Dragoncrest Cliffs son of none

He'd found a trail in the forest that led him out to sea, and upon finding a strip of weather beaten rock and sand, he began to investigate. It wasn't long before Edmund's hunger flared its ugly head. Some time later, as he trekked inland again, he came upon the scent of hare, and took after it.

It was evening when he finally returned to the head of that path. The wolf smelled distinctly like brine after spending hours running alongside the waves, but he had caught himself that hare and filled his belly. With renewed vigor he grasped the remaining pieces of the hare in his jaws, and set out again.

He didn't go far, though, before the scent of wolf overwhelmed everything else. Edmund placed the half-eaten carcass upon the soil and licked his lips to rid them of old blood, then began to investigate this, too. The scent of wolf was strongest along a ridge of jagged stone; it appeared to lead west, and was so heavily marked tha the began to rethink his route.

The hare lay forgotten.

If there was a pack here, he thought, perhaps my luck has changed.

when mother went missing, blix remembers, there'd been a search of some sort. she'd been too young to know the details -- the only reason she knows of it at all is that it ended with eske bringing furi to them. every day without notice or word of bat's whereabouts tugs at her -- does she send a search party for her younger sister? who does she send?

she'll have to talk to helix about it -- but she has only just resolved this when a strange figure interrupts the cliff-marked line of drageda's border. pausing, she shelves the thought, switching into an authoritative posture as she approaches the man. "what brings you near our borders," blixen asks, casting him with a watchful eye -- they are not as desperate for bodies as they'd been a moon prior, and her natural suspicion of outsiders has heightened in the wake of bat's disappearance.

This was about the time every night that East found himself patrolling the borders of his new home. He had little else to keep him busy aside from his exploring of the territories around Drageda, and getting familiar with the land offered a good distraction.

The scent of a stranger halted his steps; it was fresh and close, so he wasted no time following it. His mistrust of strangers ran deep, instilled in him from a young age, and so he naturally associated the smell of unknown wolves with the potential for danger. He arrived to find the commander already questioning the dark stranger and calmly walked closer, holding back a little to make it clear she was in charge, but offering his silent support should it be needed. He offered no words, but instead watched and waited, ready to protect as always.

She’s following Eastwood’s scent for a while, keeping her distance on a fresh trail. He’d been much of a mystery during their conversations that she was curious to found out what she can when he isn’t looking. Mallaidh doesn’t have to operate under a guise anymore and it surprises her how much it affected her daily life. Anxiety has not been shed entirely from her life but it does not control her as strongly, either, and she can fine tune the skills she’s learned from her former mentors.

Eventually, Eastwood’s trail leads to Blixen and she pauses. One foot hovers above the ground, ears cup forward, and she tries to listen. She isn’t close enough to hear so she takes a few steps closer, trying to pull the sound to her, but all she gets is a third, unknown scent. Ears tilt back against her head, moving through the redwoods enough that she can see Eastwood, half of Blixen, and a small portion of the stranger. Mallaidh remains still against the sounds of the forest, waiting to hear something to know more about the situation.

He is not alone for long.
They come out of the woodwork slowly, and in the time it takes for their bodies to populate the hillside he has time to examine each of them with fleeting glimpses. The first is copper-coated nad sharp; they speak, and the others hold their collective tongues. A silver guardsman appears next, and then Edmund is taking notice of a girl following after them - but he doesn't have his attention linger long.
If he is surprised, there is no way to tell. But he watches the wolf who appears to be in charge and, after some mental deliberation, answers the question they've put forth.
Chance. He says this without missing a beat, but a clear absence of emotional sentiments.
I'm new to the area and was surprised to find a section of the coat inhabited. It is intriguing. As if the concept of a coastal wolf is really that bizarre to him—he comes from a land-locked world and hasn't seen much of the sea, let alone fathomed why anyone would choose to live beside it, but he keeps these thoughts to himself.

she herself has yet to encounter someone stumbling upon them by chance, although it is not the first in drageda's history (if she were aware that étoille's answer had been much the same, she might have felt differently). it is not the most compelling answer -- blixen does not speak yet, glancing to eastwood as he arrives (and then, catching sight of mallaidh, being unable to resist a quick smile before her attention is returned).

"intriguing?" the young commander echoes, cocking her head at him. oh -- actually, this isn't the first someone someone has just wandered upon their borders, she remembers. maybe he's like -- that girl. whatever her name had been. rather than stretch out their conversation, she says, "this is drageda. i am blixen, our commander," straightening up a little as she titles herself.

"are you just passing by or do you have business with us?" blixen tries, raising an eyebrow at him.

He wasn't standing there long before the familiar scent of Mallaidh reached him. He would have turned to look for her, but he didn't want to take his eyes off the unknown male. East listened as the slender wolf explained his reasons for being near the borders, his militant gaze never leaving the stranger except for a brief moment when the commander introduced herself and once again asked about the other wolf's intentions here. East was also interested to know what brought the dark male here. He didn't think he would wander up to a pack's borders just out of curiosity; that was potentially asking for trouble. His eyes found the newcomer again after Blixen had finished speaking, and he watched with an expression of mild interest, ready to hear what the man would say next.

She can’t see much of the stranger, and she doesn’t realize he’s spotted her until Blixen turns back and gives her a look. Brows knit together as she listens, Blixen’s authoritative tone something she hasn’t really experienced yet. She’s been the commander since before her return but she hasn’t seen her in action (even they day she brought her friends and come home).

Eastwood doesn’t say anything either and she gives him a look before she comes out from behind the big redwood, eyes trailing to the stranger and waiting for the next move.

He doesn't know what to say at first or maybe he's deliberating, thinking of all the different things he could say before deciding on the right course of action. If he says the wrong thing they'll chase him off, of course. Maybe he'll say the wrong thing on purpose just to see what will happen. There are many of them and he knows this would be the wrong thing to do, that it would lead to a fight, but sometimes that's all Edmund is after. Something to liven up the world. Some entertainment to get his blood pumping. Otherwise he feels empty. Ah, but he's thinking too hard about it.

When he finally speaks there has been a pregnant pause bordering on an awkward one, and still he looks to the fine-boned youth, for they appear to be in charge. I would like to stay. Winter will be here before too long. They aren't that appealing as a group, but Edmund doesn't know anything about them. Maybe they're a bunch of religious zealots. Maybe they adhere to some sort of tribal tradition involving sacrifice and cannibalism. They seem like a healthy group, if a bit young. He could work with that, and whatever else they have hidden away will be fun to explore. If you have food to spare and room for one more, I could be of use to you as another hunter, or a messenger, and I have been taught the basics of medicine as well, although that is a small fib; he is well versed in medicine but refuses to sell himself on that aspect of his life.

He is watching Blixen as intently as he can, although without a shred of emotion it could easily be misconstrued as intensely unsettling.

the shift in power from process of first vetting to 'you can totally just decide yes or no' has been, to say the least, unsettling for her -- she's still learning to trust her own judgement. this extended pause makes her tense, feeling her impatience build, and when he finally does speak, she resist the urge to snap her teeth in exasperation. the man is right that winter is fast approaching, and the addition of another sturdy body could be of benefit. on the other hand --

what on earth is with that stare

why are men like this?

very, very aware of furi and eastwood behind her, blixen forces herself to clear her throat, her eyes narrowing. "you know nothing about us," she points out. "my name is blixen, our commander. drageda requires loyalty -- if you only intend to stay for winter, i'd suggest you look --" away from me, please, my god " -- elsewhere."

she forces herself to fix him with a sharp look, ignoring still the unsettling way he watches her. "if you are willing to prove yourself useful to us, however -- you can start by telling me your name, and we'll go from there."

One of his ears swiveled back towards the sound of Mallaidh's steps, but his gaze remained on the stranger as he began to explain that he would like a place to stay and then proceeded to list his skills. It was much like any other conversation between a leader and a potential recruit, except for the way the dark male looked at the commander after he had spoken his piece. The lack of expression paired with the intensity of the male's gaze was disconcerting and somewhat confusing, and suspicion painted East's face.

He heard the shift in the commander's tone and tensed a little. Her words were curt, but he felt it was warranted. Unsure how the stranger would take her frankness, East took a couple steps forward, still remaining behind Blixen but close enough to take action should the situation go south.

Already, Mallaidh doesn’t like him. He stares at little too long at Blixen for her taste. A weird sort of jealousy settles into her chest but she knows her friend better than that. As Eastwood takes the cue to get closer to Blixen, Mallaidh follows suit and stands behind her. She doesn’t mask her footsteps so she knows she has the support but she does adjust her posture and bristles her fur and expands her prowess as much as she can. She tries to catch Blixen from the corner of her eye but makes no obvious movements aside from the repeated look at me she aggressively thinks in her direction.

They were unnerved by him, and while Edmund was a perceptive sort he dismissed their feelings as commonplace. Such things followed him wherever he went and he had become accustomed to the subtle awkwardness of meetings. It does not enter his mind that perhaps watching and waiting for the leader's approval is a bad thing, or an intense thing, because that's all he's after—a place to stay, the go-ahead. The girl speaks and he listens, since that's why he is here, waiting for a verdict. But she requests his name first. An easy trade.

Edmund. He says. There is no explanation to accompany this as he doesn't view further information as necessary; she asks, he provides. If she asked for more, he'd give more—but he does finally break his eyes away from her and fleetingly look around at the gathering force that is her family. Drageda? Sounds interesting enough.

sorry for the wait on this -- i was having a hard time figuring out what blix's reaction would actually be, haha

feeling furi and eastwood move behind her, blix straightens up, her eyes still narrowed suspiciously. edmund is weird, he gives her weird vibes. he doesn't respond to anything else she says and though he's not staring at her anymore, at least, she can feel herself bristling.

"alright, edmund," she says, her eyes narrowing. she would be within her rights to chase him off but something holds her back from that -- her newfound desire to give the benefit of the doubt, maybe. her insecurity with the amount of authority she has still. either way, despite her misgivings she does not bare her teeth at him. "like i said, i'll expect you to prove yourself to us." especially if he's a hunter as he says -- artaax will have even less patience than she. finally the commander looks back at eastwood and mallaidh, checking to see their reactions. neither of them look pleased. she hesitates, then turns back toward edmund to add, "so you better get started."

what exactly blixen means by 'prove it' is unclear, even to herself. but it seemed like the properly authoritative thing to instruct. if he'd claimed himself a fighter she would have challenged him to some sort of spar -- she could, what, give him a message to run to morningside? no but she doesn't trust him enough for that, and she doesn't exactly want to go on a scouting trip with him.

maybe she is thankful that he makes no effort to clarify what she means, then, even if it only further cements him as .. lacking, somehow. certainly. certainly indeed, edmund. the commander is frowning when she says "alright, then," giving an uneasy shrug at mallaidh and eastwood. it's on edmund to figure out what blix means by proving himself and to actually do it; she does not interfere with his passage into the territory, remaining where she is long enough to mumble to mallaidh and eastwood, "keep an eye on him with me," just in case, you know, her guess as to his harmlessness proves wrong.

more or less... satisfied but not content with this strange turn of events, blixen makes her own leave.