It was a bleak, cold morning, and the sky was the color of lead. Streaks of it darkened where the clouds were thick, as if someone had taken a pencil and scratched the sky over.
He had left
the forest behind as soon as they'd arrived to it. No doubt the guards assigned to this mission were still scouring the place for him. Perhaps they waited for their breakfast, given that he'd claimed to be off hunting. They would end up waiting until the day had grown long and hot.
Not the brightest, thought Balor.
The outrider came to the foothills of a foreigner's holdings soon enough. There were signs of a patrol having crossed this way recently, although it could have been a hunter or even someone traveling on their lonesome.
He gave a cursory look through the trees one way, the other, and then back the way he had come, only to scoff. The very idea of tracing his way back to those buffoons wasn't worth entertaining. They would catch up eventually - or they wouldn't.
They didn't call him
Driftstep for nothing.
Maia found the time to patrol the borders more often now that her husband no longer felt so pulled in a variety of directions. Sometimes she brought the children with her but today she was alone. She was glad for it as soon as she spotted the stranger.
He didn't seem like a threat but it was easier, not having to worry about what he might do or what they might say.
Hi. You're on the borders of Brecheliant. Is there something you needed?
Maia asked, approaching with a relaxed posture. She wouldn't worry about introducing herself until she knew why he was there, but she didn't want him to think they were unfriendly. Was he just passing by, or did he know someone here maybe? He could be a friend of Bridget or Teya, or maybe of the man who couldn't speak.
He did not wait for long.
She was nearly the same image of the septon—a largesse softened at the edges, decorated in the guise of a cloud themselves. Had the old man been there with Balor they might have made mention of such similarities. Blamed the gods, perhaps. Was she some herald from on high? A witch of the storm? The very idea makes Balor smile.
A traveler am I. Admiring the view,
Balor explains. He observes her as much as he does the forest. Eyes are cold, but features otherwise are neutral, charmed.
Balor. I hail from the south of here, more than a fortnight afield.
He introduced himself with the slightest tip of the chin, his eyes then half-lidded. I have been many places. What is Brecheliant like, I wonder?
They spoke as formally as some of the stories, but ones Maia had never managed to master. She didn't have the patience to learn that voice or the attention span to stick with it through the more exciting parts. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him.
It's nice to meet you, Balor. My name is Maia; I'm one of the leaders here.
It still felt strange to say it because in most of her day to day, leadership wasn't something she thought about. It only really seemed to matter on the borders.
We're..
Okay. How to describe them? Well. We're really a family. Outside of the caldera, I don't know that we have much of interest to travelers. But it's home.
She smiled, hoping that answered his question well enough. She had a few billion of her own, actually, but she forced herself to start with one. What brings you here?
His eyes traced across her as she spoke as if to inspect her further.
A leader, yet you stand upon your own borders? How brave.
Balor was careful. He knew at times his words could flow like a river broken free of its bank. He could not remember when last he had met anyone of great importance outside of his father's land. He pulled his eyes from her, respectfully. My leader controls extensive territory to the south; he sent various parties to the four cardinal directions - I drew north, and here I stand.
Balor kept the details to himself for now. It was best to keep strangers at a proper distance until he had gathered more information about them. As entertaining as it would be to bestow the geriatric septon upon such a voluptuous woman, even the outrider held some sense in his head.
I come because he wants to learn about other people. In some way that is true of myself, though...my interest is admittedly more self-serving.
He is not shy as his glance moves furtively across her features again.
It is nice to be away from home. And here, unlike home, there is so much more to see.
Auspex. The rank still felt strange to wear, so she'd decided to bypass it. If he was passing through then it wouldn't really matter anyway.
She shrugged off his compliment with a small, good-natured laugh. Her, brave? She wasn't any braver on the borders than she had been when she traveled. It wasn't hard to be when there was so little danger to it! We don't see much trouble here. Brecheliant is a peaceful pack. We help any strangers we meet, rather than chase them away.
It wasn't odd to hear of a pack sending out scouts, but it was a little odd to see one come this far alone.
I used to travel and collect stories. No place can really match home, but sometimes it is nice to see what else the world has to offer.
She agreed, a little nostalgically. Now there was even more reason for her to stay close. It didn't matter much - she wouldn't have strayed far without Eljay at her side - but she understood what drew him to make the trip.
We could trade? I could tell you anything I can about this place, and you could tell me a little about your pack? Ir sounds like an interesting one, if it's that big.
Maia tried to imagine Brecheliant being called 'extensive' but couldn't. She loved their intimate group too much to ever want to see it grow that large.
Much was being shared already.
That this place was a hamlet rather than a kingdom. There were no guards to the limits of it. The lady of the broken mountain watched the fringes herself, without escort, and cited that it was a place of peace. All things divulged by the lady Maia and with more offered in trade, which spoke of her eager, people-pleasing nature.
Balor did not know what he might find here. It was certainly not a place that would benefit the crown except for the land itself. Further knowledge was required and he would discern for himself if the people would be worth keeping, should word of this place be returned to the weyr.
That is an acceptable bargain,
Balor agrees.
I could tell you of the great mountain where I was born, or the red hills that divides us from this place? Or do you wish to know things more along the lines of...skills, and prowess, of its people?
There would only be so much Balor would willingly share, and he knew how to keep the more important details shrouded with vagaries.
He smiles thinly, but his eyes are cold.
gonna close this up - apologies for taking a bit to get to it!
Maia was a lot of things, but suspicious was not one of them. She'd share openly with any stranger who seemed friendly, especially one who offered a story in trade.
It's people.
She replied without even needing to consider it. The people were always the most interesting part of a place!
Maia listened to his tale, the descriptions he gave, and filed them away for use in future stories she might create. Despite being potentially vague, he painted enough of a picture to satisfy her, and his language was enough in itself! She was a little starstruck, to be honest.
Afterwards she'd trade more about Brecheliant, the family and the history as she knew it. She hoped, in the end, he would come this way again... maybe they could play a story game, if she could convince him it might be fun.