Sawtooth Spire Minuet

Tagging willing bodyguards! @Yuudai, @Takeshi, @Vespera, @Kukulkan. Only two bodyguards per thread please. @Wintersbane and @Mahler, not tagging Wylla since I'm assuming she is busy with puppies!

They traveled for days. Honestly, Reiko was growing tired of all this travelling. Her paws were sore and worn, legs fatigued from the climbing and distance in general. From Emberwood to Kaistleoki, back to Northstar Vale, back to Emberwood to pick up Takeshi, then back to the Vale where they decided to remain and build their empire, and now to the other packs. It was beginning to be harder to keep a bounce in her step, with feet feeling so dang heavy, it was a miracle she was even still walking.

There were many packs surrounding them, and Reiko would visit each and everyone of them to talk about possible alliances in order to protect the empire as much as possible. Even in its early days it would be wise to spread the word and introduce themselves to those they could all possibly fall back to should the proverbial shit hit the fan. Even this pack... further inland and the last she would visit before going back to the Vale to rest until the pack was settled.

Finally as they reached the edge of the borders, with a long relieved sigh the soon-to-be empress sat down. Tossing a glance at her guardians, she offered a smile before singing her song to summon the leaders of the pack and begin their negotiations for a possible alliance. Well aware that they might not have one immediately, but an introduction at the very least was on her mind.

Vespera felt as though her paws were going to fall right off, the group had been going back and forth for who knows how long which was something she supposed she was used to but it had been a while. The girl's eyelids were not aligned and one of them was up while the other one was halfway but she still had to keep her head up high as she followed alongside Reiko and desperately trying not to fall behind. It seemed the group had made their destination as Vespera's ears bobbed to the motion of her walking with Reiko plopping down on her haunches. The cloaked woman stopped beside the snow wolf and with her front paws sliding out from beneath her, she fell on her snow-white chest with her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

"Christ all mighty," Vespera panted as her eyes shakily glanced at Rei, "you didn't say that we would...would be going... all over Teekon!," she wheezed with her having to take a breath between words. The exile's rump soon plopped to the ground with a thud but Vespera didn't care, she just wanted a damn rest.

Takeshi had made sure to tag along beside Reiko. A treasure that had been lost once was all the more valuable; he could not let her go so simply. He had his own things to do- like go look for his side bitch, Hiromi- and so he would not follow Reiko constantly. But for now he did. During the majority of their journey, Shi was quiet, content to hang at the back of the trio and eye Reiko's rump as she walked. They had not encountered any especial problems so far, and so he paid less attention to their surroundings and more attention to his trophy. 

Once they arrived, Reiko's odd companion- Vespera, was it?- was complaining. Takeshi subtly rolled his blue eyes at her dramatic words, but said nothing. Sure, the girl was slightly irritating- but he preferred Reiko to be friends with any woman in the world over any man. As long as Vespera wasn't looking to steal her away, he couldn't give a damn whether she was bearable or not. 

Once Reiko sang her song, he admired the lovely sound of it, closing his eyes as if he was listening to a Beethoven classic. When she was finished, he would slide up beside her, taking a seat right next to the girl and puffing out his chest as if to appear powerful to whomever approached.

the summons rises thru the chilling spring air and wintersbane, luckily close by, quickly diverts his path to intercept. often, he can be found upon the borders, having doubled his patrols since the birth of wylla's cubs. the closer he draws to the origins of the call, however, the more uneasy he begins to feel. three scents — one of them tickling a sense of familiarity within him — mingle upon the air. given that there was just a birth in the pack, his hackles bristle in an instinctively prickly demeanor. one, fine. three? such a large number doesn't bode well with wintersbane ( and they aren't even his cubs ).

his approach is swift and stiff; tail arched over his back in an obvious display of dominance. normally, he can't stand lording his title and power as he does now but ...in the end, it all circles back to the newborn cubs and the women that carry within their womb. there's a lot to protect and far too much to lose to take his chances. ❝these are sagtannet's borders,❞ he introduces upon his approach, recognizing reiko though the man and woman she is flanked by go unknown. he has met her before, and then again when he lost all sense of who he was. it was she and easy that had healed him, that saw that he lived. he owes her a life debt; but even so that does not ebb the stiffness in his posture.

Bright eyes looked over to Vespera's figure as she too slumped down in fatigue, smiling at her comments. Giggling, she poked Vespera with a moist nose playfully. This is our last stop, I promise. Once we are back in the Vale, we can rest. They can rest all they want. There were other packs to visit, but they can wait - mainly she wanted to speak with this one and the one in the willow trees. 

Then, after her song rang through the mountains, her smile slowly faded as Takeshi reminded her that he was here too. At this moment she was happy for Vespera's presence, despite the fatigue. Though Reiko was certain that Takeshi was capable enough on his own to keep her safe... who would keep her safe from his clutches? If she could, the empress to be preferred to have someone else in their presence so she wasn't alone with Takeshi for long. It was like she needed a bodyguard for her own bodyguard. 

With her eyes sweeping the grounds, they eventually found the approaching paws. Climbing up the limbs and into the face, it was the familiarity that brought that smile back. Tail bouncing behind her despite the less than welcoming appearance of the large man. It was the same man she had helped him, with Easy's help of course - though she never caught his name... but never the less. It is good to see you're well. With a deep dip of her head she greeted the man she assumed to be one of Sagtannent's leaders. Firstly I would like to apologize for my entourage, travelling alone is not something I'm comfortable with anymore... I hope you can forgive us. Not wanting to go into details, she kept the reasoning brief - the last thing she needed was for Takeshi to have a reason to double down on his presence around her.

edited to include his wounds oops

his thoughts were the same as the ones carried by wintersbane. sagtannet was tense, protective of their new lives and the ones yet to arrive. and he, the father of the first. lip curled in annoyance. surely any beast with sense would understand that such a retinue would be seen as aggressive.
he arrived to flank wintersbane, drawn up to his massive full height with charcoal ruff flaring indignantly. there were moments for pleasantries, but the tension of his co-leader suggested now was not the time. ears flicked to hear the last sentence spoken.
what sort of leader did not travel alone at times, especially during what mahler assumed was diplomacy discussions? his amethyst stare was hard as he leveled it upon the trio, keeping silent for now. the healing slashes across the left of his face ached, but did not change his expression.

Vespera can be skipped until the end of the thread!

The woman poked her with her nose as she giggled playfully and told Vespera that this would be their last stop and then the group can return to the Vale. Vespera raised her brows with her eyelids covering half of her eyes to form an unamused glance, but that mood only lasted a second as she formed a little smile on her face, "I doubt it, you seem to be full of surprises," she said with a little bit of playful snark. But her playfulness was short-lived since Reiko's aura started to hit Vespera clean on the face, something was wrong, she could feel clashing presences. This...Other wolf that joined them who went by the name Takeshi was stirring up an unwelcoming feeling withing Reiko and even though she didn't exactly make it obvious, Vespera just knew it, though she couldn't explain how.

She just knew it, perhaps there was a further connection to Reiko than she thought.

But Vespera put those thoughts on the back of her mind for now since the scent of two wolves distracted her and her face became a little more serious. The dark woman wouldn't show any signs of weakness so she forced her tired limbs not to shake as she stood, but as soon as she stood, her rear lost any sense of feeling and it just plopped to the ground. At least she wasn't laying on the ground so a sitting position would do as the two wolves came with their tales high, but why were they seeming hostile? She couldn't guess since Vespera assumed all leaders had a stick up their ass in some way.

The larger one introduced this territory as Sagtannet and the other kept silent. The cloaked woman kept a surprisingly calm and neutral face, but that was because she was tired and just keeping herself upright made her want to collapse. Reiko seemed apologetic and Vespera wanted to roll her eyes alone on that since the snowy woman dipped her head in respect and explained that she just couldn't travel alone. Why? I get that you're a twig but still, don't label yourself as a damsel in distress because I think your boy Takeshi has a kink for that. It was hard not to blurt that out so she would save that sentence for another day.

Soon a large man greeted them- well, not much of a greeting. He seemed rather cold, which did have Takeshi bristling by instinct, if only for a moment. He calmed down, though kept his chest puffed out, slightly tense. Stormy blue gaze shifts to his princess when she begins to speak, and he smiles softly. So gentle, so... good. Her little apology, her presentation of herself as a girl who needed to be protected by having guards around. That was where Takeshi could step in. Vespera's thoughts were entirely true- each time Reiko presented herself as someone needing the strength of warriors behind her, Shi would gladly be by her side. She was his trophy, after all. 

The arrival of another dark male has him tense up again. Jealously, he tracked their gazes closely. He didn't give a fuck if they were here for an alliance, there was no way he would let another man admire his girl- and so he watched them carefully, greedily hoping their gazes would move elsewhere, despite Reiko being the leader here. Even one's gaze could lead them to sin, and so he kept a close watch on Reiko too- to be sure she see stayed modest and subtle as she should be.

before long, mahler joins him at his side and wintersbane acknowledges his fellow leader with a small incline of his head before his glacial gaze returns to reiko where it rests. ❝thanks to you and easy,❞ wintersbane rasps with a grateful tip of his head. ❝i never got to say thank you for saving my life.❞ even as he says it now, his gratitude alone seems to pale in the comparison to the life debt he owes her. 

are you in trouble? he wants to ask, but the two wolves flanking her appear to be more than enough to protect her from initial assumption alone and ...he is not a wandering mercenary anymore. those days are long and far behind him. ❝we live in uncertain times,❞ wintersbane agrees; for while he doesn't trust all these wolves gathered at sagtannet's borders and the tension refuses to unknot from his muscles he does not begrudge her, her entourage.

❝what can we do for you?❞ he inquires.

Skip Vespera and Takeshi, I already asked for permission to get this thread moving! They will hop back in later once the thread is closer to finishing!

That's because thanks are not necessary. Even if it had clearly brought a smile to her face, pleased that she was remembered by someone and appreciated in some form. 

The hard stare coming from Wintersbane's companion did not go unnoticed, though she didn't blame him entirely for feeling that way when face to face with a trio of wolves at their borders - she also felt it was blown out of proportions. Three wolves could not be that much of a threat to a pack in their own lands, clearly fatigued by traveling on top of it all. 

Instead of lingering on his silent attitude (not to mention Mahler's desire to clearly loom over them was seen as rude as well), the would-be Empress focused more so on the more pleasant of the two. Not allowing her mood to dampen during his meeting. Thank you. With a dip of her crown, they move on from that topic and onto a new.

We sought to introduce ourselves, perhaps extend a friendly paw to a future alliance once trust is built between us. I am to be the Empress of a pack in Northstar Vale, the Reneian Empire.

he tilted his heavy crown. alliance? a lift of his muzzle; mahler stepped closer, amethyst eyes resting on the pretty sylph. his own hackles had calmed, though like wintersbane, the gargoyle remained wary. "ve are sagtannet. vhat sort of alliance do you suggest?" 
there were many ways to make such. blood was the most promising one, and his mind drifted to the yearlings in his pack that would eventually disperse. why not to the empire? but he kept such progressive intrigues to himself, letting his body fall into lines that thawed the initial heaviness of his arrival.
northstar vale. where courtfall had once reigned. what would wintersbane make of it?

i'm so sorry for the wait on this.

wintersbane is glad that reiko's done well for herself, an assumption made as she admits that she's to be empress. she was a kind soul — helping a stranger when she had no reason to. at the mention of northstar vale, wintersbane visibly winces; blanches. his ears flutter back to cup against his skull and his expression morphs into one of stone. his own aversion to the territory where courtfall crumbled to ruins, where andraste's body was laid to rest should not affect anyone else's view of the territory. still, he wants to tell her that it's cursed. to warn her. mahler takes the lead in the conversation as wintersbane closes like a clam, jaw sewn tightly together by barbed wire.

there is a grave there. relatively fresh. i only ask that it not be disturbed. not that, mind, there was anything he could do about it. if it was disturbed already, he'd rather not know. it was a personal request and not one that had anything to do with their alliance but mahler had asked the main question to encourage reiko to speak of what she was looking for and wintersbane sees no reason to parrot what the gargoyle has already inquired.

Her attention shifts to Wintersbane's companion as he steps forward into the spotlight. I can't be certain as of yet, we have only just met - well except for Wintersbane so to speak, but even him she didn't know much about other than the man who she had aided last year. I would like for us to get to know one another and eventually come to an eventual agreement. Unlike Ira and Kaistleoki, this Sagtannet and their leaders were no close to her than Lumiya and her court. Preferably one beneficial to us all. For she, her Empire and their sister pack were no leaches to suck off of the backs of others, nor would they allow another to do so either. 

Her expression dropped as Wintersbane spoke of a grave. Shifting to something mournful for his loss, whoever it was, they were important to him, enough so to ask for the respect for their final resting place. I'm sorry for your loss... Is there a marker where they rest? I assure you their grave will not be disturbed, simply tell me where it is - and of course, should we strike an alliance, you will always be welcome to visit it.

mahler is a jerk sorry :l

the young woman had nothing else to say but fanciful notions of alliance. mahler was unimpressed, not with she nor her retinue, nor her distinct lack of planning. yet he chided himself. she was young yet, and perhaps he would do well to coddle her somewhat. it was against his creed, however, but for the sake of this potential alliance, mahler stood down from any heavy words.
she had yet to give her name, the gargoyle noticed, but wintersbane was pained now. he stood to support his brother, both at arms and in matters of the spirit. any further questions he had could wait until this matter was suitably handled, and perhaps it would elevate the youthful empress in his mind as well.

wintersbane listens to reiko's words; half paying attention, half haunted. i understand. the warrior supplies when it appears to him the gargoyle is done speaking. and yet, he finds it a bit strange ...for her to approach them with the proposition of alliance but not have anything prepared. currently, her empire is nothing more than a hope; a fledgling not yet ready to take flight. she speaks more of the grave then and wintersbane can only assume that their talk of alliance has been halted to be revisited at a later date.

he doesn't know how to tell her that he won't visit it without it sounding as callous as it does in his head.

in truth, he wants nothing to do with northstar vale.

thank you for the offer but i'd rather not visit it. andraste was nothing but decaying flesh and rotting bones. he knows from experience that visiting her grave will do nothing but pick at wounds freshly scarred. it will bring him no solstice; no guidance.

perhaps we should revisit this when your empire is established? he suggests a bit more curtly than he means; wanting to be anywhere else but here.

If they had voiced their thoughts she would have thought of them to be selfish and greedy - just today did they all learn of each other's existence, Reiko finally meeting Wintersbane formally instead of hazily through wounds, but thankfully the men had kept their opinions to themselves. Thinking she was being fair by coming all this way to greet and introduce themselves, she saw no fault in a simple introduction and possible further communication later on as trust builds between the two packs. 

I understand. Dipping her head, the young woman was thankful to his rejection. Having a man, a leader of a different pack wandering around the vale due to an open invitation wouldn't have sat well with many, including Reiko herself; but perhaps that offer alone was enough to grant some kind of trust on their part to her willingness to cooperate.

Not wanting to take up too much of their time, not to mention her and her companions being tired as they are from the traveling. You know where we are, I don't mean to take up too much of your time for a simple introduction, so I bid you two farewell for now. I do hope we meet again soon and build enough trust to make an alliance more of a reality in the future. With a nod, she invited her two companions to come and leave the southern mountains and head back home.

@Vespera and @Takeshi, if you want to nab this thread as a trade thread please post a leaving post!

wintersbane said all that needed utterance; mahler was content. her youth had made her too hopeful, and he watched as the woman began her travel back to the vale. lilac stare flicked flatly to her companions, if they had not yet turned away. mahler had no words and no welcome for them. he and his brother had presented a united front of iron to the newcomers, and he suspected it would keep the empress' well-wishes far away.
he said nothing when they had all drifted toward the vale, only stepped forward to brush his shoulder against that of the blue-black warrior in a quiet show of affection and empathy. such loss affected them all, though wintersbane's heart seemed to have been truly broken.

Takeshi, merely a guard, found little reason to listen in to the hum-drum of political chatter. His gaze flickered between Reiko and the men, watching carefully- as a protector ought to. Her voice was music, singing notes of melody to him, light in pitch, girlish, refined and regal. She was fantastic in this sense- pulling off professionalism and charm all in one. For a moment he was lost in this trance of her speech, the words blurring together to mean nothing to him- but eventually he snapped out of it, soon enough to realize that they had been politely rejected. Why the fuck...? His tail twitched slightly in annoyance, cold blue eyes narrowing a little... but ultimately it was not worth any more trouble. He was content to follow after Reiko, paying the men behind them nothing more, only his silence.

Unfortunately, Vespera shared the same thoughts as Takeshi, why did they reject? The cloaked woman was certain that they would form anyway so why would they reject in the first place? The woman decided to keep her unpleasant thoughts to herself for she so badly wanted to chime in and tell them that their logic was stupid, but she was half-listening to the conversation anyway. Reiko would respect their decisions and take her leave, Vespera would follow her out with conflicted thoughts as the three Reneian wolves would have to journey back a long way, much to her annoyance.