The red woman departed from the flatlands rather easily. There was little interaction there, few things to attach her strings to.
And so she moved eastward, climbing through the mountains and picking her way to the slopes of the largest one, where Skalda would pause to overlook the beauty of the mountain range.
A soft smile ghosted her lips as she continued her intuitive path. Where would Tenebros and Infernia lead her today?
Where could she plant her seeds...?
Skalda shook her head softly.
Patience She reminded herself.
there was a red wolf moving along the great mountain. germanicus watched the stranger from his hidden perch.
it was almost the season of conception. the sunspire range had many fruitful and unclaimed territories that would interest the progenitors of a new pack.
for now the imperator was only silent. watchful.
Skalda continued upward, glancing around at the shadows before resuming her determined trek to the top. All the while, she began to sing a lyricless tune, a witchsong akin to siren lullabies.
The crimson priestess prowled onward.
germanicus followed.
the singing echoed in the stone world. it reminded him of a pagan hymn. the old prejudice, never far, reared its head again. the imperator kept the cerise creature in his sights and himself out of her own.
A sudden wind blew up at her hocks, and with the gust, it brought a brush of scent to her nose as she walked.
A follower? She couldn't quite tell yet, especially with other scents weaving around the range of peaks.
Skalda smiled to herself at the thought of being followed, deciding if it was true, then to play the part further of obliviousness.
After all, she has been up until now, assuming she wasn't just going insane.
The crimson lady eventually made her way to the top of the mountain, stopping to overlook the flatlands she had come from and the squiggly outline of more mountains far in the distance.
A pleased smile formed on her lips, especially as she turned to look over the mountains spreading opposite of the Kintla.
"Tenebros, Infernia, I pray to thee, show me the way." She murmured, ruby red eyes scanning hungry and ambitious.
she was alone. germanicus searched the shadows for any signs of lurking wolves. like the healer, then, he supposed. a lone figure meant little to mereo.
she looked toward the flatlands. he saw her lips move but could not hear her words. germanicus slid closer, keeping himself veiled by the shadows casting from the sunspire.
The crimson woman flicked her ruby eyes to the shadows.
She swore firmly that something moved in her peripherals, and so she kept her gaze trained on the darkness.
Something looked vaguely wolflike, and upon narrowing her eyes, she was convinced someone or something was there.
"Are there no manners upon you?" She called calmly with her sirensong voice, peering into the shadows still. Would the vague shape come forward?
She was unafraid, maybe also vaguely amused.
She'd played oblivious for a while now, and felt it was time to meet the being who trailed.
not for pagans.
the roman stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and the witch. here now he could see how she burned against the snow and the stone.
"do you mean only to pass through?" his tone was careful and empty.
"My time in these mountains is dependant on factors larger than myself." She replied with a quirk of her mouth, analyzing the greyish man as he came closer.
Skalda wouldn't reveal all she held to her chest to the stranger, and assumes he would play a similar tactic.
she played her cards close to heart.
germanicus was reminded of the other young woman he had discovered in the vale.
"was it gods who led you here?" the eagle's eyes searched her.
Skalda's smile stayed as the grey stranger asked his question. She thought on how many crumbs to throw his way, considering the what ifs and possibilities.
"Are you a spiritualist?" She asked in turn, level headed and analyzing.
He didn't seem like one, and so she would assume his answer to be a no.
"i am nothing but a pragmatic centurion."
germanicus stepped closer, watching the savage face.
"and i do not want cultists to put down their roots in these mountains."
Skalda chuckled audibly to the man's statements. He was amusing, in her eyes. He was not above the will of the gods.
"You will only have so much control over who comes and goes in a vast range such as this one, Soldier." She responded with amusement.
She didn't feel like fighting today, however. She had no backup currently, and if he was here, he might have allies close by.
So, Skalda would dip her head softly before beginning to go back down the mountain. She'd find a different place to bring her brotherhood together, and then, maybe she'd return. Or not.
"i am aware of my limitations. and my strengths."
germanicus had not come up with the intention of fighting. it was a test. he would remember her face. and he would watch until she was out of sight.
when the eagle returned to mereo, it would be with a metaphorical sketch of the she-wolf to share among the soldiers, as he had done with the profile of the girl in the vale. best to know one's enemies before they became one's enemies.