire made an impromptu decision and waded further into the water, letting it come up to her shoulders. She sighed loudly in relief at the lack of small bodies impacting her own. She kicked out with her legs to turn around and face the bank, calling invitingly to the other two, "It's not nearly so bad in here." Famous last words, though; nearly the instant they left her mouth, a locust came to rest on the top of her head.
She took a moment to absorb the new information. While she had been too young to remeber the finer details, she had heard of Seageda's corruption. Tall tales of a false Heda, resulting in the disbandendment of the great nation. She had been too young to pass such judgement but she knew what her closest companions had told her. Seageda had been falling long before the Heda had taken the throne. After that, the faithful had fled to Trigeda, her home. Well, it was her home no longer. But a new clan, this was very interesting indeed. Who habited this new empire, she was curious to know. Other's from Seageda, perhaps, even Trigeda even? It seemed unlikely, but there was always a possibility. One that she hoped to avoid. While, there was no doubting that Gavriel was or once had been an ally, but she did not know if she trusted him. It would be a foolish move to do so. Either way, she needed to see of herself.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was halted, interrupted mid speech by the ironically named girl, Wildfire. She looked to the female, half out of amusement and annoyance and carefully declined to what she assumed was an invitation to join her. Rebekka did not swim, she did not do water. It was an ability she had no desire to conquer. There was nothing appealing about trying to not drown, nothing against the girl of course, but her fear of what she could not control was what made her hesitant to step too close to a deep lake, nor any body of water that she coud potentially slip and fall in. Instead, she redirected her attention back to Gavriel. She nodded in confirmation.
"Sha, ai laik kom Trigeda,"
She had never heard of his Drakru. But she was far, aparently. "Na ai wich yu?" She would not either way, but she had to be sure. Loping off with a stranger, familiar or not, was unwise. Anyone could agree.
Wildfire’s disappearance into the water goes unnoticed, at first, as he focuses on the familiar wolf. She had yet to really introduce herself, though confirms where she comes from, but it is then Wildfire speaks up. Gavriel turns his head, looking out into the water as the fiery girl seems to be floating. When the locust lands on her head, it takes more effort than he expects to hide the smile forming on his muzzle. He hadn’t expected such a fondness for the girl but spending so much time together the last few days have brought him to the conclusion and even in the hardest times, she manages to find the silver lining. As much as he doesn’t want to ignore Wildfire’s attempts, he has more on his plate than he realizes.
“Sha,” he confirms with a dip of his head, returning his attention to the other wolf. “Chit yu tag in?”
Neither of them seemed inclined to join her, so Wildfire murmured,
"Suit yourselves." Her amber eyes crossed as if trying to look at the locust perched on her head.
"Looks like it's just you and me." She paused, then rapidly shook her head to dislodge the insect, which landed nearby with a quiet
plink! After a few blinks, the yearling suddenly sucked in a breath, pursed her lips, puffed out her cheeks and disappeared beneath the water's surface.
She broke through again just seconds later, then began paddling in idle circles before tiring of her soak and clambering back onshore. She flopped on the bank, unwilling to stray from the water's edge, where the bugs were at least a bit sparser. Her amber eyes tracked up to gaze at the two wolves conversing in a largely foreign language, then Wildfire curled slightly, letting her fur air dry as she did her best to catch a few moments' respite.
She'll prob doze, so you two can continue this without me and conclude when you're ready! :)
A part of her was relived when the male confirmed he was an ally, although that did not mean she truly trusted him. She was never much one to consider anyone a friend, or openly place faith into other's when there was always the chance they would let her down. However, he was re-assuring and did not seem inclined to maim her in any way. She took a brief moment before answering, as if taking a leap into finding allies once more. This would confirm her intention to stick with the herd, even if she did not know what she was doing.
"Rebekka,"
She did not offer more, and did not feel the need to. To the Commander alone would she give her personal information, if she ever really had to. She had no intention of becoming close with these new people, or even joining their band if she was allowed. For now, she would drift with them to wherever Drageda rested, and if the oportunity presented itself, she would take a place among them. Who was to say it was permanent? The young woman did not know herself.
He finally is able to get the information necessary from the woman, after several painful steps in question, and nods his head. He’d introduced himself, as well as Wildfire, and glances back as she retreats to the shore for rest. Sweeping back to the new wolf, he offers her a soft, reassuring smile, but isn’t sure how much work it really does. Once it fades, he looks between the two and offers them both a little rest before they continue on. He’s own paws are tired and he’d hate to wake the girl, and not knowing how long Rebekka had been running around. He’d give them a little while and, eventually urge them onward back home.