Noir had moved back towards Sapphique in order to take Lorelai back home, but she had a couple of days to spare. She also new she needed information to give to Erzulie, and so, she called for the island wolves of Blackwater. She would wait on the coast, sitting and watching the sea - could that be a wolf, slipping into the water, or was her mind playing tricks on her?
the iron guardian embodies the title as he makes his way through the sea at the unfamiliar summons that had cut above the lazy call of the gulls bobbing in the waves.
with blackwater about to welcome new life, he tightens his patrols and when he breaches the shore, using the push of the waves to his advantage, he sloshes out of the tide without pause.
seaglass gaze zeroes in on the stranger, scenting thru the salty brine that he has mostly become desensitized to the unfamiliar scents upon her pelage.
the keeper does not embody warmness, nor welcome. his gaze is hard and as cold as the frothing waves behind him. he does not speak, favoring a familiar silence and the rise of his brows and tip of his scarred muzzle to do the speaking for him well? lingers on his body language; expectant.
She was right. A wolf came upon the shore, slipping out of the waves. Beneath the heavy scent of sea and salt, she smelled many others, though she could not determine individual scents. The man who stood before her did not speak - Noir did not let this phase her. "Greetings to you." she said, bowing her head in a show of respect. "I am Noir, of Sacrarium. What might I call you, sir?"
greetings to you —
ingram watches as she offers him a bow of her head; appeasing him momentarily. though the sound was neutral territory, it was bordered by both blackwater and the wolves that claimed the cliffs; sapphique trikova had called it.
she offers him her name and the name of a pack that he does not recognize, scouring through his mental list of known packs only to come up blank. so he assumes that they are new. questions begin snaking up ingram's throat: but he does not yet allow them to pass.
he would collect what information he could and relay it back to trikova.
it was, after all, part of his job as the keeper.
i am the keeper.
ingram replies; offering his title as easily as if it were his own name. i have not heard of your sacrarium,
the word feels strange rolling off his tongue. are you located nearby?
apologies for the wait!
"Keeper," Noir offered a half-smile and a nod of her head. Titles and ranks was good information to start with. "Indeed, we are just a ways to the southwest - roughly a day's travel from here, beyond the ridge," she told him, jerking her head and flicking her tail towards the ridge far in the distance. Then, she turned back to face him, though her cream eyes were drawn, not to the keeper, but to the island in the distance. "Your group lives there? An island must be interesting."
roughly a day's travel —
it wasn't close per se but it was close enough that ingram ferreted the knowledge away to take to the listener as soon as this conversation ended. no doubt she would be interested in it all the same, even if nothing came of it. which prods him to get more information despite that conversing was not his favored past time.
and your sacrarium,
ingram drawls, testing the word out a second time. what kind of wolves does it harbor?
because regardless, if they might pose a threat to the druids down the road: the iron guardian wanted to know of it. if he were to judge by name alone: it sounded well like something to keep a keen eye on.
but names were deceiving.
she seemed amiable enough.
it is a home like any other.
ingram speaks vaguely with a roll of his shoulders. do you seek something specific? or just wandering the neutral territories?
"All sorts." A generic reply was given with a keen smile, and she elaborated, "We are all family within Sacrarium." Then, a question to her - what did she want? Noir knew the politics game, and she was good at it. She answered casually, "Mostly, I come to know your pack, seeing as we are distant neighbors. What can you tell me about it?" Any amount of details would be good.
he is given generic answers to fit against his own: a fairness, he surmises. nevertheless, he tucks the information away; hoarding it carefully like a dragon might hoard it's treasures. she comes to know about blackwater, she tells ingram. the keeper gives a small lift of his chin, fighting off the urge to label her as
nosy when it wasn't fair. her curiosity was normal; but unfortunately, it was not the keeper's place to divulge information. not to strangers. only to the listener.
little,
ingram replies. aka: nothing at all. that was not his role.
i will call for the listener or a speaker. if neither answer the call, i will tell them you stopped by, perhaps one will visit your pack at a later date.
he makes no promises, though. that was not his role, either. nevertheless, he tips his head back and lets out a howl for
@The Listener or
@Tulok.
He heard Ingram's call from where he was patrolling the beach along the edge of the island. The summons came from the sound, not from the bridge leading to the island, which immediately put the demon on edge.
When he arrived, the keeper was with a woman he did not know. Tulok came to stand beside him, two-toned gaze moving from the stranger to the listener's guard. Why have you called for the speaker or the listener?
he asked, his manner gruff and to the point as usual.
When the next male approached, Noir bowed her head in greeting, and when questioned, she answered, "I am Noir, of Sacrarium. I come to know your pack - what can you tell me about it?" She had not even gotten a name from the Keeper, but she supposed they were entitled to their secrets, just as Sacrarium was to their own.
ingram is skippable from this point. if he's needed for participation feel free to tag me but i will remain subscribed to this thread just in case. :-)
it is not my place to speak of our home.
ingram replies when tulok's gruff question reaches him. his reply is simple, curt and to the point. he sees no need to dance around the subject; and unfortunately sees no need to speak any further than that. if he is a little peeved that tulok questions him so he keeps it hidden beneath his stony façade.
he keeps to his silent as noir speaks, relaying what she wishes to know to the speaker. he does not retreat, however. he remains: a studious guardsman. should trouble arise: he was there to place swift end to it.
The stranger wanted to know about the druids, and the keeper was not the one tasked with deciding who was allowed to know these things.
The demon nodded at Ingram, missing any irritation from the other man if it did show.
He turned to the woman. I do not share our secrets with anyone outside of our pack. It is one of our few laws.
It was a law he took very seriously.
So, I cannot tell you much. Just that we are called Blackwater and we are home to the druids. To know more, you would have to agree to join our ranks as an acolyte and devote your time to learning how to be a driud.
These were his terms, and he could not be budged.
"I see." Her tone was not disappointed, despite the lack of information. Instead, the Servant girl smiled and bowed her head to both males. "Thank you both for your time. Unless you have questions for me about Sacrarium, I will take my leave."