Dragoncrest Cliffs hold on to the sky

eventually, the welcoming party parts ways and she has something else to address. the strange male that followed @Ephraim and helix doesn’t go unnoticed but she appreciates the distance he offers in her return. tired and exhaustion has long since settled into her bones but, for a few minutes longer, she puts on a stoic face and turns in the direction the trio had come from to close the distance. helix stays to one side, and she glances between them for some explanation, but ultimately she sets her dark eyes on the stranger and his purpose here.

“i came across ephraim and him—eurycrates—in the sound just before you called,” helix tells her quietly and thuringwethil nods her head, coming to a stop. “he wants to join, i believe,” says the warrior but her stance becomes guarded now that things have changed and the returned leader waits for ephraim or the stranger to speak up.

---

She is large, but not divinely so. Not a titan of the tales his mother had spun during his childhood, nor some kind of monster come to ravage the land. No, she is flesh and bone, mortal--fallible. Still, her aura is such that Eurycrates gives her his respect, grudging as it may be. The women in his family are strong and capable. . .but they do not lead. Something must be special about this one to place the responsibility of command upon her shoulders.
Alas. He lets out the smallest of sighs, shifting his weight as he turns his gilded gaze upon the leader.
I am Eurycrates Lycurgus of Lacedaemon, he says, with a brief bow of his head. My family controls a vast stronghold of land far to the south. Recently we came to some. . .differences of opinion. His mouth quirks in a wry smile at the understatement. I went out on my own, looking for a new place to settle. The sound was very much to my liking, but your warriors informed me that it is under your jurisdiction.
He rolls a hooded stare toward Ephraim and Helix, letting it linger upon them for a brief moment before he looks at the commander once more. Given my fondness for the place, I expect I have no choice but to join your ranks, Eurycrates concluded. To be frank, you would have to be a fool not to accept someone of my size and strength. I have much to offer you.
Turn me away and I will make a formidable enemy.

---

Once Helix finishes explaining, it doesn’t take long for him—Eurycrates—to start explaining. She is curious right off the bat and as much as she wants to know more, she keeps them to herself. Are they like Drageda? Do they house more than the typical pack? Perhaps they share a life similar to one another and would easily fit in.

As he keeps going, however, he finds the dirt beneath his feet spiked with shit.

She snorts once and looks at him, taking in his features and size and likely strength he carries with him. One on one, he might be a threat. With several members at her side, and a welcoming party not too far off, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to try anything.

He’s right, too; they could use them. They could benefit from what he has to offer but the soiled ground he walks on isn’t what she wants trekking right into her home.

”You have nothing to offer me,” she tells him coolly, gaze hardening. She doesn’t adjust her posture for added threat—her size and strength is apparent enough—but her expression tightens just slightly to show she is not fucking around. ”Leave. Or the sound becomes your resting place.”

I'll post with Eury tomorrow

He had wandered away to chat with some of the others that had gathered upon their arrival--really, he just wanted to talk to Helix, but she was tied up with whatever business the burly guy had. Speaking of. . . Something about his demeanor seemed slightly off to Verx, but perhaps that was just the swagger he loved so much in himself and resented in other males. Made them competition. Blegh.

But as he drew a little closer, his ear swiveled to catch some words that weren't kosher, and he abruptly broke off his conversation to come to Heda's side, fixing his bicolored eyes on the stranger. He sucked in his breath at the stranger's accusation, looking almost gleefully at the commander as he waited for her to tear him apart.

It didn't come, though--only a verbal warning. Disappointing, although he supposed it was better to keep peace that way. Maybe he'd fight back. A beat after her rebuke, his lips curled in a snarl. Get out, he echoed softly, a chiding shadow to his Heda.

He was sure he could handle this fucking joker, even if he did have muscles on his muscle.

---

It is over before he can take another breath. She has denied him, and her reputation is forever sealed in his heart. Fool. You utter fool. She might forget this day, soon enough, but there will come a night where she regrets it. She will see it flash before her eyes in her final moments; whether it is he that stops her heart or someone else, she will remember him.
She will rue this encounter.
I have ears, Eurycrates says to her big lackey, fixing his gilded stare on the brute's face for a long moment before turning to the commander. Pity we see things differently. He licks his lips but says nothing more, turning and padding away, gait stiff and quick. He will not give her the satisfaction of seeing his rage. That will come later.
He bypasses the sound for now, but picks his way down to the beach once the sun has set, lingering in the shadows.

---

Apparently, Thuringwethil is already gotten used to ignoring whatever comes out of Vercingetorix’s mouth. He does his job well enough and though he interjects when she’s already made her threat, it at least packs up her status. Eurycrates doesn’t linger and she dismisses any threats he offers with his eyes and waits until he’s entirely from view before she turns and glances at the dark brute, returning then to her family.