The waves had woken him in the middle of the night and lured him from his cave onto the beach with compelling force. Once there, the warhound had gazed upon the lapping waters for a great length of time. The only sounds in the world were the waves and the breeze that rustled through the trees. Out beyond the greatest stretch of abysmal blue was a glimmering moon that illuminated the sea and all of the things around it. The rest of his night was spent beside the water, and when the first flecks of sunlight began to dance across the bay, he had turned his back on the swell and ventured inland toward the dismal woodland that had once been Donnelaith.
The sentinels would belong to his brother one day. This was knowledge that he was grateful to have. He had always wondered which of the others would wish to rule over the wild wood. The only other Mayfair-Cairn who had found themselves in the shadow of the trees as often as Ford had been Velen. It only made sense that the woodsy man would want to lead where his mother had once... and where their grandfather had. The warhound felt a brush of wind against the back of his neck at the thought of Lasher. He never believed that he would live to be as great as their mother's father... so he did not think to try. Still, the weight of that sat like a boulder between his shoulder blades. Easy enough to forget for a short while, but always coming back with a crippling reminder.
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
The woman Elixir had been kind, allowing the Swan into their dwelling- but it was clear she was to speak to whomever had claimed this land in their name. She traveled further down the coast, following the complex river of smell that complicated yet led her beside the rushing wakes but soon it had transversed further from the azure kingdom. Though it was pungent here on this beach, she assumed whatever soul had come here to gaze over the tumultuous water body. Akira could not fault them- the sea was a beautiful world that land dwellers could never hope to control. They could only pray to the Ancestors that they would keep the endless sea peaceful.
Moving herself through the growing dawn, Akira kept to the path where the path of cologne had brought her until paw prints soon became fresh, apparent. And it was then she had come to see she happened into a woodland, timber’s rising higher and much more unmovable the further she ventured. It was a beautiful place, and almost reminded her of bamboo forests from home, even though it was clear the trees were sleeping, as of now. Their spirits rested, and so she felt peace from their slumber, as well.
But it was here her journey was meant to cease, as this was the thickest hem of the scent. And just before her, stood it’s maker. Her footsteps had been noiseless as to respect the dreams of the woods, but she hoped to not rouse them as she pardoned herself to the leader of Elixir’s family.
“Your home is inspiring.” The Blue Swan felt she might have taken to being too upfront with her talking to whomever this leader was, and a creamy pearl head tilted downwards as she issued a crown’s bow to the man she had journeyed to see. “Please, forgive me should I be intruding upon your reverie.” her melodic voice remained humble, light and airy as a feather adrift the wind. “I was instructed to find you, and seek permission to remain amongst you all, by Elixir’s insist.”
She did not choose to look into his eyes, keeping her head bowed to avoid challenging the enormous male. It also was a sign of good faith, as she was a modest warrioress who respected hiarchy. Her breath remained even as she awaited his response.
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
![[Image: xpseg7.jpg]](http://i66.tinypic.com/xpseg7.jpg)
All of a sudden, there was the sound of an unfamiliar voice. For a moment, the titan believed that he had still been in slumber and his stroll through the ashen wood was merely a dream. But when the scent of her reached his nose, he realized that he was very much awake and that she was approaching him. The warhound turned his head to meet her features. He studied her face and the light of her eye. The words that left her did not mean much to the man if he did not understand her emotions while speaking them. So, he watched for signs that she might give him an inside glance as to what she was feeling. The light flickered through charred trees and dappled her face.
“You have intruded on nothing,” he assured her in a smoky baritone. The dual color of his eye was quick to note the way she presented herself to him. She was respectful to his rank, even while they stood on equal ground. It was good to know that she was aware of her place – seeking a slot within his ranks and a place within his pack. He wondered just how much Elixir might have shared with this stranger. The titan had not heard from the dark woman since granting her acceptance into the pack. He made a note to seek her out when he returned to the bay so that he might see how she was faring. Until then, he fixed his attention on the newcomer.
A nod fell after her remark and he pulled his gaze away for a moment. “We have room for those who wish to join,” he told her in a matter-of-fact tone. “Has the dark woman Elixir told you anything about what we strive to achieve in Stormrift?” Ford then inquired of her with a curious tilt of his head. The emotionless glimmer of his heterochromatic gaze then latched onto her features as he waited for her response. Once he had established how much she knew, they could move forward without any issue.
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
Akira felt no hostility ride on the energy between them- she had offered none, thus righteously, none was returned back to her. She appreciated this ruler having some civil intent, atleast. He seemed wise, waiting to see if she should present some sort of trouble child as he felt over her visually. She felt it, all of it, even as bicolored gaze rocked over her own averted view. She knew well chi, energy and the like which was meant to be minded. So she minded it well.
As expected, it bode her well.
Rising from her slight bow, she finally met the top of crown to the Emperor of this pack, her deep jewels staying to that singular silver sliver atop his regal mind. Chin tilted up, and cream rear brought to a seat, she was a supplicant if dealing whatever information he required, as well as a recipient of whatever he desire to give her. Cape of ebony shimmered it’s blue reflect within the early morn light.
“She has not. She is handling a personal affair, and her time was short with me.” Akira could not tell whether it was meant to be known to the Alpha or whether it was meant to be kept a secret, but she withheld it initially. Unless of course the titan deemed it worth his time to ask, which Akira would have no choice but to reveal Elixir’s mothering sickness.
But rather than leave herself free to interpretation of it, she kept herself silent, awaiting whatever the Emperor would ask or release upon her.
Her silence was between them both until he chose to speak once more.
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
There was a very careful way in which Ford concealed the boiling anger that had made a home inside of him. It sat beside his looming pride and had created a creature of dangerous capability, hidden behind a facade of calm and rational thoughtfulness. In his youth, Ford had been an entirely different man. He had been more like his father than any of his siblings, and with that had been a great weight that needed to be carried. When he had learned how foolish it was to pursue a life like the one Skellige had lived, the titan had created his own persona. In it, he had found a great deal of success.
The girl stated that she did not know much about their home. She mentioned that Elixir was dealing with personal matters, which Ford made note of. The hollow glimmer of his gaze rested on her features as she spoke; he learned the way in which her expressions changed with each new word. Still, it was not enough for him to continue confidently. She seemed respectful and mysterious, in her own right. The warhound wished to strip away that mystery so he would never struggle to speak to her.
“First, tell me about yourself,” he instructed her with a small nod. “Stormrift is a place for many different types of wolf. I should like to know more about you so that I might better explain what your path would look like here.” He realized that it was not always fruitful to offer the entire spiel that he had concocted. Not everyone reacted to it in the same way, he'd come to discover. Ford was not foolish enough that he would not have noticed that he had drawn more to his hold with personal connection instead of an overall synopsis. Each conversation had to pertain to the beast that he was speaking with; there was no other way.
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
The space of silence was left to last for only a mere pair of seconds until she had formed enough to satisfy his inquiries. She had no desire to make the massive male wait, should he choose to revoke her permission and end her peaceful encounter due to her quiet conjure of thoughts and summaries. Yet the choice to not present a confusing nor overly detailed heave of information to him was one she must stick with as well, as patience was not fond among the foreigners she had encountered thus far. The Swan could not be too swift to judge the Emperor however, as she knew very little about him. "I venture from a dynasty as the last heiress to seek my own legacy amist Teekon. I have been trained in the craft of agility, and taught how to defend myself, should I need." Her words were careful, tip toed nail clinks across the ice she prayed to the Ancestors was sound, and crack free. She did not want to offend him. "I am unwed, if that is another looked upon thing here,." She did not know the customs here, but she would hold off on who it was she was to marry; it was meant to be more political than personal. Her gaze remained unchanged by it all, though a gulp lightly rolled a low hump down a delicate craned cream neck. Her discipline only held by so much- clearly there was more she was meant to learn. "And my name is Akira." Only then could she breathe, her name leaving her lips in a song of snaked plume condensed, then fading between the contrasting lupines. But her body remained still, as the young woman held herself together for his next array of boundlessly hazy words.
Endless sea gems however, near imperceptibly darted to gauge his reaction of what she had tried to present him, wonder of who he was as well settling in a growing curiousity in her mind.
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
“Well then, Akira… your skills would be welcome here, if you should decide to stay with us,” Ford offered her with a careful dipping of his muzzle and a steady look in his eyes. “We do not care if you are wed or not, or if you should like to find a mate for yourself. You may do that in your own time and your own way,” he added with a shrug. It was true, after all. He did not have a mind to try to police how his wolves met others and found a connection. He did not understand emotions well enough to be able to dictate how love was intended to be found. All he could hope for is that they would not cause harm to each other and that they would find peace with their choices.
“You should know that we are a pack that pushes for exceptional growth,” the looming titan remarked to her after a moment. “I ask that everyone push to make their weaknesses into strengths, and to further strengthen what is already indomitable within them.” He did not want his members to grow lazy or apathetic with their lives. He was on a path to pursue godhood, and if he were to allow them to wallow in whatever clouds blocked their path, he would not have the pack that he had anticipated.
“You believe you can do that?”
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
She felt as though he were disconnected with his pack, all while knowing every single niche and nook and cranny they sought to smuggle their secrets within- for some curious reason, the Swan wanted to follow such a path, be be careful and careless all at once. To feel as though she soared high, saw all, and could choose to engage to let be.
For was inspiring, and a queer being all at once to her.
This was when she had chosen to meet his eyes, both of them, as she tried to understand what this man truly was. Was he some indefinite maker, a mortal who in the end of it all, cared little for his dependency? Or was he an Emperor, a demigod who in fact, was close with his Ancestors and the gods, alike? His demeanor was what drew her-
but her discipline was what repelled her. For now.
”I know I can. My ways of combat are near flawless in my homeland- but should they prove useless here, I ask you let me learn your own,” her eagerness preceded her, and a slight gasp held her tongue as she searched for a way to fix the error. “Should you be willing to teach, or in such an art.”
A flash of sapphires as they flickered with her lashes. She felt embarrassed, already having overstepped so swiftly. She had done shame, and would need to beg forgiveness once it was time to bed. Until them, she threw herself into a humble bow before him, stretching her petite body into a graceful arc, ears aligned sleekly to her skull. She had just asked the very Alpha of this pack to teach her his ways...was this meant to be?
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
Her thoughts were not entirely off the mark from reality. Ford knew his pack well because he did what he could to learn about those who had joined it. Still, he was not close with any of his members. There was a strict distance in the way that he conducted himself around them. Even his own family members saw a strategic distancing from them. Affection had never been a strength of Ford’s. He lacked many of the empathetic responses that allowed him to develop that kind of bond with his own family. Instead, he listened to all that they said to him and he learned from those things.
The woman spoke of her battle abilities in her homeland. It was interesting to hear that something that had proved to be near-flawless in another portion of the world, would find very little success in where they were that very moment. Curious enough that Ford furrowed his brows and canted his head to the side, a thoughtful frown creasing his features. “Explain your ways of battle in your home land,” he requested in a smoky tone. The dual colors of his eyes were sharp on her features – eager to capture whatever information that they could. “In return, I will show you all that I have learned in my time on the battle field,” Ford then offered.
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
She hadn’t been slain outright for outspokenness- he was a generous Emperor. Pulling herself up, she kept her sights downcast, praying for her hasty heart to slow, and to give her strength rather than weakness in this plight.
“We were taught to dispatch the enemy through debilitation rather than death. A outright forced kneel, depending on the enemy, and our intent- should they need to be interrogated and saved for later, with no hopes for escape, they would have the tendons above their heels clipped, so as they may not run away.” The Swan hoped she was not rambling too much for the king- lessons were instilled with these moves, Studies to explain as opposed to simply show. Warriors who were well versed were not basic fodder for an army, but a better prepared militia.
“However we try not to kill- unless the foe is unwilling to go peacefully. Some simply kill themselves than give themselves up... Their burials are not honored.”
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
As the woman shared more of her experience, Ford listened without a single change in his facial features. The hollow glint of his gaze was latched to her, drinking in everything that she was willing to share. His brow was just furrowed enough to express a modicum of interest, but not enough to give away any of his thoughts or feelings on the matters that she discussed with him. The means of taking someone down that she was familiar with seemed so foreign to him. She would have been appalled by the bloodshed and violent gore that took place in Warsaw. It seemed as though her culture had adopted a very precise means of taking down their enemies.
“Seems simple enough. It is remarkable to have found such a clever way to dispose of your enemy. Who started this tradition?” the titan inquired, canting his skull only a few inches to the right. He had saved her mentioning of an honorable burial for later questions. It was something else that did not make sense to him. There was no honor in death. He had killed enough to know that the bodies he’d left behind cared very little if they were treated well once their souls had fled.
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
She could feel them, almost soulless lasers picking apart her words. Had she not hastily finished where she could, the Swan would have stuttered, and made even more of a fool of herself. But she could not swallow- he would clearly see the knot that had struck her through. He was precise. Alert. Had he not heard the fluttering butterflies in her stomach? How could he not have?
His response prompted a gasp from pale lips- he was genuinely intrigued by her tradition? She was pleased to have grown up amongst such a herald- but for it to have impressed the titan here...perhaps her Ancestors legacy would not pass through in vain.
“I- .. I do not know, my lord. It has been a method used many generations before me; it is handed down as young are handed into the Academy for battle training.”
Akira was disappointed in herself. Disappointed she had nothing more to offer the man than absence of an answer. Yet that was all she knew- she had nothing more than such. It almost made her want to sputter more information to him, but he was not one to pester.
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
The reason for asking and for taking such a keen interest in her answers was entirely selfish. Ford realized that if he were to learn the ways of battle that came from other cultures, it would serve him well. He would have found a means to be formidable in any region – to any beast. While it was a lofty goal, having the girl there was a means for a beginning. So, he did not pick apart her words as he should have. He did not assert his own intelligence on her as a means of intimidation or persuasion. The titan merely listened and did what he could to express interest in his features.
“You will teach me,” he informed her with a small nod. It was not up for debate. Akira would show him how her traditions worked, and he would master them to the very best of his abilities. Then, he decided to bring up the other comment she had made earlier on in their conversation. His brow was furrowed into a knot on his forehead and his ears swiveled forward. “What did you mean by an honorable death?”
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
The Swan did feel a bit more at ease to speak upon the traditions she did know of- perhaps it would be would brought her own heart to slow and regain some semblance of respect for this attempt to seem worthy of his time. Not some babbling pubescent.
“In passing from physical to spiritual, the one who perished within battle will either have their name written in the stars for their still living relatives to see, their story told up high with the rest of the Ancestors, or they will be forgotten, unknown, and have no value to their name. It is a true death of a lineage.” Those who had disrespected their culture or dishonor their parents are stripped of their right to live amongst the Ancestors for eternity. Akira shivered internally, praying her life would not be given so wastefully, hoping her deeds and prowess would be pleasing to the ones above.
“The honored ones are given a burial, food left upon their graves to feed their spirits and bring them peace. Those who are unworthy have no food, no burial ground, and are not allowed to be buried- they rot where they last stood, for the vultures and scavengers to waste away.” Unknown to her, near no one had burial grounds in this land, nor were honored in such a fashion. However, ignorance is blissful and a blessing, in some occasions.
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.
Oh, he wished that he could understand such sentiments. The idea of them was not foreign to him, for the titan had crossed paths with many who had shared a similar interest in preserving the honor that was carried within those who had passed on. His logical mind was not so easily persuaded by those things that had little proof or reason to them. Spiritually, Ford was stunted; if only he could have been as captivating as his mother had been in her youth. The idea that such things could exist that he could not understand was baffling to him.
Instead of mocking such beliefs, Ford nodded his head solemnly. “I do not fully understand, but I suppose that it is something that is not for my logical mind,” he offered her in a somber tone. Then, his mismatched gaze flickered to her features for a moment and paused. He wondered what inspired her faith – if it had been ingrained in her since her childhood or if she had grown and developed it along the way. It seemed a far too personal question to ask of her so soon.
“Come, let me show you the finer areas of our pack and we will get to know each other better,” Ford offered her with a gesture of his head.
It is already too late to swim when the water reaches your lips.
A tipped crown with flatly flipped auds showed her immediate willingness to parallel with the command, and already she showed how swift her discipline was in action as she stood prime on his flank in a matter of smoothly passed seconds. What a fine beta she would have made, following orders as executed with no such protest to dare cross her singular mind. The gentle Swan took his words and made them law.
“I confess, I am inept in conversations, sir. My sharpest dagger lies in active wit and battle tactics- yet should you choose to mold me appropriately, I may better in design.”
Smooth of two matched the singular of the behemothian leader, and they seemed almost a pair as she constrained him sharply by looks yet accented through movement. It was clear they both were peas of a different pod, but their similarities through poise were near breathtaking. An onlooker might have thought twice to intervene should they have been considered targets.
“I am very eager to learn what interests you, my lord; perhaps that will be what bonds us, swiftest.”
Not all birds have been taught to fly. Some simply fall until they either learn, or perish.