Two Eyes Cenote sky raven

Heph, Raiyuk, and Seal arrival thread. Forward dated to the 29th, one day before the ceremony.

An emissary from a distant land arrived at Moonspear with news of a coronation. At first, Seal was so focused on her studies that she hadn’t given it a second thought. It wasn’t until she crossed paths with Moontide’s Beta, @Heph, and her friend @Raiyuk that the budding ecologist’s curiosity grew.

With @Sialuk’s permission, Seal decided to travel with them on their journey East. She wrapped a small gift in a square of rabbit fur and dressed herself in the fisher cat pelt she had recently tanned. Then, Seal joined the duo on their expedition to Akashingo’s summer palace in the lowlands.

Never had she ventured so far from Moonspear. They passed Bramblepoint and stopped by Brecheliant to find @Frolic, but @Maia and @Eljay reported that she wasn’t home.

They continued on past the mesa and across the meadow. There, beyond the hills, the impression of Two-Eyed Cenote was surrounded by tropical greenery. Even from a distance, Seal could make out the many wolves beginning to congregate around the entrance of the great hall. Immediately, her pulse began to quicken in anticipation.

"This must be it," she said in awe as the young girl's gaze shifted to her traveling companions.

*greedily snags*

in the days of the coming celebration, tuna has allowed herself to be touched by beauty. it was nothing compared to the dawn or to the dusk, nothing near what the pharaoh had to offer to her gods. in tuna; there was simple beauty, and perhaps the drawn kohl wings upon her eyes to bring out the warmth in them.

the fellahin comes to greet these wanders upon the border, a bright grin upon her face.

"trah'vlers! roy-ulty! friends awf distan' lan's!" she greets as she trots forward, "it's wit' great hon'r ah welcome yew to muat-riya, hon'red guests, tah witness tha' coron'ation of pharaoh toula, princess awf'tha red serpent." a mouthful, and perhaps not even all of her titles. but simplicity is what held tuna, and certainly it seems that it can be rewarded.

tuna comes to offer a low bow, a show of gratitude for their presence (and gifts that she can see neatly tucked away in furs). "we've been a'waitin' yer arrival! please, allow me ta'h take yer gifts and show yew tha' palace" she beams to them, smelling the wind of salt and mountain upon their backs.

He offered to go when the time came, to represent Moontide and his lodge, and to impress upon the others of the village that he was almost a man, able to handle more responsibility. It would be the farthest he'd ever traveled in his life! Raiyuk was excited for it; and before long, he was off with Heph.

They stopped by Moonspear and gathered the representative from the sister-village (who turned out to be the girl from before, and fortunately Heph said her name during the reintroduction, saving Raiyuk in a way they would never know). He was at once pleased for the company, and nervous about looking good.

There was a stop at another place before they reached the lowlands, but it was not of great importance to Raiyuk. He was friendly and dutiful, but seemed distracted by Seal the whole time, and when they carried on to the place called Muat-Riya, the boy never lost that focus. He helped carry the offerings for some distance, or tried to joke with Seal and make her laugh to help pass the time.

Then, when they were at the meeting place, they were met by someone small yet loud; Raiyuk was immediately on-edge when the strong scent of coyote caught in his nose; but he looked to Heph for silent direction on what to do, and other than keeping a careful watch of their surroundings, he kept quiet.

Heph had received news of the coronation with excitement mingled with sorrow. The lowlands, a place she had heard of, a place she had dreamed of going with Samani and her children, a place she wanted to see. And yet she did not hesitate. It would be a grand gathering and a rare opportunity. Raiyuk was going and they stopped by Moontide, a chance to spend more time with Seal, granddaughter to Towhee and Phox too in a way.

The earth beneath her was welcome, it was a long distance to travel and yet she marked the major points, let her sight and instincts again dictate the path that they took rather than knowledge and it felt good to be once more on shifting sands. When they reached the edge of the desert she chased after pronghorn so that she would have a pelt and a fine skull with tines on top to bring as a gift.

She would offer conversation and laughter if her companions were inclined on the journey, pointing out interesting or even dangerous features. But when they approached they were greeted by a canine with a voice that carried well and who spoke with dips in each enunciation that seemed to echo off the stone.

Approaching she tipped her own head, not wishing to dislodge her gifts by mirroring the unfamiliar deeper movement of the other. "We're honored to be here. Thank you." She slid the pelt from her own shoulders, the weight of the skull coming free and making her feel more at ease. "We're from Moontide and Moonspear. My name is Heph. I'm not sure I caught yours?" A brief glance and she stepped back to allow the other two to speak for themselves. They were both younger than her, but not by much, and coming into their own.

The trio were good company to one another and the time on the road went by quickly. When Seal’s gaze regarded her companions fondly, as they took in the Cenote below, she almost missed the figure that approached them.

A coyote! Seal had only ever seen one. A woman who had helped when the hellcat attacked, and so the girl had a good opinion of their sister species.

“Hi!” Seal chirped in delight. Yet as the woman, in a thick brogue, began her formal welcome it dawned upon Seal that she needed to behave with decorum. This week, she was a representative of Moonspear.

Outgoing, but not quite sure how to respond, Seal defected to Heph who was a confident and natural ambassador. Seal’s respect for Moontide’s beta grew and it made the young woman stand a bit straighter.

She passed a glance to Raiyuk, who looked to be in the same boat as herself.

Then, she delivered the gift to the coyote. It was a piece of fallen star. Polished space metal melted into rock and swaddled in a rabbit's summer pelt. “My name is Seal Sveijarn-Corten of Moonspear,” she bowed her head politely, but it was evident she wasn’t familiar with such an elegant gesture because her mantle of fishercat fur began to slip from her whithers. Quickly, she caught it before it fell. “I am honored to be here, as well.” Not the most unique introduction, but she felt it was right to mimic Heph’s words.

she offers a bright smile to the three of them; "yew may call me tuna" she says to them with a crooked ray of teeth, "we welcome moonspear an' moontide; muat-riya welcomes yew." tuna looks down at the gifts with a sense of pride, toula certainly deserved such wonderful things to admire in her home, and hopefully this meant good ties with the nearby packs.

"allow fer'me tah take yer gifts, an' show you tha' palace." gently, tuna comes to carefully scoop the gifts into her maw to hold and carry to the table of growing assortments, to be sorted later by her and the other fellahin. as she turns back to the others, she gives a deep sweep of the muzzle to invite them to follow.

"yew three mus'be tah'red from yer journey, can ah'offer yew any'thin, water or fresh meals?" she would come to lead them to where refreshments lay; platters of fresh cuts and aged meats, along with cactus fruit and a pail-like structure with clear water.

The two gave introductions and Raiyuk was next. He gave his name quickly with a small bow, but did not think to include his lineage as he was taught, so taken aback by the sight of the coyote and the strangeness of the moment. He struggled to keep up with the way they spoke; from what he gathered, food and drink was being offered. The boy did not speak again, and chose to fade in to the background, to follow Heph and Seal—and in the process, became thoroughly distracted by the monumental scale of the palace whose walls rose around them, and the procession of other guests.

"Water would be much appreciated, I've travelled in deserts before but not like this." Heph smiled, somewhat stunned by the feast laid out even for those who had just arrived. The invitation had included that there would be a meal and she had somehow expected all of the effort to go towards that. Either their pack was truly enourmous and rich in skilled hunters or the land was exceptionally bountiful. Perhaps both.

She gave a small smile, but once they had arrived she took the opportunity to ask. "I'm afraid we have not had many meetings with Akashingo before, is there anything we should know before the ceremony and feast so we cause no interruption?" Proper forms of address and greeting were the most obvious although from what she had observed it seemed as if Tuna at least was willing to meet them as long as they were polite by their own standards. But she had been given to understand the coronation was an important ceremony as well. While she understood them wishing to announce it to other packs having so many wolves there was certainly a recipe for something interesting to happen.

Muat-Riya.

For a moment, Seal’s gaze wandered past Tuna to the palace below.

New excitement made her hackles begin to prick beneath the fishercat pelt.

She carefully handled her present to Tuna as Heph effortlessly continued her discord with the coyote ambassador. Only then did Seal realize how parched she was! Then, her ears became attuned to the beta when she asked about Akashingo’s customs – what a smart question!

Seal looked to Tuna, eager to become versed in the way of the desert society.