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+--- Thread: Moonspear malleus key (/showthread.php?tid=65270)
malleus key - Glaûkos - March 19, 2025
There was very little here.
It was different from what he had expected. Glaukos had not thought Sialuk the type to vanish let alone leave a daughter behind—but, he did not know her very well at all. Their one connection had been years ago, and within that timeline of a wolf's perception, that was a great chasm of space between them.
He did not mourn her absence. If anything Glaukos was glad to find the mountain so bare, because he could work as intended, and there weren't many eyes to watch him or voices raised in dissent. His patrols went well enough. There was no reason for anyone to infiltrate such a small band of wolves, he reasoned.
Given what he did know of the wolves here: there was Tiuttuk, the daughter; there was Killdeer, her father; the man Alaric, and likely one other among the scents—and further, Glaukos estimated he could build a real life here, as there was nobody to oppose him of any consequence.
Whatever deeper designs he harbored were kept buried, as he quietly, diligently spread his own mark across caches and patrol routes, slowly but steadily making his presence the most dominant upon the mountain—under the guise of hard work, of course.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - March 19, 2025
Chest slathered with blood, Treepie sought out the nearest spring and splashed cold water over herself, rinsing most of the gore downstream. She stepped back from the bank and gave herself a shake, glancing down at he chest. White fur now pink, she shrugged. The thrill of the kill—and, of course, the hot meal following it—had been worth the mess.
She sauntered along a nearby footpath, wending downward toward the foot of the mountain. Pie didn’t enjoy patrols, yet she performed them dutifully. It was important to keep the scent markers as strong as possible. Speaking of which, she noticed the strength of Glaukos’s presence along the borderline and sniffed in approval, overlaying each of his marks with her own—not to overpower, but to combine and strengthen both.
It was only a matter of time before she caught sight of him, his hulking figure always reminding her of that bear. Treepie paused in her step, yellow eyes cutting every which way as she wondered about the grizzly’s whereabouts for a moment. Then she turned her attention and her toes toward the newest villager.
Greetings, Glaukos,she said as she flanked him.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - March 19, 2025
The sound of a voice, and then sighting those daffodil-yellow eyes set in a dark face, earned a small nod and a grunt from Glaukos while Tiuttuk made their approach. She looked to be slightly distracted and Glaukos looked around, but having not seen any sign of threats so far in his patrol he made the obvious assumption that it was a woman thing and as such, more than explained any flightiness of the younger wolf.
There really aren't a lot of you, eh.He remarks in his low, brooding way. It was only a confirmation of what she had already shared with him the last time they had spoken. By now he had drowned out the scent of the other men simply because he was so attentive to his work, and any sign of Sialuk which might have coexisted there—very old already—was replaced by Tiuttuk behind him. This fact he had not yet noticed yet.
He wondered,
—at what point do y'think it best to leave the mountain? Your... grandmother, she lives close, right? Across the glen.He nosed at the soil a little bit, finding a patch of snow that had not yet melted fully in the shadow of some pine trees. Trying to be conversational while seeking information was not exactly the most subtle tactic, but Glaukos' social skills had never been very good.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - March 19, 2025
She said nothing in reply to his observation, having told him as much the day he’d sought entry into the thinning ranks. But when he questioned her about leaving, Tiuttuk felt a flash of irritation that made her hackles prickle. She grew tired of both the question and the implication. Why did everyone think she should abandon Moonspear so easily? And who was he, in particular, to comment on it?
Did I not tell you,she replied calmly,
that loyalty means everything? Did I not say that if you plan to leave, this isn’t the place for you? The same goes for me.She let that hang for a moment before saying with an air of finality,
There is no point at which I’ll leave Moonspear.
She gritted her teeth a little, riding out the irksome feelings, but took a breath. It wasn’t Glaukos’s fault but how many times would she have to repeat herself? Treepie held it, then let it out in a slow whoosh. She said nothing else, though her yellow eyes flicked inquisitively to his face to see what he made of her response.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - March 20, 2025
Her reaction was more concentrated than he expected of someone her age. The words were pointed, exasperated. It was apparently a common question and simply by asking, he introduced doubt about his pledge to Tiuttuk. Glaukos regards her a moment while he's inches from the dirt, and as he resumes his investigation he answers.
I only ask to make conversation. There is not much else here to speak about.Clearly he had hit upon a nerve.
You are loyal to the mountain,which was only land; but Glaukos had been privy to the rise and fall of other people, some who coveted the land greatly, others who were focused on their own blood. He knew what loss felt like — and maybe Tiuttuk battled with what limited, but poignant, losses she had faced so far.
Why did you choose the mountain over your mother?He was curious - although perhaps he should have been more compassionate with his phrasing. Glaukos did wonder why Sialuk would go, but leave a daughter.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - March 20, 2025
Something about his rejoinder rankled, though not enough to bother dwelling on it. When he commented on her loyalty, she only nodded and let out another puff of breath. At his next question, Tiuttuk became very still.
So many answers flew through her brain, all of them defensive. She bared her teeth to show her distaste for the question, though she didn’t voice any of the retorts that screeched through her mind. And quickly enough, she sheathed her fangs.
I didn’t,she said, the look on her face telling him to mind his own business.
You know my grandmother?Pie queried in the next breath.
He said he wanted to make conversation. As much as Glaukos’s comments and questions pressed against her pain points, Treepie knew they were valid. For one reason or another, he stayed here, and she knew he lent them a great deal of strength. She was curious about him, even if she found him irritating.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - March 20, 2025
He knew to drop it even before the look crossed her face, and by then he was trundling up another embankment.
On the topic of that witch woman...
When I was a boy.He said as he hoisted himself up along a tangled ridge, finding a trail of scents closer to prey than any patrol markers, and crinkling his snout when he recognized wild boar. The last time Glaukos had seen boar, they lived on the next mountain over—evidently their range had increased.
I was lost. She had food. Eventually my sister came and found me and we left Moonglow together.Sister wasn't exactly the right term for Avicus, but that didn't matter. He left much unsaid.
She seemed old then. Must be ancient now.A huff climbed his throat, almost a laugh. The next segment of the route smelled distinctly of two men and Glaukos cocked a leg to affix his own mark overtop.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - March 20, 2025
His words made her look at him speculatively, trying to guess his age, even as they moved along the rugged terrain. If he had been her mother’s lover, perhaps he was three or four years old. If he hadn’t seen Kukutux since his boyhood, then it had been quite a long time. Glaukos said as much, his remark about her grandmother earning a twist of Pie’s mouth.
She’s not ancient. She’s not even old,she refuted.
But she is very wise… and kind,Tiuttuk posited, thinking it sounded just like her to have helped a younger Glaukos.
She said nothing else for the moment, following suit as Glaukos checked the scents along this stretch of the borderline. When he lifted a leg, she glanced behind them, instinctively watching his back while he was in a vulnerable position. Then again, she thought, was someone of his size ever really vulnerable?
So your sister found you and took you home?Pie guessed, hoping he might offer some details.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - March 21, 2025
The girl had no sense of humor; or maybe Glaukos' made no sense to her. She defended her grandmother and the warrior gave a small shrug, putting the topic aside. His childhood perceptions weren't of importance.
As far as I remember, yeah.It had been a long time ago, though. Glaukos had lived many lives between his days as Nuak and now. He pauses as he's recollecting his thoughts, frowning.
No. Actually... I can't remember. I know she came and we left, but, the rest is a bit foggy. It was a while ago.
A few steps later and he's back at work.
I've traveled a lot and the timeline of my life is a little bit muddy.He looked to Tiuttuk, observing her reaction as much as he was studying her as a whole entity: had she ever been off of the mountain? She didn't seem the type to roam at all, given her fixation on the land.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - March 24, 2025
She said nothing as Glaukos seemed to stumble through his memories—perhaps he was older than she thought—her lips pursing thoughtfully. She thought of her own siblings. Unlike Glaukos’s sister, Treepie would never go out and find them. She drew in a slow breath at the thought, the tip of her tail switching like a cat’s as she prowled beside the bearlike man.
Tell me more about your relationship with anaang,she requested as they bustled along, thinking to tack on,
if you can remember?
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - March 25, 2025
There was little reaction to his comment except a thoughtful glance to the path ahead, and Glaukos didn't probe with his own questions, because he didn't think to do it, and he wouldn't have cared enough to know about some girl's life; she had barely lived it, compared to all the experiences he'd had by her age.
Anaang.
There was a time he had been brought to heel by the witch woman, he remembered that much. Tiuttuk's query made his remaining ear twitch, the close-cropped scars near their connecting points throb in a flashback of earned pain.
I remember playing a prank on her,which was putting his theft of her prized tusk far too mildly. He had meant to hurt her.
—And I don't think she appreciated it. She... called me Nuak, if that means anything.It hadn't to him, then, and it didn't now—but it was also a language he'd never learned, from a woman he'd considered old and crazed at the time.
I eventually left the area altogether. Got linked up with the General—ah, a man named Germanicus, who needed soldiers. He gave me a lot of the discipline I was lacking.He spoke fondly of the man even though the memory brought to mind a war, a boulder, and hard lessons; and even within that, Glaukos' tone remained stagnant.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - March 30, 2025
Tiuttuk met his tale with a loud blink. Sialuk had called Glaukos a disease? It didn’t sound like something her anaa would say, though she knew there was a toughness beneath that demure exterior. She found her nose wrinkling as she snickered.
Although she’d asked after her mother, Pie found herself intrigued by what he said after that. She only had a faint understanding of words like “general” and “soldier.” It was his tone that really captured her attention. He spoke with a trace of warmth she hadn’t heard from him yet.
Why did Germanicus need soldiers?she wondered, pausing to scratch her toenails along the rough bark of a squatting pine.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - April 05, 2025
Whatever miscommunication transpired, Glaukos was oblivious. He might have misremembered pieces; he for sure thought anaang was another term for the witch woman.
Her question earned a small look from Glaukos, who immediately thought it was stupid, but he couldn't fault her for it either. She was a child. Maybe the concept of war had never entered her world.
There was a... conflict. I was running with a band of warriors calling themselves the Saints; mightve been a little older than you are now.He hadn't thought about this in years, and now it seemed foggy in parts.
My side lost. He found me after and I thought I was going to die, right there. Instead he offered me a place as a soldier in his ranks.
That didn't really answer her question though. Glaukos paces a few steps and then pauses, shrugs,
I guess you can't really be the General without troops.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - April 07, 2025
His words gave no indication of the scale of the conflict, though Treepie imagined it must’ve been considerable to require troops. She stepped away from the pine as she mulled this. No wonder some fondness had leeched into his tone when he’d brought up the man, Germanicus. By the sound of it, he’d saved young Glaukos’s life.
I assume you know a lot about combat,she posited.
The man who was supposed to help train me left without a word,Pie shared, the expression on her face showing exactly how she felt about that.
I would love it if we could spar sometime. I think the size difference would give me a lot of good practice and experience.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - April 07, 2025
He nods.
I can do that.
The patrol in this area was almost at an end, but he wouldn't go without a proper dismissal from Tiuttuk; a holdover from his time in Mereo, perhaps resurfacing with greater strength due to the conversation.
Moonspear as I've known it, under your mother, never seemed like a haven for warriors.Which was an ironic statement he would remain oblivious to, as Glaukos did not know the full breadth of the mountain's history nor his own ties to it.
But I can show you the basics and train anyone else that wishes for it. What sort of training have you had already - if any?
Given her age and the more relaxed vibe he remembered about Sialuk, the soldier did not imagine there was much that Tiuttuk knew about sparring in the general sense, and less so a warrior's ambition.
RE: malleus key - Treepie - April 07, 2025
No,she agreed,
it’s always been a haven for healers. I don’t see why it couldn’t be both.Her lips curved when he agreed, earning a quick,
Thank you,and then a purse of her lips as she pondered his question.
Barely anything, to be honest with you. It’s been sporadic and informal. So we’ll probably need to begin with the basics, lay some groundwork. I’m up for it if you are.
Her fur had mostly dried from her earlier dip, though the meal she’d enjoyed had digested enough that Treepie felt an immiment call of nature incoming. She glanced ahead, then behind, and knew that they’d laid down a decent amount of coverage. Pie trusted Glaukos could finish anything else that needed done.
I need to get going. Duty calls,she said, somehow with a straight face despite the immature joke that floated through her head.
I’ll find you soon for a spar. See you later, Glaukos.
RE: malleus key - Glaûkos - April 10, 2025
Tiuttuk was much like her mother in that moment. He didn't find fault in the absence of violence; it was not everyone's way, and that made his abilities stand out all the more, giving Glaukos an inherent value. He was glad to have more work.
The girl dismissed him in her way. He gives a nod and begins prowling another path, intent now upon finding somewhere that would suit their needs. If not found, he would build it.