Wolf RPG

Valiria was uncertain of her next move. After finding the canyon abandoned by Mereo with no word of what had happened to her family, she knew she had two options. First, she could seek them. She could go to Akashingo or to Epoch to see what they knew of Mereo's disbanding. Or, she could simply move on. What did it matter what had happened to them? They were gone. And they had left her behind.

Her heart wanted to abandon them as she felt they had her. But Valiria was trained not to blindly follow her heart. Duty came first. She needed to know what had happened to them.

So, she found herself at the borders of Akashingo. The tip of her tail twitched in annoyance like that of an angry cat as she paced along, simultaneously talking herself into calling for attention and bailing on this whole endeavor. Eventually, she huffed a frustrated sigh, tipped her head back, and howled.

akashingo continued to churn and the call for war from the gods grew louder.

makono must earn her reign in blood, traitor's-blood to wash the pristine red stone of her throne.

senmut watched the figure of snow approach from atop the mesa, where all directions into the flatlands might be seen. for a moment he considered sending a servant, but in ten minutes' times it was he himself descended, approaching.

he stood before the upright young woman, taking in her vision. she reminded him of someone but the image escaped. "this is akashingo. do you seek an audience with the pharaoh?"

Liri didn’t have to wait long before her call was answered by a thin man in red. She studied him briefly, assessing him as she would an opponent in the pits. There was no threat in his regard of her, but that didn’t mean he was a friend.

He spoke of the pharaoh, a title Liri knew was significant. And yet. ”That depends,” she answered, her tone imperious, ”Can your pharaoh tell me what happened to Mereo? If not, they are of no use to me. I am Valiria Redsand, daughter of the imperator, and I seek only those who know where my family has gone.”

At the mention of her brother, Valiria's demeanor shifted. Her cool, collected, confident exterior melted. She was no soldier now, she was just a girl. If only for the briefest of moments, she was vulnerable. She was lonely. She was desperate.

"Aquillius is here?" Liri questioned, her voice soft and yearning, full of the emotion she tried so hard to deny existed at all. It was safer to be hard. It was safer to be strong.

But it was not easy.

"Is my father...?" she breathed in the next heartbeat, and that was all it took for her to realize her guard had dropped. She swallowed thickly and pulled her shield back up. It was heavier now with the cracks in her armor showing, but she grabbed at her anger, grabbed at her mask, and used it to cover herself again as best as she could.

Atreus headed back to the mesa after a brief foray to the woods north of Akashingo. He wondered if anyone had gone after “Jodie” yet. He shook his head, the sound of the April wind in the treetops receding behind him. He paused and glanced back, thinking of that word Amalia had mentioned.

Soon, he neared the borders and found two figures there. To his surprise, they were both familiar. He recognized Senmut, of course, but he also knew the young she-wolf. He had seen her around Mereo, even if the two of them had never so much as had a conversation.

Hey, I know you, he said as he approached them. Atreus tried to remember what he knew about her, which was very little aside from a vague familiarity with her face. I lived in Mereo too. I went by Icarus there, though it’s Atreus now… uh, Atreus Psithurism, he decided on the spot, glancing at the priest.

Even with her armor on, the news stung. She did her best not to react, giving only a curt nod to acknowledge his words. Germanicus gone. Aquillius now serving a foreign master. Her world had turned into something she barely recognized in such a short time.

The appearance of someone new was a surprising distraction. She peered at him, recognizing him from Mereo though she couldn't even hazard a guess at his name. He filled in the blanks shortly enough, though all it did was to confirm she'd never known his name at all. She wondered vaguely if she was supposed to respond to him, but all she did was stare at Atreus for a moment before looking back to the first wolf as he began to issue commands.

Valiria wasn't sure what to feel about the fact that she would be going to this throne room, but she was pleased to hear herself referred to as a "ally". She gave a nod of gratitude and turned her attention to Atreus expectantly.

He expected her to provide a name or say something, though she didn’t. Atreus looked side to side, then glanced over at Senmut’s command. He nodded his head. He could do that.

Follow me, he said, guiding the way into Akashingo’s sanctum.

He didn’t try to make small talk. Instead, he tried to place her with sideways glances. Atreus couldn’t even remember if she’d been there at that final, fateful meeting. Only as they stepped into the cool shadows beneath the mesa did a memory suddenly click.

Didn’t you live in the—what was it I heard it called—was it the palazzo?

"sister of aquillius, daughter to germanicus," senmut would announce to @Makono when the young pair had arrived.

he stood then aside to the right, prepared to record in his mind all he saw and heard.

She followed Atreus as he began to lead her. It felt strange to step into the territory of another pack, just as it had when she'd joined the ranks of her mother's natal pack for those few weeks. Just like then, she knew this place was not to be her home. That knowledge consoled her that while it felt uncomfortable, it was alright that it did. She did not want home to be an strange place, but this was not home.

Liri was off in her own world, so she nearly missed the question her companion asked of her. She glanced sidelong at him with a frown. "You are of Mereo, but do not know the palazzo?" she questioned, suspicion obvious in her tone and her expression.

I know of it, Atreus rejoined, a little taken aback by her frosty tone and the frown to match, I just forgot the name.

Arguably, it was a strange word. But Atreus didn’t point that out, nor say anything further. He looked away from their guest as Senmut announced her to the pharaoh, then took that as his cue to station himself somewhere in the background.

Liri could tell he was out off by her question, but since this had been her goal, she was unbothered. She didn’t want to answer questions about herself. She owed nothing to him, or to any of these wolves. They didn’t matter to her, she didn’t matter to them. She wanted only to discover the whereabouts of her family and leave. She had to find her father. And then… she would see.

Liri followed Atreus in silence until they came to their destination, at which point her gaze shifted across whoever was there. She was silent, feeling it would be disrespectful of her to speak first. Now that she was in their lands, she knew well the necessity now of keeping her pride in check.

He thought he might find a spot in the corner and assume all the qualities of a sentient statue. But when he glanced at Senmut, then the pharaoh and their guest, Atreus wondered if he might be recruited into escorting Valiria elsewhere upon the conclusion of their exchange. He wasn’t typically one to shirk his duties, though he didn’t necessarily want to spend any more time with her.

Recognizing the opportunity when he overheard @Aquillius’s name, the young Mazoi cleared his throat and excused himself toward a nearby corridor. If anyone stopped and asked him where he was going, he would say he was looking for Valiria’s brother to bring him to her. Never mind that he would almost certainly wind up getting lost in the catacombs instead.