Bramblepoint godless and free

He made it to the forest after a few hours of painful hiking, and his once-injured leg felt like it was on fire. It looked like the early afternoon had arrived, and it surprised Njal to think that he might have walked through the night - he was too agitated to really pay attention, his body as well as his pride being a bit sore. So when he found a haven within the trees, Njal was quick to slump in to their shadow and curl up as tightly as his hip would allow. But he did not sleep. The ache in his body was one thing, but there was one thought plaguing his mind just as aggressively: What the hell do I do now?

Tagging @Rat for visibility!

The terrible twosome was on his tail. They had followed him from the Caldera, Vlad whispering to his drooling companion whenever the wind was loud enough to mask their conversation. Make same deal vit thees menn, the yellow-eyed wolf insisted, though Rat looked like he would rather snap the wanderer's neck and eat him whole. Number Two thought this about most living things, Vlad had discovered, and liked the wretched creature all the more for it - even though his eat-first-think-later approach to life was ill suited to the 'long game' strategy that winter demanded.

Vlad instructed his sidekick to stay put (he had to snap his teeth at the other wolf a few times before the message stuck), and scuttled into view in front of Nja. "Pss!" he called, head lowered and ears alert. "Limpy menn! You hev bed leg?"

*flings about the map with reckless abandon*

notice her or no, I'm good with either!

After encountering what's his face up north, she'd pointed her arrow south once more, any decision regarding her future still pushed off for another day.  Time was ticking, but Roz answered to nothing, time included.  Or so she kept telling herself.

This forest was a pleasant enough spot, she remembered, and maybe she'd even run into Red.  She could use some distraction right about now.  Her nose twitched as she caught wind of another wolf, but as she neared, she could tell that the scent wasn't anyone she knew.

And, turns out, it was more than one.  Slinking round, she found a group, all male and all rather large.  Eyes narrowed as she heard one speak, the words almost indistinguishable in a thick accent.  He was a nasty looking one, so of course, she was intrigued.  Her ears twisted sideways and she flattened herself, content to watch for the moment.

Italics are Russian!

Njal was stewing with his thoughts, and before long there came a rustling in the area next to him. It was only natural that he try to get up in a sprightly manner - which failed - and thus, when he was up on his feet, he inevitably sank back down to his haunches. Over a matter of seconds his biggest fault was exposed. The voice that broke through the trees made him turn his head sharply, his eyes narrowing as soon as they landed on the wiry wolf in the shadows.

The stranger's words took a second to register, and another for him to translate - it was broken up, as if he could not speak the common tongue very well - but also familiar. Njal took a stab in the dark with his reply; he switched to his mother tongue. A little sore, but not bad like your use of common. Njal watched the stranger for recognition.

Vlad had not expected what happened next. The stranger addressed him in his mother tongue, earning a roar of approval from the yellow-eyed miscreant. "брат!" he yelled - the Russian word for brother. "I spit on your mother - my command of the foreign tongue is great!" The ugly words were said in a jovial tone. He moved forward, mostly unafraid now that it was established that they were already kin - with or without a deal and the fight that would naturally have to follow; the canine equivalent to a blood oath. "I take you veetout deal," he offered, speaking English again. "Much ugly bleck wolf say no to you, yes? I hear it." Rat moved in the background, oogling the exchange with a vacant look on his face.

Just then, a stray breeze brought a fourth, sweeter scent to the table. It was faint, barely there, but Vlad nevertheless raised his head and inhaled sharply. It smelled distinctly of lady. "You hev recent sex?" Vlad asked, not seeing a lady among them.

It had been years since Njal had heard anyone speak the mother tongue; the last time he had heard it spoken must have been by his own family, and that was at least five years ago. It invigorated him. Reminded him of things long ago forgotten. But the stranger before him was no northern beast; he looked rangy, ragged, and held the many tones of the earth and autumn in his pelt. A summer wolf from the lowlands? But how would anyone like this reach the Teekon?

Njal snapped out of his thoughts when the stranger - slipping back to broken common - mentioned Peregrine. Or that's who he assumed the stranger was talking about. Which meant that... They had an audience. Njal was about to bare his fangs and bristle, displeased by the thought of having someone like this so close to the caldera -- but the caldera was no longer his home. He need not be so defensive over it.

"Yeah --" he began to affirm, but then the autumn wolf mentioned something about sex, and Njal was thrown off. "What? No -" he sniffed the air too, and noticed the very faint scent that was distinctly female. With a snort, the old man rose up and took a few steps around the wiry loner, studying the air. "Not a friend of yours?" He queried, glancing with his periphery at the rogue. Of course not. He doubted any real lady would be caught dead near this wretched thing.

Posting once more, then opening the floor to @Rosalyn .. :D

Vlad was not privy to any of Njal's thoughts and thus continued to grin, accepting the older wolf's presence in his personal space as they both sniffed and searched the air for clues. "No frend!" he confirmed with a nod, squinting into the half dark. "Maybe ...is new frend?" The creature cleared his throat, shot Rat a warning look (lest Number Two decided to do something aggressive, as he was wont to do) and shouted, "NEW FREND, COME OUT, PLEASING."

You've got to be kidding me.  I had to pick the group speaking crazy.  She'd heard the language before... one of her previous pack had been fluent.  But she'd never taught Roz and Roz had never asked, so here she was.  Trying to listen in on a conversation that she couldn't bloody well understand.

Her eyes narrowed as they soon slipped back to normal, and she was able to piece together most of what they were saying.  It was honestly.... fairly boring.  Until sex came up.  Her ears perked right up at that.  How terribly random, she thought, grinning to herself.  A grin that soon became a bit tighter when she realized that it wasn't so random after all.  Shit.  She might have stepped in it this time.

"As if," she called out easily, rising from her hiding place and striding out into the open.  "I do have standards.  Ones that usually involve me getting something in return.  No offense."  She eyed the older male as she made this comment, having noted his haggard appearance while she hid.  That one probably wouldn't be doing her any favors.

I can't help myself - JUST ONE MORE. Java is at work rn.

"AHA!" Vlad roared with Sherlock-like vigour, executing a victory leap that almost cost him the integrity of his ankle. "I guessing right!" And what joy - a pretty girl to join the ranks of the sad, old, and unwanted! Vlad did not see himself in this light, of course, nor did he consider Rat and Njal to be beyond help. They were just a little rough around the edges, that's all - and with the shadow of winter stretching over the northern hemisphere, who wasn't at risk of not looking their best?

"Nice girl end nice girl stenderds wanting hev a vinter deal?" the Russian asked, taking a short step in Rosalyn's direction. "Is good deal," he assured her, grinning toothily.

lmao apparently what is posting order?
Apologies Java if you wanted in first >< I wasn't sure and can delete!

Her gaze narrowed thoughtfully as he offered a 'deal', and everyone else was ignored for the moment.  Ok.  She was listening. Her tail lifted and she cocked her head loftily.  "Maybe.  But of course, with my 'nice girl stenders'.. I gotta know what's in it for me." She grinned slyly back, a little less tooth but no less wolfish. "So?" impress me.

She knew that, if things turned sour, she'd have to cut and run. There was no way she could take all three on when almost all were larger than she. But she kept her confidence on full swing - doing any less, and admitting weakness, could prove an even bigger disaster than offending them if they were of the sort she thought they were.

All good! :>

The foreigner shouted in to the wilderness (and in to Njal's ears, which flinched back for a second), and surprisingly, someone was lurking in the dark. As soon as the silhouette was spotted, Njal thought that maybe it was Peregrine - but it seemed like a low thing to do, following him from the borders and then watching to make sure he was really gone - so when the woman was properly revealed, the small doubt vanished. The rogue offered the new arrival the same broken common, the same mention of a deal, and Njal wanted to step in (perhaps save her the misery of dealing with this strange fellow), but they were already knee-deep in something by the time he caught up.

"What sort of 'winter deal'?" He asked, giving the tawny wolf a suspicious little glance; he wasn't so interested in the auburn woman right now. She was young and fit, and must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time to encounter the two of them. Maybe he wanted to make a temporary pack and settle somewhere? That seemed unlikely - but with enough bodies, it was possible to accomplish.

The maimed old man caught up in time to hear Rosalyn question the deal, although she managed to sound at least a little bit excited about what Vlad had to offer. The mottled wolf spun to face them both, and with a theatrical clearing of his throat delivered the terms of his offer. "We heving make vinter peck by big salt water in east - already hev queen, big cave, end Vlad -" The 'A' in his name seemed to be the only one that Vlad could pronounce, "Vlad also bringing Naamber Two wolf. He lookig like rett, but is OK guy. One - maybe two flea. MAX five. You like deal, yes?" There was an edge of puppyish excitement to his voice. Five wolves were more than he could ever have hoped for, even if they weren't the most polished bunch. "Cen eating krebs in cave, end slow sea-doggie," he went on, waggling his brows. "Is best deal - when is spring, you go! Free to go - also alive!" Surely, not being dead by winter's end was reason enough to pledge one's allegiance to a band of strangers.

Edit: Yeah sorry I messed up the order a lot! xD I got so excited. It's Vlad -> @Rosalyn -> @Njal

At 'already hev queen', Rosalyn's mind was made up.  That served it.  There was no way she was licking the duds of any 'queen', not when there was no respectable gain from where she stood.  A coastal home... that was a draw.  But the three rough-looking vagrants before her?  Not so much.  Unless...

"So this queen... what's she like?"  The question was offhand, but her eyes were sharp as she watched Vlad for his (undoubtedly obscurified) answer.  Perhaps she wouldn't write this off just yet.  Security for the winter, and perhaps a loyal crew to be gained, if this queen wasn't sharp.  And if she was?  Roz could leave, easy peasy.  The girl had no ounce of loyalty in her beyond that which came from equal give and take, and once she was giving more than she was taking, she was done.

In any other moment, Njal would be the first to toss this Russian mongrel out of the area. He'd never have considered the proposition, but... He'd never been chased off of a pack's borders before. The old man hadn't considered how important the Redhawk wolves had been to him; them, as well as Fox's opinion. Now it seemed like he had only two options: accept his current situation and follow this guy to the coast, or make his way alone. Before he could respond, the woman spoke up - and Njal listened, curious about this queen as well, and remained cautious and quiet with his attention on Vlad.

Oof. Neither wolf seemed particularly keen on Caiaphas. Vlad could feel the heat of their glare intensify - Njal said nothing, and Rosalyn's question hung in the air like a challenge. Vlad pounced on it, determined to win them both over to his cause.

"Name Bleckface. Hev leff like engry bird. She small, like stay een cave, making no traables..." He lowered his voice, shooting sly looks left and right, "Leetle leader best leader, yes? Or you vanting Rett for leader?" He canted his head at Number Two and roared with laughter. The flea-bitten runt had emerged into the light and seemed to be chewing on his own ass, displaying exactly zero leadership abilities.

The only wolf fit to lead Rosalyn Rivaini was she herself, but she held her tongue on putting that notion forth.  "Small eh, and likes to hide in caves.  Sounds to me like you caught yourself a couple of rats."  A queen rat.  Perhaps she could manage that, for the time being.  Rats weren't creatures who could demand much by way of loyalty - and they usually didn't expect much either.

Hopefully the second rat was cleaner than the first, she thought with an internal wince as she got a good look at the vocative man's companion.  She'd hardly seen a sorrier eyeful.  I'd freeze gladly before sharing a den with that mess.  Fleas were nasty business.

"Alright, timador.  You and this 'Blackface' might have a deal."  She turned to look at the older man, wondering if he would take the offer.  From the looks of it, he wasn't about to get any better ones.

It didn't sound like an ideal situation. He wasn't eager to trust any of these wolves - and actually, wanted to dissuade the girl from following them as well, but it was really none of his business what she got up to. Saving damsels in distress wasn't part of his repertoire anymore. Njal had followed warriors of varying type throughout his life; he'd been the king of his own castle once, and now.. He had somehow been reduced to this.

The old man seemed to need more time to make his decision. He turned away from the others while Rosalyn was speaking, and did not turn around even though he felt eyes upon him. When silence briefly flourished, he glanced at the dark woman and then gave a shrug of his shoulders. No words. Perhaps he was being too cautious. There wasn't time to be fickle with winter approaching.

"Fine." He grumbled, shooting his look over at the Russian.

Winner winner chicken dinner. Vlad all but pirhouetted in the air, announcing his joy with a yowling bark and a smile so wide his teeth considered making a leap for freedom. "You hearing, Rett? We heving peck!" he yelled at his companion, who didn't seem to understand the signifiance of what had just gone down but smacked his lips in response. Vlad decided this meant he was pleased.

"Come come come!" Vlad urged, skittering to Njal's side and then rounding the two wolves like a sheep-herding dog, ushering them east-ward with excited yips. "Peck waiting! Bleckface teach how hunting vater-doge for celebrate!" And if Caiaphas preferred to skulk around in her cave, Vlad would just wing it - how hard could it be to take down something called a sea-dog, anyway?

Final post from me!

She allowed herself to be shepherded, but would remain a tad standoffish for the time being.  Rosalyn wasn't a shy or unfriendly sort, and could be rather gregarious at times, but she did not trust these wolves just yet.  Better to get a read first.

The mention of water dogs brought a smile, though, as she remembered the one she and the strange boy had taken down a mere week or so ago.  Already she would have one advantage - the coast was her domain, as familiar to her as a family friend.  She would thrive there, she was sure.

The enthusiasm  held by the wiry wanderer did not seem to pass to the others of the group; but they did heed him when they began to move, and soon enough Njal was also pulled along in tow. He said nothing beyond that singular word, falling in to an uneasy silence while the chatterbox Russian flagrantly showcased his glee upon finding bodies to add to his cause. Time would tell if this was a good choice or not - but either way, Njal didn't really have other options.

Fading!