Shadowwyn Moor Muradoii

Creeks and streams spidered their way through the moor land and the caribou dotted everywhere around it. They drank and ripped at the foliage at the banks. Meleys trotted along the waters, hoping from one side to the next of a small stream. 

There was no hiding in the moors, not like the Emberwood, though the caribou were beginning to know the Lanzadoii ways and when they might attack. For the moment, they remained watchful but at ease. 

Meleys hunt was not to the caribou at this time, but to the woman known as @Suliya. Her brother asked if she would come to know her and so Meleys would.

suliya moved with the measured grace of a predator accustomed to the moorland’s open sprawl. the scent of sun eater lingered faintly on the air, entwined with the crisp bite of water and the musk of caribou. she followed the stream’s edge with an easy stride, her gaze sharp and discerning, though her posture carried the composed confidence of the lanzadoii.

when she caught sight of the black woman, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. the other’s movements were deliberate, almost testing, and suliya recognized the subtle signs of curiosity rather than threat. she stepped closer, her tail swaying slightly, a neutral but steady rhythm.

you’ve been looking for me, she stated plainly, her voice low and steady, a hint of challenge beneath the calm. her greyed eyes met meleys’s without hesitation, holding the weight of her heritage in their gaze. well, here i am.

the question hung in the air, neither aggressive nor dismissive, simply a statement of fact. suliya tilted her head slightly, her curiosity piqued but veiled beneath her muradoii demeanor.

Meleys hunted alone. She stayed alone, mostly. She learned this new herd, which replaced the one she had known and loved for four years. It would take four more to gain that same connection. Wolves would come and go, outsiders flickering in and out. It was only the Lanzadoii which would remain. Her brother. Her niece and nephew. She bothered with none other. 

Suliya came with swaying tail, yet speaking plainly and hint of challenge in her as her pale eyes met Meleys own. Her challenge was met with a warning of Meleys own, a crinkling of her muzzle. If Suliya thought she was a reclusive old witch, then fine, but that old witch would be treated respectfully. She would not warn her again. 

I am told I should come to know my people... When she begins to speak, it is words of Lanzadoii. With her at least, she did not need use choppy speech of the little common tongue she knew. Meleys stands proud before the herd. Her eyes, one of pale and one of dark grey, stare with the same intensity of Suliya's own. They sweep over her and over the great expense of the herd around them. And not just the herd.

suliya approached with a deliberate stride, her tail curling slightly in response to the unspoken warning in meleys’ gaze. there was a weight in the air between them, not hostility, but the undeniable tension of two wolves measuring one another. her pale eyes softened only slightly as she halted a respectful distance away, her head dipping faintly in acknowledgment.

then we’ve already started on the right foot, she replied in their shared tongue, her voice carrying both warmth and a hint of that ever-present edge. it’s not often i find myself told to do something that feels so... worthwhile.

her gaze swept to the herd meleys watched over, her admiration evident in the quiet way her tail swayed. they are strong. your guidance is clear in them. the compliment wasn’t empty; suliya understood the depth of what it meant to care for the herd, and in her words, she offered not just respect, but a small invitation to ease the tension.

perhaps you’ll share more than just their strength with me, suliya continued, her tone lightening. i’d like to know the sister of our chieftain—your wisdom, your ways. if you’d have me, that is. she let the words hang between them, her demeanor firm yet open, inviting meleys to decide what came next.

Acknowledgement: A softening gaze. A halt in order to give space. It was all Meleys needed in response from the other woman and so with it, the phantom eased. 

'They are strong. Your guidance is clear in them.' Meleys dips her pi-bald muzzle in silent thanks to the woman's words. She watches her with a tilting of her head, keeping Suliya in her peripheral sight. This herd is still new to me. My last I followed for four years, after I had been wed. 

My way is different then many Lanzadoii. Despite being among Lanzadoii clans only her entire life. I hunt alone, mostly. Only weak, sick or injured feel my teeth. Not unless it is a dire winter. She did not run along her clan. She did not hunt as pack, as wolf. She spent far more time understanding the politics within the herd, then in the pack. They saw her as a quiet watcher. A necessary evil to keep the health of the herd. Like an ant. Or maggot. I walk with them. 

Meleys did not particularly enjoy to teach, especially if it meant her words. She didn't enjoy offering history lessons, answering endless questions, weaving tales of the clans... If any of her children had survived, well, they would have to learn by observation. That is what she would do with this one. Come. She jut her muzzle towards the herd. I show. And she began her pace among them.

without a word, her pale, snow-colored eyes tracing the fluid movements of meleys as she led the way. the other woman carried herself with a quiet authority, her steps deliberate and purposeful among the herd. suliya mirrored her pace, her own movements just as silent, a shadow slipping effortlessly into the rhythm of the group.

her gaze swept over the herd, studying the subtle shifts in their posture, the way they seemed to sense meleys’s presence but didn’t scatter. it was a dance, one suliya wasn’t accustomed to, but she felt the pull of its cadence, the unspoken language that tied predator and prey in a fragile, primal balance.

suliya’s breath rose and fell in steady clouds, her sharp focus never wavering. the herd moved, and so did she, her steps light but grounded, her ears attuned to the whispers of the snow-laden breeze. she didn’t seek to impose, only to observe, to learn what meleys showed through action alone.

as they wove through the herd, suliya remained close but unobtrusive, her presence quiet yet intentional.

The shadow and the ghost moved with such a fluid effortlessness. One which came from being among the herds all their lives. Meleys had only ever lived off the caribou. She knew nothing of chasing down rabbit, wading in the shallows to fish or snatching birds from the air. 

Meleys looks to the caribou now. They huff into her direction, stirring warmth into the cool air. Meleys woofs low back. They know already by now that they would not be hunted by her. While they were strong and healthy, they had nothing to fear. Especially so, they needed not fear for the lives of their calves. 

Meleys might of made a good cattle dog, in another life. 

The woman then sat, watching a young buck, no more then six months, jumping, prancing, testing his elders patience. He had seen Meleys the majority of his life. He keeps at a distance by his mother's orders, yet bounces around playfully in front of the the older wolf, as though a bit of daring taunt. 

Why is it you left your former clan? Her mismatched eyes turned to the pale woman, fitted to the hazy winter gloom around them. She was colored like the clouds above and carried a confidence and demanding presence which mimicked Meleys own. A subtle, primal northern beauty.

the caribou were strong here, thriving under the careful watch of a guardian who understood the balance between life and necessity. it was a sight she had not seen in some time, and it both soothed and stirred her.

the pale woman didn’t answer immediately, her gaze shifting to the older wolf beside her. meleys carried an air of calm authority, but suliya could sense the weight of her question, the unspoken truths it sought to unravel.

she exhaled slowly, her breath curling into the air like smoke. my brother, she began, her voice steady but laced with something darker, colder. he took more than the herd could give. calves, mothers, the weak, the strong—it didn’t matter. all were prey to him.

her gaze returned to the caribou, watching the young buck prance boldly before its mother’s watchful eyes. he would have taken everything, left nothing but bones and silence. her tone grew quieter, almost a whisper, but no less firm. so i left. for their sake. for my own.

suliya turned her gaze back to meleys, her expression sharp and unyielding. a bad man, she said simply, as if that explained everything—and perhaps, to her, it did. she would not speak his name here; the caribou deserved better than the shadow of him.

Meleys breathed in deep, a gasp that stirred the air around them. Then, jaw tightening, and she nods. A bad man indeed. Suliya would not follow a man like that. Not even her brother. Not even with her being Muradoii who were specifically known for their endless violence. Though she were not truly all Muradoii, was she? A very rare creature indeed, for a clan which rarely mingled from their own. 

Yet - Meleys would marvel at this rare creature of a woman whenever she knew of this. For alas, she had yet not been told. 

That will never happen to them. She promised, as she looked back to the haughty buck. Not while she remained, at least. You should have challenged him. Spoken then matter-of-factly, as she looks back to her pale gaze in a darker mask. Surely, Suliya could take on a full grown man. She looked like she could, despite her leaner figure. 

Suliya answered what question Meleys had without any hesitation, though did not ask for information in return. So Meleys did not give it. Instead, she asked another. Spring will come. We will birth our pups with their calves. She, perhaps not. Four years in a row she had. Four years of given weakness. She blamed her husband, as he blamed her. Meleys could try new children, to a new man, but did not know that she would. Her brother asked her to seek @Anselm, though she had not yet. 

Will you take a husband of this new clan? Have you wed before? Two questions now.

meleys’s words hung in the air, sharp and matter-of-fact, but suliya didn’t answer right away. for really— she didn't know. she could have challenged her brother. perhaps she should have. yet, she hadn’t. the thought left a bitter taste on her tongue.

i don’t know, she admitted finally, her voice low, contemplative. perhaps i could have. perhaps not. the admission was rare for her, but honest. she hadn’t been ready then—she wasn’t sure if she was ready now. her thoughts wandered briefly to the past, to the weight of what she had left behind.

the question of husbands pulled her back, and her gaze flicked to meleys, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. i’ve not wed before, she said, her tone lighter now, but with a hint of irony. no man has impressed me. yourself?

Perhaps, perhaps not. The woman would agree with a shifting of her shoulders. It was not like Suliya to admit these things, but she could among her clan. 

Meleys ears perked forth then, curious. A sniff. She could have had two years of children already, surely. Yet maybe her clan did not push their daughters to take other clan men for bonds and alliance as much as hers had. 

I was wed early. 'A good match, good breeding.' Pah! She spoke, tongue clicking on the roof of her mouth and with a lifting of her forelimb and waving of her paw at its ankle. 

Four years he gave me weak seed. Four years of deaths. She had nit stayed with any of them. Even those pups which might have lived if she had stayed behind with them. It was not the Lanzadoii way and Meleys was only ever the Lanzadoii way. 

I would feel odd not to have a litter this year but, I do not know if I will wed another. She had been with the same man all her life. He had soured her views. Maybe Meleys would try her luck with a woman.

suliya listened intently, her snow-pale eyes fixed on meleys as the older woman spoke with sharp honesty, the kind that only came from deep wounds and experience. there was a rare kinship in the way meleys shared her story, her pain interwoven with pride and resilience. suliya understood it, even if her path had been different.

your strength, suliya began softly, her tone thoughtful, it is not bound to a man, nor to what they give or fail to give. her gaze lingered on meleys, steady and reverent. you endure. that is more than any weak seed could ever yield.

she shifted, her shoulders relaxing slightly, though her thoughts remained heavy. sun eater wishes me to speak to the ghost talker, she admitted, the words coming slowly. but he is a mere boy. her voice carried the faintest edge, a reminder of the defiance that had brought her here.

suliya tilted her head slightly, a faint, knowing smile pulling at her lips. if you take another, she mused, let it be one who matches your strength. her gaze flicked briefly to the caribou herd before returning to meleys. the choice should be yours.

she fell silent then, letting her words settle, the quiet between them filled with the soft breaths of the herd and the distant hum of the winter wind. in meleys’s story, she saw both a caution and an encouragement, and in her own, perhaps, a path yet unwritten.

Suliya speaks softly now. Thoughtful. It is one different which she had given when they had first laid eyes on one another. Though they tested one another. They both recognized their unrelenting power. Now, they allowed room for words only befitting for those who earned them. 

She did not strike Meleys out as monster, for leaving the children who could not march. She felt her customs just as deeply. Suliya, be it unknowing to Meleys, was a woman bred of dark waters, cold blood, hardened hearts. Meleys had been called things mighty similiar in the years which she had lived. It was perhaps then that the two women were not far from one another at all. 

He speaks of Grey man for me. He is half my own age! The phantom tells after the other reveals her own pairing. Sun Eater, the match maker! She would have never imagined. She chuckles just slightly, shaking her muzzle. 

Let it be settled then. Her words speak with a bite of directive. Either of us wed until a man give us reason and want to be wed to them. 

[i]My brother has an eye for you. She then states. It was why she had been tasked to come and know Suliya, after all. She had enjoyed the woman's company thus far enough, she had almost forgotten! No matter - Yet I see his eye wanders to others too. Perhaps in the long run it would be best to see how that unfolds firstly. Suliya did not seem the type fitting for the placement of second wife. [/i]

suliya felt a warmth she hadn’t expected, a kinship budding between herself and meleys. their first meeting had been marked with tension, but now there was understanding—a mutual recognition of strength, resilience, and the burdens they carried. the more she listened to meleys, the more she found herself drawn to the other woman’s fire, her unyielding spirit.

a man half your age, suliya echoed, her tone laced with humor as her lips curled into a wry smile. sun eater is bold, isn’t he? thinking he can pair us like we’re caribou for the herd.

she laughed softly, shaking her head as her tail swept the snow behind her. yet, there was no malice in her words—only amusement at the absurdity of their shared predicament. she could feel the steel in meleys' resolve, a reflection of her own unwillingness to settle for less.

then it is settled, she agreed, her voice firm but kind. neither of us will wed unless a man gives us reason to want it. they must prove themselves worthy—not just to the clan, but to us.

she leaned closer to meleys, her voice softening just slightly, a rare warmth in her tone. it is good to have you here, meleys. perhaps together we can remind the men that we are not so easily won. her grin returned, sharp and knowing, as she nudged the other woman lightly with her shoulder. there was strength in their alliance, and suliya intended to see it through.

My brother has only ever been bold. She speaks, added after the lightheartedness of their laughter. He is an ambitious man. He knows what he wants for himself, and Saatine. It was not a bad thing, she knew and though Sun Eater may push them to marry, she did not think it would become demand, lest the structure of their people begin to strongly decline. Besides, his want for them to marry came with the want to make their linege larger, stronger. There was pride in bringing forth Lanzadoii who would bring success to their name. In this, Meleys had failed. 

To their agreed pact, Suliya pressed to her and the phantom woman returned the warm gesture, her heterochromia eyes casting to the herd as they lay in watch after time walking along, as them. Yes - after all, is us who carry the might of Lanzadoii in our veins. They must show us they can to have our paw and call themselves the same. 

I have come to enjoy your company this day, Suliya. She admits her own affections. For the woman such a recluse, this is not often archived. Alas, her brother had been right in that. It had been good to get to know her. 

There was a great possibility that her brother will be very displeased with Meleys actions today. She would have to deal with this when the time came. If more Lanzadoii was his concern, then Meleys nor Suliya need a mate in order to make this happen. The thought of traveling either Suliya, far from here and choosing a man on the far plains crossed her mind. They could return with the strength of Saatine and Lanzadoii both in their wombs. Children which would grow by their paw. Their pups and none other, for which they could be raised. 

Meleys would run these things by Suliya. Yet not today. At the moment her brother had his eye fixed on his new bride which would hold his attention for a time. A new litter would hold it for even longer. They had time to toil and plot. This day was a time for themselves. 

can end here or your next post. I'm working on wrapping things up for my annual scarcity in january.