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+--- Thread: Dragoncrest Cliffs some would sing and some would scream (/showthread.php?tid=20695)
some would sing and some would scream - Akantha - February 21, 2017
Since her announcements to the pack, Akantha had spent a considerable amount of time basking in the tide pools of Blackwater Islands and listening to Her words as She spoke in sweet prayer to the Sirens who sought refuge among the breaking waves. The water served to cool the sting of the wounds, and keep any festering infection from spreading into her blood—a death sentence to any mammal. She was not ready to acknowledge her mortality just yet, but she knew one day she would greet the churning maw of death with a smile.
But while she spoke to Her, she could not fully banish the thought of Wildfire and her pack of warriors from her mind. The Ambassador had mentioned a summit where the two leaders could discuss the option of a truce, but word had yet to reach her ears on the Commander's decision and that worried her. She, too, did not desire war with the land wolves, but she would make sure they were ready for it long before the first outsiders reached her shores.
Today, however, curiousity got the better of her. Upon scaling the cliffs of Ankyra, she struck north instead of the usual south towards familiar grounds, drawing in the ghosts of memory as they rejoined with her present. She did recall these woods; even passed the stream that she and Greyjoy once fished in, but her connection to them now was tenuous at best. Her gaze wandered over the snowy woods, ears set back as the trees grew taller, larger, and immense. The scents, too, shifted from the mossy earth of pine to include the musky oil of what could only be describe as wolf.
Akantha stopped dead when she caught sight of fresh claw marks in the yellowed snow, and the pungent smell of urine infiltrated her flared nose. The Matriach did not move another step. She held her breath, cupped her ears, and raked her eyes back and forth over her immediate surroundings.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Arlo - February 25, 2017
He’s found himself in an easy routine that is often spent on the borders. He sometimes runs across Dio or Eske in passing but most of the time he spends them along these days. He’s up early where his brother sleeps in, which he doesn’t mind—it has always been this way—and he goes about his business to pass the time. He’d eaten something earlier he’d caught just as the sun began to rise and the rest of the day is spent in the wooded area of Drageda, making sure nothing in particular is out of place.
When he’s circling the redwood borders of the cliffs, he notes a scent that does not belong and the absence of a call to those nearby. Someone lurking on their borders has never been tolerated and he’s loathing to start accepting it today. A s the wind shifts in his direction to bring the scent, his feet hit the ground in half a run to find who may be lingering.
The dark wolf is a blemish against the snowy backdrop and he slows, keeping himself hidden for as long as he can with the benefit of his fur and the way the wind is blowing. His head lifts and squares between his shoulders, his tail arched high above his spine—a posture he only uses when faced with a threat—and he curls up his teeth as he breaks his disguise and emerges into view.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Akantha - February 26, 2017
Akantha lingers, unwilling to turn her back, but knowing better than to break the sacred truce of a pack's borders by inviting herself past it. She does not sit, she does not lurk—she stands firm, eyes fixated on the darkest shadows of the woodland, and ears cupped to catch the sound of approach. And she is not left waiting long. A large, young, wolf steps out from the undergrowth, demanding submission with every step and threatening violence should she give him the oppertunity.
The Matriarch observes him, stone-faced, until she decides to bow her head below his own—the only deference she is willing to afford him. Her tail remains slack, but her heart thuds rapidly, thinking of Atshen. The ache in her neck and shoulders is still fresh, still debilitating. It's a wonder she even came here at all, risking herself to slake her curiousity. But Akantha is nothing if not determined.
"Calm, please, I don't intend to intrude or offend." She replied cooly. "I spoke to Wildfire, your Ambassador, a few days ago and I am merely here to talk. My name is Akantha." She wasn't betting on this male knowing anything of her meeting with Wildfire, but she supposed a name-drop might help abate any suspicions he might have regarding her presence here. She had a reason, and that was to see if everything Wildfire claimed was the truth. So far she was not disappointed (if Arlo was any indication) and it worried her.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Arlo - February 26, 2017
If Arlo had someone at his side as he moved along the borders, he’s certain they would have gone after the woman without question. There hadn’t been a call in the air to indicate someone lurking on the outside but something else keeps him grounded. She submits, dipping her head so not to counter his own posture, but he does not relax. His posture remains stiff as she speaks but his ears swivel when Wildfire’s name comes into play. Whether or not she’s telling the truth, he finds himself curios to know what they talked about and what would bring her here with unfinished business.
He takes a moment to look over the woman with scars on her body and wounds that seem a little stale. There isn’t much he likes just by looking at the straggler and before he wastes Wildfire’s time with a call, he’d rather find out as much as he possibly can.
“What is it you want from her?”
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Akantha - February 26, 2017
Similarly, Akantha isn't pleased that circumstances force her to submit to the male. He was easily, judging from his slightly lean form and lack of visible scarring, a few years her younger. She's reminded of Atshen, but he doesn't possess the same violent bearing. Only the promise of it that duty commands of him. He isn't calmed by her words, nor her knowledge of Wildfire, and she frowns. The Ambassador made mention of warriors, but that they did not seek war. If this was how they treated strangers on their border, then she had reason to doubt that claim.
Akantha shakes her head, "Not her specifically. I simply had questions, and was curious if she'd made any progress with setting up a meeting. But I don't intend to bother her so soon." She replied with a twist of her lips. Her nose flared as she inhaled the scents around her, and felt as if she was entirely out of her depth. Not an unfamiliar place for the Matriarch, but a concerning one all the same. "I am curious about your pack, but I do not want to go into a meeting blind and would like to avoid offending your group by learning a bit about your group. Would you be willing to oblige me?" Her eyes flashed and her limbs tensed as Akantha readied herself to flee should he react unfavorably to her response.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Arlo - February 26, 2017
When it turns out it is not Wildfire she is looking for but information, Arlo feels the fur along his spine begin to bristle. She mentions a meeting, something the boy doesn't know about, and he wishes he'd had more information about what is happening in Drageda in the near future. It isn't uncommon for them to meet with other packs back in Trigeda to solidify what belongs to who and where they can or can't go buy Arlo has something to prove. He isn't going to give out information he isn't supposed to even if the woman doesn't want to go in blind. The packs from home know about one another and here, there seems to lack the concrete foundation from one to the next.
"Maybe," he begins, ears twitching upon his head. He considers to ask about the meeting she mentions but keeps it to himself. She doesn't have to know he doesn't know what's going on. "Depends on what you want to know."
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Akantha - February 26, 2017
The patrolman doesn't budge an inch and Akantha finds herself growing perturbed. There is a great deal of responsibility weighing down on her now that she possessed the mantle of Matriarch—keeping her Sisters, and their Consorts, safe was of the utmost priority. Though she didn't realize it, she was now beginning to understand why Aktaie seemed so worn thin by the time they'd settled Ankrya. There was so much more to leading than finding a place to live and keeping her conclave fed. There was diplomacy involved, and it required reason above even her own feelings. Never before had she needed to shelve her own tumultuous emotions for others. But today she did so, despite feeling increasingly irate with Arlo, because their survival required it.
Akantha switched her ears back and shook her head. "I won't insult you by asking about your warriors, or how many conflicts your Commander has beneath her, because I am not interested in war." She explained, even though her interests were somewhat contrary. If she knew how many warriors they actually had, she could prepare her own for the worst case scenarior. But it wasn't the time for such questions. "I simply want to understand how your people are led, and what morals you abide by. Do you commit yourselves to a faith? Rituals to a higher power?" She asked, pausing only to clarify while feeling very uncomfortable with the sound of her voice. "For example: my Sisters and I abide by the Sea, and the Moon, and much of our lives revolve around their personification."
It was strange speaking of the Mothers in such a clinical way, but she would not reveal more than was absolutely neccissary to someone who would likely never understand or witness such things.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Arlo - February 26, 2017
Arlo narrows his eyes when she first begins to speak. While she doesn't straight out ask for the information, he knows it is something she wants. Perhaps she knows he won't give it to her without a higher power nearby to give him permission and he's thankful he doesn't have to try and work around it. He isn't even sure he'd have the proper information. While he's gone to war himself, it had been with Trigeda a few months ago and his knowledge of Drageda is limited to a degree that prevents him from even being able to open up.
She does explain the nature of her wolves and what they worship. Many of the Seageda wolves had been close to the ocean for having lived so long on the shores of their claim but they did not treat it as an entity as Akantha may be inclined. It is a monster at best, able to take the strongest lives if you weren't careful enough.
"Our Heda is our sole leader and she has a council of wolves to serve Drageda, here, as well as our clans further north. We all serve Heda," he tells her, uncertain of what she knows and what Wildfire may have told the stranger. His difficulty with outsiders leaves him confused most of the time. He can easily fall in line with the wolves of his own, as he had with Tirgatao, but the others have proven to be a challenge. "We come from harsher lands than these, both in weather and brutality of our neighbors so what is ours is ours."
Arlo's jaw tenses as he watches for a reaction. Something doesn't seem to be settling properly with the straggler but he doesn't want to cause any alarm with a neighbor clan that isn't their own. Instead, he lets himself ease some of the tension he is carrying but his head remains held high and his tail arched above his spine. Drageda is his, after all.
"Just like you, we do not want war, but before we came here it was something we've been well acquainted with," he tacks on as an afterthought.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Akantha - February 26, 2017
There's that word again, and Akantha realizes she was mistaken in thinking that Heda was the name of their Commander. Before she can forget, and the conversation naturally moves past the mention of her, Akantha speaks up to clarify her confusion: "Heda is not her name, but her rank title in your tongue, correct?" She asked with narrowed but thoughtful eyes. How embarassing that would have been; walking into a meeting and greeting her as Commander Heda.
She takes stock of the situation when he finishes speaking—he is less tense and overtly hostile, though he maintains his dominant posture as expected. Akantha looks him over, avoiding his gaze, and ascertains he is telling the truth. Or what little of it he is willing to reveal. To her relief, it lines up with Wildfire's own commentary. Neither party desires war however both are willing to fiercely defend what they deem their own. In Akantha's mind, that is her Sisters and their access to the Sea. To Arlo, she imagines, it is the territory, his clansmen, and the lands immediately surrounding the cliff side pack.
Finally she settles on a response and when she opens her mouth to speak, it is lined with a smile. "So we are one in the same." She comments cryptically only to elaborate a moment later: "Our neighbors, similarly, desired what was ours out of sheer jealousy and misunderstanding of our beliefs. The Nereides have seen many conflicts in our history, none of which we have started without previous provocation. I've grown up fending off intruders and war parties, but I take no joy in it." She lifted a foreleg to present the ragged scars crisscrossing the bone. "We don't ask that our neighbors understand our religion, we simply wish to continue our worship without being prosecuted for it." Akantha said firmly while keeping her head fixated towards Arlo. "Peace is my only desire." She repeated, again, for Arlo's benefit. Wildfire, too, knew of her desires, though they were far more complex than she could describe at the moment. Akantha needed to be firm and unwavering about her intentions or she would potentially lose the chance to broker a deal with the cliff pack.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Arlo - February 26, 2017
*gives u tiny dwarf post*
A realization crosses the woman’s face and Arlo nods his head. Calling Heda by anything other than her title (or at least applying her title to the beginning of her name) is frowned upon. “Heda Thuringwethil,” he offers, the name nearly foreign on his tongue. “She is to be called Heda or Commander,” he adds for good measure, hoping it may help whenever they have their meeting and she does not overstep her welcome.
“Until the meeting, I suggest avoiding our borders,” he muses, though he doesn’t know if they’ve set up a day for them to come together. Either way, he’s certain he’ll be seeing the dark woman again.
RE: some would sing and some would scream - Akantha - February 26, 2017
Acknowledging Thuringwethil's wishes, though she isn't here, Akantha nods and smiles. "Heda it is, then." She is not so unused to foreign tongues that she would attempt to use their native version of it. The translation of "commander" seemed flat, especially when she already had a chosen title, and it would prove doubly true when Akantha finally met the impressive woman.
Arlo dismissed her, and Akantha got the hint. She would learn no more from this meeting, but she was able to gather enough information to ruminate on in the coming days. A part of her wanted to speak to Kalika about it, but that decision would not happen now. She needed time. The Matriarch bowed her head low out of respect and gathered herself to head the way she came, but not without a passing remark to Arlo as she circled. "I will not darken your door further, guardian. Thank you." She said with a quick smile only to depart from their meeting at a decent clip, down the slopes, and back in the direction of the Sound.