Rain pattered down lightly through the thinning canopy as a white figure strolled beneath their humming boughs, not seeming to mind the droplets as they gently peppered his pelt. Though it wasn't to say he was completely ignoring the weather. it was making the ground under paw particularly unpleasant as he strode onwards and he was glad when the rocky silhouette of a slope began to come into view. There was a definite sense of autumn as he paused at the foot of the climb; the light summer rain beginning to morph into heavier showers as the nights grew longer and the days seemed to fade away. Nevertheless, the snows were still a long way off.
With his plumed tassel swaying from side to side, his nostrils flared as a pungent scent filled his glands; one of smoke and of hail and sleet, a very strange thing indeed. His head was tilted to one side as his honeyed gaze travelled up the rise and he raised his muzzle to the skies, his melodic cry wavering through the pines and up through the crags before the last traces of his song fell prey to the wind. Perhaps these fellows could offer him shelter, somewhere to rest his tired paws after his journey south from the northern lands.
She could taste it in the air. Autumn was just around the corner. Wildfire enjoyed the fall (truly, she enjoyed all the seasons and their variations) but she was particularly excited for this one. Sometime between when the leaves fell from the trees and the snows arrived to blanket the lands, she would hit sexual maturity. There was still a lot up in the air, yet this was biological fact grounded in nature. And she was certain she would do whatever it took not only to become a mother but to raise her litter with utmost love and devotion, right here in the safe arms of Sleeping Dragon.
She was daydreaming of these things when a howl cut through the cool, rainy air. Wildfire didn't feel so confident about how her last recruitment had gone, which made her hesitate to respond. But how would she get better unless she practiced? Mind made up, the Bandrona prowled toward the source of the call, not really minding the light wind and rain. It felt refreshing, especially after a piping hot August. Perhaps this change in clime indicated that the dog days over summer were over.
He was easy to spot, a silvery white apparition against a wet, gray backdrop. Wildfire approached with a confident and cordial air. "Hello," she said, grinding to a stop a few yards away, "can I help you?"
Hello! oops let me edit fixed!
She’d returned from her trip earlier than she thought she might. It hadn’t been far that she’d gone and the direct route, once passing the ravine, had been straight to the coast and almost straight back. Neither she nor Dio left much room for rest and so when they returned, they nearly crashed for the remainder of the night until morning came when things picked up like normal. She checked on the puppies and then the borders, finding nothing out of the ordinary.
The rain is light enough not to soak her fur but persistent enough that her top coat is damp, making her feel heavier than usual, but no matter how many shakes she attempts, it’s quick to settle once more and soaking through to her skin. Thuringwethil takes a turn, not too far from the borders when a call is made for the attention of the crown and she’s quick to change her direction back toward the source.
She sees the pale wolf in the distance waiting and Wildfire from the corner of her eyes. Thuringwethil sweeps down the slope of the dragon with ease until she stops several yards away. Her ears remain forward, tail a glad of superiority above her spine, and her head firmly planted above her shoulders as she waits for the wolf to answer Wildfire's question.
It didn't take long for the familiar figure of a wolf to come trotting down the mountainside. She was blessed in deep russet hues, something quite unfamiliar for gentleman who's identity was that of arctic blood, residing in freezing ranges where a pale white coat was the norm. With a curious lift of a metaphorical eyebrow, the fellow let his his tail droop to a more humble level, not caring about the size of this newcomer but responding to her superior air all the same.
"Hi there," he chipped, his focus turned from the rain onto the petite fiery woman. "I'm seeking shelter, or at least some place to rest my tired body," he added, his gaze shifting from her to the rock face as a shadow slid down to join them. From her regal, sylphlike aura, she seemed to be the one reigning the throne of this mount so he directed his next speach towards her dark frame. "I was wondering if perhaps you fellows would be so kind as to take me under your wings?"
The soft russet fur along Wildfire's nape prickled as she sensed someone approaching from behind. Rather than look behind her, she used her ears (which swept back) and her nose to identify the wolf. A small smile arched her lips when she discovered it was Thuringwethil. Her head did move now, shooting a quick glance at the commander before retraining her attention upon their guest.
Her instinct was to step back and let the Heda take over, though Wildfire also knew this was an opportunity to exercise her skills in front of her gurlfran leader. So she replied, "We may have room for you in our ranks but that depends a lot on your skills and your sense of loyalty. Tell us about both. And what's your name? I am Wildfire," she introduced, "the Bandrona. And this is the commander, or Heda, Thuringwethil."
Thuringwethil isn't one to overlook a wounded or weary canine at her borders but there isn't a feeling just yet that sways her to once side of the other. He's polite and has made it this far to her doorstep seeking more than he's so far able to barter. He seems tired and his limbs heavy but they'd all been through their fair share of struggle in the last half year or so. The travel she'd made to the Wilds had played a toll on her, only to meet a famine a few months later, but Sleeping Dragon has always remained on top where others had faltered.
She remains silence, even when it had been directed at her. Wildfire takes the lead for questions, searching out the details, and occasionally her eyes might slip to the fiery ambassador, but they remain most often upon the stranger as they finish their exchange and her own opinion is made.
As Thuringwethil made no move to reply, Arch averted his gaze from her dark features to once again rest upon the little red Bandrona. "Nice to meet you both, Thuringwethil, Wildfire," he quirked, his muzzle dipping in achnowledgement. "I'm Arch," he added in reply to her query. "I guess you could say my confidence and empathy are my two greatest assets." He had always been the more amiable of his two siblings and had grown up knowing little to no fear about the land he lived in. Should the pair reject his plea then perhaps that would change; their pack certainly seemed to value skill which was understandable. Considering the numerous different scents that were slowly beginning to come apparent, it would take more than a little good natured conversation to garantee him a place amongst this court.
With a light smile, he brought his rump to the ground, his tail buffing the sodden rocks as he continued his introduction. "Though my love for the open road has also been a hobby. I've explored and mapped a fair few places during my youth up north." However exhausted he was from his travels, the fellow refused to let his lethargicness be betrayed in his words. "Loyalty wise, I ran with my birth pack for the best part of just under two years. I left soon after conditions became too harsh to bear with. But please, I plea that you will provide sanctuary for my lonesome self." Truth be told, he hadn't expected himself to resort to such drastic measures of speach to seek himself a home yet the russet woman portrayed a pretty chatty attitude; maybe she'd take pity on him if the dark ruler so refused.
Confidence and empathy, Wildfire repeated in her head. In her experience, wolves often answered this question with more tangible skills, yet his response didn't bother her. It intrigued her. She glanced at Thuringwethil, wondering what she thought, but her expression was unreadable. Wildfire faced Arch again as he mentioned leaving his birth pack. Her brows lifted curiously, though he didn't embellish about these so-called unbearable conditions before he once more pleaded for a space in their ranks.
The note of desperation didn't sit well with her, though Wildfire was the type to give someone the benefit of the doubt. "What were these harsh conditions?" she couldn't help but ask, even if it wasn't directly relevant. "And though I think the skills you mentioned are good assets, how would you use them to benefit and contribute to the pack?" she pressed.
He answers the bandrona’s questions easily with something Heda doesn’t quite expect and she narrows her darkened eyes and resists the snort that builds up in the back of her nose. She cants her head forward marginally, scrutinizing the male’s movements while the rest of her remains statuesque. While Wildfire continues on with her line of questions, Thuringwethil picks at the little movements without listening to the rest of the conversation.
It is when he sits down that her fur bristles around her neck and takes a slow, calculated step forward to break up the conversation. She gives Wildfire one glance, one jerk of her nose to cease, as she shortens the distance between herself and the stranger. Whatever the other has asked of the male is long forgotten, cutting her off near the end, before he’s able to remedy his first answer.
“You would do well to take your pleas elsewhere,” she says, evenly, without letting her voice give away her irritation except for the slight flash of her teeth.
His smile began to fade just as quickly as it had come as he watched Wildfire shoot a glance towards her commander. She seemed intrigued, perhaps that was a good thing, the white fellow wasn't entirely sure. With a subtle downward tilt of his ears, he studied her features as she turned to speak once again, questioning him rather thoroughly on his past.
It was only then that his honeyed gaze came to rest on the regal figure of their ruler, menacing and powerful as she strode towards the two. Whatever answer he had been formulating vanished as Heda spoke, the flash of her fangs betraying her displeasure. "I.. if that is what you wish.. then I will respect your desicion," he mumbled, his confidence beginning to waver as he let his body slip down to a more submissive height. "I.. I am sure that your ranks would've benefited from.. me." Tuckimg his plumed tassel between his legs, he forced himself to cling on to the tiny shred of hope that the fiery woman had given him and let his gaze travel from Thuringwethil's stony features to the ground at her paws.
She couldn't be sure what had tripped the commander's wire; whatever it was, Wildfire hadn't picked up on it herself. But the instant Thuringwethil moved forward, the Bandrona deferentially fell back. As Arch defended himself, her brow furrowed, wondering if it was his confidence (bordering perhaps on cockiness) that did not sit right with the Heda. In any case, it was entirely her call, so the yearling just stood aside with her lips pressed together, watching the scene unfold.
The male doesn't necessarily object but he doesn't take her warning and go. His glimpse to Wildfire doesn't go unnoticed and a low rumble grows in the depth of her chest. The change in his display is pleasing, suggesting she'll take her word for what she wants, but as he lingers, she notes his actions do not speak the same. Nor does Wildfire speak up, perhaps as he wishes her to, and her legs itch to charge and chase him away but they remain rooted to the ground.
With a low rumbling hum, she turns her head slightly to shift the direction of her words to Wildfire: "leave us."
Neither of the two spoke after the commanders' entrance into the exchange. With his belly brushing the rough fabrics of the rocks and his orbs averted from the scene, it was difficult for the pale gentleman to make sense of what was going on. The small, devilish part of him yearned to raise his frame and confront them both yet with his confidence at a thinning level and the added threat of tension radiating from the shadowed pelt of Thuringwethil, his more rational side kept his mouth from opening.
His auds swivelled from their backwards angle as a deep voice spoke in monotone; the ruler once again. Her words seemed less distinguishable than the first time she spoke, perhaps she had averted her words from his own self to some other being, presumably Wildfire as he could not scent another odour present yet he couldn't be certain. Nevertheless, he refrained from departing the pair, worry and doubt beginning to gnaw at his stomach as thoughts of what may happen to his exhausted figure if the dark master did indeed mean to banish him away.
The Heda's next words perplexed Wildfire. She initially thought they were directed at Arch, yet she could feel the commander's eyes boring into her. Her lips parted, only for her mouth to clap shut and her brow to furrow. A little bewildered, she nevertheless obeyed the command, although not without a few quizzical backward glances. She retreated deeper into the territory, staying within visual range and earshot in case Thuringwethil needed her but staying out of her hair as instructed.
It takes a moment for the exchange to register and a beat longer to remember she isn't within Seageda. It may take a second, but Wildfire turns and leaves and when she's far enough Thuringwethil turns back to Arch. She studies him for a long moment but she doesn't expect hostility in response, even now they are (for the most part) alone, not will she find herself in any concern if he were to be. She'd given Smoke a chance, despite her better judgment, only for him to disappear so the same plan doesn't linger long in her mind. Instead, with a deviousness flashing through her features she closes the distance.
"I will give you one job to complete for me if you so wish to stay. You'll return to me once you've completed it and I will decide then. It isn't a guarantee but it is your only chance."
A flash of russet in his outer vision drew his attention away from the greyed rocks and back to the scene as Wildfire turns to go. As much as a selfish thing it is, relief tickled his veins as his honeyed gaze watched her petite figure vanish amongst the boulders, dread prickling his fur as the lone shadow padded towards his pale figure. "If it is in return for sanctuary, then I will do as you wish," he spoke as her words ricocheted off the cliffside.
In many ways he just wished for a place to stay and recover, to call his home yet his encounter with the pair proved his thoughts were wildly amiss; that being provided with protection and resources did not come without a price. He had to understand that some will demand much more than a pledge for loyalty to join their empire. "What's my task?" With a slight dip of his snout, his gaze did not drift to the place where the fiery woman had disappeared to, but remained entirely focused on the obsidian pelt of the ruler before him, his ears resuming to their backwards shift. Submission was a must if he was to earn his place.
He takes the offer, even before she asks it, and it’s enough for her to take another step forward. It is not often something triggers her to put them through the ringer but perhaps he’ll return and wash the bad taste out of her mouth he created. And even if he doesn’t succeed, there is no skin off her back. When their distance is but a few feet apart, with a hushed voice, she tells him what he needs to know in order to complete the task and dismisses him once she’s done.
Her breath tickles his ear as she recites his orders, a myriad of sounds as his mission begins to unfold before him. It was not such a horrific task, perfectly reasonable for a ruler to have her concerns yet why Wildfire was not permitted to listen was a mystery to the northern fellow. Perhaps Thuringwethil did not trust her Bandrona enough or maybe it was simply to prevent the odd eavesdropper; Arch did not know enough about the history of the mountain kingdom to gage a clear judgement. With a twitch of his muzzle, he concluded he'd have to engage with the dark royal providing he could fulfil his task.
Dipping his brow, he lowered his frame in mild thanks to let her know he understood what he had to do and departed the cliffside, his tassel waving in farewell.